This
week Michael writes that we're all on an epic journey. When life throws us
a curve and throws obstacles in our path, sometimes we struggle to get back to
the straight and narrow way. Our challenge is to respond to the curves in
life as Jesus would. This means that we must continue to walk in his
presence. Grace is not giving us what we deserve, but rather giving us what
we don't deserve. God's grace will cover to bless your life if you support
others.
The
Word of God says, ‘delight thyself in the
Lord, and he shall give you the desires of your heart.” We cannot
trust our own desires of the flesh. To have the right desires, He will
direct us in all of His ways. God gives us opportunities every day to do
that which He's called us to do. Therefore, trust in the Lord and do good
for goodness sake is the nature of God himself. Dwell in the land to which
He's called you. Wherever God has called us, work the field. “Whatsoever thy hand finds to do, do it
heartily as unto the Lord and not unto men.” He has called us to live
in the land of the dying in sin, heading for the land of the living. The hope
that we all have in this life is the hope of the resurrection in Christ. Hope
assured of.
God
is in control. However, life in this secular humanistic world will be
tempered with tribulation and suffering. Life is a "hard row to hoe." All of us
will die. Mortality is 100%. Given these truths, our challenge and our
privilege is to trust in the Lord with
all our heart and lean not unto our own understanding. It's difficult
to submit our hearts to His heart, because we are accustomed to the physical
realm. What motivates the average person is pain. Like the Apostle
Paul who prayed three times "Lord
remove this thorn from my flesh," God will finally answer our prayer
for deliverance when we arrive at the place of understanding the Word of God
when he says, "My strength is made
perfect in your weakness, my grace is sufficient for thee." Pain is
gain.
Pain,
suffering, and tribulation are our friends. They force us to turn to the
Lord because thy grace is sufficient for
me. When the crisis comes and courage is required, we will be the
faithful ones who trust in the Lord. Jesus said, "If you want to be my true disciple, you must deny yourself, take up
your cross daily and follow me." Joy is not the absence of pain.
Rather, true joy is the presence of the Lord. The devil is prowling about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. He
is the deceiver and the accuser and his job is to discourage us. “The thief cometh not but for to steal, to
kill, and to destroy.” The antidote to fear is to trust in the Lord with all your heart. Jesus Christ came so that we might have life and have it more
abundantly. Despite our weakness and failures, we can run toward Him
despite our sins.
Ephesians
4:29 "Let no corrupt
communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of
edifying that it may minister grace unto the hearers."
This
is the way our Heavenly Father embraces us when His (Luke 15) prodigal son
comes to Him with a heart of repentance from sin. He's watching and
waiting for us to return home. When He sees us from a distance, He runs
to embrace us. He says, "That's
my boy! My son was lost and now is found. Let's have a feast and
celebrate." Spending time in the presence of our Lord will make our
lives an example of His grace. According to Isaiah 61:3, the
purpose that Jesus came was “unto them
that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for
mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be
called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be
glorified.”
We
who have been “born again” (born of the Spirit) have the hope of the
resurrection. In Psalm 1, the conclusion is that they
shall be called "oaks of
righteousness."
"Blessed is the
man who walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of
sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in
the law of the Lord and in his law doth he meditate day and night. And he
shall be like a tree that is planted by the rivers of waters that bringeth
forth his fruit in due season. His leaf also shall not wither and
whatsoever he doeth shall prosper."
Our
challenge is to be an encourager. Our job is to glorify Christ by walking
in fellowship and communion with Him. As the psalmist said in Psalms
19:14, "Let the words of my
mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable unto Thee, O Lord my
strength and my Redeemer."
May
God richly bless you!
Your
brother in Christ, Michael