The End of the Lord

by Mac Hammond 

The book of Job is the most concentrated example of suffering we have in the entire Bible, yet to the frustration of many theologians, the “whys” of his suffering are never really answered.

Perhaps it is because God wants us to learn from something else. James 5:11 says:

Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy. (KJV)

God uses the story of Job to tell us that it doesn’t matter what you’re going through or the nature of the challenges you are facing; the principles are the same for all adversity. What matters is that you understand how to be patient like Job—you could also say his endurance—and something called the “end of the Lord.”

A Promise for Every Problem

RACHEL BURCHFIELD

0

0

0

0

Even if God’s ways are hard to fathom, get a grip on His promises and hold on.

Are you having a hard day? A hard week? A hard life? Are you facing difficult circumstances that seem to have no solution?

If so, I have good news for you: God is thinking about you right now as you read this article. He knows what kind of day you are having. He knows your greatest burdens and your deepest dreams. He cares. And He provided a solution for your problems before they ever existed through the promises in His Word. All 7,487 of these promises were given to guarantee your victory. All you have to do is lay hold of them, as the Bible encourages us to do:

"Let's keep a firm grip on the promises that keep us going. He always keeps His Word" (Heb. 10:23, The Message). We know we will not be disappointed, for "all the promises of God in [Christ] are Yes, and in [Christ] Amen" (2 Cor. 1:20, NKJV).

God's Patience Towards You

"Lord, give me patience, and give it to me NOW!" —Unknown
I mentioned a couple of weeks ago that people often build their view of God based on what their earthly fathers are like. Whereas many of us have great, loving dads, some people have a father figure who is constantly mad at his family. Perhaps, he vents stress from other parts of his life onto the nearest and least resistant source. Or maybe he holds the people nearest to him to ridiculously high standards and reacts irrationally when they aren't met. Regardless of the source, angry dads can lead people to think that God the Father is like their father, angry at everybody and everything. That's not only wrong, but contradictory to what the Bible tells us! God revealed Himself to Moses as the Father who is "...slow to anger..." (Exodus 34:6). David sang of the Father with words like these:

Peter Swings for the Head - But Gets an Ear!

Then Simon Peter having a sword drew it, and smote the high priest's servant, and cut off his right ear. The servant's name was Malchus.  -- John 18:10  When they which were about him saw what would follow, they said unto him, Lord, shall we smite with the sword? And one of them smote the servant of the high priest, and cut off his right ear. -- Luke 22:49,50

Can you think of a time when you became so impatient while waiting on the Lord that you decided to take matters into your own hands to get things moving a little faster? When you later realized that you had made a big mess of things, were you regretful that you didn't wait a little longer before taking action? At one time or another, all of us have been guilty of acting rashly and thoughtlessly. For example, just think of how many times you've said something you later regretted! Oh, how you wished you could have retracted those words, but it was too late! Or perhaps you've been guilty of acting spontaneously on an issue before you had enough time to really think things through.

What Do YOU Pray for During Trials?

My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing. — If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. – James 1:2-5

Last night I was at my church’s weekly prayer meeting, and God brought this scripture passage back to my heart. Well, let’s back up…

Yesterday morning I had to go to the doctor to have some testing done. Long story short, he did not give me the report that I was hoping for. In fact, he said the issue was worse than he originally thought. He told me I’ll have to have minor surgery for testing and treatment before we would even know the severity of the issue, or if it could be reversed.

Waiting Patiently For God's Perfect Timing

There was a family who had a small Scottish terrier who would go to their back door and bark and bark until someone finally got the message and let it out. One day, a handyman had come to do some work on the house while everyone else was gone. That little dog took up his station at the back door and barked incessantly all day. 

This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. — 1 John 5:14

When the family returned home to find the handyman finishing up, he told them about how the dog had been barking all day at the door. The homeowner told him that his neighbors had said the same thing. “The sad thing is,” the owner said, “it never occurs to the little guy that all his barking is totally useless when no one’s home to hear!”

Satan's Tools

"Let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and, let us run with patience the race that is set before us" (Heb. 12:1).

There are weights which are not sins in themselves, but which become distractions and stumbling blocks in our Christian progress. One of the worst of these is despondency. The heavy heart is indeed a weight that will surely drag us down in our holiness and usefulness.

The failure of Israel to enter the land of promise began in murmuring, or, as the text in Numbers literally puts it, "as it were murmured." Just a faint desire to complain and be discontented. This led on until it blossomed and ripened into rebellion and ruin. Let us give ourselves no liberty ever to doubt God or His love and faithfulness to us in everything and forever.

We can set our will against doubt just as we do against any other sin; and as we stand firm and refuse to doubt, the Holy Spirit will come to our aid and give us the faith of God and crown us with victory.

Abraham : The Man Who Was God’s Friend

Abram, Abraham [Ā'brăm,Ā'brăhăm]—the father of a multitude. The original name of the youngest son of Terah was Abram, meaning “father of height.” Abraham was given to him when the promise of a numerous progeny was renewed to him by God (Gen. 11:26;17:5, 9). The Man Who Was God’s Friend                                Abraham’s place in the Bible’s portrait gallery is altogether unique and unapproachable. He stands out as a landmark in the spiritual history of the world. Chosen of God to become the father of a new spiritual race, the file leader of a mighty host, the revelation of God found in him one of its most important epochs. In himself, there was not much to make him worthy of such a distinction. His choice was all of grace.

Waiting for God’s Answer

Written by Chris Bradley

Take today’s next step: We need more authors for men’s devos. What has God taught you lately?

“But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” (Isaiah 40: 31)

One of the hardest things that Christians have to do is to wait on the Lord. Our patience runs thin and this often gets us into trouble making us do irrational things ahead of God’s direction.

But God’s time is different from ours. Although it’s hard to keep in focus, just be reminded that God has many plans for you. It is important to learn to stay still and wait for Him. He has promised to provide everything you need in due time.

On certain occasions, He might say, “No”. But just because He closes a door on something you’ve been praying about for a long time, it doesn’t mean He doesn’t care. He always has your best interest in mind and will give you something much better than you imagined.

Are You Waiting in God’s Waiting Room?

Written by Lillian Penner

Is God teaching you something while you are waiting for an answer from Him?  Are you listening to Him? Do you pray for patience?

Recently my husband and I were waiting for a connecting flight in a large airport. Our first flight arrived early enough to be able to request an earlier “standby flight” for our last leg of the trip home. We had already been in the airport about five hours and we were anxiously waiting for our “standby status” to be cleared. As weary travelers, we didn’t want to wait three more hours for our reserved flight. We prayed and waited while we watched the monitor for our “stand-by” clearance. Finally, the agent gave us clearance to board the plane.

This scenario reminded me of my prayer life. Many times, I have to wait and “standby” for God’s answer. God doesn’t always answer my prayers immediately when I pray and I have to wait in God’s waiting room for a while. Our society has conditioned us to expect immediate results. We find it very difficult to wait for anything.

Practicing Patience When God Has You Waiting

Written by Barbara Erochina

Why won’t God answer my prayer?

Some days, it is a lot harder to be patient. When we’re bringing our concerns to the Lord again and again, we grow tired of waiting. It soon begins to feel like our prayers are falling on deaf ears. Often our desire is to take control and just “do the best we can”; it is our fleshly reaction to the silence. We know Galatians 5 lists patience as a fruit of the Holy Spirit so we confess our desire to rule our own lives. We ask the Spirit to fill us, empowering and directing us even as we continue to wait on the Lord.

This doesn’t mean our circumstances change.

Our only child remains sick in the hospital, the thread our marriage hangs on continues to splinter, and the hope we’ve held on to for years fades with increasing speed. Having prayed fervently about whatever issue you are facing too many times to count, it’s easy to feel your bank of patience depleting once again. On these days, let these reminders on the nature of patience be an encouragement to you as you continue to wait.
You are not alone in the waiting.

An Acceptable Time

Written by Julie Cosgrove

Does God hear your prayers? Talk to us about that.
“But as for me, my prayer is to you, O LORD. At an acceptable time, O God, in the abundance of your steadfast love answer me in your saving faithfulness” (Psalm 69:13).

I saw a mother in the grocery line. Her small child hovered around her as we waited for our turn to check out. Common scene. The little girl tugged on her mother’s pant leg. The mother bent down and let the girl whisper in her ear. Then she stood and shook her head. “Not, now, honey. You have to wait.”  The little girl was at first satisfied, but her patience grew thin. The scene repeated twice more, each time the mother’s jaw became more set, her retort more firm. “I said, not now.”

There Is Purpose in The Wait

By Wendy Pope

"Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD." Psalm 27:14 (NLT)

Efficiency is my middle name. I like to get things done and get them done fast. Waiting for my computer to re-load a web page, or my kids to find their shoes, or even for God to come through on a prayer request isn't something I always do with patience.

In our hurry up, need it, gotta-have-it-now culture, it's easy to think we shouldn't have to wait. Think about it: within seconds we can know the weather in southern Mongolia, order a cute blouse from a trendy store, or move dinner from the freezer to the table in five minutes thanks to microwaves. We can instant message our mom or send a tweet to thousands in the blink of an eye. No wonder waiting is hard!

King David, the author of Psalm 27:14 was no stranger to waiting and knew full well of its difficulties. So when David wrote, "Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD," it was with experience honed through years of waiting to fulfill God's destiny for him. That destiny started in the humble home of his father Jesse, and in the pasture herding sheep.

Ray Comfort Recruits Team of Christians to Answer Atheists on Facebook

Evangelist and author Ray Comfort could 

use a hand in handling all the comments 

and questions he receives on Facebook.

The Christian Post reported that evangelist and author Ray Comfort could use a hand in handling all the comments and questions he receives from atheists on Facebook, so he's recruited a team of 

Christians to join the conversation. Comfort says his controversial posts can at times receive more than 1,000 comments, and one of his posts was seen by more than a million people, many of them nonbelievers.

"It suddenly dawned on me how Facebook is an incredible medium for the gospel ... think of what it would cost and how much work it would take to have a Billy Graham-type crusade that reached 1.2 million people. But we can reach that many at no cost and with just a click of a keyboard button."

When You Don’t Know What To Do

Written by Gail Rodgers

“Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.” (Colossians 3:12-15)

Life is not always easy. Everyday letters come to this website from those of you walking through complex, confusing, and even tragic things that have unexpectedly imposed themselves on lives with little or no warning. If you find yourself arising to a day that is in turmoil, consider getting dressed for your day according to scripture.

Tired of Waiting

By Tracie Miles

"Isaac was sixty years old when Rebekah gave birth to them." Genesis 25:26b (NIV)

Do you ever get tired of waiting on God to answer your prayers? I do.

I get tired of saying the same old prayer day after day, month after month, year after year. Tired of telling God about the same old problems still going on. Tired of hearing myself pray about the same old issues, leading me to wonder if God is as tired of hearing my prayer requests as I am of praying them.
Recently I bowed my head and admitted to God that I was simply tired of praying and waiting.
In a heavy state of emotional exhaustion, I turned to my Bible. I hoped a few verses would jump straight into my heart and give me patience. That day I read about when Isaac's wife Rebekah gave birth to twin sons. One sentence in particular caught my eye and God used it to speak hope into my soul.

One Year After The Affair

Seven years ago today, everything changed. With four words, I cost my wife, family and so many around me what seemed like everything.

“I’m having an affair.”

With those words, my sin was exposed and life as we knew it came to an end. Over the next two days, God would crush my pride, give me a heart of repentance and lead me to an amazing Christian counselor.

A Living Example Of Love

"And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us." (Romans 5:5) 

Don't ever worry about not having enough love inside you. The Word says God's love is shed abroad in your heart by the Holy Ghost. God's love is in you. What you need to do is make a decision to let it flow.

Pray this prayer today.

"In Jesus' Name, I make a fresh and strong commitment today to live the life of love, to let the tenderness of God flow through me and heal the wounded hearts of those I meet.

"Father, teach me to love even when things go wrong. To be patient and kind when the children are underfoot. To overlook the spiteful words of an angry spouse. To rejoice when someone at the office gets the raise that I thought I needed. Teach me to talk in love, to lay gossip quietly aside and to take up words of grace instead.

He Intercedes For Me

Written by Jason Buzzard

  Are you going through trials? Prayer has power! Contact us so we can pray with you

“In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans.” (Romans 8:26)

I find great hope in these words of Paul in his letter to the church in Rome. Even when I am so upset that words will not come, the Spirit is interceding on my behalf and yours. The Holy Spirit prays when I cannot. Be mindful of this incredible gift. God in His infinite mercy has given you the Spirit to intercede for you when the pain is so overwhelming that words cannot describe. If words will not come, find comfort in the fact that the Spirit knows what lies deep in your heart.

Patience is extremely important in any battle you may face. In the natural, your situation may look hopeless. But Paul also says in his letter to the Romans that hope in things seen is no hope at all. If things look impossible to man, they are possible with God. Wait with joyful expectation for your breakthrough. Do not lose hope. Do not give up. Keep praying even if your prayers seem inadequate.

Untangle the Knots...One Day at a Time

by Joyce Meyer

Picture your life as a jumble of shoestrings all tied up in knots, each shoestring a different color. The different shoestrings represent the different elements of your life, such as your family, your job, etc. This jumble of knots could represent many of our lives—with everything all knotted up.