Effie Darlene Barba

Galatians 3

¹O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you?

²This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?

³Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?

⁴Have ye suffered so many things in vain? if it be yet in vain.

⁵He therefore that ministereth to you the Spirit, and worketh miracles among you, doeth he it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?

⁶Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.

⁷Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham.

⁸And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed.

⁹So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham.

¹⁰For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them.

¹¹But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith.

¹²And the law is not of faith: but, The man that doeth them shall live in them.

¹³Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:

¹⁴That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.

¹⁵Brethren, I speak after the manner of men; Though it be but a man’s covenant, yet if it be confirmed, no man disannulleth, or addeth thereto.

¹⁶Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ.

¹⁷And this I say, that the covenant, that was confirmed before of God in Christ, the law, which was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul, that it should make the promise of none effect.

¹⁸For if the inheritance be of the law, it is no more of promise: but God gave it to Abraham by promise.

¹⁹Wherefore then serveth the law? It was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator.

²⁰Now a mediator is not a mediator of one, but God is one.

²¹Is the law then against the promises of God? God forbid: for if there had been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by the law.

²²But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe.

²³But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed.

²⁴Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.

²⁵But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.

²⁶For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.

²⁷For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.

²⁸There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.

²⁹And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.

Acts 6: 

⁸And Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and miracles among the people.

⁹Then there arose certain of the synagogue, which is called the synagogue of the Libertines, and Cyrenians, and Alexandrians, and of them of Cilicia and of Asia, disputing with Stephen.

¹⁰And they were not able to resist the wisdom and the spirit by which he spake.

¹¹Then they suborned men, which said, We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses, and against God.

¹²And they stirred up the people, and the elders, and the scribes, and came upon him, and caught him, and brought him to the council,

¹³And set up false witnesses, which said, This man ceaseth not to speak blasphemous words against this holy place, and the law:

¹⁴For we have heard him say, that this Jesus of Nazareth shall destroy this place, and shall change the customs which Moses delivered us.

¹⁵And all that sat in the council, looking stedfastly on him, saw his face as it had been the face of an angel

So often in this world we question “Why God did you allow such devastation?”  “Why should this person suffer and die?”  This a question brought so to the forefront of our minds as many have tried over the past three years to wonder why was Caylee Anthony’s death and why was she thrown into the woods wrapped in garbage bags?  This story of a little three year old riveted through the hearts of so many.  There are many such stories that happen every day and they all leave us to wonder, “why?”

The story of Stephen is just such a story.  Here was this young man full of faith and power proclaiming the name of Jesus.  His face like that of an angel.   Yet he was brought before the council.  With the boldness given him by Christ, he answered their questions with a sermon.  He told them of the story of the children of Israel from the beginning, briefly, succinctly.   He began with proclaiming who God was…Acts 7  ²And he said, Men, brethren, and fathers, hearken; The God of glory appeared unto our father Abraham, when he was in Mesopotamia, before he dwelt in Charran,

He continued through the sermon detailing how God had led His people through so many times  of storms; yet, God was in control.   (Read all of Acts 7) 

Then he rebuked them for their evil deeds and their failure to recognize the Messiah who had come, just like the way they had treated evilly the prophets of old who foretold of Christ.  They had chosen to worship idols instead. 

Acts 7:

⁴⁸Howbeit the most High dwelleth not in temples made with hands; as saith the prophet,

⁴⁹Heaven is my throne, and earth is my footstool: what house will ye build me? saith the Lord: or what is the place of my rest?

⁵⁰Hath not my hand made all these things?

⁵¹Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye.

⁵²Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted? and they have slain them which shewed before of the coming of the Just One; of whom ye have been now the betrayers and murderers:

⁵³Who have received the law by the disposition of angels, and have not kept it.

 

Then suddenly the crowd turned on him, this young preacher of Christ.  ⁵⁴When they heard these things, they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed on him with their teeth.

 

So what was the response of God to Stephen at that moment? 

⁵⁵But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God,

⁵⁶And said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God.

The crowds response was then to stone Stephen.

⁵⁷Then they cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and ran upon him with one accord,

⁵⁸And cast him out of the city, and stoned him: and the witnesses laid down their clothes at a young man’s feet, whose name was Saul.

⁵⁹And they stoned Stephen

What was Stephen’s last words as he died? 

calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.

⁶⁰And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep.

Was not God on His throne that day?   What could possibly be His purpose? The beginning of Acts 8 gives us that clue.  

¹And Saul was consenting unto his death. And at that time there was a great persecution against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judaea and Samaria, except the apostles.

²And devout men carried Stephen to his burial, and made great lamentation over him.

How often in the following days and even his later days would he close his eyes and see this young preacher as he died pleading for his killers.  This was the first step of an awakening that would not be complete until the he confronts Christ on the road to Damascus.  Acts 9: 

¹And Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went unto the high priest,

²And desired of him letters to Damascus to the synagogues, that if he found any of this way, whether they were men or women, he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem.

³And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven:

⁴And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?

⁵And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.

⁶And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do.

⁷And the men which journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice, but seeing no man.

⁸And Saul arose from the earth; and when his eyes were opened, he saw no man: but they led him by the hand, and brought him into Damascus.

⁹And he was three days without sight, and neither did eat nor drink.

¹⁰And there was a certain disciple at Damascus, named Ananias; and to him said the Lord in a vision, Ananias. And he said, Behold, I am here, Lord.

¹¹And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the street which is called Straight, and enquire in the house of Judas for one called Saul, of Tarsus: for, behold, he prayeth,

¹²And hath seen in a vision a man named Ananias coming in, and putting his hand on him, that he might receive his sight.

¹³Then Ananias answered, Lord, I have heard by many of this man, how much evil he hath done to thy saints at Jerusalem:

¹⁴And here he hath authority from the chief priests to bind all that call on thy name.

¹⁵But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel:

¹⁶For I will shew him how great things he must suffer for my name’s sake.

¹⁷And Ananias went his way, and entered into the house; and putting his hands on him said, Brother Saul, the Lord, even Jesus, that appeared unto thee in the way as thou camest, hath sent me, that thou mightest receive thy sight, and be filled with the Holy Ghost.

¹⁸And immediately there fell from his eyes as it had been scales: and he received sight forthwith, and arose, and was baptized.

So when Stephen died God was on His throne.  Only He knew that this would be a step in the road to Saul’s conversion to Christ and all the letters that Paul would write and all that Paul would do to the spread the Gospel of Christ.  Today when we look at the tragedies of life.  God is on His Throne.  As for Caylee, she is in God’s arms of love; just as Stephen was.  We may not understand; but we can trust the God who does.   

So, the question comes within our Christian walk, “Wherein lies your passion?” Is there anything that you see as being so important that everything else pales in comparison? Some would say their spouse or their children are the most important. Some people feel success or position in life is the most important thing. Even at that, often people may think themselves passionate about something only to later find it unimportant—hence divorce, child neglect, and poor work ethics still run rampant in our society. Often in our Christian walk we are rather lackadaisical about our Christian life. We run hot and cold all too often with no true zeal or passion. We lose focus on our goal. Our Bible lays neatly tucked next to our bed and comes out only to accompany us to church on Sunday. Such a precious gift of His Word so that we might come to know Him better by reading and studying it; yet, it frequently lays unopened while we retire to watch TV in the evening or a movie. Could we say, “I count all things loss, for the Excellency of knowing HIM”? After all if TV, Family, the internet, and the phone prevent us from even opening His word would we rather say, “I count Christ loss for the Excellency of knowing and having all this stuff? What are we passionate for? We too often go to prayer and reading the Bible only when there is a crisis in life or when we want things to go a different way. We fall to our knees in prayer and weeping, “Oh, God, please change these circumstances. God where are you? Why did you let me get sick? Why did I lose my job?” But when life is going along ok; did you ever just sit down and talk to Christ Jesus, your best brother and friend? Do you ever look into the sky and just laugh because of the beauty and share that laughter with God? Have you ever gone to work and can’t wait to get home to see the next sermon in a series, hands perspiring with the anticipation? Through the day do you hear gospel love songs for God running through your head, as you joyfully go about the tasks of your day? I need to get you awake on this one. Does your heart beat with excitement when you hear a song of worship and praise?

Paul had learned that nothing, absolutely nothing was as important in life as to know Christ Jesus intimately, intensely filling ever crevice of our hearts, minds and souls. He also understood that sometimes we walk through pain or suffering so that we might share in His suffering and grow even deeper IN LOVE with this Blameless Lamb who despite being the powerful Lion of Judah, laid down His Life that we might know Him. What greater love is there than the unconditional, sacrificial love He has for us. His Glory, His Majesty compels our very heart and souls to praise Him. His overwhelming love for me reaches deep inside to transform this heart, so that I might catch a glimpse of what true, pure love is and thus be drawn ever closer to Him. Each year as I see a larger glimpse of Him, I find it so overwhelming that it fills each fiber of my being.

Most of my life I searched for human love, I begged God to give me a companion that could love me. I did marry the love of my life, but he was crippled by bipolar disease and unable to show love. Instead, he was physically and mentally abusive as he cycled through the phases of his illness. Amazingly, God taught me so much about unconditional love and the love of my heavenly Father through all those years. My husband died and I was devastated, he was my whole world (even if at times a sick world of pain and suffering). Yet, before he died he came to know Christ as his Savior and his eternity was changed- God had a perfect plan of love, whether I fully understood it or not. Many of the years of my life I sat alone and felt so desperately filled with loneliness and longing to be loved. During all that time and through bad relationships, I came to realize that never was I alone. God was there in the middle of the night when I cried myself to sleep and God was there the next morning when I would wash my face to go off for work. God was there as I talked to Him about my hopes for the day and to take away my fears while driving to work. He sometimes would awaken me with a song singing in my head at three am so I could smile, go back to sleep and know He already had the answer. I am so grateful that during all those years of loneliness, I was given the awesome opportunity to fall so deeply in love with Jesus that I could never turn back. He became the passion of my heart, as I had been the passion of His when He endured the beatings, the mockery, the pain, His Father’s momentary turning of His back, and His death on the Cross just because He loved me.

So, again I must ask you, “Wherein lies Your Passion? Is He, Jesus Christ the most important goal in your life? Are you willing to lose every other dream in order to follow Him? Will you diligently study and train so as to move ever closer to His magnificent Glory? I only hope and pray that you realize that to move ever forward in this Christian walk you need to become passionate about this one thing, as Paul the Apostle was, that everything is unimportant compared to knowing Him and pressing toward the mark for the Prize of the High Calling of our Savior. Ask Him to give you that heart of love for Him and He will. Once there, you will be able to know joy and hope no matter what the circumstances around you; because of the overflowing well of love and life inside you. The more you love God, the more love flows through you and circling back to God and back through you until that becomes an every flowing spiral upward to heaven, overflowing with rivers of living water. Let me share with you this poem and I hope you enjoy it.

A TALK WITH GOD

Oh, let me Lord delight in You

And lay all else I hold aside

For no desire could mean as much

As hear Your voice, to feel your touch

And in Your arms abide

I feel the safety of your arms

Surrounding me throughout each storm

And when the bitter winter wind

Would bid my very spirit bend

Your breath will keep me warm

Forgive me Lord, this fragile heart

Sometimes desires too much

Forgetting You are all I need

Then comes my tears, my plead

To stop and feel Your touch

I then can hear your gentle laugh

The love within Your voice

“My child I love you evermore

My gifts on you I freely pour

The best for you my choice”

Oh, Lord I want to stay right here

And sit here at Your feet

To never step away from You

And then I cannot lose my view

No chance for fear, defeat

“But child I ask then who would go

To tell the wounded broken heart

That I their lonely heart would mend

If not but you, who can I send

If you refuse to start”

Then Father, Dear, I must say yes

To go and run Your bidding do

And You will cast aside my fears

Your hand will wipe away my tears

And keep my eyes on You

I know that You go with me now

You’re ever present in my heart

I feel Your joy arise within

I feel Your wondrous strength again

Your love will ne’er depart

 

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^{Philippians 3: 7}But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ.

⁸Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ,

⁹And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:

¹⁰That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;

     What are you willing to give up that you might know him?  Do you count all things loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus?  So often it has been my weakness, my fatigue, my chronic illness that forces me to sit down for a moment to talk with God or to study His word.  Even then there lies within me a choice to be made, do I turn off the TV to spend time with Him?  More and more life draws me to be near to Him, to cherish Him above everything else.  Do we really understand the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings?  Are we really willing to be conformable unto His death and to die to all those earthly desires that would draw us aside?   He draws me so gently with His whispers of hope when the world looks hopeless.  He draws me so gently to companionship with Him when the world seems to misunderstand me and I am lost in my loneliness.  He draws me so gently with His joy to replace any sorrows.  Passionately seeking and savoring Him in all His Glory is the key to joy and life that is abundantly lived because of Him no matter what the circumstances.  Rejoice for He is near.  Rejoice in even the sufferings that draw us near to Him.  It is there that we are able to testify of Him to a world seeking solace.  Can I tell them that He is the fountain of living water, if I were never thirsty? 

Psalm 46

King James Version (KJV)

Psalm 46

¹God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.

²Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea;

³Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof. Selah.

⁴There is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacles of the most High.

⁵God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved: God shall help her, and that right early.

⁶The heathen raged, the kingdoms were moved: he uttered his voice, the earth melted.

⁷The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah.

⁸Come, behold the works of the LORD, what desolations he hath made in the earth.

⁹He maketh wars to cease unto the end of the earth; he breaketh the bow, and cutteth the spear in sunder; he burneth the chariot in the fire.

¹⁰Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.

¹¹The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah.

      In the news every day there are so many things that could cause our hearts to tremble if we were not aware that our Father is in control and He rules on His throne.  This does not mean, for example that no bad news can become a part of my family because of this—it does mean that no bad news that does become a part of my family was not ordained by my heavenly Father who loves me and my children with an unconditional, sacrificial love.  It does mean that a sovereign omnipotent, omniscient God has allowed that to come into my or my families life that we might come to know Him more intimately and that we might see the power of His might in the midst of whatever storm.  That through that trial we might shine forth His Glory to the world who is watching whether we know they are or not. 

            When the whirlwinds of doubt surround you, when life’s storms are pounding at very soul, and when there seems to be no answer—Be still and know that He is God.  Bask in His presence until all doubt fades away.  Remember as Christ said, John 16: “

³³These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.