An Explanation of Trials

 

An Explanation of Trials You are my refuge in the day of disaster. Jeremiah 17:17 The path of the Christian is not always bright with sunshine; he has his seasons of darkness and of storm. It is true that God’s Word says, “Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace”;1 and it is a great truth that faith is calculated to give a man happiness below as well as bliss above. But life confirms that if the experience of the righteous is “like the light of dawn, which shines brighter and brighter until full day,”2 sometimes that light is eclipsed. At certain periods clouds cover the believer’s sun, and he walks in darkness and sees no light. There are many who have rejoiced in the presence of God for a season; they have basked in the sunshine in the early stages of their Christian life; they have walked along the “green pastures” by the side of the “still waters.” But suddenly they find that the glorious sky is clouded; instead of the promised land they have to endure the wilderness; in place of sweet waters, they find troubled streams, bitter to their taste, and they say, “Surely, if I were a child of God, this would not happen.” Do not say that if you are walking in darkness. The best of God’s saints must drink the bitter potion; the dearest of His children must bear the cross. No Christian has enjoyed perpetual prosperity; no believer can always keep his heart in constant tune. Perhaps the Lord gave you in the beginning a smooth and unclouded path because you were weak and timid. He moderated the wind on account of your weakness, but now that you are stronger in the spiritual life, you must enter upon the riper and rougher experience of God’s full-grown children. We need winds and tempests to exercise our faith, to tear off the rotten branches of self-reliance, and to root us more firmly in Christ. The day of evil reveals to us the value of our glorious hope. 1) Proverbs 3:17 2) Proverbs 4:18

Devotional material is taken from “Morning and Evening,” written by C.H. Spurgeon, revised and updated by Alistair Begg. Copyright © 2003, Good News Publishers and used by Truth For Life with written permission. Too good not to send to all, Ted

Are You In Need Of A Miracle?

 I have heard a few doctors say that miracles still happen today. Case in point, a young boy, John Smith, was playing on a frozen lake on Lake St. Louis, MO. John fell through the ice and was under the ice for 15 minutes. He was not breathing for another 45 minutes. He was termed as dead by the doctors who worked on him. His mother, a devout woman, demanded to be allowed to pray for him. He recovered after she prayed to Jesus for his recovery. A witness to the event, Dr. Nancy Bauer pronounced him dead after EMT and the hospital worked on him for a total of 45 min. She said later it gave her goosebumps to see him breathe after the mother prayed. The event happened at Cardinal Glennon Children's Hospital. A movie was made about this event but it was quickly squelched. The young boy woke up the next day fully alert and was about to recount the event. Jesus still does miracles today. The greatest miracle of all is the forgiveness that calling upon the name of Jesus for salvation, because if we mean it, we are forgiven and we are cleansed and forgiven of all our sins. You can find this event on your cell phone...

I'm not going to tell you that everyone who prays will receive a miracle for traumatic events that occur in today's world, but it is possible and what do you have to lose by praying and asking. I had one occur for me. After graduating from seminary, my family and I went to Idaho to visit a friend I was very close to in bible college. I was to preach in his church that weekend. I took a day job riding a logging truck down a mountain. One of the chains wasn't as secure as it should have been. I was behind the cab of the truck keeping an eye on the load. Some logs came forward crushing my legs. All I could do was call upon the name of Jesus to stop the terrible pain as there was no doctor nearby. After securing the load we went down the mountain in the cab of my friend's truck. My friend and I prayed even though I was in terrible pain. A miracle did occur because the pain lessened and within a couple of hours I was able to walk again and even though bruised and cut my legs healed before that Sunday I was to preach. It was a miracle only Jesus could have done. Now for today's lesson:

The healing at the pool of Bethesda was unusual, in that Jesus Himself asked the man, "do you want to be healed?" - whereas normally He was approached by others who asked for healing.

In an act of grace, Jesus chose to engage with this man on a Sabbath day, despite his being infirm for 38 years. But like all the signs and miracles recorded in his Gospel, John's purpose in writing was to prove that Jesus was the Christ, and that by believing on HIM we might have life everlasting.

It was during His second year of ministry that this healing took place. Hatred for Christ was beginning to ferment and His Messianic claims were beginning to infuriate the religious leaders. But Christ continued to emphasize... in His actions and attitude, that He was Lord of the Sabbath with divine power to both heal the body and forgive sins.

The authority Christ demonstrated on this Sabbath-day healing, showed a godly concern and compassion for the well-being of mankind and a disdain for petty Jewish rules, rituals, and regulations, which dishonored God and enslaved an entire nation.

Although the healed man picked up his bed and carried it home, as instructed, he did not know who Jesus was and seemed indifferent to the gracious healing he had just received.

Perhaps he was satisfied with his physical bondage, or maybe was irritated when he was rebuked by the religious leaders for carrying his bedding on the Sabbath. This poor man was not only physically helpless and enslaved by his paralysis, but he also appeared to be blinded to the good news of the gospel of Christ and the spiritual salvation he had been offered.

And so, when challenged by the authorities for breaking the Sabbath day rule, he did not withstand their rebukes by glorifying God for his miraculous release from sin and supernatural healing - he simply answered that he had no clue who Jesus was... and informed the Jewish leaders that he was not the one who should be held responsible for breaking the Sabbath Law - it was the responsibility of the Man who said to him, "Pick up your pallet and walk!!"

There are many such people in the world today, who, like this paralyzed man, enjoy a close encounter with Christ... but fail to recognize Who He is... or refuse to engage in His offer of salvation. As we journey through life, may we never miss out on any close encounters that we may have with Christ. May we recognize His supernatural touch in so many of the natural things that take place in our lives - and may we always be ready to give Him thanks and praise in everything - for this is God's will for us.

My Prayer

Heavenly Father, thank You for the many lessons we can learn from the Word of Truth. I pray that as I journey through life, I may not miss any precious encounters with Christ along the way. Help me to do all things to Your praise and glory, and in everything give thanks. This I ask in Jesus' name, AMEN.

Knowing Jesus Is The Beginning of Wisdom!

See you next blog,

Ted

Slow To Speak

But he gave him no answer, not even to a single charge.

Matthew 27:14

 Jesus had never been slow of speech when He could bless the sons of men, but He would not say a single word for Himself. “No man ever spoke like this man,” and no man was ever silent like Him. Was this singular silence the index of His perfect self-sacrifice? Did it show that He would not utter a word to prevent His crucifixion, which He had dedicated as an offering for us? Had He so entirely surrendered Himself that He would not interfere on His own behalf, even in the smallest details, but be crowned and killed an unstruggling, uncomplaining victim?

Was this silence a type of the defenselessness of sin? Nothing can be said to excuse human guilt; and, therefore, He who bore its whole weight stood speechless before His judge.

Patient silence is the best reply to a world of cruel opposition. Calm endurance answers some questions infinitely more conclusively than the loftiest eloquence. The best apologists for Christianity in the early days were its martyrs. The anvil breaks a host of hammers by quietly bearing their blows. Did not the silent Lamb of God furnish us with a grand example of wisdom? Where every word was occasion for new blasphemy, it was the line of duty to provide no fuel for the flame of sin. The ambiguous and the false, the unworthy and mean will soon enough confound themselves, and therefore the true can afford to be quiet and find silence to be its wisdom.

Evidently our Lord, by His silence, furnished a remarkable fulfillment of prophecy. A long defense of Himself would have been contrary to Isaiah’s prediction: “Like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth.”1 By His silence He declared Himself to be the true Lamb of God. As such we worship Him this morning. Be with us, Jesus, and in the silence of our heart let us hear the voice of Your love.

1) Isaiah 53:7

Knowing Jesus is the beginning of wisdom!

See you next blog,

Ted