Faith

Press on

Twenty-sixteen was a challenging year for many, including myself. But I will not dwell on the past. Instead, my mindset will be like that of the beloved apostle Paul, when he declared. “I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:14).

Like Paul, I compare the Christian life to a race; a marathon. You never know what’s coming up next. Some days it’s like a piece of cake, other days the obstacles are more than you can handle. And as long as you continue to press on you will never be comfortable. The enemy is your competitor, and he is much smarter and trickier than you are.

Some Christians will tell you that their troubles ended when they accepted Christ. But that’s so contrary to what Jesus and the apostles taught us. As Christians, we are vulnerable to the schemes of the enemy, and we will fail sometimes, but we must not quit. If anything, we must continue to press on toward the goal to win the prize.

So, my friends, as we usher in the new year, let’s not become complacent, conceited or self-righteous. Rather, let us be humble at heart as the beloved apostle was when he wrote. “Brothers and sisters, I don’t consider that I have taken hold of it yet, (the prize). But here is the one thing I do. I forget what is behind me. I push hard toward what is ahead of me. So, I push myself forward toward the goal to win the prize. God has appointed me to win it. The heavenly prize is Christ Jesus himself.” (Philippians 3:13-14).

Happy New Year!

 

Give Jesus your burdens or ride out your storm

There comes a time when everybody goes through the storms of life. Often they come when you least expect or when one is most vulnerable. And if one is not careful he or she could become so overwhelmed that you forgot Jesus could calm your storm.

Even so, being followers of Jesus Christ may not stop the tempest or the rolling billows. But you can rest assure Jesus can calm your storm. Still, sometimes your blessing comes at the end of the storm. And all you need to do is stay calm and ride it out. The late John Newton who knew a thing or two about storm and tempest wrote, “With Christ in the vessel I can smile at the storm.

Without a doubt, my fellow world citizen, if you got caught in the storm of life do not panic and do not despair. Just remember the following words spoken by Jesus. “Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. My yoke is easy, and my burden is light,” (Matthew 11:28-30).

How to minimise worldly distractions

Distraction from God is dangerous. As believers, we appoint Him captain of our ship. He does not steer, but He tells us where to go. Often we pushed Him aside and pretended to be in charge. And that is when things start to go wrong. Even if you know a shorter and better route, you should allow the captain to do His job. He knows best. The Bible says: “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart and lean not on your understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will direct thy paths,” (Proverb 3:5-6).

In the game of baseball, Good Hand-Eye Coordination is one of the keys to success for any hitter. When he is at the plate, his focus must be on point. There is little room for distraction. One mistake and his career could be over.

Just as a baseball hitter avoids distraction at the plate. Christians must do likewise avoiding anything that is likely to distract them from God. Yes, we have weaknesses, and some people will argue that it ‘s hard to avoid distractions. But, even though we cannot always avoid them we are not obligated to succumb. Jesus showed us what to do when faced with tempting circumstances.

Matthew 4:1-11 states the following. Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness where the devil tempted.

And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterwards hungry.

And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones turn to bread.

But Jesus answered and said, It is in the law, Man must not live by bread alone. But by every word that preceded out of the mouth of God.

Not satisfied, the devil took him up into the holy city, and set him on a pinnacle of the temple,

And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down. For it was written, He will give his angels charge over thee. And in their hands, they will bear thee up, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.

But Jesus said to him, It is in the law, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.

Determined to distract Jesus, the devil took him up into an exceeding high mountain. And shew him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them. And the devil said to him, I will let you have all these things if you bows down and worship me.

Then Jesus said unto him, Get thee hence, Satan. For it is in the law, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.

Then the devil left him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him.

What stands between you and your dream?

Some people get to live out their dreams and make a living doing things they love. But, there are others who never got the chance to do what they love. Often they have to scrape and scratch to make ends meet, doing things they hate. Which begs the question, what’s the difference between those who get to do what they love and those who do not.

You have heard the phrase, “Life is unfair” and sometimes it does seem that way. Especially if you like to compare other people’s success to yours. The only unfair thing about life is, everybody does not born or die at the same time. But everybody has mountains that they have to climb. And everybody fails sometimes.

Even so, we are God’s children, and I know He has great plans for us. In Jeremiah 29:11 the Lord assures the exiled Israelite that He cares about them. He said, “I know the plans I have for you. Plans to prosper you and not to harm you; plans to give you hope and a future”. So, it does not matter who you are, or where you live. If we followed the plan and the course God charted for us, we would reap success. But no one ever became successful with both hands in their pockets. It takes hard work and dedication.

Still, some people like to blame others or their surroundings for their failures. But been born into a family of means does not guarantee success. In Luke 15:11-32, Jesus told the story of a young man who grew up in a family of substance. But things did not turn out well for him. It is clear that the young man’s demise was his failure to follow his father’s instructions. And he paid a high price.

Like it or not, real success comes when we follow the part God has chosen for us. Failure happens when we divert from that path.

So, life is fair game. You get out of it what you put in. The servant who failed to use the talent that his master gave him ended up with nothing. Anyone can live out their dream if that dream is realistic. And you follow the path God has chosen for you.

How Denominations Destroy Faith

There is a lot we can learn from each other as we share our differing perspectives and understandings of Jesus. That is, if we can dare to be a little vulnerable and admit that maybe we don’t have God all figured out.

Source: How Denominations Destroy Faith