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CURRENT RADIO SERIES Songs of Encouragement   CURRENT TV SERIES Songs of Encouragement

“Blessed are you when people hate you and when they exclude you and revile you and spurn your name as evil, on account of the Son of Man!” -–Luke 6:22 If you and I are determined to live for God, we will face times of adversity. The words of Jesus in today’s verse make it clear that we will face persecution for our faith. That was certainly the case of Joseph who lived a godly life in front of his family and yet he was sold into slavery. He lived a godly life inside Potiphar’s house and yet he was falsely accused, maligned, and imprisoned. And Joseph even lived a godly life in prison and yet was forgotten and left there to die. Miraculously, through all these hardships, Joseph never became angry or bitter. He trusted God’s purpose in his life. So Joseph grew in wisdom, courage, character, and endurance through the prison of his circumstances. In fact, Psalm 105 says that God put iron into Joseph’s soul through those difficulties. Listen! Hard times are ahead for us, too. We need the iron in our soul that comes from walking through adversity God’s way. When adversity comes your way, trust God with your life. Don’t let adversity make you bitter, but allow it to make you a better follower of Christ Jesus. WE NEED THE IRON IN OUR SOUL THAT COMES FROM WALKING THROUGH ADVERSITY GOD’S WAY.

Unfailing Promises

by Dr. Paul Chappell

“And it was so, that when Solomon had made an end of praying all this prayer and supplication unto the LORD, he arose from before the altar of the LORD, from kneeling on his knees with his hands spread up to heaven. And he stood, and blessed all the congregation of Israel with a loud voice, saying, Blessed be the LORD, that hath given rest unto his people Israel, according to all that he promised: there hath not failed one word of all his good promise, which he promised by the hand of Moses his servant.”
1 Kings 8:54–56

Charles Spurgeon said, “I sometimes liken the promises to the smith’s great bunch of keys which he brings when you have lost the key of your chest, and cannot unlock it. He feels pretty sure that out of all the keys upon the ring some one or other will fit, and he tries them with patient industry. At last—yes—that is it, he has loosened the bolt, and you can get at your treasures. There is always a promise in the volume of inspiration suitable to your present case.”
The challenges that we face as we go through life require strength, wisdom, and resources that are beyond our ability to produce. But for every trial and burden, there is a promise in the Word of God on which we can lean for help—and not one of those promises God makes has ever been broken. No child of God has ever been turned away because the Father in Heaven did not have the resources or ability to meet his need.
While many Bible promises are conditioned on our obedience, and cannot be claimed unless we fulfill the conditions, all of them are utterly reliable. Our task is to fill our hearts and minds with the Bible so that we know what God has said, and then to claim His promises in faith. When we do, we will receive what God offers.
 

Today’s Growth Principle: 

We can rely on the promises of God with complete confidence in every situation of life.