The Tough Get Going…

James 1:12 “Anyone who meets a testing challenge head-on and manages to stick it out is mighty fortunate. The reward is life and more life for those who are loyally in love with God.”

Looking at a garden on a hot day reveals the plants that are up to a challenge and those that are not. Some plants wilt and quickly dry up never to be seen again. Others simply stand strong and stick out the heat. These are the ones that continue to have life.

Some people wilt like a plant in the heat whenever a challenge comes their way. Others rise up, meeting challenges head-on, sticking them out to the end. This verse calls them “mighty fortunate” and says they are rewarded with life and more life. Why? Simply because they got tough and rose to the challenge, sticking it out to the end.

There is only one-way to meet a challenge head-on: by being loyal and in love with God. As we do this, above everything else, we become equipped to succeed no matter how hot or desperate the battle becomes. When it’s over we get rewarded with so much more life than we had before.

Let’s meet our challenges head-on this week. Let’s not wilt and die but rather gain abundant life by simply obeying our verse. Remember the challenge is worth winning so that we receive our reward. Whenever we’re loyal to God and His Word, every challenge we meet head-on is sure to produce abundant life!

Summer

It’s Never Impossible…

Luke 9:13 But Jesus said, “You feed them…”

I just love Jesus! He gives such clear instruction. In this instance the disciples thought He was telling them to do something impossible. In reality Jesus had told them to do something that was difficult but not impossible. Jesus never asks us to do anything that is impossible.

So, Jesus demonstrated exactly how to have victory over a difficult task…

  1. He took what was available
  2. He put His trust in heaven as His source
  3. Prayed & commanded Blessing on what was in his hands

The result was that the little He held was multiplied and became more than enough to complete the task. It was a difficult task but it was not impossible.

It is easy for us to feel challenged by God’s Word and what it tells us to do. The fact is it may be difficult but it is never impossible.

When we feel this way we are to do as Jesus did…

  1. Take what is available
  2. Put our trust in Him as our source
  3. Pray & command Blessing on what we have

The result will be multiplication to achieve the task. We will have more than enough to complete it. Remember it may seem difficult but it will never be impossible.

Why not apply this truth in our lives from today on. I believe we will begin to see the miraculous take place and we will discover that nothing is impossible when we put our trust in God!

Close the Gate…

1 Corinthians 13:1 “If I speak with human eloquence and angelic ecstasy but don’t love, I’m nothing but the creaking of a rusty gate.”

We can all remember the squeak that an old garden gate made or the sound of the creak & slam of the derelict screen door on an old house. We often remember these familiar sounds for a long time. Other strong memories may include a kind and helpful teacher or the person who helped us when no one else would.

Today’s verse helps us to see what actions bring divine value to our life. The key here is “love”. This word comes from the Greek “agape”. This is the type of love that is unconditional and unbounded by anything – it is the type of love God shows to us. It is the type of love God wants us to show to each other.

It doesn’t matter how well we speak of others or how passionate our words are towards them. If we don’t unconditionally love them we sound like that squeaking gate every time we open our mouth. Remember we cannot fool God. His ear is listening for the sweet sound of love every time we speak. He doesn’t want to hear the sound of that loveless gate squeaking again.

Challenge yourself this week to allow the Holy Spirit to invest a new deposit of agape love into your life. Open your Bible and get into God’s Word. The Word will help wash away past offenses and hurt that you may carry. It will be like putting oil on that rusty hinge. The new sound that God hears is sure to bring pleasure to His ears.

A Promise Given…

Ecclesiastes 5:4-5 “When you make a vow to God, don’t delay fulfilling it, because He does not delight in fools. Fulfill what you vow.”

Now, I’m sure you want God to delight in you… we sure do! Our verse tells us a simple way to make this happen. Whenever we make a promise to God we must fulfill it without delay. We must accomplish our part of the vow quickly.

Nowadays people are amazed when you do what you say? In our hectic society it is easy to make promises and never fulfill them. Our words are easily spoken but the route taken to fulfill them is sometimes difficult. Even in the Christian world people find it difficult to do what they promise. It can be a real challenge.

I know there are many things we promise God. We often promise to pray more, to financially help others, to serve and to help or even to plead ways of getting out of the tight spots in life. Remember, God knows every promise that we have made with him. The fact is not what we vowed but it is that we fulfill our part quickly.

This week, allow the Holy Spirit to remind you of the promises you made to God. He will give you a strategy, bathed in mercy and grace, to fulfill them quickly. Then the delight of the Lord will fall upon you. You will be able to walk in fresh favor before both God and man. So why not make this a week to remember!