In the previous series we investigated the reaction of the Apostle Peter when the chips were down, how he failed miserably two times, only to bounce back and go on to be chief of God’s apostles. He eventually gave his life for God’s ministry and message. In those postings the Apostle Paul’s reactions to similar circumstances were discussed to a some degree. In this series we will take a closer look at Paul’s responses to his tests, trials and temptations. Of all of the apostles–there were 70 at one time–Paul seemed to be the most emotionally level relative to reaction to the situations they faced when presenting God’s Truth (gospel) to the world, specifically the religious world. As the heading for this series states, challenges to one’s faith are simply part of the Christian equation. Anyone determined to obey God will be faced with severe challenges to his/her faith. Our emotional response reveals our faith. Faith, as God tells us, is the surety that what He arranged to have recorded in the Holy Scriptures is His Truth, and that He requires God seekers to not only believe that, but also to obey it. Only those who do, He tells us repeatedly, will live with Him in the future. With that in mind, let us enter into a study of the Apostle Paul’s emotional response to the myriad of tests, trials and temptations that surrounded him during his ministry. His reaction to stress teaches many valuable lessons to those who seek to be one with the Lord. May we all learn these lessons so as to qualify for salvation when the Master returns to this earth to lead His saints into the Kingdom of God. See The Kingdom of God.

Emotion can be both helpful and destructive. Emotion can take the human being to the heights of joy and the depths of despair–both in a matter of seconds. When used correctly emotion can be a guide to what we should do in certain situations. But if left unchecked that same power can corrupt our thoughts, speech and actions. “Road rage” is a perfect example. People are being killed over minor actions or remarks. As adults we are expected to maintain control of our emotions under any and all situations. The British refer to it as “keeping a stiff upper lip.” Bowing to our emotions during times of stress or danger can be fatal. People have died from heart attacks and strokes brought on by the emotion of the moment.

Emotions are situationally directed. When a situation is positive we tend to be happy, while a negative situation tends to have the opposite effect. Situations can change literally in the blink of an eye. Extreme joy and extreme distress can be separated by seconds. The same is true in the spiritual realm. The result is that one can find himself following God one moment and Satan the next. And to make matters worse, due to Satan’s control of Catholicism/Protestantism, one can be serving him, all the while “knowing” that one is serving God. Jesus warned us about this Satanic trick in John 16:2 when He noted that His  saints would be killed by people who “know” that they are doing God a service. The martyrdom of Old Testament prophets, New Testament apostles and Christ Himself are prime examples of this. Another example of this phenomenon is found in the modern church where people defy the Words of God–thereby despising Him and His Son (Lk. 10:16)–by rejecting His Sabbath and His Holy Days. In a state of open rebellion, billions of church people observe Babylonian traditions such as Christmas, Easter and Halloween while refusing to observe God’s Holy Days. See Passover versus Easter and God’s Holy Days. Those who obey Satan in these matters–myself included in the past–“know” they are honoring the God of the Bible. As that Bible states, Satan is indeed “wiley” and, as that same Bible tells us, deadly. Over the years billions of people have obeyed him, “knowing” that they were obeying the Biblical God. Having been one of them, I can attest to the power of the devil’s pull on the lives of church people. The Lord lamented this fact when He said, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge” (Hos. 4:6). Note that He singled out His people for this condemnation. He also stressed the fact that being His people did not prevent them from dying spiritually. Note also that they were (are) dying due lack of knowledge about Him. People of that day had no excuse for their ignorance, even when the only access to His Word was to hear it read in the Temple or a synagogue. Modern church people most certainly have no excuse for their ignorance of God’s Word, a self-inflicted spiritual disease that is destroying them. We must turn off the t.v.; lay down the book or magazine; stop staring into that idiot box; pick up the Bible and consume it, thereby allowing it to cleanse us of all ungodliness. In the Words of the Lord (Eph. 5:26), we must “be washed in the water by the Word (of God).”  IT ALL COMES BACK TO GOD’S WORD, THE SAME WORD BY WHICH ALL MEN WILL BE JUDGED (Jn. 12:48).  L.J.