How Precious is the Book Divine

How is Precious Is the Book Divine
By: John Fawcett

How precious is the book divine,
By inspiration given!
Bright as a lamp its teachings shine
To guide our souls to heaven.

Its light, descending from above,
Our gloomy world to cheer,
Displays our Savior’s boundless love
And guide our souls to heaven.

It shows to us our wandering ways
And where our feet have trod
And brings to view the matchless grace
Of our forgiving God.

On all the straight and narrow way
Its radiant beams are cast,
A light whose never weary ray
Grows brightest at the last.

It gladly cheers our drooping hearts
In this dark vale of tears.
Life, peace, and joy its light imparts
And guells our rising fears.

This lamp through all the tedious night
Of life shall guide our way
Till we behold the clearer light
Of an eternal day.

With you there is forgiveness, that you may be feared.

If you, O LORD, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? But with you there is forgiveness, that you may be feared.

(Psalm 130:3-4)

How could the forgiveness of God cause us to fear Him?  Most people have this notion that it's God's wrath and anger that causes us to fear Him.  Wouldn't the love and forgiveness of God produce opposite results, causing us to love Him back?  Yes, that does happen.  But that's not all that happens.

The problem is, without forgiveness, we would become desperate and feel a sense of hopelessness.  Without hope, many would continue down the path of sin and destruction, and depart from their faith in and worship of God.  Just as devils have no fear of God because they have not been granted forgiveness, we would not fear God either.  There might be dread and trembling, but no godly fear.

If God did not grant forgiveness, there would be no godly fear, because condemned humanity will forever hate God and be cut off from him.  But because God took the step of pardoning sin through the sacrifice of his Son, the discovery of this gospel causes us to fear Him.  How can we not fear one who is not only infinitely powerful and just, but also infinitely loving and merciful?  How can our hearts not melt, causing us to fear to offend Him and want to serve Him with gratitude?

There is no God like the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, revealed in the pages of Holy Scripture.  In the latter days, he has revealed Himself in the flesh, through His Son Jesus Christ, in whom is the fulness of God.  He has come to forgive us and offer salvation to the world.  And by doing this, we can only stand in awe, in reverent fear of the only one who is worthy to be praised.

The LORD is...

Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised,

and his greatness is unsearchable.

The LORD is gracious and merciful,

slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.

The LORD is good to all,

and his mercy is over all that he has made.

The LORD upholds all who are falling

and raises up all who are bowed down.

The LORD is righteous in all his ways

and kind in all his works.

The LORD is near to all who call on him,

to all who call on him in truth.

He fulfills the desire of those who fear him;

He also hears their cry and saves them.

Excerpts from Psalm 145

The Mystery of the Word Made Flesh

And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

John 1:14

We Beheld His Glory

It must always be kept in mind that what God thinks about a man is more important than what a man thinks about himself.  As far as God is concerned, what a man is always is more important to God than what that man does. We judge a man by his performance, by what he can contribute. But God sees deeper inside and bores to the very core of what that man really is. God is looking for goodness. It is his character and personality that God looks for. God is never impressed by anything a man can do.

Now bring this over to Christ. What was it that made Him glorious? It was what Jesus was that made Him the glorious person that John writes about. His glory lay in the fact that He was perfect in a loveless world; He was purity in an impure world; He was meekness in a harsh and quarrelsome world. Everything that the world was, Christ was the exact opposite. That was what made Him glorious. “We beheld his glory” referred to the deathless devotion of Christ and His patient suffering and unquenchable life, and the grace and truth at work in Him. He was the glory of the only begotten Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. Thai was what made Jesus wonderful. That was His glory among men.

All of this is little known in the world today. Men and women in all their wild, money-inspired and profit-inspired revelries are not celebrating the great miracle of turning the water into wine. Neither are they celebrating all of the healing acts that Jesus did; the raising of the dead, the cursing of a fig tree, or any of the other miracles that Jesus Christ did (see Mark 11:12-14,20-21; Luke 22:49-51).

The poor world around us, lost in the depravity of its own heart, with little remnants of religious instinct left, does not celebrate what Jesus was. The glory of the Son was that He was God walking among men. Here was something that was not man, but yet was man. Here was God among men. Here was a man acting like God in the midst of sinful men, and this was the wonder of it all.

Being in the Very Form of God…

We celebrate a man today who was God made flesh. We celebrate the deep, dark mystery or the miracle of that which was not God being taken up into God, and being made flesh, so that we now have Jesus Christ who is God and yet who is man. Out of His fullness, we receive. Does it mean that everybody has received the fullness of Jesus Christ? No, it cannot mean that.

What does it mean? Simply that Jesus Christ, the eternal Son, is the only medium in which God dispenses His benefits to His creation. Only through Christ will God dispense blessings on humanity. It is Christ the eternal Son through whom God dispenses His benefits to His creation.

Because Jesus is the eternal Son, because He is of the eternal generation and equal with the Father as pertaining to His substance, His eternity, His love, His power, His grace, His goodness and all the other attributes of deity, He is the channel. He is the medium through which God dispenses all His blessings, all His fullness of all that we receive, as the doe that goes down to the edge of the lake and drinks. Have you received the fullness of the lake? The doe might answer, “Yes and no. I am full from the lake, but I have not received of the fullness of the lake. I did not drink the lake down; I drank what I can hold of the lake.”

Grace upon Grace

Out of His fullness, God has given us through Jesus Christ grace upon grace, so that the only medium through which God does anything is His Son. Whether He created or whether He is creating, it is all through Jesus Christ our Lord. If He speaks, it is through the eternal Word. If He reveals Himself, it is because He who was in the bosom of the Father has revealed Him. If He provides, it is through the medium of Jesus Christ. If He sustains it, it is because it can be said, “He is before all things, and by him all things consist” (Col. 1:17).

Wherever the voice of the creature crosses the vast gulf to the ears of the Creator, grace must operate. We have restricted grace to John 3:16. We must have forgotten that everything God does is out of the grace of His fullness. The only thing that can cross that vast gulf is that amazing grace of God. The great hymn writer, John Newton, put all of this into lyric beauty in his hymn ‘Amazing Grace”:

Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound,

That saved a wretch like me.

I once was lost but now am found,

Was blind, but now, I see.

As amazing as this hymn is, it is just the beginning. John Newton goes on to say:

Through many dangers, toils, and snares

I have already come.

‘Tis Grace hath brought me safe thus far,

And Grace will lead me home.

Whatever any creature has, the amazing grace of God is channeled from God to that creature.  It is grace upon grace.  Even before a person has put his faith and trust in Jesus Christ, he is a recipient of God’s grace.  Even the person who refuses Christ cannot get away from the channel of blessing flowing into his heart and life. He may spend all of eternity in the hell prepared for the devil and his demons, but while he is upon earth, he is a recipient of grace upon grace. Everything God does is by grace. No man, no creature, deserves anything. Salvation is by grace alone. All that God does flows out of grace.

Without exception, everyone has received grace from God.  Everyone has received life and a mind that stores up memories of a lifetime. All of that is evidence of God’s grace toward humanity.

The whole universe is God’s beneficiary and joins to give praise to the Lamb that was slain Under the earth, on the earth, and above the earth, John heard creatures praising Jesus Christ, and all joined, “Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing” (Rev. 5:12).

“Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created” (Rev. 4:11) tells us that the whole universe is a beneficiary of Jesus Christ.

Jesus Christ is All in All

This is where our witnessing to the non-Christians is important.

Everybody we witness to has already benefited from Christ. In our witnessing, we are simply presenting Christ in His new office. Apart from the Lord Jesus Christ, God never did anything.

Throughout His entire universe, God works through the Son.

When we go to an unsaved person and say, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ,” we are only saying, believe on the One who sustains you and upholds you and has given you life and pities you and spares you and keeps you. Believe on the One out of whom you came. All of His fullness we have received, or we have received out of His fullness, and we only present Jesus as Lord and Savior.

There are those who would offer a divided Christ. They say, in effect, “Accept Christ now as your Savior.” And then later on say, “Now, accept Christ as your Lord.” The Bible does not teach anything of the sort.

There is no Saviorhood without Lordship. Jesus Christ is both Lord and Savior, and He was Lord before He was Savior; and if He’s not Lord, He’s not Savior. When we present this Eternal Word that was made flesh and dwelt among us to men as Lord and Savior, we present Him only in His other offices. Previously He has been Creator, Sustainer and Benefactor. Now we ask men to believe on Him as Lord and Savior; but it is the same Lord Jesus.

The suggestion that the Old Testament is a book of law and the New Testament a book of grace is a false premise. There is as much grace and mercy and love in the Old Testament as there is in the New. There is more about hell in the New Testament than there is in the Old. When it comes to judgment and the fury of God burning with fury upon simple men and simple creatures, it is found in the New Testament, not in the Old. If you want excoriation, blisters and burns, do not go to Jeremiah, go to Jesus Christ.

The God of the Old Testament is the God of the New, and the Father of the Old Testament is the Father of the New Testament. The Christ who was made flesh to dwell among us is the Christ who walked through all the pages of the Old Testament. Was it the law that forgave David when he committed his immoral sin? No, it was grace. Was it grace that said, “Babylon has fallen, the great harlot is fallen, Babylon, is fallen’? No, it was law.

There is perfect and absolute harmony between all persons of the Godhead. What he says here is the contrast between all that Moses could do and all that Christ could do. Moses gave the law. That was all Moses could do, for he was not the channel through which God dispensed grace. God chose His only begotten Son.

Here lies the contrast: “the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ,” means only that all that Moses could do was command righteousness; but Jesus Christ produces righteousness. All that Moses could do was forbid us to sin; but Jesus Christ came to save us from sin. This is not to pit one against the other, but to show one doing what the other could not do. For Moses could not save, but Jesus could. The Holy Ghost, in Romans 10:4-7, said the law Moses gave was holy, just and good and must not be spoken against. But it could not save. But because Jesus Christ is the eternal Son, the channel through which God dispenses grace to the world, grace came through Jesus Christ.

Grace precedes everything—from the first day of creation until the Virgin Mary gave birth in a Bethlehem manger. For it was the grace of God in Christ that saved the human race from extinction when they sinned in the Garden. It was the grace of God in Jesus Christ yet to be born that saved the eighth person when the Flood covered the earth. And it was the grace of God in Jesus Christ yet to be born, but existing in preincarnation glory, that forgave David when he committed his sin; that for gave Abraham when he lied; that enabled Abraham to pray God down to 10 righteous persons when He was threatening to destroy Sodom; that forgave Israel repeatedly.

It was the grace of God in Christ yet before the Incarnation that made God say, “I have risen early in the morning and stretched out My hands unto you.” It made him say, “Like as a father pitieth his children, so the LORD pitieth them that fear him” (Ps. 103:13). Jesus is the channel through which grace comes. And He said, “I am the truth,” and it is through Him that grace is released to the world, through His wounded side, to sinners like you and me. All the grace of God anywhere comes through Jesus Christ. Then he says, “No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him” (John 1:18).

[An except from A.W. Tozer’s And He Dwelt Among Us]

Chosen

After these things He went out and saw a tax collector named Levi, sitting at the tax office. And He said to him, "Follow Me." So he left all, rose up, and followed Him.  (Luke 5:27-28 NKJV)

I've always wondered if Jesus said anything else to Levi as He approached him in that tax office.  Could a simple "Follow Me" from someone he most likely didn't know personally, lead Levi to leave all that he had?  I wish I was there to witness that moment, to see the look in Jesus' eyes and the look in Levi's eyes.  What exactly happened that eventful day?

Whatever took place, it was definitely in the realm of reality.  People do just leave all, rise up, and follow Christ.  I know people who have left good paying jobs to pursue a ministry in preaching Christ and Him crucified.  I can also attest to this reality, as I forsook all that I lived for some ten odd years ago, to pursue the One who at that moment, was worth more than anything else.  I have never seen Jesus face to face, but I experienced His holiness, forgiveness, compassion, and mercy that one eventful night, and I can only imagine that whatever led Levi to forsake all for Him, he was convinced that this Man was worth more than anything else in the world.

This leads me to think, "If Jesus had this mind and heart transforming power to call people to forsake all that they had, to follow Him who is infinitely worthy, why didn't everyone just simply follow Him, being in the mere presence of the Lord?  Why was it only a select few that actually left all to follow Him?"  I believe it is because being in the mere presence of Jesus wasn't enough to convince people that He is worthy.

I have a friend who in the past asked me, "Do you think people would have responded differently if Jesus came to this earth, not 2000 years ago, but today, in our modern society?"  I think he was suggesting that perhaps if people had proof today of the Son of God walking around, they would more likely believe.  I suggested that people would respond the same today.  They may see Jesus' miracles and start to follow Him, but for the same reason the ancient people rejected Him, people today would eventually do the same.  People who want "proof" are interested in something supernatural, something "god-like".  After awhile, they will start to get disinterested in everything that Jesus stood for -- humility, self-denial, bearing one's cross, turning the other cheek, living like a servant in the presence of all men and God.  Modern people may be even more brutal and critical if Christ was walking the earth today.

Back to Levi, forsaking all to follow Him.  What made Levi's response different than the ones that rejected Christ?  What solidified his allegiance, though he had doubts when Jesus was crucified but ultimately surrendered his life for Christ after the resurrection?  In other words, why is it that some people ultimately reject Christ and others receive Him like infinitely worthy treasure?  Notice the scripture written above.  It is not Levi who approached Jesus first.  Jesus is the initiator.  Jesus spoke to Him first.  Jesus spoke, "Follow Me," and Levi responded and followed.  There is a concept of initiation and invitation that is important in salvation.  No one is saved unless the invitation is given.  Consider the following scriptures:

It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. But there are some of you who do not believe." (For Jesus knew from the beginning who those were who did not believe, and who it was who would betray him.) And he said, "This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father." After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him. (John 6:63-66 ESV)

Jesus answered them, "I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father's name bear witness about me, but you do not believe because you are not part of my flock. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand. I and the Father are one."
(John 10:25-30 ESV)

You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you.
(John 15:16 ESV)

Some may bring up the fact that the Gospel call has been given to all.  The invitation to heaven has been given to the whole world.  This is true, but do you remember Jesus' parable of the king's wedding feast for his son?  It's found in Matthew 22.  The king sent his servants to call those who were invited to the feast, but they would not come.  They paid no attention, one to his farm, another to his business, and the rest seized the servants, treated them shamefully, and killed them.  The king became angry and sent his troops to destroy those murderers.  He then told his servants to go to the main roads and invite as many people as they could find.  The servants gathered a whole bunch of people and filled the wedding hall with guests.  But when the king saw a man without a wedding garment, he said to him, "Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment?" And the man was speechless.  Then the king said to the attendants, "Bind him hand and foot and cast him into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."

Then Jesus concluded the parable with this line:

For many are called, but few are chosen. (Matthew 22:13)

That man that actually got into the wedding hall was so close!  How was he rejected?  Because he did not have the proper attire.  And if you go on to read the rest of the Gospel, it will become evident that this proper attire is Christ.  Our clothes need to be washed in the blood of Christ in order to come into the presence of a holy banquet and to sit at the banquet table of God.

The invitation has been given.  Have you responded properly by putting on Christ, forgiven by Him, and abiding in Him?  If you can say with assurance that you know this of yourself, then you my brother and sister, have not just been invited, but chosen.  Now go, and follow Him.

Knowing God's Word will keep you from sin, or sin will keep you from knowing His Word.

God has given us His Word as a guide for our life. However, His Word won't help us if we don't study it, know it, and live by it. Therefore, we must diligently study and apply God's Word if we wish for it to have an impact on our lives.

Jesus promised, "If you abide in My word ..., you are truly My disciples. And you will know the Truth, and the Truth will set you free" (John 8:31-32, AMP). That's a promise that if we abide in His Word, we will know the Truth, because His Word is the Truth.

So it makes sense that God told the Israelites, "Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful" (Joshua 1:8).

Joshua later repeated a similar instruction: "Be careful to obey all that is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, without turning aside to the right or to the left" (Joshua 23:6).

Why is it so important to follow God's Word? Because His Word keeps us from turning aside to the right or to the left; it keeps us on the straight and narrow path that leads to life. (see Matthew 7:13-14).

Therefore, abide in His Word, because His Word will keep you from sin.

[Weekly Wisdom - ChristNotes.org]

Cry Out for Discernment

My son, if you receive my words, And treasure my commands within you, So that you incline your ear to wisdom, And apply your heart to understanding; Yes, if you cry out for discernment, And lift up your voice for understanding, If you seek her as silver, And search for her as for hidden treasures; Then you will understand the fear of the Lord, And find the knowledge of God.

Proverbs 2:1-5 NKJV

For the one who stores treasures on Earth, death is loss, but for the one who stores treasures in Heaven, death becomes gain.

In his longest sermon, known as the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus says this: "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal" (Matthew 6:19-20).

Jesus commands us not to store up earthly treasures. Why? Because they're bad? No. Because they won't last!

Jesus makes absolutely clear that all earthly treasures will not last. Either they will leave you while you live, or you will leave them when you die. There are no exceptions.

 

Jesus tells us not to store up earthly treasures, but amazingly he instead says that we can—indeed, should—store up for ourselves treasures in heaven. It's an amazing concept that we can use our earthly (temporary) treasures in such a way as to assure ourselves heavenly (eternal) treasures.

How can you store up for yourself treasures in heaven? By investing in eternal causes instead of temporary ones—by giving to the poor instead of hording up money for yourself (see 1 Timothy 6:17-19, Matthew 19:21, Mark 10:21, and Luke 12:33). By putting your treasures into eternal causes you secure for yourself treasures that can never be lost.

Proverbs 23:5 says, Cast but a glance at riches, and they are gone, for they will surely sprout wings and fly off to the sky like an eagle. Next time you buy something you really care about, imagine it sprouting wings and flying off. That will help you keep an eternal perspective, remembering that every earthly treasure is temporary.

When you die, you will lose every treasure that you have stored up on Earth, but when you die, you will also receive every treasure that you have stored up in heaven. In that way, death is a loss for the one who stores up treasures on Earth, but death is a gain for the one who stores up treasures in Heaven.

[Weekly Wisdom - ChristNotes.org]

Vessels of Honor

2 Timothy 2:21-26

Verse 21. "Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from these things, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified, useful to the Master, prepared for every good work."

The "vessels" mentioned here and in the previous verse are intended by the Lord to be washed clean. In the work of God, we who have faith in Him were something like dirty dishes - caked with muddy sin; but we were thoroughly washed by what Jesus Christ did for us on the cross. But then like the drinking vessels in the cupboard of a typical home, if they are not used for a time, dust will settle upon them and they must be rinsed before additional use. The "dust" and other impurities that cover our lives and make us less fit for the Lord's purposes are seen in words and phrases we will encounter in the verses of this chapter. We are made clean by fleeing from youthful lusts (Verse 22), from foolish and ignorant speculations along with quarrels (Verses 23-24), and from worldly and empty chatter as we saw in Verse 16.

We need help, for just like the glass in our cupboard that needs to be rinsed clean, we cannot effectively wash ourselves. It is the Lord Himself who does it. Jesus said to His disciples, "You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you" (John 15:3). And then He continued, "Abide in Me. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me" (John 15:4). Reading on from those verses reveals that we are not to do all of this alone, for the Holy Spirit of God has been given to us. Yes we are to make ourselves clean, but what we have to do is being done for us by the Spirit of God.

Verse 22. "Now flee from youthful lusts and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart."

One of the disturbing aspects of our "modern" culture is that "youthful lusts" are actually being encouraged in most of the countries in the world. Outsiders could look at what are the latest "fads" and see that the world is becoming what many have called in the past a "decadent" civilization. And it's happening everywhere. Little concern is given to "righteousness, faith, love and peace," even though the actions associated with those words are valued highly by the Lord. Those words are included within a list of what is called "the fruits of the Spirit" in Galatians 5:22-23. Another word there is "self-control," a subject about which our "modern" culture seems to care little about.

It should be noted by those who purport to be a part of the church that people in other religions look seriously at us and believe our actions more than our words. If we have a reputation for being "Christians," we are under scrutiny. There was a time, early in the formation of the USA, when the European settlers in America were drifting away from Christ, and the Lord sent men like Jonathan Edwards, urging the people he called "sinners," to get right with "an angry God." Many were "born again" as Jesus called it in John 3:3,7, and it can be argued that certain countries only exist because some of its citizens trust in Jesus. Whoever we are, we need to turn our backs on the mentality of "youthful lusts" and instead repent, pursuing the "righteousness, faith, love and peace" He gives, calling out in prayer "from a pure heart."

Verse 23. "But refuse foolish and ignorant speculations, knowing that they produce quarrels."

The concerns noted in relation to Verse 22 are not the focus of most who say they are a part of the religious system called "Christianity." People want to look young, act young and do things that young people do, no matter how old they may be. Plastic surgery, cosmetics, hair replacement and more - people are choosing "youthful lusts" over "righteousness, faith, love and peace;" over hearts made pure by the Lord. Plastic surgery to repair a disfigurement is wonderful, but the process becomes ugly when it is done merely because of vanity. Our outward appearance is far less important than what we are inside.

We are at our best when we merely are what we are, using the gifts He has given us, and avoiding "foolish and ignorant speculations" which, as this verse so clearly states, only "produce quarrels." The world looks at the church and decides we are superficial, vain, deceitful and argumentative. The fact that "ALL have sinned and come short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23) escapes their notice, for people like to point accusingly at others and try to avoid blame themselves. We in the church need to "examine (ourselves) as to whether (we) are in the faith" (2 Corinthians 13:5), for the world is looking and deciding we fall short of the glory of God.

Verse 24. "The Lord's bond-servant must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, able to teach, patient when wronged,"

Sometimes Christians act like they think God is some sort of personal-assistant. We tell Him what we want, insist that He answers our need and become angry when He doesn't seem to do it. The word for "bond-servant" in this verse should be a wake-up call for us to recognize that most of us are badly mistaken about who we are in relation to the One who created us. The Greek word here is "doulos," which means we are the bond-slaves of God. He is the One who directs us and tells us what He wants, not the other way around. And He is the One who should be angry, not us, for humanity is in rebellion against Him.

A great deal of conversation among Christians remains superficial, because if we talked about deep things, a fight might break out. "Quarrelsome" here was a word generally used of armed combatants, those who engaged in hand-to-hand combat. Instead of such words, we are indeed to speak meaningfully, but we are also to be "kind to all," gently sharing with others in a spirit of loving honesty. We will be "wronged" by others, but those are moments when we pray, letting the Holy Spirit answer in and through us with the profound patience that comes from God.

Verse 25. "with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition, if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth,"

There were many in opposition to the teachings of the Apostle Paul, the writer of this Second Letter to Timothy. Some just didn't like him and many had some kind of agenda they wished to present. Paul mentioned two men, "Hymenaeus and Philetus," earlier in this chapter. They went around telling people that "the resurrection has already taken place," for some reason, which shook the faith of many who listened to their words. They spoke something of the truth for there will be a resurrection, but assigned it to the past as though it had already happened, which was a lie.

Paul knew precisely how it felt to be lied about, to be slandered in a manner that would lead others away from "the knowledge of the truth." We are indeed to prayerfully correct those who are in opposition to the Word of God, but do it with "gentleness" when we can. Such a response is usually impossible for two obvious reasons: If we reply meekly they might not listen, and second, if we answer with strength, we can become "quarrelsome" as Paul warned about in the preceding verse. There is no formula about how to act, but rather we look to God in each situation, understanding that, "When I am weak, then I am strong" as Paul noted in 2 Corinthians 12:9-10. It is God's words we need; not our own.

Verse 26. "and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will."

Sometimes, when we are attacked because we love the Lord, He will whisper into our hearts, "Say nothing!" and we should be quiet. As a general rule, whatever our response is, we are to respond "with gentleness" if possible, as Paul advised in Verse 25. In any case, we are to look to the Lord and not merely trust in some ability we might think we have. The hope is that "God may grant them repentance," that those who are deluded will be led out of lies and into the truth.

The youthful lusts, the foolish and ignorant speculations and the quarrels mentioned in the preceding verses, are, as Paul said, from the "devil." That doesn't mean that you can excuse bad behavior by saying, "The devil made me do it," for James observed that "each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires..." (James 1:14). We all would prefer others to like us, to listen to us and believe what we say, and unfortunately both sides in an argument are often wrong because they argue from selfish motives. We are to pray and look to the Lord, for His motives are infinitely good.

Lord, we come to You now, understanding that our motives tend to be poor. We ask, Holy Spirit, for Your strong gentleness to fill us, along with the love that comes from God. Keep us in truth. We pray that our words and actions will lead others and ourselves to repentance and to the Lord. In Jesus Name. Amen.

Ron Beckham, Pastor
Friday Study Ministries
Send comments: Ron@FridayStudy.org.
Visit: www.FridayStudy.org.
"While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8)

Life transformation is rooted in mind transformation.

Where your mind goes, your actions follow. Whatever you think about will dictate your behavior, your attitude, and (ultimately) your direction in life. Your thoughts are sort of like a rudder—they steer the rest of your body.

Considering the influence of your mind on your life, it's no surprise Paul emphasizes that in order for our lives to be changed by Christ our thoughts must first be changed by Him: Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will (Romans 12:2). How are we to be transformed? By renewing (changing, refocusing) our minds so that they reflect the mind of Christ.

If our minds are so important, then it's quite understandable that the devil would fight to gain a foothold in our thoughts. Paul writes, in 2 Corinthians 4:4, The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

What better place for the devil to attack people than in their minds? As thunder follows lighting, so actions follow thoughts. And if Satan can turn your thoughts against God, your actions will assuredly follow.

Therefore, it's imperative that you set your minds on things above, not on earthly things (Colossians 3:2). And when you focus your mind on God, it's only a matter of time before your actions, your passions, your attitudes—your whole life—become focused on God.

[Weekly Wisdom - ChristNotes.org]

Psalm 86

 ¹ Bow down Your ear, O LORD, hear me;
         For I am poor and needy.
 ² Preserve my life, for I am holy;
         You are my God;
         Save Your servant who trusts in You!
 ³ Be merciful to me, O Lord,
         For I cry to You all day long.
 ⁴ Rejoice the soul of Your servant,
         For to You, O Lord, I lift up my soul.
 ⁵ For You, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive,
         And abundant in mercy to all those who call upon You.

⁶ Give ear, O LORD, to my prayer;
         And attend to the voice of my supplications.
 ⁷ In the day of my trouble I will call upon You,
         For You will answer me.

 ⁸ Among the gods there is none like You, O Lord;
         Nor are there any works like Your works.
 ⁹ All nations whom You have made
         Shall come and worship before You, O Lord,
         And shall glorify Your name.
 ¹⁰ For You are great, and do wondrous things;
         You alone are God.   

  ¹¹ Teach me Your way, O LORD;
         I will walk in Your truth;
         Unite my heart to fear Your name.
 ¹² I will praise You, O Lord my God, with all my heart,
         And I will glorify Your name forevermore.
 ¹³ For great is Your mercy toward me,
         And You have delivered my soul from the depths of Sheol.

Psalm 86:1-13 (NKJV)

Listen to your prayers, because they locate your level of spiritual maturity.

What are you praying for? Are you asking God to give you more stuff--a bigger house, a new car, a bigger salary? What you pray for indicates what is important to you.

It is a great lesson to examine what the people in the Bible prayed for.

King David, in Psalm 27:4, prayed, One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple. He asked God for just one thing: that he would dwell in God's presence. David clearly knew that in God's presence he would receive everything he needed (see Matthew 6:33).

Paul also didn't pray for worldly things. Instead, in Philippians 1:9, Paul prayed that the church would walk in love: And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more. Paul knew the importance of love, and so he made it a point to pray that the church would grow more and more in love.  Furthermore, he prayed that believers would be strengthened spiritually: I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through His Spirit in your inner being (Ephesians 3:16).

In short, your prayers can tell what you consider to be important. If you are only praying for worldly stuff, then you are neglecting what is of lasting value: knowing God, dwelling in His presence, walking in His love, and being strong spiritually.

Therefore, decide to adjust what you're praying for. Learn to listen to your prayers, because they locate your level of spiritual maturity.

[Weekly Wisdom - ChristNotes.org]

If you're too busy to spend time with God, then you're simply too busy.

In the world we live in today, it is very easy to get so incredibly caught up in all of the demands that culture places on us that we don't have any time to spend with God.

However, the fact that so many things compete for every person's time isn't new to the world. Indeed, in Luke 10:38-42, we see the story of how two people responded to this same problem in two very different ways: As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet listening to what he said. ...

We see that after Jesus entered the home, He evidently started teaching, and Mary, Martha's sister, stopped what she was doing and listened to Jesus. It's important to realize that Mary didn't know Jesus was coming, and so it certainly wasn't her plan to stop what she was doing and sit at His feet, listening to Him. However, Mary considered hearing from God so important that she altered her schedule to spend time with God.

... But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, "Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!" Here, we see that Martha responded very differently than her sister: she became really busy and caught up in what she was doing -- probably preparing a meal, cleaning the house, or something similar.

When Martha complained to Jesus about how Mary was using her time, Jesus responded: "Martha, Martha, ... you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her."

One sister was willing to drop everything in order to hear from God; the other was too busy with everyday life in order to spend time with God. Jesus makes it clear that the way Mary chose to use her time was better.

In your life, you need to be willing to use your time like Mary did. Don't let little things steal your time away from what's really important in life. You must realize that there is no lasting value to the "urgent" things many people often allow to interfere with what's truly important. It would not have mattered if Martha hadn't cleaned the house that day.

You need to be willing to let your schedule be altered if knowing God better requires it. Don't be like Martha and get so caught up in life's distractions that you miss Jesus.

[Weekly Wisdom - ChristNotes.org]

Kindle Afresh the Gift of God

2 Timothy 1:6-10

Verse 6. "For this reason I remind you to kindle afresh the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands."

"Use it or lose it" remained a popular expression in the late 20th Century, and it was applied to both mental and physical activities. What we have received from God, such as our muscles, should be used if possible or they will atrophy. Most people do not even recognize that God gives additional abilities through His Holy Spirit to those who will receive them, but He does, and Timothy is encouraged here to USE the "gift of God," lest it atrophy within him. Timothy's "gift of God" is not specified, which is just as well because this warning, this concern applies to all who have trusted in the Lord and have received the various gifts of the Holy Spirit. We are to use what we have been given.

If you have been given a gift of what is called "healing," then keep on praying for the sick, for your gift will grow stronger as it is used and people will be restored. Many of the gifts are listed in 1 Corinthians Chapters 12 and 14, with a break in between, showing us in Chapter 13 that the greatest gift of all is the agape "love" of God in us. Listed in Chapter 12 are, "wisdom... knowledge... faith... healings... miracles... prophecy... discerning of spirits... tongues... (and) interpretation of tongues" (1 Corinthians 12:4-10). The gifts take differing forms in different people, and it is likely that each one of us is uniquely gifted, and all of us are absolutely necessary to all others in the body of Christ. So whatever God has gifted you with, "kindle afresh" that gift and use it for the glory of God.

Verse 7. "For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline."

Actually, the "spirit of timidity" seems to be strangely prevalent in our churches of today. Where currently are the gifts of God mentioned by Paul in Verse 6? Imitations of them abound, but where are the real gifts? Paul had prayed for Timothy, who, as a result received a "gift of God" as a response to the prayerful "laying on of (Paul's) hands" on the younger man. We do not directly know through the context of these verses what that gift might have been, but the fact is, there were many gifts in operation in the church of that time which are not seen today. How often has "discerning of spirits" been used in your church? The answer to the question, "Where did they go?" maybe at least partly due to the fact that most of them are "low-key" in nature and usually not seen by others, but also due to the "timidity" of those in today's church.

Paul is giving us a look at the OPPOSITE of "timidity," which he referred to as "power and love and discipline." The Greek word for "discipline" here can also be translated as "saving the mind" or a "sound mind." Now, none of the three, power, love and a sound mind can be made ours through our own strength and abilities. Paul observes the human tendency toward "timidity," whereas "power and love and discipline" are given to us by God. As is true of all that is given by the Lord, there are indeed imitations of these qualities, but what we need, what the world needs, is that which is directly from the Throne of God to those who have faith in the Lord, through His Holy Spirit.

Verse 8. "Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord or of me His prisoner, but join with me in suffering for the gospel according to the power of God,"

There are two areas of our Christian walk through life in which we can become confused: 1) The Gospel, the Good News about the Lord can be a stumbling block for those who don't fully understand what was done for us as individuals and for humanity; and 2) We can study the lives of Christians we know or hear about and become very troubled because of what they have done and what has happened to them. In the first place it is clear that our Leader, Jesus the Christ who is the "Gospel" incarnate, died the death of a common criminal. Some have stumbled because of the nature of His death. Note that lots of people have died in such a manner, but His was utterly different because it was the only death in human history that offers LIFE to all who place their faith in the One who died and rose again.

Paul was fully aware that some are ashamed, as seen in this verse and in places like Romans 1:16, where he cried out, "I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek." Our part is merely to TRUST in what the Lord has done. Paul continued in Romans 1:17, "For in it (the Gospel) the righteousness of God is revealed from faith; as it is written, 'The just shall live by faith.'" And we can be put-off by the people who are often called "Christians." Many have become role models for others and then have fallen. Paul did nothing wrong, but was in prison and many were disturbed by what had happened to him. Let's give one another the freedom to repent of what we or they have done, and as to those like Paul who are wrongly convicted by society, by the church, or by our own attitudes, let's become willing to receive them, to surround them with the love of God that is supposed to be in us.

Verse 9. "who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity,"

Many have been blessed through the centuries by the words of Ephesians 2:8-9, which says, "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast." We can all breathe a sigh of relief as we read those words and the words of this verse originally written to Timothy, because it is written that we do not have to strive or work to be saved. Our attitudes are the basis of our outward actions, and all of us have had thoughts that would disqualify us from the kingdom of God. As Paul pointed out in another place, "ALL have sinned and come short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23).

"Works" do not save us, but when we place our faith in the Lord and let Him into our lives, the good works do begin to happen. That can be seen in Ephesians 2:10, where Paul continued, "We are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them." God has "His own purpose" for us, and He gives us "grace, which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity." The Lord established a blueprint, a plan for each of our lives before we were ever born and when we relax and let ourselves trust in Him, He will bring that blueprint to pass in our lives.

Verse 10. "but now has been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel,"

There is so much grief in the world because of death, a humanly irreversible ending for every one of us. It takes those we love, one-by-one, and then we, too, are swept into its grip. "Fear of death" keeps all humanity in bondage, for we have all become its slaves as you can read in Hebrews 2:15. These verses in 2nd Timothy are extremely important because we are shown how we can be released from death altogether. It's as though we are in a crowded theater and someone shouts "Fire, Fire!" We don't want it to be true, but we can smell the smoke and people are running.

And then through the darkness we see the neon sign that says, "Exit." There is a way out and what we must do is go through that door. Our "Exit" door is "our Savior Christ Jesus who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel." As Jesus Himself said, though His listeners at the moment did not understand His words, "I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved..." (John 10:9). If at this moment you simply allow yourself to have the faith that the "Exit" door offered in Christ will take you to safety, then "death" WILL be "abolished" for you. Your body may die for a time, but you will live. Will you trust in the Lord?

Thank You, Lord, for when You saw our condition, You did not turn Your back on us or destroy us, but came to us, responded to our need and died a terrible death in our place that gives us life. We confess our sins, and ask that You will forgive us. Save us, Lord; we trust in You now. Thank You. In Jesus Name. Amen.

Friday Study Ministries
www.FirstChurchOnTheNet.org
www.FridayStudy.org
Write to: Ron@FridayStudy.org
"While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8)

Taste and See that the Lord is Good!

I will bless the LORD at all times;
His praise shall continually be in my mouth.
My soul shall make its boast in the LORD;
The humble shall hear of it and be glad.
Oh, magnify the LORD with me,
And let us exalt His name together.

I sought the LORD, and He heard me,
And delivered me from all my fears.
They looked to Him and were radiant,
And their faces were not ashamed.
This poor man cried out, and the LORD heard him,
And saved him out of all his troubles.

The Angel of the LORD encamps all around those who fear Him,

And delivers them.

Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good;

Blessed is the man who trusts in Him!

Oh, fear the LORD, you His saints!

There is no want to those who fear Him.

The young lions lack and suffer hunger;
But those who seek the LORD shall not lack any good thing.

Come, you children, listen to me;
I will teach you the fear of the LORD.
Who is the man who desires life,
And loves many days, that he may see good?
Keep your tongue from evil,
And your lips from speaking deceit.

Depart from evil and do good;

Seek peace and pursue it.

The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous,

And His ears are open to their cry.

The face of the LORD is against those who do evil,
To cut off the remembrance of them from the earth.

The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears,
And delivers them out of all their troubles.

The LORD is near to those who have a broken heart,

And saves such as have a contrite spirit.

Many are the afflictions of the righteous,
But the LORD delivers him out of them all.
He guards all his bones;
Not one of them is broken.
Evil shall slay the wicked,
And those who hate the righteous shall be condemned.

The LORD redeems the soul of His servants,

And none of those who trust in Him shall be condemned.

--Psalm 34 (NKJV)

Man Shall Not Live by Bread Alone

"Every commandment which I command you today you must be careful to observe, that you may live and multiply, and go in and possess the land of which the Lord swore to your fathers. And you shall remember that the Lord your God led you all the way these forty years in the wilderness, to humble you and test you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not. So He humbled you, allowed you to hunger, and fed you with manna which you did not know nor did your fathers know, that He might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord."

Deuteronomy 8:1-3  (NKJV)

God, give me the desire for you like the desire you have for me.

If you've been around a church, you've certainly heard that God loves you. Although that is true, the word "love" hardly does justice to the way God views you. God's relentless passion and his incomparable zeal for you is beyond comprehension. You can only begin to understand the very tip of the iceberg of God's love for you.

Think of it like this: We can understand someone dying for a person worth dying for, and we can understand how someone good and noble could inspire us to selfless sacrifice. But God put his love on the line for us by offering his Son in sacrificial death while we were of no use whatever to him (Romans 5:7-8, The Message).

How should we respond to the knowledge that God put his love on the line for us? How can we do anything other than put our love on the line for Him and passionately pursue that same God who passionately pursues us? If you were stranded in the ocean and someone came out to rescue you, immediately you would want to join up with and get to know that person. God offers rescue from the domain of sin and darkness; it would be foolish to want anything other than to join up with and get to know the very God who rescues you.

This is the essence of Paul's drive to know God: But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead (Philippians 3:7-11).

Paul was so intent on knowing Christ that he considered everything else in life to be trash compared to knowing Christ. When Paul witnessed the extent of God's desire for him, Paul's response was to passionately, relentlessly desire and pursue God.

Learn from Paul. Pray that God would give you the same desire for Him as He has for you.

That No Flesh Should Glory in His Presence

But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, that no flesh should glory in His presence.

1 Corinthians 1:27-29 (NKJV)

When Trouble Comes

"The Lord had closed her womb" (1 Samuel 1:5) 

Today's Scripture (1 Samuel 1:5) is about a lady named Hannah who was to become the mother of Samuel the Prophet, who would be Judge of Israel.  At the time this was written, Hannah had no children, and that was the great problem in her life.  She had a husband named "Elkanah" who loved her, as it says, but life became complicated for he also had another wife named Peninnah, who had given him sons and daughters (1 Samuel 1:4).  Things were difficult for Hannah, because not only did she personally lack children by Elkanah, but "her rival...would provoke her bitterly to irritate her, because the Lord had closed her womb" (1 Samuel 1:6).  Elkanah's other wife had become really annoying in the way she treated Hannah.

Enclosed within both verses 5 and 6 of 1st Samuel are the identical words, "The Lord had closed her womb."  This is important because many have believed and taught that our good Lord, if He is good, (and He IS good – utterly good), would never allow us to experience problems in life.  If something goes wrong, that philosohy concludes it must be due to some error on our or someone else’s part – We lacked sufficient faith, or there was sin in our lives – something or someone caused it!  (But not God, according to that idea).

For those who believe that God DOES cause (or allow) some kind of harm to come to "good" people, it’s often in relation to blame (we are a race of people who like to assign blame).  The question is asked: "How could a good God allow this to happen to my child – to ME?"  Often this is a pretext utilized in order to refrain from receiving our Lord in a personal way.  "If God isn’t good, why would we want Him?" they seem to be asking, and reject the One who allowed this to occur.

There are very good reasons why God might allow trouble to come into our lives, but first, let’s establish whether or not He ever DOES cause or allow such things.   Actually just one such occurrence (like "The Lord had closed her womb") would establish the principle, but there are many more examples, and here are a few:

• "The LORD struck Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai, Abram’s wife" (Genesis 12:17)
• "Who has made man’s mouth? Or who makes him dumb or deaf, or seeing or blind?  Is it not I, the LORD?" (Exodus 4:11)
• "The hand of the LORD will come with a very severe pestilence on your livestock which are in the field" (Exodus 9:3)
• "The LORD will smite you with consumption and with fever and with inflammation and with fiery heat and with the sword" (etc.) (Deuteronomy 28:22)
• "The LORD will make the rain of your land powder and dust" (Deuteronomy 28:24)
• "The LORD will cause you to be defeated before your enemies" (Deuteronomy 28:25)
• "The LORD will smite you with the boils of Egypt and with hemorrhoids (ouch) and with the scab and with the itch" (Deuteronomy 28:27)
• "The LORD will smite you with madness and with blindness and with bewilderment of heart" (Deuteronomy 28:28)
• "The LORD was against the city with very great confusion, and He smote the men of the city, both young and old, so that hemorrhoids broke out on them" (ouch again) (1^st Samuel 5:9)
• "I withheld the rain from you" (Amos 4:7)
• "I sent a plague among you" (Amos 4:10)
• "An angel of the LORD struck him because he did not give God the glory" (Acts 12:23)
• "There was given me a thorn in the flesh…concerning this I entreated the Lord three times that it might depart from me.  And He has said to me ‘My grace is sufficient for you…’" (2 Corinthians 12:7-9 – essentially the Lord responded with a strong "No" to Paul’s prayer

Again, this is just a sampling, and the point is that God DOES either cause or allow trouble to come into the lives of people just like you and me.  The question is – Why?  Actually, there are several reasons and we will look at just a few of them.

It is true, by the way, that much of our trouble is caused by the enemy (Satan).  But even his activities have a usefulness in the good and perfect hand of God.   As an example, look at Job Chapter 1.  It was Satan who did all those terrible things to Job, but we must also look where it started.  Satan was before the Throne of God (Job 1:6) and after a few words, the Lord asked Satan, "Have you considered My servant Job?  For there is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man…" (Job 1:8).  It was like a dare (a challenge) to the evil one, who took the bait and smote Job.  This was just like the enemy's response in relation to the Cross of Jesus Christ.  The enemy saw his chance and went for it.  But it was the Lord who gave him permission to act, and infinite good has come from the cross of Christ.

And we certainly CAN cause trouble for ourselves.  Often our problems are in relation to something we don’t have, but need, like money, a marriage, success in business, health, etc.  James tells that at least SOME of our problems come from a lack of prayer.  "You do not have because you do not ask" (James 4:2).  He went on to say that some of the failures to receive answers are "because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures" (James 4:3).

On the other side of these considerations is the character of God.  He is simply – "Love" (1 John 4:8).  Everything He does or allows is designed to bring you to the place of true faith (and you will like what He has in store for you).  The Lord God uses sickness and trials like a tool (and so does Satan), but in God's Hand, the problem is going to have a good outcome, whereas the enemy just wants to kill and destroy.  All will ultimately work for good, however, for God is indeed – good (Romans 8:28).

Our God is the one "Who pardons all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases," and, in Christ, we have the victory, because He "redeems your life from the pit" (Psalm 103:3-4).   We have established who He is, but some questions remain as to WHY He does or allows such difficulties in our lives.

Some of the answers are in James 4:2-3 – We bring part of it on ourselves.   Most (but not all) of the examples earlier in this sermon involved people (Pharaoh, et al) who were functioning against the will of God, and needed to be stopped.  And He WILL shape our lives to direct us.  As we see in the life of Paul:  "It was because of a bodily illness that I preached the Gospel to you the first time" (Galatians 4:13).  Paul had what was possibly something like a "cold" or the "flu" and it was not because he lacked faith or was a sinner, but it was in relation to the need of the Galatians.

We have trials that are intended to prove our faith (1 Peter 1:6-7).  The recipients of Peter’s letter had been "distressed by various trials…that the proof of your faith…may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ."  He’s going to allow trials in your life that will increase your faith and eventually, you’ll become glad that He did.

But the best of all, is that we have troubles so that we might become equipped to help others.  We are afflicted "so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God" (2 Corinthians 1:4,6).  Who is a person in a wheelchair going to listen to?  ANOTHER person who is (or has been) in a wheelchair.  And finally, we are afflicted "in order that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead" (2 Corinthians 1:9).  Our troubles may not be about us at all, but are allowed in order to help someone we may not have even met. We are being taken into a life where we can and will love and trust in God, no matter WHAT the circumstances are.

He intends to fashion us into persons who can "Rejoice always" (1 Thessalonians 5:16), "Pray without ceasing" (1 Thessalonians 5:17), and "in everything give thanks" (1 Thessalonians 5:18), for indeed "this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus."

We thank You, Father, for ALL that has happened in our lives, for You are preparing us in ways we cannot yet comprehend, for Your purposes and the glory of God.  We receive and trust in You now.  In Jesus Name. Amen.

Friday Study Ministries
www.FirstChurchOnTheNet.org
www.FridayStudy.org
Write to: Ron@FridayStudy.org
"While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8)