BLC SINGLES CORNER

“Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.”  2 Corinthians 1:3-4

God can make you comfortable in the most uncomfortable places.  He can pull you out of situations you thought you’d be stuck in forever.  He can give you peace, even in the midst of trauma.

Before your life is over, you’ll live, love, and experience loss.  Losing some things will actually help you to appreciate the things you still have.  It’s the taste of failure that makes success so sweet.  How can you celebrate victory unless you’ve known defeat?

You’ll live each day not knowing what tomorrow holds, but knowing that God holds all your tomorrows.  They’re not in the hands of your boss, your broker, your mate, or anybody else.  Nor are they in your hands to manipulate and control.  No, all your tomorrows are in God’s hands!

So whatever you do – get to know Him – because you’ll need Him.  And He’ll be there for you.  He’ll be there when every body and everything else has gone.  He’ll be there for you in the dark places.  His promise to you is, “Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning” (Psalm 30:5 AMP).  However long the night, morning always comes, and with it His joy.

Just think, no matter how dark the night, you’ve always lived to see the morning.  Right?  Somehow His grace has protected you, provided for you, secured you, calmed and comforted you, and brought you through.  Times and seasons change, but not God.  He’s always “the God of all comfort,” and He’s watching over you today!

Are you feeling discouraged, even disgusted with yourself?  You said you wouldn’t but then the enemy put the pressure on and you folded like a house of cards.  You’re not alone.  Paul writes, “I decide not to do bad, but then I do it anyway . . . Is there no one who can do anything for me?  Isn’t that the real question?  The answer, thank God, is that Jesus Christ can and does” (Romans 7:18-25 TMI).

Why do we keep failing?  Because flesh will always act like flesh!  After a season of doing everything right, you can fall flat on your face because you “give place to the devil,” (Eph 4:27), or “[give] occasion to the flesh” (Gal 5:13).

The story is told of an old Native American who, a few months after his conversion, came back to his pastor and said, “It’s like I have 2 big dogs constantly fighting inside me.”  “Which one of them wins?” the pastor asked.  After thinking about it, the old Indian replied, “I guess the one I feed the most.”

The power to live victoriously comes from feeding your spirit and disciplining your flesh.  Listen, “His divine power has give us everything we need for life and godliness . . . He has give us His very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires” (2Peter 1:3-4 NIV).  Spiritual growth doesn’t just happen; you have to work at it daily.

Since we’re born with all sorts of human weaknesses, what are we to do when the devil comes along?  Listen, “Having done all…stand.”  In Romans 14:4 Paul says that, “God is able to make [you] stand.”  Not in your own strength, but in the strength of Jesus Christ.  By yourself you’re an easy target for the enemy, but in the strength of the Lord you can stand and not give in.

So today when Satan shows up with his temptations, announce that you’re going to stand in Christ.  Let him know that you’re going to stand until the shaking stops, until you feel peace again, until the wave of loneliness passes, until you come out of debt, and until the struggle is over, until the tempter loses his power to either trap you or topple you!

When you do the standing – God does the strengthening!  Paul said, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Php 4:13 NKJV).  God doesn’t just strengthen you once; He’ll strength you again and again.  He’ll strength you every time you face a difficult challenge, every time a memory comes back to haunt you, every time you’re reminded of your imperfect past,  every time you face a difficult decision.

Drawing from God the strength you need to stand up to the devil, may take effort.  It may take your praise, your prayer, and your getting into His Word with an intensity you’ve never had before.  But the fact is – you can stand if you really want to!

“Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.”  Psalm 119:11

Ever hear of a pitcher plant?  It attracts insects with its bright colors.  Once inside, the insects lose their footing and slide down a sugar-coated tube into a liquid that drowns them.  Satan does that too; he sugarcoats the way to ruin and before you know it, you’re hooked. 

 Adam Clark worked in a store selling silk.  One day his boss suggested he stretch the silk as he measured it; this would increase profits, and also Adam’s value to the company.  But he refused.  Adam Clark told his boss, “Your silk may stretch but my conscience won’t.”

 Nixon aid, Jeb Magruder, commenting on the Watergate scandal said; “We conned ourselves into thinking we weren’t doing anything wrong, and by the time we were doing things that were illegal, we’d lost control.”

 The book, The Day America Told The Truth, reports that 91% of those interviewed lie regularly, and 70% believe there are “no absolutes” when it comes to good and evil.  God says:  “Don’t move back the boundary lines”  (Pr. 22:28 TM).  Why?  Because they’re there for your protection!  Paul writes, “Hold fast that which is good”  (1Th 5:21), because right’s right, even when everybody’s against it, and wrong’s wrong, even when everybody’s for it.

 After fasting 40 days, Satan said to Jesus:  “Change these stones into …bread” (Mt 4:3 NLT).  Now eating’s okay when you’re hungry, but following the devil’s suggestions is not.  So, while Satan twisted the Scripture to justify sin, Jesus used it to withstand him.  And you can do that too!

“That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man.”  Ephesians 3:16

 A celebrity counselor recently told his television audience:  “A lady flew across the nation to tell me how her husband had left her for another woman.  The woman who came to see me was young, vibrant and beautiful.  But suddenly she pulled out a photograph and said, ‘Just look at her!  He left me for that!’  Sadly I thought, ‘Ma’am, what you’ve been conditioned by society to think of as being all-important, really isn’t.  Outer appearance isn’t the biggest issue at all.’”

 Advertisers spend billions to get us to decorate a shell that’s in a losing battle with Mother Nature and Father Time; all to create what we think will attract others.  What we create may momentarily turn a head or two, but it has little or no ability to capture and hold a heart or mind.  We think that by enrolling at the latest weight-loss center, using the right toothpaste, being seen in the right places with the right people, we’ll end up enjoying the right kind of life.  And when it doesn’t work, we get depressed and wonder what went wrong.

 Sure it’s important to always look your best, but when you become obsessed with your “looks” you become shallow and superficial.  And others quickly lose interest because they discover that although the box you came in is beautifully wrapped – it’s empty!  The real source of attractiveness is “His Spirit in the inner man.”  That’s what ultimately wins hearts and attracts the right people to you, for the right purpose, at the right time.

Flee also youthful lusts: but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart. 2 Timothy 2:22

Here are 4 lessons you need to learn about temptation: (1) Strength in one area doesn’t make you immune to weakness in others. (2) Temptation always returns to the scene of its previous success. (3) Flirting with temptation makes defeat certain. (4) Failure won’t cut you off from God’s grace, but it can limit or destroy your potential.

In Rebuilding Your Broken World, Gordon MacDonald tells of getting involved in an affair, and the painful steps required to rebuild his life. He recalls a conversation with a friend before things fell apart. Friend: “If Satan were to blow you out of the water, how do you think he’d do it?” MacDonald: “In all sorts of ways…but there’s one way he wouldn’t get me.” Friend: “What’s that?” MacDonald: “My personal relationships. That’s one area where…I’m as strong as you can get.”

MacDonald continues: “A few years after that conversation a chain of seemingly innocent choices became destructive and in the very area where I had predicted I was safe, my world had to be rebuilt.” Where we consider ourselves strongest, is where we’re least likely to prepare for attack!Kenny Rogers sings: “you gotta know when to hold ‘em, know when to fold ‘em, know when to walk away and know when to run.” When Potiphar’s wife tried to seduce Joseph – he ran! That was the spiritual thing to do. Listen: “Run from temptations…always do the right thing.” You have a responsibility to live clean. When you accept it, the Holy Spirit comes to help you deal with the continual attacks of your old nature!