“Being confident of this very thing, that He which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.” – Philippians 1:6

With all our present problems we tend to forget that, for the Christian, the best is yet to come. Too often we think of Christ only in a historical sense– failing to realize that history is His-story and it is not yet complete. He who came is coming again, and what He started He will finish. All things are working together and toward His return. That dear friend is our blessed hope!

Adrian Rogers wrote: “God has not promised you smooth sailing, but He has promised you a safe landing. He has a purpose in allowing every circumstance into your life. You can bank on this: He’ll see you to the shore in every storm of life.

Andrew Murray said, “God is willing to assume the full responsibility for the life totally yielded to Him.” One of these days your destiny will be fulfilled. And soon and very soon, He is going to step down from the mountain of His glory, and the trumpet will sound. Our little ship will leave the sea of time, and immediately we’ll be on the shores of eternity.

When He comes, He’s coming for you! He’s coming for me!

First Thessalonians 4:16-18 tells us to comfort one another with these words of Christ’s return:

¹⁶For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:

¹⁷Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

¹⁸Wherefore comfort one another with these words.

Do you have a Christian friend who is troubled today? Comfort him or her with this hope.

Be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might– Ephesians 6:10

You have perhaps had someone at one time or another seek to comfort or encourage you in the midst of a personal trial by slapping you on the back and telling you to “be strong.” The counsel was well-meant but not too helpful. If you could just make yourself “be strong” then you wouldn’t need encouragement to begin with.

But Paul is here providing much more than a simple pat on the back and optimistic slogan. He is reminding us of exactly where all true and lasting strength comes. He is saying to you, “Turn your eyes away from your problems and place them on the Almighty.”

Perhaps you do not have the strength to tackle the huge challenges that are facing you now, but God does. He can give you the strength to go through them, or the ability to overcome them.

Stop relying on your own solutions, your own efforts, your own wisdom; instead, look to the wisdom of God’s Word and the strength of God’s Spirit to energize and direct your daily life. Confess your weakness and your helplessness to Him, and throw your burdens on Him.

Only God can give you the power you need in order to successfully battle with sin, with sickness, with selfishness, and with Satan. But He can and does give that power to those who turn to Him and rely on Him.–Baptist Bible Hour

Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel, and afterward receive me to glory– Psalms 73:24

All of life is here summed up in one verse.

While I am here on this earth, the psalmist gloats to the Lord, You will guide me. You will give me the direction I need for each step of the way. You will never leave me or forsake me. You will help me when I stumble, and you will steer me when I lose my way.

What’s more is you will guide me with thy counsel. This is no mere human, fallible leader. You are an all-knowing, all-wise escort. You will never give me wrong advice or send me in a wrong direction. I will never meet a problem to which you do not know the solution, and I will never get so off course that you cannot guide me back to safety.

But that is all just life on earth! Afterward, you will receive me to glory. After you have carefully and lovingly directed my way here, you will usher me into your glorious presence in heaven. There is no intermediary state — death is not a tunnel, it is a door. And when you release my hand in this world, you will receive me into the next. There is no “sending”; there is only guiding and then receiving — no time apart from you.

Death, where is your sting; Grave, where is your victory; Devil, where is your terror? My God will guide me with His counsel, and then receive me to His glory.(Baptist Bible Hour)

When I was a boy I loved a challenge and me and my buddies turned everything into competition.We did some really dangerous and stupid things. Sometimes we would get the idea to try something we wasn’t sure about, and it was common for someone to say, “You go first!”. In others words, “If you drown, I’ll know I can’t make it”, or “If it blows your hand off, I won’t try it”. However when the brave soul who took the challenge and succeeded it gave hope to the rest of us that we could do it also. Dear friend, others have accepted the challenge, gone before you and have succeeded (Heb.11) in walking with the Lord. You can do it! The example of Enoch ought to encourage you in your walk with the Lord. Regardless of how rough the road, or how difficult the days, of how tough the trials, you have victory in Jesus! As Paul said, “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.”(Phil. 4:13)