Word of Life
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- Jun 26, 2006
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What of suffering?
By: Pastor Simon Measures
Oh, send out Your light and Your truth! Let them lead me; Let them bring me to Your holy hill and to Your tabernacle. Psalm 43:3 - NKJV
At the very moment I was looking to the Lord for a particular day's devotional message I was attacked by a migraine headache. It stopped me functioning mentally. Spiritually though I kept acting. I prayed. I got a scripture from the Holy Spirit, I spoke it aloud. I called my wife for prayer. Praise the Lord, a short while later I had recovered and was able to complete the day's message. Psa.34:19
A few years ago my eyes wondered across a local church's pamphlet table and came to rest on a newsletter. In it I read, "Suffering draws you closer to God." It's a common but not well-formed belief. What is a well-formed belief? We are drawn closer to God by our Christian response to suffering! Suffering is not God's Christian school of development. Rather the testing fields of active Christian life become God's school of development when in the face adversity we respond with our Christian equipping.
How are you to respond to suffering and adversity? In trials of Christian service respond with all your equipping and draw closer to God! Respond to it with all of the all things of God that pertain to life and godliness! This means resorting to God's grace, His light, His counsel and His love. These will draw you closer to God. And what do you do about that affliction? Act spiritually - pray, shout precious promises, get prayer - and so partake of Christ's substitutionary sacrifice made for you at the Cross. May suffering be turned to rejoicing at an experience of divine healing!
Isa 53:5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.
2Pe 1:2-4 Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord, According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.
Enjoy the peace of Jesus Christ
By: Pastor Simon Measures
Oh, send out Your light and Your truth! Let them lead me; Let them bring me to Your holy hill and to Your tabernacle. Psalm 43:3 - NKJV
At the very moment I was looking to the Lord for a particular day's devotional message I was attacked by a migraine headache. It stopped me functioning mentally. Spiritually though I kept acting. I prayed. I got a scripture from the Holy Spirit, I spoke it aloud. I called my wife for prayer. Praise the Lord, a short while later I had recovered and was able to complete the day's message. Psa.34:19
A few years ago my eyes wondered across a local church's pamphlet table and came to rest on a newsletter. In it I read, "Suffering draws you closer to God." It's a common but not well-formed belief. What is a well-formed belief? We are drawn closer to God by our Christian response to suffering! Suffering is not God's Christian school of development. Rather the testing fields of active Christian life become God's school of development when in the face adversity we respond with our Christian equipping.
How are you to respond to suffering and adversity? In trials of Christian service respond with all your equipping and draw closer to God! Respond to it with all of the all things of God that pertain to life and godliness! This means resorting to God's grace, His light, His counsel and His love. These will draw you closer to God. And what do you do about that affliction? Act spiritually - pray, shout precious promises, get prayer - and so partake of Christ's substitutionary sacrifice made for you at the Cross. May suffering be turned to rejoicing at an experience of divine healing!
Isa 53:5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.
2Pe 1:2-4 Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord, According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.
Enjoy the peace of Jesus Christ
