Rejoice in Trials
I am distracted by many things today, Father, enable me to place my focus squarely on You. Amen.
Romans 5:1-5 (<<click here to read the passage)
What did you want to be when you grew up? (Maybe you’re still waiting for that to happen!) A few months ago, parents posted pictures of their kids on the first day of school and it often included what they wanted to be when they grew up – doctors, firemen, veterinarians, teachers, etc. One of my cousins’ granddaughters wants to run a doggy daycare. 😊
Those are all wonderful goals, and some may come to fruition while many others may change numerous times before they settle into a career. Even then, many may change careers a few times. None of us know what the future may hold.
What nobody talks about too much is that no matter what paths we choose, we will find countless trials and struggles along the way. My Life Application Bible shared this thought, Paul tells us that in the future we will become, but until then we must overcome.
One thing that young people find difficult to process is that where they find themselves is in actuality a “bite-size” piece of life. Early on being in school is an adventure but talk to high school students and you get the impression that they are so done with it all and just want the next phase to come along. Yes, there are struggles and heartaches, but by the time they start really feeling those things they’re almost through most of it. Instead of focusing on the good, they focus on the “oppression” of it all.
Cherish where you are. Savor every moment, for soon it will be gone…and life will never be the same.
A lot of life is striving to overcome the difficulties we find there. But at the actual end of life, we will become what Christ knew we could be.
The problems that we run into will develop our perseverance which in turn will strengthen our character, deepen our trust in God, and give us greater confidence about the future. You probably find your patience tested in some way every day. Thank God for those opportunities to grow, and deal with them in his strength.
Thank God for those “opportunities”? We rejoice in suffering, not because we like pain or deny its tragedy, but because we know God is using life’s difficulties and Satan’s attacks to build our character
The Apostle Peter puts it well,
In this you rejoice greatly, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, so that the genuineness of your faith, which is much more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested and purified by fire, may be found to result in [your] praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 1 Peter 1:6-7 AMP
It is tough going, but you are not alone. You have many companions along the way. And never forget that the Holy Spirit will never leave or forsake you. Every day you are one step closer to becoming what Christ knows, even now, what we can be!
Nov 14th, 2022, Mon, 1:02 pm
Deep Down Dark
(Image from the 2015 movie, The 33, based on this true story.)
Father, I pray that those who joined in our services will take to heart the words they heard. Move through us all, I pray.
Romans 4:18-25 (<<click here to read the passage)
October 13, 2010 – Does that day hold any significance for you? Do you remember anything occurring on that day that stands out as “earth-shaking”?
As I read through today’s passage from the end of Romans 4, its core message – hope – resonated through me and I truly believe the Lord brought an incident to mind…from October 13, 2010.
The story is taken from an NPR article entitled The Incredible Story of Chilean Miners Rescued From The ‘Deep Down Dark’. (<<click to read the article)
The disaster began…around lunchtime at a mine in Chile’s Atacama Desert: Miners working deep inside a mountain, excavating for copper, gold and other minerals, started feeling vibrations. Suddenly, there was a massive explosion and the passageways of the mine filled up with a gritty dust cloud.
A 770,000-ton “megablock” of stone had come crashing down through the layers of the mine bringing tons of rock with it. Thirty-three miners were trapped.
It seemed hopeless. These men were entombed under half a mile of rock, but neither they nor their families gave up hope. In fact, the families gathered in a makeshift tent city called Campo Esperanza — “Camp Hope”.
Their families endured this ordeal for 52 days, not truly knowing if their loved ones lived. But on that day, a drill finally broke through to “The Refuge,” the room where the men were gathered. When the drill returned to the surface tied to its bit was a note that read: “WE ARE WELL IN THE REFUGE [SIGNED] THE 33.”
Seventeen days later – October 13, 2010 – all 33 of those miners – after being trapped for 69 days – were raised to the surface through an escape tunnel into which a capsule was slowly lowered and raised by a giant crane. It was a feat of engineering and a triumph of faith.
Amazing is not a big enough word!
That story is amazing but not as amazing as the story spoken of in today’s text!
Almost 4,000 years ago, a man named Abraham, clung to hope. He had been promised by God…
…that he would become the father of many nations. For God had said to him, “That’s how many descendants you will have!” And Abraham’s faith did not weaken, even though, at about 100 years of age, he figured his body was as good as dead—and so was Sarah’s womb.
Abraham never wavered in believing God’s promise. In fact, his faith grew stronger, and in this he brought glory to God. He was fully convinced that God is able to do whatever he promises. And because of Abraham’s faith, God counted him as righteous. vs18-22 NLT
My Life Application Bible states, Abraham never doubted that God would fulfill his promise. Abraham’s life was marked by mistakes, sins, and failures (Can you relate?!) as well as by wisdom and goodness, but he consistently trusted God. His faith was strengthened by the obstacles he faced, and his life was an example of faith in action. If he had looked only at his own resources for subduing and founding a nation, he would have given up in despair. But Abraham looked to God, obeyed him, and waited for God to fulfill his word.
Do not give up! God’s promises hold true! If you’ve placed your hope in God, He will not fail you! We will experience our triumph of faith in Him from the deep down dark!
Nov 13th, 2022, Sun, 3:43 pm
The He-Man Woman-Haters Club: Biblical Version
In the trials and victories of everyday life,
The Lord is my strength and my song;
….he has given me victory.
Songs of joy and victory are sung in the camp of the godly. Psalm 118:14-15 NLT
Romans 4:9-17 (<<click here to read the passage)
Though they were way before my time, growing up I enjoyed watching Our Gang, a popular and successful American film series of comedy shorts centered around a group of child actors known collectively as “The Little Rascals”. Between 1922 and 1944, there were over two hundred and twenty shorts. Their popularity zoomed in the 50s and then later in the 80s a movie was released around the same characters and general plot.
One thing that aired in the original series and was a carryover in the remake was the He-Man Woman-Haters Club, and as the name implies it was a boys-only club, here’s the club vow that they had to recite
“I, [state name here, but everyone just repeated Stymie’s name (he was the club’s sergeant-at-arms)], a member of good standing of the He-Man Woman-Haters Club, do solemnly swear to be a he-man and hate women and not play with them or touch them unless I have to and especially never fall in love and, if I do, may I die slowly and painfully and suffer for hours or until I scream bloody murder.”
It brings a smile to my face but what brought this old memory to mind was reading through today’s passage of Scripture. You probably think I’ve lost it but hang in there with me.
One of the struggles in the early Church, as we discovered in our time in the book of Acts, was what was expected of Gentile (non-Jewish) converts to Christianity. One big point of contention was circumcision. The act was definitely associated with Judaism. The leadership of the early Church decided that circumcision was not to be a requirement for those who chose to follow Christ.
The Apostle Paul pulled from the Old Testament when he spoke of Abraham and his life. Paul wrote,
…Abraham was counted as righteous by God because of his faith. But how did this happen? Was he counted as righteous only after he was circumcised, or was it before he was circumcised? Clearly, God accepted Abraham before he was circumcised! Vs9b-10 NLT
As the He-Man Woman-Haters Club had its rules as to who was and wasn’t allowed in, devout Jews during the time of the early Church struggled with rules, too. And truth be told, today’s church struggles as well.
Some may beg to differ, but many have mindsets that keep others at bay until they clean up, at least to a certain degree, before they are allowed in the fold.
But Paul’s declaration in verse 16 speaks just as clearly today as it did 2,000 years ago.
Therefore, [inheriting] the promise depends entirely on faith [that is, confident trust in the unseen God], in order that it may be given as an act of grace [His unmerited favor and mercy], so that the promise will be [legally] guaranteed to all the descendants [of Abraham]—not only for those [Jewish believers] who keep the Law, but also for those [Gentile believers] who share the faith of Abraham, who is the [spiritual] father of us all… AMP
There are no rules here, just faith. May we all see the world through the eyes – and open arms – our Savior!
Nov 10th, 2022, Thurs, 12:57 pm
Our Memory May Haunt Us, But…
What a beautifully radiant day, Father. Thank You for its blessing and thank You that when it came to mind, it was followed by a desire that I might be as radiant for You, this and every day! All praise to You, God almighty!
Romans 4:1-8 (<<click here to read the passage)
In my youth, I think it was when I was in high school, I became very dissatisfied with my walk with Christ. I felt like I was constantly falling and was constantly seeking forgiveness. I remember falling on my bed at a West Virginia church camp of some sort and crying out to God. Part of that was the fact that I was falling into the same temptations over and over again. I’m sure that I knew that those sins were forgiven and forgotten by God, but I couldn’t forgive myself. I had committed no egregious sin, but their culmination all weighed heavily upon me. And even then, I held it to be true that sin was sin, regardless of its severity from my limited and adolescent perspective.
Romans 4:5 states,
…people are counted as righteous, not because of their work, but because of their faith in God who forgives sinners. NLT
My Life Application Study Bible reads,
We must remember that Jesus is willing and able to forgive every sin. In view of the tremendous price he paid on the cross, it is arrogant to think that there is any sin too great for him to forgive. Even though our faith is weak, our conscience is sensitive, and our memory haunts us, God’s Word declares that sins confessed are sins forgiven.
It then referenced 1 John 1:9,
If we [freely] admit that we have sinned and confess our sins, He is faithful and just [true to His own nature and promises], and will forgive our sins and cleanse us continually from all unrighteousness [our wrongdoing, everything not in conformity with His will and purpose]. AMP
And then one more passage came to mind, Psalm 103:12. This has come to mind before, but it is so powerful in dealing with the weight of sin we may carry! Its encompassing verses speak volumes.
8 The Lord is compassionate and merciful,
slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love.
9 He will not constantly accuse us,
nor remain angry forever.
10 He does not punish us for all our sins;
he does not deal harshly with us, as we deserve.
11 For his unfailing love toward those who fear him
is as great as the height of the heavens above the earth.
12 He has removed our sins as far from us
as the east is from the west.
13 The Lord is like a father to his children,
tender and compassionate to those who fear him.
14 For he knows how weak we are;
he remembers we are only dust.
Think about that 12th verse. If I place my finger on a globe and go north, I will eventually go south. BUT…if I trace my finger across the equator heading east – I will never go west. The two never meet. That is how far our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ has removed our sins from us!
Our faith may be weak, but we can cling to God’s Word – sins confessed are sins forgiven! Amen!
Nov 9th, 2022, Wed, 1:03 pm
The Ultimate Brass Ring
A thought-provoking quote from God the Spirit, from The Valley of Vision.
When I feel my lack of [the Spirit], light up life and faith,
….for when I lose thee I am either in the dark and cannot see thee
….or Satan and my natural abilities content me with a little light,
….so that I seek no further for the Spirit of life.
Teach me then what to do.
Romans 3:27-31 (<<click here to read the passage)
In reading through this passage and the Life Application Bible notes accompanying it, my attention was drawn to a part of the note regarding verse 28.
So we are made right with God through faith and not by obeying the law. NLT
The note reads: Faith is based on our relationship with God, not our performance for God.
Think about this for a moment. Any spousal relationship fails miserably when it is founded totally on performance. Whether we’re talking about being able to hold down a job bringing in lots of money along with an income that is ever rising or we’re talking about how much each individual contributes to household chores or preparing meals or maintaining finances and so forth – and anymore, those factors are by no means determined by gender – we run into trouble in short order. And dare we mention expecting our spouses to never let us down with how they look or what they wear or how they are at meeting our physical needs…
How about holding children to unrealistically high expectations regarding their competitiveness in academics, athletics, musicality, or any other arena? Those kinds of mindsets can lead us down some very dangerous roads.
We all want our families and our loved ones to succeed in their endeavors of life…but at what cost?
Now if performance is our sole goal, that is extremely detrimental. But…if the relationships are the core goal and that is of utmost importance, then can’t those other things factor in with great results? And if results are less than anticipated, again with solid relationships at the core, those relationships will stand strong regardless.
First and foremost, God’s goal from before the creation of the world was to be in a relationship with us – not just a king/servant relationship but an intimate relationship of parent/child. He sacrificed so much to insure the possibility of that kind of relationship. But the problem lies with us. Too often, our thoughts on the matter are, we can take it or leave it. It’s just one more thing to juggle, one more thing to check off our burgeoning list… But that mindset is distant, it is performance-based. Relationship doesn’t really factor in.
But oh, the benefits of giving ourselves over to one another! We’ve all seen couples and families who love each other with their whole beings. We long to be included in that circle, don’t we? Something so pure and accepting on all fronts is the ultimate brass ring.
The same holds true for our relationship with God. We see awesome examples of it as well. Such satisfaction in our interactions with Him – such fulfillment – such peace and contentment. And it is most certainly not beyond our reach.
Lord Jesus, we plead, give us the desire, a burning desire, for that kind of relationship first of all with You and then with each other. Fill us with Your love as we embrace it for ourselves and seek to give it away, as well. Amen.
Nov 8th, 2022, Tues, 5:30 pm