Anyone who has an ear needs to hear that Christ’s overcomer is not just the run-of-the-mill kind of saint, who gets into Heaven with the smell of smoke on him or her (see 1 Corinthians 3:15). To get the heavenly rewards mentioned in Revelation chapters 2 and 3, every saint must be the spiritual conqueror (a more than a conqueror) kind of overcomer—a faithful and obedient even unto death kind of saint.
What have believers in Christ done with encouragement or exhortation? It is sad that God’s children do not encourage ALL their brothers and sisters in Christ, when they have the opportunities to do so—sad that so many believers, instead, think it is okay to pick and choose the people they will give support to, give hope to, give help to, show love to, inspire, strengthen, and etcetera.
Let us always be ready not only to rejoice with the folks who want us to celebrate with them but also be ready to care for the ones who need us to demonstrate compassion for them.
I am a divorced woman, and I have been divorced for 18 years. I did not want a divorce; nevertheless, here I am feeling once again like I lost my soulmate. Sadly, every August 13th—as well as at least 5 days leading up to it and 2 or 3 days after it—I suffer from a deep sense of loss that cannot be avoided no matter how hard I try.
Our knowledge of spiritual warfare and the proper mindset/attitude we need to have about our unseen war come from knowing God’s Divine Truths. That is why He provides us with at least 39 Bible verses/passages that either deal specifically with spiritual warfare or the godly attitude we need to have about the ways the devil is fighting us (God’s Children and Christ’s Soldiers) for our living souls—our minds, wills, desires, determinations, consciences, affections, emotions, personalities, five senses, common sense, and so on and so forth. In short, since we ARE living souls who HAVE living souls, we need to know and understand that the devil is after everything that pertains to our living souls (where the devil truly loves to operate; where he definitely loves to make his appeal to our emotions and affections—our fleshly lusts, desires, and appetites).
There is NO MIDDLE GROUND. If we are born again and saved believers in Christ, then we either are on fire for the Lord, or we are lukewarm Christians. In order to not be lukewarm Christians, we have to receive AND cooperate with the better Baptism that John the Baptist speaks about in Matthew 3:11 and Luke 3:16. We have to be baptized with the Holy Spirit and Fire.
We were not created just to become believers in Christ Jesus, and we were not created just so we can get into Heaven. We also were not created just to preach the Gospel—to evangelize and disciple the whole world. Then too, we never were created just so that we can live comfortable lives—have comfortable jobs, comfortable paychecks (or comfortable bank accounts/savings), comfortable homes, comfortable friends, and/or comfortable churches or ministries. First and foremost, God has created human beings for His Glory. His Glory is the beauty and excellence of His diverse holiness or countless perfections. His Glory also is the revelation and manifestation of His Character or all that He has and all that He is.
To believe that we aren’t supposed to suffer is just us deluding ourselves—setting ourselves up for a Humpty-Dumpty fall. When our morality fails us, or when our idol status is revoked and no one worships us anymore, or when we actually fall from grace and shatter into millions of pieces—too many for our reliable, supportive, and encouraging family members and friends to put us back together—perhaps this is when we will believe and trust in what the Word of God says about suffering, which mainly is that the suffering of trials not only proves our character and integrity but also tests the object and quality of our faith.
Originally posted on Gone Fishin':
Instantly I was in the Spirit, and there before me in heaven stood a throne, and…
In God’s Kingdom, the leadership structure is turned inside out and upside down. That’s why the Lord teaches that leadership is humble servanthood, and the better a believer serves the best interests of others the more frequently Father God will update that person’s leadership status.
