We stand firm in the Lord by realizing that God is in control and He will take care of us. Our confidence needs to be in the Lord alone. While we are living this life, we need to cast off anything that does not follow God's plan. The Bible does not say, do not feel anxious, it says, do not be anxious. Likewise, the Bible does not say, do not feel fear, it says, do not be afraid. We can always find a reason to rejoice. If people imitate us, what will they be doing? We need to imitate the good things that we see others doing.
When Paul's assistant, Epaphroditus, became ill, Paul said Epaphroditus' death would have been sorrow upon sorrow. Sometimes, God lets people get sick and stay sick for a long time. Sometimes God miraculously heals people from their sickness. When we go through hardship, it can be a result of Satan, however, God is always in control. God will allow sickness and hardship if it brings us or others into a right relationship with Himself. Our bodies are amazing and one thing we realize is that sin has entered the world and death is upon us. Sometimes God uses our sickness so that other people can be a blessing to us. Though Epaphroditus was not and evangelist, but only serving and evangelist, he almost died serving Christ. Epaphroditus was in the will of God and still got sick. We should be like Timothy and fulfill the needs of others and we should appreciate someone who genuinely cares about us.
When we don't serve the God who is God, we are free to be our own authority, our own god. Once we know where we will spend forever, then we can know how to live now. Before we know Jesus we feel like we need the things of this world to feel successful. When we know Jesus we know we don't need anything else. We must seek first the Kingdom of God and everything we need we be given to us. God knows how to speak our language. God loves us!
Three are the most important questions in life are:
Who do you think you are?
Where do you think you are going?
What do you think you are doing?
Pastor Wood teaches about these questions and how they shape our lives. Everything we do now is of eternal significance because we should be doing it for Jesus. Our greatest point of blessing is often tied to our greatest pain.
Every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord! Our God is a consuming fire and He will judge the earth with fire. When that happens, there will be no place to run. When we die, what do we expect and what are we hoping to take? The things that our world holds dear are not important, what is important is whether or not our lives are hidden in Christ. We are not to fear what the people of this world fear, Christians are only to fear with reverential awe, the Lord our God. The world cannot destroy the Kingdom of God! Jesus died and rose again so that we might live.
Unseen realities are throughout the old and new testaments. There are unseen forces that are very real and powerful. They are at war with the people of God. Even so, their doom is sure, and one day they will be defeated forever. God is greater than any person, and God is still on the throne. There is nothing that God does not know about, He knows our motives, and He knows the future. Sin is insanity. God is the Creator of life. If we are trusting in God, we do not need to be afraid. God may not do what we want, but he always does what is best. We all were by nature enemies of God. He has chosen to love and bless us, His enemies. There is so much going on that we cannot see. We need to love, trust, and obey God.
Jesus did something that changed everything, His death, burial, and resurrection. Pastor Wood explains this and other topics as he leads us through the book of 1 Peter.
Program for 08/24/18 "Best of" SAS Devotions: Habakkuk, Those More Wicked Than We Are