Prepare to Endure

We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love. Romans 5:4-5 

To interpret Romans 5:4-5 of Paul’s letter to the Roman church, Christians are expected to bear long periods of afflictions with patience and in doing so we demonstrate strong character which further boosts our belief in our salvation.

The verse also suggests that trials ought not to cause us to lose hope since our hope rests in knowing the depth of GOD’s love and the Holy Spirit that fills our hearts with His love.

Since GOD’s WORD is inerrant (incapable of being wrong) we must accept what the Scripture says but are we able to actually do what it says?

There was a time in my own life when I couldn’t and didn’t and suffered periods of trials and tests where I emerged discouraged rather than uplifted. Not soon enough, I learned that my failure was connected to one key phrase in this scripture, “For we know how dearly God loves us.”

Do I really? And if not, how do I get to that place of totally understanding this fact?

 Like myself, many of us fail the test of suffering with patience and joy simply because we have not adequately fortified and prepared ourselves for suffering. We don’t have the appropriate tools readily available when we need them

We do our best to prepare for personal tragedy and natural disaster – we stock up on extra food, water, fuel and other necessities for the impending storms; carry a “fix-it” kit and cable boosters in our car trunks; save money and purchase insurance policies for accidents, retirement and unexpected illness – and we do all this in advance of adversity.

Should we not also prepare for spiritual adversity?

We do not have to fail in the trial if we are prepared for the trial.

The Colossian church was in danger of being influenced away from the Gospel and the truth of what GOD’s love through CHRIST offers us. So the Apostle Paul included this prayer in a letter to encourage them to continue in the way of life they were taught:

“We ask God to give you complete knowledge of his will and to give you spiritual wisdom and understanding. Then the way you live will always honor and please the Lord, and your lives will produce every kind of good fruit. All the while, you will grow as you learn to know God better and better. We also pray that you will be strengthened with all his glorious power so you will have all the endurance and patience you need.” Colossians 1:9-11

This prayer tells us exactly what we need to remain faithful to the love of GOD as followers of JESUS CHRIST:

• complete knowledge of GOD’s will
• spiritual wisdom and understanding

There is but one way for a Christian to know GOD’s will and have spiritual understanding and that is to know GOD intimately.

It is okay to ask other believers to pray for us, GOD tells us we ought to pray for one another. But unless we understand GOD’s sovereign ability, other people praying about our troubles would bring us little comfort. All spiritual wisdom and understanding are available to us in the Bible.

Daily Bible study is our spiritual food.

We eat every day to keep our physical bodies nourished and strong. Just so we must read the Bible every day to keep our spirits healthy and strong. This Book is not merely for reading; it is a book for careful meditation and study so that its principles can be applied.

All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness. 2 Timothy 3:16

When this exercise is new to us it helps to pray before we read and while we read and allow the Holy Spirit to reveal GOD’s Truth to us and make it  …it was to us that God revealed these things by his Spirit. For his Spirit searches out everything and shows us God's deep secrets. 1 Corinthians 2:10

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GOD’s WORD is His blueprint for all of life. It is where we learn who GOD is and His will and purpose for all Creation, ourselves included. It is the Christian’s life insurance policy for which GOD paid the premiums through JESUS and we get the benefits during our lifetimes and after.

Paul’s prayer in Colossians 1 assures us that as we come to know God better and better we will grow and develop into the kind of believers who:

• honor and please the Lord
• produce every kind of good fruit

We will have faith in the unfathomable love of our Divine Helper and the Holy Spirit.

We will have hope in salvation by GOD’s will and GOD’s way!

We will endure adversity, with joy!

Prayer and Thanksgiving: Our Mighty GOD and Father, all praise, honor and glory belong to you! Thank you for showing us that we can be filled with joy and endure in trials with thanksgiving! Thank YOU for YOUR unfathomable love by which you reconciled us to Yourself through JESUS so we are holy and without fault before YOU. Thank YOU for rescuing us from the kingdom of darkness and transferring us into the Kingdom of YOUR dear Son, who purchased our freedom and forgave our sins. Teach us to love YOU and obey YOU, to do all that YOU ask. Father, we belong to YOU, all that we are and hope to be. We can do all things through Him who gives us His strength; we can endure!

We pray and ask all things in JESUS’ NAME. Amen.

Always by God’s Word and prayer,

Cecile

One Gracious Blessing after Another

Most believers know the story of the prodigal son that JESUS told in Luke 15 and we understand the parallel truth that it reveals to our lives as children of GOD – that when we as prodigal sinners repent our Heavenly Father offers the same heart of forgiveness to us as the earthly father shows the prodigal son. 

There is, however, another important revelation at the end of JESUS’ story.

The Father and the Elder Son

The elder son is angry. He is envious of the welcome home party the father is giving for the prodigal brother and refuses to take part in the celebration.

‘Look! All these years I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. 30 But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!’  

This father’s rebuke to this bad behavior could not be more tender and generous: ’My son,’ the father said, ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. …..’” Luke 15:29-31

We know well the father’s heart for the prodigal son by what he did for him. But what transpires between the father and the elder son reveals a love that's probably more wonderful and one that also reflects our Heavenly Father’s heart and attitude towards His children.

The children of GOD have unbroken fellowship with their Heavenly Father – ‘you are always with me.’

We can sense how deeply the earthly father in our story cherishes the closeness he has with his elder son. How much more would our Heavenly Father, whose love for us is perfect, want to have us close to Him?

GOD’s presence with us lets the rest of the world know that we are chosen and favored by Him and that He is pleased with us. The Old and New Testament scriptures confirm this in several accounts:

I am the one who brought them out of the land of Egypt so that I could live among them. I am the Lord their God. Exodus 29:46

Then Moses said, “For your presence among us sets your people and me apart from all other people on the earth.” Exodus 33:15-17

I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will not forsake My people Israel.” 1 Kings 6:13

So the Word became human and made his home among us. John 1:14

 “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you.” John 14:16

Jesus replied, “My Father will love them, and we will come and make our home with each of them.” John 14:23

“…the Spirit of God lives in you.” 1 Corinthians 3:16

Because of the daily cares of life, we are not always conscious of the presence of GOD but, awake or asleep, GOD’s Spirit is always with His chosen people. He never removes His presence from us.

All that is the Father’s belong to His children – ‘...and everything I have is yours.’

A good father provides for and leaves an inheritance to his children, so does our Heavenly Father, and He owns it all!

Yours, O Lord, is the greatness, the power, the glory, the victory, and the majesty. Everything in the heavens and on earth is yours, O Lord, and this is your kingdom. We adore you as the one who is over all things. Wealth and honor come from you alone, for you rule over everything. Power and might are in your hand, and at your discretion people are made great and given strength. 1 Chronicles 29:11-12

Everything in the heavens and on the earth is the LORD’s to give according to His good will and pleasure. GOD gave His all to us when He gave us that which He valued most, His own Son.

Since he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won't he also give us everything else? Romans 8:32

"No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him." 1 Corinthians 2:9

All that the Father has belongs to the Son (John 16:15) and everything He created He did through JESUS and for Him (Colossians 1:16).

If we have the Son we have the Father and we have all the riches that the Father and Son possess!

“Everything belongs to you, and you belong to CHRIST, and CHRIST belongs to GOD. 1 Corinthians 3:22-23.

Every child of GOD, without exception, is called to enjoy the fullness of our Father’s presence and His limitless abundance.

With one gracious blessing after another eternally available to all, we have no need to envy one another (Galatians 5:26.)

When we celebrate GOD’s goodness in each other’s lives we are loving one another as CHRIST loves us – proof to the world that we truly are His (John 13:34-35.)

Prayer and Thanksgiving: Our Mighty GOD and Father, we give YOU all the praise, all the honor and all the glory! Thank you for being our Abba Father, who would always be there to care for us. We are so grateful that we can never escape YOUR presence and YOUR favor is always with us. Help us never to forget that to each of us YOU have given all of the richness of YOUR abundance through YOUR Son; all that we need for life and for godliness we have for the asking through JESUS. Create in each of us a clean heart so we can live in the spirit of love like JESUS does and never envy. Father, cause us to delight in YOU as YOU delight in us and let this be the one true desire of our hearts. We pray and ask all things in JESUS’ NAME. Amen.

Always by God’s Word and prayer,

Cecile

Gossip Dishonors GOD – Stop it!

In the Book of Proverbs we are warned of seven things that GOD hates and among them are, a person who sows discord in a family. Proverbs 6: 16-19

GOD hates gossip.

 Gossip hurts.

Gossip destroys.

Gossip dishonors others.

Gossip dishonors God.

A child of God avoids gossip.

The Bible uses several different terms for gossips including backbiter, busybody, slanderer, whisperer and talebearer – and all have an overtone of malice. God is clear in His Word that gossips are ungodly and wicked, and that gossiping is sin which has no part in God’s Kingdom.

As Christ’s ambassadors in the Earth, our actions and speech must be a direct reflection of God the Father and God the Son. “…whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father. Colossians 3:17

In his Epistle James, the brother of Jesus, compares the tongue to a tiny fire spark capable of setting a great forest on fire…he describes the tongue as restless and evil, full of deadly poison. Not a very pretty picture, but if we could control our tongues, we would be perfect and could also control ourselves in every other way.” James 3: 1-12

GOD the Father wants His children to thrive in His Kingdom and He will help us to change any behavior that does not conform to His will or glorify His Name.

Gossiping is a bad habit that exposes the condition of our hearts – whatever is in our hearts determines what we say. GOD’s WORD cautions us to Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life. Philippians 4:23.

Our Father is especially grieved when we gossip against another child of God, a brother or sister for whom Christ died. He wants us to live in unity with Him and each other, to love like family, to encourage and build each other up, and not tear down and devour each other by ill-speaking.

We ask God to change our hearts as we take responsibility to change our habits.    

As we pray in faith and seek God’s strength to refrain from gossip we also take action and apply some practical steps to wean ourselves away from gossips and the temptation to gossip.

• We stop associating with people who are known gossips - Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers…Psalm 1:1
• When others try to engage us in gossip we refuse to listen, change the subject, or walk away – Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good. Romans 12:9

If we are the victim of gossip we don’t retaliate in kind but instead we confront the offender and let them know how they have injured us. If the gossip is a child of God we especially attempt to reconcile and help that person to change the behavior, if we can… if another believer is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path. Galatians 6:1

Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives. Let us not become conceited, or provoke one another, or be jealous of one another. Galatians 5:24-25

Prayer and Thanksgiving: Holy Father, how good and faithful YOU are! Thank YOU that we are not consumed because of our wrong doing. We know that a sin against one of your little ones is a sin against YOU and we thank YOU for mercy, that YOU don’t judge us as we deserve. Cleanse our hearts of bitterness, jealously and boasting, for it is out of the abundance of our hearts that our mouths speak. Teach us to walk in love which covers a multitude of sin and cause us to protect our brothers and sisters and not expose them to ridicule. Forgive us and let the words of our mouths and the meditation of our hearts be acceptable in YOUR sight always. To YOU belong all dominion and power for ever and ever. We pray and ask all things in the NAME above all names, JESUS CHRIST, our LORD. Amen.

Always by God’s Word and prayer,

Cecile

GOD Means You Too, Really!

Family of GOD, I invite you to join me in a novel idea for this New Year 2018 – let’s take all of the same godly advice we give to others in their time of need and apply them to our own hard times.

We seem to be able to render support when support is needed but somehow forget that the goodness of GOD which we tell others about is also there for us.

This year we resolve to give all our worries and cares to the GOD and Father who cares so deeply about us (1 Peter 5:7) and who is well able to deliver us in conflict and despair, and do it perfectly.

“Though our feelings come and go, GOD’s love for us does not.”

We can apply this C. S. Lewis quote also to the people in our lives. Our spouses, closest and most trusted friend and supporter will disappoint us. As human beings we allow feelings to influence our behavior. GOD doesn’t.

GOD is the one constant in our lives and we can trust His WORD and His love for us.

Early Christian theologian and philosopher Augustine of Hippo says about GOD’s ability to love us “GOD loves each of us as if there were only one of us.” We have been given a love which only GOD in His perfection is capable of giving.

Why do we choose to stagger needlessly under the weight of despair that our Father would willingly carry for us? 1 Peter 5:7

When we cease our striving and consider the true wonder that is our Father in Heaven, then we can give ourselves over to what He will and can be for us. Wee can be free of needless care.

In His Providence GOD never passes over His children in need.

He is the GOD who:

• Provides for the sparrows, He will take care of the needs of His family. Aren't you far more valuable to him than they are? Matthew 6:26. The Lord hears his people when they call to him for help. He rescues them from all their troubles. Psalm 34:17
• Heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. Psalm 147:3. Because we are experiencing a momentary affliction we should not doubt GOD’s grace but believe that He loves us as much in seasons of trouble as in times of happiness. There is no hurt that GOD cannot heal
• Sees our pain, keeps track of all our sorrows, collects all our tears in a bottle and records each one in His book of life. Psalm 56:8. His heart beats with compassion for us and longs to comfort us. (Psalm 116:5; 2 Corinthians 1:3.) No one is abandoned by the Lord forever. Lamentations 3:31.

 “Let go and let GOD.”

This saying is probably one of the most overused in Christian circles, so much so that it may have become trite to our hearing. But could we re-examine it carefully, take it at face value and actually live it? Could we practice this in our personal lives in 2018?

Could we leave the providing to the GOD of Providence and place our concerns in the Mighty Hand of our loving and gracious GOD?

We became the children of GOD when we decided to trust Him with our souls for eternity.

Surely we can trust GOD with our lives and bodies during our time here on earth!

“For I am with you, and I will take care of you. I, the Lord, have spoken!” Jeremiah 1:19

Prayer and Thanksgiving: Almighty GOD and Father, we thank you that YOU are the GOD whose goodness and mercy will follow us through the days of our lives and into eternity. For that reason, Father, no child of YOURS must sit in despair. We thank you that we can trust YOU our Providence for all time. We thank YOU, Mighty GOD for YOUR perfect love which replaces all our fear and anxiety. Thank YOU for reminding us that YOU are always with us to save us – that YOU have a unique plan for each of us, that we will succeed and have a future; we will finish this race with YOU. Never will YOU leave us, never will YOU forsake us. We are so grateful for all that YOU are in and through us. We pray and ask all in JESUS’ NAME. Amen.

Always by God’s Word and prayer,

Cecile