Still (Cover by Lhix Ambz)

I Am The God That Healeth Thee by Don Moen cover by Lhix Ambz

I Am The God That Healeth Thee by Don Moen cover by Lhix Ambz

I am not ashamed of the Gospel by Heritage Singers cover by Sunshine Ambs

I Want To Be Where You Are by Don Moen cover by Lhix Ambz

Thank You Lord by Don Moen cover by Lhix Ambz

BOW THE KNEE cover by Lhix Ambz

Receiving Yourself in the Fires of Sorrow

…what shall I say? "Father, save Me from this hour"? But for this purpose I came to this hour. "Father, glorify Your name." —John 12:27-28

As a saint of God, my attitude toward sorrow and difficulty should not be to ask that they be prevented, but to ask that God protect me so that I may remain what He created me to be, in spite of all my fires of sorrow. Our Lord received Himself, accepting His position and realizing His purpose, in the midst of the fire of sorrow. He was saved not from the hour, but out of the hour.

We say that there ought to be no sorrow, but there is sorrow, and we have to accept and receive ourselves in its fires. If we try to evade sorrow, refusing to deal with it, we are foolish. Sorrow is one of the biggest facts in life, and there is no use in saying it should not be. Sin, sorrow, and suffering are, and it is not for us to say that God has made a mistake in allowing them.

Sorrow removes a great deal of a person’s shallowness, but it does not always make that person better. Suffering either gives me to myself or it destroys me. You cannot find or receive yourself through success, because you lose your head over pride. And you cannot receive yourself through the monotony of your daily life, because you give in to complaining. The only way to find yourself is in the fires of sorrow. Why it should be this way is immaterial. The fact is that it is true in the Scriptures and in human experience. You can always recognize who has been through the fires of sorrow and received himself, and you know that you can go to him in your moment of trouble and find that he has plenty of time for you. But if a person has not been through the fires of sorrow, he is apt to be contemptuous, having no respect or time for you, only turning you away. If you will receive yourself in the fires of sorrow, God will make you nourishment for other people.

The Ticking Clock

Read 2 Peter 3:1-18

9The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent. 10But the day of the Lord will come as unexpectedly as a thief. Then the heavens will pass away with a terrible noise, and the very elements themselves will disappear in fire, and the earth and everything on it will be found to deserve judgment. 11Since everything around us is going to be destroyed like this, what holy and godly lives you should live, 12looking forward to the day of God and hurrying it along. On that day, he will set the heavens on fire, and the elements will melt away in the flames. 13But we are looking forward to the new heavens and new earth he has promised, a world filled with God’s righteousness. 2 Peter 3:9-13

When visiting another country or culture, we may discover that the sense of time is quite different from our own. What does it mean to be on time? How long should something take? Another country, another timetable. It behooves us to adjust if we want to get along.

God’s sense of time is the focus of this reading. Here Peter explains that God’s timing is different from that of humans. Despite the differences, however, Peter encourages readers to have patience. God is in control and has not forgotten his people. As you read, consider how you can be both watchful and relaxed.

Note that hope is held up in abundance in this reading, as is the example of Jesus.

Some of the Christians to whom Peter wrote faced harassment and suffering for their faith. They knew that God planned an eventual judgment of the earth, when all would be put right. But they wondered, Why was he waiting? and Why not do it now? Peter told them: God has a different timetable than we do (2 Peter 3:8-9; see Psalm 90:4).

While we anxiously await God’s gavel of justice to fall, God patiently waits for more people to repent. He moves with perfect timing, not slowness.

Keep waiting with Jesus for more people to repent and turn to Him. Each day he delays is another opportunity for us to have compassion as he does and to give a few more people an opportunity to accept Him. Use the time God’s given you to spread the Good News.

This is an excerpt from:

The One Year Through the Bible