1 Corinthians 12: Standing by the Grace of God

Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.
There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able - 1 Cor. 12:12-13 KJV

I have often called on this verse when I am tempted, asking God to make a way for me to come through the tempting times to the other side, but seldom have I thought of it in respect to the preceding verse.  Most of the time I think I am standing far from temptation, but is that really the truth?  Am I often standing close to the edge where I may fall at any moment.  Is it the devil that is providing the temptation, or am I the one teetering close to the edge?  Perhaps our greatest temptation is to think that we are standing firm when it is only an illusion.  If my knees are weak, it is from trying to stand in my own power, when I should be falling on the grace of the only one who was able to withstand temptation, the one who, when he was led to the edge of the cliff and tempted to jump off, knew to rebuke Satan and his temptation.  I'm afraid that in the same circumstance, I might have willingly thrown myself off.  If I am still standing after all these years, it is only by the grace of God.

1 Corinthiians 6: It is His

What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?
 For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's. -1 Corinthians 6:19-20 NIV

I frequently realize that I have been bought with a price.  I am fully and painfully aware of the price that Jesus paid for me.  He didn't have to do it.  He could have left me to bear the burden of my sins and the accompanying despair.  But he didn't, he freely gave himself as the purchase price to buy my salvation and to pay for my adoption into the family of God.  He bought me and took that broken down mixture of clay and hard stone and turned it into his temple.

His temple.  That is the thing I fail to remember.  I am his temple.  A place for worship, a place for sacrifice, a place for being brought to my knees in awe.  Too often I see my body as my own, just as I see my mind as my own.  But, Paul says, we now have the mind of Christ. “For who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ.(1 Cor. 2:16 NIV)  It is not our own mind any longer.  In the same way, we have the Spirit of God. We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us. (1 Cor. 2:12 NIV)

There you have it, this temple of the body, mind and spirit, is totally owned by God.  He bought us with a price.  This temple is not our own, it is his.  When it is tempted to do something harmful or shameful, it is his. When it brings glory to him, as that is the least I can do, it is his. When it pains me, or embarrasses me, it is his.  When I reach the end of my days and all fails, it is his. 

Psalm 73: Give Me Jesus

Nevertheless I am continually with thee: thou hast holden me by my right hand.
Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel, and afterward receive me to glory.
Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee.
My flesh and my heart faileth: but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever. -Psalms 73:23-26 KJV

We sang this song years ago at our little church in Jockey Hollow, New Jersey.  'Whom I have I in heaven but you O Lord, and being with you I desire nothing on earth. '. It is even more true today.  If you read the words that precede this, you will see that the Psalmist had the same cares that we have today.

I had nearly lost my foothold.
For I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.

    They have no struggles their bodies are healthy and strong.

They are free from common human burdens;
    they are not plagued by human ills.
Therefore pride is their necklace
   they clothe themselves with violence.
From their callous hearts comes iniquity;
    their evil imaginations have no limits.
They scoff, and speak with malice;
    with arrogance they threaten oppression.
Their mouths lay claim to heaven,
    and their tongues take possession of the earth.
Therefore their people turn to them
    and drink up waters in abundance.
They say, “How would God know?
    Does the Most High know anything?”
This is what the wicked are like—
always free of care they go on amassing wealth. - Psalms 73: 2-12 NIV

This reminds me of the words of an old African Spiritual, recently brought to life by several musicians, 'Give me Jesus, give me Jesus, You can have the whole world, but give me Jesus.'
Why would we look on the world with envy when we have the one thing that their wealth cannot buy?  We have Jesus, the Son of God.  Years ago, the African slaves, toiling on the plantations while their owners profited from their labor, in much meaner circumstances than we have ever experienced, knew this truth.  Everything the world has today will pass away.  It will rot, it will decay, it will rust.  Even the greatest monuments to man and his accomplishments will eventually be torn down, replaced by a highway or another housing complex. 

We have something eternal. Jesus kept repeating it, 'Let not your heart be troubled."  We can lose our foothold if we look at what the world has instead of what we have.  Give me Jesus, he's all I need.

1 Corinthians 5: Who Can Point?

What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside?  God will judge those outside. - 1 Cor. 5:12-13 NIV

I think we, as American Christians, have been far too lenient with those inside the church while casting harsh criticism on those outside.  This is in opposition to Jesus' teaching of, 'Let he who is without sin cast the first stone', and is contrary to the teachings of Paul as well.  We seem to have established degrees of sin, some of which are tolerated within the church like greed, gluttony, envy, strife, gossip, and even robbing from the poor to support our favorite charity which is usually ourselves. At the same time, we damn those outside the church who might be homosexuals, in favor of abortion or on the wrong side of the political fence. 

Shame on us.  In Matthew 5, Jesus said that if you even look at a woman, you have committed adultery, if you're angry it's the same as murder, and if you say 'You fool!' you are in danger of the fire of hell. 

I know that I, myself, am guilty of a lot of sins that would sentence me to damnation.  Some of them were in my past and as I have grown in the Lord, I have put them behind me. Others I have not been so successful with. I struggle with gluttony. I'm afraid I still harbor greed, envy, and malice.  Jesus came to make us whole.  It's an individual thing and each of us must look at ourselves before we point the finger anywhere, especially outside the church.

Psalms 66: He Touched Me

Come and listen, all you who fear God; let me tell you what he has done for me. - Psalms 66:16 NIV

Sometimes I think I am the only one who has doubts, the only one who hears that small voice, when I am reading the scriptures, that whispers, 'Is it really true?'   Is there a god that placed the stars in place, that called forth the waters of the deep, that can cause the mountains to crumble?  Is there someone who called the life of this sphere, floating in space, in to being, in to life?   Is there someone who heals the sick and raises the dead?  Is there someone who guides the actions of kings and princes, even presidents?   Is there someone who numbers the days of the mighty, who in fact numbers my days?   Can there be someone that big, that great, that awesome?

As then, as I read on, I come upon the answer..."Let me tell you what he has done for me."  Therein lies the answer.  I am a changed person.  I once was hopeless.  I looked at the future lying before me, and knew it could only end in despair.  There was no hope, no future.  Then I found it, when I let Him find me.  All the running, climbing, clawing, was futile.  It only took me further away from the peace I so desperately needed.  In the midst of my runnung, I was overtaken by his love and life has never been the same.  That little niggling doubt is crushed by the reality of my changed life.  As the Gaither song says, "He touched me and made me whole!"

Psalm 62: How Wonderful, How Marvelous

One thing God has spoken, two things have I heard: that you, O God, are strong,
and that you, O Lord, are loving. Surely you will reward each person according to what he has done. - Psalms 62:11-12 NIV

It's so hard to get this right, the picture of a loving yet strong God.  For a lot of us, love is a wimpy, soppy, one-sided sort of affair that reduces the lover to mush.  It produces a situation where the person who loves must be ever trying to please the object of their affection in order to win their love and approval.  If the lover was a stronger person, they could live without their beloved, but instead they must bend to the desires of the one they love.  It's always a cat and mouse game where one or the other has the upper hand.

It's not that way with God's love.  He loves us from a position of strength, never a position of weakness.  He doesn't love us any more if we cling to him or run away as far and as fast as we can.  He does not change.  His love is immutable. He is strong, he doesn't need us, but he loves us.  As the old song says, 'How wonderful, how marvelous.'

Romans 12: A Place to Love

Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with God’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.

Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.  Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited.

Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody.  If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.  -Romans 12:9-18 NIV

Sometimes, I think the world does a better job of assessing our love than we do.  If they will know we are Christians by our love as the old song goes, what kind of love is the world seeing from us?  I fear we have become almost as consumed with self love as the world.  People float in and out of different churches as if the relationships that were built there are expendable. That's not love.  That's treating church as if it a restaurant where, if the service or the food is bad, you don't return.   "I'm not getting fed there." I hear people say by means of explaining their absence.  Fed?  Church is not there for our consumption.  It is there for fellowship, for relationship.  It is there because it is Christ's body, with all of it's imperfections.  It is the place where we rejoice with those who rejoice and mourn with those who mourn.  Where we share our joys and our sorrows.  It is the place where we get to practice love as demonstrated by Jesus and the Word.  It is a place where we can be joyful in hope, patient in affliction and faithful in prayer.  A place where we share, where we practice hospitality.  It is not a place where we receive, it is a place where we give...a place where we practice what it means to love.

Romans 7: The Life of the Spirit

So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?  Thanks be to God—through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in the sinful nature a slave to the law of sin.  - Romans 6:21-25 NIV

I could easily have written these verses instead of Paul.  There are so many things that I struggle with over and over again.  I tell myself repeatedly, I will do differently, but I find my self being easily pulled back into my old habits.  As Paul said, "What a wretched man I am." 

I could spend my time sitting on the pity pot, crying over my inability to do what is right, but that would not change my actions one iota.  There is only one solution.  I go to the rock, the rock of my salvation, the stone that the builder rejected.  I cry out for God's mercy and I receive his grace.  I can hold my head high, in spite of my sinful nature. I am no longer condemned because I have been set free.  In fact, I no longer live according to the sinful nature, but according to the Spirit. 

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man, in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit. - Romans 8:1-4 NIV

Sometimes, I think we Christians spend too much time apologizing for our beliefs and not enough time exhibiting the life and peace that comes from being redeemed.  If I concentrate on my deeds and my failures, it brings me down, but if I let my mind be godly, one controlled by the Spirit, my outlook and even my actions change dramatically.  I experience what I have been promised:  life and peace.  The lusts of the flesh no longer appeal to me, instead I have the life of the Spirit.

The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace;- Romans 8:6 NIV

And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you.- Romans 8:11 NIV

Psalms 51: A Contrite Heart

Surely you desire truth in the inner parts; you teach me wisdom in the inmost place. Ps. 51:6  NIV

Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.
Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will turn back to you. -Ps. 51:10-13 NIV

We wonder why we are not more effective in our witnessing and the obvious answer is there all along.  We need truth.  We need to be the truth, but before we can be that, we need to accept truth and that means looking inward as much as looking outward.  What the world sees and what we know to be true is often the complete opposite.  If we are truly fooling ourselves, even the world sees the truth of our heart.  In either case, God sees it all.  He sees our actions and even more importantly, he sees our hearts.  Scary, isn't it? 

We cannot be used of God as a witness, or as the Psalmist said, we cannot "teach transgressors your ways", until there is truth in all aspects of our lives, until our heart is pure.  It is when our heart is pure that we have the joy of our salvation that draws people to God.  There is nothing else we can do to lead a lost and dying world to the truth.  It requires looking deep inside, to the depths of our heart, where the truth of how much we need the cleansing blood of God's Son and the Holy Spirit's power is revealed.

The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.  - Ps. 51:17 NIV

Lord God, teach me to be broken, broken and contrite.  To weep for my sins even more than I weep for the sins of my country and of the world.

Psalms 45: The King is Enthralled by Our Beauty

Listen, O daughter, consider and give ear: Forget your people and your father’s house.
The king is enthralled by your beauty; honor him, for he is your lord. -Ps. 45:10-11 NIV

We hold on to too many things.  It's not just possessions that enthrall us, but people as well.  We hold on to our family, our cities, our schools, our churches our nation.  The Psalmist saw this as an exercise in futility.  None of these persons or institutions will ever love us or give back to us in return for our adoration.  None of them!

But, the King, imagine that, the King of Glory is enthrall end by our beauty.  He sees his creation as beautiful when even our closest friends and family see our faults.  Just as a bride leaves behind all if her family to be joined to her husband, we  as the bride of Christ should leave behind our earthly loves in favor of our eternal King.  He wants to be our beloved, our passion.  He wants the place of honor in our lives.  He wants to be our Lord.

Years ago, after living life on my own terms for years, I was suddenly struck with the truth that, although I had accepted Jesus as my Savior, I had never made him my Lord.  What a difference it made when I gave him first place in my life, when I put him on the throne rather than any other gods.  Even after all these years, I still find myself  sometimes slipping back into old habits.  Does my life get better during those times?  Certainly not!  In fact, the more I pursue my own pleasure, the more miserable my life becomes.  The more I look to friends, family, community, or even Church for my happiness, the more miserable I become.  It is only when I become enamored once more with the one who is enthralled with me, that I find the joy I so earnestly seek.  That God can see me as beautiful is something that I have trouble understanding, but he does, and for that I will be eternally grateful.

Romans 1: Not One Iota

The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.

For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles.

Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen. - Romans 1:18-25 NIV

For those who  would think that our society is at the tipping point as far as sin and perversion is concerned, one must only read Paul's description of the society around him at the time, to know that man is no different now .  Since the beginning of time, there has been no limit to the depths to which man can sink.  If you question that, consider Cain and Abel, brother killing brother, consider Sodom and Gomorrah.    Because of he technological advances of the last few years, we may feel that sin and wickedness is more prevalent, but it's not.  It is just that our knowledge of it is more acute.

Just as man's depravity has not changed since the creation, so God has not changed as well.  His eternal power and divine nature has always been there and has always been visible to those who would see.   God has given our society and this whole world over to the sinful desires of their hearts.  If they become fools, so what?  They have no excuse and their rebellion will not change the nature of God one iota.

Acts 28: There is Always Hope

Three days later he called together the leaders of the Jews. When they had assembled, Paul said to them: “My brothers, although I have done nothing against our people or against the customs of our ancestors, I was arrested in Jerusalem and handed over to the Romans. 
They examined me and wanted to release me, because I was not guilty of any crime deserving death. 
But when the Jews objected, I was compelled to appeal to Caesar —not that I had any charge to bring against my own people. 
For this reason I have asked to see you and talk with you. It is because of the hope of Israel that I am bound with this chain.” - Acts 28:17-20 NIV

After much opposition in Jerusalem, being brought before the different rulers and being shipwrecked, Paul finally arrives in Rome to learn his fate.  The first thing he does is call together the leaders of the Jews and present the gospel to them.  He is bound in chains, yet he can speak to them of hope, the hope of Israel. 

It is often when we are in chains that we are able to convey hope the best.  Years ago I had a friend who was the only Christian in her family.  She witnessed to them for years to no avail.  Then one, day, she was diagnosed with cancer and began the long and painful process of being healed.  In the midst of her ordeal, one of her family members told her 'you know, we have listened to you talk about your faith for years, but it is now, while you are going through this crisis that we see your faith is real.'  We are called to be witnesses of the good news, and that good news often is most inviting when we ourselves are undergoing our most excruciating trials.  It is in our weakness we display the Lord's power.  As Paul himself said,

Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.   That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong - 2 Cor. 12:8-10 NIV

Rather than trying to break our chains, we should remember that often, it is because of the hope of Israel that we are bound in chains...to show that there is hope.  There is always hope.

Acts 17: Noble Character

Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true. -Acts 17:11 NIV

From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. 'For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’ -Acts 17:26-28 NIV

We need to have the noble character of the Bereans.  They heard the message and took it to heart, but they didn't stop there.  They searched.  They examined the Scriptures daily.  They did not accept the gift they had been given lightly.  Instead they knew that this gift required something in return.  They knew that even after finding God, they still had to reach for something higher.  Something that could be revealed only by the scriptures.  This truth was not delivered by any preacher or evangelist, not even the Apostle Paul.  It was not received by reading another Christian novel, not by reading any of the many books that fill the Christian bookstores, it was not even to be found by reading the greatest Christian apologists of the time.  The truth, the closer relationship with  God was only to be found by examining the scriptures. 

God wants his people to reach out for him, to seek him, to find him.  Do we have the noble character which that requires?

Acts 13: Filled With Joy and the Holy Spirit

The word of the Lord spread through the whole region. But the Jews incited the God–fearing women of high standing and the leading men of the city. They stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them from their region.  So they shook the dust from their feet in protest against them and went to Iconium. And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.
 -Acts 13:49-52 NIV

We expect too much.  We expect for the gospel to be joyfully received by all, but it's not.  While the news of Jesus' death and resurrection is and always has been the good news, some will not see it that way.  Some see it as a fairy tale.  Some view it with suspicion.  Some see it as absolutely archaic.  Some will even take it so far as to persecute those sharing the good news.  What are we to do?

Our response should be what Jesus told the disciples to do.  After all, he predicted that there would be many that would not respond  to him.  'Shake the dust from your feet', Jesus said, so his disciples did just that.  In return, they were filled with 'joy and the Holy Spirit'.  What a marvelous compensation!  We need to remember this when we encounter opposition and even persecution.  We have been warned , we have been given the response, and if we act accordingly, we will be rewarded with joy and the presence of the Holy Spirit.  While it may sting to see others not responding to the gospel, their fate is not in our hands. It should not stop us from sharing the good news and if we do so, it will not stop us from being filled with joy and the Holy Spirit.

Psalm 37: Do Not Fret

Do not fret because of evil men or be envious of those who do wrong;
for like the grass they will soon wither, like green plants they will soon die away.
Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.
Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart.
Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him and he will do this:
He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun.
Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him; do not fret when men succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes.
Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret—it leads only to evil.
For evil men will be cut off, but those who hope in the LORD will inherit the land.
A little while, and the wicked will be no more; though you look for them, they will not be found.
But the meek will inherit the land and enjoy great peace.
The wicked plot against the righteous and gnash their teeth at them;
but the Lord laughs at the wicked, for he knows their day is coming.
-Psalm 37:1-13 NIV

Do not fret, David says, and Jesus echoes his words centuries later.  How then have we as Christians become such worriers.  We worry about things we cannot control.  We worry about the weather, we worry about the political situation,  we worry about our health, and now Obamacare, as if it was in any one human's hands to control the outcome.  'Do not worry', Jesus says.  To paraphrase His words, 'Not a hair of your head will be touched unless my father wills it.  Who can add one day to his life?'

It is vanity to think that anyone can right a wrong situation, that any politician, doctor, lawyer, soldier or policeman can make our life any better. Our minds invest too much power in those who really have no control of the outcome,  who cannot add even one day to our life.  While most of those who propose hope would have us think they are only considering our own good, in truth, as David says, they are trying to throw off the influence of God in our lives.m They want to free us from the 'shackles' under which we have been laboring....the shackles of His love.

Why do the nations conspire and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth rise up and the rulers band against the Lord and against his anointed saying, " Let us break their chains and throw off their shackles" - Ps. 2:1-4 NIV

When Jesus says not to worry, it's not a matter of  'Que sera, sera',  but a matter of  'Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven'.  God's will is being done in heaven and is being done here on the earth if we only have eyes to see it.  It may not be the outcome we imagine, but it is His will none the less.  Not a hair of our head will be touched unless our Heavenly Father wills it. 

Acts 10: Forgiveness of Sins

 All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.” -Acts 10:43 NIV

Most of the time, I go blithely on my way, doing what I am accustomed to doing, but sometimes something stops me right in my tracks and I have to face the facts.  The fact that I must face today is that I am a sinner.  There is no other word for it.  In spite of all my self perceived good deeds, I am nothing but a sinner; always have been, always will be.  That's why the message of the cross is so important, so liberating.  It gives me something that I can't obtain on my own.  It gives me forgiveness, absolution, freedom...something that is not to be found in all of my good acts.  Just like Cornelius, being good, doing good deeds, even praying is not enough.  That is why he called for Peter to come.  All of us still feel the need for something more and realize it cannot be found in any of our actions,  it is only found by believing in the one about whom the prophets testified. All of us need to hear the truth of Jesus.  There is no other means for finding forgiveness for our sins.

Acts 5: Bold Acts

Peter and the other apostles replied: “We must obey God rather than men! The God of our fathers raised Jesus from the dead—whom you had killed by hanging him on a tree. God exalted him to his own right hand as Prince and Savior that he might give repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel. We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him.” -Acts 5:29-32 NIV

The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name. Day after day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Christ. Acts 5:41 NIV

Acts contains exactly what it says it does...the acts of brave men, the followers left behind after Jesus' death and resurrection, who acted in spite of vocal and sometimes life threatening opposition.  It's in contrast with our tepid response to opposition today.  No wonder, we see so few miracles.  We have so little faith.  We don't have the faith that accrues from seeing people healed or raised from the dead.  We don't have the faith that grows from persecution and ostracization, the faith that God's people have had through the years.  Joseph, Moses, the prophets, even, David, felt ostracized, and faced it head on.

Do not fret because of evil men or be envious of those who do wrong;
for like the grass they will soon wither, like green plants they will soon die away.
Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.
Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart.
Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him and he will do this:
He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun. -Ps. 36:1-6 NIV

Sometimes, I want to say bring it on.  Bring on the ungodly, unbelieving, unrepentant, society and governments that will cause my faith to grow.  Bring on the persecution that would force me to stand up boldly for my faith.  Bring on opposition and ridicule.  Build my faith, bring it on!

Acts 1: All We Need to Know, All We Need to Do

So when they met together, they asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”

He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” - Acts 1:6-7 NIV

We spend an awful lot of time worrying about the times and the seasons, when it's really not our concern.  All we need to know is what Jesus promised, and his promises were many.  Most importantly, he promised us he was going to prepare a place and he would come back again.  Knowing when is not important.  Acting is and Jesus told us to be his witnesses to the end of the earth.  That is enough for us to concentrate on.  Jesus promised us the Holy Spirit and the power to do the job.  That's all we need to know, that's all we need to do.