There are times when we have labored, worked, and obeyed. We did the work alone while standing against the mockers and the nay-sayers. We did everything the Lord asked us to do, and then God closes a door. It can feel isolated and cut off. It can seem like a tight, narrow, and limited space. It can even stink! Nothing seems solid. The ground continually moves under your feet. There is no stability for what seems like an eternity.
We have heard "Vengence is mine, says the Lord" preached, as it should be. He is much better at true justice than we could ever be. He also does it with absolute righteousness and with no malice. However, there is an appropriate time to take your revenge.
There is a book available to those who are pregnant, or as we say, expecting. It's called "What to expect when you're expecting." The irony is if you expect something, you already know what you are expecting. We sometimes fail to see we have this same upsidedown idea of prayer. We pray but then act like we have no idea what will happen. Mark 11:24 (NIV) says, "Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours."
Death beds produce weighty final words. You don't waste them [...]
God isn't going to win. He's already won! Satan isn't going to lose. He's already lost! So what are you waiting on? This Christian life is not a walk-a-thon. It's a race.
To quote a line from The Princess Bride, "You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means." Today's "Christian" commonly has adopted the world's ideologies and, subsequently, its definitions to define scripture. Let's get something straight right from the start. God is not schizophrenic.
To you who have decided, to you who make God's business your business and aren't content to simply sit in salvation, you will be victorious! Have no fear. God has already planned your enemy's defeat!
God's grace may be abounding, but one thing it is not is cheap. It isn't sloppy and inexpensive. Though He has enough for all, it can be wasted. And though it is potent and powerful enough for the strongest of sinners, it can be misapplied and subsequently made of no effect. Its vastness is unsearchable, but its reach is precise.
You can only fear not when you know you have [...]
Those who feel the word represents "good" call themselves Christian. This comes from some sense that morality or good works are associated with this term. However, what morality is would be debatable among this group as well as what is good.
