Have you ever felt like you have tried trusting God and things only got worse? Moses certainly did in today’s reading in Exodus. What did he do as a result and what can we learn from his response?
Proverbs has so much wisdom for us all but today’s reading from Proverbs 5 contains truths that, if heeded, can keep young men, in particular, from a lifetime of heartache and financial struggles.
And finally, from Matthew 18, we’ll talk about the seriousness of unforgiveness and its effect on our relationship with God.
Have you ever wondered, in the midst of some difficulty, “Is God testing me?” Does God, actually, test His people, and, if so, is testing punishment or something else? And what does God do when we fail a test?
As we continue the Genesis story, Joseph will be faced with a test. How would he respond to the brothers who thought about killing him and, eventually, sold him into slavery? And his brothers will face some testing of their own, including the fear that God was punishing them for what they did to Joseph and how Joseph might retaliate.
Today we’ll look at how all that played out and see how it might help us with the tests we face.
In today’s post … we’ll talk about those times when you feel worn down and discouraged by your circumstances. Maybe you’re exhausted from dealing with a strong-willed child, a difficult marriage, or some other family issue. Maybe you have suffered a devastating loss over the past year and the holidays were especially difficult. You may have lost a job or had some other financial setback. Or maybe you’re worried about rising costs or a medical diagnosis.
You may be so discouraged you’re tempted to give up altogether. How do you keep going when life seems so full of challenges?
Where is God when life is hard? Does He allow tests and trials in our lives because He is angry? Do they mean He doesn’t love us? And if our trials are the result of God’s discipline, how should we respond?
Also, what is the one character quality that will enable us to be all Christ wants us to be, the one without which we cannot come to God or love Him the way we should? It’s the same quality required to love and serve others, lead in a godly way, communicate biblically, resolve conflict, deal with the sins of others, and resist sin ourselves. So, what is it?
Paul was one of God’s most faithful servants. So, why would God allow a trial in his life that was so difficult he called it “a thorn in the flesh”?
And Paul is not the only one who has struggled with a trial that could be called a thorn in the flesh. “Thorns” may be physical, emotional, relational, or spiritual but they hurt and they can make life hard.
So, why would God allow such a thorn in Paul’s life? And why does He allow difficult trials in our lives?
Good doctrine … there I said it … the “D” word. It seems, in many churches, we’re afraid of the word and of calling many biblical concepts by their traditional or biblical names. I understand the value of making preaching and teaching relevant. But have we gone to such lengths to avoid using biblical terminology that we have become a generation of biblical illiterates?
According to Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary, doctrine is, “a set of ideas or beliefs that are taught or believed to be true.” Biblical doctrine is made up of the ideas and beliefs that the Bible teaches to be true. It’s the Bible carefully studied and understood.
Good doctrine matters because what we believe about God, His sovereignty, and His dealings with those He loves, determines how we’ll respond to the tests and trials of life, among other things. It also determines whether we witness, how we interact with others, especially our spouses and children, and whether we have peace at the end of our lives. Good doctrine matters more than we know and bad doctrine, even when it sounds very appealing, has a nasty downside.
“Why me?” It’s a question we so often ask. Why is this happening? And why is it happening to me? Why now? Why my kids, my family, my job, my health? But … are we asking the right “why question”?
And from our New Testament reading:
We’ll talk about some very familiar verses from Romans. Most of us have likely shared these verses when talking to others about the gospel. Some of them have even been turned into what is commonly called the “sinner’s prayer.”
But is there a danger to praying the “sinner’s prayer” or “asking Jesus to come into your heart”? If so, how can we avoid it and not mislead others by giving them a false assurance of salvation?
There will be times in all of our lives when life doesn’t make sense. It may be because of sickness or tragedy, the loss of a relationship, or watching a child walk away from the Lord. It may be because of someone else’s sin or just our circumstances, but there are times when life is hard. Maybe you’re going through one of those times right now.
Whatever your difficult circumstances or mine, how should we respond? And if we’re doing well right now, what can we do to be ready when challenging times come?
Does God use tests and trials, including those caused by others, for our good? That can be a challenging thought for many of us.
How do you respond when someone sins against you? Do you get angry? Defensive? Do you allow it to justify sinning in return? If God allows us to be sinned against at times, what do we need to understand about our responses and how we should respond so we can benefit from our trials?
Do you ever find yourself bored with your prayer life? In his book, Praying the Bible, Donald Whitney, Professor of Biblical Spirituality and Associate Dean at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky, poses the question, “Why don’t Christians pray more?” He gives the startling answer that we don’t pray more because we tend to pray the same old way about the same old things, day after day, and prayer becomes boring! So, what does Professor Whitney recommend to infuse life into our time with God?
Also, do you ever feel like God teaches you something, you respond in obedience, and then, almost immediately, God gives you another opportunity to be tested in the same area? Perhaps you wonder, “Why am I here again?”
