Tag: possessions

Friday 5/18 ~ Can you give thanks when bad happens?

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The scripture for today, May 18 (5/18), is 1st Thessalonians 5:18 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

000-COVER-KINDLE-Thumbnail“Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”

This is one of the most difficult verses in the Bible to follow. How can we rejoice with the loss of a loved one, of health, of a job, of a home, of a position? The Christians at Thessalonica, in Greece, had been suffering a lot of persecution for being Christians. Some had even been killed.

Satan will do all he can to cause bad to happen in your life in order to get you to blame God and forsake him. But the real blame belongs on Satan. It may sometimes seem like the harder you try to follow God, the worse things get in your life.

In that case, apparently, Satan is afraid of your strength in the Lord and is trying more than ever to weaken you and get you back on his side. He doesn’t have to attack people he already has. 

And sometimes God stands back and tells Satan, “Do your best. This person will grow stronger, not weaker. His/her health and job and home may become minuscule but their soul will become a giant.” Along with the Christians in Thessalonica, you can “become a model….your faith in God can become known everywhere” (1st Thessalonians 1:7-8).

So rejoice that Satan is so afraid of you. And at the same time, keep your eyes on Jesus who never gave in when Satan caused bad to happen to him. Rejoice that you are counted worthy. Can you do that?

~~~BUYLINK to ebook or discount paper:  http://bit.ly/LazarusSamaritan

On By Inspirations By KatherynIn Bible, Daily, Inspirational, UncategorizedLeave a comment

The scripture for today, January 21, is Job 1:21 as found in the Old Testament of the Bible:

HS-COVER-KINDLE-GOLD“ ‘Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised.’ “

Job had every reason to turn against God. In one day his entire wealth was stolen from him, nearly all his servants were killed by an invading army, and all his children died in a storm. Why hadn’t God protected him if he loved him so much?

We often forget that Satan exists also. Just remember, whatever Satan does, God can undo.

On a physical level, Satan is the accuser (Revelation 12:10), but God is the forgiver. Satan can cause us to get sick, but God can heal. Satan can cause us to die, but God can bring us back to life. Satan can make us miserable in this world, but God can take us to a better world.

Shall we leave God to fight Satan alone? We were made in his image. And how do we fight Satan? Romans 12:21 says, “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”

On a spiritual level, sometimes we are not only separated from material things, but sometimes we are forced to be separated from other Christians. What can be the result? God’s kingdom arises in yet another place. James wrote to the Jewish Christians “scattered among the nations” (James 1:1).

Peter wrote to “God’s elect, strangers in the world, scattered.…” (I Peter 1:1).

Romans 8:28 says, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him.” There’s more….

In all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.
For I am convinced that neither death nor life,
Neither angels nor demons,
Neither the present nor the future,
Nor any powers,
Neither height nor depth,
Nor anything else in all creation
Will be able to separate us from the
Love of God
That is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
(Romans 8:37-39)

How can we be “more than conquerors” Unless we have something to conquer? How can we have “victory in Jesus” unless we have something to be victorious over?

Each of us has periodic assignments from God. What bad thing has happened in your life lately? That is your assignment.

Or, must Jesus bear the cross alone?

The scripture for today, June 20 (6/20), is Matthew 6:20f as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

“But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

In describing heaven, terms are used like pearls, diamonds, emeralds, gold, and so on.  So certainly God is not against riches.  Otherwise he would not have described heaven with those terms.

So what is the problem?  We must ask ourselves, “If I lost everything tomorrow, could I face life?”  We may say yes, but what about friends who are now unsure they want to associate with someone with nothing?  So, it is not only a greed problem, but a social problem.  It is a problem of losing both our possessions and our friends.

Some have solved this problem by moving out into the country where possessions and social status don’t mean so much. Or we could stay where we are and just change our choice of friends.  Our new friends may be truer friends than we ever had before and may need us. 

Lastly, if we lost our job, our car, our home ~ our identity ~ would we be so devastated that we would contemplate suicide as some have done?  Or would we be able to look around us and see what we can do without having possessions and without having a job to occupy our time?  

There are always things we can do for others.  Is that truly where our heart is?  In that case, loss of everything will not bring catastrophe. Rather, it would give opportunity to reveal what stuff we are made of deep down inside where our true treasure is ~ in our heart.

 

On By Inspirations By KatherynIn Uncategorized2 Comments