Christian Living 101

Updates:

• Joyce and Ken back are back safe from visiting friends and family up North.
• June is still in St. Louis with her stepdaughter, Lisa.
• Sandy is still in Oregon with her daughter and son-in-law.
• Rebecca visited over the weekend and seems to be doing very well. Brenna will be going back to Texas to live with her father. Please pray for this whole family!
• Shirley continues to recover, but needs prayers as she goes through painful physical therapy.

Praise Reports:

• Dwayne was able to attend church! He thanks everyone for their prayers, thoughts, etc.
• Cameron is working full time now.
• Vernon was having major problems with his sciatic nerve, but after God blessed him with a wonderful treatment idea he is feeling much better.
• We give thanks for the little ones in our fellowship!

Prayer Requests:

• Mary, Pam, Byron--physical, mental, and spiritual health and wellness
• Lisa--complications after surgery
• Elaine--back issues
• Danny's brother Toby--brain tumor
• Megan Fox--hip replacement
• TJ Arnold family--lost everything in a house fire
• Families and friends of the 17 Navy SEALS who were killed last week.
• Pray that God would raise up good leaders for our town, state, country, and world.
• Levi--safety during training
• May all these terrible, painful things draw people ever closer to God.

Pouring Liquid Gold, a photo by The Puzzler on Flickr.

Admit it: sometimes daily living gets the better of us. It doesn't take persecution, suffering, or any huge disaster to wear us down; the daily grind alone can wear away at our joy.Is it OK that we get despondent over the bills, economy, family problems, lack of free time, etc? What have you let steal your joy this week? 

In 1 Peter 1:3-9 we read that Jesus has caused you to be born into a "living hope," and that "though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible." Where is your "joy inexpressible?" Peter also says, "In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials...." He expects us--God expects us--to rejoice, even when oppressed and distressed!

In many ways life is no different today than it was 2,000 years ago. We still have debt, crime, government, and relatives. Christians throughout the ages have not been exempt from testing, rather we have had our faith in one hand and trials in the other. And the trials purify the faith (vs. 7). It's all part of the plan! If daily living is hard, don't be surprised. You are in the crucible of God. 

It doesn't take long for the human body to atrophy if it isn't moving and being stressed; the human heart and faith is the same way. Without constant squeezing we weaken. When circumstances threaten to grind us into the ground we reach for something beyond ourselves. When we face fear, relational tensions, and stress there is often no "miraculous eraser." Are you responding correctly to the trials in your life? 

Our cause for joy is this, that the "God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ...has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away." We are "obtaining as the outcome of (our) faith the salvation of (our) souls." We must apply the joy of salvation to today, right now.  

Personal Application: When your world is crumbling all around you don't think that God has forgotten you, is punishing you, or that it's fine to let your joy lapse away into nothing. Tell yourself that you're saved! You're redeemed! Nothing here on this earth from today to eternity can change that fact! We have everything to look forward to! Don't let pain chip away at your joy.  God brings us trials not to get us down, but to bring us to the point where we say, "I desperately need you!" Then He rejoices in us and says, "Yes! You're right where I want you." Did you expect this to be easy? We all had a big "shame on me" session where we shared times when we had let circumstances get the better of us. Shame on us if we let our joy be destroyed by not getting our way!

One last thought: When our faith is in Jesus, all trials have meaning and purpose. Both the saved and the unsaved will suffer, but for us there is an eternal purpose involved and every struggle brings us closer to our Father. For the unsaved their trials are all for naught. So keep your eyes off the crucible and on the unspeakable joy of Jesus. 

Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.