As June comes to a close...
...I want to thank God for taking me through every storm and affliction which came my way in the past month.
June has been a month of pruning. I know that the Lord Jesus has removed some things from my life that needed to go. And this is for a good purpose, as painful as it was, that I might bear even more spiritual fruit for God's glory.
I have committed my life to following Christ, and so I must accept the pain as well as the victory. Both work together. There is no middle road and no place for compromise. Being a "soldier" for the Lord, as the apostle Paul said, is no easy task. Yet the Bible encourages me, just like it does every Christian, to "be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus" (2 Timothy 2:1), and to "endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ" (2 Timothy 2:3).
In this walk many people have rejected me. Many think that my "Christianity" is all nonsense. Nevertheless, I have determined in my heart that I will serve the Lord. As one line says in the classic song, I HAVE DECIDED TO FOLLOW JESUS, "Though none go with me, still I will follow." I want this to be my attitude and my battle cry. That I will, by His grace, hold on to Jesus no matter what happens. I know, too, that He is holding on to me.
I am likewise learning to accept the fact that there shall be people who will always hate me because of the past. They're people who are indifferent to anything I may say. Still, I humbly thank the Lord for all who have been encouraged by my testimony, and for all who will be blessed and encouraged by it in the future.
D.B.
June has been a month of pruning. I know that the Lord Jesus has removed some things from my life that needed to go. And this is for a good purpose, as painful as it was, that I might bear even more spiritual fruit for God's glory.
I have committed my life to following Christ, and so I must accept the pain as well as the victory. Both work together. There is no middle road and no place for compromise. Being a "soldier" for the Lord, as the apostle Paul said, is no easy task. Yet the Bible encourages me, just like it does every Christian, to "be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus" (2 Timothy 2:1), and to "endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ" (2 Timothy 2:3).
In this walk many people have rejected me. Many think that my "Christianity" is all nonsense. Nevertheless, I have determined in my heart that I will serve the Lord. As one line says in the classic song, I HAVE DECIDED TO FOLLOW JESUS, "Though none go with me, still I will follow." I want this to be my attitude and my battle cry. That I will, by His grace, hold on to Jesus no matter what happens. I know, too, that He is holding on to me.
I am likewise learning to accept the fact that there shall be people who will always hate me because of the past. They're people who are indifferent to anything I may say. Still, I humbly thank the Lord for all who have been encouraged by my testimony, and for all who will be blessed and encouraged by it in the future.
D.B.