And when they looked they saw that the stone was rolled away-–. Mark 16:4

At times we are called upon to remove certain barriers that block our blessings—such as was the case at the raising of Lazarus ( John 11:39). But in other instances it is God who rolls the stone away–assuring us that He is in control and capable of meeting our needs. Can you imagine the great delight of those women who discovered that our Lord’s tomb was empty– that the stone had been moved away! Spurgeon described it well:

“This stone had worried the women, as they hurried toward the grave. They knew it was there, that it was too heavy for them with their frail hands to roll away, and they wondered how they could get it removed. But now, when they came in sight of the tomb—they looked up and saw that the stone was rolled away!

This incident illustrates many experiences in our common life. We worry about difficulties and obstacles which lie in our path—and seem to block our progress. But when we move on obediently, and come to the place of the supposed hindrance or obstacle—it is gone, or it was never there, except in our imagination! We all know that very many of our anxieties prove to be really groundless in the end.

Here, we ought to learn the lesson once for all—when God sends us anywhere, that He also makes it possible for us to go. Duty’s paths always open for us, as we go on—not before we start—but as we obey and move forward. Yet we must not expect there will never be any difficulties to meet, or obstacles to surmount. God never has promised that! Too easy a path is often a bane in life—not a blessing! The difficulties and obstacles that remain, may be made stepping-stones by which we shall rise to nobler and higher Christian character!“

And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. – Romans 13:11

Do you know what Napoleon said about China? “There lies a sleeping giant, and let him sleep, because if he awakens, he will shake the world.”

I believe the devil says that about the church of the Lord Jesus Christ. And I believe the church is just that: a sleeping giant. We’re asleep because we have been chloroformed by the spirit of this age. 

We’re bombarded on every side by all kinds of amusement. Do you know what amuse means? It’s a combination of two words. Muse means to think, and the alpha prefix in front of it means “not to.” We are a generation that is amusing ourselves into oblivion. And it’s time to wake up!

Are you taking the Christian life seriously? If this were your last day on earth, how would you spend it? In amusement? Or in evangelism?— Adrian Rogers

More than forty years ago I wrote these words in the fly-leaf of my Bible, “Of all sad words of tongue or pen, the saddest are these,’It might have been’.” Each time I see a person with bright prospects crash and burn, never reaching their potential, I think of those words. How sad! I never knew the story behind that little poem until I read this by Dr. Paul Chappell:

“John Greenleaf Whittier, in his poem Maud Muller describes a couple who are smitten with each other but neither speaks out to let the other know because of the great divide between their wealth, education, and social standing. Instead they each go on with their lives, only to look back in the end with regret for the road not taken:

God pity them both! and pity us all,
Who vainly the dreams of youth recall;
For of all sad words of tongue or pen,
The saddest are these: “It might have been!”

But there is something far worse than regretting a missed opportunity, and that is regretting sin after it is too late to go back and undo what has been done. Many people sin despite knowing that it is wrong, because they have believed the lie that somehow they will escape the consequences. That has never yet happened in all of human history, for God has written the law of sowing and reaping into the very fabric of His creation. Sin always brings consequences, and the only way to avoid the regret that comes with those consequences is to avoid the sin in the first place.

If you view each temptation to sin through the lens of the end result after the consequences are experienced, you will find the allure of sin greatly diminished. The Bible says that Moses was willing to forego “the pleasures of sin for a season” (Hebrews 11:25) to do what was right. When we realize how fleeting those pleasures are and how long the regret and suffering last, we find it easier to do right.”

He who is wise resolves to live a righteous life today, so that he will not have to look back with regret tomorrow.

Many are the afflictions of the righteous; but the Lord delivereth him out of them all.–Psalm 34:19

David Jeremiah wrote,”Act of God” is a legal term that appears in contracts. It refers to events that are beyond human control such as natural disasters, illnesses, and other events. In other words, when bad things happen, God gets blamed. Even when God is not blamed for causing a disaster, He is blamed for not preventing it.

What’s missing in this discussion is a biblical understanding of God’s economy and the nature of a fallen world system. Bad things happen because of sin — a curse extended even to planet earth (Genesis 2:17-19). The whole world is laboring under the burden of sin, longing to be set free (Romans 8:19-22). God is not sitting idly by watching bad things happen. Rather, He allows sin to run its course as part of His demonstration of the need for repentance. God’s righteousness stands in stark contrast to the darkness in a fallen world (Psalm 19:7-11; Romans 1:19-20).

When you experience difficulties, resist the temptation to blame God. Instead, depend on the “acts of God” that Scripture verifies — His deliverance and compassion for those who trust in Him.”

Jesus treats wars and natural disasters not as agenda items in a discussion of the mysterious ways of God, but as incentives to repentance.–D. A. Carson