God never gives up.

God is never disappointed.

We can give up. We can be disappointed. But God never is or does.

We are totally, completely, accountable for our behavior. God holds us responsible.

At the same time, God is omni-everything. He is all-powerful. He is present everywhere. He knows everything. And God ALWAYS accomplishes His holy plan.

In God’s providence, He takes innumerable events and actions and uses them to fulfill His purpose.

In addition, for believers, He continues to work on us and in us to make us more like His Son. He is making us more godly, preparing us for glorification when He takes us home.

For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus. (Philippians 1:6)

I am so grateful.

“I couldn’t help it!” Has someone said that to you? Or have you said it to yourself?

Oh no.

That may feel true, and for unbelievers may partly or mostly be true. They are slaves of sin. (John 8:34)

However, believers were freed from sin and became slaves of righteousness. (Romans 6:18)

We now are learning how to live righteously, which results in sanctification.

Growth is a process, but the great good news for believers is that we have been given EVERYTHING we need for life and godliness.

 His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. (2 Peter 1:3)

That is both an incredible, awesome gift, and it creates an obligation for us to use His gifts.

As we grow in Him during this life, we increasing know how to appropriate His gifts to us, and we, more and more, reflect Him.

When we sin, we have the opportunity to examine how we didn’t use the resources He gave us.

We are encouraged by His promises and His gifts, by the indwelling Holy Spirit that enables our godly living, and by our protection by the power of God through faith.

Rejoice!

Last week’s post included times that Jesus left certain groups or places. (Is it Too Late?)

There are also times a person or group leaves Him or demands that He leave them.

And they were seeking to seize Him, and yet they feared the people, for they understood that He spoke the parable against them. And so they left Him and went away. (Mark 12:12)

And they began to implore Him to leave their region. (Mark 5:17)

You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me; and you are unwilling to come to Me so that you may have life. (John 5:39–40)

They were unwilling to believe.

This is about salvation, of course, but also about day-to-day obedience

Therefore, just as the Holy Spirit says, “Today if you hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts as when they provoked Me, as in the day of trial in the wilderness.” (Hebrews 3:7–8)

Take care, brethren, that there not be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart that falls away from the living God. (Hebrews 3:12)

Daily openness and willingness

We need, on a daily basis, even moment-by-moment, to be conscious of our Lord, to rely on Him, to pray without ceasing. We must not refuse to listen and follow Him, which would lead into increasing heart-hardedness.

Father, HELP us live in a way that pleases You.

Is it too Late? Are we to leave? Go away?

Sometimes Jesus left people or an area and went away

After these things Jesus was walking in Galilee, for He was unwilling to walk in Judea because the Jews were seeking to kill Him.” (John 7:1)

But the Pharisees went out and conspired against Him, as to how they might destroy Him. But Jesus, aware of this, withdrew from there. (Matthew 12:14-15)

 “An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign; and a sign will not be given it, except the sign of Jonah.” And He left them and went away. (Matthew 16:4)

But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that He had done, and the children who were shouting in the temple, “Hosanna to the Son of David,” they became indignant and said to Him, “Do You hear what these children are saying?” And Jesus said to them, “Yes; have you never read, ‘Out of the mouth of infants and nursing babies You have prepared praise for Yourself’?” And He left them and went out of the city to Bethany, and spent the night there. (Matthew 21:15–17)

Jesus’ order to the 12 He sent out:

“Any place that does not receive you or listen to you, as you go out from there, shake the dust off the soles of your feet for a testimony against them.” (Mark 6:11)

Jesus’ order to disciples:

“Do not give what is holy to dogs, and do not throw your pearls before swine, or they will trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.” (Matthew 7:6)

What Paul and Barnabas did:

Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly and said, “It was necessary that the word of God be spoken to you first; since you repudiate it and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we are turning to the Gentiles.” (Acts 13:46)

What are we to do?

Sometimes we are met with repeated rejection. Or hostility. Sometimes with outright hatred for God. Or, of course, sometimes after a “no,” the next time we talk to that person God opens their eyes, ears, and heart.

We’re not omniscient, and we are called to pray and be discerning. Sometimes we are to move on to other people, other groups.

Keep praying 

Now He was telling them a parable to show that at all times they ought to pray and not to lose heart… (Luke 18:1)

With people it is impossible, but not with God; for all things are possible with God. (Mark 10:27)

Ask for discernment.

Sometimes we are to keep talking with that person or group. Sometimes we need to turn our efforts elsewhere, and leave that person/group to the Lord,

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Almighty God, HELP! I want to be salt and light. I want to reflect You. I want to tell others about You. I want to work with the people You have marked out for me. I don’t want to keep going in one place if You want me elsewhere. Please help me discern Your will.

God’s prophesies and promises are History. History written in advance.

Almighty, Sovereign God knows the end from the beginning. When He speaks, He tells us truth about what is coming. Truth about the heavens and the earth. Truth about the scope of human actions and results. Truth about the future of the righteous and the unrighteous.

Believe Him when He speaks.

There is  great, glorious good news for those of us who have repented, believe in the Lord Jesus Christ as our only Savior, and have received Him as Lord and Savior.  God’s promises to us are sure things. History. History written in advance.

Glorification

When God tells us we are/will be glorified, we will be glorified. Even though we haven’t seen it yet, it is a guaranteed fact.

… and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified. (Romans 8:30)

When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory. (Colossians 3:4)

Look at all God’s promises to His redeemed as history. History written in advance.  

Everlasting life

Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes has eternal life. (John 6:47)

Grace in time of need 

Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. (Hebrews 4:16)

Help in our weakness

In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words;” (Romans 8:26)

And more!

And, of course, there is A LOT more! Read God’s prophesies and promises as truth. As history written in advance.

And rejoice.

“Mixed” Families and Friends

I hope this doesn’t apply to you, but we all know of families and friends who are at odds due to different political beliefs. There are families who no longer celebrate holidays together. There are friends who no longer speak. There is abundant advice about how to handle “mixed” gatherings without it degenerating into permanent separations and all-out-trouble.

I think these current experiences are a “heads up” about divisions among family and friends due to their beliefs about or rejection of Jesus Christ. Some people are getting to practice because of politics.

Jesus Christ told us He came to bring division.

Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I came to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; and a man’s enemies will be the members of his household. (Matthew 10:34–36)

Do you suppose that I came to grant peace on earth? I tell you, no, but rather division; for from now on five members in one household will be divided, three against two and two against three. They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law. (Luke 12:51–53)

We know persecution of Christians is coming (and now is). We are warned. Read Hebrews 11 to see some examples of past events. Read stories of missionaries and stories (and books) about martyrs. Read current news! What if you have to deny Christ in order to keep your job? Your bank accounts? Your retirement fund? In order to shop for groceries? And what if your spouse, son, daughter adamantly oppose your refusal to deny the Lord? They are affected also, and think your refusal to deny Christ is silly, detrimental to them, etc. etc. etc.

Far-fetched?

Get ready.

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Father, please strengthen our faith and our determination to stay faithful. Please help us look beyond our trials to You. Thank you for Jude 24-25:

Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy, to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen. (Jude 24–25)

(I wrote this post and the previous one, God is At Work, prior to the assassination attempt on Donald Trump…)

I’ve read that humans cannot truly “multi-task,” but, rather, we rapidly shift from one task to another.

That is NOT true of Almighty God!

Our Almighty God is infinite. Infinite in knowledge and wisdom. He is everywhere at once. He knows everything. He is in control of everything all the time, choosing to allow or prevent our sin, choosing to allow or prevent evil, and determining the results. He is all powerful. Nothing is impossible for Him.

We sometimes talk about the number of our “irons in the fire.” God’s “irons in the fire” are infinite and the number does not task Him.

What we may think is chaos actually is God working in many things at once (like usual!). His “band-width” is infinite. No detail is too small. No future date is out of His mind.

A good or unwelcome event in our lives doesn’t just affect us. It affects people around us. And someone around us may actually be the important one. God is at work in it all. And all the time.

So …When we see what looks like chaos to us, we should see that as a trigger to trust God and pray.

God is at work:

In believers

For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus. (Philippians 1:6)

In those who will be redeemed

The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance. (2 Peter 3:9)

In the world

And He [the Holy Spirit] … will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment; concerning sin, because they do not believe in Me; and concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father and you no longer see Me; and concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged. (John 16:8–11)

In the heavens and earth

In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. (John 14:2)

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea. (Revelation 21:1)

Press On and Praise Him! Hallelujah!

Bewildered.

I can see an event totally differently than someone I know. Different perspective. Different language. Different reality. Different world-view. It can be very difficult or even impossible to have a conversation about that event. There are many instances of friendships ending, or even families splitting, over these differences.

Is that what happened at the tower of Babel when God confused people’s languages? They could no longer talk with or understand everybody, but could talk with and understand only some. People naturally gathered with those they could understand, and those separate groups moved away together.

Today’s world seems similar to me. People can have such firmly held points of view that others may not be able to explore those points of view with them. Folks can have entrenched patterns of behavior that are only acceptable to some, and they gather with those with similar manners.

I don’t have to fill in the blanks. You know.

From a spiritual perspective, we may or may not have a calling to reach out to some groups. But we need to pray.

Lord, come! Soon!

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ. (Ephesians 1:3)

His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness… (2 Peter 1:3)

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We, believers, saints in Jesus Christ, have EVERY spiritual blessing. We have EVERYTHING pertaining to life and godliness.

We ALREADY have everything.

This truth is both enormously encouraging AND enormously sobering.

Our job through this life is to grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ, to learn to walk according to the Holy Spirit, and to appropriate, possess, what Almighty God, through Jesus Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit, has ALREADY given us.

Of course, we’ll never arrive, but our responsibility is to press on towards Christ’s likeness.

While this sounds like “mission impossible,” and while we will not achieve Christ-likeness until heaven, it IS possible to learn how to use what He has already given us and to live, more and more, in a way that is worthy of Him.

Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus. Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3:12–14)

Press on!

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BLESSED! Rape to Redemption to Rewards is available at BookLocker, Amazon, and elsewhere. Kindle is coming soon.