At Times There Can Be a Real Crunch and Conflict!

It is never easy to be considered different, and yet from the very beginning, disciples of Jesus Christ were called to be different, just as Jesus Christ was different in so many various ways, from every other man.

Disciples of Jesus are strangers, or aliens, and very often they just don't fit in. We read all about this in the letters of Peter in the New Testament and it is not always easy to understand especially when it is hard and sore!

Some lose their jobs when they stand for truth, and others lose their lives. Some lose their bed and breakfast business, and others lose their former friends.

Peter was aware of this as he wrote to believers in modern day Turkey. They were bathed in suffering, and yet were exhorted to stand together. Sin can and does cause such suffering at all kinds of levels.

We never fully understand the seriousness regarding sins and its consequences.

Peter kept holding before these men and women the glorious future that awaited those who stood strong and faithful.

It is an enormous privilege to belong to the Church of Jesus Christ.

Over these past few years there has been such a cultural shift in politics, education, and morality, and the world is saying, that it is all right to believe in Jesus Christ, if you want to, but do not let what you believe influence us, but that is precisely where we have to engage and be involved.

Peter taught those to whom he wrote, that this world was not their home, and warned them against becoming too cosy and settled. He was most positive regarding respecting and obeying the authorities.

Some governments consider believers in Jesus Christ to be a threat and a danger, but the very opposite is the truth.

Our calling is to be the light of the world and the salt of the earth, and when Jesus taught these lessons, salt was used to help good things grow, and keep bad stuff from spreading.

That is precisely when there can be a crunch and conflict.

Sandy Shaw

Sandy Shaw is Pastor of Nairn Christian Fellowship, Chaplain at Inverness Prison, and Nairn Academy, and serves on The Children's Panel in Scotland. He has travelled extensively over these past years teaching, in America, Canada, South Africa, Australia, 12 visits to Israel, and most recently in Uganda and Kenya. He broadcasts regularly on WSHO radio out of New Orleans, writes a weekly commentary at http://www.studylight.org entitled "Word from Scotland", as well as a weekly newspaper column. His M.A. and B.D. degrees are from The University of Edinburgh, and he continues to run and exercise regularly. Sandy Shaw.

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