Showing posts with label Counting the Cost. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Counting the Cost. Show all posts

Encouragement Notes for Trials in Christ



Greetings sisters! 


I hope you are striving and strong in the Lord! 



Today I wanted to share what I was writing down in my notes for myself to check back at when facing trials. I had one or two thoughts so I started writing and these are what came to me in about ten minutes of thinking so I'm sure there is much much more. And then I included some encouraging and appropriate scriptures here which can strengthen us all! They are in no particular order or anything but I share them anyway. (I use some of my older scripture pictures and some new too.) 


So perhaps these can bless you too in your own life sisters, because we all know we are not going to have an 'easy' life! And we all face many of the same things as we walk in the truth of His Word and deal with those around us. 


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*Don't look at the wind and waves look at Christ! (don't look at the problem. Trust in Christ and live right no matter what.) 


"But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid.

And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water. 

And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus. 

But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me.

And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?"

Matthew 14:27-31




*Rejoice in persecution!


"Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you." 

Matthew 5:11-12



*Don't fear being alone. 


"Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me." 

Psalm 23:4



*I am accountable for myself to God!




*Don't compromise to please people!


"For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ." 

Galatians 1:10



*Don't be partial! 


"I charge thee before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, and the elect angels, that thou observe these things without preferring one before another, doing nothing by partiality." 

1 Timothy 5:21




*God is holy!!!





*Know God's Word. 





*Stand on truth!


"Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;" 

Ephesians 6:14


"I rejoiced greatly that I found of thy children walking in truth, as we have received a commandment from the Father." 

2 John 1:4



*Be strong in faith! 


"For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith." 

1 John 5:4



*All things work together for good! 




*Don't worry about tomorrow! 


"Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof." 

Matthew 6:34



*Be ready to give an answer! 


"But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:" 

1 Peter 3:15



*Shine a light so God is glorified and others may see the truth!









*Pray for wisdom, strength and peace! 


"If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed." 

James 1:5-6







*Trust in the Lord! 


"Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths." 

Proverbs 3:5-6



*Bless enemies and those who persecute you! 


"But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust."

Matthew 5:44-45



*Put on the armour! It's a spiritual battle! 


"Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. 

Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 

For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. 

Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand."

Ephesians 6:10-13

 


*Jesus said few will find it and narrow is the way! 




*I can do all things through Christ! 





*God is in control! 


"But now, O Lord, thou art our father; we are the clay, and thou our potter; and we all are the work of thy hand." 

Isaiah 64:8

 

"For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that." 

James 4:15



*Christ is coming back for His own! 


"For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words."

1 Thessalonians 4:16-18


 

*If we stand the test and overcome we shall be with the Father and all His holy saints! 

"He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels." 

Revelation 3:5 



*Nothing in this life is worthy to be compared with the glory to come! 




*Rejoice in the Lord! 





So I hope my notes might edify and bless you as well. They were rather impromptu but it will be good to look back over them at times myself. I'm starting to think of more I could add but I'm going to stop there. 


Lord willing, I shall be back tomorrow. 


Strive on in Christ, sisters! 


"Wherefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered without the gate. 

Let us go forth therefore unto him without the camp, bearing his reproach. 

For here have we no continuing city, but we seek one to come. 

By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name."

Hebrews 13:12-15



Love, peace, and joy in Christ, 


...from one of God's daughters 


See the biblical gospel here

Trials and Trails


Greetings in the Lord wherever you are!


"And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.

For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it?

Lest haply, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him,

Saying, This man began to build, and was not able to finish.

Or what king, going to make war against another king, sitteth not down first, and consulteth whether he be able with ten thousand to meet him that cometh against him with twenty thousand?

Or else, while the other is yet a great way off, he sendeth an ambassage, and desireth conditions of peace.

So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple."
Luke 14:27-33

What an accurate description of what it's like to follow Christ! Reminds me of the parable of the soils as well; some endured for a time but fell away later. And of the rich young ruler too because he didn't want to give up the one thing that was keeping him from the kingdom. 

I pray each of you setting out to follow Christ have counted that great cost of what it will cost you to truly follow Him. But Christ IS WORTHY! 


As we grow and mature we will be constantly refining and getting into the fine details of our lives and actions. At first we may deal with the so called big things and sins (we have to start somewhere) but once you have overcome those you keep going deeper and deeper daily to bring all things captive for Christ. 

"(For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)

Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;"
2 Corinthians 10:4-5

I was taking a walk today and I often see tracks of animals and other things along the driveway. Though I don't usually see the things that create them, it is a bit of history preserved from what was there some time ago. It's very sandy here so everything leaves a trail behind it...nothing is hidden. 

Birds... 

A cow...

Vehicles... 

And an ant trail... 

(And I often see lizard ones or even snakes.)

I was thinking how that could relate to us in our walks in the Lord. What kind of tracks are we godly women leaving? What do they also look like to God who sees into our heart? What are...

our actions

our words

our thoughts 

our motives

telling about us as we live out our days and time moves on? 

God sees and knows all. Will it be a trail of shame or one we see we were living victorious with the power of the Spirit. We do not become perfect just like God is, no, because we are still human, and we might and do fail at times but over time we will and must be growing if we are truly in Christ. And yes we are to aim for perfection and maturity in the Lord.


And yes we should be focusing on things above and not looking back but we do, as the seconds of the day move on, leave actions behind us for others, ourselves, and God to see. 

What do those around us see of our lives? Can they find faults and sins, selfishness, complaining, or compromise on what they know the Bible teaches (even if they aren't doing it themselves)? Do they see hypocrisy?

I like what this verse says here (even though it isn't addressed to us women specifically)...it's still true no doubt. 

"...that he that is of the contrary part may be ashamed, having no evil thing to say of you."
Titus 2:8b

And this one... 

"If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified.

But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evildoer, or as a busybody in other men's matters.

Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf.
1 Peter 4:14-16

Reminds me of this one too. They couldn't find "fault" with Daniel except in regard to his faith in God. 

"Then the presidents and princes sought to find occasion against Daniel concerning the kingdom; but they could find none occasion nor fault; forasmuch as he was faithful, neither was there any error or fault found in him.

Then said these men, We shall not find any occasion against this Daniel, except we find it against him concerning the law of his God."
Daniel 6:4-5

May that be us as we live in this world among them, but separated unto Christ, and not like them. Let us strive our best to be blameless and if anyone wants to find fault with us may it be in regard to God and His holy truth and if we suffer for that and righteousness we know what we can do... 

"Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man's sake.

Rejoice ye in that day, and leap for joy

for, behold, your reward is great in heaven: for in the like manner did their fathers unto the prophets."
Luke 6:22-23


Strive on sisters! 

Love in Christ,

...from a servant of the Lord 

See the gospel to eternal life here