Easier Said Than Done

Job 1:20-22

There are sometimes things that happen in the lives of believers that are so bad that it can shake the faith of even the most devout followers of Christ Jesus (Job 1:18-19 and Luke 22:54-62). These are the times when it is important to remember the sovereignty of God.

Our wise Father has a purpose for everything He does, even in the suffering of His children (Malachi 3:2-3 and Romans 5:3-5). He will sometimes need to fine tune some of us through His purposeful trials (James 1:2-4 and 1 Peter 1:3-7) that will purify or refine our faith and increase our peace and joy in Christ.

Let us remember that even Christ Jesus Himself understood that suffering is not something anyone wants (Luke 22:42-44) but He endured it all for His Name's (Ezekiel 36:22) sake and for our sake (Romans 3:21-24).

In our trials and suffering, we need to look to the example of our Great King and savior, the Lord Jesus Christ (Hebrews 12:2).

God is AWESOME!

A Prayer For The Lost

Ezekiel 37:1-14

I am not a very well read person. I am a slow reader and have always had a reading comprehension problem. I get frustrated with it, so I don't read much. I decided if I read more, it will help. So I bought a book about Puritan prayers. The title is Into His Presence by Tim Chester.

There are prayers under different headings. One of the headings is Prayers For The Lost. In one of these prayers, Joseph Alleine refers to the lost as "a valley of dry bones". That got the wheels in my little head turning.

It is astonishing...the absolute genius of God. Everything in His Word from Genesis to John the Baptist points directly to Christ Jesus.

The prophet Ezekiel had an odd experience. The Spirit of the Lord took him and set him in a valley filled with dry bones (Ezekiel 37:1-14). As I was reading about Ezekiel's experience, I was struck with one part, In verses 9 and 10, God told Ezekiel to prophesy to the four winds, so he did, and breath entered the bodies on the ground (Genesis 2:4-7 and John 20:19-22). They were dead. They had been dead for a really long time. They could not have decided they were alive , that they wanted to suddenly start to breathe. God made them alive (Ephesians 2:1-5 and Colossians 2:13), again pointing directly to Christ.

As believers in and followers of Christ Jesus, we have had the amazing experience of being made alive in Christ. It is now our responsibility to take the Gospel to the valley of dry bones (Romans 1:16-17).

God is AWESOME!

All In

Philippians 1:15-18

The Gospel of Jesus Christ is at the center of the Christian life (Romans 1:16-17). Out from that flows so much more that leads to fulfillment in our minds and spirits, like ripples in a pond (Galatians 5:22-23, Jeremiah 17:7-8).

The Christian life is far from easy. Unfortunately, a lot of other things come with being a Christian, chief among them are mockery, persecution and a whole host of attacks from the enemy (Matthew 10:16-22, Ephesians 6:10-12).

There are those who use the gospel as a means to become wealthy and to lead people astray (Matthew 7:15). They attempt to make a mockery of God and His holy Word. But it will backfire on them. No one is capable of outsmarting God (Galatians 6:6-8, Psalm 73, Isaiah 55:10-11).

So let them mock. Nevertheless, Christ is preached.

God is AWESOME!