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Rom. 8:18 - "For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us." NASU
We all are going to suffer in this world. We may suffer physically, mentally, or emotionally, but we will all suffer in some way. It really doesn't matter how we suffer. What matters is how we deal with our sufferings when they come. The way I picture this scene is this way: first visualize a set of scales. On the one side we place all of our present sufferings and on the other side you place your future glory of being in Heaven. KABOOM! The side with your future glory being much heavier immediately forces the pan down and your sufferings go flying off of the other side. Paul is basically saying that, our present sufferings in this life are not worthy to be compared with our future eternal glory in heaven. When you suffer please remember to compare your sufferings with your future reward of being in God's glory, Heaven. The apostle John said it this way: Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea. 2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, "Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, 4 and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away." Rev. 21:1-4 NASU
On the other hand with God our glory is eternal. There will be no end to our glory. It is a no brainer. When you are suffering compare them to eternal glory with God in Heaven. There really is no comparison. Think About These: People always get into trouble when they think they can handle their lives without God. God isn't just a present help in time of trouble, but a great help in keeping us out of trouble. Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago Minister of God's Word
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1 Thes. 5:18 - "…in everything give thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." NASU
Tomorrow is the day that has been set aside for us to give thanks for all the blessings we have been given by God. I am sure we do not wait until this one day of the year to give thanks.
Paul says that when we give "thanks" we are doing the Will of God and one way to do God's Will daily is to give thanks daily. When people say to me they want the "Will of God" to be done in their lives I say to them be "thankful" and you will be doing the Will of God. They always have this strange look on their face and would say, "I am thankful, but you know, I really want to do the Will of God." I tell them, according to the Apostle Paul, if you are "thankful" in everything you will be doing the Will of God.
Instead of me answering that question since I have never had one of my children die I quote a man who was familiar with the death of a child. In fact, he lost 10 children in one disastrous day. Job's wife even wanted him to curse God for what had happened to their family. Job 2:9-10 - Then his wife said to him, "Do you still hold fast your integrity? Curse God and die!" But he said to her, "You speak as one of the foolish women speaks. Shall we indeed accept good from God and not accept adversity?" In all this Job did not sin with his lips. NASU Job had lost his 10 children, all his animals, his herds or in other words, his wealth, but Job's ATTITUDE guides his BEHAVIOR. He didn't sin by saying things that he would later regret. Job wasn't "thankful" for the death of his children or the loss of his wealth, but his attitude was he would accept good from God, and now that adversity had come into his life he would accept it as well. Many times in life we have to accept things that we don't like.
We must wait upon the Lord and in time once the pain has decreased some we will start to allow God to give us the answers to the trials we face. Job's attitude guided his behavior. The scripture says, "In all of this Job did not sin with his lips." In other words, he didn't curse God and ask to die.
If you do a little inspection of your life you will find you have more to give thanks for then you might realize. Develop an attitude of thankfulness and you will never regret it. Think About This: It isn't what you have in your pocket that makes you thankful, but what you have in your heart. Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago Minister of God's Word Romans 8:15-17 - For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, "Abba! Father!"
The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him. NASU
We scream like our team just won the championship or maybe a better analogy we scream like we just won the Power Ball or Mega Millions lottery. We have become heirs of God and heirs with Jesus Christ. Stop and think for a moment what that means! Webster's definition of "heir" is one who is entitled to inherit property from an ancestor. We are going to inherit Heaven or Eternal Life because God has adopted us. Let that sink in for a while. I like how Paul says our citizenship is really not here on earth in Philippians 3:20-21 - For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ; who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory,…" We are not only adopted into the family of God. Jesus Christ is going to transform our bodies into a body like He now has in Glory.
The simple truth is because He Loves us. Another truth would be on account of His nature. He is Gracious. This is a part of His Character. He wants to give us what we don't deserve. We don't deserve to be adopted into His family, but He made a way for us to be adopted into His family anyway.
Colossians 3:9-10 - "…since you have put off the old man with his deeds, and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him,…" NKJV We can show our thankfulness to God by putting off the old man/woman and putting on the new man/woman. Paul will further explain this in the following verses (12-14): put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; bearing with one another, and forgiving one another,… But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection. When we put on those characteristics we are becoming more like our Heavenly Father and it is our way of saying, "Thanks for adopting us into His family."
If you would like to be adopted into God's family please contact me and I will be glad to help you become an adopted child of God like I am and many more. Think About These: A good example has twice the value of good advice. Advice is least heeded when most needed. Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago Minister of God's Word Gen. 16:11-12 - The angel of the LORD said to her further, "Behold, you are with child, And you will bear a son; And you shall call his name Ishmael, Because the LORD has given heed to your affliction. 12 "He will be a wild donkey of a man, His hand will be against everyone, And everyone's hand will be against him;…" NASU
God told Abe and Sarai, they were going to have a son. There is the promise from God. Sarai and Abram were both old when they were given this promise from God. It is going to take 25 years for this promise to be fulfilled. He didn't say when the promise would be fulfilled. He simply said they would have a son. They must have thought He meant immediately and when it didn't happen immediately Sarai decided to help God fulfill His promise by replacing His plan with one of her own. So she tells Abram to have a sexual relationship with her handmaiden, Hagar, and then she will raise the child as her own. This may have been accepted culturally but it surely wasn't going to work when it was in direct opposition to God's plan. I can't imagine anything going wrong with her plan, can you?
America's 911 was caused by the descendants of Ishmael. The radical Muslims who have bombed England, France, Pakistan, USA and the list goes on and on as this prophecy is fulfilled day after day. His hand is against every man and every man's hand is against him.
When God makes a promise believe it and don't put a time limit on it. If you think that God should act within a certain time frame does that make it so? God made Abram and Sarai a promise and 25 years later He fulfilled his promise. Sarai and Abe waited 11 years and when they were not the parents of this promised child they took matters into their own hands. Then after another 14 years or a total of 25 years God fulfilled His promise. If I can give you any encouragement today let it be this: God Always Fulfills His Promises and below are some scriptures I hope will encourage you. Ps 9:8-9 - And He will judge the world in righteousness; He will execute judgment for the peoples with equity. 9 The LORD also will be a stronghold for the oppressed, A stronghold in times of trouble;… Ps 34:15 - The eyes of the LORD are toward the righteous and His ears are open to their cry. Ps 34:19 - Many are the afflictions of the righteous, But the LORD delivers him out of them all. When God makes a promise simply wait for it. His timing is perfect and He never forgets. Think About These: When God allows a burden to be put upon you, He will give you the strength to carry it. There is one thing for which you should be thankful - only you and God have all the facts about you. Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago Minister of God's Word Gen. 50:20 - “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good…”
In the above text Joseph is saying these words to his brothers who had sold him into slavery. What can be worse than having your own flesh and blood do something evil to you? Joseph’s brothers had sold him to the Ishmaelites (Gen.37:27) who in turn would sell him to the Egyptians to be their slave. Then the brothers would return to Jacob, their father, and purposefully deceive him by lying to him. Yes, it is true some people will do some very mean, wicked and cruel things not only to their siblings but to people they work with or people who are considered their friends. How are we to handle such situations?
First, there is the Permissible Will of God, second there is the Preceptive Will of God and lastly, the Purposeful Will of God.
In the story of Joseph recorded for us in Genesis, God permitted the brothers to sell him into slavery. When someone does evil to someone else it fits into God's permissible will. What the brothers did was not what God wanted or desired to have happen, but it is what He permitted. You will notice that God not only permitted it but He used it to elevate Joseph to second in command of all Egypt. God can turn an evil deed into something beneficial.
1 Corin. 11:26 - For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until He comes. I want to proclaim the Lord's death and so should you. When we proclaim His death it tells the world how much God loves us.
There was nothing that was going to happen that would have hindered Jesus from going to the cross. It was God's Purposeful Will that Jesus dies on the cross to atone for the sins of mankind. 1 John 2:2 - and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world.
Then prepare yourself for a "deer in the headlights" look, which will give you an opportunity to teach them this lesson. Think About These: When things get rough, remember: It is the rubbing that brings out the shine. The best way out of a difficulty is through it. Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago Minister of God's Word |
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