Quick and Easy!

My step-dad was in hospital again, he has reached that age where his body is starting to fail, if it is not cancer it’s something else. The rules of life’s arrangement reaching a climax, which we will all eventually confront; the throes of death looms for all for we are born to die! Sin has taken care of that!

Along the journey of life we have been taught to seek out quick and easy fixes; people gravitating towards new diet pills and the like, just as long as it works without too much effort. “Quick and Easy” a way of life for many! Something totally contrary to ongoing sanctification in Christ for the Christian; God does not work with “no more nails” as an easy alternative, the lessons we are taught along life’s journey is painstaking and carries with it many tears. But God who is rich in mercy is persistent with His children and continues to nurture us even when we are brazen! We have to “learn obedience through suffering”, this is the only way we will learn true obedience. “Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered. And being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him.” (Hebrews 5:8-9) - A very foreign concept to our natural understanding but perfectly worked out in God’s brilliance.  We must remember that God is perfect in everything He does; “You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” (Matthew 5:48)  - This means that there can be no better way to learn obedience! Suffering through the trials of life will work out perfect obedience when it has run its course, Wow! When our minds are unable to reconcile certain truths, this does not mean we should not believe the written Word of God. In fact faith demands our commitment to the Word of God, if we oppose it in any way all that proves is our unbelief!

Our lives should not be filled with quick and easy fixes, although we are always looking for them. We ask brothers for 10 step programs and even our pastors teach us application through their ministry. “Give me a list of what to do” is our cry! Many believe that if we follow a list we will achieve true obedience. Surface Christianity will never take us any deeper; our lives must become saturated with the gospel; it is about life and then some as we believe in our perfect Father God to work it out in our lives. HIV, cancers, heart attacks, unemployment and the grind of life are all working for our good and the Word is very clear on this. It is time for us to start believing the actual Word of God over our own pathetic suppositions and all the negativity of erratic voices from a dying world.

It is important that I qualify this thought; it is only for the good of those who have been saved by the blood of the Lamb. To those who have been called by the most High. If there are those who have rejected the message of the gospel then the same things that work together for our good are working together for their destruction. Nevertheless God is glorified through both, molding and fashioning the universe in accordance with His sovereign will. The sooner we learn to accept this reality the happier we will be. Everything we see unfolding through life, both the good and the apparent evil will always end up glorifying our God! How do I know this? Because He is perfect, and perfection cannot be tainted in any way, even though I may not understand it completely, this changes me and not God, praise His glorious name now and forevermore, Amen and Amen! Faith demands our loyalty to this truth!

Here is a verse that proves my point; “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28)  - Therefore the lovers of God have a journey to march and at times that excursion will get rough, but whatever happens along the way, it has been designed for our eternal benefit. Yes even death, disease and retrenchment are all working together for the believers good and to the glory of God. Faith demands that we accept this truth even when our mind through circumstance wants us to believe something else.

Just before I am misunderstood, I have not ever implied that if we have cancer we must not acknowledge our cancer and blame the disease on unrepented sin in our lives. We must not be chumps! It is no more than a lie, false doctrine and a ploy from Satan. God forbid we even think like that! We must all eventually learn through our most difficult times to give God the glory for everything that happens; it is for our good! Did you know that Elisha, the man who received a double portion of the prophet Elijah blessing, died from a sickness, which had nothing to do with the sin in his life. Sickness may result from disobedience in our lives, but not always! Remember Job! And even if we are dull of hearing hardships and illnesses are often there to teach us to open our ears as we learn to depend upon our God and not to rely on our independence, which we have all in some form or another been hoodwinked into believing that she is our kin when in fact she is the enemy. True Faith depends on God and takes Him at His Word; it does not rely on our independence to get us through any given situation, this type of reasoning proves unbelief and we must repent from it!  

Signing off

Tyrone