Good morning and welcome in everybody. Today, we are going to take a look at a passage of scripture, but before we do that, I wanted to tell you a little story.
I’ve been up in the BWCA numerous times, but the first occasion was when I was in high school, spending roughly ten days on a canoe trip during the warm summer months. We traveled from lake to lake and got in a lot of fishing and camping during that time, but on the last day we were informed that we would need to exit on the Angleworm portage in order to reach our pickup spot on the echo trail. This is one of the longest entry points in The Boundary Waters, providing roughly a 2 mi trail that is considered by most to be extremely challenging, especially for those who are new to this type of activity. Before you disembark on this long portage, you will need to prepare yourself mentally for the difficult and strenuous task ahead of you. You must expect sloping and steep terrain, along with a path that is strewn with boulders and deep potholes. You have to be ready for significant elevation changes, and suffer with it’s oftentimes poor maintenance conditions. It has been widely acclaimed as a notorious mud hole at times, and to get all the way to the other side, you are going to have to gird up your mind, and be ready for the task at hand.
This reminds me of the Christian Life.
When that canoe finally goes up on top of your shoulders, you must keep diligently focused on the narrow path in front of you, so that you can eventually get all the way across to the other side.
1 Peter 1:13 (KJB) Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ;
To gird up means to be prepared, equipped, and to get ready for hard work and a battle. In order to become a sincere and obedient follower of Christ Jesus, you will have to be prepared in your mind for any sufferings that you will have to endure in the future. When I first became a Christian and decided to start preaching God’s Word, some of my own relatives, in-laws, and people that I had known for many years, completely flipped into betrayers and false accusers. They spread malicious lies and gossip behind my back trying to prevent what the Lord Jesus was doing in my life. But whenever you choose to become a sincere follower of God’s will, the same thing is going to happen to you. Don’t be sad when it comes to pass, but rejoice, because God has counted you worthy to suffer for His namesake. When you begin to walk in the light, you will be hated by the impenitent, but you must embrace it as a Heavenly sign that biblical prophecy is being fulfilled.
1 Thessalonians 3:4 (KJB) For verily, when we were with you, we told you before that we should suffer tribulation; even as it came to pass, and ye know.
2 Thessalonians 1:4-5 (KJB) So that we ourselves glory in you in the churches of God for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations that ye endure: Which is a manifest token of the righteous judgment of God, that ye may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which ye also suffer:
Acts 14:21-22 (KJB) And when they had preached the gospel to that city, and had taught many, they returned again to Lystra, and to Iconium, and Antioch, Confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God. You must gird up your minds and be ready beforehand, so that you will be able to endure all these things when they happen to you.
Luke 21:15-19 (KJB) For I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which all your adversaries shall not be able to gainsay nor resist. And ye shall be betrayed both by parents, and brethren, and kinsfolks, and friends; and some of you shall they cause to be put to death. And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake. But there shall not an hair of your head perish. In your patience possess ye your souls.
Mark 13:13 (KJB) And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.
Sometimes people will spend many years training themselves to swim the English channel, or even to climb Mount Everest, but to be successful your body must be ready and in shape. Your mind must be completely focused on the serious nature of what you are attempting to do. When soldiers are out in the field, many times they will have to endure extreme conditions, but the Apostle illustrates that this is the exact frame of mind that we must possess as a follower of Christ Jesus
Ephesians 6:10-17 (KJB) Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:
2 Timothy 2:3-4 (KJB) Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.
Many people who begin the Christian Life will not be able to complete it entirely, because some of them will not be ready for the onslaught of suffering and persecution that is going to come from standing your ground in the teachings of Christ. They want everybody to get along with each other and be at peace, but that’s simply not going to happen when you stand on the side of our precious Lord.
Mark 4:16-17 (KJB) And these are they likewise which are sown on stony ground; who, when they have heard the word, immediately receive it with gladness; And have no root in themselves, and so endure but for a time: afterward, when affliction or persecution ariseth for the word’s sake, immediately they are offended.
Those who want to get into heaven must be like salmon swimming against the stream, because you are going to have to strive hard if you really want to get in.
Luke 13:23-24 (KJB) Then said one unto him, Lord, are there few that be saved? And he said unto them, Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able.
Those who want to become a Christian will have to count the cost beforehand, knowing that they will have the inner fortitude to complete what needs to be done. We will have to be found worthy to obtain the world that is coming, and that is going to require perseverance, diligence and endurance, if you seriously want to get all the way across,……
……The Angleworm Portage
Let’s think about these things for right now. We can be found on your web browser by searching, tlkjbc where you can find our diaries distributed through various platforms. We are not associated, nor affiliated with any other religious groups. You can get our entire podcast feeds directly, along with transcripts at tlkjbc.com or I suppose that you could find us somewhere up here, in the Great Northern Minnesota woods. Peace to you all, and Lord willing, we will talk with you some more tomorrow. Till then, bye bye everybody.
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