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Yearly Archives: 2020
I Am My Sister’s Keeper
Keep on loving each other as brothers.
Hebrews 13:1
As we go through this lesson, I want you to think about the sister in your life who needs help.
My family of three brothers–well, we are a mixed, dysfunctional, disagreeable group. But joined at the hip. And I’ve always, always loved them.
The idea of not considering myself as my brothers’ keeper is unthinkable.
Why?
Because we share the same mother, were bound by the same rules, eaten and kicked each other at the same table, bargained with one another to get what we wanted, cried for each other when we were hurt, shared in death and in new life, prayed for each other when hard times or sickness or sin beat us down.
That’s what families do.
Just like it’s a foreign idea for me not to be considered as my brothers’ keeper, it is likewise inconceivable to think of you, my dear sisters, as a stranger or alien. Like our earthly families, you and I share the same blood — the blood of Christ. His heart beats through our spiritual veins. He’s our life source; our foundation; our rock; and we are the apple of his eyes.
The love we receive from him should be passed on to one another, and this love should be driven and drenched and enamored by the Holy Scriptures.
But too often we fill God’s perfect love with debris.
Imagine holding a bottle of distilled water. Pure. Crystal clear. No matter where you position it you can see everything through it. Place a speck of dirt, sprinkle in a dash of pepper, add a pinch of breadcrumbs, throw in a couple of rock pebbles, weigh it down with a precious stone, stuff in pieces of string … then shake it up … and what you have is a noisy bottle of murky liquid.
The same happens when we substitute worldly love for the love God defines in the scriptures.
What’s surprising about this new substitute for love is we try to offer it to one another, disguising the added ingredients as something new and profound.
The end result.
Beautiful distractions of Deceit covering God’s love like spider webs. Confusion. Twisted Jealousy. Strife trailing behind us like littered breadcrumbs. Quarrels. Failure. Heavy loads of Guilt wrapping around our hearts and dragging us deeper and deeper into depression. Emptiness. Promiscuity.
God never intended for us to redefine his perfection. He showed us exactly what love means. He defines it this way –
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. (I Corinthians 13:4-8)
There are all kinds of worldly love. The one in name only is something you say; something guided by emotions; it’s a love without action; shallow and hallow; a detached love that makes it easy to walk away from others in times of trouble; an affection driven by selfish desires (you give to me, I give to you; you stroke my back, I’ll stroke yours).
In Luke 16:19-31, the story of the rich man and Lazarus — the rich man is self-centered and pivots his attention from Lazarus to the elite at his table, thinking lowly of Lazarus, treating him like chaff, offering him crumbs instead of a full meal, refusing to give Lazarus a drink to quench his thirst.
The scriptures, however, speak of another kind of love. A knowledgeable love – one taking root in the reading of God’s word, one which struggles through life’s hard clumps of dirt to spring forth new life, and when it is full-grown, scatters its seed to replicate itself. If this love is growing inside us, it is manifested through God’s goodness and kindness toward us. This love knows scripture and is obedient and lives by it.
Luke 10:25-37 is a biblical account of two travelers who find a hurt man on the road. One traveler looks down at him, leaves him, and goes about his business.
The Good Samaritan later comes along and sees the same hurt man, stops, and takes pity upon him; bandaging and pouring oil and wine upon his wounds; places the hurt man on his donkey; takes him to an inn and cares for him; leaves him in the care of the innkeeper with a promise to compensate the innkeeper upon his return.
There’s something very striking about these two stories: Both travelers see the need. One chooses to ignore it and go about his business. The other chooses to seize the opportunity to help. Both men have choices. When I read this passage of scripture several more times, I found something else remarkable about this story. Regardless of their different financial status, both men were capable of helping the hurt man.
I remember, in 1986, two weeks before my middle brother’s graduation from college, he had a terrible car accident. My husband and I lived three hours away, so we asked neighbors to take care of our boys then we hit the highway. The wait in the ER was horrible. When the doctor finally came out to give us an update, he informed us that my brother had crushed the left side of his body—his left hip, crushed most of the bones in the left side of his face, and he lost his left eye. His jaws would be wired shut for six weeks. Upon hearing this news, I fainted.
After the doctor and my husband revived me, I phoned my mother.
One of the things I needed to do was find a place for my mother and her sister to stay because my husband and I would need to return home to see about our boys. So, I called the first Church of Christ in the phonebook. The gentleman on the phone was polite. I told him of our need, and he came to visit us at the hospital where we talked again. The bottom line, he told us there was no one to help us at this time.
My heart grieved. I didn’t know what to think of this. I sat in shock.
I took a deep breath, grabbed the telephone book, and called another church. A gentleman from a different congregation showed up. Though I can’t remember the man’s name or which congregation he attended, his kindness will never be forgotten.
Think about that.
Two churches. Both in the family of God. Only one seizes the opportunity to show God’s love.
Have you ever been on the receiving end of someone’s unwillingness to love you?
When this lesson is over, read I John 4:7-21, but because of time constraints, I want you to pay close attention to verse 10. It reads,
10This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.
How many of you picked up on the importance of that verse?
Let’s read it again.
10This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.
Wow.
Here is one of the things God is trying to tell us: Don’t let your need or expectation for another’s love consume you. Sometimes we forsake too many of God’s commands for relationships. Stop it. Don’t compromise God’s commands. Don’t mix God’s perfection with debris.
Our love for one another must become a sacrificial act. Imagine what the Good Samaritan gave up to help the hurt man alongside the road. Love comes at great cost. Christ made the ultimate sacrifice. He gave of himself. We, too, must give of ourselves—freely, impartially, void of grumbles, and complaints. To love means to put the interest of others above YOU. (Philippians 2:3) Your sacrificial love should be guided by the Holy Scriptures, through biblical examples, not by fleshly and earthly desires.
Love is learned. God is our teacher. Through his Word. When you are born into your family, you have no idea what love means. You learn to love over a period of time, through interaction with your family. In I John 4:21, it reads,
And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother.
Yes, love is learned. It’s a command. There are no other options. No grey areas. We. Must. Learn. To. Love. One. Another. Christianity is a family affair—a community of believers who stay tightly knitted together for the sole purpose of encouraging each other to remain obedient and reconciled to God.
Sisters, it is unfathomable for you to hurt and I walk away. It is shameful to see my sister in need of a babysitter so she can go back to work, but I sit back, quietly hoping she doesn’t approach me and ask for help. It is heart-wrenching to hear you gossip about someone merely because you’ve mistaken your blessings with that of financial status. (Matter of fact, because of your financial status, the burden is really on you to follow in line with God’s commands.) Possessing a different gift or being in a higher financial bracket shouldn’t make you prideful, selfish, stubborn, and conceited. By placing others beneath you, you will only instigate envy and jealousy, gossip and quarrels. Don’t cause God’s anger to burn against you, sisters.
“Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” (Luke 6:38)
You are my sister. And I am yours. Will you not stop and help me up? Will you walk over me and not look back?
In closing, remember to think about the sister who needs help. Please repeat these words in your heart as you read and declare this prayer:
Oh, merciful Father, whether I am loved by others or not, I declare before you Lord, that:
I am born into a family … a spiritual family of God. I’ve been grafted in … adopted … and made heirs to God’s kingdom. I am no longer willing to allow my sister to sit underneath my elaborate table to eat crumbs. I refuse to whisper words of deceit, be divisive, sow seeds of hate. I will encourage her, put wine and oil on her wounds, speak up and protect her in the face of slander. I will fight for her, carry her so she, too, will be able to taste the first fruits of our Father.
With all my heart, I will plead and pray for her continued obedience. I will reach out my hand and I will not turn my back on her. I will open the scriptures, teach her, correct her, refuse to uphold her wrong. I will not allow her to emphasize her shortcomings, but to speak truth into her until she sees the beauty of God’s creation.
My sister is part of a family … a spiritual family of God. She’s been grafted in … adopted … and God has made her an heir to his kingdom. Together, she and I will stand before God Almighty and reign forever with him.
THEREFORE, Satan, you are no longer welcomed here.
Please, oh God, keep him far from me.
For we are all a part of a spiritual family, closely knitted together, tethered to the heart of God. With my hand in yours … With your hand in mine … we will not falter … My sister will not fail, because
I AM MY SISTER’S KEEPER!
Amen! And Amen!
CALL YOUR SISTER OR BROTHER. Share the Word of our Father over a cup of coffee, or a cup of tea. Bless someone’s life today. Then sit back and wait upon the Lord.
Donna B. Comeaux
September 11, 2020
In Step With God
A Study of Psalm 119
No one can say who wrote this Psalm, but many think David is the author. For the purpose of our lesson, it doesn’t matter who we attribute this Psalm. We know all scripture is inspired by the Word/Hand/Breath of God.
This is the longest chapter in the Word. I have never studied it, so we will be examining it verse-by-verse for the first time together. I am no Bible scholar. I don’t come close. I will use many commentaries to help with this study.
Let’s not waste any more time and dive right in.
Psalm 119:1
Blessed are they whose ways are blameless, who walk according to the law of the Lord.
Blessed – means – Those whose course of life is directed and governed by a single-hearted devotion to Jehovah, and integrity in dealing with their fellow men are made perfect and upright and are happy and confident children of God. Happiness is a result of your obedience and pursuit of God.
Blameless: How in the world can you and I become blameless? If you take a close look at this passage, you will see the answer. Those who walk according to the law of the Lord will find happiness.
Too often we look for happiness in things and in people. But if you’ll notice, the pursuit of happiness is an ongoing dilemma. Our desire for it can have us tied in knots, neglecting our children, cheating on our spouse, guzzling down liquor, in a fretful hurry in anticipation of things falling apart around us, staying up late at night drowned in nightmarish scenarios that never come true, caught up in lies, or working for another hour and thereby neglecting loved ones and more important tasks.
The happiness God offers us is filled with peace. He doesn’t give you a list of earthly things to chase. When conducting your life in a godly manner, you’re not left out of breath, tired, and fretful.
To know this, you must follow his commands and you must spend time in his Word.
Scripture:
Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” (Matt. 11:28-29)
“… to whom He has said: “This is the place of rest, let the weary rest; this is the place of repose.” But they would not listen. (Isaiah 28:12 – God’s Judgment on Ephraim)
REFLECTIONS:
- Reflect and share experiences where you have taken matters into your own hands and made a mess of things.
- What have you learned?
- Have you repeated this mistake?
- What will it take to get you to remain obedient?
- How can we encourage you?
Donna B. Comeaux
August 4, 2020
LOVE ON PURPOSE
Ephesians 1
(NIV)
Have you ever asked, “Why did God make us … only for us to die and be apart from one another?” “Why get married then be separated by death?”
Questions like these are stirred by our quest to understand God’s purpose. There’s nothing wrong with us asking these questions. God knew you would ask. And he’s prepared an answer for you.
Ephesians 1:4-6 reads,
For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love, he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will—to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves.
God didn’t wake up one morning and haphazardly decide to form a ball, dig in the dirt, and scoop you out.
He planned, set things in order, gave his son directions to be carried out later, then put everything into motion.
After we went astray, he could have withdrawn his hand and turned his back on us. Instead, he followed through with his commitment to love us … planning to love despite our failures. Take a closer look at Ephesians 1. This time let’s zoom in on the adoption:
“In love, he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ …”
This means God prepared a way for us after we fell. He loved us so much that he was unwilling to leave us on our own. He made a way to reconcile us to himself.
God loved on purpose. This is God’s intent. This is who he is. This is his commitment. We might refer to this as a reckless love … a love without boundaries … a love without fault … an endearing, long-lasting love. If you think of God’s love in this manner, you’d be correct.
We are called to mimic not only his sacrifice but also his love for us.
What is it about us … as a people … that causes us to envy one another? What creates our quarrels and causes you to “lose your religion?”
Go to Ephesians 2:10 and read,
For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
“… prepared in advance?” A workmanship? Created to do good works? What good works?
Many of us in the body of Christ are excellent in the mission field. We’ve seen countless videos of those who work tirelessly in the jungles of Africa, on the cold streets of Russia, under the watchful eyes of China. Under our breath, we mumble, “I wish I could do that.”
Those wishes sometimes catch us at a weak moment and it turns to envy. Envy causes us to fight.
Go to James 4:1-3 and read,
What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? You want something but don’t get it. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.
This verse covers more than worldly possessions. It covers any and everything that battles or conflicts with the Holy Spirit living within us. It covers our covetous desires to be like sister “so and so.” It covers the desires for your husband to be more like “Brother Moore, Larry, and Henry Joe.” It covers the desires to contribute hundreds of dollars to missions like the rich family over there and covers your urges to butter up to another brother so you can learn how to preach and gain the respect he’s been given.
God has apportioned all of us a gift and talent he desires for our lives. And one of the most precious gifts he’s given us is the gift of love. He commands it and demonstrates how to acquire it, use it, implement it, and to pass it on.
You see, no matter where you are placed in the body of Christ, we are to sharpen each other like iron sharpens iron and to love without favoritism. (Prov. 27:17; James 2:9)
We must, like God, Love on Purpose. We must plan on it. We must center our lives around loving each other. Our every intent when we come together when we pray, when we’re apart when we have a difference of opinion when our politics have instigated a divide when things aren’t going well financially or otherwise … Our every intent … our forever purpose must be to love one another.
Sometimes, we slip up and … say and do things … that we intended to keep hidden. We intend for our negative attitudes to stay behind the curtain, hidden away from our sisters and brothers in the church. We fool ourselves into thinking that our hearts won’t really be revealed to the naked eye.
But God says in Matthew 6:21,
For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
This passage is revealing to us that whatever your intent … whatever it is you deeply feel, it will be known. Really? Yes. Your heart follows what you treasure. Your heart acts out or reveals what you treasure most.
A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of. (Luke 6:45)
As water reflects the face, so one’s life reflects the heart. (Proverbs 27:19)
So, if you have a negative opinion about someone … if you are angry and trying to hide it … if you hate but smile in disguise … if you speak softly, but inwardly want to murder … if you act kindly, but want to belittle and tear down those you love, IT. WILL. EVENTUALLY. BE. REVEALED. Why? Because you will act out what you truly believe. Because your heart cannot be hidden. You may fool yourself into thinking you can hide it. But your heart cannot be hidden.
The love God intended for us to have for one another calls for us to deny ourselves. To carry the burden of others as if it were our own.
To love on purpose is a mindset. It’s not an emotion. It’s not driven by circumstance. It’s driven by the love we have received from God Almighty. When we self-reflect on the weight of our sins and how God himself has removed us from darkness, we become thankful, gracious, uplifted, relieved, and we become receptors of unspeakable joy. We are to pass this love on to our brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus. And if we do or say anything to destroy or hinder the brotherhood of believers, we might as well fasten a yoke on our necks. For we are not enslaving and hindering a sister or brother, but we are thereby hindering ourselves and have become entangled in the wicked deeds of the evil one. (Galatians 5:1)
Think twice the next time unholy things are spoken. Think twice the next time you disguise your ill-intent. For God hears, sees, and knows the intent of your heart. (I Chron 28:9; I Samuel 16:7; Psalm 139:1-23) Humble yourselves therefore before the Lord. Speak as godly people. Speak holy and righteous messages one to another. For you are a royal priesthood, holy, and unblemished if you follow the Lord our God in your ways. (I Peter 2:9)
Beware,
“I the Lord search the heart and examine the mind, to reward each person according to their conduct, according to what their deeds deserve.” (Jeremiah 17:10)
Amen.
Things to remember and discuss:
- Self-reflect – Examine yourselves.
- Question your motives.
- Be honest with God. Confess your sins.
- Yield to the Holy One and submit yourselves to him.
- Seek the forgiveness of others.
- Don’t follow emotions. Follow truth. Search the scriptures for truth.
- Do what the Holy Spirit is guiding you to do.
- Speak righteously.
The Lord detests the thoughts of the wicked, but gracious words are pure in his sight. (Proverbs 15:26)
Living the Word Through the Living Word
“Perseverance must finish its work so that you may
be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”
James 1:4 (NIV)
If you prefer to listen to this lesson, click on this link:
To one degree or another, we’ll remember 2020 as the year of tribulation. Each of us can name several instances where we’ve been tested during this pandemic. People are experiencing food shortages. Money is low. And many have lost their jobs, and may never get them back. People have fallen ill. Too many have died. Everyone has been affected in one way or another. All of us are physically, emotionally, and spiritually separated from family and friends. Day by day, we’re growing weary and anxious to come together.
In our walk with Christ Jesus, we sometimes fail to recognize he feels our pain … he’s walked our walk … and he knows exactly what it’s like to be alone and abandoned. Whether we feel it or not, God is with us, just as he was with Christ as Christ hung on the cross. That’s a spiritual fact. A fact we affirm with “Amen” when it’s preached from the pulpit on Sunday mornings. We affirm it by tapping our feet when it’s echoed from a songbook. We affirm this spiritual fact by nodding our heads when someone speaks these words in our Bible class. But when it comes to living out the word through the living word, our faith waivers. Hardships come and we doubt. We forget our hurt is only solved through Christ. We forget that in spite of how we feel or what we’re going through, we are called to stand firm and to Live the Word through the Living Word.
Why do cares of the world easily overtake us and cause us to waver from God?
Could it be we’re sometimes treating God’s word as an insurance policy? Leaving it neatly inside a drawer, hidden away in some special place, easily accessible in times of need? Let me remind you: God’s Word is a love story—a story of reconciliation. His love letters should be read daily, diligently, prayerfully. Occasionally, we spend too much time from the loving words of the Father, forgetting how much he loves us, letting too much time come between us and the Holy One, unaware that the longer we go without reading his love letters, the farther we drift away. It’s like going through the day without eating. When we finally sit down for a meal, we gorge it because we’re so famished.
In the midst of desperation, we divulge God’s word in large quantities like a famished person who hasn’t eaten for days—looking for a quick fix—failing to discern the word, failing to allow his word to marinate. When our lives finally calm down, we realize how exhausted we’ve become. We pull away and rest, unaware weeks have passed … months … apart from the Word until the next crisis.
And there begins the cycle of our lives.
This is not what God calls us to do. He does not call you to live in desperation.
God calls us to meditate on his word. Not gorge it like animals. He wants us to think on it … apply it … be thankful for it … be in prayer about it … ask for ways to share it with others … to live out the word through the living word. To be specific, we are to mimic Jesus … mimic our forefathers who lived by faith … to wait upon the Lord with patience and diligence.
With my husband’s permission, I want to share his story so you can better understand what I mean.
Not too long ago, my husband’s duties changed at work. He’s not a man of words, and he almost hates the English language. English was never his favorite subject in high school. He was more of a math whiz; now a project engineer by trade. In his new duties at work, he has been asked to write large amounts of narratives to summarize the status of on-going government projects.
Because he clearly understands his dilemma, he began spending more time in deep prayer. Shortly after his prayer time, he goes in our second bedroom which we’ve transformed into an office. He works on one side of the room, and I work on the other. After one of his conference calls, I noticed his heightened frustration with people who wouldn’t do their jobs properly. Within days, he became visibly stressed, was restless in his sleep, if he slept at all. He’d often tell me, “I don’t know if I can do this. I’m not a good writer. There’s too much to learn in too short of time.” I asked him, “Have you prayed about it?” His reply was, “All the time.”
Ladies, “What’s wrong with this picture?” Did God not say,
“But when (you) ask, (you) must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.” (James 1:6-8)
I looked at my husband in the eyes and recalled the story of Noah … how Noah spent much time physically laboring to build the ark.
I recalled the story of Joseph – how a young seventeen-year-old was sold into slavery by his own family and plunged into a foreign culture; cast among a people who spoke a different language. I stressed to my husband how Joseph served his masters as if serving God Almighty, served prisoners in the same way he wanted to be served … doing all this regardless of his circumstances. And, I would be at fault here, if I did not highlight Joseph’s closeness with God during his time of trials and tribulations. Though he was hurt and alone, he didn’t feed his anger. He didn’t whine over lost possessions or for what he perceived as the “good life.” And let me also say this: Joseph followed God’s lead without ever understanding why God allowed this to happen to him. Joseph didn’t piece it together until later … much later.
If you think your heartaches and pain will come from the world, you might need to rethink this. Your family (or whomever you consider family) can devastate you if you let them.
Joseph is you—devastated by your brothers and sisters. Joseph is me—abandoned, but not alone. And like all of us, he faced hardships, he faced loneliness, he faced false accusations (Potiphar’s wife), he faced people forgetting about him (the cupbearer – Genesis 40:23).
By the time I recited this biblical history to my husband, he shook his head and said, “I got it.”
But … I sat and wondered … did he really understand?
Later that same day, the truth was revealed. My husband’s co-worker telephoned and asked how he was doing. My husband replied, “I don’t know, man. I wish these people …”
I quickly interrupted the call by grunting, loudly. I spoke just as loud, by saying, “God is near. He hears. He will help you. Speak positively. Believe in the one who is able to save.”
After my husband’s call, I thought he would be angry that I interrupted him. But he stopped in front of my desk and said, “Thank you. I needed you to remind me and I appreciate it.”
Ladies, we are praying and reading our Bibles, hiding away in our closets, but sometimes we are “not” Living the Word Through the Living Word. Reading the word of God is of no benefit if we do not do what it says. “We’re like a man who looks himself in the mirror, and walks away and forgets what he looks like.” (James 1:23-24) You and I must not be lazy, but be students of God’s Word. Under pressure, against our will, during hardships, in the middle of family strife, when demands on our time are high, we must still be obedient servants and submit to God’s commands.
What does submission to God look like?
Do you remember Abraham’s faith? Good! Now, you must mimic his faith. Although the odds are against you, you must climb that treacherous mountain in faith, JUST LIKE ABRAHAM. Abraham remembered God’s promise to make him a father of nations, and he believed God would bring his son, Isaac, up from the dead. JUST LIKE ABRAHAM, you must BELIEVE.
Again, I ask: What does submission to God look like?
A change of attitude — by “… counting it all joy … when we face trials and tribulations.” (James 1:2-3) This passage of scripture is calling you to look at your trials from a different perspective. Trials exist to perfect your faith. They don’t exist to sop up your tears. Neither should your trials pull up a chair so the two of you can have coffee to devise a plan to manipulate yourself out of your situation. Trials exist to make you wail. And in your wailing, you are to stand firm, cry out to God, hold tight to God’s word, BELIEVING God is able to help you withstand the forces against you. And once you have persevered through your trials, you become a stronger, more faithful, more steadfast child of God, who is in a better position to be an example to those around you.
You see,
“Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, and not lacking anything.” (James 1:4)
Let me ask you something: Have you ever met a strong Christian whose faith hasn’t been perfected by hardship?
Aren’t trials in our lives so perseverance can work its good work in you, so you can become mature, spiritual, and godly?
Without trials, there is no perfection of your faith. Without our faith being made perfect, we are no closer to God than the ungodly.
I understand … I get it. Some of us don’t want to be uncomfortable. You might be thinking: “Donna, you don’t understand what I’m going through. My husband won’t get up and go to church with me. It’s better I leave things alone. You see, Donna, my child is rebellious, and I’m doing good just to get him or her out of the door to school … to work. My mother … My family … none of them get along and they lean on me way too much.”
Is it not a fact that there’s always something aggravating and testing our faith, and causing us to stumble? Is it not better to be uncomfortable in our struggles and remain obedient in Christ Jesus who can save us, rather than be comfortable in our wickedness and die in our sins? Who wants an eternal death?
Be reminded—
Perseverance produces Maturity, Completeness – James 1:4
Don’t doubt – James 1:6
“Blessed is the man who perseveres … because he will receive a crown of life.” (James 1:12)
God’s mighty hand will raise us up and set us high on the mountaintops even though there is a calamity all around us. Psalm 91:7-10 reads:
“A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you. You will only observe with your eyes and see the punishment of the wicked. If you say, ‘The Lord is my refuge,’ and you make the Most High your dwelling, no harm will overtake you, no disaster will come near your tent.”
If this is too hard to believe, I want you to sit still for a moment and remember the last tragedy you experienced … the last debacle you encountered … the trouble with your job … the empty refrigerator … the last time you struggled to pay utilities … the last time you were abandoned by family and friends.
Remember that pain?
Now, as you think back, can you relate to Psalm 91:7-10? Let’s read it again,
“A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you. You will only observe with your eyes and see the punishment of the wicked. If you say, ‘The Lord is my refuge,’ and you make the Most High your dwelling, no harm will overtake you, no disaster will come near your tent.”
You believe it now? Can you also see our relationship with God is hinged on belief and faith? If you lack belief … pray to God for your unbelief. If you lack faith … pray God strengthens your faith.
In closing, please remember to act out what you hear and see in the living Word of God. Mimic the life of Christ, the examples of the apostles, the faith of our forefathers, your grandmother’s struggles, your momma’s faith. Change your attitude and learn to look forward to opportunities to persevere in your faith so it can be made perfect.
I have highlighted eight things to do and remember, but I’m out of time. You can find this list on my blog page at: www.awriterfirst.wordpress.com.
Very quickly, here are eight things to do and remember:
- Carve out 30 minutes a day to read the word of God. There are 24 hours in a day. Thirty minutes is exactly eight-tenths of a day. Is it really too much to ask to spend eight-tenths of your day with God?
- Each and every time you become panicky or afraid, read Psalm 91 over and over again until you have it memorized. Read it aloud. When your mind wanders, start over and read louder.
- Don’t let the world impose their wickedness on you. Remember, “…you are in the world, but not of the world.” (Romans 12:2)
- Pray without ceasing. (I Thessalonians 5:17)
- You must develop a sincere love for one another. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. (Romans 12:10)
- Stop engaging in foolish talk.
- Pray for those who don’t know the truth, for their end is near and it will be horrible to hear the wailing and gnashing of teeth. Their end cannot be UNdone.
- Don’t be hardheaded. LISTEN to the Holy Spirit and FOLLOW his lead.
Amen.
Thank you for allowing me this opportunity to share God’s word. May God continue to open your hearts to the truth and help you overcome the flesh so you can Live the Word Through the Living Word of God.
An encouraging video is below.
Donna B. Comeaux
Note: This is a Bible lesson I presented on the 8:00 p.m. Thursday Ladies Prayer Line on July 23, 2020.
If you would like to hear my lesson by telephone, dial: (515) 604-9300; Access Code – 635154; Lesson #229