Discouragement

     Discouragement is the loss of enthusiasm. Enthusiasm is the condition of joyfulness and motivation. Discouragement, then, is despair and apathy. This morning I was discouraged. I have almost 500 Facebook friends who are linked to this. My commentary is even available to the public. Some days I have as many as 700 "hits" on my blog. On other days, its a few as 70. That is discouraging and indicates that even my friends fail to read what is written.
     It takes from one-and-one-half to two hours to study and write my "take" on what Holy Scripture means. I do that because I believe that God is worth the time! I get enthused when I consider God's Word and its meaning to mankind, and have a strong desire to share what I have learned. I have learned the secrets to the Garden, the mystery of God, the true nature of God, and what it takes to be born-again. I have discovered that salvation is the outcome of the most important decision in life: the time I first believed which is called regeneration by theologians but "born again" which Jesus said we all must be to live eternally. That was worth the reading all by itself!
     One man in Bible study that I was teaching said, "I agree with Brother _______; if it's not about salvation, why study it?" My answer to that was, "The entire Bible is about salvation. We must know the One who saves us, His plan for mankind, and what He has done previously. We need to know God inside and out!"
     I write much about the creation. To know Who can save mankind, we must know Who created mankind. Knowing the Savior is knowing the Creator. John chapter 1 refers the reader back to the beginning of time to find the Savior! That man's attitude was discouraging and for a time, I was unmotivated: Why study scripture and comment if people brush off the commentary?
     I become joyful as I come to know God! Satan's tactic is to destroy that joy by discouraging me. He can't do that so he uses other people. People discourage me. I love them but they are used by unseen forces to undermine others and my enthusiasm.
     After I wrote the rough draft of my first book, The Skull of Adam, I had a friend read and provide critique. Her only comment was "I don't understand your punctuation." (It was a rough draft. I had not even checked punctuation.) I would have favored if I had useful critique. I was discouraged. I even thought about not publishing the book. When it was finalized some of those who read it gave me feedback. They learned so much that they never knew about God. Encouragement is the way Christians love others. Of course, I didn't want false feedback. True friends are honest in addition to encouraging.
     The most important book ever to be written had no punctuation or even spaces. It's message was the greatest story ever told. Others have critiqued it, added spaces and punctuation, and even translated it into hundreds of languages. Despite the punctuation, the Holy Bible reveals the avenues to death and the Way to salvation. In its entirety, Holy Scripture from Genesis to Revelation is all about Jesus. My calling is to share that message so that people understand, like the eunuch in the Bible. what it takes to be saved.
     When people don't study scripture, their thoughts are, I am saved because I believe. They may be destined for Hell because they think that is the extent of being a Christian. Welcome to the world of demons for even they believe in Christ and tremble (James 2:19)! I get discouraged because people only believe. I know that false security because I once believed that. Sure it is written:

And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. (Acts 6:31)

Scripture expands on that:

That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.(Rom 10:9)

     Salvation comes about as a result of  being born again. That enlightenment is when one comes to realize that they must diminish themselves and look up to God (John 3). How so? Trust that what Jesus did was sufficient: dying and being raised from the dead! That firm trust is what it takes to be saved. If one truly believes that, the person will confess that doctrine openly. Baptism is testimony of belief, and seals the deal with God. God circumcises the heart, that which Zipporah found unpleasant when she cut off her son's foreskin. We and others get off easy: After rebirth, God cuts off the foreskin of the heart, and the babe in Christ is converted from an old person to the new.
     Did you know that? Do you care about that? Make my day; care about that! If you are reading this commentary, I am encouraged. The more people who read it the more I get encouraged. Of course, scripture is not about me; I get encouraged when others learn Holy Scripture because belief changes things. It changes the person, it increases love, it encourages God when you read it, and it dismays Satan.
     It is not about the numbers. It's what people do with the knowledge. Writing words is futile if people never change. Encourage me by sharing what God has done for you in the comments section below. Encourage God by testifying in the space below what He means to you! Don't worry about the punctuation for it's the message which is important.