HE MAY NOT!

 

Thursday, August 24, 2023

 

HE MAY NOT!

 

Luke 9:23-24

23 And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.

24 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it.

 

          Do not suppose that becoming a believing Christian will repair everything that is torn in your life. The results of sin damaged everything, and life may never be rainbows and gumdrops. Jesus warned us that following Him would require a cross.

 

          He may not keep you from suffering pain and humiliation! Peter and his friends were jailed, beaten, and then sternly warned to never speak in the name of Jesus again. At this point they had a choice, and their choice was Jesus.

 

Acts 5:41

41 And they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name.

 

          He may not heal the rift in your family! Remember that each family member has his own personal responsibility to either follow Christ or deny Him. Pain may remain and continue in your family but now the difference is that you have the peace of God that passes all understanding.

 

Matt 10:34-36

34 Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword.

35 For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother-in-law.

36 And a man's foes shall be they of his own household.

 

          He may not line your pockets with wealth nor bless your body with health! The prosperity gospel is deceitful and brings prosperity only to those who espouse it. Many times, Paul suffered the lack of supplies when churches forgot his support. On at least one occasion he had to resort to his trade as a tent maker to provide for his needs. God did not give Paul every convenience, but He instead gave him contentment.

 

Phil 4:12-13

12 I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. 13 I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

 

          He may not always punish your enemies! We are told to pray for our enemies and to persevere in a steady walk with God. We are to walk through difficult and dry places and leave those places better than we found them.

 

Ps 84:5-6

5 Blessed is the man whose strength is in thee; in whose heart are the ways of them.

6 Who passing through the valley of Baca [weeping] make it a well; the rain also filleth the pools.

 

Dear Lord, let me be a refreshing drink to the thirsty today. AMEN