Brethren, for this reason, in [spite of all] our stress and crushing difficulties we have been filled with comfort and cheer about you [because of] your faith (the leaning of your whole personality on God in complete trust and confidence).
—1 Thessalonians 3:7
Go with the flow, and stop being anxious about things that may never happen. If you really trust God, you don’t need a backup plan. Faith means that you have peace even when you don’t have all the answers.
Life will always be stressful if you constantly try to rearrange it. For example, getting upset in a traffic jam doesn’t get you out of it any sooner. But planning for obstacles will inspire you to leave a little earlier for your appointments and keep you from hurrying. Grow in wisdom, and place high priority on keeping your peace in spite of any jams you get into today.
A Plea for Soul Winning from an Unexpected Source
by Dr. Paul Chappell
“And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence. Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father’s house: For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment.”
Luke 16:27–28
The notion that Hell is not a place to be feared has been with us for a long time. In a biography published in 1886 of the lawyer and noted public speaker Emery A. Storrs, we find this anecdote. “A young man once approached him with, ‘Mr. Storrs, pardon me, but you are a man who has thought much upon all topics. I wish to ask you for your opinion of Heaven and Hell.’ Fixing his keen eyes on the enquirer, Mr. Storrs answered ‘When I think of the beauteous descriptions of the abode of the saints, and when I recollect that many noble witty, genial souls have died unregenerate, I must answer you, sir, that, while, doubtless, Heaven has the best climate, Hell has the best society.’”
Yet those who are actually in Hell have no pleasure in the company they are keeping. In the story Jesus told of Lazarus and the rich man, we see that though he had been an unrepentant sinner during his life, this man greatly desired that someone would go and warn his five brothers not to follow him to that place of torment. If we could hear the citizens of Hell today, they would be crying out for us to warn their friends and loved ones of the eternal death facing those without Christ. Hell is real, and it can only be avoided by those who trust Christ before it is too late.
Luke 16:27–28
The notion that Hell is not a place to be feared has been with us for a long time. In a biography published in 1886 of the lawyer and noted public speaker Emery A. Storrs, we find this anecdote. “A young man once approached him with, ‘Mr. Storrs, pardon me, but you are a man who has thought much upon all topics. I wish to ask you for your opinion of Heaven and Hell.’ Fixing his keen eyes on the enquirer, Mr. Storrs answered ‘When I think of the beauteous descriptions of the abode of the saints, and when I recollect that many noble witty, genial souls have died unregenerate, I must answer you, sir, that, while, doubtless, Heaven has the best climate, Hell has the best society.’”
Yet those who are actually in Hell have no pleasure in the company they are keeping. In the story Jesus told of Lazarus and the rich man, we see that though he had been an unrepentant sinner during his life, this man greatly desired that someone would go and warn his five brothers not to follow him to that place of torment. If we could hear the citizens of Hell today, they would be crying out for us to warn their friends and loved ones of the eternal death facing those without Christ. Hell is real, and it can only be avoided by those who trust Christ before it is too late.
Today’s Growth Principle:
We should be just as concerned about keeping people out of Hell as those who are already there are.
Go With the Flow
by Joyce Meyer - posted July 17, 2016Brethren, for this reason, in [spite of all] our stress and crushing difficulties we have been filled with comfort and cheer about you [because of] your faith (the leaning of your whole personality on God in complete trust and confidence).
—1 Thessalonians 3:7
Go with the flow, and stop being anxious about things that may never happen. If you really trust God, you don’t need a backup plan. Faith means that you have peace even when you don’t have all the answers.
Life will always be stressful if you constantly try to rearrange it. For example, getting upset in a traffic jam doesn’t get you out of it any sooner. But planning for obstacles will inspire you to leave a little earlier for your appointments and keep you from hurrying. Grow in wisdom, and place high priority on keeping your peace in spite of any jams you get into today.
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