“⁹The Lord is a stronghold for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble. ¹⁰And those who know your name put their trust in you, for you, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek you.” – Psalm 9:9-10 (ESV)

In “times of trouble”. Our God is “a stronghold in times of trouble”. What a comfort.

Oppressed: weak and needy. Our God is a stronghold for the weak and needy. What a comfort.

Forsake: abandon. Our God has not abandoned those seeking Him. What a comfort.

As children of God, we will still experience loss and suffering, and that is pretty well documented. What else is pretty well documented is that God will not abandon us. NIV Commentary: “God himself will never leave us no matter what we face”.

I know that it may not feel like it, and I will say that I do not always feel God is on my side when I am experiencing the difficulty. But, He is there. He is watching over us. He is allowing me to go through it. I have to imagine God as myself with my boys when they were learning something brand new (walking, riding a bike, catching a ball). I allowed them to experience the tough time so that would gain something from it for next time.

When we are in “times of trouble”, God is right there with us.

When you are experiencing difficulty, are you aware of God’s presence? Are you feeling forsaken? Will you lean on God as your stronghold in times of…?

God allows us to sin and experience trials. We are tested, tempted, and adversity is a part of our human existence. It is up to us to go through all of this for Christ, and not for our own gain.

“¹⁴If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. ¹⁵But let none of you suffer as a murderer or a thief or an evildoer or as a meddler.” – 1 Peter 4:14-15 (ESV)

We will have a difficult time of it, however if in the name of Christ, we will be blessed.

“¹⁶Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name. ¹⁷For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God?” – 1 Peter 4:16-17 (ESV)

NIV Commentary: “It is not shameful to suffer for being a Christian. Don’t seek our suffering and don’t try to avoid it. God often allows believer to sin and then experience the consequences. He does this for several reasons; (1) to show us our potential for sinning, (2) to encourage us to turn from sin and more constantly depend on him, (3) to prepare us to face other, even stronger temptations in the future, and (4) to help us stay faithful and keep on trusting him…keep on doing right regardless of the suffering it might bring.”

When I look at the commentary and place it with the words from 1 Peter, I am reminded that the trials I go through are there to refine me and make me better. I am a sinner and admit that openly to anyone who will ask. God is constantly working on me through the trials he allows to come to me. It is through those trials and experiences that I am able to more aptly “turn from sin and more constantly depend of him”, and am able to prepare “to face other, even stronger temptations”.

Where are you in your time? Are you being prepared for future trials? Are you able to see the time as one of refinement?

Jesus Christ died for our sins, once.

You are reading that right. Only once did Christ die for our salvation.

“¹²But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, ¹³waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet.” – Hebrews 10:12-13 (ESV)

And after He died for our salvation, He rested.

As I read this morning I was reminded that in the time of the Old Covenant, the priests would sacrifice regularly to “cleanse of sin”. They would sprinkle blood of sacrificed animals to have our sins washed away. And when done, they would start the process again and continued to do so and work because the sacrifices and blood of the animals was only temporary.

When Christ died and spilled His blood for our sins, there was no more to do. No more work, no more sacrifices, no more blood to spill.

“¹⁴For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.” – Hebrews 10:14 (ESV)

NIV Commentary: “We have been made perfect, yet we are ‘being made holy.’ Through his death and resurrection, Christ, once for all made his believers perfect in God’s sight. At the same time, he is making them holy (progressively cleansed and set apart for his special use) in their daily pilgrimage here.”

One sacrificial action of love did it for us.

What are your thoughts? How does it sit with you that Christ sacrificed himself, only once for all of us? One time for all time, what do you think?

Becoming a follower of Christ is a one shot deal. We only have once chance.

“²⁷And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgement, ²⁸so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.” – Hebrews 9:27-28 (ESV)

Christ died for our sins. Only once. And this is our chance to accept the salvation provided for by His death. Our time is now.

We cannot wait for Christ to come again and expect to be given another opportunity. Clearly, when Jesus comes again, he will be picking up His followers.

When I say that accepting Christ is a “one shot deal”, I mean that we are in that time now. Until Christ comes again we have the opportunity to repent and follow Him. We are given the chance to accept the gift of salvation.

There is an expiration date on the gift. We don’t know the date or time of expiration, only that there is one. In such we should be seeking and accepting salvation NOW, as Christ could return any moment and then our chance is over.

Were you aware of the expiration of our chance for salvation? What are your thoughts on the subject? Are you going to put it off in hopes of getting another time?

We have to be careful how we are using our time.

“¹⁵Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, ¹⁶making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.” – Ephesians 5:15-16 (ESV)

We are in a unique position as Christians. We are very aware of right and wrong. We are sons and daughters of God and are held to a different standard than the rest of the world. We are expected to be different and when not, the consequences seem to be more exaggerated.

When Christians are acting as Christians, there is no publicity, no one there to sing our praise, and certainly no one standing up for us. We have to be careful and put ourselves in situations that are pleasing to God. We have to avoid the situations where we might be seen negatively.

I recently was telling someone that they should continue doing what is right. This person is experiencing pushback and adversity as they work to do their work and that pushback is causing them some discomfort. That discomfort, I indicated to them is not for them, but for those that are not doing right and are feeling convicted. That conviction is causing them to lash out due to their own shortcomings.

We have to be looking to make good use of our time:

“¹⁷Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.” – Ephesians 5:17 (ESV)

When we are centered on the will of God, we are headed in the right direction.

Are you focused on God? Are you working to perform the will of God? What will it take for you to make “the best use of the time”?

I read in Galatians 4 this morning and the passage is titled “Sons and Heirs”. Here I was reminded that some of the statements that I make are actually true. I have long said that our sons, Bryson and Aarron, are slaves in our household. And the following verse indicates the same.

“¹I mean that the heir, as long as he is a child, is no different from a slave, though he is the owner of everything,” – Galatians 4:1 (ESV)

You see, the child, no matter the nobility of them are tasked with service as long as they are a child.

“²but he is under guardians and managers until the date set by his father.” – Galatians 4:2 (ESV)

In other words, when the time comes, he graduates and is able to take advantage of the fullness of the household as his own.

In this world, we are the same in our life with Christ.

“⁴But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, ⁵to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.” – Galatians 4:4-5 (ESV)

Thanks to Christ’s death, and our acceptance of salvation, we are adopted as sons and heirs of God and are able to take advantage of the fullness of the household as our own.

This is where we have to understand. We may be able to take advantage of our inheritance, however we still must be good stewards of that inheritance and continue to build it up each day through our work for our father in his business. I go over to the Gospel of Mark:

“¹⁵and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” – Mark 1:15 (ESV)

That last part, “repent and believe in the gospel”, is our message of truly following our Father, God. With our acceptance of salvation, we have reached the time of growing up and are no longer slaves to the world and are heirs with Jesus. Now we are responsible for living up to our inheritance.

Where are you in your understanding of your inheritance? Are you still working to maintain and grow it, or sitting back expecting others to serve you? There is a time to be and that time is now, what about for you?

What a way to start my study this morning.

“⁶For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.” – Romans 5:6 (ESV)

When I looked into this verse, I found many things starting with “we were still weak”. I understand weak to mean feeble and the opposite of strong, but here we are looking at the fact that we had no way of helping ourselves (and still do not). At the time of Christ’s death, we were in dire need of help. We were completely lost.

Secondly, I found that “Christ died for the ungodly”. Not for the righteous or even the good, but for the sinners of the world.

“⁷For on will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die—⁸but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” – Romans 5:7-8 (ESV)

And thirdly, Christ died “at the right time”. Not arbitrarily, not when convenient, not just because He was there (at that time), but purposefully “at the right time”. When we needed Him most.

We are sinners, no doubt. We are in dire need of a savior, for sure. The good thing is that Christ came and provided the safety and security we needed, already. We have a God that cared enough for us in this time that His son died “at the right time”. We are not righteous, and are not even good, but Christ died for us anyway.

When you think of your time, are you able to thank God for allowing Christ to die? Are you aware even that you are a sinner and don’t deserve the love that God has poured out? Are you able to look at Christ’s death as happening “at the right time” for us?

How many of us have heard that proverb: “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy”? We need time away from work in order to spice it up a bit. I admit that I do not spend enough time in the arena of fun. But, this morning I am referring to the opposite. It appears to me that by and large, we as a society lack a certain seriousness that is getting in the way of our relationship with God.

“¹¹Ephraim was a trained calf that loved to thresh, and I spared her fair neck; but I will put Ephraim to the yoke; Judah must plow; Jacob must harrow for himself. ¹²Sow for yourselves righteousness; reap steadfast love; break up your fallow ground, for it is time to seek the Lord, that he may come and rain righteousness upon you.” – Hosea 10:11-112 (ESV)

God allows us to play, and enjoy. But it is when that is our only focus that things have gotten out of hand. We have to come back to the purpose God has for us. We have work to do. We are to prepare, and have we truly done that. Have we done the work of the farmer and plowed the fields to receive the seeds? Have we planted the seeds for God? Have we been watering those seeds with the Word of God? Have we fertilized the seeds with nourishment of God’s Love? Have we shined the light of Christ on the fields?

You see, we may feel like we have done the job, but have we really gotten to work, or are we simply pretending so that we can go play more. We will have to get back to work in the fields at some point, and that time is now. The fields are hard and filled with rocks. We have to work hard to get back to God’s plan.

Are you aware of the work that needs to be done? Have you been avoiding the field work in the interest of having fun? Are you prepared to get back to work? The time to work is now, are you aware?

The title of this study is a bit ambiguous I know. And even while I read and study, it remains to be.

“¹¹He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man’s heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end…¹⁴I perceived that whatever God does endures forever; nothing can be added to it, nor nothing taken from it. God has done it, so that people fear before him. ¹⁵That which is, already has been; that which is to be, already has been; and God seeks what has been driven away.” – Ecclesiastes 3:11, 14-15 (ESV)

But shouldn’t things be a bit ambiguous? In the world of business that I work in, without goals, it is difficult to be sure that we are accomplishing things. It is important to know where you are going, and more importantly, how you are going to get there.

With God, I admit to having a hard time knowing and accomplishing things when I am not privy to the full plan and find myself waiting to be instructed of what to do. How can I help if I don’t know where or how?

You know, maybe that is the point. God does not want us focusing on “the task”. He wants us focused on His work. We are to be doing His work at all times and when a specific task comes up, I presume we are to just be ready to jump into action.

I have to relax and just take things as God brings them. Continue to press on doing God’s work and when he has a specific task for me, he will reveal it and I have to be ready to leap into action.

What about you? Have you been approaching God’s work as though you have a task to do? Are you looking to check things off the service list? Will you allow God to just reveal in His time?

God’s Timing is perfect.

What does that mean for me and how I approach daily life?

“¹For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:” – Ecclesiastes 3:1 (ESV)

I am not very fond of this verse as I have been in one of those seasons that are not a lot of fun. I have been wondering why, and I will admit that I have begun to wonder, what is God’s purpose for allowing me to be here?

This morning I have gotten some help, as God led me to this passage. In the commentary from my NIV Bible: “The danger is to doubt or resent God’s timing. This can lead to despair, rebellion, or moving ahead without his advice.”

I cannot give up or blame God for being here. I have to continue to press on knowing that he will reveal his plan when the right “season” is there for me. As the commentary in my NIV Bible indicated: the problems I have before me “should not be barriers to believing in him, but rather opportunities to discover that, without God, life’s problems have no lasting solutions!”

I am here because God wants me to be to learn something or perform something for Him. It is not fun to be here, but God never promised fun and greatness in the journey, on as a reward for doing His work.

What season are you in? Are you able to see that there is a season for everything that God has for you? Are you able to know and embrace God’s perfect timing for everything?