role

When he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment. John 16: 8.

The Spirit was to be given as a regenerating agent, and without this the sacrifice of Christ would have been of no avail. The power of evil had been strengthening for centuries, and the submission of men to this satanic captivity was amazing. Sin could be resisted and overcome only through the mighty agency of the Third Person of the Godhead, who would come with no modified energy, but in the fullness of divine power. It is the Spirit that makes effectual what has been wrought out by the world's Redeemer. 

It is by the Spirit that the heart is made pure. Through the Spirit the believer becomes a partaker of the divine nature. Christ has given His Spirit as a divine power to overcome all hereditary and cultivated tendencies to evil, and to impress His own character upon His church.

The Spirit was to be given as a regenerating agent, and without this the sacrifice of Christ would have been of no avail. The power of evil had been strengthening for centuries, and the submission of men to this satanic captivity was amazing. Sin could be resisted and overcome only through the mighty agency of the Third Person of the Godhead, who would come with no modified energy, but in the fullness of divine power. 

It is the Spirit that makes effectual what has been wrought out by the world's Redeemer. It is by the Spirit that the heart is made pure. Through the Spirit the believer becomes a partaker of the divine nature. Christ has given His Spirit as a divine power to overcome all hereditary and cultivated tendencies to evil, and to impress His own character upon His church.

While we yield ourselves as instruments for the Holy Spirit's working, the grace of God works in us to deny old inclinations, to overcome powerful propensities, and to form new habits.

The Spirit of God, received into the soul, quickens all its faculties. Under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, the mind that is devoted unreservedly to God, develops harmoniously, and is strengthened to comprehend and fulfill the requirements of God. The weak, vacillating character becomes changed to one of strength and steadfastness. . . .

It is the Spirit that causes to shine into darkened minds the bright beams of the Sun of Righteousness; that makes men's hearts burn within them with an awakened realization of the truths of eternity; that presents before the mind the great standard of righteousness, and convinces of sin; that inspires faith in Him who alone can save from sin; that works to transform character by withdrawing the affections of men from those things which are temporal and perishable, and fixing them upon the eternal inheritance. The Spirit recreates, refines, and sanctifies human beings, fitting them to become members of the royal family, children of the heavenly King.

-ellen g white, God's Amazing Grace - Pg 193

real

Nevertheless I tell you the truth; it is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you. John 16: 7.

The Comforter that Christ promised to send after He ascended to heaven, is the Spirit in all the fullness of the Godhead, making manifest the power of divine grace to all who receive and believe in Christ as a personal Saviour.

With the consecrated worker for God, in whatever place he may be, the Holy Spirit abides. The words spoken to the disciples are spoken also to us. The Comforter is ours as well as theirs.

There is no comforter like Christ, so tender and so true. He is touched with the feeling of our infirmities. His Spirit speaks to the heart. Circumstances may separate us from our friends; the broad, restless ocean may roll between us and them.

Though their sincere friendship may still exist, they may be unable to demonstrate it. . . . But no circumstances, no distance, can separate us from the heavenly Comforter. Wherever we are, wherever we may go, He is always there, one given in Christ's place, to act in His stead. He is always at our right hand, to speak soothing, gentle words; to support, sustain, uphold, and cheer. The influence of the Holy Spirit is the life of Christ in the soul. This Spirit works in and through every one who receives Christ. Those who know the indwelling of this Spirit reveal its fruit-- love, joy, peace, long- suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith.

The Holy Spirit ever abides with him who is seeking for perfection of Christian character. 

The Holy Spirit furnishes the pure motive, the living, active principle, that sustains striving, wrestling, believing souls in every emergency and under every temptation. 

The Holy Spirit sustains the believer amid the world's hatred, amid the unfriendliness of relatives, amid disappointment, amid the realization of imperfection, and amid the mistakes of life. 

Depending upon the matchless purity and perfection of Christ, the victory is sure to him who looks unto the Author and Finisher of our faith. . . . He has borne our sins, in order that through Him we might have moral excellence, and attain unto the perfection of Christian character.

-ellen g white, God's Amazing Grace

debris

After some friends lost their home in a tornado, I helped them clean up what was left. There wasn't much. Where their house had once stood was a refrigerator. That's all. Destruction was everywhere.  Debris covered the yard and the nearby woods. All day we sorted through the rubble, hoping to find intact some piece of our friends' lives. We could rescue only a few belongings. We uncovered some important papers, a few small personal items, and a handful of photos - not very much to represent an entire lifetime. I'm sure the family treasures these mementos because they're all that remains from their pre-tornado life.

Like the devastating winds of a tornado, I've felt trouble beat against my life. Hardships blow into every life, threatening to knock down all that we value. In the wreckage, we can usually find some valuable treasures, if our eyes are open to recognize them and our hearts are open to receive them.

As long as we're in this world, we will have tribulation. (John 16:33)  But this Bible verse also says, "In me you may have peace." How can we have peace amid tribulation? Peace doesn't result from the removal of unpleasant circumstances. It comes from releasing our own plans and being open to God's plan. Rest comes from fixing our eyes on Him instead of on circumstances. It comes from giving up on living for myself and living for Him instead.

From God's vantage point, there is no true debris. I'm confident that He is in the midst of any storm, and I try to keep my eyes open to see the gift He gives with the rubble. He has promised that, for those who love Him, He'll bring blessings out of storms.

-Marsha Jordan

lifetime

     Unable to attend the funeral after his Uncle Charlie died, a man who lived far away called his brother and told him, "Do something nice for Uncle Charlie and send me the bill."

     Later, he got a bill for $200.00, which he paid.  The next month, he got another bill for $200.00, which he also paid, figuring it was some incidental expense.

     But, when the bills for $200.00 kept arriving every month, he finally called his brother again to find out what was going on.

     "Well," said the other brother, "You said to do something nice for Uncle Charlie.  So I rented him a tuxedo."

     That's not exactly the most appropriate gift for someone who has died!  But the story made me think about how we are often willing to give, even to sacrifice great amounts, and we are happy to do so once or twice.  But we don't want it to become something we have to do for the rest of our lives.

     For example, we're happy to have friends or family stay in our homes for a short while, but we don't want it to go on for years and years.  We'll agree to teach a Bible class at church for a quarter or two, but we don't want to be stuck in the class for the rest of our life.  We'll take a mission trip and live in squalid conditions for a week or two, but would never dream of moving there permanently.

     And our hesitancy in situations like those is perhaps understandable.  Unfortunately, we sometimes are tempted to have the same attitude when it comes to serving Christ.  We're willing to give up everything for Christ -- at least, for a while.  But for our whole lives?  Always seeking to put others first?  Always willing to forgive?  Always willing to suffer and sacrifice for the cause of Christ?

     We need to be reminded that Christianity is not a sprint, it's a long-distance marathon, and we must be willing to commit ourselves to run the race to the very end.  Be forewarned -- it can be tiring.  But "let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart." (Gal. 6:9)

-allan smith

4

Tell a child you have a secret and you have his undivided attention. All of us children - big and little, young and old - love secrets; love to hear them, love to tell them. Today, I am opening the vault and revealing four of the best-kept secrets in the Kingdom of God.

Secret #1 - God has big plans for you.

Jeremiah 29:11 says it best. "I know the plans I have for you: plans for your welfare and not for calamity, to give you a future and a hope." His plans for us fall into two categories - earthly and heavenly.

Secret #2 - He is not going to tell you what they are.

In His compassion, God makes big plans for us. In His wisdom, He does not tell us what they are. He protects us from knowledge of the future for two reasons...

   (1) We could not handle it.

   (2) We would mess it up.

Suppose you found out that your brothers were going to fake your death and sell you into slavery, and that you would end up forgotten and forsaken in a foreign prison for years. Who could handle such news? Most of us would grieve over such a future and grow bitter toward our brothers and angry at God. In the Old Testament book of Genesis, Joseph experiences precisely such a fate.

Suppose the Lord told you that one day you would become the king's second-in-command and live in power and luxury for the rest of your life. Who could handle news like that without becoming distracted? This, too, is the story of Joseph in Genesis.

 

Scripture promises the Lord will not put more on us than we can bear. One way He does that is by withholding details about our future. The burdens would rob us of our joy and threaten to destroy us in advance, while the blessings would distract us from our responsibilities of the moment.

Secret #3 - God is working on His plans this very moment.

He is getting you ready for the future and getting the future ready for you. Jesus said, "I go to prepare a place for you. If I go away, I will come again and receive you unto myself, that where I am, there you may be also." (John 14:1-6). He is getting Heaven ready for us. He is getting us ready for Heaven.

One way God prepares us for future challenges is by giving us difficulties and hardships. He strengthens us the same way a personal trainer builds our muscles: by laying on stress. "It is good for me that I was afflicted," the psalmist said, "that I might learn thy statutes." (Psalm 119:71) That's how it works.

Secret #4 -- Your job is to be faithful today.

Bloom where you are planted, as the saying goes. The way to be ready for tomorrow's opportunities is to do our job today, no matter how insignificant or routine.

Writing in the Spring 2003 issue of "Columns," the alumni magazine of Louisiana College, Curt Iles pays tribute to science professor Charles Cavanaugh. Early in Curt's sophomore year, he paid Cavanaugh a visit to tell him he planned to drop chemistry.

"Prof," said the 19-year-old, "I thought it was God's will for me to become a science teacher. I enjoyed the biology classes you taught last year. But chemistry is killing me. That little rural high school I attended did not prepare me for this. I failed the test yesterday and I am not going to be able to pass this course. So, I plan to drop chemistry. Maybe God will have something else for me since I can't be a science teacher. I need to find His will."

Suddenly, the professor cut him off. "God's will? God's will? Son, I'll tell you what God's will is for you! Get in there, go to work, and pass chemistry. That's what God's will is for you!" And he stormed out of the office. Curt sat there in shock. Finally, realizing the professor was not returning, he went back to his dormitory. That night, he studied chemistry, and the next day, made a D on the test. At least, it was passing.

"That day," Curt Iles writes, "I decided that nothing was going to stop me from achieving my goal of teaching. I was going to pass this course or die trying." A month later, the chemistry professor said, "Iles, what's happened to you?" He was a student with a purpose.

Before leaving the disciples, Jesus began to prepare them for the future. Peter listened, absorbed all he could, then turned to the apostle John. "Lord," he said, "what about him?" Jesus said, "What is that to you? You follow me." (John 21:22)

 

God has big plans for you. He is mercifully not going to tell you what they are. At this moment, He is at work getting you ready for them and them ready for you. Your job is to do the work He has put on your plate today.

-Joe McKeever 

forgiveness

Some of life’s hurts are so deep and painful that to forgive the people who caused them seems impossible. Yet Jesus says that we can’t experience His forgiveness if we have an unforgiving spirit.

In World War II, Corrie Ten Boom and her sister Betsie were arrested for concealing Jews and were sent to a German concentration camp. Betsie died a slow and terrible death as a result of the cruel treatment.

Then, in 1947, Corrie spoke about God’s forgiveness to a church in Munich. Afterward, a man sought her out. She recognized him as one of the guards who had mistreated her and Betsie. 

He told her that he had become a Christian, and with extended hand he asked for her forgiveness. Corrie struggled with her feelings, but when she recalled the words of Jesus in Matthew 6:15, she knew she had to forgive. She silently prayed, “Jesus, help me!” and thrust her hand into the hand of her former tormentor.

Someone has said, “Forgiveness is not a case of ‘holy amnesia’ that wipes out the past. Instead, it is the experience of healing that drains the poison from the wound.”

God asks us to do for others what He has done for us through Jesus Christ. He’ll give us strength to forgive.

Lord Jesus, give us grace each day
That we may follow in Your way,
Especially when some unloved soul
Needs our forgiving to be whole. —DJD

Since we all need forgiveness, we should always be forgiving.

-dennis j de haan

.......now

Cold terror gripped the heart of a GI as mortar rounds whistled overhead, rifles cracked, and the Vietcong closed in. Suddenly he felt ripping pains as a bullet tore into his chest and arm. Yet it wasn’t the end for this soldier. 

According to an article in The New York Times, the bullet was slowed by a New Testament he was carrying in his shirt pocket. Years later, the young man still treasured the blood-stained book with the ragged hole through the middle. He believes it saved his life.

This is a nice story, but it says nothing about the life-saving spiritual help the Bible was designed to give. In Ezekiel 33, we read that the ancient Israelites used the words of the prophets to make them feel good but not to change their lives. They took passages out of context to support their confidence (v.24). They found pleasure in listening to the words of the prophet (v.30), yet the Lord said, “They hear your words, but they do not do them” (v.31). The result? They came under divine judgment.

Then as now, God’s Word is not to be cherished as a good-luck charm or to soothe the mind by bringing temporary relief from anxiety. It was given to be obeyed so that its help would not be just for this life—but forever.

Thy Word is a lamp to my feet,
A light to my path alway,
To guide and to save me from sin
And show me the heavenly way. —Sellers
© Renewal 1936 Broadman Press.

We don’t really know the Bible until we obey the Bible.

-Mart De Haan

charge

Eli Black was a brilliant business man best known for two events in his life: He masterminded the multimillion dollar takeover of the United Fruit conglomerate, and he jumped to his death from the 42nd floor of the Pan Am building in New York City.

In the book An American Company, an executive described a business lunch he had with Eli Black. When the waitress brought a plate of cheese and crackers as an appetizer, Black reached out and took them, placed them on the table, blocked them with his arms, and continued talking. The executive hadn’t eaten for hours and hinted that he would like a cracker. But Black acted as though he hadn’t heard him and went on with the business meeting.

After a while, Black placed a cracker and cheese on the tips of his fingers and continued to talk. Several moments later, Black placed the cracker on the executive’s plate and then blocked the rest as before. It was clear that Black was in charge, manipulating others as he pleased.

When you play “follow the leader,” check to see who is at the head of the line. Eli Black, for all his power, ended up a suicide. Jesus Christ, in all His humility, ended up the Savior of the world.

Controlling other people’s lives
Is many a leader’s trait,
But serving other people’s needs
The Lord considers great. —Sper

Only the one who serves is qualified to lead.

bedtime

In his book The Best Is Yet To Be, Henry Durbanville recalled that as a boy, when the shadows of evening lengthened and darkness fell, he would hear his mother call, “Henry, it’s bedtime!” Typical of all small boys, he resisted the idea of leaving his friends, putting his toys away, and going to his room for the night. Yet deep within his heart he knew very well that sleep was necessary.

Durbanville made this spiritual application for the Christian who senses the end of life drawing near: “Death is both affectionate and stern. When the right moment comes, she says to us, ‘It’s your bedtime.’ Oh, we may protest a little, but we know very well that the hour for rest has come, and in our hearts we are actually longing for it.”

The thought of dying can fill even a Christian’s heart with mixed emotions. When we think of leaving our loved ones, it may cause the tears to flow. The breaking of close human ties does hurt. On the other hand, there is the anticipation of resting from our labors.

If we have placed our faith in Christ, we can look forward to the joy and release that will be ours when we hear at His second coming, the evening call, “Come Home. It’s bedtime!”

In life’s eventide, at twilight,
At His door I’ll knock and wait;
By the precious love of Jesus
I shall enter heaven’s gate. —Blom

For the Christian, dying is the last shadow of Earth’s night before heaven’s dawn.

-richard de haan

hear

Fritz Kreisler (1875-1962), the world-famous violinist, earned a fortune with his concerts and compositions, but he generously gave most of it away. So, when he discovered an exquisite violin on one of his trips, he wasn’t able to buy it.

Later, having raised enough money to meet the asking price, he returned to the seller, hoping to purchase that beautiful instrument. But to his great dismay it had been sold to a collector. Kreisler made his way to the new owner’s home and offered to buy the violin. The collector said it had become his prized possession and he would not sell it. 

Keenly disappointed, Kreisler was about to leave when he had an idea. “Could I play the instrument once more before it is consigned to silence?” he asked. Permission was granted, and the great virtuoso filled the room with such heart-moving music that the collector’s emotions were deeply stirred.

“I have no right to keep that to myself,” he exclaimed. “It’s yours, Mr. Kreisler. Take it into the world, and let people hear it.”

To sinners saved by grace, the gospel is like the rapturous harmonies of heaven. We have no right to keep it to ourselves. Jesus tells us to take it out into the world, and let it be heard.

I’ll tell the world how Jesus saved me
And how He gave me a life brand new;
And I know that if you trust Him
That all He gave me He’ll give to you. —Fox
© 1958, 1963 Fox Music Publications

Someone told you about Christ. Have you told anyone lately?

-vernon c grounds

pressure

Politicians sometimes decide issues on the basis of majority pressure rather than on the principle of right and wrong. Some time ago a state governor declared that he personally believes abortion is wrong. But he said that as a public official he would support the will of the majority.

Pilate acted in much the same way regarding Jesus. Although he knew there was no truth to the charges leveled against Christ, he caved in to the pressure of the crowd. Consequently his name is recorded in infamy.

Few of us are in the position of appointed and elected officials who must please the majority to keep their jobs. Yet we are subject to the same kind of pressure. 

A Christian college student told me that one day he was driving three companions home after a football game. They wanted to stop at a bar known for indecent activities, but he didn’t want to. The three students came from good homes and were popular at college. He wanted to please them, and he felt tremendous pressure to go against his conscience. For a moment he hesitated, but with the Lord’s help he resisted the temptation and drove instead to a family restaurant.

Lord, help us to resist majority pressure when it would lead us down the path of sin.

If we would do what’s good and right,
We must be true within;
If we give in to what is wrong
We dull our sense of sin. —DJD

Unless we rely on God’s power within us, we will yield to the pressures around us

-herbet vander lugt

all

One controversy in professional sports today is the matter of prayer on the field. Sometimes after a big play or a victory, a player will drop to his knees and thank God. Some people object to this practice.

One newspaper writer suggested that the playing fields should be off-limits to such religious practices. He said that anything having to do with God should be confined to church. To him, it’s “absolutely ridiculous” for people to talk to God anywhere else.

As Christians, we would disagree with this kind of thinking. But we sometimes give the impression by our behavior that we believe it. We set Saturdays aside to worship and serve God but act as if the rest of the week is ours to do with as we please.

For the believer, however, living for God is a 24-hours-a-day, 7-days-a-week proposition. Notice Paul’s teaching in Ephesians 5. When he talked about walking “as children of light” (v.8), he wasn’t referring only to the way we behave in church on Sundays. When we are filled with the Spirit, we will exemplify compassion, kindness, humility, forgiveness, thankfulness, and love all the time.

The Christian life is not for Saturday only. It’s a day-to-day, all-the-time way of life—even on the playing field.

Do others know from how we act

At home, at work, at play,

That we have Jesus in our heart

And live for Him each day?

Being all-out for Christ means living for Him at all times and in all places.

still

God is present everywhere and participates in all the circumstances of our lives. It is not necessary to shut down the rest of your life or retreat to a distant mountaintop to be with him. Driving down the highway, in hospital waiting rooms, at dinner, greeting clients - God's presence fills every moment of the day.

We can't fix ourselves. We can't find our own way. We certainly can't control life's twists and turns. But we can gradually learn to sense God's presence with us in all things. His love - and His peace. But I must confess to having a problem doing it.

As I've tried to figure out why I have the problem, at least this much is clear: I am more comfortable with noise than silence, with activity than stillness, with struggling than surrender, with trying to be strong than admitting my weakness.

It was the French philosopher and mathematician Blaise Pascal who said, "All human miseries come from not being able to sit in a quiet room, alone."  Could he possibly be right?  Do we humans need more reflection than we permit ourselves?  Time to take our thoughts and feelings seriously?  The courage to bring them honestly before God to see what he may want us to learn?  Or to be?

Last week I was forced to sit still in weather-bound traffic for a while. For Type-A personalities, that is nerve-jangling, finger-drumming time!  I had a schedule.  There were things to do. So... something told me to pray instead of churn. And I did -- about a host of things. The time passed quickly. When I was able to get going on the road again, there was no haste or panic. Just gratitude for an unanticipated time for prayer.  And a sense of peace about what lay ahead.

Perhaps it would be wise to book a half-day each month for silence before God. To use dead time in airports to be alone with God. To turn off the noise of a radio or Ipod for the chance to hear God while driving to work.

Perhaps you live at such a hurried pace that a half day or even a half hour of silence with God seems impractical. For today, put just five minutes of silence between appointments or work two five-minute periods of quiet into your morning.

At the end of the day, you may have discovered the meaning of this text from Scripture: "Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted amoung the nations.  I will be exalted in the earth.  The Lord of Hosts is with us, the God of Jacob is our refuge" (Psalm 46:10-11)

-steve blair

toleration

     At a computer expo (COMDEX), Bill Gates reportedly compared the computer industry with the auto industry and stated, "If GM had kept up with technology like the computer industry has, we would all be driving $25.00 cars that got 1,000 miles to the gallon."

     In response to Bill's comments, General Motors issued a press release stating: If GM had developed technology like Microsoft, we would all be driving cars with the following characteristics:

1. For no reason whatsoever, your car would crash twice a day.

2. Every time they repainted the lines in the road, you would have to buy a new car.

3. Occasionally your car would die on the freeway for no reason. You would have to pull to the side of the road, close all of the windows, shut off the car, restart it, and reopen the windows before you could continue. For some reason you would simply accept this.

4. Occasionally, executing a maneuver such as a left turn would cause your car to shut down and refuse to restart, in which case you would have to reinstall the engine.

5. Macintosh would make a car that was powered by the sun, was reliable, five times as fast and twice as easy to drive - but would run on only five percent of the roads.

6. The oil, water temperature, and alternator warning lights would all be replaced by a single "This Car Has Performed An Illegal Operation" warning light.

7. The airbag system would ask "Are you sure?" before deploying.

8. Occasionally, for no reason whatsoever, your car would lock you out and refuse to let you in until you simultaneously lifted the door handle, turned the key and grabbed hold of the radio antenna.

9. Every time a new car was introduced, car buyers would have to learn how to drive all over again because none of the controls would operate in the same manner as the old car.

10. You'd have to press the "Start" button to turn the engine off.

     It's amazing, isn't it, what we tolerate in some things we use (like Microsoft Windows) that we would never tolerate in other things we use (like our automobiles)?  Then again, it shouldn't be too surprising because I find that there are many things which I tolerate in some people that I would never tolerate in others.

     For example, if someone I don't particularly like passes me on the street and doesn't wave or say "hi", I get easily offended and assume that he is just being snobby.  If a good friend does the same thing, though, I assume that he must have something on his mind and he was merely distracted.  If someone I love dearly accidentally trips and kicks me in the shin, I think nothing of it.  If someone else does it, though, I quickly assume they're clumsy and inconsiderate.  I t's true, isn't it?  We tolerate things from people we love that we would never tolerate from people we don't love.

     Could it be that one of the reasons we have so many conflicts in the church is that love is lacking?  When love is missing, we are quick to assume the worst, we tolerate nothing and we are quick to find fault.  Patience is non-existent.  Forgiveness is difficult.  Love, however, truly does "cover a multitude of sins." (I Peter 4:8)

     I like the way GOD'S WORD translates this passage from Paul's writings:  "As holy people whom God has chosen and loved, be sympathetic, kind, humble, gentle, and patient.  Put up with each other, and forgive each other if anyone has a complaint. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.  Above all, be loving.  This ties everything together perfectly." (Colossians 3:12-14)

     Are you having trouble "putting up" with folks around you?  May your love for others increase so that your level of toleration may increase as well.

-alan smith 

miracle

Moses and the Israelites were in the desert, but what was he going to do with them? They had to be fed, and feeding 2 or 3 million people requires a lot of food. According to a Quartermaster in the Army, it is reported that Moses would have had to have 1500 tons of food for each day.

Do you know that to bring that much food each day requires two freight trains, each a mile long. They would have to have firewood to use in cooking the food. This would take 4000 tons of wood and more freight trains, each a mile long, just for one day. And, just think about it, they were forty years in transit, in a desert.

And oh yes! They would have to have water. If they only had enough to drink and wash a few dishes, it would take 11 million gallons each day, and a freight train with tank cars, 1800 miles long, just to bring water!

And then another thing! They had to cross the Red Sea at night. Now, if they wanted a narrow path, double file, the line would be 800 miles long and would require 35 days and nights to get through. So, there had to be space in the Red Sea, 3 miles wide so that they could walk 5000 abreast to get over in one night.

But then, there is another problem. Each time they camped at the end of each day, a camp ground two-thirds the size of Rhode Island was required, or a total of 750 square miles long. 

 

Do you think Moses figured all this out before he left Egypt? I think not!! You see, Moses believed in God and God took care of these things for him.

Now, do you think God has any problem taking care of all of your needs?

"And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4:19)

-author unknown

? church

Why go to Church? 

A Church-goer wrote a letter to the editor of a newspaper and complained that it made no sense to go to church every Sunday. "I've gone for 30 years now," he wrote, "and in that time I have heard something like 3,000 sermons. 

But for the life of me, I can't remember a single one of them. So, I think I'm wasting my time and the pastors are wasting theirs by giving sermons at all."

This started a real controversy in the "Letters to the Editor" column, much to the delight of the editor. It went on for weeks until someone wrote this clincher.

"I've been married for 30 years now. In that time my wife has cooked some 32,000 meals. But for the life of me, I cannot recall the entire menu for a single one of those meals. 

But I do know this: 

They all nourished me and gave me the strength I needed to do my work. If my wife had not given me these meals, I would be physically dead today. Likewise, if I had not gone to church for nourishment, I would be spiritually dead today!"

When you are DOWN to nothing.... God is UP to something!  "Faith sees the invisible, believes the incredible and receives the impossible!" Thank God for your physical AND your spiritual nourishment!

reasoning

"You shall walk after the LORD your God, and fear Him, and keep His commandments, and obey His voice, and you. shall serve Him, and cleave unto Him." (Deuteronomy 13:4)

When we read a command in the Bible, whether we understand it or not, we ought to obey it. The Bible is not first and foremost a book to be explained, it is a book to be believed and obeyed.

So many times we want to tell God how He ought to do things. I can imagine those early apostles when they first met Paul persecuting believers. 

Those well-meaning Christians could have been praying for God to strike Paul dead - But what did God do? He struck him alive! And aren't you glad He did?

Don't substitute human reasoning for obedience. 

God says, "For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts" (Isaiah 55:8-9).

-Adrian Rogers

regrets

place

"Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:7-8)

Dwight L. Moody told about a story about a young man who was called to serve in Napoleon Bonaparte's army but didn't want to go. A friend volunteered to go in his place and was accepted as his substitute. Unfortunately, the friend was later killed in battle.

However, because of a clerical error the same young man was called up to serve again. "You can't take me. I'm dead. I died on the battlefield," he told the astonished officers.

After checking the records, the officers found documentation of his name and alongside it the name of the friend who died in his place. The case was presented to Napoleon who, after examining the evidence, said, "Through a surrogate, this man has not only fought, but has died in his country's service. No man can die more than once, therefore the law has no claim on him."

And that's exactly what Jesus Christ, the Son of God, did for you and me. He died in our place to pay the penalty for all our sins so we could be freely forgiven and given the gift of eternal life. When we accept God's pardon, we will never have to pay the price for our sins because Jesus did that for us. He died in our place. 

"I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." (Galatians 2:20)

road

A bend in the road is not the end of the road... 
unless you fail to make the turn. 
- Unknown