Brethren, as you are all aware, we have really been undergoing some bad times here lately. By the time you add in all the serious health conditions several of our church family have been undergoing, the really bad, cold weather we suffered through (and hitting us again this weekend) plus many other things our church family has been facing it has been some really hard times for the past 2 or 3 months. It can get to the point where we just feel like all that is left is to just throw up our hands and quit!
Before we do that, I have a question. Are we, our church family here, the only ones undergoing these things in our lives? What about our friends? What about our neighbors that live around us? What about the people we are around or work with? Is it possible that any of those may be undergoing some of the exact same things we are? The obvious answer, of course, is YES!!! Do these people know that you are a Christian, a member of the Lord’s church? I certainly hope so! And, if they do know that, is it possible they are watching you to see how you react to the same situations they are going through? This could possibly be the one thing that might turn them to the Lord and save their souls eternally. We must remember what the apostle Paul told Titus in his letter to him in Titus 2:7-8 where Paul said, “7 in all things show yourself to be an example of good deeds, with purity in doctrine, dignified, 8 sound in speech which is beyond reproach, in order that the opponent may be put to shame, having nothing bad to say about us.” I cannot help but think about our studies in Acts 2 concerning the establishment of the Lord’s church and all that happened as a result of what those around those new Christians were seeing in their lives. It states toward the end of chapter 2 that there were people being saved “daily”, every day, specifically because of what they were seeing in those new Christians’ lives. We must never forget that we are in a battle every day with Satan. He is doing every thing he can to turn us away from God. A good friend, brother in Christ and fellow preacher, Kevin Mackey, posted the following on his Facebook page last week.
In the Christian War,
victory is not counted
in the dead bodies of our enemies,
but in the souls that will never die.
1 Corinthians 15:55-57
Brethren, it is entirely possible that some souls may be saved specifically because of the struggles we are having and how we deal with them.
So, I want to encourage all of us - be there for each other, be aware of the struggles many are going through and do all we can to strengthen, to encourage, to help in any way possible that we all might be strengthened to first of all, trust in the Lord to give us the strength to deal with our struggles but also to do all we can to set that example for those around us of what it means to truly trust in the Lord and love and care for each other.
Until next week, I love you all,
Dan
Before we do that, I have a question. Are we, our church family here, the only ones undergoing these things in our lives? What about our friends? What about our neighbors that live around us? What about the people we are around or work with? Is it possible that any of those may be undergoing some of the exact same things we are? The obvious answer, of course, is YES!!! Do these people know that you are a Christian, a member of the Lord’s church? I certainly hope so! And, if they do know that, is it possible they are watching you to see how you react to the same situations they are going through? This could possibly be the one thing that might turn them to the Lord and save their souls eternally. We must remember what the apostle Paul told Titus in his letter to him in Titus 2:7-8 where Paul said, “7 in all things show yourself to be an example of good deeds, with purity in doctrine, dignified, 8 sound in speech which is beyond reproach, in order that the opponent may be put to shame, having nothing bad to say about us.” I cannot help but think about our studies in Acts 2 concerning the establishment of the Lord’s church and all that happened as a result of what those around those new Christians were seeing in their lives. It states toward the end of chapter 2 that there were people being saved “daily”, every day, specifically because of what they were seeing in those new Christians’ lives. We must never forget that we are in a battle every day with Satan. He is doing every thing he can to turn us away from God. A good friend, brother in Christ and fellow preacher, Kevin Mackey, posted the following on his Facebook page last week.
In the Christian War,
victory is not counted
in the dead bodies of our enemies,
but in the souls that will never die.
1 Corinthians 15:55-57
Brethren, it is entirely possible that some souls may be saved specifically because of the struggles we are having and how we deal with them.
So, I want to encourage all of us - be there for each other, be aware of the struggles many are going through and do all we can to strengthen, to encourage, to help in any way possible that we all might be strengthened to first of all, trust in the Lord to give us the strength to deal with our struggles but also to do all we can to set that example for those around us of what it means to truly trust in the Lord and love and care for each other.
Until next week, I love you all,
Dan
RSS Feed