Romans 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.
When I was in school, it seemed they ran a “fire drill” at least once a year. A long, loud, kind of scary bell would sound and we knew it was either a real fire, or, more likely, just another drill. We were formed into lines, ushered down the halls, and out the doors we went. Of course, the point was practice….so we would be prepared for a real fire.
Drills are preparations for real threats. They are “trials”. They test and prepare our readiness, give us opportunity to try on the emotions and actions we would experience in a genuine crisis. We need them and should even “count it pure joy” because they’re necessary for our growth and maturity [James 1]. And trials are graduated; that is they get harder, kind of like math tests, they seem even to build on one another. Abraham’s life was like that; just consider the different trials he endured leading to the sacrifice of Isaac.
Life in the world has always been full of real dangers, threats, crises, and disasters, though some of us have been spared from much of them. Yet now, it seems, we’ve got a tough drill to face; one which can really test our mettle. Uncertainty, limitation, perplexity, discomfort, maybe illness and genuine lack, altogether pack the power to raise our emotional temperature and really threaten our trust. Some people are unfazed but plenty of others are moved toward the edges of their capacity to cope.
It’s time to discover our resources; first of all, to remember our Father’s providence in every past drill that He sent us. Even when there was a real fire, He somehow got you out the door. You learned something on the other side of the threat; you were changed. He was there.
This word, “All things work together for good to them that love God and are the called according to His purpose”, is deeply apprehended by people whom the Lord has taken through serious troubles. “Suffering produces perseverance, (and) perseverance, character…”
We were born for this, and we were born again for this. Our life here is simply a preparation for eternity. Trials are preparation for eternity because they perfect our faith and form the character of Christ in us. Don’t be surprised when they escalate; the goal is for us to graduate. Anxiety and panic are not for us, but for the faithless. We just need to tell each other that God will pull us through, and will shortly take us Home. We know the drill. We can pass through…
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[worthy_plugins_devotion_single_body]The Bible tells us that the last days would be like the days of Noah. As the mass of humanity witnesses the signs of increasing violence and evil manifesting in ways that seemed incomprehensible even just a decade ago, we are focusing on the peace that faith brings through the present storm. Though the ark he built for the flood was perhaps not the most luxurious boat ever made, Noah and his family were able to abide in God’s rest through the most terrible weather in human history.
Continuing from yesterday concerning storms; not sure we can place Noah’s flood, a worldwide conflagration, in that category, but if there really is such a thing as a “Perfect Storm”, that was…and Noah and his family were, anyway, prepared. And it’s been said that we are in the recapitulated, “Days of Noah”; [Matthew 24:37].
Our relationship with the Lord is repeatedly expressed as a marriage. And human marriage has been expressed as a type of the Divine union of Messiah and His Bride. When a man and a woman are joined together in a marital union, the two together acquire a new level of strength according to this word. In that context, here in Israel and elsewhere, it is also said that, “A threefold cord is not easily broken.” But where is the third cord?
People often ask me why I so enjoy Shabbat and the rest it affords and why I preach on it so often. Some people think it’s a “legalistic” attitude, but actually, I’m simply being relational. They need to remember that our relationship with the Lord Yeshua is bridal; it’s a marital relationship. [; ; ]
This story is such a powerful illustration of testing and faith that I can’t help but speak about it over and over again. How the Lord could sleep in a boat in a violent storm speaks volumes about His own self-confidence and His natural capacity to disappear from the scene so He can check how well His disciples have apprehended His miraculous power, and really trust Him. He doesn’t spare them one tiny bit from the sense of real and imminent danger. The storm is ferocious, the waves gigantic, the boat really is being overwhelmed with water, nearly swamped, the situation truly is life-threatening, and He’s out, quietly refreshing Himself in dreamland.
During the past two weeks, I’ve received numerous emails responding to our understanding of Israel in the Bible, clearly indicating a need for a more comprehensive explanation of my point of view. This will require a bit more space than …
Yeshua (Jesus) is described as the “image of the invisible God” [; ], that is, God, manifesting Himself in a visible, tangible form, a human form in whom dwells all the fullness of Deity [; ; ], equal with God before Creation [; ], but choosing to be emptied of His glory for the purpose of incarnating as a flesh and blood human being on Earth; [].