Month: November 2012

Friends Will Fail You

Friends will let you down. Hard cold fact. As emphatic as we can strive to be, selfishness will always bulge it’s way in somehow.

At one climactical moment in his suffering, Job cried, “My close friends have forgotten me.” (Job 19:14 NKJV)

Picture how lonely Jesus felt at the garden before he died.* He was so stressed about His impending suffering that while He prayed, He sweated great drops of blood.

At this critical hour of weakness, Jesus asks his closest friends, His disciples, to pray. The Bible details Jesus’ findings when He returned to check on His friends:

And He came and found them asleep again, for their eyes were heavy. (Matthew 26:43 NKJV)

The Bible records that three times the disciples fell asleep after Jesus would come wake them up.

It’s vital to have friends. God said back in the garden, “ It is not good that man should be alone…” (Genesis 2:18 NKJV)

We need friends. Girlfriends aren’t bad either! But don’t fool yourself to think they are faultless. They are human. They will at one time turn you down. It’s just natural.

But what a friend we have in Jesus! We can always bank on Jesus because His promises are backed by an eternal guarantee.

“I will never leave you” (Hebrews 13:5)

“I’m with you always” (Matthew 28:20)

“Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.” (John 15:13 NKJV)

Romans 5:7 states that scarcely would a good person would died for someone. But Jesus died for us. Sounds like a friend to hold on to.

Love your friends. “Friendship is the golden ribbon that ties the world together”**, but ribbons do tear.

Unless He is God of course!

*Luke 22:39-46.

**Poem by Kristina Kentigian

Giving God Burdens, Your Obedience, His Glory

Every matter, no matter the size, God wants you to call on Him. God wants your mundane issues, and He wants your big problems.

You obey God when you call on Him for help.

He commands it. When we pray, “give us this day our daily bread”.* It’s not a ritual prayer for well meaning, but a model that God planned to tells us that He wants us daily to ask Him to provide us help.

He promises to help us when we throw our problems upon Him:

Cast your burden on the Lord, And He shall sustain you; He shall never permit the righteous to be moved. (Psalm 55:22 NKJV)

Give God all your problems. Especially the ones you know you can’t resolve.

Frankly, You are human which means you’re weak, never perfect. We all are!

We live in an imperfect world. You may even start off great, but then end in an overwhelming predicament. Life is like that.

You glorify God when you call on Him for help.

God delights in these situations, because it’s an opportunity for us to experience His excellent, everlasting strength when we call on Him for help.

“For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him…” (2 Chronicles 16:9 NKJV)

Don’t keep any loads. Throw them all upon God. His strength is perfected in our weakness.*

Our God is ALMIGHTY God.

*Matthew 6:11

**“And He said to me,’My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” (2 Corinthians 12:9 NKJV)

All It Takes Is One Mistake to Fall

It’s funny how sometimes one little mishap can do some much damage.

I’m working on video editorial lab exercise. I’ve spent two hours on it. By one mistake of neglecting to add a particular feature, I’ve lost everything up until now, and I have to start all over.

Jesus brought Moses to mind. For their nearly 80 years wandering in the wilderness, Israel was constantly unfaithful to God, except for Moses. At every mistake Israel makes, Moses comes out unmarked of fault.

But one day. The people of Israel griped of lack of water. By this point, the most meekest man in the world has had enough. God instructed Moses specifically how He wanted Moses to speak to a rock and command water to draw forth. But Moses was in such a rage.

“Then Moses lifted his hand and struck the rock twice with his rod; and water came out abundantly, and the congregation and their animals drank.”

But Moses’ “one” mistake cost him heavily:

“Then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, ‘Because you did not believe Me, to hallow Me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them.'” (Numbers 20:11, 12 NKJV)

Isn’t sad that Moses has been faithful to God all 80 years of service in the wilderness, and the one time he messes up, he can’t go into the Promised Land!

We have to be careful not to overlook any minor details that may cause us stumble in our relationship with Jesus.

“Your glorying is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump?” (1 Corinthians 5:6 NKJV)

Be careful: A little sin can harm your entire soul.