Obedient

John 14:27 Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

The range of emotions that lie within me right now is seemingly innumerable. Those close to me hear of my prayers of heavenly help in guarding them. The strains of life, both personal and spiritual are ever pressing into one another. The strains of small business, all that encompasses family, and seeing a world steep in sin, weigh on me heavily. They morph into each their own; they flood the mind when solitary concentration is desired. Thoughts seemingly run parallel, in series if you will, seeing how each is affected by the other. My family is second only to my Savior, yet the cares of business and the frustrations of society play out before them. My hearts desire is for those living for the world, would understand the futility of that misguided focus on a temporal life. 2nd Timothy 2:24 And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, 25 in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth, 26 and that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will. We are seeing a world being led by false teachers in grand pulpits; we are seeing a world led by the idolatry of self; we are seeing the gospel watered down to a needy Jesus that just desires to be “accepted,” not the Righteous Judge who demands repentance, submission, and obedience. I challenge you to review your pastors ability to preach on Hell; do you hear of the condemnation of sin, or only the promises of Heaven? There is equal power of God in the conviction of sin, and the hope of the gospel.

What drives you? When the strains of life come, what keeps you focused? Is it some means of escape, some coping device that takes your mind off reality? Is it some desire to gain more from life? Is it pleasures measured by properties that demand financial responsibilities? Is it the pursuits of happiness that demand countless hours of sacrifice to obtain those goals? What do you believe; what at your core drives your every decision in life? If you believe that this life is the pinnacle, then for less than 100 years do you pursue all it has to offer? If you believe this life is temporal, and preparation for eternal paradise (or damnation), you live in preparation. Fear is one of Satan’s greatest tools, yet God uses it against him. Satan may want you to fear many things, things that when you have a worldly focus, seem overwhelming. Yet when you see them as small as they are, no matter how big they seem, you have the power of God within you to overcome anything. 2 Timothy 1:7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. God. Is. In. Control.

I would be lying to you, if I told you I was not afraid of this trip to India. I have never been out of the country, never shut down my business, never left my family for two weeks; an endless list, but I have never stepped out in faith at this level before. I am stepping out of my boat as Peter did after Jesus commanded him to walk on the water with Him. Why am a going you ask? I am being obedient to a call to go; a clear tug on my heart to go one Sunday morning, confirmed at church only an hour later; I am being obedient. When you are gripped by fear, stepping out into the unknown, facing a giant tribulation in life, pray and get into the Word of God. There is nothing else that will change your life like time in the Bible. The secret, the true secret to life though, is the daily preparation before the trial comes. God will strengthen your faith, prepare your heart, and use your testimony to encourage others that see you face the tribulation. Be brave, be bold, be a faithful soldier of Jesus’ army who will fight the good fight with the strength he provides. 2 Timothy 2:3 You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.
4 No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier.