Real Comfort

What for the Christian is our real source of comfort for difficult times?

Is it the Word of God? There great comfort to be found in the promises of God. These promises gives a sense of stability during our rocky moments. But there are other sources of comfort.

Is it the presence of family and friends? Yes when we are down, the emotional support of family and friends helps to encourage us. They also provide physical support helping with the chores and errands we are unable to accomplish. But there are more sources of comfort.

Is it the prayers of others and the knowledge of their prayers? I have always found it encouraging to know that they were upholding me before the throne of grace. But there are other sources of comfort.

Is it the knowledge that God has determine to use our trials as a means of bring Glory to himself and using our difficulty for our good? Yes that is helpful but in a sense it does not remove the present pain. It only gives us a long range view of our trials. But there are other sources of comfort.

Can you suggest for yourself other sources of comfort? After you have made your list, look it over to see if you have included what I consider the greatest source of comfort. It is not praying FOR someone but praying WITH someone. I find that when someone prays with me during my trials, I am spiritually and emotionally energized. Someone took the time to call me on the phone to pray with me or made a special effort to visit with me for the specific purpose of praying WITH me.

After looking at this list, how would you rate yourself as a comforter?

Life's Storms

Recently, I experienced a accident in which I was seriously hurt. I went back over my posts and felt this one was a good source of encouragement for me and all who read it.

Is there hope in the midst of life's storms? The obvious answer is yes. Then why do I still feel so hopeless and so alone when facing life's difficulties? How do I correct the disconnect between knowledge and emotion? It is so much easier to speak the truth to others then to personally experience the truth in the storms of life.

Where do we begin? Let's start with the Word of God and view both sides of the picture. Let's see the difference between what the disciples perceived to be true and what was really true. In Mark's gospel, we read that as the disciples crossed the Sea of Galilee at night a storm arose. It as a raging storm that threatened to capsize their boat and cast them helpless into a raging sea.

How did the disciples respond? Their response was one of aloneness and a paralyzing fear. Why? They neither fully understood the person of Jesus nor remembered his teachings. While they were in the midst of the storm, what did they fail to realize? They were totally unaware that Jesus was praying for them and that He was totally aware of their dilemma. Mark says that from the mountain top where Jesus was praying "he saw them toiling and rowing."

Faith makes real for us two very important truths. The first is that Jesus sees us when we cannot see Him. Secondly He is with us even when He is physically absent.We must learn to focus on these same two truths. The first, the Bible tells us that Jesus is at the right hand of the Father making intercession for us. [Hebrews 7:25] The next truth has two facets to it. He has promised never to leave or forsake us. [Hebrews 13:5, 6] Since this is true, He is always knows our difficulties.

How then do I keep from the same disconnect the disciples experienced? How do I keep from feeling a sense of aloneness that allows me to be overcome with fear and hopelessness? Let me suggest four simple thoughts.First, be a good student of the Word of God and commit the truth of God's Word to memory. Second, remind yourself of theses truths as often as possible so that in difficult times they will be a source of comfort and hope. Third, recognize there is no disconnect between the physical presence of the Lord and His presence. Jesus does not have to be physically present to comfort and strengthen us. Lastly even though you do not feel Jesus presence, it does not mean He is not present. His protective presence is always with us but our comfort comes from the knowledge of His presence. How many times while here on earth did Jesus heal someone while being physically absent from that person?

True faith not only believes something is true but obeys the truth. In times of difficulty stop, remember and pray. Let the truth control our feeling, not our circumstances.There is one overriding truth that makes all this possible and provide us with hope in difficult times. Jesus is the Son of God, sovereign ruler over all things. It is He who says to us in the midst of life's storms, "Be of good cheer! It is I: do not be afraid."

Is Prayer Essential?

Recently while going through my files, I came across the following on the importance of prayer by Dr. Dale Crowley. I hope it will both challenge and encourage you,

“Prayer is just as essential for the child of God in the spiritual realm as breathing is for us in the natural. Without it God cannot move in our behalf, for prayer is our avenue of approach to Him through Christ.

Scripture has much to say about this important sub­ject. ‘The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.’ (James 5:16) Does it work? It surely does.

Jacob prays: The angel blesses him and Esau’s revenge is changed to love.

Joseph prays: He is delivered from the prison in Egypt.

Moses prays: Anialek is discomfited and Israel tri­umphs.

Joshua prays: The day is lengthened and victory is gained.

David prays: God forgives him and he goes out to win others to the Lord.

Jehoshaphat prays: God turns away His anger and smiles.

Elijah prays: A little cloud appears, it begins to rain and the famine is broken.

Elisha prays: A widow’s son is restored to life and food is provided.

Isaiah prays: The Assyrian army is put to flight.

Hezekiah prays: The sun dial is turned back arid his life is prolonged.

Mordecai prays: Haman is hanged and Israel is set free.

Nehemiah prays: The king’s heart is softened in a moment.

Daniel prays: The lions lose their appetite.

The disciples pray: The Holy Spirit is poured out.

The church prays: Peter is delivered by an angel.

Paul and Silas pray: The prison shakes, the doors are opened, and the Philippian jailor is saved.

Read God’s promises in John 15:7 & Matthew 7:7, 8.”

Praying for Your Missionaries

"Brethren, pray for us." [1 Thessalonians 5:25] "Finally, brethren, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may have free course, and be glorified, even as it is with you." [2 Thessalonians 31] "Pray for us: for we trust we have a good conscience, in all things willing to live honestly." [Hebrews 13:18]

Missionaries need our prayers. They need to know that we are faithfully upholding them before the Throne of Grace. Knowing people are praying for them is a real source of encouragement. We need to be more specific that simply pray "God bless so and so." When you pray for the missionaries you know or support you need to pray:

1. For their health;
2. For their finances [with all the ups and downs in the value of the dollar, their financial situation changes everyday];
3. For their children to be protected from the influences around them;
4. For their mental health that they do not become discouraged, lonely, irritable, sharp or impatient;
5. For their spiritual well-being that they do not succumb to temptation;
6. For proficiency in language studies;
7. For their ability to adapt to new climates and cultures;
8. For opportunities to present the gospel;
9. For hindrances to their ministry to be removed; and
10. For grace sufficient to meet the tasks set before them and wisdom to make right decisions.
11. Above all pray that they will glorify God in all they do.

These are but a few suggestions on how you can pray for your missionaries. If you have some ideas, writes us we will add them to our list.

Make Suffering Your Servant

One of the first things we do in the face impending difficulty is to pray. Why do we pray? One of the reasons given to me for praying is that it “helps me feel better.” We are to pray not to feel good but to be good.

Among the many reasons God allows suffering in our lives is for the development and demonstration of godly character. But godly character is not an end in itself but the means to an end. When we pray, the content of our prayer must focus on the primary reason for our suffering, the development and demonstration of godly character for the glory of God. The end in view is the glory of God.

In order for us to accomplish this purpose, we must learn obedience. The driving force for obedience should never be profitability. We must be taught to obey because it is right! Our obedience should flow from an inward constraint driven by love for God rather than an outward compulsion driven by fear.

There is nothing wrong with praying to escape suffering. Paul asked God three times to take away the thorn in his flesh but said no. When God says no our tendency is to ask God for the ability to endure suffering as though it is our master. The right direction for our prayers is to acknowledge suffering should be our servant by asking God to use it for His glory and our good. In order for this to happen, there are three ideas we must embrace.

The first, our suffering is a gift from God. “…there was given to me a thorn in the flesh…” [2 Corinthians 12:7] Secondly, for our times of suffering God gives us another gift – grace. “And he said unto me, ‘My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness’” [12:9]. By this gift of grace He gives us the strength to do, to become what we cannot do or become in our own strength. Godly character is the fruit of the Spirit of God not the product of human effort. Thirdly as we have already mentioned, we are to glorify God in our sufferings. “Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake” [12:10]. This lesson we can learn from the Lord Jesus. Knowing the time of His death was near, He prayed: “Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour. Father, glorify thy name.” [John 12:27, 28a]

When you face difficult times, have you made yourself available to be an instrument for all around you to see the glory of God? Can you like the Lord Jesus submit to the difficulties of life by simply praying, “Father, glorify thy name?” It is a prayer of complete trust and confidence in the workings of God in your life during life’s difficulties.

Love and Forgiveness

Yesterday morning I went to Reveille. It is a small prayer group that meets at our church. Pastor shared with us three words that we all love to hear. They are “you are forgiven.” He spoke of all the three words that are normally grouped together and said of all them “you are forgiven” has the greatest impact upon us. To know that God has forgiven us our sins sets us free from the burden of sin. It is also the foundation of our eternal hope.

While pastor was speaking three other words came to mind – I love you. These words raised the question, “How do you say I love you?” One way to say it is to forgive a person who has offended you. Our greatest example of this was Jesus when he cried from the cross, “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do…” [Luke 23:34] Jesus was the personified expression of God’s love to us. The apostle Paul told us that “…God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” [Romans 5:8]

We do not forgive people we hate because hate holds on to offenses and seeks retribution. Love forgives. Anger does not allow us to forgive. Anger seeks to retaliate not forgive. When we learn to love rather hate or respond with kindness rather than anger and forgive those that offend us, we set ourselves free from the bondage hate and anger bring us under. We also demonstrate as Jesus did the love of God that not only transforms people but relationships.

When we tell a parent, spouse or child we love them, the best demonstration of that love is to exercise forgiveness. God’s Word tells us, “And they shall teach no more every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.” Jeremiah 31:34

The meaning in Hebrew for “remember” is to mention, or recount. To forgive means that you will not let their offensive acts hinder your relationship and you will never again remind them of their actions. How often in a disagreement with a parent, spouse or child have you reminded them of past failures for which you supposedly forgave them? To raise the past is an indication you have not really forgiven them. How would you like it if God continually reminded you of all you past failures?

Just think how this one act of love can change your relationship with a parent, spouse or a child?

Without Hope

Scripture urges us in times of sorrow that we “sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.” [1 Thessalonians 4:13] When loved ones die who know the Lord, we are to express our sorrow but our sorrow is tempered by our hope. We are not to sorrow as those who have no hope.

Who are they who have no hope? Paul tells us in Ephesians 2:12 it is those without Christ have no hope and are without God. The foundation for our hope is resurrection of Christ from the grave [1 Corinthians 15]. Our possession of eternal life guarantees a life in heaven with Christ and we will be united with those who have died in the Lord. Real hope does not come in religion alone or to those who fall under the general banner of “Christian” but only of those who have a personal relationship with Jesus.

“It is a sad thing to die without hope--so to die as to have no hope for ourselves, and to leave none to our surviving friends that we are happy. Such is the condition of the whole heathen world; and such the state of those who die in Christian lands, who have no evidence that their peace is made with God.” [Barnes]

As I shared with you in previous blogs, my father recently died. He had a personal relationship with the Lord, therefore we have the assurance that we will meet again in glory. Let me explain it this way. My parents lived in SC and we got to see them every 3 or 4 years. When we left them to return home there was a sadness that the visit was over but we realized we would see them again. The fact of seeing them again tempered our sadness. Now both my parents have died and are with the Lord enjoying life in heaven and in many ways our parting due to death is no different. They have moved on and we have returned home but one day we will see them again. That is the hope that tempers our sorrow.

Albert Barnes said of those with hope and without God when facng the dead of a loved one, “that they had no evidence that their souls were immortal; or that, if they still lived, that they were happy; or that their bodies would rise again. Hence, when they buried them, they buried their hopes in the grave; and so far as they had any evidence, they were never to see them again. Their grief at parting was not mitigated by the belief that the soul was now happy, or by the prospect of again being with them in a better world. It was on this account, in part, that the heathens indulged in expressions of such excessive grief. When their friends died, they hired men to play in a mournful manner on a pipe or trumpet, or women to howl and lament in a dismal manner. They beat their breasts; uttered loud shrieks; rent their garments; tore off their hair; cast dust on their heads, or sat down in ashes.”

What a difference a personal faith makes when dealing with sorrow. Do you have a personal relationship with Jesus? Now I didn’t ask you if you belong to a church, if you are religious or if you try to live a moral life but do you have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. If you don’t, you are without hope and without God. Here’s how you can get information on how you can have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. You can email us with your questions or ask for a FREE copy of the booklet “Can We Be Good Without God?". Our email address is hopetriumphant@yahoo.com. One other resource is the November 18, 2008 entry “Whiter Than Snow.”

Lonely But Never Alone

“…weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning." [Psalm 30:5]

When I see a person with tears running down their cheeks it invokes in me both painful and joyous memories. Tears can be tears of sorrow expressing grief over loved one’s death and at other times anguish over sin committed. Then there are the tears of pain, loneliness, compassion and yes, even joy.

How often have you found yourself in circumstances like the Psalmist who said, “I am weary with my groaning; all the night [or every night] make I my bed to swim; I water my couch with my tears”[1] wondering if our difficulties will every come to an end. Maybe your tears like those of the Psalmist reflected inner doubts as they “continually say unto me, Where is thy God?”[2] On other occasions your tears may have come as the result of “comforters” that instead of comforting us acted as judge and jury in their condemnation. No one understood what that was like more than Job. He cried out, “my friends scorn me: but mine eye poureth out tears unto God.”[3]

When it comes to those moments that evoke tears, no one understands us more than our Savior. John tells us that our Savior wept over the death of Lazarus and the writer of Hebrews reminds us that as our great high priest Jesus is able to comfort and encourage us because He was touch with the feeling of our infirmities. When it comes to pain and suffering, our Savior’s knowledge goes beyond intellectual knowledge. He experienced all the physical pain suffering brings. Jesus’ knowledge went even further. He experienced all the feelings that normally accompany pain and suffering.

The most important facet of our tears is that they do not go unnoticed by God. David said, “thou tellest my wanderings: put thou my tears into thy bottle: are they not in thy book?”[4] Elsewhere he cried, “depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity; for the LORD hath heard the voice of my weeping.”[5]

In moments of emotional crisis we need to remind ourselves of what we know to be true. We know the following to be true:

1. God knows when we are hurting;
2. God cares for us;[6]
3. God never leaves us alone. We may feel lonely in our times of pain and sorrow but we are never alone;[7]
4. God does hear our prayers;[8] and
5. Our pain and suffering is temporary. Even if it lasts for a lifetime, it is still temporary when we consider the eternal suffering of all those who enter into eternity without Christ. In contrast the believer will spend eternity in heaven where there will be no more tears because all those things that produced pain and suffering here on earth will be gone.[9]

We often deal with the pain and suffering of others by overlooking it and focusing on the “benefits.” We talk about God’s purpose for allowing a person’s pain and suffering. About how a person will grow and mature as a result or how it will better able us to minister to others. That’s true and should never be left out of the equation. If in reaching out to others that is or entire focus, we are miserable comforters. People need someone to recognize their pain and to help wipe away the tears. It’s not so much finding the right things to say or giving them a handkerchief but providing a silent shoulder on which they can cry. In the recesses of our hearts during our moments of pain and suffering, we know God cares for us. We need to now if anybody else really cares.

[1] Psalm 6:6
[2] Psalm 42:3
[3] Job 16:20
[4] Psalm 56:8
[5] Psalm 6:8
[6] 1 Peter 5:7
[7] Hebrews 13:5
[8] Isaiah 38:5
[9] Revelation 7:17; 21:14: Isaiah 25:8

Comfort

“In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began.” Titus 1:2

My wife and I traveled to South Carolina 2 ½ years ago for my Mom’s funeral and again last week for my Dad’s. Both trips were long and somewhat unexpected even though both my parents we in their late 80’s. Just before my Mom died we had just been to see her. She was recovering from a fall but doing well. Before leaving I had the chance to read the 23rd Psalm to her and pray with her but I did not see my Dad before he died. My brother asked me to do the funeral and I reluctantly consented. My text was Psalm 23.

There is great comfort for the child of God in the 23rd Psalm. We walk our entire lives in the shadow of death but we do not walk alone. There may be times when we are not aware of the Lord’s presence but He is always there. His presence is both our comfort during the trials of life and our hope of eternal life. For me it has been a great source of comfort that both my parents knew Jesus Christ as their personal Savior and their journey through the valley of the shadow of death ended in glory in the presence of their Lord and Savior.

While have had to say goodbye here on earth, one day we will be reunited with them in glory. The Bible has much to say about heaven but two things are most important to me. The first is that Jesus will be there and the second is that in heaven there will be no more goodbyes, no more separation from loved ones.

Mom and Dad will be missed but our sorrow is not a sorrow of hopelessness but one tempered by the realization our separation is only temporary. The key to our hope is that we have a promise from God and He cannot not lie nor will He. As the hymn writer wrote, “My faith has found a resting place – not in device or creed: I trust the Ever-living One – His wounds for me shall plead…Enough for me that Jesus saves – this ends my fear and doubt; A sinful soul I come to Him – He’ll never cast me out…My heart is leaning on the Word – The written Word of God: Salvation by my Savior’s name – Salvation thru His blood. The refrain reads: I need no other argument, I need no other plea; It is enough that Jesus died, and that He died for me.” Yes Jesus is my comfort and His Word is my hope during these days of sorrow.My faith is not something I hope will happen or something I wish for against all odds but a sure thing based upon the Word of a God who cannot lie.

Where is your hope today? Do you have the assurance of eternal life? There is a wonderful booklet I would like to send to you if you have questions about your future destiny. The booklet is titled The Ultimate Question. If you would like a free copy of this booklet send an email to hopetriumphant@frontiernet.net and you will receive this booklet no questions asked [not meant to be a pun].