Wednesday, October 11, 2017

Examples of Christian hope

Engine oil is vital for the smooth running of an engine. It is designed to keep a vehicle moving under great pressure and heat. We will all at some point in our life suffer, situations will arise that appear to hot for us to handle. But with God in our lives he can keep us moving forward.
1 Peter 4:12 Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you:...If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you:
Each one of us must be prepared to stick it out when hard times come, we must rest in the knowledge that God has better things planned for us. Every time we suffer wrongly it leads to a greater release of God’s glory in our lives. It could be the glory of being able to relate to others who suffer how God has helped you endure hardship and bought you out to a greater blessing, or it could be an increase in the presence of God. Regardless of what hard situations you face God will find a way to increase you. Remember the story of Job in the bible, Satan took everything from him, his family, his dignity, and his health, yet in the end God restored many times more blessing to Job than he had in the beginning. Are you having a trial, or experiencing hardship, greater glory will come.

If you have ever seen the original King Kong video game you will notice it is all about avoiding the deadly barrels that are rolling in your direction. In life there are situations that come at us from time to time that have the ability to unsettle us to knock us off the pathway of life. If you seek Godly wisdom at these times you will safely avoid the negative outcome.
Pro 13:14 What the wise have to teach is a fountain of life and causes someone to avoid the snares of death.

Mat 5:4-5 Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.
I used to think God was saying blessed are those who have a low opinion of themselves. But that is not what God is saying. He is saying blessed are those who are weak in character for God will empower them with strength to take on the world. The meek don’t stay meek they take on strength of character. In the same way blessed are those who mourn, not because they are sorrowful, but because they will be comforted, sorrow will be removed from their life. God has come to abide in your life and when he abides there heaven comes with him. Expect something good in your life.

Heb 12:1 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us
Gal 6:9 And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.
Running can wear you out. The longer you run the tireder you get. The same thing can occur in life, we may start out with expectations, but if our goals are not met quickly we can tire and loose hope. The bible says to run with patience, patience is the ability to wait. If we do not grow weary, but patiently trust God, we will eventually reap a harvest of good things. God wants us blessed, don’t doubt that, but it may take time. The time you have to wait helps you learn what it feels like to go without, many people go without, and they need some one who can sympathise with them. You will not have to wait for everything, but if you do trust things will get better. But even as a harvest is many times greater than what is sown in the earth, so too will God’s blessing be many times greater than what you have had to give up while waiting.

When I was a teenager I had a rather large blunt saw, my father showed me how to sharpen it. I started to sharpen the saw but when I saw how many teeth I had to file down to finish it I gave up half way through the process and the saw was never sharpened. In life things are not always instant, and that includes the things of God. Often times God will get us to wait some time, even years to fulfill our prayers or plans. The temptation is to get what we want now, to take the easy road. Sin is a quick fix it temporarily fulfills our immediate need but ends up leaving us empty. If we persist in faith believing God we will end up with something better than we began with.
Heb 11:24-26 Then after Moses grew up, his faith made him refuse to be called Pharaoh's grandson. He chose to be mistreated with God's people instead of having the good time that sin could bring for a little while. Moses knew that the treasures of Egypt were not as wonderful as what he would receive from suffering for the Messiah, and he looked forward to his reward.

Does any body remember Mister Squiggle, he was a puppet with a pencil for a nose that would take a drawing with incomprehensible shapes, and squiggles, and turn them into amazing drawings. Like with any puppet he has a master, some one who controls his actions and does the hard work of creating the artwork. Sometimes our lives are like Mister Squiggle we are confronted by situations that appear incomprehensible, difficulties in life, hardships and challenges. Yet if we allow God to control our destiny he will take every difficulty we face and turn it around for our good. He takes the incomprehensible shapes in our life and tuns them into a work of wonder.
Rom 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

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