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Do Trials Really Get Us Ready for Heaven?

5/22/2014

A common teaching that I received as a young Christian was that the trial we have on earth prepares our character and spiritual life for heaven. It made sense enough that the testing of our faith produced mature spiritual character.

James 1:2-4
Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. 4 Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

Now that I am older, it does not make sense that trials get us ready for heaven. As stated by the author of James, trials produce maturity when our faith is tested. Is this maturity needed to live where Jesus is present and no sin exists? What would I need to persevere over or through?

Perseverance is needed here and a crown of life is given to those who stand up under trial.
James 1:12
Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love Him.

God allows trials in your life and will give you everything you need for victory. The devil sends temptations into your life and gives you everything you need for failure. Your success results in crown of life, perseverance, maturity, and completeness with nothing lacking in your life.

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Blurting vs Keeping

5/21/2014

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When my oldest daughter visits, her younger sister gets a little overwhelmed with the volume and speed of conversation she receives. She finally told her sister that there seems to be no holding place for her sister’s thoughts; they instantly come out. Her observation is true, my older daughter processes while she speaks and my younger daughter processes in her mind. My older daughter takes after me.

Sometimes I blurt out my thoughts and they are not formed well. They are in process and the lack of refinement results in raw bluntness. I read a Proverbs this morning that describes my speech as foolish.
Proverbs 12:23 (NIV)
The prudent keep their knowledge to themselves,
but a fool’s heart blurts out folly.

I know I need to think before I talk instead of talking it out and then thinking. I want to be the wise person and not the fool. Why does the proverbs state that it is prudent to keep knowledge to yourself? The New Living Translation helps make sense of this:
Proverbs 12:12 (NLT)
The wise don’t make a show of their knowledge,
but fools broadcast their foolishness.

I am working on being wise with my voice and not foolish.
Do you blurt or do you keep your knowledge until the proper time?

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Conflict and the Church

5/19/2014

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A father heard a commotion in his yard and looked outside to see his daughter and several playmates in a heated quarrel. When he reprimanded her, his daughter responded, "We're just playing church!"

There’s not a single church that is conflict-free. If you find one, don’t join it because it won’t stay that way long.

The Bible records all kinds of conflicts that the early church faced:
* Acts 6 is the conflict over a certain group of widows that were neglected while another group was being cared for.
* Acts 15 is a theological conflict over what to make the Gentile believers observe of Moses’ law
* Paul and Barnabas were in conflict over whether to take John Mark on their second missionary journey, causing them to split up their great ministry team.

The people of God have always struggled to get along with each other. During Jesus’ ministry on the earth, His disciples argued about who would be the greatest in the kingdom. And if you go back to the OT you find as much conflict among the people of God as in the NT.

James 4:1,7-10
1 What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you?
7 Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.

James is writing to Christians. He does not ask or guess if conflicts are occurring, he knows it is happening. James offers four solutions for creating a culture of peace in the local church.

Creating a culture of peace requires you to:
>Take God seriously (vs 7)
>Take satan seriously (vs 7)
>Take sin seriously (vs 8)
>Take prayer seriously (vs 10)

If each of us lives these four solutions in our churches, we will create a culture of peace in our local churches.

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Mother's Day and Conflicts

5/12/2014

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Mothers face unique conflicts every day. Mary, the mother of Jesus, faced conflicts she had never experienced before. She became pregnant before marriage without a physical relationship with any man. Mary, raised God’s perfect Son. She raised other children that were not sinless. She must have fought back comparing her other children with Jesus. Mary saw and heard the hatred people had towards her son. She saw her grown child receive a brutal beating and crucified on a cross.

Jesus told people that following Him creates conflict.
Matthew 10:32-39
“Whoever acknowledges Me before others, I will also acknowledge before My Father in heaven. 33 But whoever disowns Me before others, I will disown before My Father in heaven.
34 “Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. 35 For I have come to turn
“‘a man against his father,
a daughter against her mother,
a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law--
36 a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.’
37 “Anyone who loves their father or mother more than Me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of Me. 38 Whoever does not take up their cross and follow Me is not worthy of me. 39 Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for My sake will find it.

This sounds like contradiction to Isaiah 9:6, which describes Jesus as the Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace. Jesus brings peace between the believer and God. He brings peace among humankind, but He creates conflict between light and darkness.

Jesus values families, but He makes it clear that conflict can happen between members of the same family if some follow Him and others do not; following Jesus matters more than the approval of families. This is the first mention of the cross. Those listening to Jesus’ words knew the cross was an instrument of death and symbolized total commitment.

Mary did not give up or give in to the conflicts around her. Mothers, do not give up, but by the power of the LORD, keep on praying, loving, and hoping.

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Why Our World Will Get Better

5/6/2014

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Every day the news can convince a person that the world is getting worse by the minute. Reports of mothers killing their children, boyfriends beating up their girlfriends and ruthless dictators building their palaces while people in their country starve can make it hard to believe that our world will ever get better. It will.

God has promised that there will be a day when there will be no more wars, no child will go to bed hungry and when love will be the central theme of life. God gave the disciple John, a clear vision of what that world will be like and John wrote it down in the book of the Bible named Revelations.

Revelations 21:1-4
Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. 2 I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and He will dwell with them. They will be His people, and God Himself will be with them and be their God. 4 ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”

The reason the world will get better is because God has told us and He will make it happen. The Bible refers to this change in the global landscape as ‘the day of the LORD’. Only those who have put their entire trust and love in Jesus will experience this new world. A world with no pollution, no violence, no corruption – instead it will be a world of virtue, love, kindness, purity, and tremendous joy.

The old world will be destroyed in order for the new to come. The disciple Peter writes how we are to live now, while waiting for this day.

2 Peter 3:10-13
But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare.
11 Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives 12 as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. 13 But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells.

Today, be ready - be holy.

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God Uses Conflict

5/5/2014

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Harvey MacKay, author of several books including, Outswimming the Sharks, compares two acorns from the same tree planted in two separate locations. One acorn is planted on hill by itself and the other in a thick forest. The acorn planted on a hill is exposed to every storm and receives the full brunt of every wind. Its roots grow deep to support itself from the harsh environment. The acorn in the thick forest grows up weak, shielded by the rest of the trees, it has shallow roots.

Mackay, shares that the two trees represent the lives of people. The winds of conflict and adverstity cause people to put down deep roots in their lives. Lou Holtz, hall of fame football coach, said “Show me someone who has done something worthwhile and I’ll show you someone who has overcome adversity.” It is true.

God uses conflict to deepen our roots and accomplish his purposes. The life of Joseph in the Bible is a great example of this. At age 17, Joseph was sold by brothers to slave traders. They made it look like he was killed by wild animal to their father. After working as a slave for several years, Joseph is falsely charged by the owner’s wife and ends up in jail. At age 30, he interpreted Pharaoh’s dream and is promoted to second in command of Egypt. Nine years later, Joseph’s brothers come to Egypt to buy grain – 22 yrs after they sold him.

Genesis 45:4-11
Then Joseph said to his brothers, “Come close to me.” When they had done so, he said, “I am your brother Joseph, the one you sold into Egypt! 5 And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you. 6 For two years now there has been famine in the land, and for the next five years there will be no plowing and reaping. 7 But God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance.
8 “So then, it was not you who sent me here, but God. He made me father to Pharaoh, lord of his entire household and ruler of all Egypt. 9 Now hurry back to my father and say to him, ‘This is what your son Joseph says: God has made me lord of all Egypt. Come down to me; don’t delay. 10 You shall live in the region of Goshen and be near me—you, your children and grandchildren, your flocks and herds, and all you have. 11 I will provide for you there, because five years of famine are still to come. Otherwise you and your household and all who belong to you will become destitute.’

Joseph let the conflict deepen his roots and accomplish God’s purposes. Bitterness, revenge and anger were not a part of Joseph’s life.

Harvey MacKay, wrote of four people who overcame adversity and conquered conflict. Author and poet Maya Angelou was 3 years old when her parents separated. She was raped at the tender age of seven and as result did not speak for nearly 6 years. Angelou published seven autobiographies, three books of essays, several books of poetry, contributed to many plays, movies, and television shows.

Former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and his family were forced to leave Germany in 1930’s due to the Nazi movement. He was in New York City and could not speak English. Kissinger entered the US army. He earned his bachelor’s, master’s and doctorate from Harvard.

Carol Burnet, actress, comedian, singer and writer had alcoholic parents. She was raised by her grandmother in an impoverished area of Hollywood.

Hank Aaron, the baseball player who broke Babe Ruth’s home run record, grew up in poor family picking cotton. His family could not afford baseball equipment, so Aaron practiced hitting bottle caps with sticks.

Let God use the conflicts in your life to deepen your roots.
Let God use the conflicts in your life to accomplish His purposes.

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Does Prayer Work?

5/1/2014

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Today is the National Day of Prayer and there will be more prayers prayed in our nation than any other day throughout the year. With all these prayers lifted up to God from gatherings all across our nation, we should experience more answers today than any other day. Is that how it works? Does prayer work?

I pray three passages from the Bible each morning, as a reminder to myself about the effectiveness of prayer.
Matthew 7:7-8
“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.”
Matthew 21:22
“If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.”
1 John 15:14-15
This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. 15 And if we know that He hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of Him.

This seems like a sure fire formula for answered prayer: ask, seek, knock, believe, and ask in His will. However, not all of my prayers and not all of your prayers get answered. You may be told that God answers all prayers. Others may say that they just are not answered in the way I expected. God answers either, “yes, no or wait”.

Perhaps you have seen times when God answers in an amazing way and even have seen Him answer in a miraculous manner. I have experienced both and also experienced times when He does not even answer, “wait”.

Prayer does work. God expects you to pray. God is in control and there are times when the sin stain of this world is allowed to produce suffering and injustice. Prayers are not answered. But, prayer is more than making requests to God. It is deepening a relationship with God. It is conversing and listening.

Unanswered prayers does not mean that prayer does not work. The work of prayer in your life includes a growing love towards the LORD because you share an ever-growing love for the God who made you, gives you a destiny to live and will one day be with us face to face.

Prayer works.

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Do Trials Really Get Us Ready for Heaven?

Blurting vs Keeping

Conflict and the Church

Mother's Day and Conflicts

Why Our World Will Get Better

God Uses Conflict

Does Prayer Work?

Mark Radeke

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