Keeping faith when the ref is about to stop the fight
And you're the one with blood on your face. It's not easy being a Christian. Many times it's not fun being a Christian. But for me and many that proclaim Jesus Christ as the Son of God. There isn't much choice. Believe or perish. I preached a couple (5?) sermons in my life. One of the most provocative sermons I ever preached was one I entitled " Walking thru the Valley or Why bad things happen to good people"
It's very tough to see non-believers driving Hummers, wearing armoni suits, living in mountainous gated communitees wondering which product that comes out next will bare their name. At the same time, good hardworking God fearing Christians struggle to make ends meet and to keep their faith. Why does God allow Satan to ruin the lives of God's children, and at the same time exhalt those that lead the flock away from Christ, the non-believers? The answer is in this one sentence. "Free will is not Free" . God does not want Bio-Robots worshipping Him. So he put Satan on this planet to give man an option.
Satan's mission is to stop as many people from going to heaven as possible. He'll use any means available to do so. One of his greatest tools is "earthly success". Jesus once told the story of a wealthy man that wanted to follow Christ. He said that he kept the commandments in an attempt to be righteous. Jesus said, if you want to follow me, go sell all of your belongings. This disappointed the man and he walked away as he was very wealthy. In James' letter he writes that if you're a friend of the world (meaning earthly cultures) you're an enemy of God. So satan uses lust as his biggest weapon. Keep in mind that Satan does not have to get you to act like him to win your soul. You don't even need to be a "bad person" to lose your soul to satan. Unfortunately many undecided believe that God will seperate us according to our "works". This couldn't be further from the truth. We are saved by Grace through faith. Keeping in mind that James says, you say you have faith, but by my works I'll show you my faith. Faith without works in it's self is dead. My point is, you can be as nice as mother Theresa, but unless you have a relationship with Christ, you will hear "depart from me for I never knew you who practice lawlessnes"
We need to separate our human thoughts from Spiritual Heavenly thoughts. It's like the man that died and went to heaven and before he went, he packed his samsonites with Gold Bricks. When he got there, St. Peter helped him unload his luggage and looked at him and said, "You brought pavement with you?"
Eliahu said to Job "God works in ways our mind can't comprehend". This is never more obvious than when we are feeling down trodden or heavy laden. It's especially tough when you teach someone how to do your job, then management fires you because your replacement was cheaper. At times like that, how are we to understand God telling us to be "happy and cheerful" for the person that just took our job?
The answer is in the big picture. Joseph praised God for 9 to 13 years while he was in prison for a crime he didn't commit. He was sold into slavery by his jealous brothers. Yet ultimately, Joseph would be risen by God to become the prime minister of Egypt. With an opportunity to punish those that sold him into slavery (his brothers), He who imprisoned him falsely (Potophor and his wife) and the one that didn't keep his promise when he recieved help from Joseph in prison (the cup bearer)Joseph continued to ackowledge and praise the God of Abraham, the one and almighty God.
For the masses that don't have a relationship with God; The wealth, fame and glory they recieve on this earth will be as close as they will get to heaven. But for the believer who suffers because of his belief system, This life will be as close as we ever get to Hell.
You as a Christian have a divine purpose on this earth. Sometimes your God given talent is not sea worthy yet. Your boat may be ready to sail, but your sails may have moth holes in them. Your life jackets may be faulty. Your rudder may be stuck to the left. God will strip down your spiritual sail boat straight down to the hull. It may take time to repair the holes in the hull and sails. He'll make sure you have life jackets for everyone, he'll make sure you have a chart, compass and horn before he sends you out to sea or to your ultimate destination.
3 reasons God uses adversity:
1. To CORRECT. This is obvious. When I child burns it's hand on a hot stove, it learns to correct it's actions. When you wake up with a hangover, God is telling you to stop getting drunk. When your wife leaves you in divorce, God is wondering why you wouldn't listen to his commandments on adultry.
2. To Protect. This is a true story. I was sitting at an intersection. A long slow red light was making me impatient. When the light finally turned green, the person at the front of the line was asleep or something as many started honking their horns. This delay was about 10 to 15 seconds. As all 3 cars proceeded straight thru the intersection, a garbage truck with it's lift deployed in on coming traffic grabbed a telephone wire. The Telephone POLE attatched to said wire came crushing down on the car that was at the head of the intersection. It flattened the car and the driver like a pancake. From what I learned from the insurance company covering the accident, the driver woke up from a coma the next day with serious spinal damage and very lucky to be alive. But had God not used that 10 to 15 seconds of hesitation, it's very possible that my wife and I would have been the victims of that Telephone pole.
Praise God Hallelujah.
3. To Perfect. As mentioned above in the sailboat analogy, Should God have grand plans for you, He will groom you to be the ambassador worthy of spreading His Gospel. In doing so, He may choose to strip you of your earthly vices. This can often be painful. It could mean ridding you of a drug abusive relationship. (Be not fooled, Bad company corrupts good morals) It could take a while to reprogram your thought process. You may need to be untangled in the web of lust for this world. Lastly, it's been my experience that you are never closer to God than when you have suffered a horrendous loss. Unfortunately it could take such adversity to bring you on your knees in front of God.
In closing, praise God for adversity. See past the initial pain and try to see God's will in it. Even Job's suffering had a purpose to it. Joseph suffered 13 years before becoming the 2nd most powerful man in Egypt.
And in your time of waiting; remember this, God made Jesus wait 30 years before he worked his first miracle or saved his first sinner. He waited 30 years for a 3 year Gospel.
Praise God Hallelujah.
It's very tough to see non-believers driving Hummers, wearing armoni suits, living in mountainous gated communitees wondering which product that comes out next will bare their name. At the same time, good hardworking God fearing Christians struggle to make ends meet and to keep their faith. Why does God allow Satan to ruin the lives of God's children, and at the same time exhalt those that lead the flock away from Christ, the non-believers? The answer is in this one sentence. "Free will is not Free" . God does not want Bio-Robots worshipping Him. So he put Satan on this planet to give man an option.
Satan's mission is to stop as many people from going to heaven as possible. He'll use any means available to do so. One of his greatest tools is "earthly success". Jesus once told the story of a wealthy man that wanted to follow Christ. He said that he kept the commandments in an attempt to be righteous. Jesus said, if you want to follow me, go sell all of your belongings. This disappointed the man and he walked away as he was very wealthy. In James' letter he writes that if you're a friend of the world (meaning earthly cultures) you're an enemy of God. So satan uses lust as his biggest weapon. Keep in mind that Satan does not have to get you to act like him to win your soul. You don't even need to be a "bad person" to lose your soul to satan. Unfortunately many undecided believe that God will seperate us according to our "works". This couldn't be further from the truth. We are saved by Grace through faith. Keeping in mind that James says, you say you have faith, but by my works I'll show you my faith. Faith without works in it's self is dead. My point is, you can be as nice as mother Theresa, but unless you have a relationship with Christ, you will hear "depart from me for I never knew you who practice lawlessnes"
We need to separate our human thoughts from Spiritual Heavenly thoughts. It's like the man that died and went to heaven and before he went, he packed his samsonites with Gold Bricks. When he got there, St. Peter helped him unload his luggage and looked at him and said, "You brought pavement with you?"
Eliahu said to Job "God works in ways our mind can't comprehend". This is never more obvious than when we are feeling down trodden or heavy laden. It's especially tough when you teach someone how to do your job, then management fires you because your replacement was cheaper. At times like that, how are we to understand God telling us to be "happy and cheerful" for the person that just took our job?
The answer is in the big picture. Joseph praised God for 9 to 13 years while he was in prison for a crime he didn't commit. He was sold into slavery by his jealous brothers. Yet ultimately, Joseph would be risen by God to become the prime minister of Egypt. With an opportunity to punish those that sold him into slavery (his brothers), He who imprisoned him falsely (Potophor and his wife) and the one that didn't keep his promise when he recieved help from Joseph in prison (the cup bearer)Joseph continued to ackowledge and praise the God of Abraham, the one and almighty God.
For the masses that don't have a relationship with God; The wealth, fame and glory they recieve on this earth will be as close as they will get to heaven. But for the believer who suffers because of his belief system, This life will be as close as we ever get to Hell.
You as a Christian have a divine purpose on this earth. Sometimes your God given talent is not sea worthy yet. Your boat may be ready to sail, but your sails may have moth holes in them. Your life jackets may be faulty. Your rudder may be stuck to the left. God will strip down your spiritual sail boat straight down to the hull. It may take time to repair the holes in the hull and sails. He'll make sure you have life jackets for everyone, he'll make sure you have a chart, compass and horn before he sends you out to sea or to your ultimate destination.
3 reasons God uses adversity:
1. To CORRECT. This is obvious. When I child burns it's hand on a hot stove, it learns to correct it's actions. When you wake up with a hangover, God is telling you to stop getting drunk. When your wife leaves you in divorce, God is wondering why you wouldn't listen to his commandments on adultry.
2. To Protect. This is a true story. I was sitting at an intersection. A long slow red light was making me impatient. When the light finally turned green, the person at the front of the line was asleep or something as many started honking their horns. This delay was about 10 to 15 seconds. As all 3 cars proceeded straight thru the intersection, a garbage truck with it's lift deployed in on coming traffic grabbed a telephone wire. The Telephone POLE attatched to said wire came crushing down on the car that was at the head of the intersection. It flattened the car and the driver like a pancake. From what I learned from the insurance company covering the accident, the driver woke up from a coma the next day with serious spinal damage and very lucky to be alive. But had God not used that 10 to 15 seconds of hesitation, it's very possible that my wife and I would have been the victims of that Telephone pole.
Praise God Hallelujah.
3. To Perfect. As mentioned above in the sailboat analogy, Should God have grand plans for you, He will groom you to be the ambassador worthy of spreading His Gospel. In doing so, He may choose to strip you of your earthly vices. This can often be painful. It could mean ridding you of a drug abusive relationship. (Be not fooled, Bad company corrupts good morals) It could take a while to reprogram your thought process. You may need to be untangled in the web of lust for this world. Lastly, it's been my experience that you are never closer to God than when you have suffered a horrendous loss. Unfortunately it could take such adversity to bring you on your knees in front of God.
In closing, praise God for adversity. See past the initial pain and try to see God's will in it. Even Job's suffering had a purpose to it. Joseph suffered 13 years before becoming the 2nd most powerful man in Egypt.
And in your time of waiting; remember this, God made Jesus wait 30 years before he worked his first miracle or saved his first sinner. He waited 30 years for a 3 year Gospel.
Praise God Hallelujah.
posted by Ace at
12:43 PM
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