November 13 – Believe Because It's Worth It

“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.”  -  James 1:2-3 (NIV)

If there is any promise that is difficult to live with it may well be the promise we have for today.  The promise is that our faith, when it is tested, can produce perseverance.  Our faith will get stronger, larger, and more powerful as we exercise it when facing trying and difficult challenges in our life.  But such growth is not possible without facing the trials and testings which God allows to come into our lives. James, the half brother of Jesus knew what this meant.  He knew about testing and perseverance of faith.  If we then know that the testing we encounter and the trials we endure make our faith stronger, it makes sense to view them with the kind of joy we looked at yesterday.  The joy Jesus had as he went to the cross for us because He knew the result was worth the difficult and awful, but necessary, death He had to go through to get the result.   

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October 8 – No, Nothing At All

“For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”  -  Romans 8:38-39  (ESV)

In our 90 Seconds yesterday, the question was asked if there was anything at all that could separate us from the Love of Jesus Christ.  Paul declares us to more than conquerors of the threats that come our way.  He then goes on in our verses today to declare his conviction that nothing in all creation is able to separate us from the love of God.  God loves us.  Our Father God's love for us is the same as His love for Jesus His Son because we are in His Son Christ Jesus. This is an amazing promise and one that we can cling to while facing the tests that we encounter.  Look again at what is covered that might threaten separation – nine forces plus, anything else in ALL creation.  Nothing — however dark or hard — can separate us from him. We who have believed and received Jesus as our Lord and Savior cannot be separated and are secure in His love. Not only that, but all things now work for us.  Let's rejoice in our security today. 

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August 15 – A Standard To Transformation

“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”  Romans 12:2 -   (ESV)

Do we ever wonder why we face difficulties and trials in our life.  After all, if we believe in God and have accepted Jesus as our Lord and Savior, should we not have smooth sailing?  We all know that is not what happens, don't we?  We are reminded in our verse that there is a big difference between the way people in this world think and the way God thinks.  When we come to God in faith believing and enter His family He wants us to begin thinking the way He does.  Our verse says we need to have our minds renewed and that is what God is doing when He allows testing and trials to come our way.  When we turn to God, and not conform our thinking to the way “everyone else” does, we use what He has taught us, our minds are renewed, and we gain discernment into God's will  for our lives.  That is our promise.  Follow the path to renewal and we will know what God's will is according to His standard. 

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July 12 – As By Fire

“The crucible is for silver, and the furnace is for gold, and the Lord tests hearts.”  Proverbs 17:3 (ESV) 
“The crucible is for silver and the furnace for gold, And each is tested by the praise accorded him.” Proverbs 27:21 (NASB)

In our verses this morning we find a different kind of promise.   It is good for us to understand that in our lives as believers, God is working for our best and His glory.  He is shaping us to serve and worship Him. To do that we are tested and refined like silver and gold - sometimes by fire.  The first verse (Prov. 17:3) gives the example of testing and refining to purify gold and silver.  This process takes great skill and care.  This example is also used in our second verse (Prov. 27:21) but with a different lesson.   First lesson: it is God testing our hearts. He is the one who does it.  He does so by allowing challenging circumstances and situations to be in our path and to test our faith.  Life is not intended to be easy and it is not a bed of roses (even if it were, there would be lots of thorns to contend with).   Second lesson: using the same example, our testing comes through the praise given to us.  Perhaps we can even say we are tested by the praise we desire or we think we are owed, and by the praise we receive.  Public and personal praise, when it is given, is something that needs to be received and appreciated in a manner that is worthy of our faith in God who gives us all things.  We give the praise back to God.  Because it is God who does the testing, it is God who provides the praise we receive through others.  Do we stand up well to it?  We will be tested like silver and gold to make us ready, it's a promise.    

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June 19 – Praise, Glory, Honor

“These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.” 1 Peter 1:7 (NIV)

Yesterday we read a Bible verse about Christian faith. We may not have a great faith but we can focus it on a great God. Today's verse brings us to think about how God values our faith.  It speaks of how our faith is tested and refined by the difficulties we face in life. God allows difficulties to refine our faith because He places a very great value on our faith. Our faith is worth more than gold according to our verse. So, my friend, when you face situations where you have to trust God, remember that God is watching how you trust Him and he wants to help you through the situations to grow in your faith. Our faith is of great value and God wants its results to be praise, glory and honor when He is revealed. Isn't the promise of God's glory revealed one of our primary purposes?

March 22 – Standing Firm to the End

“He will also keep you firm to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.”  1 Corinthians 1:8 (NIV)

Our verse today is a promise from the first letter the Apostle Paul wrote to the believers in Corinth. The Christians at Corinth had become God’s children when they listened to Paul’s preaching to them and believed in Jesus as a result. Paul knew that as he traveled he would leave believers behind and he knew that they would face trails and temptations and that God would take care of them. None of us can live our Christian lives by ourselves in our own strength but we can trust in God to help us stand firm in the face of testing. His promise is that He will keep us firm and He will keep us that way until the very end when because of Him we will be counted blameless. No matter what the situations are that we face today our Lord knows our needs. He knows when we feel weak and we can receive strength when we remember that God has promised to keep us firm in our faith to the end – and He will do it.