Good Morning Everyone,
Our theme for this month: “Healthy Living”
Our Bible verse for today: “…we have unanimously decided to select men and send them to you along with our dearly beloved Barnabas and Paul, who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Acts 15:25-26 (HCSB)
Our thought for today: “We must be willing to take risks.”
The theme for this month is “Healthy Living”, but the verse for today talks about Paul and Barnabas putting their lives at risk. That doesn’t sound very healthy. In fact, considering all Paul went through in his life, (the persecutions, the beatings, the imprisonments) he doesn’t seem like such a good example of someone who lived a healthy life.
However as we’ve learned, an important part of living a healthy and balanced life is to have God-given goals that provide the direction for our lives. These are assignments from God which we’re enthusiastic about and which motivate us. These are the things that get us out of bed in the morning with a sense of eagerness and anticipation. Paul had that.
But those things always include some element of risk. Living the life that God has planned for you is a spiritual endeavor and as such, it will involve spiritual warfare. Satan does not want you to be the man or woman God wants you to be. Satan wants you to be defeated and miserable. And so you can bet he will do everything in his power to put stumbling blocks and obstacles in your way.
It’s true that God will empower you to persevere and to push through the obstacles, but that does not mean you won’t experience difficulties and even set-backs. You will. And that’s where the risk comes in. In order to walk the path that God has prepared for us we must be willing to accept the risks that come with it. We have to be realistic in acknowledging that there are going to be difficulties, set-backs, and even perhaps some failures. We must be willing to face those and push through them, in order to achieve the thing God has ordained for us.
In John 16:33 Jesus told us “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (NIV)
How do we push through the troubles Jesus told us would come? Paul helps us with that in Galatians 6:9, “So we must not get tired of doing good, for we will reap at the proper time if we don’t give up.” (NIV).
Nothing is over until you give up. You’re not defeated until you quit. If you’re pursuing a God-given goal you can count on satanic opposition, and therefore difficulties and challenges, but you can also count on God’s help to get you through. Accept the risk, face the challenges, push through, and don’t give up.
I want to recommend a book to you that you might find very helpful, it’s “Failing Forward” by Pastor John Maxwell. It’s all about how you can use your set-backs and even your failures as stepping stones to propel you forward toward accomplishing the plans God has for you.
God Bless,
Pastor Jim
Oak Hill Baptist Church 