Why Should I Trust God with My Pain? by Rick Warren

“I am suffering here in prison. But I am not ashamed of it, for I know the one in whom I trust, and I am sure that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him until the day of his return.” (2 Timothy 1:12 NLT)

When you’ve got something that is very precious to you, whether it’s rare, expensive, or an heirloom, and you don’t want it to be stolen, broken, or burned up, you take it to the bank and entrust it to the protection of a safety deposit box.

Even more than a locked box in your bank, whatever you entrust to God, he’s going to take care of. You can count on it. He has a track record. Other people may not have a consistent track record of taking care of things for you. But whatever you entrust to God, he will take care of it.

So, what do you need to entrust to God today? I’ll tell you what it is — it’s whatever you’re worrying about. Whatever you’re worrying about, you need to entrust it to the safety deposit box of God’s love.

Worry is practical atheism, because it’s acting like you don’t have a Father in Heaven who loves you and who can be trusted, like you’re a spiritual orphan. Worry is unbelief; it’s saying you don’t believe the 6,000 promises God made in the Bible.

The most difficult time for you to put stuff in God’s safety deposit box is when you’re in pain. When you are suffering, you don’t want to trust even God. You want to pull it back and hold it to yourself.

Paul knew this, but he also knew that when you’re in pain, that’s when you need to trust God the most. He said, “I am suffering here in prison. But I am not ashamed of it, for I know the one in whom I trust, and I am sure that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him until the day of his return” (2 Timothy 1:12 NLT).

I talk to people sometimes who say, “I’m afraid to give my life to Jesus Christ because I’m afraid I won’t be able to keep the commitment.”

Let me just be honest with you: You can’t keep your commitment. You will mess up! Fortunately your salvation isn’t based on your keeping the commitment. It’s based on Christ keeping his promise and taking care of what you’ve committed to him.

*******Have fun till we meet again*******

Spiritual Thirst

I was blessed by this. Please read, be blessed and show others. 

How to Satisfy Your Spiritual Thirst
by Rick Warren

“Anyone who drinks this water will soon become thirsty again. But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life.” (John 4:13-14 NLT)

If you feel unsatisfied with your life and you want to live a fulfilled, meaningful life, you need to stop looking for satisfaction somewhere besides Jesus.

We’re always looking around, trying to find something to make our lives happy and significant. We think, “If I could just wear this kind of clothes, then I’ll be cool. If I could just have plastic surgery and get this fixed, then life would be grand. If I could just get this job, I’ll be satisfied.”

The Bible says in Jeremiah 2:13, “My people have done two evils: They have turned away from me, the spring of living water. And they have dug their own wells, which are broken wells that cannot hold water” (NCV).

Not only have we rejected God and not looked to him to meet all our needs and satisfy our lives; we’re also trying to meet our needs on our own. These wells we’ve dug called a career or good looks or a golf game aren’t going to hold water.

In John 4:13-14, Jesus says, “Anyone who drinks this water will soon become thirsty again. But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life” (NLT).

Sin is addictive. It only makes you thirstier! If you don’t believe that, ask anybody who’s looked at pornography — once is not enough. If you are addicted to prescription medication, one pill is not enough. If you have a problem with anger, you’re not going to get angry just once. Sin creates greater thirst for satisfaction.

But Jesus offers living water that will permanently satisfy your thirst.

If you feel unsatisfied with your life, that’s called spiritual thirst. And the only one who can quench that thirst is the one who said, “I thirst.” Jesus thirsted on the cross so you don’t have to thirst. He paid for what you don’t have to pay for. He became thirsty so you never have to be thirsty again.

*******Have fun till we met again*******

GRACE!

Good morning
By Rick Warren
“God had Christ, who was sinless, take our sin so that we might receive God’s approval through him.” (2 Corinthians 5:21 GW)

If you were to Google this question, “Who has saved more human lives in history than anybody else?” you would find a name you probably never heard of. When Norman Borlaug died in 2009 at the age of 95, the world hardly noticed, even though he’s one of only seven people to have won the Nobel Peace Prize, the Congressional Gold Medal, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Who was Norman Borlaug? He was an agricultural scientist who invented high yield, drought and disease-resistant crops that in the 20th century saved more than 1 billion people from starvation. Before Norman Borlaug, many countries like China, India, and Pakistan had famines every single year. Now those countries export food because of the crops that Borlaug developed.

Borlaug was a Christian and a lifelong member of an evangelical Lutheran church. In fact, his faith was the driving force for all of his scientific efforts. When he received the Nobel Prize, he quoted from the book of Isaiah as his motivation for what he had done. Borlaug was a truly great man, a real hero. But if you had asked him, “Were you the savior of the world?” he’d say, “no.”

Even someone like Norman Borlaug needs a Savior.

That’s why “God had Christ, who was sinless, take our sin so that we might receive God’s approval through him” (2 Corinthians 5:21 GW).

It’s the great exchange, friends. God takes all the junk in your life, all your pettiness, all your ego, all your anger, all your jealousy and gossip, all the thoughts and actions and words that you’ve ever said that were unkind, and he puts them on himself so you don’t have to pay the penalty for your sins. The perfection of Jesus covers you so you can enter God’s perfect place called Heaven.

What a deal! That’s called grace, and it’s the only way you’ll ever get into Heaven — by accepting God’s gift of grace in his Son, Jesus Christ.
This is wonderful!
*******Have fun till we meet again*******

WAIT!

Genesis 15:1-6 NLT

"Some time later, the lord spoke to Abram in a vision and said to him, “Do not be afraid, Abram, for I will protect you, and your reward will be great.” But Abram replied, “O Sovereign lord , what good are all your blessings when I don’t even have a son? Since you’ve given me no children, Eliezer of Damascus, a servant in my household, will inherit all my wealth. You have given me no descendants of my own, so one of my servants will be my heir.” Then the lord said to him, “No, your servant will not be your heir, for you will have a son of your own who will be your heir.” Then the lord took Abram outside and said to him, “Look up into the sky and count the stars if you can. That’s how many descendants you will have!” And Abram believed the lord , and the lord counted him as righteous because of his faith."

Despite his advanced age, Abraham believed God and was called righteous (v.6). Yet he waited 25 years from the time of the initial promise for Isaac to be born (17:1,17). Waiting for God’s promises to be fulfilled is part of trusting Him. No matter how long the delay, we must wait for Him. As the writer of Hebrews reminds us, “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful” (Heb. 10:23).

Not so in haste, my heart!
Have faith in God, and wait;
Although He seems to linger long,
He never comes too late.
—Torrey
Habakkuk2:3-" For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry."
*******Have fun till we meet again*******

Content!

   Hebrews 13:5-8 NLT

"Don’t love money; be satisfied with what you have. For God has said, “I will never fail you. I will never abandon you.” So we can say with confidence, “The lord is my helper, so I will have no fear. What can mere people do to me?” Remember your leaders who taught you the word of God. Think of all the good that has come from their lives, and follow the example of their faith. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever."
        God is always present in our own lives when a heartbreaking tragedy occurs, such as the death of someone we love. We have no completely satisfactory answer to life’s painful problems. We do know, however, that the Lord is present with us, for He said He would never leave us (Heb. 13:5). Jesus’ name “Immanuel” literally means “God with us” (Matt. 1:23).

Even though suffering baffles our minds, we can trust God to be near and to work out His purposes.

God’s unseen presence comforts me,
I know He’s always near;
And when life’s storms besiege our soul,
He says, “My child, I’m here.”
—D. De Haan
Hold on to this promise in the book of Hebrews through various storms of life!
*******Have fun till we meet again*******

"It is well"

Good morning!
Isaiah 3:10 "Say ye to the righteous, it shall be well with him; for they shall eat the fruit of their doings"
      This is a verse i have been thinking on and wondering about the real context of the verse. This verse has always been quoted  "Say ye ------- it is well-------" instead of "--------it shall be well-------". When you consider all that is happening in the church and in the world and what the word of God says which is always the truth there is a tendency that doubt will begin to creep into the lives of Christians because the meaning of the verse gets changed when it is quoted as "is" not "shall".
   This verse when quoted appropriately is clearly telling us that even despite all things, rough edges and issues all round, in your family, your job or businesses  etc, things will still work out for the children of God who believe him totally! This is confirmed in Proverbs 10:11a "The mouth of a righteous man is a well of life"
All being well for a child of God is not a life of no storms but a life of calm in the midst of the storms!
*******Have fun till we meet again*******

April!

What does a new month mean to you? Does it mean new opportunities, new strength or energy? To me it means new opportunities to do things right , to please God and commit my life afresh to him. It is a time to check our priorities and our way of life, check what is important to us. It is also a time to review our relationship with God and check if positive changes has happened in the past months in our lives. It is also a time to check our attitudes so far towards situations and people.
There are so many things we can input into the new month but we should choose the one that will ensure that God is tightly knitted into us and this entails a life of obedience to God's word to ensure a successful life, Joshua 1:8 and Isaiah 1:19 "if ye be willing and obedient,  ye shall eat the good of the land"
Happy New Month!!!!!
*******Have fun till we meet again*******