Do Our Trials Mark Us As God's Children?

My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that 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 (NKJV)

I have a sinking suspicion that modern Christianity has turned the truths of Jesus’ teachings on their head. In the west we have the idea that the better Christian that you are, the greater your faith, the more prosperous and healthy and happy you will be also.

Yet what if this is completely upside down? What if the thing that marks us as followers of our Lord is not pleasure, but persecution, problems, and pain? What if, in like much of the world, being a Christian meant trouble, persecution, danger, jail, imprisonment, and perhaps death? How could we rectify those realities with our current infatuation with a “Prosperity Gospel”?

But does not God bless and prosper His children? Can we not ask Him for health and blessings? Of course we can. And we know that just as the Bible tells us God’s children will suffer persecution and trials of various types, we are also blessed in the land of our affliction.

We need a wise, balanced understanding of the gospel. God is primarily interested in our eternal well being. Our final destination is what counts in the end. And how we get there matters, our faithfulness in persecution, trials, and hardship. Much worse for us than persecution may be our prosperity. Those who are living in pleasure and prosperity have little need for a God, or perhaps we should say, they have too little understanding of their need for God and do not recognize their spiritual poverty as does one who is continually in need of one thing or another.

If God blesses you, give Him thanks and recognize that all good gifts come from Him. And if He allows various trials into your life, give Him thanks, recognizing that through our trials our dependence and confidence in Him can grow and root us more deeply into the faith that we cherish.

Prayer: Dear Lord, when we are in need help us to keep our eyes on You, and when You bless and prosper us, help us to focus our eyes upon You even more recognizing our spiritual poverty. Amen.

Karlton Douglas

Copyright 2016

How Can We Trust God?

In the Lord I put my trust;
How can you say to my soul,
“Flee as a bird to your mountain”?
For look! The wicked bend their bow,
They make ready their arrow on the string,
That they may shoot secretly at the upright in heart. Psalm 11:1-2 (NKJV)

If we are honest with ourselves we must admit that it is not always easy to trust God. When our problems loom larger every day, when endless prayers seem to go unanswered, and when we do not see the changes in situations we have hungered for--it is easy to begin doubting God.

Yet God does not work on our time table. What seems “forever” to us is a mere speck of time to God. He has His own goals, ideas, and plans for us. And sometimes that means we remain in the refiner’s fire a bit longer.

He will sit as a refiner and a purifier of silver; He will purify the sons of Levi, And purge them as gold and silver, That they may offer to the Lord An offering in righteousness. Malachi 3:3 (NKJV)

Test and trials, pain, suffering, misery, our soul screams to be released from our afflictions and our numerous troubles. And those troubles come far too frequently.

Many are the afflictions of the righteous, But the Lord delivers him out of them all.  Psalm 34:19 (NKJV)

Yes, we sometimes have more than our share of pain and problems, but do not miss that last portion of scripture: But the Lord delivers him out of them all.

One way or another God is going to deliver us. We may be tempted to doubt God today, but if we will hold on, if we will trust Him in spite of our current circumstances, the Lord will deliver us, He will never forsake us.

Prayer: Dear Lord, we do not want to doubt You, be patient with us, give us patience and courage, and please deliver us from our troubles. Amen.

Karlton Douglas

Copyright 2016

Just How Happy Are You?

Happy are the people who are in such a state; Happy are the people whose God is the Lord! Psalm 144:15 (NKJV)

Some people must work at being happy, and yet others seem to be naturally happy. Anyone can fake a smile, but happiness that beams through a smile and shines through the eyes, that can not be faked.

One dear lady comes to mind who fought cancer and yet seemed perpetually happy, a glorious smile upon her beaming face. I admit that I envy such people. I have difficulty maintaining happiness even with small irritations entering upon my life, much less life-altering issues confronting me.

The Greek Philosopher Epictetus made the point to his students that affliction shows who a person truly is and their reactions to adversity is the most important aspect or measure of themselves. He said show me someone who is:

Sick and yet happy
In Peril and yet happy
Dying and yet happy
In Exile and happy
In Disgrace and happy
---Epictetus

For some of us attaining happiness will always take an effort of will and determination. For others happiness may be as natural as breathing. Whichever category you find yourself in, maintaining a happy attitude in adversity is a noble goal and admirable quality that we should all strive for because the Lord is with us in good times and bad, He sends both the rain and sunshine. While we enjoy the sunshine, the rain cleanses and purifies much like affliction and the refiners fire bringing forth the gold in our lives, pure and precious to God is the suffering of His saints (Psa. 72:14. Psa. 116:15).

You may not feel very happy right now, and perhaps for good reason, but happiness is a choice, and when we choose to be happy in spite of difficult circumstances, I think we show appreciation and offer up our gratitude toward God for giving us yet another day of precious life upon His glorious earth.

Prayer: Dear Lord, we thank You for this day, and appreciate every day You give to us. We will strive to be happy, making that choice today, no matter the circumstances in our life. Amen.

Karlton Douglas

Copyright 2016

Finding Our Way Home When Lost

“What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost until he finds it? Luke 15:4 (NKJV)

Our little Shih Tzu dog has never been one to run away, but perhaps it was the lovely sunny day outside that tempted him to take his opportunity to head into the great outdoors when he found a door left open for few minutes. My wife and I were in a panic when we found our dog was missing. She ran frantically out back looking for him and I yelled his name at the top of my lungs. Finally the little fellow came running around the side of the house grinning from ear to ear. I was torn between wanting to swat him with a newspaper and hugging the brat.

God must have even stronger feelings when one of His children go off on their own, following their will and desire despite their Master’s wishes. What sorrow, concern, and frustration must pass through our Father’s heart when we go astray and are lost. Yet also what joy and happiness must the Father feel, what rejoicing when we hear His voice and turn from our way back onto the straight path to Him!

If we had even the slightest glimpse of the the Father’s heart, His love, His compassion, His desire for our well being and happiness, and how much we wound Him when we go astray, following our own willful course in life, we would never do it. If we truly knew His heart, we would never hurt Him or stubbornly resist His good will for us.

The fact is we all go astray at times, either through ignorance, foolishness, or stubbornness, we sometimes lose our way in life. The good news is that our heavenly Father is ever ready to receive us into His loving arms and welcome us back home.

Take time this week to consider the goodness of God, and how He has welcomed you home. And if you are one of those still gone astray, open your heart to the Father’s love, receive Jesus and find your way back into the Father’s loving arms.

Prayer: Father forgive our willfulness and stubbornness at choosing our own way instead of Your good way and the safe place You have for us. Guide us by Your Spirit and thank You for receiving us into Your loving arms. Amen.

Karlton Douglas

Copyright 2016

Tough Times Never Last

You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. 2 Timothy 2:3 (NKJV)

Years ago I read a book by Robert Schuller called: “Tough Times Never Last But Tough People Do.” I have never forgotten that book or its message. I have found it to be true over the years. The fact is that tough times come upon us all, no one is immune to tough times. And another fact is that even though we will all face tough times, if we will remain faithful, and depend upon God, and keep plodding forward--we will endure and overcome the tough times. I know that is easier said than done, but I also know it is true.

Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day.  For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal. 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 (NKJV)

And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart. Galatians 6:9 (NKJV)

When I hear about someone, or from someone, who is going through a really terrible time, I wish that I could remove their burden, and somehow fix their situation. But in most cases I cannot solve their problem, or remove their difficulty. I know that when all is said and done, only God can give a person the strength and wisdom and ability to overcome their obstacles, and to endure their difficulties. No one else can live through our tough times for us, but for those of us who know Jesus as Lord and Savior, we can know that we are not alone, Jesus is with us in our trials and hardships.

There is a story about the Apostle Peter. It seems that at the end of Peter’s life, he was being persecuted, and was fleeing from the persecution. But he met Jesus on the road, and Peter asked what Jesus was doing there. Jesus told Peter that He, Jesus, was going to Rome to be crucified again. At those words, Peter turned around, and headed back to Rome, understanding that it was time to face the tough road of martyrdom that Jesus had laid out for him. At first glance this is not a cheerful story, but what I take from it is that Jesus knows about the difficulties that lay before us, and that He goes with us into difficulties, even challenges that are far beyond our own strength to endure.

teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen. Matthew 28:20

Christian, you are not alone in this world, and you are not alone in facing the tough times that enter your life. It is not easy to deal with hard times, and the weight of such times can weary us to the bone, and drag us down to the ground. Yet I have noticed that there comes a point in every challenging situation where we must make a decision, sometimes stubbornly, sometimes humbly, sometimes in sheer frustration, to decide that the tough time is not going to be the end of us, that we are not orphans in the world, subject to its whims, but rather we are the children of God, with all the rights and privileges that come from God our Father. We must determine, in spite of our weaknesses and feelings, in spite of our terrible situation, and without denying the reality of the hardship, that we are either going to survive the situation, or go down fighting, for tough times never last, but tough people do.

Dear Lord, we do not always feel tough, or able to face the challenges that come our way, yet we are not without help. Fill us with Your Spirit and power, and give us the strength and courage to face our tough times. Amen.

Karlton Douglas

Copyright 2016

Who Is Jesus?

He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Matthew 16:15 (NKJV)

Who do you say that Jesus is? What comes to your mind when you think about Jesus? Do you see Him as a great philosopher or teacher? The founder of a religious movement? The guide for political change?

Jesus was a very complicated person. It is no accident that we find many of His words and teachings hard to grasp, and that we struggle to get a fix on exactly what His teachings and ideas mean. There have been books written about: “The Difficult Sayings of Jesus”. Jesus is complex, and He does not fit easily into any theological box. He is exactly what you might expect from one who is both God and man, the incarnate God among us.

For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; Colossians 2:9 (NKJV)

People are still trying to make a political figure out of Jesus--yet He shunned politics. People have established elaborate religious rituals and traditions upon Jesus--yet He shunned religious show and pomp. People set up long lists of rules and regulations, legalistic structures and strictures in His name--yet Jesus despised legalism and scorned a religion of rules that did not recognize the rule of love, kindness, compassion, and forgiveness for our fellows. Jesus simply does not fit into our “religious boxes”.

He answered and said to them, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written:

‘This people honors Me with their lips,

But their heart is far from Me.

And in vain they worship Me,

Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’

For laying aside the commandment of God, you hold the tradition of men —the washing of pitchers and cups, and many other such things you do.” Mark 7:6-8 (NKJV)

Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ. Colossians 2:8 (NKJV)

Brothers and Sisters, people will always try to make use of Jesus to prop up their politics, their religious ideologies, and to justify their inhumane treatment of others, but if you want one word that sums up Christ, and that can help you avoid getting distracted by ideologies, remember that Jesus is love. He is motivated by love, even when He makes strong comments and warnings against our religious hypocrisy, He wants to reveal the Father. And Jesus brings the Holy Spirit, so that we are not misled by vain religion and doctrines of mere men. Jesus directs us to the Father, and toward a kingdom not of this world. Indeed, He warned that the cares of this world can choke the very word of God in our lives (Mark 4:19). Jesus set up an inner kingdom of the heart, and He changed us from children of darkness to children of light. His love lights the path before us.

Any emphasis upon Jesus that fails to recognize His core nature of love will be misleading. Do not get sidetracked from the real Jesus, the saving Lord of glory. He lived for love, He died for love, and He lives again in love through those who are His true children.

Dear Lord, keep us on the track of love, so that we never lose sight of who You truly are. Amen.

Karlton Douglas

Copyright 2016