Do you not know that your body is the temple (the very sanctuary) of the Holy Spirit Who lives within you, Whom you have received [as a Gift] from God? You are not your own, You were bought with a price [purchased with a preciousness and paid for, made His own]. So then, honor God and bring glory to Him in your body.
—1 Corinthians 6:19-20
The word stress was originally an engineering term used to refer to the amount of force a beam or other physical support could bear without collapsing under strain.
In our time, the word has been expanded to refer not only to physical pressure but also to mental and emotional tension. As human beings, you and I are built to handle a normal amount of stress. God has created us to withstand a certain amount of pressure and tension. The problem comes when we push ourselves beyond our limitations, beyond what we were intended to bear without permanent damage. But like so many people, because I have things to do, I just keep pushing myself even though it is causing me physical damage.
Of course, when sickness tries to come on Dave or me, we immediately pray for healing. But if you become sick as a result of running your body down by pushing it beyond the limits God set for you to operate in good health, you need rest as well as prayer to restore your health. The boundaries He has set for us are for our own good.
Purpose and Persistence
by Dr. Paul Chappell
“But as we were allowed of God to be put in trust with the gospel, even so we speak; not as pleasing men, but God, which trieth our hearts. For neither at any time used we flattering words, as ye know, nor a cloke of covetousness; God is witness: Nor of men sought we glory, neither of you, nor yet of others, when we might have been burdensome, as the apostles of Christ.”
1 Thessalonians 2:4–6
According to a Pew Research report, some six thousand churches closed their doors in America in 2015. That is a staggering number—more than one hundred per week over the course of the year. While many of these churches were not preaching the gospel or committed to truly following the Word of God, some were. Yet they struggled to continue. Although there are a number of reasons churches fail, the reality that they do should cause us to renew our focus on what God commissioned the church to accomplish.
Success in ministry (or any other aspect of life) is found in faithfulness to what God commands us to do. God does not measure success the same way that the world does. He measures it by our obedience and faithfulness to do as He instructed. He has commissioned us to proclaim the gospel—He put the gospel in our trust. To continue to proclaim it and to keep it as our center focus over the course of years requires persistence.
The tragedy is that many Christians and churches are existing without any particular purpose. They drift from project to event to program without focus. By contrast Paul accomplished much because he stayed on mission. “Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,” (Philippians 3:13).
1 Thessalonians 2:4–6
According to a Pew Research report, some six thousand churches closed their doors in America in 2015. That is a staggering number—more than one hundred per week over the course of the year. While many of these churches were not preaching the gospel or committed to truly following the Word of God, some were. Yet they struggled to continue. Although there are a number of reasons churches fail, the reality that they do should cause us to renew our focus on what God commissioned the church to accomplish.
Success in ministry (or any other aspect of life) is found in faithfulness to what God commands us to do. God does not measure success the same way that the world does. He measures it by our obedience and faithfulness to do as He instructed. He has commissioned us to proclaim the gospel—He put the gospel in our trust. To continue to proclaim it and to keep it as our center focus over the course of years requires persistence.
The tragedy is that many Christians and churches are existing without any particular purpose. They drift from project to event to program without focus. By contrast Paul accomplished much because he stayed on mission. “Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,” (Philippians 3:13).
Today’s Growth Principle:
If you continue to faithfully follow God in spite of obstacles, you will hear Him say, “Well done.”
God’s Boundaries
by Joyce Meyer - posted April 30, 2017Do you not know that your body is the temple (the very sanctuary) of the Holy Spirit Who lives within you, Whom you have received [as a Gift] from God? You are not your own, You were bought with a price [purchased with a preciousness and paid for, made His own]. So then, honor God and bring glory to Him in your body.
—1 Corinthians 6:19-20
The word stress was originally an engineering term used to refer to the amount of force a beam or other physical support could bear without collapsing under strain.
In our time, the word has been expanded to refer not only to physical pressure but also to mental and emotional tension. As human beings, you and I are built to handle a normal amount of stress. God has created us to withstand a certain amount of pressure and tension. The problem comes when we push ourselves beyond our limitations, beyond what we were intended to bear without permanent damage. But like so many people, because I have things to do, I just keep pushing myself even though it is causing me physical damage.
Of course, when sickness tries to come on Dave or me, we immediately pray for healing. But if you become sick as a result of running your body down by pushing it beyond the limits God set for you to operate in good health, you need rest as well as prayer to restore your health. The boundaries He has set for us are for our own good.
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