For thought and meditation

[rl69]

They encouraged them to continue in the faith, reminding them that we must suffer many hardships to enter the Kingdom of God."

—Acts 14:22

Without question, the greatest life there is to live is the Christian life. Why? Because God takes a life that was empty, aimless, and, worst of all, headed to a certain judgment and turns it around and transforms it. He forgives us of all our sin. And if that wasn’t enough, He places the righteousness of Christ into our spiritual bank account.

He removes all our guilt, fills the void in our lives, and literally takes residence inside of us. And most importantly, He changes our eternal address from a place called Hell to a place called Heaven.

While it’s true that God removes a lot of problems we once had, a new set of problems replaces them. Because the day we put our trust in Jesus Christ, we enter into a battle. That is why the apostle Paul said, “Endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ” (2 Timothy 2:3 NKJV).

The problem is that some have believed in what we might describe as a watered-down gospel, one that promises forgiveness but rarely tells people of the need to repent of their sins, one that promises peace but never warns of persecution, one that says God wants us to be healthy and wealthy and never have any problems to speak of. But that isn’t the gospel of the New Testament. We can’t take a vacation from human suffering and tragedy.

I am not suggesting that God wants us to be sick, poor, and miserable. I am not even saying that God doesn’t want us to be happy, because I believe happiness will come as we truly follow the Lord. But it’s a fringe benefit. The essence of the Christian life is knowing God and walking with Him. And God, despite the worst tragedy, can bring good out of bad.

[square butte]

Thank you rl69 for this good start to my day- The best news . . .

[buckwheatpaul]

Ronnie, a great lesson....thanks brother....Paul

[Thundarstick]

Thanks for helping me, "walk the walk" today!

[Boaz]

Thank you rl69 , good lesson and jump start for today !

[Blackwater]

What a great lesson! So many Christians seem to think that once we make our profession of faith, however our sect defines it, God will then protect us from all harm and evil! This was NEVER included in anything God or Christ ever said to us! And yet, some seem to have internalized this view, nevertheless. Christ said it's "rain" on the just and the unjust alike. He NEVER said we'd gain any special protection in this life. On the contrary, He promised us we'd be hated and worse! But do we listen? All too often, I fear, we hear what we WANT to hear, and let the rest pass out our other ear.

What a willful creature we are! And yet, God loves us ANYWAY! He'll correct us, or try to, if we're listening. If it takes it, He'll sometimes even bring us to our knees, so that FINALLY we'll understand Him, and submit to him in reality, rather than just to some image of Him that we've created in our minds from our "wishful thinking."

God is REAL! He LIVES! And He does all He can to get us to hear what He left us to hear. It's US who fails him, and not the other way around! Always!