TOUGH TIMES

But He knows the way that I take; When He has tested me, I shall come forth as gold (Job 23:10, NKJV)

Difficult times that are bitter to our souls put our belief in the loving sovereignty of God to the test.  They reveal our basic attitudes toward His perfect control.  If we see His hand in everything our complaints will be replaced with settled trust.  No one has said that when you accepted Christ as your Saviour you would have a trouble-free life.  

It is our responses to these problems that are important.  It is the tough times of life that can lead us into closer and sweeter fellowship with God and greater fruitfulness in His service. Men and women of God are fashioned on the anvil of affliction.  The pressures of life can be used of the Holy Spirit to mould us more and more into the image of Christ.  Everything depends on our responses

SPIRITUAL SUICIDE

"A little sleep, a little slumber, A little folding of the hands to sleep—" (Proverbs 6:10, NKJV)

You sit in your car on a cold evening with the heater on the motor running; the next day they find you dead behind the wheel.  Carbon monoxide doesn’t warn you.  It makes you a little drowsy…then a little more drowsy…then you sleep…then you die.

Is this the story of your spiritual life?  You gradually lose your energy and slowly yet surely the motivation subsides.  Before you realise it you are spiritually dead.
The apostle Paul said, "And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light." (Romans 13:11-12, NKJV)

FAILURE BACK DOOR TO SUCCESS

We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair (2 Corinthians 4:8, NKJV)

Walt Disney went broke seven times and had a nervous breakdown before he became successful. At age 40 Henry Ford was broke. Enrico Caruso, who became one of the world's greatest tenors, was advised by his voice teacher to quit singing because he failed so many times to carry his high notes. Thomas Edison failed more than 6,000 times before he could get an electric light bulb to work, one of his teachers once called him a dunce. Abraham Lincoln was well known for his many failures but became one of America's most beloved presidents. And Albert Einstein and Werner von Braun both flunked courses in mathematics. History is filled with similar stories.

Failure is not a dead end street.  It may well be your stepping stone to something better, greater and wonderful.  Don’t despair

Consider the Ant

Take a lesson from the ants, you lazybones. Learn from their ways and become wise! (Proverbs 6:6, NLT)

Among other lessons, the ants "who store up their food in the summer" teach us the importance of being prepared ahead of time for whatever might come our way. The Chinese proverb, "Dig your well before you're thirsty" makes the same point. Children need to be prepared for life, teenagers and young adults need to be prepared for entering the work force, and for taking care of themselves. Those who are planning to be married should prepare ahead for it; unfortunately, too many don't. And all adults need to prepare ahead for retirement and old age.

And most important of all, we need to be prepared for life after life when we will meet our Maker face to face. As God's Word says, "Prepare to meet your God," (Amos 4.12). How tragic beyond all measure for those who aren't prepared for life after death.

Soul Winners Crown

For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Is it not even you in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at His coming?   For you are our glory and joy. 

1 Thessalonians 2:19, 20 (NKJV)

The fact that we shall one day stand at the judgment seat of Christ ought to motivate us to be faithful in spite of difficulties.

Paul said that the believers themselves would be his crown when he met them at the judgment seat.  To be sure, some of the believers in the church were not living as they should, and some were a burden to Paul.  But when he looked ahead and saw them in glory, they brought joy to his heart.

However we will lose some of that joy if we go to Heaven empty-handed.  The Christian who has not sincerely tried to win others to Christ will not experience this glory and joy when Christ returns. 

Turning Point

But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God (John 1:12, NKJV)

On May 24, 1738, a discouraged missionary went “very unwillingly” to a religious meeting in London. There a miracle took place. “About a quarter before nine,” he wrote in his journal, “I felt my heart strangely warmed. I felt I did trust in Christ, Christ alone, for salvation; and an assurance was given me that He had taken away my sins, even mine, and saved me from the law of sin and death.”

That missionary was John Wesley. The message he heard that evening was from Martin Luther’s commentary on Romans. The gospel is still transforming people’s lives, just the way it transformed Martin Luther and John Wesley. The one scripture above all others that brought Luther out of mere religion into the joy of salvation by grace, through faith, was Romans 1.17 “The righteous will live by faith.” The Protestant Reformation and the Wesleyan revival were both the fruit of this wonderful letter.

A Bright Future

BRIGHT FUTURE

Be strong and immovable. Always work enthusiastically for the Lord, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless." (1 Corinthians 15:58, NLT)

Adoniram Judson spent 12 years in Burma without a convert. So the board sent him a very diplomatic letter, suggesting that he should come home. They asked him what the prospects in Burma were for the future. His reply was, "The future is as bright as the promises of God." His confidence in God was the reason he could stay. Although he suffered a great deal and it took a long time for revival to break out, it finally did.

Are you in a place of discouragement right now? Does it seem like you are getting nowhere in your life? Does your job lack fulfillment? Does there seem no fruit for your ministry?

"So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up." (Galatians 6:9, NLT)

YES WE CAN!!

For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength. (Philippians 4:13, NLT)

A teacher in Georgia, USA taught her fourth-grade students an invaluable lesson by conducting a funeral. She enthused her class because the funeral was to be conducted for an enemy—the "I can't" enemy.

"Each child was encouraged to list their 'I Can'ts': 'I can't do math.' 'I can't make any friends.' 'I can't hit a home run in softball.' 'I can't give a book report in front of the class,'" and so on.

When the teacher collected all the "I can't" lists, she put them in a box and took them with the class outside where they took turns in digging a grave. In her eulogy she said, "We have provided 'I Can't' with a final resting place and a headstone that contains his epitaph. He is survived by his brothers and sisters, 'I Can,' 'I Will,' and 'I'm Going to Right Away.'

From Daylighters by Nico Bougas. Available from amazon.com

A Walking Sermon

Those who say they live in God should live their lives as Jesus did. (1 John 2:6, NLT)

In 1953 reporters gathered at a Chicago railway station waiting to meet the 1952 Nobel Peace Prize winner.

Reporters were excited to see him. Cameras were flashing, compliments were being expressed when, looking beyond the adulation, the visitor saw an elderly black woman struggling to carry her two large suitcases.

"Excuse me," he said as he went to the aid of this woman. Picking up her cases, he escorted her to a bus and then apologized to the reporters for keeping them waiting.

The man was Dr. Albert Schweitzer, the famous missionary-doctor who had invested his life helping poor and sick people in Africa.

A member of the reception committee remarked to one of the reporters, "That's the first time I ever saw a sermon walking." The measure of any man or woman is not their name, not their fame, not what they say, but what they do.

"Preach the gospel at all times -- If necessary, use words." - Saint Francis of Assisi

The Poor rich man

So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God. (Luke 12:21 NKJV).

It is no sin to be wealthy. The Bible says it is the love of money that is the root of all evil. This is not a tirade against riches as such, but against the desire for their acquisition to dominate life and destroy all thought and desire for God. The great sin of the rich fool was that he failed to be rich towards God.

He actually was a poor rich man. He was rich and had all that he needed. Yet he was poor and miserable. As his riches increased he set his heart upon them rather than upon the one who gave him the ability to accumulate wealth

He claimed that it was his fruit, his goods, his barns, his soul. But God said, “Tonight it is all going to be taken away.

Thought: He who has nothing but money is poor indeed.

Sinkhole of Temptation

Resist the devil and he will flee from you." (James 4:7, NKJV)

In December 1985 an enormous sinkhole swallowed a house and carport and forced the evacuation of four homes in a retirement community in Florida. The hole was about the size of a pickup truck when it was discovered. Within three hours it had grown to 30 by 40 feet and had swallowed half of a small house. Two hours later it had expanded to more than 70 feet, and the house with its carport was gone. Authorities were grateful that it finally stopped growing without doing even more damage.

Sin is like an ever-expanding sinkhole. It begins in a small way it grows into a deed. At this point the sinkhole is small but expanding. Then it grows larger. And finally you get swallowed up. What starts out as a look or a thought ends in a tragedy for all involved.

From Day Lighters by Nico Bougas available from amazon.com

Beware of Terrorist Groups in Church

Latest news reports are that five terrorist cell groups have been operating in many of our churches.

They have been identified as: Bin Sleepin, Bin Arguin, Bin Fightin, Bin Complainin, and Bin Missin. Their leader, Lucifer Bin Workin, trained these groups to destroy the Body of Christ. The plan is to come into the church disguised as Christians and to work within the church to discourage, disrupt, and destroy.

However, there have been reports of a sixth group.

A tiny cell known by the name Bin Prayin is actually the only effective counter terrorism force in the church. Unlike other terrorist cells, the Bin Prayin team does not blend in with whoever and whatever comes along. Bin Prayin does whatever is needed to uplift and encourage the Body of Christ.

We have noticed that the Bin Prayin cell group has different characteristics than the others. They have Bin Watchin, Bin Waitin, Bin Fastin, and Bin Longin for their Master, Jesus Christ to return.

No church is exempt! You can spot them if you bin lookin and bin goin.

-- Author Unknown