Category Archives: Devotional Life

The value of developing a relationship with God, The value of having a daily quiet time.

Foxe’s Book of Martyrs: Ignatius and Blandina

Posted on by
1

Foxe’s Book of Martyrs: About Ignatius and Blandina

Ignatius, the bishop of Antioch after Peter, was sent to Rome to be devoured by wild beasts. But before he arrived “he wrote to the church of Rome not to try to deliver him lest they should deprive him of that which he longed and hoped for.” He said,

‘I care for nothing, of visible or invisible things, so that I may but win Christ. Let fire and the cross, let the companies of wild beasts, let breaking of bones and tearing of limbs, let the grinding of the whole body, and all the malice of the devil, come upon me; be it so, only may I win Christ Jesus!’ And even when he was sentenced to be thrown to the beasts, such was the burning desire that he had to suffer, that he spake, what time he heard the lions roaring, saying, ‘I am the wheat of Christ: I am going to be ground with teeth of wild beasts, that I may be found pure bread.’

A noble woman, Blandina, it was said,

Was endued with so much fortitude that those who successively tortured her from morning to night were quite worn out with fatigue, owned themselves conquered and exhausted of their whole apparatus of tortures, and were amazed to see her still breathing whilst her body was torn and laid open. The blessed woman recovered fresh vigor in the act of confession…

Blandina, suspended from a stake, was exposed as food to the wild beasts; she was seen suspended in the form of a cross and employed in vehement supplication. The sight inspired her fellow-combatants with much alacrity, while they beheld with their bodily eyes, in the person of their sister, the figure of Him who was crucified for them. None of the beasts at that time touched her: [so]she was taken down from the stake and thrown again into prison. Weak and contemptible as she might be deemed, yet when clothed with Christ, the mighty and invincible champion, she became victorious over the enemy…

After she had endured stripes, the tearing of the beasts, and the iron chair, she was enclosed in a net, and thrown to a bull; and having been tossed some time by the animal…

It was written that she was “rejoicing and triumphing in her exit, as if invited to a marriage supper.”

There were many more martyrs with wonderful stories of great strength in their faith, who rejoiced greatly in their suffering for Christ. A few names are these: Lawrence, Alban of England and Romanus who sang songs as he was whipped.

When Constantine came to power (A.D. 306-337), he stopped the persecutions and for the next one-thousand years there were no more martyrs until the time of John Wickliffe. This you may think was wonderful news, however, it was terribly detrimental to the church, as I will point out next time.

Foxe’s Book of Martyrs: Peter, Paul and John

Posted on by
1

I have been writing notes and excepts from the book, and this time I will write about the apostle Peter, Paul and John. Beginning with Peter, as he was waiting to be crucified, some were telling him to run out of the city (Rome). And as he was trying to avoid what they were saying, yet running, it was reported that he saw the Lord Christ coming to meet him. I will quote exactly what was written:

Coming to the gate, he saw the Lord Christ come to meet him, to Whom he, worshipping, said, ‘Lord, whither dost Thou go?’ To whom He answered and said, ‘I am come to be crucified.’ By this, Peter, perceiving his suffering to be understood, returned back into the city. Jerome saith that he was crucified, his head being down and his feet upward, himself so requiring, because he was (he said) unworthy to be crucified after the same form and manner as the Lord was.

As for Paul, there is not much written about him, except that before he was beheaded, it was written that he suffered some under Nero. Then the two men, Ferega and Parthemius, who came to execute him, first desired him to pray for them that they might believe. He did pray for them, and after he prayed, the executioners gave his neck to the sword. So, he died in the same way John the Baptist died. And Paul also died much like Jesus in that he was praying for others right up until his death.

John the apostle was exiled into Patmos. Then, after the death of Domitian Nero, John was released and came to Ephesus and there governed the churches of Asia and also where he wrote his gospel. He lived there until he dies at the age of about one hundred. (So, it appears that he weas the only apostle who weas not martyred, except for being sent to Patmos.)

The persecutions continued according to “whatsoever the cruelness of man’s invention could devise…”  But in spite of it, “the church daily increased, deeply rooted in the doctrine of the apostles…”

Taken from pages 12-18 of the book.

Foxe’s Book of Martyrs: Events following Christ’s Crucifixion

Posted on by
1

I have read the book before—a while ago. Now I’m reading it again, this time more carefully. I may give a series of blog posts on it, hoping to inspire some of you. Parts of it are gory, but I would focus more on the strength and boldness of the precious martyrs who loved the Lord. They were all so willing and even joyous in their suffering and death, as cruel as it was.

I will start with what happened after the crucifixion of Christ. According to the research of John Fox in 1516, Pontius Pilate was so moved by Christ that he may have become a Christian and tried to convert the whole Roman senate. But Tiberius Caesar would have none of it, and, as Foxe points out, almost all the senators were destroyed and the whole city of Rome was “most horribly afflicted” for almost three hundred years. As for Pilate, he was “sent to Rome, deposed, then banished to the town of Vienne in Dauphiny, and at length did slay himself.”

So, as it appears, Christ was the first of the martyrs. It was his death that so stirred up all of Rome either to believe and not to believe. But it was the evil emperors that were so full of the devil that started the flames of persecution and martyrdom. After Tiberius it was Caligula, Claudius Nero and Domitius Nero who began the reign of terror on the Christians.

Jesus and the Pharisees: from Luke 5:17-26

Posted on by
1

This is our twenty-second study. Please click HERE for an intro to this study.

Luke 5:17-26

17 One day as he was teaching, Pharisees and teachers of the law, who had come from every village of Galilee and from Judea and Jerusalem, were sitting there. And the power of the Lord was present for him to heal the sick. 18 Some men came carrying a paralytic on a mat and tried to take him into the house to lay him before Jesus. 19 When they could not find a way to do this because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and lowered him on his mat through the tiles into the middle of the crowd, right in front of Jesus.

20 When Jesus saw their faith, he said, “Friend, your sins are forgiven.”

21 The Pharisees and the teachers of the law began thinking to themselves, “Who is this fellow who speaks blasphemy? Who can forgive sins but God alone?”

22 Jesus knew what they were thinking and asked, “Why are you thinking these things in your hearts? 23 Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? 24 But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins. . . .” He said to the paralyzed man, “I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.”  25 Immediately he stood up in front of them, took what he had been lying on and went home praising God. 26 Everyone was amazed and gave praise to God. They were filled with awe and said, “We have seen remarkable things today.”

Observations

It is very interesting that so many Pharisees came to hear his teaching. Why did they come? Did they really want to hear his teaching, or to catch Him in a sin? When Jesus said to the man, “Your sins are forgiven, they immediately thought that they had caught Him at blasphemy. But Jesus confirmed His qualifications to them by also healing the man.

Application

You should never absolutely trust someone’s loyalty, just because they come to hear you like the Pharisees did to Jesus. Those who are loyal to Jesus and truly believe in Him will humble themselves and be converted. Jesus was always suspicious of the Pharisees, yet He never gave up on them—and a few were saved.

Jesus and the Pharisees: from Matthew 27:62-64

Posted on by
1

This is our twenty-first study. Please click HERE for an intro to this study.

Matthew 27:62-64

62 The next day, the one after Preparation Day, the chief priests and the Pharisees went to Pilate. 63 “Sir,” they said, “we remember that while he was still alive that deceiver said, ‘After three days I will rise again.’ 64 So give the order for the tomb to be made secure until the third day. Otherwise, his disciples may come and steal the body and tell the people that he has been raised from the dead. This last deception will be worse than the first.”

Observations

The Pharisees called Jesus “that deceiver”.  They regarded Him as an evil deceiver—like the antichrist will be. They had it all backwards. They were calling what is good evil and what is evil good. And they asked Pilot to place guards around the tomb. I wonder if they really thought that He would not be raised and that Jesus’ followers would steal him away. Or if they were trying to prevent Jesus from escaping in case He was resurrected. Either way, they were trying to protect themselves, to keep their right standing intact. They didn’t want to be thought of as liars or false teachers.

Application

Beware of false teachers like the Pharisees. They will be whatever it takes to keep their reputation intact.

Desiring God: Following Hard after God

Posted on by
Reply

Stephen Nielsen's avatarPrayer A to Z

 

Our desire for God is the fruit of a renewed heart; it is a dynamic of the Spirit.  I like what Tozer has said:

You and I are in little (our sins excepted) what God is in large.  Being made in His image we have within us the capacity to know Him.   In our sins we lack only the power.  The moment the Spirit has quickened us to life in regeneration our whole being senses its kinship to God and leaps up in joyous recognition.

Let me bring it to you in this way: we being in Christ, desire of God what Jesus desires of Him—His love, His fellowship, and His righteousness, etc.

Following Hard after God

With this desire, if indeed it is desire from God, we must pursue Him.  That is, we must take our desire and put it into action.  As Tozer has indicated in…

View original post 651 more words

We Desire God because God Desires Us

Posted on by
Reply

Stephen Nielsen's avatarPrayer A to Z

According to Tozer, “… Before a man can seek God, God must first have sought the man.”  God’s work of enlightenment within us, therefore, is the secret cause of all our desiring and seeking and praying.  Tozer says, “We pursue God because, and only because, He has first put an urge within us that spurs us to the pursuit.”2

From the beginning of time God has been seeking men and women who have a heart like His so that they would desire Him and do his will (1 Sam. 13:14, Acts 13:22, Isa. 65:2). There is, however, only one way that anyone can truly desire Him with a pure heart: it is by accepting God’s Son and resting in Him, thus by allowing Him to transform them and renew their heart and mind (Romans 12:2).

Now the way it works, the way God makes us desire Him is through…

View original post 161 more words

Jesus and the Pharisees: from Matthew 23:27-28

Posted on by
1

This is our nineteenth study. Please click HERE for an intro to this study.

Matthew 23:27-28

27 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men’s bones and everything unclean. 28 In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.

Observations

The explanation of Jesus is quite clear. The Pharisees worked to make themselves look good and righteous, but inside their heart they were spiritually dead, and therefore all their attempts to make themselves look righteous were wicked and hypocritical. They were phonies, people in masks. People who could not be trusted, unreliable.  

Application

We ought always to watch out for these types of people. We should do what we can to test them. And if we are thinking about going to a church, always ask questions about the pastor and teachers. As for professors of a college, it may be harder to get around those who you think are as Pharisees, but in most cases you can do what they say, but you don’t have to do what they do.

The Biblical Meaning of Desire – Six Categories

Posted on by
Reply

Stephen Nielsen's avatarPrayer A to Z

Here is a biblical study of the term desire. I thought it would be beneficial, in my study of prayer, to get a thorough understanding of this term desire, since prayer has so much to do with it. The biblical meaning of desire is quite broad. In my study I found sixteen Hebrew and Greek words translated as desire, and have put them in the following six categories:

To delight in: Hebrew – chapets, taavah.  This term, as indicated by these two Hebrew words and their verses, convey the idea of delighting in, to be pleased with, satisfied with, and to incline toward.  Thus the meaning here is that when we desire a thing it brings us pleasure and satisfaction, and we are drawn toward it.  The desire could be for good or for evil.  Most of the references I found in conjunction with these words…

View original post 1,294 more words

Jesus and the Pharisees: from Matthew 23:25-26

Posted on by
1

This is our eighteenth study. Please click HERE for an intro to this study.

Matthew 23:25-26

25 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. 26 Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean.

Observations

The Pharisees lived as if external appearances were more important than what was inside of the life. They cared more about appearances than about the heart. They cared more about the body than the soul. Of course, they cared nothing about the soul because they were not converted; they had no spiritual life in them. All they knew to do was to clean up what they could see and what other could see. They were blind to God. They had no spiritual eyes.

Application

If we want to be pure and holy for the Lord we must start with the inside of the live. First, give yourself to God and His son. Believe in Him. Then use His word to clean up your heart and soul, and your mind and thoughts. And pray regularly.  As you do this you will find that your body will be healthier too.