I ask you the question today; how is your faith? Or rather a better question might be, who is your faith in? So many times today we place our faith in people. Friends,Family, Co-workers. Even strangers we have just met. And almost always in ourselves. Now, let me ask you. Have any of these people ever disappointed you? Of course they have. People are broken. People are sinners incapable of being perfect. Because of our sin we are destined to fail and disappoint each other and ourselves from time to time. There has only ever been one man to walk the face of the earth to be without failure and without sin. And that is Jesus Christ. He came to earth freely to live a sinless life and die an excruciating death he did not deserve, so that we might have eternal life. A free gift that we did not deserve. A gift we can’t purchase. A gift so grand that you can’t be good enough to get it. But you can have it for FREE! If you will only humble yourself before the Lord. Admit you are a sinner, repent and ask Christ to save you.
So. I ask you again. How is your faith? In Psalms Chapter 3 it reads: 3 Lord, how are they increased that trouble me! many are they that rise up against me. 2 Many there be which say of my soul, There is no help for him in God. Selah. 3 But thou, O Lord, art a shield for me; my glory, and the lifter up of mine head. 4 I cried unto the Lord with my voice, and he heard me out of his holy hill. Selah. 5 I laid me down and slept; I awaked; for the Lord sustained me. 6 I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people, that have set themselves against me round about. 7 Arise, O Lord; save me, O my God: for thou hast smitten all mine enemies upon the cheek bone; thou hast broken the teeth of the ungodly. 8 Salvation belongeth unto the Lord: thy blessing is upon thy people. Selah. Here we read that David, while under extreme persecution. In hiding from his own sons' armies trying to kill him. Had such faith in God that he laid down and slept in the midst of his trials. Though we today may not have an army hot on our trail. We still deal with trials in our everyday lives. We are still tested and persecuted. Even more so if you are known to be a christian. This immediately marks you for extra scrutiny to see if you are going to mess up. And there are always going to be those waiting in the wings for that ah-ha moment when you do. And it’s bound to happen, as I stated earlier. We are sinners broken and imperfect. But just as David had faith in God and found peace. We also can have that peace in Christ. If the weight of the world and all the goings on of it have you weighed down and unable to find peace and rest. I urge you to find peace in Christ. If you have not accepted Christ as your savior, I would ask you. Why not? And if you have, I would urge you to take your burdens daily to the Lord. He will give you peace. As in Philippians 4:7 And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. I pray you will examine your faith. And find your peace in Christ Jesus today. Romans 14: 1 Him that is weak in the faith receive ye, but not to doubtful disputations.
Chapter 14 in the book of Romans teaches us that we are all different. We all have different outlooks and opinions on certain matters. The Lord clearly tells us in this chapter that we are to not have such contentions. The Lord tells us we do not live or die to ourselves. We live and die unto the Lord. It is so sad these days to turn on the news or even walk through a grocery store. There are so many people, even Christians, arguing over things that in the bigger picture just are not that important. My prayer is that we as Christians can realize that God still needs us to serve. He still needs us to be kind and compassionate. He still needs and wants us to reach the lost and it will not be done by arguing over earthly matters. We have a testimony. Don't allow a disagreement or a different opinion ruin it. 2 Timothy 2:15
Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth The Lord tells us in this verse to try hard to do, achieve, or investigate so that you will be ready to show, present, or prove yourself personally acceptable unto God. A workman or labourer is someone that does manual work meaning God's word requires physical action on our part. Someone that doesn't need to be ashamed, embarrassed, or guilty. We are to rightly divide the word of truth. This is to make a straight cut, to dissect, or correctly separate a subject, topic, motive, or account accurately. God wants us to study His word from beginning to end, cover to cover, precept upon precept, and line upon line that we may be ready to give an account or narrative of His word. It doesn't matter the subject or topic of God's word. This verse clearly tells us that we need to be ready to speak the truth on any subject without being ashamed to do so. 1 Peter 3:15 tells us But sanctify (regard with great respect) the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear. I am reminded of the story in Acts chapter 8 of the Ethiopian man and Phillip. If Phillip hadn't been ready to explain the words of the prophet Esaias, would the Ethiopian man been saved that day? I don't know about you, but I want to be able to show or prove God's word to someone when asked regardless of the subject or topic. Psalms 46:10 Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.
Quarantine and Social Distancing are terms we have been hearing a lot these days. While these terms are different, it has been to the benefit of ourselves and others to act accordingly. At first, I struggled with this. Our daily lives have always been occupied and scheduled with work, school, practice and games for different extracurricular activities, running errands, family time, and church time. I have realized over the last several days that I have incorporated so much into my life that it has made me tired physically, mentally, and spiritually. I have been able to BE STILL. I have taken the time to get to know God better. God tells us in Psalms 46:10 to be still. He wants us to cease and to stop. He says to know that I am God. The word know means to become acquainted, to recognize, to perceive. Render yourself to God and recognize who he is. God wants our attention daily and He deserves that attention. He will be exalted or rise among the heathen (people or nations) and the earth. This verse allows us to see God's love even more. He doesn’t want us to get so busy that we cause ourselves to be tired. Maybe you can take the time to be still and get to know God better during these next several weeks. We can look at these times as a blessing rather than a disadvantage. Job 12:10 - In whose hand [is] the soul of every living thing, and the breath of all mankind. It is very easy is to lose all sense of well-being by watching the news, reading articles on the web, and seeing social media posts. God has told us, He will never leave us nor forsake us. God is still in CONTROL! Psalms 37:5 tells us "Commit thy way unto the LORD: trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass." Whatever is going on in the world or in your life we are to commit it unto the Lord. I think about the Israelites after their escape from Egypt. It took them 40 years to arrive at the Promised Land. In those 40 years, they suffered great hardships and trials. They had so many fears and complaints, yet God always provided. God always provides. We must not abandon God in our times of fear and hardships. How we handle or react in times like today can teach those around us about our trust in the Lord. Our first response should always be to pray. How do you respond? Do you trust God? Do you abandon God? Romans 8:18 says "For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us." Remember that actions can speak louder than words. I do not know what the future holds, but I do know that God is in Control! Have you ever had to deal with difficult people? Of course you have! What kind of question is that! We all have and will! Why can’t everyone get along? Why do some people like to be in the middle of every type of drama? Why does it have to be my way or no way attitudes? Why do some people think that they are better than others? WHY? I don’t have the answers to any of these questions. I wish I did. I do, however, find comfort in we don’t have to face them alone. Even Jesus faced difficult people. The scriptures teach us how to handle difficult people and how to be more Christ-like. Jesus is very specific in that area. Matthew 5 44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; 45 That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. These scriptures seem hard to understand when dealing with the difficult. Our fleshly nature wants to fight back, but Jesus tells us to love, to pray, and to do them good. We tend to let our pride get the best of us. James 1 19 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath. We can read in the scriptures how Jesus stays calm and speaks with such eloquence. He doesn’t go into a defensive mode like we tend to do when confronted by a difficult person. He asks questions and seems concerned. He knows when to ignore the difficult. Men and Women are created in God’s image. It used to drive me crazy when my mother would smile and keep calm with someone that was being rude to her or she would just ignore them. I get it now! We are supposed to see the good in everyone, no matter their faults. We want the good seen in us don’t we? I do! If we would all worry about being more Christ-like than trying to make a mark in the world, we might all be able to get along better. Focus on being more Christ-like. Can it hurt? What better way to make a mark than to be known for such Christ-like characteristics. Read the scriptures where Jesus was faced with opposition in Mark 3, Matthew 9, Luke 12, or Luke 6 and draw inspiration in his teachings. Remember, people are watching you to see a reaction. How will you respond? Don’t let Satan win!
James 1:2-4 2 My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations;3 Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.4 But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.We are supposed to rejoice and be happy when we suffer hardships and temptations in our lives. How hard was that sentence to swallow? Our daily lives are full of hardships and temptations. More often than most, we tend to feel sorry for ourselves in these situations. When in fact, we are supposed to rejoice. 1 Corinthians 10:13 “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God [is] faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear [it].” Those hardships and temptations are to help us grow stronger as Christians and closer to the Lord. Hardships and temptations will build patience. Romans 5:3-4 “And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; And patience, experience; and experience, hope.” Lord knows I need to be more patient. How we react to situations can and will allow others to see us for who we want or may not want to be seen as. Actions speak louder than words! Everyone is watching! It is hard, quite often, to take a breather, let go, and turn to God when we are tempted or fall into hardships. It is hard when everything seems to be going wrong that day like overslept, late for work, flat tire, etc. All of those things, even though it doesn't feel like it at the time, are meaningless when you step back and look at the bigger picture. There are so many lost souls out there. Lost souls that are watching you to see how you react to situations even those meaningless ones. We also face those hardships and temptations that seem to make things unbearable like a loved one with an addiction, bad news regarding health, or the loss of a loved one. Again, these situations can help us grow spiritually. I know that is hard to understand, but we can grow closer to God in these situations too, through prayer. These situations are shaping your testimony and your relationship with the Lord. 1 Peter 5:10 “But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you.” “1 Corinthians 2:5 “That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.” If we let go and turn to God rather than rely on ourselves, we can see that. Reminder: Just because you pray for change doesn't mean it will happen in an instant and sometimes maybe not at all. God wants to see us grow spiritually. So don't give up so quickly when things in your life are not changing on your time frame. It all happens on God's time and for a reason. Everyone has a story to tell. Being a child of God, we have all endured pain and suffering in some way. How you handle that pain and suffering due to hardships or temptations is on you. Your Story is Your Testimony!
For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of
peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.” Jeremiah 29:11 (KJV) This verse is a good verse during times of trials or times of sadness. God is an all knowing and all seeing God. In Proverbs 3:5 it states “Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.” God’s ways are higher than our ways. The part of Jeremiah 29:11 that I like to lean on is the “to give you an expected end” part with emphasis on “YOU”. Whether we like the outcome of any situation bad or good, God has a purpose for our lives (your life). Romans 8:28 states “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose.” You might not know your purpose in life yet, but God does. Don’t give up! God has a plan for you. Your testimony could very well lead one or many to Christ. |
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