Monday, August 14, 2017
When He Said “All Things”, He Meant It (Part 1)
Verse of the day: Romans 8:28 And we know that all things work together for
good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.
If this is a promise, and truth, that we know and
believe, why do we often live as if this is not so? Why do we panic and allow
troubling times to overtake us emotionally and spiritually? Although there is nothing
wrong with feeling sorrow or mourning a loss, why do we, as born again
believers sometimes allow certain situations to become so overwhelming to us
that we completely lose a grip on reality and react in a way that clearly
demonstrates a lack of faith? Too often, the reason is that we have taken our
eyes off of the Lord, and put them on the circumstances. Another reason is that
we spend too much time trying to figure out why God has allowed something to
happen, rather than trusting that He is in control and knows why He has allowed
it. We seem to forget that nothing happens without God knowledge and without
God allowing it. Even when it comes to Satan’s activities, as we see from the
Book of Job (Job 1:6-12; 2:1-7). Deuteronomy 29:29 tells us, “The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but those things which are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law. Romans 11:33
reads, Oh, the depth
of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out! The
Word of God is very clear that there will be times when God chooses to allow
certain things, and not reveal, to us, a reason why He is allowing it. It is
also very clear that we would not understand it, because His ways are not our
ways (Is 55:8-9), and what might make sense to us, or seem fair to us, may not
be so from God’s perspective. What seems unbearably painful to us, God is
trying to use to draw us nearer to Him, increase our faith, increase our trust
in Him, and grow us, so that we respond to life in a way that is more
Christ-like, as we are reminded in verse 29 of this chapter. We waste too much
precious time trying to figure out why God is allowing what He is allowing, and
waste too much time lamenting that which we cannot control or change. The more
we focus on the circumstances, the bigger they become in our estimation. The
end result is that the trial or circumstance begins to grow and become bigger
than God and our faith in Him, in our minds. The bottom line is that when we
are facing challenges, losses, or painful times, we must put our eyes on the
right place, and the right Person. We must have the proper perspective on what
is happening. When God chooses not to reveal what He is doing or why He is
doing it, or allowing it, we must resort to having childlike faith that simply
trusts God because He tells us to trust Him, and because He is our Heavenly
Father, and will always do what is best for us, even if it hurts for the time
being. As human beings, we sometimes have to allow our loved one to suffer
through certain experiences or procedures because in the end it will be
beneficial or even life-saving. We hurt when we see them go through it, but we
know it is for their own good. How much more does God want good for us? How
much more will He allow us to go through whatever He deems proper and right for
the sake of our good, and His glory? Whatever any of us is facing now, God
already knows the outcome, and He promised that it will all work out for our
good. In the end, He will accomplish His purpose through the circumstance, and
we will be better off in the long run for it. We may not see it now or
understand it, but the peace of God is available to us now if we will bring it
to Him in prayer (Phil 4:6-7), and trust His promise that He will work it all
out for good.
Sunday, August 13, 2017
Avoid the Slippery Slope
Verse of the day: Proverbs 14:14 The backslider in heart
will be filled with his own ways, But a good man will be satisfied from above.
The backslider is the one who moves away or turns
back. Proverbs 26:11 tell us that, “As a dog returns to his
own vomit, so a fool repeats his folly.” How easy it is to find ourselves in a backslidden
state if we are not careful to maintain that which promotes intimacy with
Jesus. It often begins with the gradual neglect of prayer, reading and studying
God’s Word, a complacency regarding sin, and spending less and less time with
others of like faith. A lack of thankfulness and contentment with what God has
chosen for us puts us on that slippery slope where we begin to put our eyes on what
the world is offering, which only draws us further away from God. The end
result is that we are filled with our own ways. Verse 12 of this same chapter
tells us that, “There is a way that
seems right to a man, But its end is the
way of death.” As God’s children, we must take care to avoid the trap of
befriending the world, simply because we think we will have a better life by
gaining that which the world says will bring pleasure and satisfaction;
especially when we see the unsaved gaining riches and seemingly enjoying life.
James 4:4 warns us, “Adulterers
and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity
with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an
enemy of God.” As born again believers, this is the last place we want
to find ourselves; for when we called upon Jesus Christ as Savior, we were
finally reconciled to God, and at peace with Him (Rm 5:1). So how do we avoid
the pitfall of backsliding? We do this by continuing to find pleasure and
contentment in doing that which draws us closer to God (v. 14b), and helps us
to maintain the intimacy we need in order to remain thankful for all that He
has done, and continues to do for us, even though we deserve none of it. 1 Thessalonians
5:16-18 tells us to, “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in
everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”
2 Timothy 2:15 encourages us to, “Study to show yourself approved unto God, a workman that
needs not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” Proverbs
28:13 is very clear that, “He who covers his sins will not
prosper, But whoever confesses and forsakes them will
have mercy.” Good Christian fellowship is also important. Hebrews
10:24-25 encourages us not to forsake it because it stirs up love and good
works, and is one of the things God has provided for us so that we will be
exhorted and encouraged; especially as His returns drawers near. We are to continue
in His love (Jn 15:9). We must love God with all that we are, and love our
neighbor as ourselves; doing good unto them, not because it earns us our
salvation, but because it is how we demonstrate true faith. James 2:18 reads, But
someone will say, “You have faith, and I have works.” Show me your faith
without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. Finally,
we need to always be ready to share our faith with others. Mark 16:15 tells us
to go into the world and preach the Gospel to every creature; and 2 Timothy 4:2
tells us to, “Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all
longsuffering and teaching.” The best way I can say this is to simply
quote the Apostle Paul in Philippians 2:12-13, Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed,
not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own
salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will
and to do for His good pleasure.”
When we backslide, we find more pleasure in that which the world has to offer,
but goodness is something that comes from within, as we stay close to the Lord
and He works in our hearts to make us more like Him each day.
Saturday, August 12, 2017
When We Need Strength
Verse of the day: Psalm 73:26 My flesh and my heart fail; But God is the strength of my heart and my
portion forever.
There come those times in our life when the
reality of what is important really hits home. We waste much of our time
searching and trying to gain that which we think will bring us happiness and
contentment, only to find out that all that we have been after and focused on
is vanity. King Solomon summed it up like this in Ecclesiastes 1:14, I have
seen all the works that are done under the sun; and indeed, all is vanity and grasping for the wind. Sadly, too
many of us do not realize the vanity of life, and what little time we have here
on earth, until we suffer a loss that opens our eyes to this truth. James 4:13-15
tell us, Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go
to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit”; whereas
you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little
time and then vanishes away. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this
or that.” The truth of
the matter is that not one of us is promised tomorrow, and neither is it
promised to those dearest to us; for this reason we must live life focused on
what is most important (the first being to make sure we have a right
relationship with Jesus). We must not take for granted the life we have been
given or the people that God has placed in our lives. The sad truth is that we
will all experience the loss of a loved one or some type of loss that will be
heartbreaking, and cause us to question God as to why this has happened. First,
we need to realize that because sin and death entered the world when Adam and
Eve sinned against God, tragedy in life is unavoidable. However, when troubling
times hit home and all seems hopeless, there is a place we can go to, and One
we can always turn to. When our strength fails and we experience the emptiness
of losing what is dear to us, God promises to always be here for us. Hebrews
13:5b reminds us that He will never leave us nor forsake us. When no one else
understands our pain, Jesus always does. He understands the pain of rejection (Is
53:3; Lk 19:41), as He was betrayed by one of his disciples and abandoned by
the others in His hour of need (Mt 26:47-56). He knew the pain of tragically
losing a family member when His cousin John the Baptist was murdered and
beheaded (Mt 14:1-12). The bottom line is that no matter what we suffer in this
life, we have One who can relate in all that we go through because He
experienced all that we would suffer while He was here on earth; and now He is the
One that we can turn to when our heart and flesh fail us, and we are feeling
weak and grieved. 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 tells us, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father
of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our
tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with
the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.” We may not
always understand why God allows the suffering He allows, but this we can be
sure of; He will always be with us, we can always turn to Him, and He is the
only One who can always understand how we feel when no one else can. God is our
refuge and strength in our times of suffering (Ps 46:1), and only in Him can we
trust that in the end all things will work out for our good and His glory (Rom
8:28).
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