Thankful in suffering?

Scripture referenced or inspired for this writing:
Psalm 95:1,Matthew 5:12,Acts 5:41,1Peter 4:13,16

How often do I thank God for anything that he has done for me?
How often do I thank God for answering my prayers?
How often do I thank God for sending his son, Jesus, to die on the cross for my sins?
How often do I thank God for the suffering that I go through on a daily basis? I bet that last question was an unexpected one. Should I really thank God for suffering? Yes. Want proof? Let's look at The Bible for the truth.
  In 1 Peter 4:16, Peter says "if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name." In 1 Peter 4:12-19, Peter talks about persecution for being a Christian. He's thanking God when he comes under fire for believing in Jesus Christ. In Acts 5:33-42, the Apostles were flogged for proclaiming the good news of Jesus Christ and were soon released, ordered not to speak in the name of Jesus.(Acts 5:40)
 Verse 41 says "The Apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name." So yes, even when suffering, I am to praise God. I will rejoice and be glad and thank God for all that he has done for me and all the suffering I have gone through for the cause of Christ because it makes me a stronger person in Jesus.
  That's not to say that I will never wine or complain when things are bad. I am a sinner who happens to be born again in Christ Jesus, living in a fallen world that chooses darkness instead of the light of Christ. When I start to complain, I must remember all the blessings of God. That is when the pain becomes bearable.


 

A Commitment for November

  Last week, I was challenged by a fellow writer to enter a writing challenge that would have me writing every day for the month of November. If you know me, I will accept  just about any challenge put in front of me. Whether you think this is foolish on my part remains to be seen. I accepted the challenge with no idea in mind to write about. Today, with God's guidance, I have found the forum to write about. This here blog, which I seldom ever post anything. I have challenged myself to read my Bible every single day for the month of November without fail and then blog about what God reveals to me. I hope that you will check back every day and see what God has inspired me to blog about. I hope and pray that what I write will glorify God and inspire someone out there to seek God and change his or her life for the better.
  Consider this entry as my first entry for the month of November and at least twenty nine more to go.
The goal, at least for this month, is to write every day. I like to set my goals high, so why not write about my relationship with Jesus Christ and what is revealed to me through God's Holy Word.

Giving up everything for Jesus?

       In Luke 18, starting at verse 18, a young man comes to Jesus asking "What must I do to inherit eternal life?"(v.18) Jesus tells him to "sell everything he has and give to the poor and you will have treasure in Heaven. Then come, follow me."(v.22) But the you man could not do what Jesus asked of him "because he was a man of great wealth".(v.23)
      The question I have for you (and myself) today is this-Can you give up everything you have to follow Jesus? Can I give up all I have to follow Jesus? Give up my house? My family? My car? Cellphone? All the possession I have to follow Jesus? Yes, because I know that in return, Jesus will give to me far greater things than I'm already blessed with-a relationship with him, right here, right now and with in him in Heaven, for eternity.
 I end with some more wisdom from Jesus in verses 29 and 30. "I tell you the truth," Jesus said to them,"no one who has left home or wife or brothers or parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God will fail to receive many times as much in this age and, in the age to come, eternal life."

On my own? or by the Spirit's leading?

    I know that God has blessed me with the gift of writing, and yet I do not use it to my full potential.
    I think that might be considered a sin, not 100% sure about that.
    When it comes to writing, I find myself paralyzed by fear. I know that's a sin.
     I am to fear God, not anyone or anything outside of him.
     There are two types of fear. The fear of God and unholy fear. I give way more attention to unholy fear and that I know is a sin. I pray that God will take this fear away from me and leave me only with the fear and reverence of God.
   I must let the words flow. My inspiration comes from the Holy Spirit. Words do not come by me alone. They come from Jesus, who lives in me. Some reading this might think this is a crock of crayons. Like Philippians 4:13 says, I can do all things through him who strengthens me.
 When I do things on my own, they fall apart. I know that if I seek the Lord in all I do, that he will lead me in the right direction.

Questions II: Amazed by God?

Mark 2:12(NIV)-He got up(the paralyzed man), took his mat and walked out in full view of them all.
This amazed everyone  and they praised God, saying, "We have never seen anything like this!"

When was the last time that you were truly amazed at something God did?
Or, are you not amazed at all, because you don't believe in God?


I believe that God is the creator of everything good. With man, everything is flawed. Everything that man has touched is flawed.

So I ask again-when was the last time you were amazed at God's handy work?

Questions I

 If one is to believe in right and wrong, good and evil and that the world is round instead of flat, then why does one find it difficult to believe that GOD created everything?
 Why is it so hard for one to grasp the fact that GOD is the creator of life?
 Why is it so hard for one to understand that it's not GOD who rejected us, but man who rejected GOD in the garden of Eden and then, once again when he hung on the cross?
 Just curious.

How sure are you about what you believe?

  We are all lost without Jesus. It's a simple fact. Argue until you are  blue in the face.

  We think we know all the answers and that we don't need God. We go with our day without a thought in the world that Jesus could return in the very next second. Some think of Jesus as a fictional character or someone  like myself, believe in with all their heart and all soul.

  Another simple fact is that we are all on the highway to hell without Jesus. Go ahead. Turn blue if you must. All we have to do is believe that Jesus died on the cross for our sins and confess that we (yes, even me) are sinners and to forgive us ( or me) of our (my) sinful nature and behavior. There are those who ignore the warning signs and mock Christ's followers who tell of his coming return. How sure are you that Jesus isn't coming back? Are you willing to bet your life on that? You won't be the first or last. people do it every day.

  Luke 18:8 (b) poses a thought provoking question-(me paraphrasing) When Jesus returns, will he find me standing in Faith or full of doubt? Jesus will come in a snap of the finger. In the blink of an eye. Will I be standing in faith? I must be mindful of living every moment that God blesses me with, to live for Christ.

   Call me crazy. That's fine with me. I believe with all my heart and all my soul that Jesus is coming back to take his faithful away from this fallen world. I plan to be ready.