Acts 14:21-22- And when they had preached the gospel to that city and made many disciples, they returned to Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch, strengthening the souls of the disciples, exhorting them to continue in the faith, and saying, “We must through many tribulations enter the kingdom of God.”
THEME OF THE DAY: THE HILL CALLED DIFFICULTY. Have you read John Bunyan’s book, The Pilgrim’s Progress? If not, please do so. And do so as a family. It will prove to be one of the greatest and most important books you will ever read. Augustus Toplady wrote, “It is a masterpiece of piety and genius; and will, we doubt not, be of standing use to the people of God be so long as the sun and moon endure.” Get a modern version, set aside a few nights a week and read the story with your family or spouse. Aloud. It is a great tool for devotions. Let me give you a couple of appetizers. As the story unfolds, Pilgrim reaches the place of exciting deliverance – So he ran until he came to a place somewhat elevated. Upon that place stood a Cross and below at the bottom there was a Tomb. I saw in my dream that just as Christian came up to the Cross, his burden came loose from his shoulders and fell off his back. It began to tumble and continued to do so until it came to the mouth of the Tomb. It then fell into the Tomb, and I saw it no more. Then Christian was glad and relieved, and he said with a joyful heart, “He has given me rest from my sorrow and life through His death.”
Remember our time of deliverance? The burden of sin relieved by a trust in the crucified Savior? Life would never be the same. Full of joy, we were ready to follow our new Master with unwavering commitment all the days of our lives, but then . . . trials, difficulties, tribulations . . . the initial joy of deliverance gave way to the reality of self-purging (John 15:1-2). What true believer has not groaned in the night crying out to the Lord, “what is up with this intense spiritual conflict in me?” (Romans 7:13-21). Well, let’s rejoin Christian as Bunyan takes us to the place all believers will go – the hill of difficulty. “There at the bottom of the hill one path turned to the left hand and the other to the right; but the narrow pathway led right up the hill, and the name of the way up the side of the hill is called Difficulty. Formality and Hypocrisy also came to the foot of the hill, but when they saw the hill steep and high and that there were two other ways to go, they decided to travel those roads. Now the name of one of those paths was Danger, and the name of the other Destruction. So, one took the way called Danger, which led him into a great forest. The other walked directly up the Way to Destruction, which led him into a wide area full of dark mountains where he stumbled and fell and arose no more. Then I looked after Christian to watch him climb the hill. As he went, I noticed he changed from running to walking and from walking to crawling upon his hands and knees because of the steep grade of the hill.”
The Christian life must include the Hill of Difficulty. In today’s scripture, Paul informs the new believers in Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch that going through difficulties in the journey to heaven is not optional. He used the word “must” ensuring no misinterpretations along the way. Why must we climb the Hill of Difficulty? Because our Lord climbed it. Do we think the Hill of Calvary and the pending cross was an easy stroll? Jesus tells us as goes the Master, so goes the disciple (John 16:20, 33). Yes, we will sometimes run, sometimes walk, and sometimes crawl up the Hill of Difficulty like Christian, but let’s never lose sight of what lies at the top – a glorious entrance into the presence of Him who climbed a much steeper hill than ours!
Prayer: “Father, help us to view difficulties through grace not our flesh!”
Quote: Thomas Watson, “God may for a time desert His children, but He will not disinherit them.”
Because of Him,
Pastor Jim