The Will Of God Will Not Take Us…

…where the grace of God cannot sustain us.

As a young church planter in the early 1980’s, I remember feeling like I just could not do the job. People opposed me, church growth seemed terribly slow, I was working so many hours yet seeing what seemed like so little progress. It seemed that either I was out of the will of God or that God’s grace didn’t extend to this calling.

In retrospect, that perspective was an illusion. The church eventually grew, we reached many with the Gospel, we became self-supporting right on schedule, I began to hire staff, God provided a building, I never missed a single paycheck. That church, started in 1981, still has an active ministry after 35 years!

As Billy Graham says in this quote, the will of God did NOT take me anywhere His graced did not sustain me. It just seemed like He wasn’t doing enough.

I don’t know how you’re feeling today. Perhaps you’re dealing with a terrible illness, perhaps the death of a dear friend or family member, perhaps financial shortcoming, perhaps opposition and unfair pressure or persecution.

But God will sustain you and He has a plan. 

Recently my daily Bible reading brought me to the story of Joseph. Do you remember what happened to him? He was hated by his brothers, sold by them into slavery (although some would rather have killed him), falsely accused of rape, put in prison for about 2 years, had friends who were executed, and could have been himself.

But God was there to sustain him through it all. When vindicated and again face-to-face with his brothers he concluded, “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good.” (Genesis 50:20a ESV)

Did Joseph suffer? Yes!Was he horribly betrayed? Yes!Was he incredibly abandoned? Yes!Did he have reason to wonder if God was working? Yes!

Yet the will of God never took him where the grace of God could not sustain him. 

He faithfully served God, even in slavery and imprisonment. In the end, God lifted him to a remarkable place of second in the Kingdom.

You and I probably won’t ever be elevated to such a high position, but the point remains: “The will of God will not take us where the grace of God cannot sustain us.”

When we suffer, when we are abandoned and betrayed, let’s remember that God is still working, still sustaining, still making “all things work together for good to them that love God.” (Romans 8:28 KJV)

For more help for handling pain, grief, discouragement, depression and suffering, see my articles and podcasts on: 

• Four Steps to Climb Out of a Pit of Depression

• How to Handle the Death of a Loved One How to Overcome the Agony of Discouragement and Find Hope Again

• How to be Smarter About Failure in Life

• How to Survive Rejection and Find Acceptance Today

• 3 Steps to Overcoming Betrayal and Building Trust Again

• Podcast: Is it OK to be angry with God?

• Podcast: Why Aren’t My Prayers Answered?

• Podcast: How should I pray when suffering?

To learn how to receive Jesus Christ as your Savior and be saved for all eternity click HERE. 

To develop your relationship with God, get my free eBook “10 Prayers to Unlock Heaven on Earth” click HERE.

NOTE: Facebook is random. Email is reliable. Subscribe via email and you won’t miss any of my articles, podcasts or videos. You’ll also get my eBook: 10 Prayers to Unlock Heaven on Earth

4 Simple Yet Powerful Ways To Protect Your Marriage

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Years ago I was guest teaching at a small Bible College. My friend, a full-time professor there, had done the unthinkable. He had left his wife and literally run away with one of the students. It was a major moral disaster for his marriage, his family, the girl and the Bible school. I began to think about what to do to protect your marriage.

Here we are at church a few weeks ago.

As I write this, Carolyn and I are about to celebrate our 37th anniversary (on August 4, 2016). I’m so thankful that we’ve never had such a horrible marital crisis as this couple. Why didn’t we? One big reason is that we have implemented simple yet powerful protections.

How can you protect your marriage? How can you make sure nothing like this ever happens to you?

Here are 4 simple yet powerful ways to protect your marriage:

01. Be very careful about outside male-female friendships.

“Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” (Proverbs 4:23 NIV)

Carolyn and I have best friends: hers are female, mine are male. 

We hear about couples who have best friendships of the opposite sex that end in disaster. It’s almost proverbial that marriages are often obliterated when a spouse runs off with a best friend.

Affairs don’t incubate and hatch in 5 minutes. There’s a “courting” period. Thus, the further we stay away from any potential of incubation, the safer our marriages will be.

To protect your marriage, be very careful about your outside relationships.

02. Try to avoid all appearance of evil.

“Abstain from all appearance of evil.” (1 Thessalonians 5:22 KJV)

Years ago when traveling with Josh McDowell we met a single church leader who had a large house. His girlfriend was living in one of the “other bedrooms.” Josh cited this verse as reason enough not to have a girlfriend living in the house, period. Although they claimed to be living separately, they were not avoiding “all appearance of evil.”

Of course, avoiding the appearance of evil is always a judgment call. Someone might think it is OK to have lunch out with a person of the opposite sex. Others might not.

How do we know what is appropriate? One great way is to ask your spouse and then accept the response without argument. Even better, ask the Lord. If your heart is humble and seeking Him, He will guide you into a wise course of action (James 1:5).

03. Don’t compare unless it’s a favorable comparison.

“There are many virtuous and capable women in the world, but you surpass them all!” (Proverbs 31:29 NLT)

“You are altogether beautiful, my love; there is no flaw in you.” (Song of Solomon 4:7 ESV)

I love how the writer of these passages praises his wife as the “best in the world” in whom there is “no flaw.” Were those conclusions based on scientific research? Of course not—it’s just opinion.

Likewise, in my opinion, my wife is the wisest and most beautiful woman in the world.

If you refuse to make unfavorable comparisons, your opinion will be the same. Simply the best.

The opposite is to compare and even verbally demean your spouse. That’s about the dumbest thing in the world to do. This includes say cutting things and are “just joking.”

But the problem isn’t just spoken words. The issue begins with our attitudes. Any attitude like “I could have done better,” and “now I’m stuck” or “I don’t know what I was thinking” has your marriage on dangerous grounds.

To protect your marriage, don’t compare your spouse unless you are making a favorable comparison.

04. Avoid slippery slopes.

As I write, Carolyn and I have our handyman Leonard in the backyard putting steps into the slope down our hill. Why? Because it is quite steep and every time we need to go to the bottom of our property, we slide and almost fall. It’s dangerous—someone could wrench their back or ever suffer broken bones.

In a similar way, there are slippery slopes in marriage we must carefully avoid.

Here are some examples:

• Connecting with “old flames” on Facebook or other social media.

• Pornography

• Flirting with the opposite sex.

• Shows, movies and other entertainment with the outright or subtle message that “sexual relations outside of marriage are exciting and harmless.

• ”Sexual daydreaming and lust.

People say, “What’s the danger? It’s just entertainment, just fun. Don’t be so stodgy.”

Proverbs puts the danger in this way: “For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he.” (Proverbs 23:7a KJV)

Someone summarized this idea with this wise saying:

We sow a thought and reap an act;

We sow an act and reap a habit;

We sow a habit and reap a character;

We sow a character and reap a destiny.

It all begins with our thoughts. How do you get rid of the slippery slope of harmful thoughts? You practice “thought replacement.” You replace bad thoughts and temptation with good and helpful thoughts.

This is exactly what God’s Word says to do: “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” (Philippians 4:8 ESV)

This year (2016) marks the halfway point of our marriage, 37 years (I’m shooting for 75!). How will we make it? It will take effort AND healthy habits like the 4 in this article. I pray that you will protect your marriage by following these 4 guidelines also.

For more help with building a happy marriage, check out these articles I have written:

• Five Keys to Stay Happily Married for 34 Years

• Five MORE Keys to Stay Happily Married for 34 Years

• 5 Ways to Porn-proof Your Mind and Marriage

• Why Did God Create Marriage?

• The Toilet Bowl is Swirling – Keep the Lid Closed!

• Podcast: Is divorce OK if things just aren’t working?

• Podcast: Is interracial marriage biblical?

NOTE: Facebook is random. Email is reliable. Subscribe via email and you won’t miss any of my articles, podcasts or videos. You’ll also get my eBook: 10 Prayers to Unlock Heaven on Earth

What Will Happen In The End Times?

"Christianity Questions and Answers" podcast CQA 053

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Many people wonder what will happen in the end times. What does Bible prophecy say? It seems like the world is getting more tenuous and the end is getting nearer. What will happen then?

In this podcast Dr. Hal Seed and I share about End Times events. It was recorded live at New Song Community Church in Oceanside, CA. Pastor Hal Seed and I were answering questions posed to us live that day.

This podcast release is timely in the light of the death a few days ago of Dr. Tim LaHaye at age 90. He was the co-author with Jerry Jenkins of the mega best-selling “Left Behind” series of novels on the end times. The Left Behind series sold over 62 million copies worldwide.

In addition, his ministry bio noted that:

He also founded two accredited Christian high schools, a school system of 10 Christian schools, San Diego Christian College (formerly Christian Heritage College), and assisted Dr. Henry Morris in the founding of the Institute for Creation Research, the nation’s foremost exponent of creationist materials.

LaHaye has written more than 60 non-fiction books on a wide range of subjects such as: family life, temperaments, sexual adjustment, Bible prophecy, the will of God, Jesus Christ, and secular humanism with over 14 million in print, some of which have been translated into 32 foreign languages. His writings are best noted for their easy-to-understand and scripturally based application of biblical principles that assist in facing and handling the challenges of life.

This podcast is dedicated to the memory of Tim LaHaye who had a huge impact on people understanding the end times.

For more help on my website with understanding end times prophecy and events check out these resources:

• How to Prepare for Eternity Now and Face Death with Confidence Later

• What Can We Learn from a Cemetery Under a City Park?

• Hungry for Heaven

• Podcast: If I commit suicide, will I go to hell?

• Podcast: Is cremation biblically permissible for Christians?

• Podcast: Why would God take away our free will in heaven for eternity?

• Podcast: What exactly is hell?

To learn more about this “Christianity Questions and Answers” podcast and how to submit your questions, click HERE. 

To receive Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord click HERE.

To develop your relationship with God, get my free eBook “10 Prayers to Unlock Heaven on Earth” click HERE.

NOTE: Facebook is random. Email is reliable. Subscribe via email and you won’t miss any of my articles, podcasts or videos. You’ll also get my eBook: 10 Prayers to Unlock Heaven on Earth