Praising the Lord for His Purposes in Suffering

Today I would like to praise the Lord for doctors!!!!! I cannot count the number of times doctors have helped me back to good health when I thought there was no hope of being normal again.

Yes, sometimes I had to wait for the answers and because I was frustrated dealing with my infirmities I groused a little with impatience. Now, I realize God was placing me in a situation in which I had to completely rely on Him as I waited for a resolution.

I have known many people in my life who died because there was no resolution but it was not because doctors didn't try, it was because it was God's will for these people to go home, that was the resolution.

I confess I am not a patient person and never have been. I like things to happen quickly but they rarely do. I have always known I was born with impatience and battled against the feeling only after I became born again.

When an idea comes to mind I want to implement it immediately. Thank the Lord for all the times He made me wait for His timing and for His perfect answer for my situation.

We know what we want but we often do not know what God's will is for us. When we get to the place where we are no longer begging God for our will and begin asking for His will, then we know there has been Spiritual maturity, especially if we have had to endure illness for a length of time.

I have had lots of illness in my life and God brought me through all of it. If anyone thinks they have never been ill because they are especially good, they might want to pray against that attitude. God may bring illness to mature their attitude. Illness helps us see our need for God and His purposes in it. It is usually after I am feeling better that I can speak so "fondly" of illness. LOL

May we see the providence of God in the middle of our trials and praise Him through them.

I thank the Lord for my husband who lavished me with empathy and help during those times of suffering.

Hallelujah!!!!

God's Perfect Order in the Body

God has His perfect order for the gathering and all believers, men and women have gifts God has given them.

1 Corinthians 12:14-27
14 For the body is not one part, but many.
15 If the foot says, “Because I am not a hand, I am not a part of the body,” it is not for this reason any less a part of the body.
16 And if the ear says, “Because I am not an eye, I am not a part of the body,” it is not for this reason any less a part of the body.
17 If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole body were hearing, where would the sense of smell be? 18 But now God has arranged the parts, each one of them in the body, just as He desired.
19 If they were all one part, where would the body be?
20 But now there are many parts, but one body.
21 And the eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you”; or again, the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.”
22 On the contrary, it is much truer that the parts of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary;
23 and those parts of the body which we consider less honorable, on these we bestow greater honor, and our less presentable parts become much more presentable,
24 whereas our more presentable parts have no need of it. But God has so composed the body, giving more abundant honor to that part which lacked,
25 so that there may be no division in the body, but that the parts may have the same care for one another.
26 And if one part of the body suffers, all the parts suffer with it; if a part is honored, all the parts rejoice with it."
27 Now you are Christ’s body, and individually parts of it."

Those Who Don't Care About Pleasing Christ

Those who don't seem to care very much if you are pleasing God often defend or deny their sin.

 
Those who don't care what God thinks are likely not born again, they are playing religion. The evidence is in the mocking of God's principles to justify their own sin.
Those who are pretenders often mock, dismiss, and demean those who insist that believers obey Christ and that His Word is more than just "good-sounding suggestions."

 
Those who make up their own rules to fit their desired lifestyle are not being convicted by the Holy Spirit, walk in rebellion and probably are those who will hear the words written in Matthew 7:21-23.

Matthew 7:21-23
I Never Knew You
21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.
22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’
23 And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’"

The Use of Letter to Hide Filthy Speech

Just to let you know, if anyone is using a filthy word, leaving out two letters to pretend they are not saying the word, they are still using the word.

My question is "Why would a Christian want to pretend to use a filthy word? Perhaps it is just to fit into the culture around them or maybe it sounds "cool" to them.

Ephesians 4:29, "Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.".

"Corrupting talk":

"This phrase is translated from a Greek word meaning "rotten" or "unwholesome," implying that speech should not be degrading or harmful."

Leaving out a couple of letters is a way of pretending not to use the word but still using it. The people reading still know what you are saying and are being influenced to do the same thing.

We don't need to fit into the world, we can be and should be different.

Pressuring Others for Money is not Biblical

Pressuring me to give to foreign missions I know nothing about is manipulation. I will block anyone who is "pressuring" me for funds. When the Holy Spirit guides me to give I will know it is Him, pressuring others for money is not Biblical.

One person challenged me that something was wrong because I was ignoring him. He was attempting to place guilt on me for something God never told me to do.

I do not believe in begging others to give money or anything else. If there is a need God will fill that need through His promptings in the hearts of people, not through human pressure.

This is also the reason I don't like "building funds", when anyone can have a gathering in their home or rent a space monthly without monstrous mortgages while badgering people to give to the "building fund."

We are to be generous people as believers, but that does not mean we give our money to just anyone or any cause because others expect it from us. We give as led by the Holy Spirit not as badgered by men.

Many things people ask for are not needs, they are just indulgences, such as fancy structures. One person asked me to donate money for Christmas gifts for children, I don't even celebrate that pagan holiday myself. Children do not need gifts they need Christ. If He is all they have they have enough.

2 Corinthians 9:7 "Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver".

After all, isn't it more exciting to see a need met by God when He was the only one we told about it? I think so!!!

Disallowing Participation in the Assembly is not Biblical

The modern church system disallows anyone from interrupting the preacher, this is the opposite of what God expressed for the New Testament assembly.

Everyone is participating as led by the Holy Spirit, no one person is leading and there is no formula or traditions of men in play here.

1 Corinthians 14:29-32

"29 Have two or three prophets (teachers of Bible truth) speak, and have the others pass judgment.

30 But if a revelation is made to another who is seated, then the first one is to keep silent.

31 For you can all prophesy one by one, so that all may learn and all may be exhorted; 32 and the spirits of prophets are subject to prophets; 33 for God is not a God of confusion but of peace.

The word "prophesy" here means to expound on the existing Word of God, it is not future-telling.

1 Thessalonians 5:20-21

"Do not treat prophecies with contempt, / but test all things. Hold fast to what is good."

1 John 4:1

"Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God. For many false prophets have gone out into the world."

Acts 17:11

"Now the Bereans were more noble-minded than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if these teachings were true."

False Professions vs Authentic Ones

Matthew 10:35-37 "…35 For I have come to turn ‘a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. 36 A man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.’ 37 Anyone who loves his father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me;…"

John 15:18-20 "18 the world hates you, understand that it hated Me first. 19 If you were of the world, it would love you as its own. Instead, the world hates you, because you are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. 20 Remember the word that I spoke to you: ‘No servant is greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will persecute you as well; if they kept My word, they will keep yours as well.…"

The more we think with the mind of Christ the less we will be thinking about ourselves and not feel hurt when others reject us because we know it happened to Christ and foretold to us that it will also be our life.

John 17:14

"I have given them Your word and the world has hated them. For they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world."

1 John 4:1-6 "4 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.

2 By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God;

3 and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God; this is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming, and now it is already in the world.

4 You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world. 5 They are from the world, therefore they speak as from the world, and the world listens to them. 6 We are from God. The one who knows God listens to us; the one who is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error."

"Confess" in this passage means to agree with God about Who Jesus is.

Is it possible to "agree with God about Who Jesus is" and still ignore His word. If we say we agree with God but it does not lead us to obey Him, then perhaps our words are nothing.

Mathew 15:7-9 "7You hypocrites! Isaiah prophesied correctly about you: 8 These people honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me. 9 They worship Me in vain; they teach as doctrine the precepts of men.’ "

Merely saying things does not make the words evidence that we believe. Faith and works as well as words and works prove whether or not we are telling the truth.

James 2:18-20 "18 But someone will say, “You have faith, and I have works.” Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.

19 You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble!

20 But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead?

Authentic confession of faith in Christ is always proven by our attitudes and actions. Many in our day are claiming to be Christian but have no fruit of the Spirit and will hear one day, if they don't repent, "I never knew you."

Galatians 5:22-23

"22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law."

Believers recognize one another because of the character qualities of Christ that are seen Spiritually in one another.

Those who believe they are saved but only "said" they were Christians, are not born again and will hear the following frightening words from God:

Matthew 7:21-23

I Never Knew You

21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.

22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’

23 And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’"

Many people will claim to have faith but follow men instead of Christ, this is a dead giveaway. When someone defends a religious teacher they are placing more emphasis on that person than they are Christ, in other words, they count the person as above Christ.

May each one evaluate whether or not they are following Christ or placing their trust in men.