What are the benefits of suffering, for the Christian? It makes us more sensitive to life… it draws us to heaven… it deepens our perception of obedience… we become more thankful… and more.
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Lessons from Suffering
James Baer
True Piety
Are you a man who is faithful to Christ, to His Word, to His principles? Are you humble and free of self-conceit and of proclaiming yourself good?
Unconditional Love
God loves us with an unconditional love. This means that His love for us did not depend on us first meeting His standard of holiness. So if you are a sinner, His unconditional love is for you.
Is Your Talent Buried?
Christ has given spiritual gifts unto men. He furnishes the church with the necessary tools “for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ.” The gifts are varied and many.
Why I Love the Bible
I love the Bible . . . because it is the Word of God . . . for its unity and cohesion . . . because it is strictly honest . . . because the Holy Spirit speaks through it . . . for its consolations, confirmations and conciliation
Is God on Trial?
God is not the originator of evil. That is the devil’s domain. He, together with the evil men and women he has seduced to sin, creates the suffering that goes on in the world today. The broken homes, the abused children, the adulterous relationships, the killing of untold millions of the unborn, are all testimony of man out of control . . .
Give Up Now
“He, that being often reproved hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy.” Proverbs 29:1 A hardened neck is the result of a hardened heart…
Forgiveness Brings Hope
People live with a lot of bitterness today. Many go around for years carrying grudges and hate toward others. Every time they think of someone or some experience, they are bitter. Maybe you are filled with bitterness. But you can be set free…
Fear God, Not Man
The fear of man is a trap, and it imprisons and paralyzes us. It overpowers the fear of God in our life and keeps us from pleasing Him.
Fall on This Stone
Our surrender to the lordship of Christ is essential to our salvation. As the text says, we either fall on Christ and are broken, or He falls on us in judgment. He calls us to a life of self-denial that leads us into a life the flesh would never want to live.
Drenched in Joy
We are drenched with joy as our guilt is removed. We are drenched with joy in the fellowship of Christians who have faced the same things we have. We get soaked in the blessings of worship and praise….
Do Not Lose Your Childlikeness
When He wants us to be men of God, Christ calls us to be children. God calculates greatness on a different scale than we do. We cannot continue with earthly notions about greatness. Instead, we need to be converted and become as little children.
Cooperating with the Inevitable
There are many things in our life that we cannot change. We cannot change where we were born, nor the family we were born into, nor the color of our skin. We do not choose which disease we get, nor even the time of our death. There is much in life that is inevitable. We love our families, our wives and children, our grandchildren. But brace yourself for the inevitable….
Comfortable or Good?
… making a man comfortable does not make him good. The opposite is true. God knows that with the sinful nature of man, given to choose the flesh over the more noble spirit, we will persistently follow selfish inclinations and destroy ourselves.
Changes Coming
… change is inevitable. We may be enjoying good times or facing hard times. Whichever it is, things will change, as Christ warned His disciples. This too will pass, for better or for worse.
Can Good Morals Save Us?
We can be the best moral man in the world, and still be lost. If our thoughts are not pure, or our motives are not pure, we are still sinners. You may never commit adultery, but if your mind is there, you are an adulterer just the same. You may never commit murder, but if you are murdering your brother daily in your mind, you are a murderer just the same.
Are You Afraid?
Fear comes in many forms and it may become a real hindrance to our faith and trust in God. It seems that life brings continuing reasons to fear, as our situations change. We all experience those times when we are afraid. But God does not want us to live in fear.
A Time to Keep Silent
The strength of the Gospel is its valid claim to change a man or woman from a loud and boisterous sinner into a quiet, confident saint. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth and the life.” As the Way, He shows us how to walk, and where to walk. As the Truth, He give us a correct worldview. As the Life, He shows us how to live.
A Serious Mistake
Why would a way seem right when it is not right? Are there things about this way that show us it is wrong? Is it possible we are deluded? Let’s think about some things that would help us avoid a way that only seems right.
A Right Way to Die
If we want to die the death of the righteous, we need to live the life of the righteous. In order to live the life of the righteous, we need to allow God to make us righteous. This is where Baalam failed the test.
A Proper Sense of Values
We make value decisions every day, and these should be based on what God esteems. He values honesty, simplicity, holiness, kindness, goodness, mercy, obedience, and humility. Do our choices reflect these qualities? We must not fear the cost of doing God’s will.
The Lord’s Highway
Take the time to go with me on a tour of the highway that leads to the pleasures at the right hand of God. The redeemed walk in this highway, and we are all invited. Come to the way, the highway of our Lord.
A Commitment of Faith
Read: Psalm 116. “For thou hast delivered my soul from death, mine eyes from tears, and my feet from falling.” Psalm 116:8 Are you praising God today?
A Church with Parkinson’s
People with Parkinson’s face much frustration as the disease progresses. The body no longer obeys the head. Did you know churches can have Parkinson’s symptoms as well? This becomes evident when members stop obeying the commands of their head, Jesus Christ.
A Rebel Soul Faces the Judge
A soul in rebellion against Christ stands before the Christ he has denied. He has died in rebellion and has already bowed prostrate before Christ, and now in disbelief hears himself acknowledge this same Christ as Lord.
The Ultimate Question
Do I love God? Our eternal destiny hangs on this question. But HOW can we love God? We’ve never seen Him so how can we love Him?
No Water, No Oil, No Kiss
…our eternal destiny depends on who we love. We cannot be devoted to Christ while giving place to the devil. What does real devotion to Christ look like?
One of the Least of These
Christ expects us to do so. He fully expects us to feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, take in strangers, clothe the naked, visit the sick, and go to those in prison.
Know Yourself
We seem to know more good things about ourselves than bad things, but we seem to know more bad things about others than we know of their good things. I wonder why that is?
True and Living Praise
Our devotion and love for God and for His Son Jesus Christ should draw us to the expression of a living praise. Praise issues forth from a satisfied and contented heart. Ponder a few things with me from this text that are truly thrilling for the child of God and that cause us to praise Him.