I am not going to wait until I see results or receive rewards… I am thanking You now.I am not going to wait until I feel better or things look better… I am thanking You now.I am not going to wait until the pain in my body disappears… I am thanking You now.I am not going to wait until my financial situation improves… I am thanking You now.
We don't always have to know where the road leads as long as we know it is the right road. While we are "in the way" our Lord has commissioned us to go we must have the faith to take that first step and then, one step at a time, expect our Lord to show us His will about the next step.
What will we do to help those in need? If the society is in decay, what will you do to stop it? The world grows darker only when our (believers) lights grow dimmer.
I’ll finish with a few suggestions. Although there’s nothing a parent can do guarantee that his kids will remain in the faith, you can take some precautionary measures:i) Choose your battles with care. Don’t give your kids too many things to rebel against. The more things you give them to rebel again, the more likely they are to rebel. Don’t load them down with unbiblical restrictions.
ii) In the nature of the case, happy people are not as restive as mad or sad people. For example, some parents treat church attendance as an onerous duty. Like eating your turnips and parsnips and spinach.
Are you kids miserable in church? Why? Try to find out. Try to do something about it.
iii) The world likes to glamorize evil. By contrast, you should expose your kids to the ugly underbelly of evil. Do so in a controlled environment. Take them to shelters for battered women. Or prison ministries. Or night-watch ministries. Expose them to the violence and despair of a godless lifestyle.
iv) Teach them basic reading skills. They should read some of the following books:Craig Blomberg, The Historical Reliability of the GospelsV. Philips Long, The Art of Biblical HistoryLeland Ryken, Words of Delight: A Literary Introduction to the BibleMeir Sternberg, The Poetics of Biblical Narrative
v) And, of course, they should become acquainted with some standard apologetic literature. There’s a lot of find online material.
We must never put our trust in the strength or abilities of men/women. Like David, all believers must "remember the name of the Lord our God" and put our trust in Him.
How do we see Jesus? Is Jesus our Saviour onto eternal life in fellowship with God? Or, Is Jesus a tool to fix problems in this life? When faced with life's problems what do we want from Jesus? Do we want exercise our faith or ease our flesh? Do we want His "strength to be made perfect" in our "weakness"?
If the spiritual is more important than the physical, how should we spend our time and effort?If what we do is more important than what we say, how should we approach ministry?If (the ongoing work of) Salvation is more important than miracles, which one do we need to solve our problems?
Our physical state (healthy or sick, rich or poor, thin or fat, red or yellow) neither qualifies nor disqualifies us for entrance into the Kingdom of God: the ONLY thing that matters is our Spiritual state: whether our sins have been forgiven. If God forgives your sin, then you are in.
Just as a loving mother restricts her baby's motion to help it to rest more comfortably, let us allow God to swaddle us with His Word so that we might find true peace. And may God swaddle us with His Will so that we will love and serve our fellowmen, putting their needs ahead of our own.
Trials in life are certainly not desirable! They are not comfortable, they may cause us pain and inconvenience, but when they are brought by God into our lives there is most definitely something He wants us to learn from them!
I was never going to get married. No amount of wanting it on my end would make it happen, no amount of trying could undo this truth. I was simply not ever going to get married.
It is crucial for every child of God to realize that satan is always on the prowl to destroy the testimony of Christians by throwing temptations into their path. The devil knows our weaknesses sometimes better than we even do! And, He will keep hitting on those areas of our life to try and make us stumble.
Your responsibility begins with what you can control; you are at peace with all the people in your life. Your responsibility ends with what you cannot control - like whether or not they are at peace with you. You will have more personal peace when you accept that responsibility boundary.
When some followers of Christ find themselves suffering, their immediate response is "Lord, deliver me from this, immediately!" He can and sometimes He does. But He often does not. When He does not, it may be because it is His will to grow spiritual character in the life of His follower.