LIFE IS A GRIND.

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Life is a grind.

If you have not found that out - you have not 

lived very long.  Even the rich and the famous 

have their share of problems.  Perhaps different

ones than you and I have, never the less, problems.

There are two purposes for problems.  One of course

is to show us that we are not capable of handling life

by our selves.  They are supposed to make us take our

eyes off of ourselves and look up to God for help.  I 

have encountered this one far to often in life.  Yet I 

am much better off because of it.

The other one I want to mention is true only of those

who have come into a relationship with God.  No,

not joined a church or gone through some ritual or 

stood on their head trying to be "spiritual" or some

thing.  But come into a personal relationship with

God.   Which by the way does not get you out of 

conflict like some would try to teach you, but may 

increase problems - for a purpose.

Considering problems or suffering in whatever form

it may come, consider this quote of A.B. Simpson.

"Are you living in the crucible?  Then take heart!

Some thing beautiful is about to happen at the hands

of your creator".

"Crucible" is a word I do not hear much any more, but

one of the definitions of "crucible" is:

"3. a severe test or trial, esp. one that causes a lasting

change or influence."

But even more importantly is God's opinion on the 

matter, consider one of numerous passages:

"My friends, consider yourselves fortunate 

when all kinds of trials come your way,

for you know that when your faith succeeds

in facing such trials, the results is the ability

to endure.  Make sure that your endurance

carries you all the way without failing, so 

that you may be perfect and complete, lacking 

nothing."

(James 1:2 -4 GNT)  

But what is the outcome?

This is really where I am wanting to come.

"I consider that what we suffer at this present

time cannot be compared at all with the glory

that is going to be revealed to us.  All of creation

waits with eager longing for God to reveal his

children."

(Romans 8:18,19 GNT)  

Did you catch that?

If we are in a true relationship with Jesus Christ,

every thing we suffer here on earth will turn out

to our glory.  Even nature it's self is waiting to see

this.

TODAY'S QUOTE

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"A season of suffering is a small price to pay

for a clear view of God."

-Max Lucado

THE MAJORITY

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One of the sad facts of life is that generally the majority

is wrong.  This has been shown time after time.  One of 

those that stand out to me is when the apostle Paul was

being transported to Rome as a prisoner.   They were on

 a ship when the weather turned against them.  The apostle

recommended that they travel no further.  But, "... the

majority reached a decision to put out to sea from there,"

Interesting to me is that in the "majority" were the "experts";

a centurion, pilot and the captain of the ship.  If you have 

ever read the account you know that the trip ended in total 

disaster for the ship.  Note that the one man on the ship who 

was walking and living with God was the apostle Paul who's

advice was ignored.

Two quotes stand out to me.

"One and God make a majority."

-Frederick Douglass

and

"A man in the right, with God on his side,

is in the majority though he be alone."

-H. W. Beecher.

Give me the Holy Bible and a relationship

with Jesus Christ  and I'll forget the majority.

JOY IN THE MIDST OF TROUBLE

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It has been rainy all week long.  A time when the arthritis

and a gloomy attitude want to take over.  A time of longing

for spring and some sunshine.

Yesterday when I was finishing up a project on a piece of 

equipment my wife pulled up to the shop door in her car

to speak to me.  About the time she rolled her window down

we both begin to smell something electrical burning.  At first

we did not know if it was the equipment I was working on,

or her car.  It was her car.

It ended up that the problem was the compressor for the 

air conditioning system had locked up.  This "fried" the

clutch [cause of the smell] and broke the serpentine belt.

"O joy"  That was a play on words.  That was anything but

good news to me.

I have the equipment to repair it.  But, I burned out on

working on cars twenty years ago.  That was not a task

I was looking forward to.  I wanted a break from problems.

However,  last evening I noted something.  A joy, a real

honest to goodness joy was springing up in me.  Not 

something put on trying to put on a happy face and pretend

that everything will get better.  But a real joy or happiness

that I did not have to generate.  I knew what it was, I have

experienced it before.  We call it the joy of the Holy Spirit.

This joy that comes from God himself does not come from

going to church, or joining a church, or having the correct

doctrine or theology, saying a certain pray, or doing some

ritual, but simply being in relationship to God himself.

When we yield ourselves to Jesus Christ and have him

come in and take over our life his Spirit - the Holy Spirit -

moves into our life and that is the source of the joy that

springs up in us when things are tough.

That joy has strengthened me and given me the confidence

to dig into this problem - ready or not.

Thank you Jesus.

TODAY'S PROMISE

"But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and 

his righteousness; and all these things shall

be added unto you."

(Matthew 6:33)  

PRAYERS THAT WORK

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This morning I was reading about one of the miracles that was

the result of pray in the Bible.  This made me reflect on some 

of the miracles in my own life that were the result of pray, i.e.

real prayer.

First it would be right to mention a couple of "facts of life."

One, God is God and his will or purpose is going to be done

whether we like it or not.  So, don't expect him to turn this old

world into heaven just to please you.

Two.  If I were a child wanting something that my parents

could not afford, I would not expect to run up to the big 

house on the hill where the people had lots of money and 

make my request to them.  I do not belong to their family.

So, if I am living for the Devil, why would God be expected

to dish it out for the Devil's kids?

Back to prayer.  I have had hundreds of prayers answered

that are the "say a little prayer" type of thing.  I live in that

realm.  But that does not always bring the desired result.

If you had a dump truck stuck in the ditch, you would not

go get a motor scooter to pull it out would you.  Prayer can

be the same way.  Some times it takes more than a motor

scooter.

A short time back I had one like that.  I had a problem that

I fought nearly all after noon.  And there must have been a

good number of "say a little prayers" go up to God.  But the

problem whipped me anyway.

By the next day I had changed.  I was whipped and broken.

I was like pointed out in the 51st chapter of Psalms were it

says:

"The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;

A broken and contrite hear, O God,

You will not despise."

(Psalms 51:17 NASB)   

You guessed it.

Just one serious broken hearted prayer to God and the

problem was fixed in an instant with our my even touching

any thing.

On a closing note.

Years ago in the barber shop I got to talking with a local

pastor of one of the Churches.  He told me that the only 

miracles he had ever seen were the result of DESPERATE

prayer.

TODAY'S QUOTE

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"The readiest way to escape from our sufferings is to be

willing they should endure as long as God pleases."

-John Wesley