God's Fertilizer

"All things work together for good to them who love God and are the called according to his purpose" (Romans 8:28). "Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing. So they led him by the hand into Damascus. For three days he was blind, and did not eat or drink anything" (Acts 9:8-9). A study of church history reveals that most Christian leaders had an advanced degree in adversity. I believe God's purpose in allowing difficulty in a believers life is to advance their spiritual growth. Romans 8:28 is a conditional promise. For the person who shuns spiritual growth and spurns an intimate relationship with the Lord, there is no guarantee that "All things will work for good." "Good" may refer to character development or a faith lesson that results from adversity. These are things God values far more than health, wealth, or many other blessing we tend to place a high value on. If you lose your job you are not guaranteed you will get a better one. The true blessing may lie in your coming to a greater understanding of what it means to trust God daily. How many Biblical characters lives end with "And they lived happily ever after." Moses died in the desert outside of the Promised Land, Paul was beheaded by Nero, most of Christ's disciples were martyred. Does God care about our happiness? Of course, we have the joy of the Lord, as well as the deep happiness that a spiritually maturing believer experiences. However we must grasp God's purposes for suffering or we might become bitter toward Him, and end up blaming Him for our struggles. We must be careful not to see our trials as something God does to us. Rather we must realize they are tools the Lord uses for our benefit. Christlike living may result in changing our priorities from comfort and pleasure, to accepting difficult times as part of God's plan for our spiritual growth. Many times suffering opens the door to greater joy and peace. When we exercise the mind of Christ we begin to understand God's purposes and when the bottom seems to fall out we don't panic, or assume God has forgotten all about us. We know God could speak a word and all our troubles would be erased. But experience tells us that the Father doesn't choose to work that way. When we understand why God permits trying circumstances, we can face trouble with the assurance of His love and mercy. That's why James said "Count it all joy when you encounter many trials" (James 1:2). John Wesley (1703- 1791), fleshes out Romans 8:28. As a young man you wouldn't have thought of him as a great Christian leader. He was just over five feet tall and very thin. In his early years, he suffered greatly from feelings of guilt, inadequacy, and a morbid fear of death. Though he didn't understand the Christian gospel, he devoted himself to doing good works for the poor in an effort to earn his way to heaven. While in his early thirties, he sailed to America to do missionary work among the American Indians. While crossing the Atlantic, Wesley's ship passed through a violent storm that broke the main mast off its base and nearly sank the ship. As the waves crashed over the ship, Wesley huddled in terror, knowing he didn't have peace with God. He survived the storm, and continued to struggle in his relationship with God for several more years. Finally, back in London, he attended a meeting on Aldersgate Street, where he heard a preacher reading from the preface of Martin Luthers' book on Romans, Luther wrote that salvation comes by faith in Christ alone. At that point, he said, "I felt my heart strangely warmed." Soon after that, Wesley began preaching the gospel. John Wesley was well acquainted with adversity. He was married to a most difficult woman, on occasion she would physically beat him. He stayed married to her and provided for her all his life. As an itinerant preacher he spoke on an average of three times a days, and he wrote gospel hymns and sermons as he traveled by horseback. His own words give us a glimpse into his heart. "Lord, I am no longer my own, but Yours. Put me to what You will, rank me with whom You will. Let be employed by You or laid aside for You, exalted for You or brought low by You. Let me have all things, let me have nothing, I freely and heartily yield all things to Your pleasure and disposal. And now, O glorious and blessed God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, You are mine and I am Yours. So be it." Amen John Wesley His fifty-two-year preaching ministry became the foundation of the modern evangelical movement. But it never would have happened if John Wesley had not been tossed on the stormy seas of adversity. Adversity is often God's fertilizer for spiritual calling. Dr. Ken Copley is available for counseling, conferences, and local church meetings.

How to "Rejoice Always"

“Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!”- Philippians 4:4. Make no mistake about it, God desires that we rejoice, but He wants us to rejoice with purpose. If we are not rejoicing with His purpose in mind, we will have merely titillated our senses. Psalm 21:1 Tells us there will be everlasting Joy when God's Kingdom is established on earth. Joy and gladness are not only deep inward feelings, they are also expressed in visible celebration when God's people gather together. Why is rejoicing so import? Because "The joy of the Lord is our strength." Joy is a fruit of the Holy Spirit. A believers joy is conditioned by the believers knowledge of the Word. We know that "Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth." (I Cor. 13:6). Speaking to believers Isaiah 60:15 says "Whereas you have been forsaken and hated... I will make you an eternal excellence, a joy of many generations." No only do we as believers experience joy, we are to pass joy on to others. Ephesians 5:20 says "Always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ." For some, this is difficult, actually, at times, we all stumble over this command. We are certainly a gracious people when things are going well. When we return from a trip safely we are quick to thank the Lord for our safe arrival. But let's suppose the trip was a disaster, we were involved in an accident and we were injured. Perhaps the accident caused a delay that cost a large sale or the loss of an important client. Maybe lightning struck the house, or a burglar broke in damaged the house and stole irreplaceable valuables. Do we see God's hand in these circumstances as well? Or do we serve a God who is only involved in the "Good" things of life? Did Job bemoan his "Bad luck" or murmur against God. Just the opposite, he bowed before Him, and blessed Him (Job 1:13-22). Was Job being fatalistic or blind to reality? Not on your life. People who live by genuine faith in God, always rejoice in the Lord, knowing He is involved in all aspects of life. Paul's exhortation to the Philippians is nothing short of a call to faith, this call goes out to those undergoing some sort of heavy trial. When a believer knows that his life and all its circumstances are in the hands of the sovereign, wise, and loving God who is always working for his good, (Romans 8:28-29), then he can truly "Rejoice always." Dr. Ken Copley is available for counseling, conferences, and local church meetings.

God's Cure For Fear

The Scriptures tell us that "Fear has torment." How easy it is to get our eyes off the Lord and on to our circumstances. When Peter was walking on the water he was doing just fine until he took his eyes off Jesus and looked at the storm. When we focus on our circumstances, we begin to sink, just like Peter did. The truth is God is sovereign over every detail of our life. Nothing escapes God, there is nothing that surprises God. And believe it or not we can't teach Him anything, for He has nothing to learn, he knows everything. I am amazed how segments of the theological world will try to get rid of God's sovereignty. There is a new view call "Open Theism or open Theology" being taught (in some circles), that God knows little more of the future than we do. So He just hangs around with us and grieves with us when things go bad. The truth is God sees the future as clearly as He sees the past. He controls the future, He is Lord, the one in charge. He is still the Potter, and we remain the clay. I Sam. 2:3 states God is the God of knowledge. He knows everything. We read that "God searches the heart and understands all it's intents and thoughts" (cf. 2 Ch. 16:9; Heb. 4:12). Acts 2:23 tell us "Jesus was delivered to the Jews to be crucified by the determined counsel and foreknowledge of God." In Matt. 24:36 we learn "No one but God knows the day and hour of judgment." Being the creator God, God knows when he made you and when you will die, and every detail between those times. "Before you were born I knit you together in your mothers womb." This is how we can be assured that God is who he says He is. He is the Alpha, the Omega the beginning and the end. I put my trust in Christ because I am sure of my salvation, because I have put my trust in a God who is Omniscient and Omnipotent. Because God is all knowing and all powerful we can agree with Paul who said "For God did not give us a spirit of fear, but a spirit of power, of love and of a sound mind" (II Timothy 1:7). What about fear, we learn from the Lord that fear is the opposite of faith. When the disciples were in the boat in the middle of a huge storm they were fearful. The problem was not the boat in the storm, but the storm in the boat. The water had nearly filled the boat and these seasoned fishermen believed they were going to drown. They overlooked one factor, they had God in the boat. What was he doing, sleeping. They woke Him up and rebuked Him for not caring. He simply stood up and said "Peace be still." and the storm stopped. He looked at His disciples and asked this piercing question, "Why do you fear, why do you have no faith?" When God is in the boat there is no reason to fear. He has power over the storm, God can stop the storms in our life any time He chooses. He can say "Peace be still." and the storm will stop. How often do we rebuke the Lord when we feel He is not helping us? The song writer of old said "Oh what peace we often forfeit, oh what needless pain we bear, all because we do not carry everything to God in prayer." Note the Lord did not stop the storm until the Disciples spoke to Him. Speaking to God is called prayer. Have you been talking with the Lord about your current storm? What was He doing with His disciples, the same thing He does with us, teaching them to trust Him in the storms of life. Each of them would preach the gospel to a hostile world. All would be put to death (with the exception of John) because they would name the name of Christ. I believe there is a "spirit of fear", but it is not the Holy Spirit. As believers we have the Spirit of power, and of love and of a sound mind. The cure for fear is faith, who or what are you trusting in today?