“I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.” – Revelation 1:8

The most important thing about facing the struggles of life is to keep our focus on Christ. Considering the perplexing problems of the present it is easy for us to lose hope. That’s why it is crucial that we “Consider Him”. Being reminded of what He has done, what He is doing, and what He promised to do changes our perspective on everything. The late Adrian Rogers illustrated it well with this story:

A boy was reading a murder mystery one day, and he became anxious about whether the heroine was going to live. To alleviate his anxiety, he read the last chapter and discovered that she survived!

Afterwards, when he read that the villain was planning a dastardly deed, he chuckled to himself and thought, “If you knew what I know, you wouldn’t be so haughty.”

Christians know the last chapter, and that helps us cope with the present. Indeed, the glories of the future can help dilute the sorrows of the present. The devil’s doom is pronounced in Genesis—and it’s executed in Revelation.

Mark it down, nothing that happens today, or any day between now and the day of our Lord’s return, will change the glorious ending that awaits God’s children. All will end well. I know because I’ve read the last chapter!

“Be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.” (James 1:22)

There is a subtle deception that attending meetings, conferences and seminars is doing the work of God. We listen to messages and talk about what we know we should be doing, and the delusion creeps over us that we are accomplishing His will. What we are actually doing is increasing our responsibility and deceiving ourselves. We deceive ourselves that we are spiritual when actually we might be quite carnal. We deceive ourselves that we are growing when the truth is that we are stagnant. We deceive ourselves that we are wise when we are pathetically foolish.

Jesus said that the wise man is the one who hears His words and does them. The foolish man also hears His words but does nothing about them.

It is not enough to listen to a sermon and walk away saying “What a marvelous message.” The true test is when we go away saying, “I will do something about what I heard.” Someone has said that a good sermon not only stretches the mind, warms the heart, and tans the hide but it also provokes the will to action.

In the middle of his message, a preacher once asked his audience the name of the first hymn they had sung. No one knew. He asked the text of Scripture that had been read. No one knew. He asked what announcements had been made. No one could remember. The people were playing church.

Before every meeting, we might well ask ourselves the following questions. Why did I come? Am I willing to have God speak to me personally? Will I obey Him if He does?

The Dead Sea justly earned its name by constant input without corresponding outflow. In our lives, information without application leads to stagnation. The Savior’s persistent question comes home to us, “Why call ye me Lord, Lord and do not the things that I say?” (William MacDonald)

—ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ–– 2 Cor.3:3

Every Christian should think of themselves as a living epistle, known and read by all those they come in contact with. It is as the old saying goes, “You are the only Bible some people will ever read”. J. R. Miller reminded us of the importance of this many years ago:

There is a silent personal influence, like a shadow, which goes out from everyone–and this influence is always leaving results and impressions wherever it touches. You cannot live a day–and not touch some other life. Wherever you go–your shadow falls on others, and they are either better or worse for your presence.

Our influence depends upon what we are–more than upon what we do. It is by living a beautiful life–that we bless the world. I do not under-estimate holy activities. Good deeds must characterize every true life. Our hands must do holy works. But if the life itself is noble, beautiful, holy, Christ-like, one that is itself a blessing and an inspiration–the worth of the influence is many times multiplied.

So dear friends, if we are the “only Bible some people will ever read”, how sad it will be if the print is blurred by the ugly stain of sin. Others often judge Christ by what they see in Christians—let’s make certain that the picture is clear and that our influence draws them to Christ. “To be like Jesus”–let that be our prayer!

John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Dr. Thomas Dooley, the late missionary doctor in Laos, in his book entitled The Night They Burned the Mountain, tells the story of Laotian friends giving him a tiny Himalayan moon bear as a pet.  Dr. Dooley loved the cuddly ball of brown fur, so full of interesting antics.  While he was working on a cage for the animal, an old Chinese man walked by him. The man stopped, stared, and then began to sob as he stood before the cage. Dr. Dooley walked toward him, hoping to discover the reason for his tears.

The Chinese man told him how he and his son had once worked together on a commune in Red China. He reminded the doctor that laborers on the communes during harvest time were not allowed to have even one grain of rice for themselves, for it all belonged to the Republic. But his wife had become very sick with beriberi and malnutrition, and one day his son concealed a few handfuls of rice in his clothing to feed his starving mother. His act was discovered and the authorities decided to make a public example of the young boy.

He was imprisoned in a cage, not unlike the one that Dr. Dooley had built for his pet bear, and the cage was placed in the center of the city. It was so small that the boy could not move or even sit up straight. The man went on to say:

His mother and I were forced to watch, she from one side of the square and I from the other. But the guards would not allow us to go near him. Day after day, as we looked on, my boy died slowly under the broiling sun, with nothing to eat or drink, covered with filth and flies. It was good when the guards pronounced him dead.

The prolonged tragedy in this story is that the father was not allowed to save his son. He was forced to sit helplessly by and watch the horror unfold, and the image would remain with him the rest of his life.

When I read this story, the crucifixion of Christ immediately came to mind.    What an amazing thought . . . God the Father could have stepped in at any moment to save His Son from the agony of the cross, but He chose to allow His death. Unlike the Chinese father in Dooley’s story, our Heavenly Father could have sent a legion of angels to rescue His Son, bringing judgment upon those who sought His life; yet He willingly stood by and watched the abomination unfold.

Why? Because He loves you so much that He freely offered His Son . . . for your sins and mine.—-Take a moment to think upon the horror of Calvary. In humble contemplation, praise the Father for His amazing love that caused Him to choose to sacrifice His son on your behalf.(A Wisdom Retreat)

When questioned about carrying a large 1911 pistol, well known firearms instructor, Clint Smith said: “Carrying a gun is not supposed to be comfortable, it’s supposed to be comforting”. There’s a good bit of wisdom in that statement– not only in regards to carrying a gun, but for many things in life. We are too concerned about being comfortable. A man I’m not familiar with, Hayden Norris wrote these words about this problem:

I like comfort. A comfortable chair. A comfortable bed. A comfortable temperature in the room. I like to be comfortable. However, pursuing comfort in my Christian walk presents a problem.

Christianity is not supposed to make our lives easier. It’s just the opposite according to the Bible. It makes life more difficult for a lot of reasons. When we follow Christ, we are told to be different. This causes us to “swim upstream.” Because we will be different, we can expect certain things to happen that aren’t easy or at all comfortable. We should expect mocking, slander, and opposition. Why? Because that is what Jesus our Lord experienced (John 15:18-25). Our best life is not now! Our best life is not here! We always have access to the Lord’s joy, comfort, and peace, but easy and physically comfortable, no.

—Jesus didn’t pursue the comfort of this world. He went “outside the camp” for you and me. And He tells us He expects us to do the same for His name.

“Therefore let us go to Him outside the camp and bear the reproach he endured”(Hebrews 11:13). So, what does it look like to “go outside the camp” in our lives today? We“bear His reproach” by standing up for Christ. We tell people we are Christians. — We bear His reproach by telling friends, family, neighbors, and co-workers about Jesus’ sacrifice for their sin. They may not like it and just may “stone you outside the camp” like the people of his day did to Paul. More likely, we just won’t get included in many social settings–and that hurts too. Regardless, we need to bear His reproach by living for Him and shedding the things that are holding us back from pursuing Him.

So I have to ask myself and you, “What are we living for? Comfort or Christ?”— Good question! How would you answer?