Jesus is Praying for Us

 Luke 22:32
But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not...

Jesus, speaking to Peter, knew that Peter would deny Him when the going got tough. But he also knew that Peter had a tender heart and a desire to serve Him. The fullness of the Holy Spirit and the work He was to do had yet to be released. Jesus said, when the Holy Spirit comes, He will purify, fill, and empower the followers of Jesus to be a witness that would turn the world upside down. As determined as Peter was, fear gripped his heart, and he feared for his life when the pressure was on. Jesus knew that Peter would “drop the ball” and his faith would falter. Our humanity, without the grace of God, is so prone to fail. Jesus prayed for Peter that even in times when trails come, and we fail, that we do not have to quit and give up. Jesus, who sits at the right hand of God, is interceding for us even now. When Satan is doing all he can to shake us up and cause us to cast our faith away, Jesus is praying that we hold on and trust God who will find a way of escape. We sometimes come through the battle beaten up and sometimes wounded, but our faith in Jesus can remain true. It is good to have friends pray for us, and we are encouraged that our brothers and sisters in the Lord are praying, but to know that Jesus is praying for us, and His prayers are sure to reach the throne of God. If the cock crows in your life, don’t give up; turn to Jesus, who is praying that your faith will not fail.

Never Alone

 

John 16:32  Behold, the hour cometh, yea, is now come, that ye shall be scattered, every man to his own, and shall leave me alone: and yet I am not alone, because the Father is with me.

There are times when we just want to be alone. Pull away from the noise of the world and the distraction to focus and contemplate on life. Time to examine who we are and where we are going. Time to reflect on where we have been and what our next steps will be moving forward. Being alone is often necessary in order to muse over our relationship with God and others. Being alone on purpose is not the same as being lonely. Loneliness is an emotion that is triggered when we feel no one cares, the absence of feeling we are not loved. It often leads to depression and lack of self-worth. Even though born in sin, we are made in the image of God. We are His creation, therefore the Father values who we are. We may find ourselves in a state of loneliness, but we truly are never alone. Others may scatter about, giving no attention to our presence, but the Father will never leave us alone. He loves the sinner, and He loves those who believe. To the sinner, God seeks to have a relationship. The Holy Spirit works in the life of a sinner to reveal their sinfulness, and bring them into fellowship with his creator, never to be lonely again. To the believer, Satan will discourage us into thinking that we are all alone. Tribulations come, and it seems that we are facing them alone. This is the feeling the disciples had when they were out to sea and the storm came. They cried out, “Master, don’t you care that we perish.” (Mark 4:8). In other words, “Why have you left us alone to die?” Jesus warns us that we will face hard and difficult times in this life, and times when we will feel that we are all alone. He reminded his disciples that even though others may scatter, and hard times come, that the Father will never leave us. When Jesus left this world, He promised us the Holy Spirit, the comforter, that would go with us and be with us in every trial and tribulation we face. No matter what Satan says, we are never alone.

Passing The Test

 Gen. 22:1,2
God tested Abraham…And He said, “Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah, and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of.”

The scripture application to this passage is one of full surrender to God. A willingness to give up what you love dearly to serve God. I certainly don’t claim to understand the mind of God in this requirement. Yes, this was a test to see if Abraham was completely sold out to mind God, but on the other hand, I can see why some would question God’s requirement to have Abram kill his firstborn. In our day, if someone did this, they would be charged with murder and sent to prison for life, or given the death penalty, regardless of their religious beliefs. This subject, no doubt, has been debated and discussed for centuries, so I am not even going to attempt to explain this paradox. 
Looking at it at face value and deeper meaning, this is also prophetic in that God was willing to give His only-begotten Son. This same God, who commanded Abraham to sacrifice his son on the altar, sent His Son to earth, to live among us and sacrifice His life to save ours. 
As we walk with God, we are faced with many trials, tribulations, and tests. Trials and tribulations are given to all who walk this life, but tests are given to see what we are made of. Test of character, test of integrity, test of loyalty, and test of faithfulness are all given for the purpose of bringing glory to God. In our day, God has spoken through His word. When we hear the voice of God, it will not go contrary to His word. We need to test the spirits to see if they are of God. God grants us the wisdom to discern His voice and the strength to pass the test He sends our way.
 

Steadfast Under Trail

 James 1:12
Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.

Trials and tribulations are part of life. No one is exempt from facing them. Some people go through severe testing, but we all will face them at some level. Trails are defined as hard times, difficult situations that can cause us to doubt that God is in control, or that God is able to come through on His promises to help us. When we begin to doubt God, we are like the wind tossed here and there, unstable in our ways, unsure of our footing. Our direction is lost and we wander around without real purpose. Temptation is of the devil who’s only desire is to cause us to fail and start doubting what God has said. God does not tempt, but He will test us. He will test our resolve and our determination to stay faithful and steadfast. His testing is designed to make us stronger and to be rooted and grounded in Him. He does not delight in our failures and will use our failures as stepping stones to put our trust in Him when we face our next trial.

Tribulation in Life

John 16:33…In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.

Tribulations are inevitable. Life without problems is to be expected on this earthly journey. Being a Christian does not exempt one from facing difficult times. God’s love does not mean that we will not face sickness, hard times, or even an early death. We live in a broken down world caused by sin and bad things will happen. People will be mistreated, things will be stolen, murder is in the hearts of wicked people. Blaming these things on God is often the first reaction of most people. Jesus warned us that life will happen and it will not always be good, but He promised us that He would not leave us or forsake us. In the mist of tribulation we can be of cheer. The world and all of it problems are overcome when we put our trust in Jesus. For He is the one who can take us through and bring us safely on the other side. We can be more than conquerers and overcome life’s trial and tribulations when we allow Christ to carry us through.

Facing Temptation

James 1:2 “My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations,”

Temptation is common to all men. We all face temptation to choose to do right or choose to do wrong. Adam and Eve were tempted to partake of the forbidden fruit. Their faith in God and their commitment to trust God was tested. God tempts no man to do evil, but in every temptation He provides a way of escape. He does allow circumstances to come our way that will test the fiber of our faith in Him. Satan tempts us to do wrong for the soul purpose of destroying our soul. In the fiery trails of life when we are at the crossroad of making choices to trust God or give in to our desires, James says to rejoice and count in all joy. We have once again been given an opportunity to show our love to God when we choose to do what is right. Trails and temptation deepens our walk with God. Experiencing victory over temptation give us a level of spiritual maturity that will help us become stronger in the face of future attacks. In times of temptation, let us put on the mind of Christ and ask the Holy Spirit to give us the strength to choose that which is right and holy. 

The Comfort of God

2 Corinth 1:4 “who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted by God.”

God gives that we may pass on the blessings He gives us. In times of difficulties and hard places, God Comforts us extending His love and care. His love reaches us and give us peace in times of trails and sadness. Life is filled with things that go wrong and we find ourselves alone with our problems. But God, who sees our despair and our heart ache comes to us in ways that are beyond comprehension. His desire is that we would extent this comfort to others in their pain and suffering. As part of the body of Christ, we reach out to each other and also reach out to those who need the Lord. Those who are going trough trouble waters and difficult times. Showing comfort to others is just often a kind word, financial aid, being there to led a ear, and of coarse, praying for them. God cares when we hurt and He care when other hurt. We live in a hurting world that needs the comfort of God.

Light Afflictions

2 Corinth 4:17 “7 For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory,”-

Trails, afflictions, hard times often seem like they never end. They seem to weigh heavy and sometimes we feel as tho they are crushing us to the ground. For the moment, it would seem that life is more than we can bare. Yes, we are trouble on every side. But it light of eternity, these afflictions are but a moment in time that will come to pass. How small and insignificant they will be when we look back and realize that they were but a vapor that came and went. When we consider that eternity is forever, and what we face today is but for a moment, we don’t need to despair. Hold on, keep the faith, keep believing, for we live not for this world, but for the world to come. 

Job's Faithfulness

July 8th, 2007
Job 2:1-13
It was enough that Job suffered the lost of his children and processions. We often feel that we have reached the end of our endurances. And, often asked the questions. Could it get any worse? Why is this happening? What have I done to deserve this? Will it every end? No doubt, Job went through an emotional trauma as he was informed of his misfortunes. He was at the bottom and it seemed that he could not go any further down. But, the spiritual warfare still rages between good and evil. Satan’s desire is to bring ultimate defeat to man’s faith in God. It is said that every man and women has a price. And, at some point will be willing to sell. Satan was determined to bring down Job. God believed in Job’s undying faith and determination to do what was right no matter what happen. The testing of Job was more than physical anguish, but he also had to struggle with the hard questions in life. Does God really love me? Where is God when I need Him? What is the purpose of my life?

Spiritual Warfare vs.1-3 (Satan came... before the Lord)
• We fight not against flesh and blood
• Satan attacks the “apple of God’s eye”
Severe Trails (vs.4 skin for skin)
• Material and social lose
• Physical, emotional, and mental
Sovereignty of God (vs.6 save his life)
• God is in control
• He will not allow a temptation-more than we can bare
Sorrow and Suffering (vs.8 sat among the ashes)
• Dealing with pain
• All that live Godly in Christ Jesus will suffer…
Speech Betrays (vs.10 thou speaketh… foolish)
• For out of the mouth comes cursing and blessing
• Let no corrupt communication proceed
• The power of words and speech
Sympathy of Friends (vs. 11 come to mourn with him)
• Bare one another burdens – so fulfill the law of God
• So glad to be apart of God’s family
• Sincere grief for those who suffer lose
Silence in time of Grief (vs13 and none spake a word)
• Custom of the day- Protocol, having respect for others
• Presence can do when words fail