Confident Trust in The Lord

Hebrews 10:35-36 (NLT)
35 So do not throw away this confident trust in the Lord. Remember the great reward it brings you! 36 Patient endurance is what you need now, so that you will continue to do God’s will. Then you will receive all that he has promised.

The apostle encourages the people not to throw away their confidence and trust, but to hold fast to their profession of faith in Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord. Patient endurance is what they need so they will not turn away from God, but instead focus their attention on doing God’s will.

 

 

In his best-selling book The Reason for God, Tim Keller, pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian in Manhattan, shares the story of a woman in his congregation who was learning how the grace extended to us through Christ's work on the cross can actually be more challenging than religion. He writes:

Some years ago I met with a woman who began coming to church at Redeemer and had never before heard a distinction drawn between the gospel and religion [i.e. the distinction between grace and what is often a works-based righteousness]. She had always heard that God accepts us only if we are good enough. She said that the new message was scary. I asked why it was scary and she replied: If I was saved by my good works then there would be a limit to what God could ask of me or put me through. I would be like a taxpayer with "rights"—I would have done my duty and now I would deserve a certain quality of life. But if I am a sinner saved by grace—then there's nothing he cannot ask of me."

She understood the dynamic of grace and gratitude. If when you have lost all fear of punishment you also lose all incentive to live a good, unselfish life, then the only incentive you ever had to live a decent life was fear. This woman could see immediately that the wonderful-beyond-belief teaching of salvation by sheer grace had an edge to it. She knew that if she was a sinner saved by grace, she was (if anything) more subject to the sovereign Lordship of God. She knew that if Jesus really had done all this for her, she would not be her own. She would joyfully, gratefully belong to Jesus, who provided all this for her at infinite cost to himself.

 

 

While it is true a Christian belongs to Christ there is no need for fear. Christ gave Himself freely for us that we could live an eternal life in heaven. It should be out of love for Christ that we do His will and minister to others in His name. Since Christ gave His life that we might live in heaven, let us give our lives that others would see Christ living in us. Let us share our confidence and trust in the Lord remembering the rewards that are to come.

Endurance develops strength

Romans 5:3-4 (NLT)

3 We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. 4 And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation.

Dare say any of us enjoy running into the problems and trials of life. However when we do we have the choice to face them or run from them. Running serves no purpose other than to delay the inevitable. Facing a problem means we trust God for leadership as we press on to correct the problems and issues. Sometimes we might not find the answer we want, but we find a way to build character and strength by listening to God.

in his book The Pressure's Off, psychologist Larry Crabb uses a story from his childhood to illustrate our need to delight in God through adversity:

One Saturday afternoon, I decided I was a big boy and could use the bathroom without anyone's help. So I climbed the stairs, closed and locked the door behind me, and for the next few minutes felt very self-sufficient.

Then it was time to leave. I couldn't unlock the door. I tried with every ounce of my three-year-old strength, but I couldn't do it. I panicked. I felt again like a very little boy as the thought went through my head, "I might spend the rest of my life in this bathroom."

My parents—and likely the neighbors—heard my desperate scream.

"Are you okay?" Mother shouted through the door she couldn't open from the outside. "Did you fall? Have you hit your head?"

"I can't unlock the door!" I yelled. "Get me out of here!"

I wasn't aware of it right then, but Dad raced down the stairs, ran to the garage to find the ladder, hauled it off the hooks, and leaned it against the side of the house just beneath the bedroom window. With adult strength, he pried it open, then climbed into my prison, walked past me, and with that same strength, turned the lock and opened the door.

"Thanks, Dad," I said—and ran out to play.

That's how I thought the Christian life was supposed to work. When I get stuck in a tight place, I should do all I can to free myself. When I can't, I should pray. Then God shows up. He hears my cry—"Get me out of here! I want to play!"—and unlocks the door to the blessings I desire.

Sometimes he does. But now, no longer three years old and approaching sixty, I'm realizing the Christian life doesn't work that way. And I wonder, are any of us content with God? Do we even like him when he doesn't open the door we most want opened—when a marriage doesn't heal, when rebellious kids still rebel, when friends betray, when financial reverses threaten our comfortable way of life, when the prospect of terrorism looms, when health worsens despite much prayer, when loneliness intensifies and depression deepens, when ministries die?

God has climbed through the small window into my dark room. But he doesn't walk by me to turn the lock that I couldn't budge. Instead, he sits down on the bathroom floor and says, "Come sit with me!" He seems to think that climbing into the room to be with me matters more than letting me out to play.

I don't always see it that way. "Get me out of here!" I scream. "If you love me, unlock the door!"

Dear friend, the choice is ours. Either we can keep asking him to give us what we think will make us happy—to escape our dark room and run to the playground of blessings—or we can accept his invitation to sit with him, for now, perhaps, in darkness, and to seize the opportunity to know him better and represent him well in this difficult world.

The mockery of alcohol

Proverbs 20:1 (NLT)
Wine produces mockers; alcohol leads to brawls. Those led astray by drink cannot be wise.

When one partakes of alcohol they never know which direction their life may turn.  For it can take people and turn them into something they don’t want to be.

 

 

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — A driver has confessed in a video posted online that he's to blame for a wrong-way car crash stemming from a night of heavy drinking that killed another man and says he's willing to take "full responsibility."

Homicide charges may be filed next week, the prosecutor's office said Friday.

The 3 1/2-minute video, posted on at least two websites on Tuesday, shows 22-year-old Matthew Cordle describing what led to the accident in which he killed the man three months ago.

"My name is Matthew Cordle, and on June 22nd, 2013, I hit and killed Vincent Canzani," he says somberly. "This video will act as my confession."

Cordle says in the video he "made a mistake" when he decided to drive his truck home after "drinking really heavily" and hit the other car, killing the 61-year-old Canzani, of suburban Columbus.

The video begins with Cordle's face blurred as he describes how he has struggled with depression and was simply trying to have a good time with friends going "from bar to bar" the night of the accident. He then describes how he ended up driving into oncoming traffic on a highway.

Cordle's face becomes clear as he reveals his name and confesses to killing Canzani.

"When I get charged I'll plead guilty and take full responsibility for everything I've done to Vincent and his family," Cordle says.

Later, he says he understands that by releasing the video he's giving prosecutors "everything they need to put me away for a very long time." [http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/09/06/dui-video-confession/2775585/]

 

[View the video http://youtu.be/MmpK_EshSL4 ]

 

 

Matthew Cordle is facing the consequences of his actions. He was true to his word and confessed in court by pleading guilty and taking full responsibility for his actions. Matthew seems like a nice young man, wanting to share his problem so that others may not make the same mistake he did. Obviously alcohol took hold of his life and is now mocking him for his mistake. Let’s keep Matthew in our prayers that his testimony will keep others from making the same error he made.

 

Encouraging Words

Ephesians 4:29 (NLT)
29 Don’t use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them.

Matthew Henry’s Commentary on verse 29 states, “Filthy and unclean words and discourse are poisonous and infectious, as putrid rotten meat: they proceed from and prove a great deal of corruption in the heart of the speaker, and tend to corrupt the minds and manners of others who hear them; and therefore Christians should beware of all such discourse. It may be taken in general for all that which provokes the lusts and passions of others. We must not only put off corrupt communications, but put on that which is good to the use of edifying. The great use of speech is to edify those with whom we converse. Christians should endeavour to promote a useful conversation: that it may minister grace unto the hearers; that it may be good for, and acceptable to, the hearers, in the way of information, counsel, pertinent reproof, or the like.”

 

 

Words can either encourage or discourage someone. Once I was on a trip out of town and hailed down a cab. The driver seemed to be in not quite such a good mood. We had a ways to go so he started talking to me about some of his problems. I would calmly reply in an encouraging way hoping to lift his spirits. After a while he asked, “Why are you in a good mood this morning?” At first I was a little surprised by the question, but I told him I had gotten up and read The Bible for a while that morning and had found some encouraging words of wisdom. Then he said, “That’s my problem, I don’t know about me and The Lord. I always try to do what is right, but I seem to fail.” Then I shared some of the wisdom I had learned from my reading. I shared how we all fail at times, but if we place our faith in The Lord, and ask His forgiveness, He is faithful and just to forgive us of our sin. As we pulled up to my location the driver stopped, turned around and said, “I want that faith in The Lord you talked about. Would you pray with me?” So I prayed with Mr. Brown and encouraged him to place his faith in The Lord knowing The Lord would always forgive him and encourage him.

I thought I would never see Mr. Brown again, but a year later I was in the same city and hailed down a cab. When I got in the cab I read the taxi license that was posted and the driver was the same Mr. Brown I had spoken to before. This time his attitude was different. After we were on our way I said, “Mr. Brown do you remember me?” He looked back in his rearview mirror and said, “I sure do. You are that man that prayed with me about The Lord.” I asked, “How are you doing this morning?” His response was, “The Lord has given me a joyous heart!”

 

Sometimes all it takes is for us to listen to the problems of another, have compassion for them, and give them words of encouragement and it will lift their hopes and spirit. Our words can build them up if we use them properly. We must remember too that our words can tear down and destroy if used the wrong way. Pray The Lord will bless you with good things to say that are helpful and encouraging.

 

A Desire to be like Christ

Philippians 2:3-4 (NLT)
3 Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. 4 Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too.

Here the apostle talks about having the attitude of Christ to love and serve one another. Pride and loftiness are two attitudes that fight against us in life when it comes to serving others. We must therefore learn humility so that we do not always put ourselves ahead of others. It is our responsibility to take an interest in the lives of others and serve them as we can, just as Christ serves and loves us.

 

 

 

Wayne Cordeiro in a sermon, ‘A Personal Relationship’, said the following. I have a friend named Gene who would take me to lunch every week. And every time we'd go to lunch, he'd insist on paying for it. I thought it was nice and that maybe it was his ministry, so I let him do it for the first 80 times or so. But after a while I said to him, "Gene, let me pay today. You always pick up the tab." He said, "No, no, no. I want to pick up the tab." I said, "Come on. I want to do this." He said, "No, no, no."

So the next week I got there early and said to the waitress, "When the bill comes, would you bring it straight to me?" She said, "Oh, Gene said you might do this, so I can't give it to you. I have to give it to him." I said, "Come on. You're kidding." She said, "No, that's what he said."

So I sat down and said, "Gene, would you let me pay for the lunch?" He said, "No, no. I'll pick up the tab." I said, "Gene, I want to pick up the tab." He said, "No." I said, "I yearn to pick up the tab." He said, "No." I said, "Gene, I'm starting to dream about picking up the tab." He said, "No, I want to pick up the tab." "I beg you," I said, "let me pick up the tab." He said, "No." Till this day I have not yet picked up the tab on lunch.

Listen carefully. Jesus has picked up your tab not once, not twice, but thousands of times. Because of that relationship, you start to feel compelled to do the same. We love because he loves; not because we learned it in Sunday school, not because we get points for it, not because we think we're going to gain or garner God's blessings if we do. We love because he first loved us.

 

 

As I had someone tell me once, Satan comes forward when we sin and accuses us. Imagine Satan telling God, “Look at the sinful deeds of your servant.” Then Jesus steps forward as He has done so many times and says, “I paid for that sin and that sin had been forgiven. The one you call sinful is a child of ours that is loved dearly.” If you can think about the number of times Christ has done that for you it will set a desire in you to return to Christ what He has done for you so many, many times.

Faith in God

Romans 4:1-3 (NLT)
1 Abraham was, humanly speaking, the founder of our Jewish nation. What did he discover about being made right with God? 2 If his good deeds had made him acceptable to God, he would have had something to boast about. But that was not God’s way. 3 For the Scriptures tell us, “Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith.”

Here the Apostle states that Abraham was the founder of the Jewish nation. He does so because he wants the people to understand where they came from. They came from a man who believed the promises of God and placed his faith in God and because of his faith he was righteous in God’s sight. It was now the time to place their faith in God’s promise of salvation, Jesus Christ.

 

 

C.H. Spurgeon once said in a sermon, delivered on December 6^th, 1868: I would have you note that the faith which justified Abram was still an imperfect faith, although it perfectly justified him. It was imperfect beforehand, for he had prevaricated as to his wife, and bidden Sarai, "Say thou art my sister." It was imperfect after it had justified him, for in the next chapter we find him taking Hagar, his wife's handmaid, in order to effect the divine purpose, and so showing a want of confidence in the working of the Lord. It is a blessing for you and for me that we do not need perfect faith to save us. "If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove." If thou hast but the faith of a little child, it shall save thee. Though thy faith be not always at the same pitch as the patriarch's when he staggered not at the promise through unbelief, yet if it be simple and true, if it confide alone in the promise of God-it is an unhappy thing that it is no stronger, and thou oughtest daily to pray, "Lord, increase my faith"-but still it shall justify thee through Christ Jesus. A trembling hand may grasp the cup which bears a healing draught to the lip-the weakness of the hand shall not lessen the power of the medicine.

So far, then, all is clear, Abram was not justified by works, nor by ceremonies, nor partly by works, and partly by faith, nor by the perfection of his faith-he is counted righteous simply because of his faith in the divine promise.

Spurgeon concludes the sermon saying, “To believe that God speaks truth ought not to be hard; and if we were not very wicked this would never need to be urged upon us, we should do it naturally. To believe that Christ is able to save us seems to me to be easy enough, and it would be if our hearts were not so hard. Believe thy God, man, and think it no little thing to do so. May the Holy Ghost lead thee to a true trust. This is the work of God, that ye believe on Jesus Christ, whom he hath sent. Believe that the Son of God can save, and confide thyself alone in him, and he will save thee. He asks nothing but faith, and even this he gives thee; and if thou hast it, all thy doubts and sins, thy trials and troubles put together, shall not shut thee out of heaven. God shall fulfil his promise, and surely bring thee in to possess the land which floweth with milk and honey.”

 

As Spurgeon said some have a hard time finding faith because of the world we live in. I pray you would find faith in God, faith in God’s promises, and faith in the promise of Salvation through Jesus Christ. You only have to start with a small amount of faith and God will grow that faith into something bigger and more wonderful than you can imagine. Have faith in God!

Be of one mind and sympathize with each other

1 Peter 3:8 (NLT)

8 Finally, all of you should be of one mind. Sympathize with each other. Love each other as brothers and sisters. Be tenderhearted, and keep a humble attitude.

In this chapter of 1^st Peter, the apostle first gives instructions for living to wives, husbands, and then finally Christians as a whole.  Here he states that those who have placed their faith in Christ should act as one mind – the mind of Christ. They should be willing to sympathize with each other and help each other as they can. They should treat each other as brothers and sisters for they have been adopted into the kingdom of heaven as heirs with Christ and to its rich rewards. They should keep a tender heart and a humble attitude so pride won’t overtake their actions.

A married couple had a quarrel and ended up giving each other the silent treatment. A week into their mute argument, the man realized he needed his wife's help. In order to catch a flight to Chicago for a business meeting, he had to get up at 5 a.m.

Not wanting to be the first to break the silence, he wrote on a piece of paper, "Please wake me at 5 a.m."

The next morning the man woke up only to discover his wife was already out of bed, it was 9 a.m., and his flight had long since departed. He was about to find his wife and demand an answer for her failings when he noticed a piece of paper by the bed.

He read, "It's 5 a.m. Wake up."

This story illustrates the words of the apostle. Had the husband been tenderhearted and kept a humble attitude he most likely would have been on that plane. In the heat of an argument we say things that most often should not be said, which is why The Bible says, “let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath.” Once fierce words leave our mouth they fly like flaming darts towards the other person and cause pain and hurt. We should instead learn to sympathize and listen to the feelings of the other person – and I mean really listen so that we understand.

What some people tend to do is throw facts back and forth at each other without really hearing the feeling of the other person. They say, “Well last week you spent money on new clothes.” And then the other person responds, “Well you were out spending money on golf with your buddies all weekend.” It gets where everyone spews hurtful facts, but no one takes time to listen to the real feelings and sympathize with the person. If we are going to love our brothers and sisters in Christ, we need to first start by showing love at home to our spouse.  Take time to be of one mind, sympathize, love each other and keep a tenderhearted and humble attitude that pride will not stand in your way of allowing you to say you are sorry.