Waiting on the Lord

By David R. Ferguson     One of the most difficult and challenging aspects of being a Christian and maintaining one’s faith is having to face the troubles and trials of this life. But the true child of God will persevere, not by relying on his or her own strength, but by finding encouragement from the Lord and His holy word (Philippians 4:7). James, the Lord’s brother, writes in James 1:2-5, "My brothers, you should be very happy when you experience many kinds of troubles, because you know that the testing of your faith will develop more endurance. Endure, so that your actions will be truly complete. Then you will be mature. You will have everything; you will need nothing. But if any one of you does need wisdom, just ask God. It will be given to you. God is the One who gives freely to all people, and He does this without complaining." Enduring, which is another way of saying our times of waiting, will undoubtedly be extremely difficult. But it’s during these times that our assurance that our belief isn’t in vain can grow and forge an even deeper faith in God as circumstances force us to fully trust in Him as we cling ever tighter to His unchanging hand.     I read or heard somebody once say, "I have prayed hundreds, if not thousands, of times for the Lord to heal me – and He finally healed me of the need to be healed." Bearing patiently all the things that God allows to challenge our lives in this fleshly coil may be the greatest aspect of self-denial and cross-bearing we have to confront. But true love for our Lord will allow no less, for Paul said, "Love...bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things" (1 Corinthians 13:4, 6) By enduring and waiting on the Lord, then, we shall find ourselves guided, furnished, safeguarded, disciplined, and rewarded.     Had Jesus grown up in China we may very well have heard Him tell a parable of the bamboo tree to teach us a lesson about patience and endurance. The Chinese bamboo tree seemingly does absolutely nothing for the first four years of its existence. But then a truly amazing thing happens. Suddenly, at some point during the fifth year, the bamboo plant shoots up an astonishing nine feet in a mere sixty days! So, the question becomes, did that bamboo plant grow in six weeks, or did it grow in five years?     It's my belief that our lives and the Chinese bamboo tree are very much akin to one another. Sometimes we put forth our best effort time and time again, with apparently no fruition for our labors, and no perceptible reaping for our sowing seeming to occur. But if we endure, as James says, and if we do so out of love, as Paul says, and if we do so unto death, as John says (Revelation 2:10), we will receive the rewards for all our efforts, as Jesus says (Matthew 25:21).     May God bless you as you learn to wait patiently on Him! By doing so, you will receive a great reward from Him as you live with Him forevermore throughout eternity!

- David R. Ferguson preaches for the Mentor Church of Christ in Mentor, OH.  He may be contacted through the congregation's website: http://mentorchurchofchrist.com/ or davidferguson61@yahoo.com

Lord, Give Me Patience!

By Bill Brandstatter

 

    A preacher I once knew had a sign on his desk that read “Lord, give me patience, and give it to me right now.” That is the way we often are with patience. I heard, growing up, the statement, “Don’t ever pray for patience.” Yet, the Bible teaches learning patience can be beneficial to us. It is the learning of it that often gives us problems.

    I have often considered myself to be a very patient person, yet during the last three months, I have had to learn it even more. People have told me to have more patience. James wrote: “Knowing the testing of your faith produces patience; but let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.” (James 1:2-4 NKIV) According to James, learning patience can make us more complete as a Christian. He also states we should pray for wisdom in chapter 1:5. My understanding is that he is referring to wisdom to deal with trials and to learn patience.

    The Bible gives us examples of patience. God is the ultimate example. Peter tells us, “When once the Divine longsuffering waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is eight souls, were saved through water.” (1 Pet. 3:20)

    Peter also tells us more about God’s patience. His patience is for our benefit. In 2 Pet. 3:9, he writes: “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.”

    James tells us the prophets are examples of patience: “My brethren, take the prophets, who spoke in the name of the Lord, as an example of suffering and patience” (James 5:10 NKJV). When we think about how long many of the prophets preached and what all they went through we can learn from their examples.

    Job was a perfect example of patience. He lost everything and still did not charge God foolishly. (Job 1:22) At the end of the book of Job, he was rewarded for his faithfulness and his patience. The Bible says, “And the LORD restored Job’s losses when he prayed for his friends. Indeed, the LORD gave Job twice as much as he had before.” (Job 42:10)

    Let us learn to be patient. It doesn’t come naturally. God may be putting us through a trial in our lives to help us learn patience. If so, it will make us better people to deal with the affairs of this life. It will help us in teaching others. It will better prepare us for heaven, our ultimate goal.

- Bill Brandstatter preaches for the Marion Church of Christ in Marion, IL. He may be contacted through the congregation's website: http://marionchurchofchrist.com/

Be Patient Until Victory

By David Bragg

    Virginia was born into an upper-class family in Baltimore and educated in elite schools where she studied French, Italian, and German. While working as a clerk for the American Embassy in Warsaw, Poland she was involved in a shooting accident that lead to the amputation of her left leg.
    With the invasion of France by Germany, Virginia Hall began her spy work in France to build a resistance force to augment the Allied forces they hoped would arrive. Patiently she labored undercover and amid scrutiny of enemy forces. After months of effort her ring of supporters was compromised by a Nazi spy. Many were arrested and killed. Virginia barely got out alive.
    Still, she was determined to return to France, which she was eventually allowed to do. This time she worked with greater caution (and at great risk to her life and health) patiently built a new network of resistance which many historians have said helped change the course of WW II (www.npr.org).
    We can so easily be guilty of using a watered-down version of “patience.” It may be nothing more than sitting in stalled traffic or being stranded on hold, again, on an important phone call. Patience, in the New Testament, involves a determination to weather sacrifice and suffering to attain a worthwhile goal:¬ eternal life with God in Heaven. With that goal in sight, patience is needed until victory is realized.

- David Bragg serves as one of the ministers at the Northwest Church of Christ in Greensboro, NC and is co-editor of BulletinGold. He may be contacted through the congregation's website: http://www.nwchurchofchrist.com/ or his blog: http://davidbragg.blogspot.com/

Rewarded

By Larry Pasley

    One dark night outside a small town, a fire started inside the local chemical plant. Before long it exploded into flames and an alarm went out to fire departments from miles around. After fighting the fire for over an hour, the chemical company president approached the fire chief and said, "All of our secret formulas are in the vault in the center of the plant. They must be saved! I will give $50,000 to the engine company that brings them out safely."
    As soon as the chief heard this, he ordered the firemen to strengthen their attack on the blaze. After two more hours of attacking the fire they couldn’t get close enough to put out the fire and get the files, the president of the company offered $100,000 to the engine company that could bring out the company's secret files.
    From the distance a long siren was heard and another fire truck came into sight. It was a local volunteer fire company composed entirely of men over 65. To everyone's amazement the little fire engine raced through the chemical plant gates and drove straight into the middle of the inferno. In the distance the other firemen watched as the old timers hopped off their rig and began to fight the fire with an effort that they had never seen before. After an hour of intense fighting the volunteer company had extinguished the fire and saved the secret formulas. Joyous, the chemical company president announced that he would double the reward to $200,000 and walked over to personally thank each of the volunteers. After thanking each of the old men individually the president asked the group what they intended to do with the reward money.
    The fire truck driver spoke right up and said, "First off - fix them brakes!"

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

    Have you ever rushed into something too quickly and regretted it later? It may have been a job, a decision to buy a house/car or something else, a marriage, a divorce, anger, an accusation or something else.
    Haste makes waste. Proverbs 21:5  The plans of the diligent lead surely to plenty, But those of everyone who is hasty, surely to poverty.
    Haste leads to sin. Proverbs 19:2  Also it is not good for a soul to be without knowledge, And he sins who hastens with his feet.
    Haste leads to shame. Proverbs 25:8  Do not go hastily to court; For what will you do in the end, When your neighbor has put you to shame?
    Haste will not bring blessings. Proverbs 20:21  An inheritance gained hastily at the beginning Will not be blessed at the end.
    Haste is foolish. Ecclesiastes 7:9  Do not hasten in your spirit to be angry, For anger rests in the bosom of fools.
    Patience is truly a virtue. Ecclesiastes 7:8  The end of a thing is better than its beginning; The patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.
    We need to be patient to the end. James 5:7-8  Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, waiting patiently for it until it receives the early and latter rain. 8  You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.
    May we all stop to think about our actions and what the future results of those actions might be.

- Larry Pasley serves as a minister with the Jackson Street Church of Christ in Alexandria, LA. He may be contacted through the congregation's website at http://www.JacksonStAlex.com

Inconvenient!

By Joe Slater

    Suppose we changed our meeting time to 3 AM on Sundays. While we might not like it, many of us would be here despite the inconvenience. Now, relax! There are no plans to change the meeting time! It brings up the question, though: How willing are you to be inconvenienced in your service to God?
    Antonius Felix, governor of Judea, didn’t like what he was hearing as Paul was instructing him in the gospel. “Go away for now,” Felix said. “When I have a convenient time, I will call for you” (Acts 24:25). As far as the record goes, that convenient time never came. The governor wasn’t much interested in becoming a Christian anyway; mostly he was hoping Paul would pay a bribe.
    Unlike Felix, Christians are interested in hearing and doing the will of God. (Or we’re supposed to be, anyway.) Are you willing to be inconvenienced for the Lord? Let’s be specific: Are  you willing to make a visit instead of watching your favorite TV program? Or does that visit have to wait until you have “spare time”? Would you reschedule a vacation if it conflicted with a Gospel Meeting? Would you attend services rather than getting an early start on that business trip? In short, are  you willing to put God (not your convenience) first?
    The early Christians certainly did not practice a religion of convenience! How convenient was it to be beaten or imprisoned for proclaiming the gospel? Was walking all over the country to tell people about Jesus convenient? And if we can believe the historical records, the early Christians often met around sunrise on the first day of the week since that was the only time that the slaves could attend. No doubt it would have been more convenient for everyone, especially the slaves, just to stay home to get a little extra sleep.
    Two thousand years ago, Jesus left the splendor of Heaven to come to this earth, taking upon Himself a body of human flesh. What if He had said, “No, it just isn’t convenient for Me right now.” Think of the times Jesus spent all day teaching and healing, only to spend all night in prayer. Not exactly convenient, wouldn’t you say? And where would we be if, when His crucifixion was imminent, Jesus had backed out because it wasn’t convenient?
    There is nothing wrong with accommodating convenience where we can. But brethren, God has gone to a great deal of trouble for us! May it never be that we would insult Him by serving Him only when it is convenient. 

 - Joe Slater serves as minister of the Church of Christ in Justin, TX. He may be contacted through the congregation's website.

Ten Misplaced Desires?

By Steve Higginbotham

    Maybe you've heard the story about three old friends who were shipwrecked on a deserted island. After nearly a year of being castaways, a bottle floated up on the beach. One of the men opened it, and out popped a genie granting one wish to each of the three friends. Without any hesitation, the first friend said, "I wish I were back home in Knoxville." Poof! He was gone. The second friend immediately said, "I wish I were back home in Knoxville, too." Poof!  Immediately he was gone. The third man was more deliberate. He told the genie he wanted to think about it a bit longer to make sure he didn't waste his wish. After a full two months of isolation on the island, he said to the genie, "I've reached my decision. Over the past two months I've come to realize how much I miss my friends. It's been so lonely here without them, so I wish my two friends were back here with me." And poof! (Groan here).
    I believe we can all recognized the misplaced desire this man had. The desire for companionship with his friends was noble, but that desire was misplaced if it meant calling them back to the island. But now, before we laugh at this man we had better realize that sometimes, we too have misplaced desires; good and noble desires, but they can be misplaced due to context. Let me offer ten misplaced desires we sometimes have.

• We want a Savior, but we don't want a Lord.
• We want a crown, but we don't want a cross.
• We want a harvest, but we don't want to sow any seed.
• We want to go to Heaven, but we don't want to go to church.
• We want to grow spiritually, but we don't want to feed on his word.
• We want Hollywood to "clean up its act," but we don't want to stop watching.
• We want the right to pray, even in school, but we don't want to pray.
• We want the 10 Commandments posted, but we don't want to live by their moral principles.
• We want to love God, but we don't want to abhor sin.
• We want to die the death of the righteous, but we don't want to abandon the lifestyle of the sinner.

The man who wanted his friends to rejoin him on that deserted island was pretty short-sighted, but not nearly as short-sighted as those whose wants are identified above. Give it some thought.

 - Steve Higginbotham preaches for the Karns Church of Christ in Knoxville, TN. He may be contacted through the congregation's website. Copyright © 2016 MercEmail