Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Be careful, your strength is only in the Lord!

Being too comfortable in our Christianity can turn into a big problem if we are not careful. You see, God is in the business of taking away our comfort if it stands between our faithfulness and our walk with Him. In (Isaiah 40), the prophet of God reminded the people of God, that God’s judgment on their backsliding was irreversible, but at the same time that it was forgivable if they would just repent of their sin and turn again back to God. Comfort causes us to stop trusting, to stop “waiting upon” the Lord. When we have all our needs met, sometimes our hearts can turn and trust in the world more then we trust in the God of heaven. So be careful, like Israel we might be asking God to shake up our world too. In (Isaiah 40:31) , The Bible says that, “But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength…,” There is no promise here to those that won’t wait upon Him. The word “wait” means to (bind together with, and to patiently trust in). A person who is waiting on, and trusting in God, has this promise of renewed strength, even if he backslides, repents,and returns to God. Be careful, your strength is only in the Lord!

Everything will be all right, I refuse to worry! Have you ever told yourself these things? Be careful, fear and anxiety will disrupt & destroy your faith when in a trial. (]John 4: 18) says that, "fear hath torment. " Stress, fear, and anxiety will all torment us until we learn to handle our problems Biblically. Unfortunately, all people handle stress differently. Some people cry and lash out, others explode, some stuff themselves with food, others with medication, some workout or run it off, but the godly still go to God's Word. So which one of the above best describes you? Listen, in life circumstances happen, problems occur, people sin, things go wrong, and because of our lack of faith, anxiety can make things worse rather than better. Regardless of the reasons why we worry, God still instructs not to. A good place to turn in the Bible when in trial is (Romans 8:28-29). It's a good place to turn when you desire the Lord's comfort, hope, and inner strength. It starts out with, "Who (or what) shall separate us from the love of Christ? And then it goes to the specifics. Shall tribulation. Or distress (or emotional stress), or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? .. _ Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, ... Nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God. Which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." So why worry!

"The merciful man doeth good to his own soul." (Pr. 11:17)

An evangelist once preached an entire week of meetings hoping to convert souls to Jesus Christ. One particular man came out every night, and on the last night, he came forward and desired to be saved. The preacher questioning the man asked him what in the sermon convinced him of his need to be saved. To that the man replied, "Oh, it wasn't just the sermon, it was also the lady in the back row. You see, she stumbled and I helped her up, and then she asked me if I loved Jesus, and said that he meant everything to me. She has been here every night, and every night she has treated me as if I was someone special. And every night she invited me back. I wouldn't have come back if it hadn't been for her. She's different, and she's got something that I want, and she says it's Jesus. " To that the preacher humbly said, "I need more of what she has too. " I wonder if we truly realize how much of an impact our love and compassion plays in the salvation of others? Sometimes we are the only Bibles that people hear or see. So, What type of version are you?