dW 07.11.07 - thoughts from a friend

Here are my thoughts for today:

 

John 16:33 - "In this world you will have trouble.  But take heart!  I have overcome the world."

 

The Bible doesn't say IF we face trials or trouble in our lives, it says WHEN we face trials or trouble.  The Bible doesn't leave it at that though.  It gives us information about why we face trials, how we should respond to trials, and how God responds to us when we face trials.

 

We face trials as a testing of our faith so that we may persevere and become spiritually mature (James 1:2-4).  We face trials so that we might share in Christ's suffering so we may also share in His glory (1 Peter 4:12-13).  We face trials so that we can comfort others who face trials (2 Corinthians 1:3-4).

 

We should respond to trials in our lives with joy (James 1:2), calling upon the Lord (Psalm 50:15), and with the mindset that our troubles are but a fleeting moment in time compared to the glory we will one day receive (2 Corinthians 4:17). 

 

The Lord comforts us during trials (2 Corinthians 1:3-4) and delivers us from our troubles (Psalm 34:19; Psalm 50:15).

 

We WILL face trials - it's not a matter of IF but WHEN.  God tells us that HE will comfort us and deliver us whenever we face trials.  How silly we are!  We complain, wallow, cry, and believe that God doesn't understand.  Whenever we face trials we think that God is far away - we couldn't be more wrong!  It's during these moments - the ones where we are out of options, out of hope, and out of our minds - that God is nearest to us.  And that fact - the idea that God is never closer than when we are in the midst of trials - should comfort us and in a strange sort of way make us rejoice despite the trials we are facing.  We should actually be celebrating the trials we face! (Somehow I don't see myself ever getting to that point in my life).  Without the trials in our lives, we may never know God as well as we do because of the fact that we went through them.  And after that, we are better equipped to encourage someone else going through a trial.  Have you ever had someone who has never really faced tough times try to comfort you during a hard time in your life?  It kind of makes you a little bitter and the comfort they give seems shallow because they don't know what it's like.  I love the fact that the Bible is clear with us about the trials of life.  It tells us why we fact them, what we should do when we face them, and what we can count on God to do.  Amazing!

 

"The shortest distance between a problem and a solution is the distance between your knees and the floor.  The one who kneels to the Lord can stand up to anything."

-- Anonymous

 

"I have been driven many times to my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had nowhere else to go.  My own wisdom, and that of all about me seemed insufficient for the day."   -- William Adams

dW 07.10.07

Scripture

Mark 4:21-23
He said to them, "Do you bring in a lamp to put it under a bowl or a bed? Instead, don't you put it on its stand? For whatever is hidden is meant to be disclosed, and whatever is concealed is meant to be brought out into the open. If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.”

Story
I was confronted last week by someone that I had offended someone else. I was told by this individual that speaking about such things might push people away from Jesus instead of to Jesus. I challenged him saying, “Am I supposed to please men or please God?” He responded that more people are won over by how we live and not by what we say. This irritated me because what we say is a sign of how we live and vice versa. I understand his thought but I do not agree that true Christians should remain silent. Then a verse came to mind 2 Corinthians 6:14, “What fellowship can light have with darkness?”

Thought
When light and dark collide there are tensions. If no tensions exist then you've got your dimmer switch engaged.

dW emails

The daily Word will not be sent to your inboxes for a few more weeks. I am offsite and the internet access to our work account does not like to show me who I send these to due to them being sent Blind Copy. I am still posting so don’t worry. Simply visit the website each afternoon and I should have already posted. You have some catching up to do. :P Emails will resume but until I am back in-house.

 

Grace and peace, Kyle

dW 07.05.07

scripture

 

Luke 10:22

Jesus, "All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows who the Son is except the Father, and no one knows who the Father is except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him."

 

quote

 

Biblical evangelism is always, without exception, the law to the proud and grace to the humble. Never will you see Jesus present the gospel, the good news, the cross, the grace of our God to a proud, arrogant, self righteous person. No. With the law He breaks the hard heart and with grace He heals the broken heart. Why? Because He always did what pleased the Father. God resists the proud and gives grace to the humble!

 

Ray Comfort, Hells Best Kept Secrete

dW 07.03.07

scripture

 

Hebrews 13:4

Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral.

 

thoughts

 

That which God holds dear the enemy surely seeks to destroy.

 

None of us are invincible. We've all heard that pride comes before a fall. We are never to think that "this or that" will not happen to us. We must guard ourselves at all times since "the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour". 1 Peter 5:8

Cell phone VS Bible

I wonder what would happen if we treated our Bible like we treat our cell phone?
What if we carried it around in our purses or pockets?
What if we flipped through it several time a day?
What if we turned back to go get it if we  forgot it?
What if we used it to receive messages from the text?
What if we treated it like we couldn't live without it?
What if we gave it to kids as gifts?
What if we used it when we traveled?
What if we used it in case of emergency?

This is something to make you go *hmm* where is my Bible?
Oh, and one more thing. Unlike our cell phone, we don't have to worry about our Bible being disconnected because Jesus already paid the bill.
Makes you stop and think "where are my priorities"?
Oh, and no dropped calls!
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Thanks Bob!

dW 07.02.07

scripture

 

1 Corinthians 11:23-25

For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, "This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me." In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me."

 

thought

 

Yesterday in church the pastor read these verses before we took of the Lord’s Supper. When he read these verses I heard them differently than I had ever before heard them.

When our bodies are broken and our blood spilt for His kingdom then that act is an act of remembrance of His own sacrifice.

Paul tells us, “Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.” Romans 8:17

 

quote

 

Out of one hundred men, one will read the Bible, the other ninety-nine will read the Christian.

D. L. Moody

dW 06.29.07

scripture

 

1 Peter 3:13-14

Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good?  But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed.  "Do not fear what they fear; do not be frightened."

 

quote

 

The purpose of Christianity is not to avoid difficulty, but to produce a character adequate to meet it when it comes.  It does not make life easy; rather it tries to make us great enough for life.

James Christensen

dW 06.28.07

scripture
 
1 Corinthians 1:25
For the foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man's strength.
 
quote
  
For the love of God is broader
Than the measure of man's mind.
Frederick Faber

dW 06.27.07

daily Word

http://the-daily-word.blogspot.com/

http://firmlyheld.org/

 

scripture

 

Matthew 6:25-26, (27-34)

Jesus speaking, "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?"

 

quote

 

What a world this would be if we could forget our troubles as easily as we forget our blessings.

Unknown

 

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What are we up to?

http://ktgjournal.blogspot.com/2007/06/weve-arrived.html