“Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds.” –Heb. 12:2-3

We sing “Thanks to Calvary” and say “Thanks for Calvary”, but there are times when we ought to say, “Thank God it’s not Calvary”. That would stop a lot of complaining. Regardless of our situation— the intensity of the pain, the degree of injustice, or amount of misery, it is not as bad as Calvary. Considering that no one ever suffered as did Jesus, we all can say, “It could be worse”. Considering that we all have sinned, we should say, “I have it better than I deserve”. Yet, knowing that to be true, we still complain. Although it does no good, pales in comparison to the suffering of Christ, is less than we deserve, and depresses those in our company, we murmur about our miseries. And we reason?—-“Why not, after all _____”. You fill in the blank. To our way of thinking , we can always find something to justify our complaints. But that doesn’t make it right in God’s eyes.

Do you not see the danger in this? Such complaints robs us of peace, ruins our testimony, and results in harm to the cause of Christ. And most of the time it involves others. We often allow their faults to become the reason for our fall. In some ways we become like the people we complain about. Jesus, however, did just the opposite. He expressed love and extended forgiveness toward those who mistreated Him. Rather than curse them, He expressed concern for them. So remember this— our likeness to Christ is never more apparent than when it appears in times of adversity. Now, if we would just learn to view our difficulties as opportunities rather than obstacles we would have a chance of making things better. If the goodness of God led us to repentance, overcoming evil with good gives us the best chance to change someones life.

“Thou shalt be a blessing.” – Genesis 12:2
What do you want to be? A millionaire? A famous athlete or entertainer? A scholar? How about being a blessing? That’s better than any of these, and that is exactly what God promised to make Abraham. And that’s what God wants for you—we are blessed to bless! Writing to his beloved church in 1840, James Smith said:

“We were by nature cursed of God, and a curse to others; but a God of love interferes for us, pours out His blessing upon us, and makes us a blessing.

He gives grace to form the character; gifts to fit for usefulness; wisdom to choose the course; strength to do His will; supplies to complete the design; faith to trust His word; patience to persevere and wait His time; and success to crown our efforts. The result of His thus blessing us is, we are a blessing to others; to sinners and to saints.

We are a blessing by the spirit we breathe, if it is meek, gentle, and lovely; by the example we set, if it is an imitation of Jesus; by our prayers for the good of souls and the glory of God; and by our efforts to spread abroad the knowledge of the truth in every place. What a blessing to be the means of the conversion of but one soul! To be used to instruct the ignorant, to strengthen the weak, or to comfort the desponding or distressed.

O Jesus! make us a blessing. Thy grace is sufficient; fulfil to us Thy promise to Abraham. Beloved, let us look to Him, depend upon Him, act for Him, give praise daily unto Him , and WE SHALL BE A BLESSING.”

Lord, make me faithful unto death,
Thy witness with my latest breath,
To tell the glories of the Lamb,
Him whom I serve, and whose I am;
On whom for strength I daily lean,
Whose strength is in my weakness seen.

“These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily , whether those things were so.” Acts 17:11

The Greek word translated search signifies a strict, close, diligent, curious search — the kind men make when they are seeking gold, or hunters when they are in pursuit of game. We must not be content with giving a superficial glance to one or two chapters — but with the candle of the Spirit we must deliberately seek out the meaning of the Word. Holy Scripture requires searching — much of it can only be learned by careful study. There is milk for babies — but also meat for strong men. The rabbis wisely say that a mountain of matter hangs upon every word.

The person who merely skims the Book of God will not profit from it. We must dig and mine until we obtain the treasure! The door of the Word only opens to the key of diligence. The Scriptures demand to be searched. They are the writings of God, bearing the divine stamp and imprimatur — who shall dare to treat them casually? To despise them is to despise the God who wrote them. God forbid that any of us should allow our Bibles to become witnesses against us in the great day of account!

The Word of God will repay searching. God does not ask us to sift through a mountain of chaff with only here and there a grain of wheat in it — but filled with hidden treasures. Scripture grows upon the student. It is full of surprises. Under the teaching of the Holy Spirit, to the searching eye — it glows with splendor of revelation, like a vast temple paved with gold and roofed with rubies, emeralds, and all kinds of priceless gems!

Finally, the Scriptures reveal Jesus: “These very Scriptures testify about Me!” No more powerful motive can be urged upon Bible readers than this: He who finds Jesus finds life, Heaven, and all things. Happy are they who, in searching the Bible, discover their Savior! –Charles Spurgeon