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Challenge Of Faith Ministries
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"GOD’S GRACIOUS FORGIVENESS!”
When Christ cleanses us with His precious blood shed at Calvary, we are washed whiter then snow.
LET US REJOICE IN OUR WONDERFUL GLORIOUS, SAVIOR, JESUS CHRIST OUR LORD.
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"FACING A NEW YEAR FILLED WITH UNCERTAINTY WE MUST HAVE AN UNSHAKABLE FAITH!"
"OUR SOULS COULD HAVE NO RAINBOWS IF OUR EYES NEVER HAD TEARS."
"THEN JOB FELL DOWN UPON THE GROUND AND WORSHIPPED, AND SAID, NAKED I CAME FROM MY MOTHER'S WOMB AND NAKED I WILL DEPART THE LORD GAVE AND THE LORD HAS TAKEN AWAY
BLESSED BE THE NAME OF THE LORD." Job 1:20-21
In the unfolding drama of the Biblical story of the life of Job, God gives permission to Satan to strip Job of his
FAMILY, WEALTH, AND HEALTH.
Have you ever had your back against the wall? Well, Job obviously did as he faced the loss of all that he possessed. What does a man do when he stands with "EMPTY HANDS" when they were "ONCE FULL?" How does a man assess life?
How would you have reacted if you lost family, wealth, and your physical health? In the face of trouble, Job showed himself to be the kind of man
Too often, when such trials touch our lives, we want to throw in the sponge! this to happen to me." What was the reaction of Job upon losing everything?
"JOB FELL DOWN UPON THE GROUND AND WORSHIPPED AND SAID, BLESSED BE THE NAME OF THE LORD !"
IN ALL THIS JOB DID NOT SIN BY CHARGING GOD WITH WRONGDOING."
Listening to a young artist sing, an outstanding critic stated, "She has a remarkable voice and the promise of a wonderful career, but she would not attain her full power until she has experienced more of the sorrows of life." When we are tried and tested like Job of old, may the Lord give to us the same grace, strength and faith to say,
"THOUGH HE SLAY ME, YET WILL I TRUST HIM" Suffering can be a source of strength for our lives few other experiences can make possible. Well stated are the words
"OUR SOULS COULD HAVE NO RAINBOWS IF OUR EYES NEVER HAD TEARS."
AN UNSHAKABLE FAITH DECLARES
"WE KNOW THAT "ALL" THINGS WORK TOGETHER FOR "GOOD" TO THEM THAT "LOVE" THE "LORD" WHO HAVE BEEN "CALLED" ACCORDING TO "HIS" PURPOSE." Romans 8:28
NOW FOR THE REST OF THIS TRUE STORY!
MORE THAN THE BEGINNING." Job 42:12
What a glorious testimony! FRIEND, "NO TESTING HAS SEIZED YOU EXCEPT WHAT IS "COMMON" TO MAN. BUT GOD IS FAITHFUL; HE WILL NOT LET YOU BE TESTED BEYOND WHAT YOU CAN BEAR. BUT WHEN YOU ARE TESTED, HE WILL ALSO PROVIDE A WAY OF DELIVERANCE
SO THAT YOU CAN STAND UP UNDER IT." I Corinthians 10:13
NO MATTER WHICH WAY THE WIND BLOWS
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ "PEOPLE WHO NEED PEOPLE!"
You have heard the song "People, People who need People, are the Luckiest People in the World." Well, I don't believe in LUCK, but I do believe having "FRIENDS" especially the Right Friends are an important part of life.
Do you have many FRIENDS? What does a FRIEND mean to you, and what do you expect in a FRIEND? When the Apostle Paul was in a Prison Cell in Rome, he wrote a letter to a man named Philemon about his runaway Slave Onesimus. I love the way he addressed this man. "Paul, a Prisoner of Christ Jesus and Timothy our Brother, to Philemon, OUR BELOVED "FRIEND!" Philemon 1:1 Paul did not fail to "REMEMBER" his "FRIENDS!" Often he wrote to those who were his "FRIENDS" and Fellow Laborers in Christ.
You will be blessed if you take the time to read the Sixteenth Chapter of the Book of Romans, where you find a LONG LIST OF FRIENDS the Apostle Loved in the Lord. Often we FORGET those who have been wonderful FRIENDS over the years. I read an Article written by a long time FRIEND, Mr. Ed Gebhart, a Sports Writer in Delaware County, Pennsylvania.
"Around the corner I have a FRIEND in this great City that has no end. But the Days go by and the Weeks rush on, and before I knew it, a Year had gone; and I never see my old FRIENDS face, for life has a Swift and Terrible Pace. He knows I like him just as well, as in the Days when I rang his bell, and he rang mine. We were Younger then, and now we are BUSY, TIRED MEN. Tired playing a Foolish Game; Tired of trying to make a Name. "Tomorrow," I say, "I will call on Jim just to show I am thinking of him." But Tomorrow Comes, and Tomorrow Goes, and the Distance between us Grows and Grows, around the corner, YET MILES AWAY! "HERE'S A TELEGRAM, SIR, JIM DIED TODAY!" And that's what we Get and Deserve Today. Around the Corner, A VANISHED "FRIEND!"
How thankful we should be for "FRIENDSHIPS" that have blessed our Lives in so many Special Ways. It's sometimes very difficult to keep in touch with them all, but we know the attempt should be made, and yet so often we fail to REMEMBER. Have you ever met someone who said, "I DON'T HAVE A FRIEND in the world." How Sad! For there is ONE who wants to be EVERYONE'S "FRIEND," and that ONE is the LORD JESUS CHRIST.
To His Followers, He said, "You are My "FRIENDS" if you do whatever I have commanded you. No longer do I call you Servants, for a Servant does not know what his Master is doing; but I have called you "FRIENDS" for all things that I have heard from MY FATHER, I HAVE MADE KNOWN TO YOU." John 15:14-15 When we Embrace JESUS CHRIST as our LORD and SAVIOR, we become the "FRIENDS" OF GOD! What a Privilege! What an Honor to be called a "FRIEND" OF "GOD" OUR CREATOR AND REDEEMER!
Writing about Abraham of Old, James wrote, "Abraham Believed God, and it was Accounted to him for Righteousness, AND HE WAS CALLED THE "FRIEND" OF GOD!" James 2:23 Isn't that Great? The Lord Jesus Christ is the most IMPORTANT "FRIEND" you could ever have in this world. He will not only be a "FRIEND" to you in this world, but will be your "FRIEND" FOREVER,
FOR HE HAS A PREPARED A PLACE IN HEAVEN
FOR HIS PREPARED PEOPLE.
If He is your Lord and Savior, don't let Him become DISTANT because you are to BUSY running here and there; too BUSY to keep HIS FRIENDSHIP fresh as the Morning Dew. Talk to Him Daily, and let Him Speak to you through His Holy, Infallible Word. It will be a time of Daily Spiritual Refreshment, and your JOY IN THE LORD WILL BE FULL AND RUNNING OVER.
TO HAVE A "FRIEND"
YOU MUST BE "FRIENDLY!" JESUS WANTS TO BE THAT "FRIEND!"
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"HE ALWAYS LIFTS ME UP!"
When a dear friend of mine heard someone complaining about a close friend of his, he said, to the complainer, “you are talking about a friend of mine.
HE ALWAYS LIFTS ME UP!
MY SPIRIT IS ALWAYS LIFTED BY HIS ENCOURAGING WORDS!"
Maybe I'm wrong when I say there are more "COMPLAINERS" and "DOWNERS"
than those who enjoy "ENCOURAGING" and "LIFTING UP" others, but I don't
believe I am. Some just seem to enjoy "COMPLAINING" and finding "FAULT" with
just about everything and anything and everybody.
THEIR CUP DOES NOT OVERFLOW WITH HONEY
IT OVERFLOWS WITH VINEGAR!
I wonder if they understand that such an attitude is sin before a Holy God? The Word of God commands all believers to "Do all things without murmuring and disputing." Philippians 2:14. When you follow the life of "BARNABAS" in the Acts of the Apostles, you soon realize that here was a man who always sought to "ENCOURAGE" others.
When the Apostle Paul did not want to take Mark on his second missionary journey because Mark had left them at Pamphylia on their first journey, It was Barnabas who took Mark under his wings to "ENCOURAGE" him not to give up, but to go on with the Lord and join him on his journey to Cyprus to share the Good News of the Gospel. Friend,
WHICH ARE YOU? O YES, I ASK MYSELF, WHICH AM I?
Do we bring others down and complain, or do we "ENCOURAGE" and lift others up to make them stronger in their faith and their relationship with the Lord and others?
Writing to the believers in Rome, Paul wrote, "I long to see you that I may impart some spiritual gift so that you may be established, that is, that I may be "ENCOURAGED" together with you by the mutual faith both of you and me." Romans 1:11-12 When Mary, the sister of Lazarus and Martha, took a pound of VERY COSTLY OIL OF SPIKENARD, to anointed the feet of Jesus, Judas “COMPLAINED” and turned into a “DOWNER” when he said, "Why was not this ointment sold for three hundred pence, and given to the poor?
John 12:5
TO "BELITTLE" IS TO BE "LITTLE!"
O that we would have the spirit of Paul when he wrote to the Colossian believers, "That their hearts may be "ENCOURAGED" being knit together in love." Colossians 2:2 His prayer for the Corinthian believers was, "That all may learn and be "ENCOURAGED." I Corinthians 14:31 I feel sorry for those who seem to thrive on
“COMPLAINING” and “DOWNING" ”OTHERS!"
It would seem that God, Himself, can never please them, and they spend their livestot ally blind to His manifold blessings. HOW SAD! In contrast, we should be saying, "Bless the Lord O my soul, and forget not all His benefits; Bless the Lord O my soul, and ALL that is within me Bless His Holy Name."
WE MUST NOT LET THE LITTLENESS IN OTHERS BRING OUT
THE LITTLENESS THAT COULD BE LYING WITHIN US.
If any of us has been guilty of this sin, remember, "IF WE CONFESS OUR SINS, HE IS FAITHFUL AND JUST TO FORGIVE US OUR SINS, AND TO CLEANSE US FROM ALL UNRIGHTEOUSNESS." I John 1:9
Friend, It's your choice:
WHICH WILL IT BE - DOWNER OR AN ENCOURAGER?
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