The Cares of This Life
RN, it is extremely important to distinguish between what the Bible describes as the "cross" of a believer, or the trouble that comes from loyalty to Jesus, and the general trials of life, called the "cares of this life."
The cares of this life come from our own misunderstandings about relationships, provision, and satisfaction. The cares of this life are a direct result of our logic rising up over truth. We all feel this. It is contrary to faith.
BUT, this isn't the trouble Jesus refers to when promising tribulation. The trouble he is describing is the cross...it is rejection and hatred that comes from doing and saying the RIGHT things:
John 16:1-3 "These things I have spoken to you, that you should not be made to stumble. (2) They will put you out of the synagogues; yes, the time is coming that whoever kills you will think that he offers God service. (3) And these things they will do to you because they have not known the Father nor Me.
...this is the promise that goes with THAT trouble:
John 16:32-33 Indeed the hour is coming, yes, has now come, that you will be scattered, each to his own, and will leave Me alone. And yet I am not alone, because the Father is with Me. (33) These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world."
RN, many in the Church use Bible verses to mean whatever they want them to. The result is a lot of confusion and burn-out. What are we supposed to do with the "cares of this life"? Resist the lies that they are. Bring them to Jesus as lies... not see the trouble of life... sickness, poverty, bratty kids, an annoying spouse, or tiring work (the list goes on and on)... as a cross. It isn't.
Everyone loyal to Jesus in deed and word should have a real cross... that means people that claim to know God who reject, resist, and blaspheme you. That is the mark of everyone actually growing in Jesus-likeness. Unfortunately, in the west, we live in a time of mostly cross-less Christianity...which is false. I want to know why. I don't want to accidentally put something else in place of the cross to make sense of promises that actually belong with crosses.
If I put the cares of this life in the place of the cross, I will just get self-centered...thinking my life is uniquely difficult when it really isn't. The cares of this life are a REAL challenge. They really need Jesus' help, but they aren't a cross or unique to believers.
If I put the cares of this life in the proper place, I'll see what true difficulty is and get ready for it. Seeing the cross for what it actually is makes the cares of this life seem REALLY small. It gives me humility. It's the basis of REAL victory forever.
Luke 21:34-36 "But take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that Day come on you unexpectedly. (35) For it will come as a snare on all those who dwell on the face of the whole earth. (36) Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man."
The cares of this life come from our own misunderstandings about relationships, provision, and satisfaction. The cares of this life are a direct result of our logic rising up over truth. We all feel this. It is contrary to faith.
BUT, this isn't the trouble Jesus refers to when promising tribulation. The trouble he is describing is the cross...it is rejection and hatred that comes from doing and saying the RIGHT things:
John 16:1-3 "These things I have spoken to you, that you should not be made to stumble. (2) They will put you out of the synagogues; yes, the time is coming that whoever kills you will think that he offers God service. (3) And these things they will do to you because they have not known the Father nor Me.
...this is the promise that goes with THAT trouble:
John 16:32-33 Indeed the hour is coming, yes, has now come, that you will be scattered, each to his own, and will leave Me alone. And yet I am not alone, because the Father is with Me. (33) These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world."
RN, many in the Church use Bible verses to mean whatever they want them to. The result is a lot of confusion and burn-out. What are we supposed to do with the "cares of this life"? Resist the lies that they are. Bring them to Jesus as lies... not see the trouble of life... sickness, poverty, bratty kids, an annoying spouse, or tiring work (the list goes on and on)... as a cross. It isn't.
Everyone loyal to Jesus in deed and word should have a real cross... that means people that claim to know God who reject, resist, and blaspheme you. That is the mark of everyone actually growing in Jesus-likeness. Unfortunately, in the west, we live in a time of mostly cross-less Christianity...which is false. I want to know why. I don't want to accidentally put something else in place of the cross to make sense of promises that actually belong with crosses.
If I put the cares of this life in the place of the cross, I will just get self-centered...thinking my life is uniquely difficult when it really isn't. The cares of this life are a REAL challenge. They really need Jesus' help, but they aren't a cross or unique to believers.
If I put the cares of this life in the proper place, I'll see what true difficulty is and get ready for it. Seeing the cross for what it actually is makes the cares of this life seem REALLY small. It gives me humility. It's the basis of REAL victory forever.
Luke 21:34-36 "But take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that Day come on you unexpectedly. (35) For it will come as a snare on all those who dwell on the face of the whole earth. (36) Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man."
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