James 1:2-4(KJV)

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Yesterday I sat across from a young woman who had decided to quit – she wasn’t happy. I asked, “what makes you happy?” She couldn’t tell me, just that now she wasn’t. We explored options and looked at what happiness meant, but all she could grasp was the gnawing deep inside that things weren’t right and that she needed a transition to get on the right track. I’ve watched the frat boys and trophy girls spin the fake living the dream. I’ve seen them party all weekend and wake up lost and undone. I’ve watched them chase sex, money, and pleasures of all sorts and see the hollowness in their eyes as relationships and their lives spin out of control in a whirlwind of confusion and chaos. A friend in I rolled up to a beautiful brick, two-story house one day. Here in middle-class luxury, with new cars, trucks, four-wheelers, a boat, two beautiful children, and a wife, the man sitting by the pool had lost his face in the deliberate shotgun blast – a drunk beer on the stand and family picture in his lap, and his life seeping into the concrete. And Jesus called to the crowd, “Whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel's will save it” (Mark 8:35 ESV). Can you hear that call? I want to reach to the one who has lost their way, to the one for whom life is undone, to those who seem to have it together but are trembling and scared but seeking a new way – If you’ll lose your life for His sake, your gonna gain something. Peter, tell me about it – was your choice worth the price you paid? Peter had met Jesus Christ earlier when Andrew, his brother, had brought him to Jesus, saying, “We have found the Messias” (John 1:41-2). Then, Peter, when Jesus shows up on the shores of Galilee months later and says, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” And the scriptures say that “Immediately [you] left [your] nets and followed him” (Matthew 4:19-20 ESV). Peter, I know it was a ride, an unimaginable adventure with tremendous ups and downs, highs and lows, but was it worth it? Peter writes, “For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty.” (2 Peter 1:16 KJV). I can hear the ring of that clarion voice sounding – It’s not a myth, it’s not a fable; it’s power and majesty! Peter, what about the difficulties and the dark days? Remember, it was you who sank in the sea and you who cursed and denied Christ; it was you who walked away hurt and confused! Peter writing from his experience, writes, “And we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts” (2 Peter 1:19 ESV). Hey lonely heart, wandering soul, you who want to quit and are desperately seeking a transition, can I tell you again, the word of God is sure, powerful, and effectual. And it will meet you exactly where you are. The writer of Hebrews encouraged the Jews, “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account” (Hebrews 4:12-13 ESV). You can take courage knowing that when you place your life in His hands, we have a high priest who is able to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. We can, with confidence, draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need (Hebrews 4:15-16 ESV). Trouble-free, no! Trial free, not hardly. But your happiness will not be found in external circumstances. Happiness is being established and steadied. And there is none who can stand you up as He can. In fact, it’s the trials and the hardships that will awaken the joy in you when you serve God. James wrote it like this, “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing” (James 1:2-4 ESV). So, when you have cast your lot on Him, there is this perfecting and sculpting that takes place that forms the new you into what the Master has chiefly designed, and His image can be sculpted in you. The old chorus says, “There’s a Heaven to gain, and a Hell to shun; The way is still straight, there’s a race to be run. You can live as you please, but you must pay the cost; the highway to Heaven still goes by the cross. I’m reaching for someone counting that cost and considering their change. I’m pulling for you. You know the loneliness of your nights and the ache of your heart. There is healing for you. You can choose to lay down the life you have lived and turn. You can choose to shun the way that seems right to a man and walk with God. And there’s peace there. Look at Stephen. Here is a man who gave his life to Christ and is busy doing the work God has called and entrusted him to do when he meets opposition. Here is an opposition that we rarely see. His audience stoned him. As they killed him, Stephen says, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them” (Acts 7:60 ESV). I don’t know the opposition you are facing, and I don’t know the circumstances that you are struggling with, but if you are in Christ, there is this peace that you can hold on to and this comfort that it’s all right. Turning to Christ is not all loss and pain. Paul writes to the Philippians, “But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus, my Lord. For his sake, I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith” (Philippians 3:7-9 ESV). Here is a man who had worldly power and influence. He reckons it as nothing for the gain of Christ. In Christ, there is hope, there is love, there is joy, and there is peace, even amid great trials and tribulations. Remember Peter’s walk on the water – that was a troubled sea on a stormy night, but walk he did, over tempest-tossed waves. I want to tell you, the Saviors still bids you come, get out of that boat, get out of that lost cause, get out of that situation, and walk to Him – His is the power over the waves, but more, His is the power to liberate you in your difficulty. So, in him, you can find your life. Jesus said, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly” (John 10:10 ESV). Sometimes we look only at heaven to gain, but Jesus said, I’ve come that you may have abundant life. That’s life now, not tomorrow or in the by-in-by in the sky – abundant life now! I know you struggled to find your happiness and that place you clicked in. You’ve moved from place to place, position to position, friend to friend, maybe marriage to marriage or partner to partner, but I want to tell you, Jesus said, if you will let go of this life you think you should have to follow me, your will save your life (Mark 8:35 ESV), and that life will be abundant. #happysabbath #lifechanger #christianity #reformation #Salvation #christ #dailydevotion #faithwalk #disciple #faithful #faith #discipleofchrist #revival #HolySpirit #dailydevotionalreading #Christians #faithfulness #crosswalk #Jesus #faithforward #impact #walking #jesusname #doctrine #bible #biblescripture #lifehacks #moveforward #change #pentecostal
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Yesterday I sat across from a young woman who had decided to quit – she wasn’t happy. I asked, “what makes you happy?” She couldn’t tell me, just that now she wasn’t. We explored options and looked at what happiness meant, but all she could grasp was the gnawing deep inside that things weren’t right and that she needed a transition to get on the right track. I’ve watched the frat boys and trophy girls spin the fake living the dream. I’ve seen them party all weekend and wake up lost and undone. I’ve watched them chase sex, money, and pleasures of all sorts and see the hollowness in their eyes as relationships and their lives spin out of control in a whirlwind of confusion and chaos. A friend in I rolled up to a beautiful brick, two-story house one day. Here in middle-class luxury, with new cars, trucks, four-wheelers, a boat, two beautiful children, and a wife, the man sitting by the pool had lost his face in the deliberate shotgun blast – a drunk beer on the stand and family picture in his lap, and his life seeping into the concrete. And Jesus called to the crowd, “Whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel's will save it” (Mark 8:35 ESV). Can you hear that call? I want to reach to the one who has lost their way, to the one for whom life is undone, to those who seem to have it together but are trembling and scared but seeking a new way – If you’ll lose your life for His sake, your gonna gain something. Peter, tell me about it – was your choice worth the price you paid? Peter had met Jesus Christ earlier when Andrew, his brother, had brought him to Jesus, saying, “We have found the Messias” (John 1:41-2). Then, Peter, when Jesus shows up on the shores of Galilee months later and says, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” And the scriptures say that “Immediately [you] left [your] nets and followed him” (Matthew 4:19-20 ESV). Peter, I know it was a ride, an unimaginable adventure with tremendous ups and downs, highs and lows, but was it worth it? Peter writes, “For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty.” (2 Peter 1:16 KJV). I can hear the ring of that clarion voice sounding – It’s not a myth, it’s not a fable; it’s power and majesty! Peter, what about the difficulties and the dark days? Remember, it was you who sank in the sea and you who cursed and denied Christ; it was you who walked away hurt and confused! Peter writing from his experience, writes, “And we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts” (2 Peter 1:19 ESV). Hey lonely heart, wandering soul, you who want to quit and are desperately seeking a transition, can I tell you again, the word of God is sure, powerful, and effectual. And it will meet you exactly where you are. The writer of Hebrews encouraged the Jews, “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account” (Hebrews 4:12-13 ESV). You can take courage knowing that when you place your life in His hands, we have a high priest who is able to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. We can, with confidence, draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need (Hebrews 4:15-16 ESV). Trouble-free, no! Trial free, not hardly. But your happiness will not be found in external circumstances. Happiness is being established and steadied. And there is none who can stand you up as He can. In fact, it’s the trials and the hardships that will awaken the joy in you when you serve God. James wrote it like this, “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing” (James 1:2-4 ESV). So, when you have cast your lot on Him, there is this perfecting and sculpting that takes place that forms the new you into what the Master has chiefly designed, and His image can be sculpted in you. The old chorus says, “There’s a Heaven to gain, and a Hell to shun; The way is still straight, there’s a race to be run. You can live as you please, but you must pay the cost; the highway to Heaven still goes by the cross. I’m reaching for someone counting that cost and considering their change. I’m pulling for you. You know the loneliness of your nights and the ache of your heart. There is healing for you. You can choose to lay down the life you have lived and turn. You can choose to shun the way that seems right to a man and walk with God. And there’s peace there. Look at Stephen. Here is a man who gave his life to Christ and is busy doing the work God has called and entrusted him to do when he meets opposition. Here is an opposition that we rarely see. His audience stoned him. As they killed him, Stephen says, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them” (Acts 7:60 ESV). I don’t know the opposition you are facing, and I don’t know the circumstances that you are struggling with, but if you are in Christ, there is this peace that you can hold on to and this comfort that it’s all right. Turning to Christ is not all loss and pain. Paul writes to the Philippians, “But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus, my Lord. For his sake, I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith” (Philippians 3:7-9 ESV). Here is a man who had worldly power and influence. He reckons it as nothing for the gain of Christ. In Christ, there is hope, there is love, there is joy, and there is peace, even amid great trials and tribulations. Remember Peter’s walk on the water – that was a troubled sea on a stormy night, but walk he did, over tempest-tossed waves. I want to tell you, the Saviors still bids you come, get out of that boat, get out of that lost cause, get out of that situation, and walk to Him – His is the power over the waves, but more, His is the power to liberate you in your difficulty. So, in him, you can find your life. Jesus said, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly” (John 10:10 ESV). Sometimes we look only at heaven to gain, but Jesus said, I’ve come that you may have abundant life. That’s life now, not tomorrow or in the by-in-by in the sky – abundant life now! I know you struggled to find your happiness and that place you clicked in. You’ve moved from place to place, position to position, friend to friend, maybe marriage to marriage or partner to partner, but I want to tell you, Jesus said, if you will let go of this life you think you should have to follow me, your will save your life (Mark 8:35 ESV), and that life will be abundant. #happysabbath #lifechanger #christianity #reformation #Salvation #christ #dailydevotion #faithwalk #disciple #faithful #faith #discipleofchrist #revival #HolySpirit #dailydevotionalreading #Christians #faithfulness #crosswalk #Jesus #faithforward #impact #walking #jesusname #doctrine #bible #biblescripture #lifehacks #moveforward #change #pentecostal
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