Category: Being His is a choice too

My neighbor


Years ago when the PBS show was on, “Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood“, and it still may be on (my son is 18 now so we don’t watch much PBS anymore); it was familiar like a sweater that you had worn for many years. Do you wonder about who is your neighbor and how they should be your neighbor? In the culture that we have today, I don’t think many people think about this much at all. Even Christians who are supposed to be doing this seem to let it slide or just don’t think about it much.

GoodSamaritanOur revival at church is going on and last night we had a great sermon on Jesus’ parable about the good Samaritan. It touched a lot of hearts and I think opened some people’s eyes to the fact that we do fall short in our lives on a daily basis. Do Christians sin on a daily basis? Yes, we are human after all. Do we fail to be real, true neighbors to those in need around us on a daily or weekly basis? Unfortunately, yes we do. Granted, some of us do fulfill the function of being a neighbor at least to some extent, but do we try to do it very often?

Not likely.

We pick and choose who we will help and how much. We are selfish in our helping and that is not being a good neighbor. Consider this: if you knew of a family who lives close by that was struggling with bills because of illness or loss of a provider, would you pay their bills for them? Would you offer to do so? I don’t mean by putting yourself in debt, but if you are able financially to help, would you? Most would not. Which is a sad part of today’s Christians.

The early church that you read about in Acts showed a group of believers who sold much of what they had, if not all, and gave to each other as the need arose. Were they being neighbors? I think so. We hear the Biblical wisdom which states that “the love of money is the root of all evil” and it is true. But, that is when you put money in the place of God, not when you use your wealth to help others. So, why don’t we do that?

Is it so hard to see someone struggling because of hardship of one kind or another and then not do anything to help? “That’s not my problem” or “I don’t want to get involved”; those are the same attitudes which the priest and the Levite showed in the parable which Jesus told. They were too important or too busy to help that man, but the Samaritan wasn’t. He stopped and bound the man’s wounds and carried him to an inn. Then gave the innkeeper two denarii to take care of him and promised to pay more if it took more than that.

So, in this instance which of the three men who came by was the man’s neighbor? The Samaritan. Even though they were hated by the Jews, the Samaritan did everything he could do and more for this man that he didn’t even know. Why can’t we do this? A better question would be “Why don’t we do this today?”

I think it has something to do with our American independent spirit which most of us grew up hearing about in movies and TV. Be yourself, pull your own weight, be independent and don’t ask for help, if you are honest with yourself you know as well as I do that children hearing those things and seeing them in movies and TV will grow up to be that way. Independence is good but each person living for themselves and only themselves makes for a very different country and a much different society. But, that is what the world is heading toward.

Pray about this in your life and talk about it at church because our world NEEDS Christians who will be neighbors and friends, they just don’t know it yet.

Today’s sermon for all


Romans 15 & 16

Taking up where we left off last week, at Romans 15: 17 and following through chapter sixteen, Paul is writing his message to those in the Roman church but he is also writing to us as well. The Roman church was soon to undergo some terrible persecution as were many Christians in the Roman empire. Paul’s words of encouragement and hope helped those who were weak or new in their faith to bear up under the horrible ways which Emperor Nero would kill those who would not worship him.

17 I have therefore whereof I may glory through Jesus Christ in those things which pertain to God. 18 For I will not dare to speak of any of those things which Christ hath not wrought by me, to make the Gentiles obedient, by word and deed, 19 Through mighty signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God; so that from Jerusalem, and round about unto Illyricum, I have fully preached the gospel of Christ. 20 Yea, so have I strived to preach the gospel, not where Christ was named, lest I should build upon another man’s foundation:

21 But as it is written, To whom he was not spoken of, they shall see: and they that have not heard shall understand.

22 For which cause also I have been much hindered from coming to you.

Paul’s Plan to Visit Spain and Rome
(1 Corinthians 16:5-9)

23 But now having no more place in these parts, and having a great desire these many years to come unto you; 24 Whensoever I take my journey into Spain, I will come to you: for I trust to see you in my journey, and to be brought on my way thitherward by you, if first I be somewhat filled with your company. 25 But now I go unto Jerusalem to minister unto the saints. 26 For it hath pleased them of Macedonia and Achaia to make a certain contribution for the poor saints which are at Jerusalem. 27 It hath pleased them verily; and their debtors they are. For if the Gentiles have been made partakers of their spiritual things, their duty is also to minister unto them in carnal things. 28 When therefore I have performed this, and have sealed to them this fruit, I will come by you into Spain. 29 And I am sure that, when I come unto you, I shall come in the fulness of the blessing of the gospel of Christ.

30 Now I beseech you, brethren, for the Lord Jesus Christ’s sake, and for the love of the Spirit, that ye strive together with me in your prayers to God for me; 31 That I may be delivered from them that do not believe in Judaea; and that my service which I have for Jerusalem may be accepted of the saints; 32 That I may come unto you with joy by the will of God, and may with you be refreshed. 33 Now the God of peace be with you all. Amen.

Paul is writing here as an evangelist with a purpose and it was Jesus Who gave him that purpose. The same Savior who saved us all, if we will only believe, saved the chief persecutor of “the Way” as it was called to begin with. Jesus uses some of the most unlikely ministers at times, God has used a donkey in the past to bring a word to a stubborn prophet as well, so nothing is impossible for God. Even when we try to limit Him with our own ideas about Him in this life, at some point God will show you Who He is and what He can do, if that is what it takes to get your attention.

Chapter 16 is the end of Romans as a book, but what a book it is. Written by a persecutor turned evangelist and one which wrote more than half of the New Testament which we all have today, most of it written from a prison cell.

In this final chapter of the book of Romans, Paul is giving credit to all of those in Christ who have helped him is his ministry. He salutes them with words like a brother or a proud father might, and in a way he is. Many of his helpers come from people or house-churches which  his preaching had started, or were members of those small congregations.

Paul ends his epistle with words of encouragement and love brought out in his soul by Christ:

Beginning with verse 17 we see this:

Avoid Divisions
17 Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them. 18 For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple. 19 For your obedience is come abroad unto all men. I am glad therefore on your behalf: but yet I would have you wise unto that which is good, and simple concerning evil. 20 And the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen.

Greetings from Paul’s Companions
21 Timotheus my workfellow, and Lucius, and Jason, and Sosipater, my kinsmen, salute you.

22 I Tertius, who wrote this epistle, salute you in the Lord.

23 Gaius mine host, and of the whole church, saluteth you. Erastus the chamberlain of the city saluteth you, and Quartus a brother. 24 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.

Doxology
(Romans 11:33-36; Jude 1:24-25)

25 Now to him that is of power to stablish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began, 26 But now is made manifest, and by the scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, made known to all nations for the obedience of faith: 27 To God only wise, be glory through Jesus Christ for ever. Amen. {Written to the Romans from Corinthus, and sent by Phebe servant of the church at Cenchrea.

So, you see in the ending of this epistle that Paul had many helpers who wrote for him when his hands could not. They carried the epistle to the churches which he could not go to in person due to chains or other restraints laid upon him. God used all of those around Paul who had been converted by his preaching very likely, God used them to further His Kingdom and these letters are still being used in the 21st century to bring others to Him. We are the fruit of much of Paul’s labors in Christ, the church today would not be what it is without God’s choosing of Paul to be His voice to the gentiles…us.

We are supposed to carry on this work in our lives, whether we are preaching to a congregation or to our families and friends with our life in Christ and the labor which we do in this life just by living out the ways taught in the Bible. This is the way of life, which so many early Christians who died for their faith, lived in front of those around them. It is also the life which we are called to live in Christ Jesus. Not living as if tomorrow is just a day, but that it may be the day that Jesus calls us home!

God uses even those of us who are weak in our faith, or believe ourselves to be, to carry out His purposes in our lives for Him and His Kingdom, not for our own gain in this life. We are to trade our life in Christ for bringing other lives into the Kingdom of God. How?

By living our Christian life as a reflection of Jesus in the power of the Holy Spirit one day at a time. People will notice, and whether they ask of you or not, if your walk with Christ is sincere then they will be drawn toward Him. Maybe not today or tomorrow, but when the Spirit touches their heart, they will because your witness for Christ doesn’t have to be in the sanctuary of a big church, but the sanctuary of life itself. Living our salvation and our walk with Jesus out one day at a time and one step at a time.

Which in truth is all that we can do.

Where are we in our lives?


Strange title, huh? Well, I wanted to name it as such so that we who read it might think about where we are. Are you in a relationship, personally with God or do you despise Him and His laws? Maybe you don’t believe that He exists at all! You are one of those foolish people who thinks that everything in our universe, all of the trillions of galaxies and stars and planets came from a compact singularity long ago and just “evolved” from that big bang.

mygodisawesomeMaybe you even believe that we come from a pond of proteinaceous soup which formed from a random comet impact billions of years ago and all life on Earth came from those proteins. If our planet had more time than it is estimated to exist, it may have happened this way, but it did not happen like this.

I know, evolutionists will want to argue this point but according to God’s Word, He created all of these things with His Words. He placed the stars and galaxies in their places. God created all of these in His time, not ours. Life is sustained by Him, the stars are sustained by His strength, your strength is given to you by His Grace for you each day.

God does all of these things because He loves us, whether we love Him or acknowledge Him or not. Although, He did provide a way for our salvation and our life in Jesus and through Jesus Who gave Himself for us and for our eternal life, if we will only believe in Him. Seek Him while there is time and don’t delay because we are not guaranteed tomorrow. Please, for your eternity and your life in it, believe in Jesus and the atonement that He paid for with His blood and He did it willingly for all who would believe.

themissingpieceBut don’t just take my word for it, read it from God’s Word in the New Testament. The gospels all tell the story of His ministry and His birth, death and resurrection, some tell different aspects of it or from a Jewish perspective and one from a Greek perspective in Luke’s gospel. He was a physician who traveled with Paul and he gathered the story of Jesus meticulously, as a physician would.

God uses each of us with our own voice or talent in telling a story to get the Word out and tell it in the unique way that He gifted each of us with. Some of us can tell it better or maybe more to the point, and some tell it like we see it through our eyes of faith in Him. To each of us, God gives a unique voice because He knows who will listen to that voice and what they will get from it.

That is why Jesus went to common fishermen who were devout Jews. He didn’t go to the Pharisees or the others who were sanctimonious in their faith, because they were “safe” in their blood lineage of being Jewish. They were “sons of Levi and Abraham”, they didn’t need some carpenter telling them how to serve God!

Many of us live our Christian lives this way today. We create god in our image and we give him aspects which we are comfortable with him having and we convince ourselves that this is the God of the Bible. But our “god” is nothing like God and we would know this if we read and studied His Word and prayed to Him to reveal Himself to us in it! How many of you do that? Would you do that? Are you brave enough to ask God to show up in your prayer life? What would you do if you actually heard His voice in your spiritual ears while praying?

Many of us would fall over wondering just what or Who that was which spoke to us! Many others would think they were imagining it and just ignore Him. Until He spoke again. In the Old Testament God usually called to someone three times. Sometimes it took that many times to get their attention, but often it was because God wanted to impress a point on them.

Make sure of whom you are hearing and know that it is God. The only way to do this is to get to know His voice by reading His Words in the Bible. The more familiar you are with His Words and His Word, then you will be able to accept that the Voice speaking to you is Him.

Decisions, decisions….


Almost from the time we are born we are making decisions, whether we know it or not. Sometimes, getting up in the morning is a decision and depending upon your health it could be a big decision! Making decisions about choices in life or most any other thing which is happening in your life takes time, prayer, and seeking guidance from someone whether it is your pastor or a family member.

Reading the Bible can sometimes help, but more often than not it seems to either cloud the issue or the passages don’t address your particular situation. Many times I have been frustrated with seeking God’s counsel in making a decision but He stays silent. Then, there are times when you seek out a friend or someone who you trust and they can’t or don’t give you good advice either.

So at this point, most people give up or make a decision on their own and sometimes it is the wrong decision but they may not find that out until months or years down the road of life. I have made some decisions in my life which didn’t work out very well and I have paid for them. In the end, I learned from them but you might say it was a hard lesson.

Decisions can be good or bad depending upon the circumstances and your state of mind at the time. Many times we need time, which is in short supply. Other times we need space between us and the object of the decision, at least for a while. In many areas of life, our decisions can make our lives better but sometimes, if we rush those decisions too much due to anxiety or circumstances, they could make things worse.

Seek out the counsel of God through prayer and reading His Word to give you some insight into the decision which will be in His will for your life. It is hard to wait on His timing and I am not going to tell you that it is easy, but it is the best idea. Rushing into a decision without God in the process is always a bad idea.

Do you believe?


There are many reasons today for belief in Jesus and yet there are many who do not believe in Him. How is this possible? Because, so many wish to choose their own truth, their own version of “Jesus”, their own version of “God” even. Do people do this? Absolutely!

You hear it in the news and on other websites where people express their beliefs like, “Truth is relative”, “My truth is different from yours”, etc.

Truth is NOT relative! The Truth of God’s Word is absolute which is what frightens people, because they don’t know what to do with it or how to live by it! In the book by A.W. Tozer The Crucified Life, Mr. Tozer tells us that “The Christian should not have a secular mind at all. If you are a Christian, you should “seek the things which are above”–there should beWomanbytheWell no worldly mind in you at all.”

Some people might ask, “Then how am I to pursue a career or do my housework or run my business?” Do all of these earthly things as sacrificial offerings to God, just as you give your life to Him and you give in tithes. Like the widow who gave two mites into the Temple offering, our daily work and our lives should be given to God as a sacrifice to Him daily.

A.W. Tozer died in 1963 yet much of the writings by him and others who knew him still apply to our churches today. Many of his books which were written nearly a decade before his death sound as if they are speaking directly to our generation. Just as the Bible speaks to us through prophecy in Daniel and the book of Revelation, his book speaks of the church leaving its first love.

Is belief so hard to accomplish in our time? I mean, it is or seems to be politically incorrect to be a Christian these days since all of our views are based upon the Bible. If you haven’t noticed this then you haven’t been watching much news today, although I wouldn’t blame you if you didn’t. There isn’t much good news on TV or the Internet these days.

That is why we must hold onto our beliefs as Christians. Study God’s Word and pray that you will not be deceived in the coming trials or hopefully you will be taken up when Jesus comes for the church one day. Remember, there are very few prophecies which need to happen before His call to the church to “come up here”. Make sure that you know where your heart is and whether you have given it to Jesus. If there is any doubt, be in prayer and ask Him to come into your life and change you from the inside out!

He came so that the debt for all would be paid, all that we have to do to receive eternal life is to believe in Jesus and ask for forgiveness, repenting of our old ways and turning toward Him, to follow His lead in our lives! A time of testing and tribulation is coming upon the world and if you haven’t given your life to Jesus, you will be tested through it. You can be saved during this time, but it will be harder to make that decision and stick to it through the persecution and hunger. Seek Him out while there is time to do so, please.

 

The eclipse…


I know that I am not the only person writing about this but it is a big deal. I mean this eclipse can be seen by most of the United States! Maybe not in totality but any portion of our Sun obscured is a big deal. I took a picture with my cell phone and it doesn’t look as good as others but I am going to show it here:

Eclipse by phoneThere will be another eclipse for the Eastern half of the USA in seven years so maybe others will get to see that one too. Our God is Awesome! I hope that you had a chance to get out and see this event today. According to our news media there were more people watching this peacefully than have gathered together in a long time. We need this kind of unity!

Life is all around us every day but sometimes we only see the darkness. Take heart, the darkness only lasts for a little while. In an eclipse or in life, the dark times which do come, only last for a bit and then they are replaced by the Light of God’s love. Sometimes the darkness last for a while longer, but if you lean on Jesus and seek His strength during this time, you will get through it and emerge into the Light.

The darkness of the totality during an eclipse is truly dark as I observed on TV, but it only lasted for a couple of minutes in most places. Then the light began to return. It is the same with our lives today. When the darkness overtakes us, it seems very, very dark for a while but you are not alone. Jesus is always by your side if you believe in Him as your Savior.

God loves each of us so much that He sent His Son to live and die on a cross for us. Paying our sin debt in full so that we don’t have anything to boast of except for Jesus alone! Life is sometimes dark and dreary but the good news is that Jesus is the Light of the World and in Him only are we saved, sanctified and given eternal life! There is no other Savior nor any other way to accomplish this except through Jesus the Christ!

Please be in prayer for all who have not made the decision to give their lives to Jesus because, regardless of your idea of a Savior or whether there even is a God, believe the Bible as God’s Word and it is True! He loves you and there is no one else in this universe that could love you more than He does! Don’t turn away from Him when you feel His call in your life, in your heart because you may not get the chance again.

How much?


Life itself is full of contradictions. How much or how little? Where and when did evolution begin? When did the first ape/human make the leap in knowledge in order to become more than she/he was before? All of the contradictions in life can be looked at as a different view of the chicken and the egg. A chicken comes from an egg so where did the egg come from?

Genesis1In a scientific view humanity and animals are not so different because at one point far back in the past we were the same. But, the logical viewpoint actually falls to having a Creator or as some circles call it, Intelligent Designer. Whatever label you place on God, He is the determining Factor in all of Creation. Call Him what you will but He is and always will be God!

How much proof do you need? Some people can see the Designer in a blade of grass or in a newborn baby. Some try to argue that evolution is the right way to go and that we all came from a single cell far back when the planet was young. Thermodynamics and chaos theory would disagree with you.

I am not a mathematician, so I am not and will not be drawn into a theoretical discussion in this matter. Generally, when you toss a bunch of sticks or 2 x 4’s into the air, they don’t spontaneously form into a deck or a puzzle. You will only have a pile of wood before and after unless there is a builder or Designer to act upon the pieces to form them into an orderly combination of pieces such as a deck or any other combination.

It is also the same way that natural processes work. No natural system goes from simple to complex. Systems in nature usually go from a complex state to a more simple one. A rusty old car will break down into a pile of iron oxide if given enough time, it will not change into a Bentley if it started out as a Pinto!

God’s design of our universe and the stars and planets which populate it, is impeccable. The cells in your body and in all animals in the world, cold-blooded or warm-blooded, work perfectly in sync in those who are healthy. Cells which do all of the things which they do in our bodies, didn’t evolve to do this, God designed them for each part of your body! Your nerve cells, your brain cells, the cells in your bone marrow which make all of your blood cells, these did not come into being because of mutations and selection!

God is our Creator and Designer and He is the One which placed the stars in their courses and the planets too. Each comet and asteroid in our solar system is where He intended for it to be. Not one grain of sand is out-of-place in God’s sight, no matter where it may be. He knows each of us more intimately than we could ever know ourselves because He knew you and your personality and your intellect long before you or I were born!

How much proof do you need? We and all other life on Earth were created by God and in the beginning life was perfect enough to live a life of thousands of years. Until we thought that we could do better than God. When the decision was made to defy God and go our way, that is when disease and shorter lifespans came into the world. Don’t throw your eternity away by thinking that some man-made religion can save you because it can’t.

Even the religion of “evolution” can’t hold up to entropy: The law of increasing entropy — also known as the second law of thermodynamics — stipulates that all systems in the real world tend to go “downhill,” as it were, toward disorganization and decreased complexity.

Give your heart to Jesus. Seek Him out as your Savior and follow Him. That is the only way into eternity and Heaven, by believing in Him…our Creator!

Which will you choose?


We have many choices in life. What clothes to wear to school? Which shoes to put on today? What will you or I eat for lunch today? Will I attend college or go to a trade school? All of these choices are part of life in many countries today, but in many others people, especially children, don’t have as many options. In some areas of America, children go hungry at night..sometimes for days at a time. Although most of the world wouldn’t believe that, it is true and it is a very sad fact.

Why do I call it a sad fact? Because for some of those children, maybe more than most people realize, the reason they are without food is because their parents are addicted to drugs. It may be because of an injury or some other problem which gets them addicted, but once they are, they don’t care about much else except staying pain-free and that usually involves getting high.

I don’t intend to sound all high and holy or any of that. I have some severe pain and I have been given some opiates for that pain…I didn’t like the way they made me feel. The point of this post isn’t really to point a finger at anyone, in fact, the situation which many find themselves in, seems to be almost normal today.

We search for a way to feel good about the life that we live. We search for a way to have more stuff and make more money. Some even preach that God owes us and that He should supply us with what we want in this life. That is not how God’s laws work! He is our Creator after all, He isn’t required to give us anything above our actual needs!

heaven-or-hell-eternal-destinyGod loves you beyond any measure that we can understand and the grace that He extends to each of us in the offer of eternity is beyond any monetary amount which can be gained in this life! Our pitiful attempts at being immortal, whether with fame or cryogenic preservation, will likely be futile. Consider that the only reason which our country’s founding fathers are remembered is because of their place in history, nothing more.

Which of us will be remembered beyond our obituary? Our family may remember us for a few days or weeks, but very few others will, even if we considered them our friends. So, which direction on the path will you choose? Will you choose to follow Jesus into Heaven and eternity or will you decide that you know best how to live your life and that your version of being dead with no eternity is the way to go?

The problem with that is this: there is an eternity in which to live! Your choice determines whether you live in Heaven with God or in hell without Him. The Bible describes the eternity without God very well and it isn’t a place which our eternal body was destined for at all! Satan only wants those who choose not to believe in Jesus to make that choice because he knows that it hurts God and he is determined to do that as much as possible. Satan doesn’t care about you or your eternity but he will lie to you about it in order to get you to go there.

Don’t make that choice which leads you into hell. Believe in Jesus as your Savior and follow Him, then your eternity will be with Him.

What does God do for you?


ProsperityPreachingIt seems that for many in the ministry and in churches, God is expected to provide all of our wants in some form or fashion. That is not taught in the Bible though. In many pulpits it seems that people hear about how God wants us to be prosperous (well off), but that is not the meaning of scripture at all, in particular the scriptures which speak of what God provides for us.

Here is one which Jesus taught about: Matthew 6:25-34 – Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?

God provides all of our needs in any area of our life, particularly when we depend upon Him for those needs and don’t try to do everything ourselves. By getting ahead of our Shepherd, we can get ourselves into a lot of trouble, which God will allow us to do until we wise up and realize that we put the motor on the front of the boat when it should’ve been God doing the driving! Yes, we have front-wheel driving cars and we have electric trolling motors for boats, but when God is in control it doesn’t matter where the force comes from…we will get where we are going. As long as we let Him drive!

God also gives us our talents in order to make a living in this world. Finding them and using them in the way that gives glory to Him in the process makes our lives so much easier than doing things in our strength and in our way! Seek Him out in all things, especially in your vocation, because when He shows you what you were made to do then you will be satisfied with it and with your life!

It doesn’t take a “self-help” book or coach to tell you how to live your life! The Bible is the best book for that in all of the world! Why? Because, if you have read any of those books and then read through the book of Proverbs or Psalms, you will find most of the wisdom that you paid for in the self-help book is already contained in the Bible!

I mean, come on, where do you think all of the wisdom came from? God gave it to us, most of it is written in our DNA, which is why it doesn’t sound strange when we read the Bible! Especially when we read it with an open mind and with prayer and faith! Without these three ingredients, the Bible is just a historical book with a few wisdom chapters contained within!!

God inspired men to write it by the inspiration of His Spirit. It is our guide-book even though it contains much of the history of the Israelite nation. The growing pains which they went through in becoming that nation reflects all of humanity’s weaknesses and failures. It also shows our hopes and dreams through their hopes and dreams. As long as your dreams don’t get ahead of your hopes and your finances, then you will be taken care of in all things by your Creator and Savior! Depend upon Him and His provision for you and all of life will go the way that He deems necessary!

If you can’t live that way, then I feel pity for your life and its outcome.

Life goes on….


Pain and grief, disease and heartache all of these are part and parcel of our lives on Earth. Even though it is hard to see that God is present even during the times of “testing” in our lives, He is there. At times it seems that we can’t feel His Presence in the days which bring pain and depression…but God is there. He doesn’t leave us, even those of us who don’t believe in Him. How can He leave us alone when He occupies all of Heaven and Earth?

Good shepherdWhen we don’t acknowledge His Presence, it doesn’t cause Him pain. It just magnifies our suffering because we are not seeing His goodness in things which seem to be hurtful to us. Allow Him to be in your painful days, ask Him to give you the strength to go on during those times of feeling without strength or even the faith to believe that He will do it! God is there in the dark with you and He is there when you come out of the dark places. Whether the dark is caused by a personal problem or by a death in the family or even by some other happenstance, God has not left you alone.

He was present when Job was going through all of his trials and Job didn’t give up his faith in God. He questioned God and was angry with God for his suffering but he didn’t lose faith in Him. That is how we are supposed to live our days out on this Earth. Whether we are battling cancer or having to handle the death of a loved one, God is there when we go to sleep after a long night of grief. He will be there to wake us after we have rested and He can carry us through the next day and the next if we will allow Him to do so. Don’t do this on your own strength because it will tear you down physically and emotionally!

We were never designed to live our daily lives without God, so be mindful of His Presence in your day. The drops of rain which fall to nourish the Earth and its plants also causes floods which can be dangerous. God is still present in all of this no matter what the outcome is. Seek Him out in your pain. Ask Him to give you strength to get through today, then make sure you do it again tomorrow. That is what Jesus meant when He said to walk with Him daily.

The walk of a Christian is not one that is to be done alone. It is one that we must acknowledge our Savior as our Messiah and determine to walk with Him every day. It is a walk of purpose not a casual walk. That is why Jesus said that we had to take up our cross and follow Him every day. Meaning that you are to “die to yourself”. You are to give your life to Him as a sacrifice on a daily basis. It isn’t a burden to carry or a problem that you alone have to handle. Give your LIFE to Jesus purposefully, every day, determine that He is in control…not you! Follow Him as a sheep would follow the shepherd because they know that by following him they are safe and cared for!

The same with us. As long as you and I follow along with Him every day, He will keep us on the path with Him. Don’t try to do things on your own, seek His guidance and His strength in all things so that your days will be productive and useful to yourself and to His Kingdom. This is what is called “storing up treasures in Heaven”. It may not be spendable here on Earth, but the reward is eternal.