Acts 21- Bound by Belt

I worry sometimes... It is easy to get a hobby horse in the bible and to ride it to the exclusion of other horses. Some people, choose prosperity to be their horse. They read the text with amber colored lenses, looking for any promise to claim as their own. Victory in all spheres of life. Sometimes, this can get ugly. When you read these truths and dismiss other realities in the bible they actually get a lopsided and false faith. This can happen in many ways, not just prosperity. But let us look at prosperity for a moment then we can apply it to some other issues.

With prosperity, if we read the text looking for verses to claim victory over our lives then we come up with a prosperity theology that says, "God wants me to be happy in everything." When I am not financially blessed, or physically blessed, or (fill in the blank), then something is wrong. What happens when a prosperity seeking person gets cancer or loses a job? The house of cards tumbles and falls. Faith waivers. Or worse yet, the person can continue to believe in a fairy tale when reality doesn't match their wish list. I contend, this is borderline crazy. It is crazy to interpret the world like this.

So, it is unhealthy to read like this. There are realities of prosperity to be experienced in this life and in the life to come, but there are also some harsh conditions that seem to be almost mandated by the Word. "In this world you will have trouble" says Jesus (John 16:33). Or where the disciples say, "we must go through many hardships to enter the Kingdom" (Acts 14:22). This may be my hobby horse of the Scriptures?

Over the past couple years I have made it my aim to develop an understanding of God that is big enough to handle the realities of this world... When I read the bible I see so many texts that justify the difficulties of life and actually fold Jesus into our sufferings. Acts 21 included:

After we had been there a number of days, a prophet named Agabus came down from Judea. Coming over to us, he took Paul's belt, tied his own hands and feat with it and said, "The Holy Spirit says, 'In this way the Jews of Jerusalem will bind the owner of this belt and will hand him over to the Gentiles.'" When we heard this, we and the people there pleaded with Paul not to go up to Jerusalem. Then Paul answered, "Why are you weeping and breaking my heart? I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus" (Acts 21:10-13).

Why are texts like this in the Word if not to give us an expectancy to suffer and strength in the midst of it? I am comfortable to point out the difficulties and realities of persecution and struggle all throughout the Bible because I think the Bible itself, puts an emphasis on it. Then the realities of life add a big exclamation point to the text. We have a handful of students that have lost loved ones. I have a grandma that is having health issues. My fuwi's (future wife's) grandma has Alzheimer's and her grandpa has shingles. I've witnessed pay decreases and job loss. Those are simply realities of life... not even tied to persecution. If our understanding of God and His workings isn't big enough to handle those then how can we ever prepare people for persecution? How can I prepare students to lay down their lives to take the gospel to the unreached?

So, I hope to be extremely biblical... I hope that I would not shy from prosperity texts or persecution texts or holiness texts or grace texts or any texts! Lord help me to be faithful to the contours of your Word... all of them.