John 10:10 The thief cometh not, but for to steal, & to kill, & to destroy: I am come that they might have life, & that they might have it more abundantly. 1 Peter 5:7 Cast all your care upon Him; for He careth for you. Phil 1:6 Being confident of this very thing, that He which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ: — Paul’s thanksgiving is for both the past & the future! Quest are we thankful for the past & the future? We as Christians have so much to be thankful for! Our God came that we might have an abundant life now & in the future! If we can learn to cast our cares, then we can have that life both now & then! Do you trust Him? He is the only one that has overcome the enemy, therefore He is the only one worthy of our trust! Love Mel
Whoever said it was going to be easy?
Most of us in the United States enjoy great blessing. Even the poorest among us rank highly in terms of quality of life compared to most of the rest of the worlds billions of terribly poor people. We are for the most part enjoying prosperity rather than enduring persecution.
Even our western U.S. version of the Christian faith seems, in many cases, to promise nothing but good for the believer. Faith is sometimes taught as the ticket to a carefree, blessed and prosperous life. Many teachers imply we should give in order to get. That we should never expect to experience any pain or loss or sickness. This theology is not found in scripture.
Take for an example Joseph, one of Jacob’s twelve sons. He was hated by his brothers because he was favored by his father Jacob. They cast him into a pit and left him for dead. He was picked up by a passing caravan and sold in Egypt as a slave where he served many years with distinction. One day he was approached by his master’s wife who wanted to lie with him. He refused, but she accused him of attempted rape. So, he ended up spending about 13 years in jail! Eventually he was released and a series of events caused him to be exalted to second in command in Egypt.
As another example, take the prophet Daniel who was a devout and respected member of the Babylonian and Medo-Persian courts after he was taken captive as a young boy from Judah. He was set-up by those around him who were jealous of the favor he had with the leader, and as a result was placed into the lion’s den to be killed – but God protected him.
Take the thousands of Christians who were burned at the stake, made to be human torches in Rome, thrown to the lions and boiled in oil. Or the many millions of Christians today who live in countries where they are constantly in fear for their lives, and are often martyred.
Even Jesus Himself, the very Son of God, had to be made into a man, live on the earth under primitive conditions, and then suffer the worst death known to man at the time – crucifixion. And that was after severe whipping and beating.
The point of all of this?
If you have challenges in your life, fight the good fight. Do not interpret your circumstances to mean God is not with you. Have faith, and keep on going!
Even the famous Apostle Paul in 2 Cor 11 suffered enormous tribulation while going around the known world preaching the gospel and making new converts of the gentiles as he was commanded. 23: Are they ministers of Christ? (I speak as a fool) I am more; in labours more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequent, in deaths oft. 24 Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one. 25 Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep; 26 In journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; 27 In weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness. 28 Beside those things that are without, that which cometh upon me daily, the care of all the churches. 29 Who is weak, and I am not weak? who is offended, and I burn not? 30 If I must needs glory, I will glory of the things which concern mine infirmities. 31 The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which is blessed for evermore, knoweth that I lie not. 32 In Damascus the governor under Aretas the king kept the city of the damascenes with a garrison, desirous to apprehend me: 33 And through a window in a basket was I let down by the wall, and escaped his hands.
It is a lie to believe being a Christian will make you free of all life’s challenges. Keep praying and believing if trouble comes upon you. If you are blessed, remember your obligation to help others. Call upon the Lord to protect you and to get you through if evil comes near. He will. We become Christians to serve the Lord and to be with Him forever. Our tribulations now are light compared to the eternal glory which is ours in Christ Jesus.
Do Justice, Love Mercy, Walk Humbly With Your God
1 Cor 5:6-8 (KJV) Your glorying is not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump? Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us: Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice & wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity & truth. 1 Peter 1:22 Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently. — Obedience to truth with a sincere heart is what we are called to do! So often we find that truth today is in the eyes of the beholder! However, we must remember that our God is the same, so just maybe we should check out His words on today’s topics before we decide everything is ok! For we want to do good, love mercy & walk humbly before our God! Love Mel
Let’s Do What is Right in God’s Eyes – Not Our Own
Gen 9:8-9 (KJV) God spake unto Noah, & to his sons with him, saying, And I, behold, I establish my covenant with you, & with your seed after you; — And Noah built an Ark— Ex33:9 And it came to pass, as Moses entered into the tabernacle, the cloudy pillar descended, & stood at the door of the tabernacle, & the LORD talked with Moses. Ex33:1 And the LORD said unto Moses, Depart, & go up hence,… — And Moses departed & went! —Zech 7:13 Therefore it is come to pass, that as He cried, & they would not hear; so they cried, & I would not hear, saith the LORD of hosts. — When the people started determining what was right in their on eyes, things really didn’t go well for them! Who knows maybe it is time we pay attention to what God wants instead of the world! Maybe just think about it, the creator of us & this world might have a better idea about the things that are important! I’m just saying! Love Mel
The Importance of Obedience for the Christian
1 Samuel 15: 22 And Samuel said, Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams. 23 For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry.
Lev 26: 3 If you walk in My statutes and keep My commandments so as to carry them out, then I shall give you rains in their season, so that the land will yield its produce and the trees of the field will bear their fruit. Indeed, your threshing will last for you until grape gathering, and grape gathering will last until sowing time. You will thus eat your food to the full and live securely in your land.
Deut 28: Now it shall be, if you diligently obey the Lord your God, being careful to do all His commandments which I command you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth. All these blessings will come upon you and overtake you if you obey the Lord your God:
John 14:15 “If you love me, keep my commands.”
Romans 2: God “will repay each person according to what they have done.” 7 To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life. 8 But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger.
Basically, obedience is the key to success in this life and in the life to come as it relates to God. If you are not truly inclined to obey and making at least some progress in this area in your life, despite perhaps many failures, then you may be self-deceived. Jesus tells us that we do not love Him if we do not obey Him. His disciples hear and obey His word. For me this has been a long journey with many failures, but I have seen his love and forgiveness the whole way, and I now have very little desire to sin.
Obedience is the key to receiving blessings from the Lord. Deuteronomy 28 gives an exhaustive list of all the blessings that come from obedience (v 1-14) and a different horrifying list of things that may happen when we disobey the laws of God. Now thankfully the New Testament tells us in Gal 3:13 that we are “redeemed from the curse of the law”, but the chastising hand of the Lord will be heavy upon us if we are His.
Obedience is a strategy that helps protect us. If we are doing right the Bible tells us we need not fear God nor the laws of man. Disobedience opens up spiritual doorways that give Satan the legal right to impact your life in some cases.
The Bible tells us that there are “courts of heaven”. In those courts, Satan acts as the prosecuting attorney (the accuser of the brethren). Jesus acts as our advocate or defense counsel before the father Who is the Judge. Willful sin can complicate our standing in the courts of heaven. Walk in the light as He is in the light, and the blood of Christ will continually cleanse you from all unrighteousness.
Obedience to the laws of God also enrich our life experience. When we sin, there are often consequences in this life that are hard to escape. While we are promised forgiveness, we are not always able to avoid the real-life consequences that result from adultery or divorce or any crime that results in punishment. Additionally, God will deal with His children firmly and, as many can attest, it is not fun at all.
The secret to success is obedience, and the secret to obedience is learning to love God. We love God because He first loved us and died a miserable death on the cross for us. We can be assured that IF WE ARE TRULY HIS, His grace will always be there and He will willingly offer forgiveness to the true believer. And the true believer will always seek to honor God with obedience, despite frequent failures. Walk in the love of God and reckon yourself alive to God and dead to sin. Your life experience will improve dramatically.
