Luke 3:18-20 NKJV And with many other exhortations he preached to the people. 19 But Herod the tetrarch, being rebuked by him concerning Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, and for all the evils which Herod had done, 20 also added this, above all, that he shut John up in prison.
Jeremiah 37:11-17 NKJV And it happened, when the army of the Chaldeans left the siege of Jerusalem for fear of Pharaoh’s army, 12 that Jeremiah went out of Jerusalem to go into the land of Benjamin to claim his property there among the people. 13 And when he was in the Gate of Benjamin, a captain of the guard was there whose name was Irijah the son of Shelemiah, the son of Hananiah; and he seized Jeremiah the prophet, saying, “You are defecting to the Chaldeans!”
14 Then Jeremiah said, “False! I am not defecting to the Chaldeans.” But he did not listen to him.
So Irijah seized Jeremiah and brought him to the princes. 15 Therefore the princes were angry with Jeremiah, and they struck him and put him in prison in the house of Jonathan the scribe. For they had made that the prison.
16 When Jeremiah entered the dungeon and the cells, and Jeremiah had remained there many days, 17 then Zedekiah the king sent and took him out.The king asked him secretly in his house, and said, “Is there any word from theLord?”
And Jeremiah said, “There is.” Then he said, “You shall be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon!”
Jeremiah 37:11-17 NKJV And it happened, when the army of the Chaldeans left the siege of Jerusalem for fear of Pharaoh’s army, 12 that Jeremiah went out of Jerusalem to go into the land of Benjamin to claim his property there among the people. 13 And when he was in the Gate of Benjamin, a captain of the guard was there whose name was Irijah the son of Shelemiah, the son of Hananiah; and he seized Jeremiah the prophet, saying, “You are defecting to the Chaldeans!”
14 Then Jeremiah said, “False! I am not defecting to the Chaldeans.” But he did not listen to him.
So Irijah seized Jeremiah and brought him to the princes. 15 Therefore the princes were angry with Jeremiah, and they struck him and put him in prison in the house of Jonathan the scribe. For they had made that the prison.
16 When Jeremiah entered the dungeon and the cells, and Jeremiah had remained there many days, 17 then Zedekiah the king sent and took him out.The king asked him secretly in his house, and said, “Is there any word from theLord?”
And Jeremiah said, “There is.” Then he said, “You shall be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon!”
II Corinthians 11:22 NKJV Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they the seed of Abraham? So am I. 23 Are they ministers of Christ?—I speak as a fool—I am more: in labors more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequently, in deaths often. 24 From the Jews five times I received forty stripesminus one. 25 Three times I was beaten with rods; once I was stoned; three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I have been in the deep; 26 injourneys often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils of my owncountrymen, in perils of the Gentiles, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; 27 in weariness and toil, in sleeplessness often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness— 28 besides the other things, what comes upon me daily: my deep concern for all the churches. 29 Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to stumble, and I do not burn with indignation?
30 If I must boast, I will boast in the things which concern my infirmity. 31 The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who is blessed forever, knows that I am not lying. 32 In Damascus the governor, under Aretas the king, was guarding the city of the Damascenes with a garrison, desiring to arrest me;33 but I was let down in a basket through a window in the wall, and escaped from his hands.
Our Father,
John the Baptist was a direct preacher! "John was so plain and blunt a preacher of righteousness that he was bound to run into trouble" (William Barclay in The Gospel of Luke, 1953, p. 30).
Jeremiah was a direct preacher. So much so that the authorities consigned him to a dungeon.
The Apostle Paul was a direct preacher. So much so that he was imprisoned repeatedly for his articulation of his faith.
What about me? What am I willing to stand for? Will I stand for You when You require suffering of me?
Uncle Bud Robinson (1860-1942) famously prayed: "Oh Lord, give me a backbone as big as a sawlog, ribs like the sleepers under the church floor, put iron shoes on me and galvanized breeches, give me a rhinoceros hide for a skin, and hang a wagonload of determination up in the gable-end of my soul, and help me to sign the contract to fight the devil as long as I've got a fist and bite him as long as I have a tooth, then gum him till I die. All this I ask for Christ's sake. Amen."
Work Your character into my life. I don't want to be offensive for my own sake. I am perfectly capable of brutish, selfish, and offensive behavior in the interest of self-promotion. That is not what John, Jeremiah, or Paul model. They model a courage quest to discover and proclaim Your truth regardless of the personal consequences, punishment, or suffering they must endure.
Here is my commitment. I will obey You, and speak as you direct me regardless of the consequences. "But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ..." (Ephesians 4:15). Empower me with Your Holy Spirit unto that end.
30 If I must boast, I will boast in the things which concern my infirmity. 31 The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who is blessed forever, knows that I am not lying. 32 In Damascus the governor, under Aretas the king, was guarding the city of the Damascenes with a garrison, desiring to arrest me;33 but I was let down in a basket through a window in the wall, and escaped from his hands.
Our Father,
John the Baptist was a direct preacher! "John was so plain and blunt a preacher of righteousness that he was bound to run into trouble" (William Barclay in The Gospel of Luke, 1953, p. 30).
Jeremiah was a direct preacher. So much so that the authorities consigned him to a dungeon.
The Apostle Paul was a direct preacher. So much so that he was imprisoned repeatedly for his articulation of his faith.
What about me? What am I willing to stand for? Will I stand for You when You require suffering of me?
Uncle Bud Robinson (1860-1942) famously prayed: "Oh Lord, give me a backbone as big as a sawlog, ribs like the sleepers under the church floor, put iron shoes on me and galvanized breeches, give me a rhinoceros hide for a skin, and hang a wagonload of determination up in the gable-end of my soul, and help me to sign the contract to fight the devil as long as I've got a fist and bite him as long as I have a tooth, then gum him till I die. All this I ask for Christ's sake. Amen."
Work Your character into my life. I don't want to be offensive for my own sake. I am perfectly capable of brutish, selfish, and offensive behavior in the interest of self-promotion. That is not what John, Jeremiah, or Paul model. They model a courage quest to discover and proclaim Your truth regardless of the personal consequences, punishment, or suffering they must endure.
So, Lord, I don't possess that kind of courage. I want to be accepted. I want to be liked. But I sense that is not enough for You. You demand courage and obedience. You provide me with no room for self-preservation or self-promotion. You simply want my loving service.
"It is always a dangerous thing to speak the truth; and yet the man who allies himself with the truth, may for the moment end in jail or on the scaffold, but in the final count he is the victor" (William Barclay in The Gospel of Luke, 1953, p. 31).
Here is my commitment. I will obey You, and speak as you direct me regardless of the consequences. "But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ..." (Ephesians 4:15). Empower me with Your Holy Spirit unto that end.
In the Name of the One who fills me with His Word,
Amen.
Amen.
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