"Endure To The End"

"And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat." Genesis 2:12 

I always find it sad that when something goes wrong in our lives, we start blaming God as if it was His fault. Adam blamed God (the woman YOU gave me) when he was the one who disobeyed. How was it God's fault? But there is something else that people do that I just cannot understand. When someone has let them down, when someone in their life has proven untrustworthy, when they have been wronged, many people turn their backs on God and walk away from Him. How did what another person do to you make you turn away from God? What did God have to do with that? Why was it His fault? Why is He the one to blame? 

 

We see this all the time. Those who once served the Lord have now turned away from following Him. Why did they do that? I submit to you that if a person's relationship with the Lord can be so easily broken, then they more than likely never had a relationship with Him to begin with-- they were just religious. 

 

Life is one big series of events-- some are good, some are bad. People hurt us, people betray us, friends come and go, jobs can be lost, situations can change at the drop of a hat, family will even let us down. But we must have a true relationship with the Lord that keeps us "rooted and grounded" in the ever changing, ever trying events of life. 

 

"... he that endureth to the end shall be saved." (Matthew 10:22b) The meaning of the word endure here means: to remain, abide, not recede or flee; to preserver under misfortunes and trials to hold fast to one's faith in Christ; to endure, bear bravely and calmly: ill treatments. This doesn't sound like those who give up on God and turn from following Him. It won't be the one who started the race that gets the prize, but the one who finishes it- those who continue going all the way to the end. It will be those who endure persecution, hardship, unkind treatment, betrayal, ridicule, difficulties, accusations, etc. It will be those who endure in their relationship with the Lord and resist the temptation to turn from following Him when times get bad or hard. 

 

Are you grounded in your relationship with the Lord? Do you actually have a relationship with Him? Are you going to let what others do to you cause you to turn from Him? Are you going to let trying times cause you to stop following Him? Or are you determined to endure to the end? 

 

Have a great day. Why would you turn your back on God because of what someone else did? 

 

For further reading:

1 John 2:19

Philippians 3:18

1 Corinthians 9:24

 

"Jesus Stood Up"

"But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God, And said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God." Acts 7:55,56 

The Bible tells us that after Jesus ascended into heaven He sat down at the Father's right hand. It also tells us that He is seated there until the appointed time when He will make His enemies His "footstool". Yet at the stoning of Stephen, Stephen clearly saw Him standing at the right hand of God. 

 

When God the Father finished His work of creation, He rested-- He sat down. Jesus having finished His work of redemption, rested-- He sat down. But just because He sat down and entered into His rest doesn't mean that He is unaware or uncaring of what is going on in our lives. He is not asleep in His rest. He takes note of us. This is evident from the fact that He "stood" up to see what was happening to Stephen. 

 

The fact that Jesus stood up represents several things to me. On earth when an important person- a dignitary, a king or a bride- enters the room the audience stands. To Jesus those He died for are important to Him. Stephen had an audience with Him, so Jesus stood because Stephen was getting ready to "enter the room" (heaven). 

 

Also on earth, at a football game when the team we are rooting for makes a touchdown, the audience stands. They stand because of joy, excitement and the victory of the touchdown. Jesus stood out of joy over Stephen's victory and faithfulness to Him even in the midst of adversity. 

 

When someone comes into a room, it is customary to stand and give them a welcome. This is another reason, why I believe Jesus stood-- to welcome Stephen home. Lastly, as I have already mentioned, we stand when we want to get a closer look at what is going on. Jesus stood at the stoning of Stephen. He didn't stay seated. He didn't turn His head. He didn't walk away. He stood acknowledging that He was watching and had His eye on Stephen. 

 

This morning, be encouraged through this story of Stephen. You are an important person to Jesus. He is rooting you on in your daily walk. He rejoices over you. He is awaiting your arrival and will be there to greet you. But also, be encouraged to know that whatever you are going through, whatever adversity you are facing, whatever the trial that is surrounding you, even if you feel like you are "being stoned", Jesus notices and is watching over your life.

 

Have a great day. Though Jesus is seated at the right hand of the Father, He is completely aware of where you are and what you are going through.

 

For further reading:

Romans 8:34

Hebrews 12:2; 4:10

Psalm 110:1

Genesis 2:2,3

"Earning Trust"

"Ye that fear the Lord, trust in the Lord: he is their help and their shield." Psalm 115:11 

I was talking with a young man recently who is in a situation that involves others trusting him. I encouraged, and warned, him to make good choices and not do anything that would put that trust in jeopardy because once trust is broken it isn't easy to get back. Trust has to be earned. Trust is earned not by what we say alone, but by what we do.

 

Many people have fallen prey to scams because they trusted what someone said. Teens have given their bodies away because they trusted the words, "but I love you." Men have fallen prey to "gold-digging" women because of their flattering words. Once the words were trusted, the actions did not back them up-- they were untrustworthy. 

 

Employers gain trust in employees by watching their performance on the job. Parents trust teens with an automobile when they have proven themselves trustworthy to obey the laws of the road. As a child I remember being able to get a pet after I proved I could be trusted to take care of it.

 

Repeatedly, the Bible tells us to trust the Lord. Can we trust Him? If trust is earned by what a person does, then there is no way we could ever possibly not trust Him. Jesus proved He could be trusted- not by what He said, but by what He did. He said He loved us, but then He proved He loved us by dying on the cross. (His actions backed up His words.) So to answer the question-- yes, we can trust Him. 

 

Have a great day. We can't always trust what people say, the proof is in what they do. But we can always trust what Jesus says because the proof of His trustworthiness was in what He did. 

 

For further reading:

Romans 5:8

John 3:16

"Fragments"

"And they took up twelve baskets full of the fragments..." Mark 6:43 

Does your life feel like it has been broken in pieces? Are you living with a broken heart? Have you gone through a broken relationship? You are broken in body because of an illness. Perhaps you are broken emotionally because of overwhelming problems? Maybe your life has been fragmented (torn into pieces) because of your upbringing, bad choices, things that were done to you, life controlling addictions or because you were violated or betrayed by someone you trusted. 

 

If your life has been "broken in pieces" (fragmented) I have good news for you. God knows how to take those "fragments" and use them to bring about something wonderful. Jesus had His disciples pick up the fragments of bread and fish-- the leftover pieces that would have been thrown away-- and put them in baskets to be used at another time. He wanted nothing wasted. 

Jesus can use your broken life to "feed" others. He can make what looks like "discard" and use it as sustenance to give to others who are "hungry". As we surrender our lives to Him, He knows how to make sure that nothing in our lives-- good or bad-- is wasted either. He can take those bad experiences, He can take those broken places, He can take those mistakes and failures, He can even take the consequences of wrong choices and use them for good in your life and the lives of others. 

 

Don't look at the fragments of your life and think that nothing good can come from it. God can, and will, take them and use them in such a way where they won't be just wasted times in your life. 

 

Have a great day. Your broken life, your broken experiences can be used by the Lord to minister to others who have broken lives.

 

For further reading:

Romans 8:28

Mark 6:35-44

"A Troubled Heart - Part 2"

"Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also." John 14:1-3

Yesterday we talked about having a "troubled heart". The scripture says to not let your heart be troubled. But how do we keep from it in a world full of trouble? There are several keys.

1) Like we said yesterday- don't defend your flesh/humanity. Don't make excuses for it to be troubled.

 

2) "Ye believe in God." Lean upon your belief in who God is. He is the loving Heavenly Father who cares about you, so much so that He sent His Only Begotten Son to pay the ransom for you sins. If He spared not His Only Son, but delivered Him up for you, will He not also freely give you all things? All things- peace, strength, joy, safety, wisdom, provisions, soundness of mind, etc. He is also the Creator of the Universe-- He spoke it into existence and holds it together by the power of His word. If He can create all that we see, and don't see, He can certainly take care of you and all your needs.

 

3) "Believe also in me." Believe in Jesus as your Advocate with the Father, as your Intercessor. Believe He is standing in the gap for you. Believe that He is for you. Believe that He is with you. He would not have laid down His life for you then leave you on your own. He still walks and talks with you just like He did with the disciples while on earth. Believe that He is your friend that sticks closer than a brother. Believe that He is the Prince of Peace who has imparted His peace that passes understanding into your heart and mind. Then rest in His peace.

 

4) "In my Father's house." Where is the Father's house? It is not on earth. Therefore, set your affections on things above. Keep looking up. Don't be so worldly minded. This life is not all there is. We are children of another kingdom. We are to be looking for a city whose builder and maker is the Lord. We are only passing through this life. So don't allow yourself to be conformed to this world. But be transformed by keeping your mind renewed with God's word. 

 

5) "I go to prepare a place for you. I will come again." There is hope in these words of Jesus, and a wonderful promise. Hold on to your hope. Hold on to your faith. Hold on to the words that Jesus has spoken to you. Guard your heart. Guard your thoughts. Don't let your hope be stolen during the troubling times. Hold on to His promises. Hold fast until the end. Fight the good fight of faith. There is a reward, and there is a prize laid up for those who endure to the end-- don't forget about it. 

 

Have a great day. Our belief in God, in Jesus, in His promises, and in the prize that is laid up for us will hold us steady in the times when our hearts are tempted to be troubled. 

 

For further reading:

Romans 8;32

1 Timothy 6:12

Philippians 3:14

1 John 2:1