I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.–Philippians 4:13

God’s will is not always easy but it is always possible. For with God all things are possible. Rest in the fact that God will never command you to do something you can’t accomplish. He will never direct your steps without providing the strength to walk the path.

Jack Handey wrote in his book entitled Fuzzy Memories:

There used to be this bully who would demand my lunch money every day at school. Since I was smaller than he was, I would give it to him. Then I decided to fight back. I started taking karate lessons. But then the karate instructor told me I owed him five dollars a lesson. Five dollars! So I just went back to paying the bully.

Truth be told, it’s sometimes easier to pay the bully than it is to learn how to defeat him. However, God never commands you to live for His glory without helping you to overcome the obstacles you will face. Whether it is loving your spouse, witnessing to friends and family, or remaining pure on a college campus, Christ will enable you if you obey Him. Paul did not say, “I can do most things through Christ,” but “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”

While you’re at it, stay alert to the fact that opposition usually means opportunity is close at hand. In fact, there is rarely opportunity without opposition, so you must be prepared for both opportunities and obstacles at the same time.

Paul intends to encourage us as we follow the leadership of Christ, which in real terms means never throw in the towel. He challenged the Corinthians and every Christian to be “steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord.” What a great promise—your toil is not in vain.

Endurance that demands blood, sweat, and tears, will be rewarded one day. So get ready for today’s obstacle course and run it with patient diligence.  The hurdles may be high, the track may be uneven, the distance may be great, but it’s possible . . . not easy!

Ask the Lord to help you to discern opportunities masked by obstacles. Ask Him to give you the ability to see possible advancements in your character development that are presently cloaked in those difficult obstacles.(By Stephen Davey)

Worldly religion is man’s vain attempt to make himself acceptable to God. Christianity is being “accepted in the beloved” (Eph.1:6). Religion is based on merit, salvation is based on mercy. Religion says we must depend on goodness, the Bible says it is all by grace. To be saved we must depend on what Christ did for us, not what we try to do for Him. And no one who ever trusted Him has been deceived or disappointed! J. C. Ryle said it well many years ago:

Thousands and tens of thousands have sought for pardon at the mercy-seat of Christ, and not one has ever returned to say that he sought in vain. Sinners of every name and nation—sinners of every sort and description—have knocked at the door of the fold, and none have ever been refused admission.

If the way which the Gospel sets before us were a new and untraveled way—we might well feel faint-hearted. But it is not so. It is an old path. It is a path worn by the feet of many pilgrims, and a path in which the footsteps are all one way. The treasury of Christ’s mercies has never been found empty. The well of living waters has never proved dry.

Joe Gibbs was never one of a favorite football coaches, but he has become one of my favorite people. The Coach is a Christian, and he writes some things worth considering. Here’s an example:

In “Game Plan for Life”, Os Guinness mentions this quote from a 90-year-old Winston Churchill: “Life has been a grand journey—well worth making once.”

Once. That’s all we get. No dry runs. No do-overs. This day you’re living now is not a dress rehearsal  or a practice lap. You’re on the stage. You’re in the game. Start playing.

What this kind of thinking does is rip the disguise off today, revealing it to be every bit as momentous as the first morning on a new job or the night before major surgery. There are things to be said. Today. There are people to take notice of. Today. There are ordinary decisions to take seriously. Today. As the Bible says, “So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom” (Psalm 90:12).

The newspaper commits a page or two each morning to dozens of death notices—guys who once supervised a work crew at the auto plant, who once coached boys’ baseball on Saturday afternoons, who once served on the school board or were once active in the Rotary club. Once.

All those one-time daily things that could be said of you in the paper—about your family, your work, your interests, your passions—are they getting your best today? Clock’s ticking down. Better get out there.

Pray this prayer: Dear God, I’ve been letting some things slide. I’ve been going whole weeks without my priorities being in balance. It’s time to get this right. Show me what that means and how to get there.

HUMILITY is a most precious grace–it is filled with beauty, loveliness, and glory. This is the garment which the Savior always wore. This is the grace which gave such a charm to all that He did and said. It is one of our best garments, and without it the soul is generally naked. “All of you—be clothed with humility–.” 1 Peter 5:5.

For lack of humility–the Church is rent and torn with divisions. For lack of humility–believers bring many trials and crosses on themselves, and sow the bitter seeds of trouble and remorse.

If I were truly humble, I must be happy, for it is with such Jehovah dwells: “For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite  and humble

“–pride and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate.” Proverbs 8:13. Pride is . . .
most loathsome to God,
injurious to men, and
a stronghold of Satan within us.

“God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace to the humble!” James 4:6. He keeps the proud at a distance, and will not allow them to approach him: “Though the Lord be high, yet hath he respect unto the lowly: but the proud he knoweth afar off.” Psalm 138:6. He threatens them with everlasting destruction. “Every one that is proud in heart is an abomination to the Lord; though hand join in hand, he shall not be unpunished.” Proverbs 16:5

Lord, give me true humility, and let me be clothed with it from day to day!“– To such He looks with esteem, love, and delight: “–to this man will I look, even to him that is of poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at My Word.” Isaiah 66:2(By James Smith, 1855, Scripture references changed to the KJV.)

“By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went.–  Hebrews 11:8

The African impala can jump to a height of over ten feet and cover a distance of greater than thirty feet. Yet these magnificent creatures can be kept in an enclosure in any zoo with a three-foot wall. The animals will not jump if they cannot see where their feet will fall. Faith is leaping when you can’t see where you’re going to land.

In Genesis we read of Abraham, a man of faith, whom God called out of his hometown of Ur to a land God would later reveal to him. The word call in Hebrews 11:8 means “to invite.” And the word obey means “to submit.” Abraham submitted to the invitation of God.

Abraham believed God when he did not know where, when, how, or why. It was faith in God’s Word that made Abraham leave his home, live as a pilgrim, and follow God wherever He led. He was willing to sacrifice his hopes, dreams, and plans in order to follow God. Abraham had faith that God would lead him.

Another test of faith in Abraham’s life was when God asked him to sacrifice his only son on Mount Moriah. Notice God’s request to Abraham in Genesis 22:2, “And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of.” Abraham could have reasoned with God and made excuses. He could have said, “God, You promised me a son. I gave up my home in Ur and all the wealth I had to follow You here. I never complained when I didn’t know where we were going. I trusted You when You promised Sarah and me a son even though we were old. And now You want me to kill him, the apparent fulfillment of Your promise?” But rather than question God, Abraham trusted God. God was testing Abraham’s faith.

Through your lifetime, God will allow experiences to draw you closer to Him. Many times God will bring you into deep waters not to drown you, but to cleanse you and prepare you for the greater work He has planned for you. Do not be afraid of stepping out by faith. God won’t always show you the outcome before He requires you to trust Him.

Are you living in fear or in faith today? Are you living like the African impala, caged in by fear of the unknown? God desires that you would trust Him with each new step you take in your Christian life. He knows what’s best for you, so trust Him even when you can’t see the ending.  –By Paul Chappell