Hi all,
Paul said in I Corinthians 10:13 that no matter what happens to us, it is something that is common to all mankind. The difference that separates our lives as believers from those who don’t know the Lord is what he said after that: “But God is faithful and will not allow you to be tested or tried beyond what you are able, and will with that trial or test, make a way of escape so you may be able to bear it.”
He didn’t bring the trial; He is the One putting limits on it and making a way of escape.
We live in a fallen world and we are imperfect, so tests and trials will come. He isn’t the One doing it to us – He is however a Master at using things meant to destroy us to instead grow us and strengthen us.
We are different from non-believers in that we have His faithfulness manifest in our lives. We can pray for others and ask Him to extend them grace for their trials and tests, and we see this all the time. We also see the things non-believers and sometimes believers who are acting like non-believers turn to in order to deal with their own tests and trials, instead of choosing Him and His ways. But we have a grace in our lives…an amazing grace.
May they see that grace! Grace makes difficult things seem light, and according to Romans 12:3 each of us has a grace for our lives along with the faith that accompanies that grace. We don’t have someone else’s grace, we have the grace and faith given us. And that is sufficient for our life. Paul also said* ‘those who compare and measure themselves with themselves are not wise’, meaning we don’t measure ourselves and how we are doing by how someone else is doing in the Lord. *II Corinthians 10:12
Paul said He is faithful to put limits on the test and make a way of escape. The Greek word translated ‘faithful’ is (pistos) means ‘worthy of trust’. He isn’t just saying God is faithful, but that we need to count Him as faithful and worthy of our trust in the midst of a trial or test.
It also tells us we must look for His way of escape. We must look for His faithfulness. If we count Him as trustworthy then we must look for that faithfulness to be revealed. We must do that – it is up to us to look for and discover His faithfulness.
Grace happens. Look for it.
This past week we realized we had a slow leak under our dishwasher when the flooring underfoot became wet, and a repairman’s examination found the nearly 10 year old drain hose had cracked, slowing leaking water under the kitchen cabinets, under the laminate flooring to the subfloor. Insurance will cover some of the repairs, but with the wood crews having just left the week before, and a destroyed deck still out the back door, 1 truck totaled, Barb’s car damaged (but repaired), we were thinking ‘what now?’ – so I’m preaching to myself a bit here, lol.
But we have seen that with each trial there has been provision. We’ve taken it in stride and can sense the winter will be a time to work – to pour Chris’ sidewalk/car pad, to tear out the old kitchen and replace (the water soaked up into the sides of the cabinetry), and so on. Praying for a favorable insurance settlement, but there is peace.
What is the Father thinking?
We have had to pray specifically about these things – in the Father’s mind what time has He set aside for us to concentrate on these things? How would He have us deal with these nearly overwhelming tasks ahead? Where is His peace?
Once we found His peace, we could talk through the order of events of what has to happen and when, and so on. Find the peace. Find the grace. Look for the faithfulness. Look for the provision. According to your faith it will be to you – if you look for it, you will find it. If you don’t, you won’t. But on His end of things, it will be revealed He was and is always faithful.
Zoom web meetings, national conference in Tulsa
We had 3 web meetings this month and were blessed by those who signed in. Though the subject matter was the same, the content was different with each one, and that was fun and a blessing! Look for more in January.
We are planning on visiting the Seattle/Vancouver area April 15-21 to make a driving loop over the course of a week, so stay tuned, and if you’d like to host a meeting in your home or maybe simply meet for a meal that week, email me directly at cwowi@aol.com.
Our National House Church Conference is October 8-11 (Thursday-Sunday) which is Columbus Day weekend, at the Stoney Creek Conference Center in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma (suburb of Tulsa). We will open registration early next year so stay tuned.
Our EU conference is May 30-June 1 in The Netherlands. Information will soon be posted on our website and the EU site: www.cwowi.eu
Tentative Finland trip in August but exact dates aren’t set.
There is a real need to pray about January…some things are going to change…but He is faithful! What I have in my spirit is that 2020 is going to be an exciting year in the Lord yet for believers, though turmoil in the world. During the Arab Spring the Lord visited me and I persisted on asking Him about the various nations and what would happen to them. After answering several of my questions He had had enough, telling me: “What are these things to you? As for you, you must be about the Father’s business.”
That has stayed with me – no matter what swirls around me, those distractions are not an excuse to lose my focus on what He has for me today. We all must be about the Father’s business…that is our focus. Not on things which cause fear or confusion. But on Him, on peace, on the big picture.
Don’t forget you can go to YouTube and find my weekly teaching videos that I do each Wednesday morning 8am (Tulsa time), but archived on YouTube and Facebook. They are live at 8am on Facebook but you can watch anytime. Generally about 10 minutes in length, hopefully a little boost to your day.
And so we are very thankful in this season of the giving of thanks. Not a generic ‘thanks to the universe’, but thanks to God our Father, the Father of our Lord Jesus – and to you, who have given yourselves first to God and then to us, to include us in your life.
Thank you! Blessings,
John & Barb