AFFLICTIONS

Job 5:17; II Cor 4:17; Hebrews 12:11

Job 5:17  Behold, happy is the man whom God correcteth: therefore despise not thou the chastening of the Almighty: 

Eliphaz is at this declaring correction that find in other places in God’s Word. He is declaring the joy of correction because of the advantages of correction. He says to not despise the chastening of the Almighty.

2Co 4:17  For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; 

This passage bears the thought that correction that brings us back into the paths we should walk brings us great glory and God receives glory from our righteous and glorious walk. Notice that it is called, “light affliction” and the duration is for a “moment”.

Hebrews 12:5-11

Notice a relationship in verse 5. We are called children. Our earthly fathers disciplined us because we were his children. They did not discipline children that were not theirs. Our heavenly Father must have a relationship with us before He disciplines us. Since we are His children, He has the right to discipline us to correct us and bring us back to Him. Verse 7 says “if we endure chastening He treats us as sons. That means blessings. God wants good things for His children. Pay attention to verse 8. If we have never experience chastening, it is because we are bastards and not sons. We are illegitimate. He will say, “depart from me I never knew you.” He chastens His children for the benefit of the children. That benefit is Holiness. And according to verse 11 we produce peaceable fruit of righteousness because of our chastisement.

Proverbs 3:11-12. – My son, despise not the chastening of the LORD; neither be weary of his correction: 

12  For whom the LORD loveth he correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth. 

Why despise chastening when it proves the love of the LORD. Whom He loves He chastens and corrects us and delights in us. Let us all be delightful for the LORD.

Life

Life is fragile, handle with prayer.

Future Things

Joseph Caples

Jan 30, 2020

I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us – Romans 8:18

There are many things we do not know about the end of this life or the end of the world. But God has given us all the assurance we need in order to look joyfully, expectantly forward.

Paul knew enough about what was coming to say, I reckon — an accounting term, meaning he had taken a careful inventory, done the calculations, and come to a careful and reliable conclusion. And what Paul was comparing was the sufferings of this time (with which he was intimately and personally acquainted) and the glory to come for every believer in Jesus Christ.

As Paul added up the multiple trials, heartaches, losses, and sorrows of this world and carefully considered this sum in relation to the glory afterwards, he came to this stunning realization: the two should not even be compared, because the amount of the one is so far greater than the mass of the other.

Anyone who has experienced even a fraction of the pain that this world holds will find this hard to imagine. We cannot conceive of a happiness so deep, a pleasure so complete, a glory so glorious that our grief here is swallowed up by it. But God does not ask us to fathom such a claim; he simply requires that by faith we believe it.

Are you living by faith in the enormity of glory, in the expansive joy that is found in the presence of Jesus?

Abiding In Christ

John 15:5; I John 2:28; II John 9

Abide – to dwell, to rest to continue, to stand firm.

John 15:5 “I am the vine, ye are the branches; He that abideth in me and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit; for without me ye can do nothing.”

Abiding is fruit-bearing. The place of abiding is in Jesus Christ the Son of God. Some choose to abide in the world, in sports, arts, education, politics, power or prestige. The propensity of some to always gravitate to worldly things is evident in what holds their attention and receives their time. These days of hectic activity of the world, we hardly have time for Jesus, much less abiding in him. Abiding means to spend time with him. We abide in our house that we call our home. This is where we eat, we sleep and basically live our lives. This is the hub of our life. Jesus should be the hub of our life.

With Jesus, we are “in Him.” We should be just as comfortable being in him as we are at home. Abiding in Him means that no matter where we are He is ever-present. Since we are in Him at work, we should be just as faithful in representing Him at work as we are at Church. Where ever we are, if we abide in Christ, we will produce, not just fruit but much fruit. Notice that statement “… for without me ye can do nothing. If we are not producing fruit, maybe we should examine ourselves to see if we are abiding.

II John 1:9  “Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son.”

If we are abiding in Christ, we have an overwhelming desire to abide in His doctrine. Truth is so important in a time of lying and deceit. So many distort and twist the doctrine of Christ in this modern depraved age. The Bible says, “ye shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free” John 8:32. We areresponsible for diligently searching for the truth and finding it. Finding the truth tells of the love we have for Christ.

I John 2:28 “And now, little children, abide in him; that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming.

My desire is to not be ashamed before God when I stand before Him. Therefore, I must abide. I don’t know when His return is so I must be ready at any time. I have confidence in his return as a thief in the night and because His appearance will not be announced, I must be faithful and true at all times. I must not be drawn away by worldly lusts or desires. I MUST abide in Jesus at all times.

Seasons

Ecc 3:1 To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: KJB

What We Miss

Too many people miss the silver lining because they are expecting gold.

Pressing

Philippians 3:14
“I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.”

The picture of pressing toward the mark is taken from the Olympic games. Having been a runner, I understand the effort that is called “finish line kick.” It has the idea of zoning out every distraction to concentrate on the finish line. Cheering crowds, other runners, even the sound of their footsteps close by are not allowed to draw the runner’s attention from the task at hand — finishing the race. Our “mark,” our goal, our finish line is to be like the Lord Jesus Christ (vs. 10). How are you doing in your race?

Faith

Feed your faith and your doubts will starve to death.

TRUTH IS . . . TRUTH!

William Andrew Dillard

A most interesting and intriguing question is that reverberating from the lips of the Roman magistrate Pontius Pilate when he asked our Lord, “What is truth?” That question ever remains the point of division among men. Pseudo-scientists reject elements of faith in search of a truth they will not find. Philosophers offer variant, opposing viewpoints of what they think is truth. Religious leaders propagate diametrically opposing views all in the name of truth. Worse than all the others, they purport that the truth they espouse comes from God. Surely, the fierceness of judgment is ever increasing.
But back to the question, “What is truth?” Some say there is mathematical truth; medical truth, moral truth, religious truth, historical truth, etc. Why do these divisions exist? They are man-made, and exist mainly due to man’s desire to achieve an ecumenical mastery of life on the false premise that he is on an evolving scale of existence, denying his Creator. In that rejection, he is allowed to proceed to the ultimate global disaster by the very grace of the Creator he insists does not exist. Let it be underscored that truth is truth no matter what discipline of life it primarily affects, and that all truth comes from God.
Jesus asked our Heavenly Father to “Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.” John 17:17. It is God Who created and set in order every aspect of creation, thus it is His Word that stands the test of time and eternity as truth. Jesus said to His disciples of then and now, “And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” John 8:32
So, where does all the variant lines of so-called knowledge purporting to be truth originate? Jesus plainly identifies them as coming from Satan, saying, “. . .He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. . .” John 8:44. On the other hand, we are told of the Holy Spirit Who is given to God’s people, “But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.” I John 2:27.
Accordingly, the Spirit of God is altogether true, and teaches His people in all things that are true! The abiding Holy Spirit in the church of our Lord enables it to discern the Holy Word; hence, to be the “Pillar and ground of the truth.” Through it, the Spirit of God impresses upon searching hearts the unity, symmetry, and harmony of magnificent truth that is far more than bedrock solid. All who live within the confines of it walk in truth, not in total separation from the flesh, but in spite of it.

Universe