Prayer Journal
Thursday, September 14, 2000
"We ought always to thank God for you, brothers, and rightly so, because your faith is growing more and more, and the love every one of you has for each other is increasing." 2 Thes 1:3
Paul said the church at Thessalonica should be praised for enduring persecution. He further said their faith was obvious, as was their love for each other. One can't help but wonder if that would have been said of them had they not gone through horrific trial and tribulation. It's said that you can test the "metal" of a man's character by watching him "in the fire". The early church had trouble with a capital "T".
In Revelation, John took dictation from the Son of Man. He faithfully recorded the phrase "to him who overcomes, I will give" to each of the seven churches he addressed. Most theologians believe the seven churches of Revelation were not only real churches, but also symbolically represent the church of all ages. From the apostolic age to the church of the last days, Jesus sent the message to all of them, "In this life, you will have trouble, but don't fear. I have overcome, so you can too."
Sometime I feel today's church demeans the character of the early church by expressing empathy with their suffering and sacrifice. Today, the loss of a cable TV signal on Sunday morning is seen as something to overcome. In the first church, overcoming was watching the bodies of your children torn apart for the amusement of a cheering stadium crowd. This was done simply because you would not deny Christ.
If you are facing trial and tribulation today, you can be confident that God will make a way for you. Countless numbers of Christians sacrifice their lives for the sake of Christ. They are overcomers.
If you want to be an overcomer, then live for Him. When you do, you can be sure that problems are on the way. When they come and you cry out to God, you will find Him to be Not far away. Our Savior is familiar with your distress and His grace is greater than any problem. You can count on it! Just Thinkin'.. WebServant
(1) Scripture comes from the Holy Bible, New International Version; (c)1978 by New York International Bible Society
(2) The images used herein were obtained from the Learning Company's ClickArt Christian Graphics Deluxe product, (c)1999 The Learning Company, Inc and its subsidiaries, 88 Roland Way, Novato, CA 94945 USA. All Rights Reserved.
