© Melinda Nagy | Dreamstime.com God doesn’t want us to suffer, but it is inevitable because this isn’t heaven! We are faced with:
Many do complain that God is unfair, that this earth is a mess because of Him, that suffering is His mistake…but I want us to take another look at “suffering”. I don’t mean suffering because of the common problems of the day…most of which we bring on ourselves with poor decisions in the realm of health, finances, relationships, etc. What I’m talking about is an “attitude” about suffering…what’s yours? Where does “suffering” come into your understanding of the truths of God? Are you angry, confused, or just plain old neutral? Romans 14:8 “for if we live, we live for the Lord, or if we die, we die for the Lord; therefore whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s.” Is that your attitude? Not hardly, but it can be! Suffering is real, whether we caused it or not. The point is when it is physical suffering we are willing to suffer a bit more in order to get it fixed so it won’t interfere with our full functioning anymore. Will you have a scar? Many times you will. Does the scar hurt like the original injury? Not usually, but it is a vivid reminder of what happened. Hopefully, it will be a reminder that helps you not do the action again that caused the injury. In following a life in Christ, there is much suffering because we are trying to live a fully functional life with broken parts and pieces. We cannot do it without pain. The more we give to God, the more He can fix. The suffering will never go away completely because the journey requires a total makeover. But what an awesome difference when we begin to walk with some of the broken parts fixed! How can we do that? God gives us ample guidance in the Scriptures:
May we be willing to say, “Bring it on!” And God keep us with His mercy. Amen. LISTEN TO AUDIO:PRINT OR VIEW HAND OUT BELOW.
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© www.livinglifephoto.com You are a child of God. He wants to protect you and provide for you in every way; but sometimes we foolishly wade into dangerous situations, not knowing what lies ahead. The “swimming hole” of life is filled with peril, and we often forget that the enemy is waiting there to attack. God loves you, but Satan wants you suffering and in pain. And when God sees that Satan has hold of you, like an attacking alligator, that's when the tug-of-war begins. God has promised to never let go and fights to pull you back to safety. So if some of you have scars, be very, very grateful. Those scars are because He did not and will not ever let you go. [Scripture References: Proverbs 20:30, James 1:2-3, Psalm 119:71-72, Genesis 50:20, Romans 5:3-4]
Prior to the morning's message, Pastor Mark opens the floor to life testimonies. It is great encouragement to hear how the Lord is working in each of our lives.
In reading the account of Mary and Martha, we learn a lot from Martha's teachable spirit. I'm afraid I tend to be more like Martha sometimes, thinking I have value because I am productive. But I have learned along the way that I have value simply because I belong to Christ. It's not so much what I do, it's who I am in Him! We also have some choices to make when we are corrected, rebuked, or chastened. We can receive it or we can refuse it. The Scriptures tell us to correct, rebuke and chasten one another - so what's our response to all this? Usually - rebellion ... "Don't tell me what to do!" Even if we don't say it out loud to the person correcting us, it is in our hearts and swimming around in our heads. We practically blow up holding back the anger at being chastened; an anger that is ready to explode out of our mouths (and, sadly, sometimes does). Read the Mary and Martha story in Luke 10:38-42 ... that was some correction Martha received! It doesn't go on to tell us what her response to Jesus was at that time, but we see her transformation into an obedient and worshipful woman in John 11:1-44 and John 12:1-11 ... a transformation we all need. Scriptures for today's lesson: Luke 10:38-42 John 11:1-44 John 12:1-11 2 Chronicles 24:19 Nehemiah 9:30 2 Timothy 3:7 James 1:22 Proverbs 3:12 Psalm 119:67-68 Hebrews 12:11 Psalm 51:1-17 Audio: (Click forward button below to play audio of sermon and/or download mp3 file.)
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