‘Thank God that He does give us difficult things to do! His salvation is a joyous thing, but it
is also something that requires bravery,
courage, and holiness. It tests
us for all we are worth. Jesus is “bringing many sons to glory” (Hebrews 2:10
, and God will not shield us from the requirements of son-ship. God’s grace
produces men and women with a strong family likeness to Jesus Christ, not
pampered, spoiled weaklings. It takes a
tremendous amount of discipline to live the worthy and excellent life of a
disciple of Jesus in the realities of life. And it is always necessary for
us to make an effort to live a life of worth and excellence.’ CHAMBERS
Do you thank God for difficulties in your
life? Do you find joy in the midst of
problems or do you wish you were relaxing in a lawn chair with the sun shining
down, a soft breeze blowing and the birds singing. Living the Christian life is
more like swimming against the current than floating with it. It requires strength .. endurance …
perseverance. The kind of strength we
need in our life in Christ .. must come from Him. Why would we think that we could live the new
life in our own strength after we are saved when we could not live it before we
were saved? If all it takes is
confessing and believing (Romans
10:8-9) then why aren’t we living our lives in obedience to the Word and producing
the fruit of the Spirit in our lives. Because
there is more to it than that. We must
be connected to the Vine. (John
15:5) We find our strength and our stamina for this new life by drawing
from the Vine .. not by trying harder to do the right things. The discipline is staying connected to the
Vine … in our weakness His strength is made perfect (2
Corinthians 12:9) If you are struggling with living right then look at how
you are spending your time. Do you take
time to read and study the Word? Do you pray? Do you seek opportunities to be with other
Christians .. more than socially? Do you
engage your Christian friends on a spiritual level? I am talking – one on one .. mano a mano … iron sharpening iron .. (Proverbs
27:17) or is it limited to social gatherings where you talk about kids and
football? Nothing wrong with that .. but
that can’t be all there is if you want to be spiritually strong. Just sitting in a Sunday School class with
other Christians does not make you strong.
Sunday cannot be the only time you think about your faith if you want to live the life of an
overcomer.
Jesus said .. follow Me. Are following Him, or merely watching from
the stands. Let your light shine … connect
to the Vine.
Bondye Beni Ou (God Bless You)
No comments:
Post a Comment