Reap Rich Benefits From The Tests Life Brings You

Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors.  So don't try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way (James 1:2-4 –The Message)

   

Tests and difficulties are part of life on this planet. None of us are immune from hardship. Walking by faith doesn’t promise freedom from life challenges. But it does promise that the Father will help your through every circumstance to victory!

   

Determine to get the most out of the hard places life brings you by keeping a good attitude and expecting the Father to give you wisdom and to bring you through the ordeal.

   

And you can really milk all you can get out of a test or trial by counting it all joy. Decide to walk in praise and thanksgiving when you feel like griping and complaining. Active praise and worship in the midst of a test will open your life to the power of God. He will begin to put in motion the answer as you stand in faith by praising God and giving thanks.

   

And then what Satan meant for evil, God will actually work out for your good. As the outward pressure reveals areas of personal weakness in you, acknowledge those weaknesses to the Father and ask Him to work them out of your life.

    

Some of the greatest workings of the Father in my personal life have been during seasons of great hardship where I really wanted to quit. I just set my jaw and praised God and gave thanks for Him working the situation out.

    

My personal freedom from perfectionism, workaholic tendencies, and deep seated feelings of rejection came out of one of the greatest trials of my life many years ago.  Believe me, I don’t want to go through that time in my life again. But on the other hand, no amount of money could purchase the life change that going through that tough time produced in me!

   

If you’ve been whining and complaining about what’s happening in your life right now, I urge you to read the above verse again. Make a decision right now to adjust your attitude and being to stand in praise, worship, and thanksgiving for the victory the Father is providing you in this test! When you come out on the other side of this challenge, you’ll be stronger, wiser, and more patient and Christ like. But only if you choose to count it all joy!

Compare Your Love Life With This. How Are You Doing?

If we love our Christian brothers and sisters, it proves that we have passed from death to life. But a person who has no love is still dead (1 John 3:14 - NLT).

Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us (Romans 5:5 - NKJV)

And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual people but as to carnal, as to babes in Christ. (2) I fed you with milk and not with solid food; for until now you were not able to receive it, and even now you are still not able;  (3) for you are still carnal. For where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal and behaving like mere men? (1 Cor 3:1-3 - NKJV)

The love of God is our spiritual barometer, the gauge of progress as we move away from being dominated by the flesh. As we become spiritually attuned to God, we exude His love.

 

Use love as the indicator of your spiritual progress. Ask the Father to help you develop this precious gift of love that He has placed in your spirit. The following is a compilation of several translations of 1 Corinthians 13:4-8. This will help you plot your progress. Use it daily as a guide:

Let me describe love. It is slow to lose patience; love stays in difficult relationships with kindness, and it always looks for ways to be constructive. There is no envy in love. It is not possessive and never boils over with jealousy. Love makes no parade of itself; it never boasts, nor does it puff up with pride. Love is never arrogant and never puts itself on display, because it is neither anxious to impress, nor does it cherish inflated ideas of its own importance. Love never gets irritated and is never resentful.

Love holds no grudges, and it keeps no record of evil done to it. Love refuses to be provoked and never harbors evil thoughts.

Love is not rude or grasping or overly sensitive, nor does love search for imperfections and faults in others. Love does not compile statistics of evil or gloat over the wickedness of other people. On the contrary, it is glad with all good men when truth prevails. Love celebrates what is real and not what is perverse or incomplete.

Love never does the graceless thing. Love has good manners and does not pursue selfish advantage. Love never insists on its own rights, never irritably loses its temper, and never nurses its wrath to keep it warm. Love is not touchy.

Love can stand any kind of treatment because there are no limits to its endurance, no end to its trust. Love bears up under anything; it perseveres in all circumstances. Love’s first instinct is to believe in people. If you love someone, you will be loyal to him no matter what the cost. You will always believe in him, always expect the best in him, and always stand your ground in defending him. Love never regards anyone or anything as hopeless. Love keeps up hope in everything. Love’s hope never fades.

Love keeps on keeping on! It trusts in God in every situation and expects God to act in all circumstances. Love goes on forever. Nothing can destroy love. Nothing can happen that can break love’s spirit. In fact, it is the one thing that still stands when all else has fallen.

Love is the Solution to Every Relationship Problem

Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us (Romans 5:5).

Love is the solution to every relationship problem known to man. We’re to love God with our entire being. We’re to love others the way we love ourselves. Then Jesus added that we are to love others the way He loves us!

Romans 13:10 reads Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law. So for every relational challenge I encounter I must see love as the cure.

 

Here’s the best part. The Father has already placed inside of us as believers the answers to our issues with others. This love that He has placed in our hearts must be nurtured until it is absorbed into all of our mental processes. The Father’s plan is that this love worm its way into every nook and cranny of our thought life; into our every response in each relationship. He wants it to totally replace our ingrained selfish patterns of thinking and response.

Our mind fights love’s control. The mind of the flesh is the enemy of God (Romans 8:7). Our natural mind automatically repels thoughts that come from our spirit to act and react in love. That’s the reason we must take much time to meditate in love until it is absorbed into our mental processes. Without this meditation, our mind will pull us away from love and force us to live a self-centered life.

We must see that this love is so powerful, so potentially life altering, that we give it room to change us. Every thought and action within us that has become an ingrained habit can be changed by yielding to love’s sway. There are no exceptions. Love is the most powerful force known to man.

Our goal must be to yield ourselves to this love moment by moment. Compare every thought, every word, and every action to this love. Change anything in you that disagrees with the love of God. This is our high calling, to be love men and love women. To be so totally absorbed in this love that it’s the first thing people notice about us!

 

John was known as the apostle of love. I’ll leave you with his words on the subject from the Message Paraphrase:

My beloved friends, let us continue to love each other since love comes from God. Everyone who loves is born of God and experiences a relationship with God. The person who refuses to love doesn't know the first thing about God, because God is love — so you can't know him if you don't love. This is how God showed his love for us: God sent his only Son into the world so we might live through him. This is the kind of love we are talking about — not that we once upon a time loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to clear away our sins and the damage they've done to our relationship with God. My dear, dear friends, if God loved us like this, we certainly ought to love each other. No one has seen God, ever. But if we love one another, God dwells deeply within us, and his love becomes complete in us — perfect love! This is how we know we're living steadily and deeply in him, and he in us: He's given us life from his life, from his very own Spirit. Also, we've seen for ourselves and continue to state openly that the Father sent his Son as Savior of the world. Everyone who confesses that Jesus is God's Son participates continuously in an intimate relationship with God. We know it so well, we've embraced it heart and soul, this love that comes from God. God is love. When we take up permanent residence in a life of love, we live in God and God lives in us. This way, love has the run of the house, becomes at home and mature in us, so that we're free of worry on Judgment Day — our standing in the world is identical with Christ's. There is no room in love for fear. Well-formed love banishes fear. Since fear is crippling, a fearful life — fear of death, fear of judgment — is one not yet fully formed in love. We, though, are going to love — love and be loved. First we were loved, now we love. He loved us first. If anyone boasts, "I love God," and goes right on hating his brother or sister, thinking nothing of it, he is a liar. If he won't love the person he can see, how can he love the God he can't see? The command we have from Christ is blunt: Loving God includes loving people. You've got to love both.

(I John 4: 7-21 - from THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language © 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson. All rights reserved.)

It's Love That Makes Your Christianity Attractive To Others!

A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another . By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another. (John 13:34-35).

 

If I strip away all the Christian speak that I use; if I remove all religious symbols from my person, my car, my home, my office, etc.; if I use no references to God, Jesus, the Bible, church, etc., would others know that I am a disciple of Jesus? Jesus said by this all men will know.

This love is to be the main advertisement for God in my life. It’s to make me attractive to others. I must ask myself, is love attracting others to the God who lives in me? If I say no, then there is still too much of me ruling me!

 

Until we make love the main thing, we’re not going to be effective in moving our culture towards God. His plan is that this love be the advertisement, the display that draws attention to Him.

 

Think about it this way. When I was born again, He deposited this love in me, actually poured it out inside of me, in my spirit. This love is designed to be to power supply for my spiritual life. If I renew my mind to it, if I think and meditate on it, it rises up from my spirit and begins its process of taking me over. Little by little, like honey, it oozes into every crack and crevice of my personality. It’s a slow process. Some parts of me are hard and unyielding to it, but it is so powerful, that even the hardest areas break under its force.

This love has nothing to do with feeling or emotion. Most often it moves me to act against reason and feeling. It urges me to do the loving thing when harsh words threaten me, when human impulse urges me to retaliate.

My mind sometimes rebels against this new boss that has moved into me. My mind often thinks it knows how best to protect me from the hurts others may bring. But this love stands up within me, telling my mind to sit down and be quiet.

It is constantly speaking. Father knows best. Love your enemies. Do good to those who mistreat you. Pray for those who use you for their advantage. Return good for evil. Do to others what you want them to do to you. Be kind. be gentle. Calm down and be patient. Overlook that fault you see in that person. Forgive and act as though that word was never spoken to you. Act toward that person as though they had never done you wrong. Don’t reveal that fault you see in this person to anyone else. Don’t brag about your skills or accomplishments.

 

Open yourself to this boss that’s moved inside of you. This love only wants your success. If you let it lead you today, it will lead you out of every relationship problem that arises. Love never fails. It’s a good boss. By this all will know…

Your Tongue Is The Strongest Muscle In Your Body!

Even so the tongue also is a small member [of the human body] and boasts great things. Behold, how great a forest a little fire sets ablaze. And the tongue is a fire, the sum total of iniquity. The tongue is so constituted in our members that it defiles the entire body and sets on fire the round of existence and is constantly being set on fire by Gehenna [hell] ((James 3:5 – Wuest)

 

Thoughts are constantly bombarding our minds. But thoughts that are not put into word or action die unborn! Words are the most powerful force in our lives! Your tongue really is the strongest muscle in your body.

The round of existence mentioned in the above verse is referring to the whole of human activity from the time a person is born until the time they die. A rudder determines the course the ship takes in the ocean. A bit and bridle determine the direction of the horse. And what you do with your mouth determines the direction of your life. What are you speaking? Are you focused on life or death? Are you positive or negative? Do you speak every thought that comes into your mind?

Satan longs for you to put his negative mind interjections into words. Don’t play his game! I frequently have negative thoughts bombard my mind. But I just don’t speak them and they die! Instead, I say what God says out loud. That counteracts the thought and releases faith from my heart to the Father.

Faith must be put into words to be effective. You may think you are believing God. But take the next step and speak and act your faith. Faith must have corresponding actions to be effective according to James 2.

Words affect your demeanor and emotions. Words have the ability to move you. They can move you from doubt and fear to faith. Use words that register on your heart and that contain faith. Words really can move mountains. Use your words wisely today.

 

A Strong National Defence is A Must For Peace

Today is Memorial Day and we as a nation are honoring those who have served our country in the military and have given the ultimate sacrifice. As we take a day to relax from work and spend time with family and friends, let’s also take some time today to pray for the families of those who have had family members killed while serving in the armed services. Let’s also take some time to pray for our President and national and local leaders. Their decisions largely determine our continued freedom as a nation.

  

Many Christians do not understand how to balance what the Ten Commandments say about murder with serving in the military and facing the need to kill an enemy endangering national security. As a result, many are pacifists and believe that national peace can be secured by diplomacy alone.

Let’s first of all look at some fundamental facts. Thou shalt not kill should actually be translated Thou shalt do no murder. The prohibition is against premeditated murder. Understand that the same God that said Thou shalt not murder also told the Israelites to go to battle and kill their enemy during the conquests of Canaan their promised land. And God told them that He would empower them in battle and help them defeat their enemy. This is the killing of an enemy to spare a nation from annihilation by an enemy set on their destruction and this kind of killing for the defense of a nation is allowed by God.

A strong national defense is a deterrent to an enemy that is set on a nation’s downfall. A strong national defense actually encourages peace because it sends a strong message to those seeking to undermine a nation’s security. Because of the wicked fallen human condition, a nation must defend itself against attack. As Paul said in Romans 12 we should seek, as much as lies within us, to live peaceably with all men. That’s not always the easiest thing to do in the light of the depravity and wickedness of man.

As you enjoy your peaceful holiday today, please pray for our nation. Our international enemies would love for our nation to fall into ruin. Many are seeking to steal the liberties that we as a people enjoy. We are hated by extremist that are actively seeking ways to destroy America. Pray for the peace of Jerusalem. Pray that our nation would continue to be a friend of Israel. Our national survival hinges on how we as a nation deal with Israel.

And remember the sacrifices made for your freedom. Peace through military strength will be necessary until the millennial reign of Christ when the nations will beat their swords into plowshares!

Four Ways To Increase Your Hunger For God

For He satisfies the longing soul, and fills the hungry soul with goodness (Psalm 107:9).

 Hunger is a sign of physical heath. And spiritual health is strong when we’re hungry for God. As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the Word that you may grow thereby (1 Peter 2:2).

 

Smith Wigglesworth said, Spiritual hunger is when nothing satisfies us so much as being near to God. As I’ve read about the life of Smith Wigglesworth, I’ve been stirred to fresh hunger for Jesus. In his book Ever Increasing Faith, he said, I’d rather have a man on my platform that is not Spirit Filled but hungry, than a man who is Spirit Filled and satisfied.

Smith Wigglesworth’s passion for God is seen in a letter he wrote to a friend, Pleased to receive the news of much blessing in your ministry, especially in souls being saved and God keeping you in a very hungry and needy place. W. Hacking wrote a book about Smith’s life and summed up his work by saying, Wisdom, brokenness, purity, and spiritual hunger characterized his ministry.

If you’ve lost your hunger for God, you can get it back. Here are four things you can do. First, fast things that steal your time. Turn off the TV, turn away from Facebook, the computer game, or whatever and take time to feed on the Word and to pray.

The Lord ministered to me years ago during a time of personal disappointment that quenched my spiritual zeal. A guest speaker in our church said: Your desires always follow your attention. When I heard that I knew that I must turn my attention to the Lord. I made myself listen to tapes and take notes word for word as my pastor preached just to force myself into the Word. I had no desire to do it, but I put my attention there every day. A couple of weeks later I woke up one morning with a desire to fellowship with my Father. Desire follows attention.

Secondly, feast on spiritual things. You desire what you give your time to. James 4:8 says draw near to God and He will draw near to you. We have to take the first step!

Thirdly, become desperate! Make lifestyle changes. If you want to see something you’ve never seen before, you must do something you’ve never done before. Make time in your day for God. Read your Bible and have a season of prayer during lunch. Take a walk in the evening and pray. Read the Word just before you go to sleep at night. Take time with the Lord throughout your day!

Fourthly, Ask the Lord to make you hungry. I’ll leave you with these verses:

No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise  him up at the last day (John 6:44).

And He said, Therefore I have said to you that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted to him by My Father (John 6:65).

The Lord has appeared of old to me, saying: "Yes, I have loved you with an

everlastinglove; therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you (Jeremiah 31:3).

When You said, "Seek My face," My heart said to You, "Your face, Lord, I will seek”

(Psalm 27:8).

You Are Filled With What You Are Hungry For!

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled (Matthew 5:6).

 

Some years ago the Lord spoke to my spirit and said, You are filled with what you are hungry for. Our hunger draws us. Hunger is a tremendous motivator. Susan and I were walking in downtown Raleigh, and I watched in shock as a man reached into a trash can on the street and retrieved some partially eaten food for himself.

 

You may have read accounts of single mothers who become prostitutes so they can earn money for their hungry children. Hunger motivates. I confess that there have been times that I’ve gotten so hungry (was just too busy to stop to eat) that my health conscious brain was tempting me to eat some McDonald’s fast food! For me that’s pretty radical. Hunger is a powerful force.

The word hunger here in Matthew 5:6 is in the present durative tense in the Greek. That means that the action continues on and on without ceasing. The hunger continues even after you’ve been fed. The longing is not satisfied.

In so many ways in life our appetite drives us. How we spend our time, what we value, what we spend our money on, what kind of occupation we are involved in all have to do with our appetite on various levels.  

Since our spiritual life is really the hub of our existence and determines our life values, it would benefit us to remain spiritually hungry! The word here in Matthew 5:6 could be translated starving. Starving people are desperate people. To be starving spiritually would alter daily life! A starving person would do anything to eat. Are you starving spiritually? Are you desperate for God? If not, work on increasing your spiritual appetite.

Three things that hinder spiritual appetite are excessive entertainment, excessive activity, and anger and disappointment.

Globally people spend 1.8 trillion dollars annually on entertainment! Here in the US we will spend over 60 billion dollars a year on entertainment. So do you wonder why so many lack spiritual zeal? The many entertainment distractions inhibit hunger. Movies, video and computer games, all sorts of technology can just eat up your time. Don’t let it happen!

Excessive activity can also crowd out time for God. Recreation is important for high stress lifestyles. But too much can damage your spiritual life. Put recreation in its place. Going to the beach or to the lake, or involvement in a sports activity or working out has great benefit. A hobby is a great diversion from normal routine. But make sure these things don’t crowd out attending your local church or spending time in the word and in prayer each day. For me, I take care of my spiritual life first, and then I involve myself in some form of recreation to relax. Seek first the kingdom of God!

Anger and disappointment at God or yourself when life doesn’t go the way you thought it should or would go can quench spiritual hunger. An I don’t care attitude can do some real damage to you spiritually. I’ve been at the place where I was so disillusioned that my natural person just wanted to throw in the towel. That’s a dangerous place to be. And the enemy of your soul will take advantage of this kind of demeanor. It can totally quench your hunger for God and sideline your spiritual life.

 

Tomorrow I will talk about how to develop your God hunger if you’ve lost it. Don’t let the candy of the word quench your hunger for Jesus. You become what you’re hungry for.

A Free Gift Available For Every Person

Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation. Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ's behalf, be reconciled to God

(2 Corinthians 5:18-20).

Every person you meet today is equally loved by the Father. He has no favorite children. We are His ambassadors to share the good news with them. The good news is that He’s not mad at them and doesn’t hate them. Though they are sinners, their sin debt has been canceled. All they need to do is to bow their knee in repentance acknowledging their sin. The blood of Jesus will then remove their personal sin debt, and they go free.

 

This is the truth that brought me into the family of God years ago. I had the idea that the Father was mad at me, and that all He did was brood over my sin when He thought of me. When I found out that He did not hold my sin against me, hope sprang up! I saw that if I acknowledged my wrong, forgiveness for all my past deeds was immediately available.

 

A guy said to me, did you know that God is not holding your sin against you, that He loves you? The only thing holding you back from His love is your lack of relationship with Jesus Christ. In Christ, your sin debt is cancelled, and you are free!

 No one had ever put it to me in those terms. My sin debt is canceled. For a person consumed with guilt, that’s a big deal! Finding out that the Father had already dealt with the sin issue freed me to come to Him, confess my sin, and embrace His free offer of grace.

 

Don’t beat the unsaved person over the head with angry words and tones. They have enough condemnation to deal with. Show them the love of the Father. Be a good ambassador as you represent the Father today. Let others know that in Christ their sin debt is settled. The only thing that stands between them and God the Father is their lack of relationship with Jesus!

 

It’s a great thing to be forgiven all your past sins! Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord does not impute iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit (Psalm 32:1-2). There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death (Romans 8:1-2).

  

Be a beacon of light to those you meet today! A free gift is theirs today for the taking!