Your labor in the Lord is not futile norwasted. 1 Corinthians 15:58 Holy Bible Amplified Version
Are you serving the Lord yet not seeing any results?
Take heart.
Seeds do not bear fruit over night but some grow quick while others take longer to bear fruit. Joseph son of Jehovah T
hey say that when we get to Heaven one of the greatest surprises will be the people around us that we served and then moved on. We do not believe we gave them a lasting affect but afterwards they blossomed into beautiful children of Jehovah.
I know, when I was a teacher there would be many months with no visible change in my children. I would call out to the Lord and ask Him why I was wasting my time here suffering these hardships for nothing. Then one day some of them would come up to me like children on Christmas morning and share with me that they had given their hearts and lives to Jesus. Because we were in a communist country and there was no Bibles readily available would ask me if I had one which I gladly obliged. I cannot tell you how my heart danced with ecstasy in pure joy.
Any time spent serving the Lord is never wasted time. Joseph son of Jehovah
You may not see the results in your lifetime but take heart. Some of the seeds you have sown will blossom into Heavenly children of Jehovah.
Prayer: Thank you Jehovah Emunah (God is faithful) for being faithful to my request for the honour of planting the seeds of a Heavenly crop, even if I do not see the harvest during my lifetime. I exalt You in the name of the greatest sower Jesus Christ. Amen.
May the gentle assurance of Jesus’ sweet love encompass you today and every day.
And not only this, but [with joy] let us exult in our sufferings and rejoice in our hardships, knowing that hardship (distress, pressure, trouble) produces patient endurance; and endurance, proven character (spiritual maturity); and proven character, hope and confident assurance [of eternal salvation]. Romans 5:3-4 Holy Bible Amplified Version
When Jehovah assigns as difficult task for you to do are you obstinate, stomp your feet and say I refuse like a spoiled little brat? Even though He reasons with you with His Word, Christian Councilors and signs.
Or, if He directs you to stop doing something do you obstinacy refuse?
Beware.
Jehovah only does what is for your good. So, if you refuse to listen to Him, you will pay greatly in the long run.
I have seen many obstinate folks refuse to listen and slowly sink deeper and deeper into a living Hell.
“The difference between perseverance and obstinacy is that one often comes from a strong will, and the other from a strong won’t.” — Henry Ward Beecher
Perseverance means a continued effort to do or achieve something despite difficulties, failure, or opposition.
Obstinacy mean to be sticking to an opinion, purpose, or course of action in spite of reason, arguments, or persuasion.
If on the other hand you obey Him you will learn to wait upon His time to mold you into the child He desire you to be. Through our hardships we become stronger in our trust in Him to see us through them and burn off the dross to become pure children of Jehovah. This will mold us into Holy children of Jehovah and be assured of our salvation. Do not think this is a one off experience. It takes years, even decades for Jehovah to accomplish His desire in you His beloved child.
That is why us older children need to come along side of the younger ones to strengthen them with our witness.
Prayer: Thank you Jehovah ‘Immeku (The Lord Is With You) for being with me to guide me and strengthen me as You mold me into the child You desire for me to be. I exalt You in the name of He whose strength helped Him endure the horrible cross Jesus Christ. Amen
May the gentle assurance of Jesus’ sweet love encompass you today and every day.
“Blessed [joyful, nourished by God’s goodness] are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness [those who actively seek right standing with God], for they will be [completely] satisfied. Matthew 5:6 Holy Bible Amplified Version
How nourished are you?
Just as we require daily physical food to maintain our physical health so too do we need daily spiritual food to nourish our spiritual health.
We will never be completely filled with righteousness. Joseph son of Jehovah
We need, every day, to ask Jehovah to fill us with wisdom on the proper manner in which to walk in righteousness. He will abundantly supply us. Then we need to be obedient and obey His instructions. The fruit of this is being blessed with Heavenly joy. As well it prevents us from deviating from our walk with Christ. This leads to nothing but trouble.
When we walk away from Christ, we walk towards satan. Joseph son of Jehovah
Prayer: Thank you Jehovah Jireh (God is our Provider) for always abundantly providing living fruit to nourish and strengthen me with every day. It is the most desired of all of my daily needs and sustenance. I exalt You in the name of He who is the bread of life and He through whom flows the never ending waters of life Jesus Christ. Amen.
May the gentle assurance of Jesus’ sweet love encompass you today and every day.
Your way [of escape for Your people] was through the sea, And Your paths through the great waters, And Your footprints were not traceable. Psalm 77:19 Holy Bible Amplified Version
There have been many times during my trials and tribulation, sorrows and snares in life that I cried out unto Jehovah to come and rescue me but believed He had deserted me. In reflection it was revealed that He is always there.
Do you think it is just a coincidence that that man or woman came into your life at just the right moment when you needed help but there was none forth coming?
When it seems as of you are walking through the desert with no job prospect do you think it is coincidence that that employment offer came along?
For me many times it was tiny ads in the newspaper that jumped out at me and would not let go until I took action on them. It always resulted in amazing accomplishments in my life. It helped me find employment, it helped me find good Christian councilors, it guided me to schools that Jehovah wanted me to attend to learn a skill that would be used in service unto Him later on. This is just but one example of Him being there without me even knowing it at the time.
There is no such thing as coincidence in the Christian walk. Joseph son of Jehovah
So, no matter what ordeal you are experiencing now and it seems as if Jehovah has deserted you take comfort child of Jehovah He is always there.
Prayer: Thank you Jehovah Immanuel (God is with us) for the blessing of always being with me through the numerous trials and tribulations, sorrows and snare, victories and love You graciously bless me with each and every day. I thank you in the name of He who walked amongst us Jesus Christ. Amen.
May the gentle assurance of Jesus’ sweet love encompass you today and every day.
The whole congregation of the Israelites [grew discontented and] murmured and rebelled against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness,and the Israelites said to them, Would that we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the pots of meat and ate bread until we were full; for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this entire assembly with hunger.” (To understand Israel’s rebellious behavior, it is important to grasp the contrast between life in Egypt and nomadic life in the wilderness. Despite the hardships of slavery survival was not an issue in Egypt, where they were guaranteed food and other necessities. But the desert wilderness was hostile and unforgiving, and survival was an art. Desert nomads needed to understand the wilderness in order to stay alive; they had to learn, among other things, how to protect themselves from the weather, where to find water and pasture, and how to find and prepare scarce food, or live primarily from what their livestock could provide them. So the Israelites viewed every new problem they faced as life-threatening. Instead of looking back and taking comfort from God’s earlier miracles, they doubted God’s ability and willingness to help them. Their fears and doubts subsequently came to be expressed as irrational anger toward Moses. ) Exodus 16:2-3 Holy Bible Amplified Version
How many of us ask Jehovah for something but are never satisfied?
We ask for a job but when we get one we do not like the work because it is too hard or it is too boring.
We ask for a place to live but it is too far from the bus stop or grocery store or park.
We ask for direction in life but it is not where we want to go.
We desire good Christian friends but can always find fault with them.
I think the real reason we are discontented is because of greed. We want the best and nothing less is good enough for us.
Jehovah blesses with what we need not always with what we want. Joseph son of Jehovah
That is the ultimate insult of ungratefulness and a huge slap in the face to our loving generous Father in Heaven. More so for those of us that have walked with Christ for any length of time and so can reflect back at His previous provisions for us. Peevish discontented minds will find fault with that which has no fault in it but that it is too good for them.
Those that might be very happy often make themselves very miserable by their discontents. Matthew Henry
Prayer: Please Jehovah Heseh (God is love) bless me to always have a grateful heart towards you and those around me for all the wonderful blessings You and those around me share with me every day. I ask this in the name of the greatest blessing of which I am eternally grateful for Jesus Christ. Amen.
May the gentle assurance of Jesus’ sweet love encompass you today and every day.
But to as many as did receive and welcome Him, He gave the right [the authority, the privilege] to become children of God, that is, to those who believe in (adhere to, trust in, and rely on) His name John 1:12 The Holy Bible Amplified Version
Do you adhere to Christ?
To adhere to means to maintain loyalty and to bind oneself to observance ( adhere to the rules)
Are you loyal unto Christ?
Do you place your allegiance unto Him above your family, career and or possessions? Yes there are rules when you are a child of Jehovah (mainly Gods Law which states we are to do unto others as we would like them to do to us and to not do to others as we do not want them to do to us). Do you do to others as you would like them to do to you? That means to be respectful and to help others when you see they need help ( That does not mean to support those who refuse to take responsibility for their actions and refuse to help themselves. We “ owe “ them nothing ). Do you not do unto others as you do not want them to do to you ( that means no bullying or gossiping, backstabbing or cheating ) ? Do you trust Christ? Do you trust Christ with your finances? When He directs you to give of your finances even though it will hurt do you obey Him? Do you trust Him in your relationships? So say you meet someone you like but He sees what they are really like and directs you to end the relationship, do you trust Him to obey?
Do you rely upon Christ?
Do you daily rely upon Christ for guidance? So say you want a job and a good one is offered to you but you feel Christ saying no, will you walk away from it? Do you rely upon Christ in your interpersonal relationships? So say someone has done you wrong, do you rely upon Christ to give you the power to forgive them? If the abuse is habitual and Christ directs you to walk away from the relationship ( even if it is family ) will you walk away from them? Do you rely upon Him to find the proper spouse for you ( instead of the on line dating service where people can be as phony as a three dollar bill ) And, if He direct you to remain single will you rely upon Him to fill the void a spouse can fill?
Prayer: Thank you Jehovah Ezer (The LORD our Helper) for helping me adhere to Your righteous Holy manner in my behaviour in my relationship to You. I exalt You in the name of He whose total manner emulated His complete adherence unto You Jesus Christ. Amen
May the gentle assurance of Jesus’ sweet love encompass you today and every day.
Into Your hand I commit my spirit; You have redeemed me, O Lord, the God of truth and faithfulness. Psalm 31:5 The Holy Bible Amplified Version
This does not make sense.
These are the words spoken by every Christian. I can not count the number of times my Beloved ask me to do something that made no sense.
There were the ones He asked me to go up against were more powerful than me and had all the cards stacked in their favour. Except for the winning card of course, Jehovah had that card. Yes I was terrified but obedient. When the time came for the showdown Jehovah blessed me with courage and wisdom that brought the haughty crashing down.
The first few times that happened I was in shock and awe. The more frequent it happens the stronger my faith came in Jehovah the warrior being by my side.
There were many times when I felt my Beloved asking me to make huge changes in my life that were way out of my comfort zone. Yes, I was terrified but obedient. In the end I praise Him every day for that blessing because it made me grow in trust in Him and changed me so much for the better.
“Sometimes when we are called to obey, the fear does not subside and we are expected to move against the fear. One must choose to do it afraid.”Elisabeth Elliot
Yes there are many times Jehovah will ask you to do things that make no sense to you but make perfect sense to Him. Obey and watch and experience the amazing things that will happen in your life when you are obedient.
Prayer: Thank you Jehovah Kal El (voice of God) for blessing me with Your voice gently speaking to me in my daily life and for blessing me with increased trust in You when You ask me to do that which I do not understand. I extol Thee in the name of He who trusted You all the way to the cross Jesus Christ. Amen
May the gentle assurance of Jesus’ sweet love encompass you today and every day.
