I have gathered all the posts of this blog into a pdf. You can access a download at sendspace.com. I will upload a new version from time to time.
http://www.sendspace.com/file/muj7he
By His Grace.
Monthly Archives: March 2011
What Have We Learned?
What have we learned? Jesus, even Jesus desired that the cup of trial might be taken from Him. Yet what did He say? “Yet, not my will but Yours be done”. What have we learned? Even Paul the Apostle said that he had learned to give thanks, praise, and glory to God during every situation. And that he had even learned to be content in times of trouble. And we read that Paul had encountered many seriously threatening situations for the name of Jesus. What have we learned?
Are you floundering in troubles that you can’t fix and do not understand? Get up and get on your knees before the Most High God. What have we learned? What was Job’s response to terror and loss? He praised God as the One who had every right to take what He had given. What have we learned?
Have we learned to do these things? Or are we still only going to nod yes to the words we read. Many read about the appropriate response to troubles. But when it comes their turn, they revert to selfish sorrow. We are not called to be victims. We are called to be warriors in God’s army. When a soldier goes in to battle he doesn’t consider himself a victim. Nor should God’s people consider themselves slaughtered. That soldier will swing his sword till there is no strength left, for that is what he is called and trained to do. God’s people also should perform as a Holy family when they are called upon to lift their heads in suffering.
To have learned something is to be able and willing to do it. Reading about it and looking back over the history of others will do you no good if you can’t find that same strength now. Look, if you are having troubles praising God in your plight, at least give God the Glory He deserves. Soon you will find the strength to stand in this battle you’ve been sent to encounter. His promise is that He will lift you up. Look to Him and give Him praise.
By His Grace.
Earthly Trials We Deserve.
There is a place a man purchases. For most these places are many. We forsake the Lord’s commands and reap the situations such forsaking spawn. A thief, for instance, might well have forsaken the Lord’s command regarding stealing. When he is caught and punished, it is not likely the Lord will remove the punishment. Each of us must encounter the results of what we have done in this world. If we lie to someone and are caught later, we will need to endure the fruit of that sin.
Shall we say that the Lord has forsaken me because I forsook His commands? No. Though we are standing trial for treason, we may still have Him by our side. He will never leave us. Isn’t that the promise? Yet He made no promise that everything we do wrong will find good and favorable things at the accomplishment of their end. He has promised help to do what is right. But sometimes we must encounter the results of our wrong doing.
What shall we think, then , if we are about to enter a period of troubles of our own making? Face them. Enter as a Child of the King. Humble yourself under the hand of justice and accept what is coming. It was you who built it. It will be you who endures the punishment. He will not leave you during these trials. But He warned you before you committed the act for which you now pay.
Above all, remember, the Lord of Life is perfect. Perfectly merciful, perfectly just, perfectly powerful, yet He demands an accounting. It is no good mark in your favor for receiving the punishment you are encountering. After all it’s the result of your wrong doing. But there is a blessing which will help you encounter this punishment with humility and wisdom. Take what is offered by your God during these times and bear the punishment as a willing participant. If anything can be redeemed, it is that you will accept God’s will in regard to sin.
By His Grace.
Man is Not Animal.
A dog does what a dog does. A rabbit, likewise, does what a rabbit does. Fish do what they were meant to do. And so it goes through out all God’s creation. Oh, we can train them to do a few tricks. But in the end, they are just a dog, rabbit, and a fish. They obey what God has made them to do. But what of man?
From the fall of Adam till now, and till God does away with everything wicked, man has hated his Creator. There have been very few who earnestly desired to please Him. The vast population of earth has openly hated their God. I look around me and marvel at how openly man hates God’s name and ways. And I am perplexed even at the sinful nature in myself which wishes to live without God.
What shall be said regarding man? Hasn’t it already been said? The verdict of guilty has ben rendered on all men. The only way out is the forgiveness of Jesus. Man is not animal. God demands that all men turn back to their Creator. There’s no room for debate about this. You might debate what I just said, but God doesn’t.
By His Grace.
Words From There 