“For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.” Romans 8:18
Think about that! The worst thing you have ever had to go through, the toughest thing in your life, the situation that you have cried the most tears over. God says that no matter what suffering
you have had to endure what is to come is so amazing that our
trials are so small in contrast they are not even worthy of
being compared.
“For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a
far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory,
while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen.” 2 Corinthians 4:17-18
‘far more exceeding‘, I love those words! and notice the end of
the verse, I think it reveals something key. Our trials fall into perspective when we refuse to look at the things which are
seen (pain, hate, selfishness, impossible circumstances) and instead set are focus on those things we can not see, eternal things, things that will last.
“Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you; but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ’s sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy. If you are reproached for the name of Christ, blessed are you,…” 1 Peter 4:12-14
How often do I look at trials as some strange thing that has
happen to me, but I shouldn’t! Not only that but God tells
us to rejoice. Rejoice, again because of what is to come.
“My brethren, count it all JOY when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.” James 1:2-4Count it all joy. So when you list off your problems the top ofyour list should read Joy. Hard stuff hun? This is something that I think we have to do consciously. We don’t just automatically have joy when things ‘go wrong’ . No, we have to again set our minds to consider it joy. How can we possible do that? Because God has told us the good things our trials will produce. We don’t look at the trial
we look at what wonderful thing we know will come as a result of the
the trial. It’s called faith.
“And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope. Now hope does not disappoint…” Romans 5:3-5
GLORY in!
“rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer;” Romans 12:12
Are you patient in tribulation? Am I?
“These thing I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” John 16:33
Wow, I can remember running into this verse for the ‘first’ time.
It’s a bit of a blow if you have been expecting life to be a breeze
to find that in actuality God has promised us that we will have
tribulation in this world. But praise God He has overcome the
world! Not only that but in Him we can have peace. Do you
have peace in your trial? If not remember it is not because it’s
unavailable. Ask God to help you to have peace in Him and
expect that you will have to let Him change some of the ways
you think in order for that peace to fill you.
“And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be NO MORE death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.” Revelation 21:4Here is our ultimate comfort and stay. This promise from God that however bad it is right now it won’t always be that way. All ofour sorrow all of our crying, all of our pain will one day pass away
Tuesday, March 26, 2013
Friday, March 22, 2013
I AM
. . . Simply beholding
His face is enough! . . .
through reading His Word . . .
through reading His Word . . .
through prayer. . .
through meditation. . .
and someday . . . face
to face in glory . . .
Yahweh
is righteous; He loves righteous deeds;
the
upright shall behold His face.
(Psalm
11:7)
As
for me, I shall behold Your face in righteousness;
When
I awake, I shall be satisfied with Your likeness
[as a
bride is satisfied in seeing her dear husband
beside her when she awakes].
beside her when she awakes].
(Psalm
17:15)
. . . Why am I
satisfied with Him? . . .
I say
to Yahweh,
“You
are my Lord; I have no good apart from You.”
You
make known to me the path of life;
in
Your presence there is fullness of joy;
at
Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
(Psalm
16:2,11)
“Yahweh
is my portion,” says my soul,
“therefore
I will hope in Him.”
(Lamentations
3:24)
Yahweh
is my chosen portion and my cup;
You
hold my lot.
The
lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;
indeed,
I have a beautiful inheritance.
(Psalm
16:5-6)
. . .What is this
inheritance? . . .
This
shall be their inheritance:
I AM
their inheritance:
and
you shall give them no possession in Israel;
I AM
their possession.
(Ezekiel
44:28)
This
last verse is a statement God made to the Levitical priests.
It
holds true for any who are God's children and priests to Him through
Christ.
We
hold no inheritance nor possession in this world.
Our
reward is in Christ alone and in His eternal kingdom.
I
capitalized “I AM” to emphasize God's all-sufficiency—
His
ability to be all that we need.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in
the heavenly places . . .
In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our
trespasses,
according to the riches of His grace, which He lavished upon
us,
in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of His will,
according to His purpose . . .
In
Him we have obtained an inheritance . . .
In Him you also,
when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and
believed in Him,
were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit,
who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we
acquire possession of it,
to the the praise of His glory.
[May] the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory . . .
give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of
Him,
having the eyes of your hearts enlightened,
that you may know what is the hope to which He has called you,
what are the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints,
and what is the immeasurable greatness of His power toward us who
believe.
(Ephesians 1:3, 7-9, 11, 13-14, 17-19a)
~
And
we all with unveiled face,
beholding
the glory of the Lord,
are
being transformed into the same image,
[the
image of Christ],
from
one degree of glory to another.
(2 Corinthians 3:18)
Thursday, March 14, 2013
a deserted place
“Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, He got up, went out, and made His way to a deserted place. And He was praying there.” Mark 1:35
Jesus is our prime example. We are to love as He loved, obey as He obeyed, serve as He served, and forgive as He forgave. That is why I think this verse and others like it hold special significance for us as Christians. They are such a brief part of the narrative in the gospels that it would be easy to miss them. Still here they are pointing us to our Savior who sought out time alone to pray. Isn’t that significant! God’s Son, the Holy One, more than once during His time on earth got away from everyone, sought out a deserted place, and spent time talking to God! I suppose one of the reasons this surprises us is because we think that Jesus shouldn’t have needed that. Surely God in the flesh would be ’above’ such things with unlimited recourses did He really have to spend time in prayer? The Bible tells us so little about this habit of Our Lord that we really do not know the exact why behind it. Did He ’need’ to do this or did it spring from His great love for His Father, or both? If it was important for us to know God would have spelled it out clearly, the important thing is in the powerful testimony it is for us as His followers.
From several of the keys words in these verses I imagine that these times Jesus spent away from everyone were something more than just our every day time in the Word. We do need those daily times and they are of inestimable value but here I think is something different. Jesus went to remote places, climbed mountains (Mark 6:46), found somewhere He could be alone. There is not an indication that this was something He did daily. I don’t know about you but climbing a mountain or finding a spot where I am truly alone everyday is definitely not a possibility for me, but it is a practice I benefit from on occasion. Jesus withdrew when He heard of John the Baptist’s execution (Matthew 14:13), after feeding the five thousand (Matthew 14:23), and before moving on in His ministry to preach in Galilee (Luke 4:42). I think that here too we can learn from our Lord much about when we need to spend extra time with Him. Finding such a time or place may not always be easy but again we turn to God as are example. Some of the description in the verse I quoted at the beginning of this post cut deep into my heart; “very early in the morning” “while it was still dark”. All I can say is that sounds a little painful! I should not shrink however at giving up a little time or early morning sleep to be with my God! And I have a feeling that once the sacrifices are made and you are in that remote place - in truth before the throne of God - the treasures to be found there are of far far greater value!
So do you feel God calling you to a deserted place just to pray and be alone with Him? If so trust Him to provide a way. You may not have a mountain available but there are alone places closer to home that God can supply. Perhaps your mountain could be a barn loft, or the middle of your woods, or even your own home when everyone else is away. I would challenge you, my sisters, to seek out such a time with God ’s help in the weeks to come. Take advantage of the stillness to lay your heart before your Father and to tell Him about your burdens. I nearly always run out of time before I run out of things to say to God. What would it be like to pray until you’re empty, or rather to pray until you have exchanged every burden of your heart for His peace and joy? We put such a low value on prayer in the church today, but should we? Jesus didn’t.
Jesus is our prime example. We are to love as He loved, obey as He obeyed, serve as He served, and forgive as He forgave. That is why I think this verse and others like it hold special significance for us as Christians. They are such a brief part of the narrative in the gospels that it would be easy to miss them. Still here they are pointing us to our Savior who sought out time alone to pray. Isn’t that significant! God’s Son, the Holy One, more than once during His time on earth got away from everyone, sought out a deserted place, and spent time talking to God! I suppose one of the reasons this surprises us is because we think that Jesus shouldn’t have needed that. Surely God in the flesh would be ’above’ such things with unlimited recourses did He really have to spend time in prayer? The Bible tells us so little about this habit of Our Lord that we really do not know the exact why behind it. Did He ’need’ to do this or did it spring from His great love for His Father, or both? If it was important for us to know God would have spelled it out clearly, the important thing is in the powerful testimony it is for us as His followers.
From several of the keys words in these verses I imagine that these times Jesus spent away from everyone were something more than just our every day time in the Word. We do need those daily times and they are of inestimable value but here I think is something different. Jesus went to remote places, climbed mountains (Mark 6:46), found somewhere He could be alone. There is not an indication that this was something He did daily. I don’t know about you but climbing a mountain or finding a spot where I am truly alone everyday is definitely not a possibility for me, but it is a practice I benefit from on occasion. Jesus withdrew when He heard of John the Baptist’s execution (Matthew 14:13), after feeding the five thousand (Matthew 14:23), and before moving on in His ministry to preach in Galilee (Luke 4:42). I think that here too we can learn from our Lord much about when we need to spend extra time with Him. Finding such a time or place may not always be easy but again we turn to God as are example. Some of the description in the verse I quoted at the beginning of this post cut deep into my heart; “very early in the morning” “while it was still dark”. All I can say is that sounds a little painful! I should not shrink however at giving up a little time or early morning sleep to be with my God! And I have a feeling that once the sacrifices are made and you are in that remote place - in truth before the throne of God - the treasures to be found there are of far far greater value!
So do you feel God calling you to a deserted place just to pray and be alone with Him? If so trust Him to provide a way. You may not have a mountain available but there are alone places closer to home that God can supply. Perhaps your mountain could be a barn loft, or the middle of your woods, or even your own home when everyone else is away. I would challenge you, my sisters, to seek out such a time with God ’s help in the weeks to come. Take advantage of the stillness to lay your heart before your Father and to tell Him about your burdens. I nearly always run out of time before I run out of things to say to God. What would it be like to pray until you’re empty, or rather to pray until you have exchanged every burden of your heart for His peace and joy? We put such a low value on prayer in the church today, but should we? Jesus didn’t.
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