Then and There

“To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose…a time to gain, and a time to lose” (Ecclesiastes 3:1, 6 NKJV).

A police officer pulled over a distinguished-looking woman, the story goes, and asked why she had exceed the posted speed limit.  The old gentlemen sitting in the passenger seat laughed and said, “Well, young man, we were speeding to get to the place before we forget where we are going!”  Many people forget that they are going somewhere — either  Heaven or Hell.   And many have forgotten, just as importantly, that there are those who are following them on the same journey.  As long as we are breathing we are leading the way.

Heaven is a time to gain, while Hell is a time of loss.  If you throw in Heaven on this earth, you will also gain Earth.  But if you throw in Earth without Heaven you will find yourself the loser, and you would have lost the most anyone can lose for eternity.  There is a season, and when that season is over we either have gained or we have lost.  Many people are ill-prepared for the realities of retirement and the realities of eternity.

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  • The Key to Endurance

    “By faith, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season; esteeming the reproach of Christ greater than the treasures of Egypt” (Hebrews 11:24-26).

    How did Moses make it? He led a rebellious people through hot, dry, deserted, desert land. The people did not like him (3 million of them), even raised up with rocks in their hands to cast him down. He left Egypt with all of its pleasures and treasures, why?…for suffering, reproach, turmoil, constant troubles, hot and dry; is this why?

    He endured because he saw Him who is invisible (Hebrews 11:27). That’s the key to endurance. You see Him who is invisible. In other words, he saw God’s hand in everything and in every situation.

    We have a choice. In whatever we are going through, we can either shrivel up, pull in, fall down, and fade away or we can endure, seeing Him who is invisible, seeing His hand in everything and everything in His hand. The nail pierced hand of Christ, the visible God come down, has your world in His hand. Trust Him to frame it according to His Word.

  • Salvation

    “If, then, I do what I will not do, I agree with the law that it is good. But now, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me” (Romans 7:16-17).

    When you’re saved, God doesn’t fix you to where you can’t sin anymore but where you can’t sin and enjoy it. Romans 7:14 says, “…I am carnal, sold under sin.” Romans 7:18 says, “For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells…” Romans 7:21 again, “I find then a law, that evil is present with me…” Then in Romans 7:24 says, “O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?”

    We are free from the penalty of sin but we are not free from the presence of sin that causes temptation. We are free from the power of sin but we are not free from the possibility of sin which can cause failure.

    We, who have been born of the Spirit of God, born from above, still have that principle of indwelling sin. The more mature we become in the Lord the more we see that we are sinners before God. Sin is no longer your Sovereign but sin still produces a stain upon the soul and it is your adversary. We do not become better, for in Christ we are positioned righteous, but we do run to Christ, turn to Christ, depend upon Christ, knowing our sinfulness but knowing His Saving Power over sin.

  • Stubborn Faith

     

     “At whatever place you hear the sound of the trumpet, rally to us there. Our God will fight for us (Nehemiah 4:20).fisher of men net

    When your faith begins to wane before the goal is finished and reached, remember the One who:

    * so agonized in prayer that He sweat drops of blood;

    * so despised, rejected, and crucified by the ones He loved very much;

    * suffered so often that He was referred to as the “Man of Sorrows” who was acquainted with grief.

    Remember that our strength is not compared to the enemy, on the other hand, we size up with the power of God. The enemies we have absolutely have no chance against God, the mighty Warrior!

  • How Do You Stay in Shape?

     

    “…let us run with endurance the race that is set before us” (Hebrews 12:1).

         In these days of exceptional evil, are we doing something exceptional? You and I are called upon to complete the race that God has called upon us to run. How do we do that?  Prayer! Prayer is to the soul what exercise is to the body. A man who prays consistently (1) eats the nutritious diet of the Scriptures; and (2) he consistently spends time in kneeling at the feet of the Father.

         There are three assumptions when it comes to the Christian life. Assumption #1: The Christian life is not a 100-yard dash. It is a marathon. Assumption #2: In the Christian life, it’s not how you start, it’s how you finish. Assumption #3: Spiritual self-starters train.

        The man or woman who studies the Bible without praying will develop a good mind with a cold heart. The man or woman who prays without knowing Scripture will consistently pray outside the will of God, for that is where God’s will is revealed. Scripture with prayer is the road to travel that leads to a good finish.

  • Wrestling in Prayer

    “A man wrestled with him till daybreak” (Genesis 32:24).

    Who is doing the praying? Is it our determined hearts, or the Holy Spirit? If prayer originates with the Holy Spirit, then the wrestling can be beautiful and wonderful. But if we are the victims of our own overheated wants and desires, our praying can be as carnal as any other Christian act.

    God’s way is the best way. Our way is fraught with selfish intentions. We need to ask God to give us pure motives whenever we pray to Him. Jacob’s wrestling with God was carnal until he gave in to God’s will. After he was beaten upon, he cried, “I will not let you go unless you bless me!” Only the Spirit can pray effectively. Let us depend upon Him.

     

     

     

  • Moving Away

    “Therefore, my brethren dearly beloved and longed for, my joy and crown, so stand fast in the Lord, my dearly beloved” (Phil. 4:1).

    We as a society have been conditioned to believe in the big, the fast, the expensive and the far away.  Whatever is big, fast, expensive, and away is the life of joy and happiness.  I am convinced that if you have to move ten inches from where you are now in order to be happy, you never will be.

    Paul was in prison for Christ, yet he was content.  Joseph was indeed in a mess down in Egypt, yet he was aware that God was working.  John the Baptist had stumbled over the timeline that God had for him, but he was learning.  The Lord Jesus operated by faith and not by feelings, and never moved from where His true peace was located.

    One can live with joy in their present circumstances and still live with expectation.  Life becomes more precious and more special to us when we look for the little everyday miracles and get excited about the privilege of simply being human.

    There is a powerful story of a young man who was seeking God.  He sought out a wise man who lived in a nearby beach house and posed the question:  “Old man, how can I see God?”  The old man who knew God at a depth few experience, pondered the question.  At last he responded quietly:  “Young man, I am not sure that I can help you–for you see, I have a different problem. I cannot not see him.”