Saturday, January 15, 2022
PERSEVERE
James 1:2-4---My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.
Testing – “That by
which something is tried and proven.” According to this passage, trials test
(or prove) faith. And faith develops perseverance, which is necessary if we are
going to be spiritually mature. Most believers would likely agree with this truth.
But, what about the joy? How many of us consider it pure joy to face trials?
The problem for many of us isn’t a lack of knowledge. The problem is a divided
heart. In order to find joy in the midst of trials, Christ and His glory must
be the object of our heart’s affection. In every situation, our goal must be to
know Him more and to reflect His character. Only when this is true can we have
joy when our faith is being tested. Perseverance is not easy. Just ask any
long-distance runner. It hurts to keep running when everything in you longs to
stop. The motivation to continue is the reward. The same is true spiritually.
Considering it joy to face trials does not mean that we enjoy the hardship. God
is not asking us to be happy to have cancer or to lose a job. Jesus was not
happy when He went to the cross…but “for the joy set before Him” He endured
(Hebrews 12:2). The joy comes because our hearts are fixed on Jesus – He is our
reward. And to be mature in Him we must learn to persevere. So, if you are
struggling to have joy when your faith is tested, examine your heart. Where do
your affections lie? Take heart and persevere! The reward is worth the
hardship.
Friday, January 14, 2022
A Perfect Healing
Jeremiah 17:14---Heal me, O LORD, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved: for thou art my praise.
You have many
afflictions. You need so very, very much, a perfect healing. You want a perfect
healing for the brokenness of your heart. You want a perfect healing for the
brokenness of your relationships. You want a perfect healing for sicknesses,
illnesses, and diseases you face. You want a perfect healing for yourself and
for others. As you look around your world, a world full of sickness, illness,
disease, and dysfunction, you see no such thing as perfect healing. As you look
at your world, you are tempted to discount as total foolishness the idea any
kind of perfect healing can occur. However, there is perfect healing. There is
perfect healing because the Lord's kingdom is within you and therefore not far
away. In the Lord's kingdom, your heart is always mended, your spirit is always
repaired, and your soul rests in the Lord's eternal love. In every moment of
your life, affirm before Him how you can touch the Lord's perfect healing. In
every moment of your life, you are immersed in the Lord's healing love.
Thursday, January 13, 2022
People Have Questions
People have questions about God, and questions about what He does. Some of these questions are hard questions. People ask things like, "Where are the answers when I need answers but no answers can be found?" "Where are the answers when I have cancer and I have to decide whether I want surgery or chemotherapy?" "Where are the answers when I am elderly and I am forced into leaving my home and I have to decide whether I will go to a retirement home or move in with my children?" When we need answers, sometimes it seems God is far away. The Psalmist talked about God when it seems God is far away when the Psalmist wrote in Psalms 22:19 "But you, O Lord, be not far off; O my Strength, come quickly to help me." Where is the answer when you have to decide whether to put your parent in a nursing home or try to take care of him or her yourself? Where is the answer when you are a single parent and you have to decide whether to put your child in a daycare center or whether to hire a babysitter you barely know? Where is an answer from God and God's guidance for decisions you have to make when all the choices are bad ones? Part of the answer must rest in trust in the Lord and in trusting our ability to be His humble and contrite child. Part of the answer is in our ability to be willing to do only His will and not our own.
Wednesday, January 12, 2022
The Comfort That Only God Can Give
2 Corinthians 1:3-5--- Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God. For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ.
Grief rips away at
the heart and can turn a life teeming with meaning into an empty wasteland.
When tears well up in our eyes and grief fills our soul, what are we to do? In
a time of grief, our first instinct should always be to run to God. In God's
arms we find the comfort and warmth of His love. In God's arms, we can find new
meaning and new purpose when the dark days of grief attack us. However, when we
lead lives apart from God in the present or when we think we do not need God in
the present, then when grief comes, God is hard to find. When we share all we
are and share all we have with God when the times are good, He most surely
guides and comforts us when times of grief overwhelm us. When you pour out your
heart and love for God today, no matter what grief might fall into your life
tomorrow, all the love you gave Him comes back one thousand fold when you need
Him the most.
Tuesday, January 11, 2022
Monday, January 10, 2022
Over Committing Yourself
Luke 10:42---But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.
Some people would
feel they are living a diminished life if they did not live an over-committed
life. Constantly living like you are putting out "brush fires" is a
lifestyle that can hurt you in a major way. This kind of lifestyle becomes a
dependent/co-dependent lifestyle when over-committing is done from a sense of
weakness or powerlessness. Even when weakness and powerlessness are not issues,
some people lead a "too busy" life. Piling up commitments in our life
to the point where we run ourselves ragged is not helpful to us, to others, and
is not a blessing to God. To healthfully maintain our soul, we are to live in
peace and harmony with God. Over-committing is not a way to live in peace and
harmony with God. Having more things on our agenda than we can possibly do also
takes away from our efficiency because we can easily miss doing what is
important.
Sunday, January 9, 2022
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