Can't Take That

My heart has been heavy for the citizens of Ukraine lately.  I can somewhat relate to them having to give up their possessions, but not how quickly and forcefully as they have had to.  Have you ever thought about what you might lose here in your earthly days?  It might be a loved one, your muscle strength, your prized possessions, your mental health, or your defining job.  Whatever you value as important in this life can be taken away in an instant with no fault of your own.

We must remember, as Christians, we are God's child first.  John 15:16, "You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit."  You are his child forever.  You were his voluntary choice with an important purpose in mind.

2  Corinthians 5:1-6, "For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling,  because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked. For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life.  Now the one who has fashioned us for this very purpose is God, who has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come. Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord.''

"Don't get sucked into short-term thinking.  Your struggles will not last forever, but you will."  {You'll Get Through This, M. Lucado]

2 Timothy 2:11-13" Here is a trustworthy saying: If we died with him, we will also live with him; if we endure, we will also reign with him. If we disown him, he will also disown us; if we are faithless, he remains faithful, for he cannot disown himself."

There is nothing on this earth that can separate us from God's love.  He  has called us for His purposes and blesses us with His gifts. These cannot be taken from us.  Romans  11:29, "for God’s gifts and his call are irrevocable."  Our salvation is guaranteed.  

2 Timothy 2:12 "If we endure, we will also reign with Him."  Isn't that a motivating promise?  This life is a vapor in the wind, but eternity is everlasting.  Hang on, my friends.

From a friend..." If you are not a Christian, then your life here on earth, whatever the best that happens to you, will be the best you will ever get. So this life is as good as it gets. But….if you are a believer, what happens here is the worse it will ever get for you. So for the believer this is as bad as it gets. For the unbeliever, this is as close to heaven as they get. For believers it’s as close to hell as we get."

As for myself, the struggle is real right now. Satan tries to shift my focus off of my blessings. The battle is in God's hands. My impatience will be overcome, because I know God has a plan to provide for all of my needs. He's providing now, in His way not mine. I am thankful and know His ways are higher.

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Strength Comes From the Lord

Where does your strength come from?  Strength is mentioned over 360 times in the Bible, regarding both natural and supernatural strength.  Believers have the unlimited power of Christ as the source of their strength.  Jeremiah 9:23-24  "Thus says the Lord: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the Lord.”

"The Bible places an emphasis on God’s strength in our salvation. Man can in no way save himself. Only God can save. Paul makes this abundantly clear: “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast” (Ephesians 2:8–9). These two verses are the most forceful summary of the dynamics of salvation found anywhere in the Bible. They help us to understand the contrast between man’s total helplessness and God’s insuperable strength. “God alone . has the power to save or to destroy” (James 4:12, NLT)." [gotquestions.org]

Surrender is related to our amount of strength.  Total submission to the Lord enables us to stand against the deceptions of Satan. We must align ourselves with the Lord thru submission to His will and works.  James 4:7 says  "Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you."

God's children are strengthened by:

1. His grace...Hebrews 13:9, "Do not be led away by diverse and strange teachings, for it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace, not by foods, which have not benefited those devoted to them."

2. Our time spent in prayer...Ephesians 6:18, "And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people."

3. The promise that God will reward our efforts....Galatians 6:9, "Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up."

As for myself, my physical strength gradually vanished right before my own eyes.  Out of my control, but always in God's allowance and control.  God gives me strength to endure the long stretches of without, the perseverance to keep serving without an expectation of something in return, and the maintaining of peace in my heart that everything is working for my good. I pray for strength now in the battle that is Yours Lord.  "I am strong because I've been weak, I am fearless because I've been afraid, and I am wise because I've been foolish."

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Letting Go

When you are made aware of a train track, you know a train is coming but you aren't exactly sure of when. That is how I have felt about my disease my whole life. There would be a time where I didn't give up, but things would be more out of my control. Really, God's always been in control! He just gave me strength for a limited time and a little less than others. I now have more time to focus on His will for me, rather than my own.

This blog is really about accepting God's will for you and not resisting hard against what you've been chosen for.

As TobyMac sings about 'The Promised Land'...

"I won’t give up on this race

Broken but I still have faith

That this old life is all part of a plan

And I can feel it in my soul, one day I’ll stand before the throne

With nothing left but hope in these 2 hands"

Some people might say 'let go and let God' but the Bible contradicts that laid back kind of thinking. The Christian life is a spiritual battle which the Bible exhorts us to prepare for and wage diligently. Letting go, in the sense of sitting back and watching events unfold is not biblical.

2 Timothy 2:3, "Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus."

1 Timothy 6:12, " Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses.

We must understand that whatever it is that we do, it is by the power of God and not of ourselves. John 15:5 says "that apart from Me you can do nothing." The truth is that working at “letting go” is just as much as an effort-filled work as anything else we try to do for God and not nearly as easy to do as some things. [gotquestions.org]

"Suffering in its simplest form comes in the space between what we thought would be and what is. Life defines us, but suffering redfines us. Ultimately, hope refines us, transforming us from within in ways we could never imagine. We can gain precious wisdom and deeper appreciation for the iives we've ben given as we learn to suffer well--not as victims, but as overcomers.

Some of us have physical wheelchairs, but we all have invisible wheelchairs inside us. None of us can do life by ourselves. We need God, and we need each other." [Suffer Strong]

As for myself, I'm meant to be here now as an example, rather than as a doer. That doesn't mean I do nothing, I just do thru the help of others. I was chosen to suffer in this life, but God has promised crowns of great reward in my near future. I trust the next chapter of my life, because I know the author.

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Life's Not About Me

How much of your new year is dedicated to a new you? 

How much of your new year is invested in your relationship with Christ? 

Colossians 1:16 "For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him." 

Doesn't that verse humble you and make you question your priorities?

"The Bible says, "It is God who directs the lives of his creatures; everyone's life in his power."" [R. Warren]  When we only focus on ourselves, God can get lost in our priorities.  We must put God first in our lives!  How we spend our money and our time should be a reflection of  our relationship with Him. 

"You were made by God and for God--and until you understand that, life will never make sense." [R. Warren]  God created us for his pleasure, not to entertain him, but to have a relationship with.  "God is a personal Being, and it gives Him pleasure to have other beings He can have a genuine relationship with." [gotquestions.org] 

God pursues us, but we must open our hearts and mind to begin that relationship.

"God is not just the starting point in your life, he is the source of it."   When we depend on God's Word, we find true wisdom and direction for the trials of life.  Proverbs 3:5-6  "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight."  We often get in a rut of doing things our own way, instead of God's way.  We have to have an intentional change of heart, mind and attitude to overcome our sinful, destructive ways.

Life without God is meaningless.  If you're just living for yourself or others, then you will surely be disappointed.  If you live with Jesus and His willful purpose in mind, then your submissiveness to His plan will payoff.  "We cannot serve both God and ourselves. Living for God means we make a final decision about who is in charge. When our flesh begins to reassert its rights, we take it back to the cross and allow it to die. When sin tempts, the decision has already been made: we seek God’s will over our own." [gotquestions.org]

As for myself, my new year has an intentional plan of 'more Jesus, less me'. Living for God may be difficult, but it is not joyless. My focus will try to be on Romans 12:19, because His wrath is just and greater than anything I can do. 1 Peter 4:16 "Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name."

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Praise Him...Always

“At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.” -Titus‬ ‭3:3-7‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Will you praise God no matter what comes in your life?   

Everyday we see on the news, people who have lost all of their worldly possessions because of tornadoes, floods, or some violent weather occurrence.  Right now, we see numerous deaths daily due to the Covid virus.  We live in a world of destruction, decay and loss all because of the day when sin entered into this world.  There is hope, 1 Peter 1:6-7, “So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you must endure many trials for a little while.  These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world."

God told us that trials would be part of our earthly lives, but we could have peace thru those trials by remaining in Him through faith and trust.  John 16:31-33, “Do you now believe?" Jesus replied.  A time is coming and in fact has come when you will be scattered, each to your own home. You will leave me all alone. Yet I am not alone, for my Father is with me. “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”  Jesus questioned his disciples true faith, even tho he knew he would be betrayed.  Jesus was comforted thru His trials and sufferings, because he knew God was always with him.  "Those that converse with God in solitude are never less alone than when alone.  A good God and a good heart are good company at any time." [M. Henry]

"We are more than conquerors through him that loved us."

As for myself, I've had the fullest life.  The house, the spouse, the job, the probs, the cars, the travels, the marriage, the divorce, the strength and the definite weaknesses.  Yes, I have once been strong enough on my own, before my disease made me completely dependent on others.  Yes, I will praise God on the mountain and in the valley because He is always with me.  He has allowed much to be taken, but has left plenty to praise Him with.  Nothing will separate me from His love...nothing!

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