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My Utmost for His Highest

 

To suffer is human.

To persevere, mature and rejoice in that suffering is to be salt and light for Christ.

 

When it comes to trials, are you just one of a billion humans, or are you an ambassador for King Jesus?

 
Greetings!

hello my loved ones!  Again and again, I cannot escape the reality of the problems of life, that I deal with and each one of you deal with.  So for this issue, I am going to post a portion of this week's Rekindling blog.


One of the biggest shortcomings of Christians I see, is how we respond to trials.  We usually fall over ourselves trying to avoid them.  And when we finally come to grips with the fact that God is allowing it, we accept it, but we complain and piss and moan the whole time.  I'm pretty certain that is not how God wants us to act.

The picture He paints in His Word is that we will accept, grow from and even rejoice in our trials. And by doing so, we become cities on a hill, stars in a universe, salt and light to the rest of the world.  For think about it, every single human on this planet faces problems.  And while the Church hyper-focuses on the salvation/eternal life part of Christianity (which is 100% valid), we need to balance that with the abundant life of this life as well.  And the abundant life is not 'health and wealth'; it is 'strength and maturity' in the midst of trials.  If we Christians can embrace and run with this, then the lost will be intrigued, drawn in and get a taste of hope. 

 Think about it, atheists don't even accept the reality of an after-life in Heaven, so why keep pushing salvation down their throat?  Every single atheist does recognize that life can suck at times and get real messy.  And they, just like everyone else, are still trying to figure out how to navigate the mud of life.  So if we Christians cease getting stuck in our struggles, and instead plod through them, rising above them even, by the strength of Christ, well then, maybe those atheists will get curious.  And heck, maybe they'll even give Jesus a shot, if not for Heaven, then at least for overcoming messiness in the now.  And we all know where that will eventually lead. ; )

For the rest of the post, check out the Rekindling blog.

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Flight, Fight or Persevere
















As our FIREWATCH readers, I also wanted to give you an early preview of next's week, which will focus on the rubber meeting the road, and how to actually go about facing trials in Christ-glorifying ways. 

 

I'm still working on it, and will tweak it further.  But here it is in raw form.  I pray that God uses my incomplete words to still bless you and empower you!

 

We can see a basic 3-stage process that God expects us to go through in our trials.

Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.   Romans 5:3-5

 

Notice the three specific stages of suffering laid out by Paul and the Holy Spirit in this passage:

  1. Perseverance.  We need to tread through the trial, and not be pissy about it.

Do everything without complaining or arguing,

so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe as you hold outthe word of life-  Philippians 2:14-16a


  1. Character.  We will be strengthened, matured, galvanized as we lean on God through the trial.

to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming.  Ephesians 4:12-14


  1. Hope & Joy & Love.  As we are galvanized in Christ, we will truly begin to see what Christianity is all about it and we will rejoice!

The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name.  Acts 5:41


 

And surprisingly, this does not only show up in Romans 5.  Take a look at the following passages and see how each one also infers the same three steps:

 

Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings.  And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen.  1 Peter 5:6-11

-Resist him.   Persevere (without complaining).

-Be restored and made strong.  Matured, galvanized, character developed.

-To Him be the power, amen!  Worship, rejoicing, hope!

 

Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.  2 Corinthians 4:16-17

-Do not lose heart.  Persevere.

-Be renewed.  Matured, galvanized, character developed.

-Eternal glory.  Hope and joy!

 

Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.  James 1:2-4

-Perseverance.  Perseverance.

-Mature and complete.  Galvanized, character developed.

-Pure joy.  Rejoicing!

 

So what can we take from this?

  1. we experience a trial
  2. we lean on God for non-complaining perseverance.  True faith...
  3. through that, we will be developed, purified, etc.
  4. and then the rejoicing comes.

 

So we have three options:

  1. seek to escape or fight the bad (admittedly, sometimes an option)
  1. persevere, but complain and be drained
  1. persevere, be matured and find joy!   this takes longer, but is much more rewarding and of substance...

 

So test this out.  take your current struggle and walk through all three stages.

and communicate with each other and us.  let's do this together....

 
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next Wednesday, check out the Rekindling blog for the full, tweaked post.


 

And that's it for this week.  Let me know your thoughts!


 

sincerely yours and passionately His,

shannon

703.899.7442