Saturday, April 6, 2013

Ready when He says to move . . .

Now I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that what has happened to me has actually served to advance the gospel. As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ. And because of my chains, most of the brothers and sisters have become confident in the Lord and dare all the more to proclaim the gospel without fear. It is true that some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of goodwill. The latter do so out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. The former preach Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing that they can stir up trouble for me while I am in chains. But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice. (Philippians 1:12-18)
Paul faced so much throughout his life; torture, imprisonment, animosity, and more. He was rejected by friends and even feared by fellow Christians. Yet he is assured that it is all for the glory of God! The Gospel was shared and people accepted Christ as their Lord and Savior despite Paul's challenges and frustrations. Our ultimate goal is not being comfortable or being accepted, but being sure God is being glorified within our lives. We all have our own goals . . . good, healthy and Godly goals for our lives. But we must remember there is always God's timing! Life may seem challenging. Time may seem to drag by or even speed by with no sense of accomplishment. However, God is always at work! His answers are not always immediate and many times delayed. It important that we are ready however when He says to move! So we too must always be at work . . . about His business.(Luke 2:49)Many will think we are wasting our time, money and even our lives away. Doing God's business is not always understood by those closest to us. Know that God sees what we are doing. Our labor is not in vain.
My dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Don’t let anything move you. Always give yourselves completely to the work of the Lord. Because you belong to the Lord, you know that your work is not worthless.(1 Corinthians 15:58)

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