Pain, sanctification and salvation

It is nice to be content with the believe God uses these times of pain in our lives like a gardener uses pruning shears.

In order to grow, we must be pruned. In order to fully trust God, we have to come to the point where we trust his strength more than our own. I like to say that the amount of pain you endure is proportionate to the amount of joy you are capable of experiencing.{About Devotions by Chris}

Many people have known pain, and many have been at the end of their tops, or did come to a point they did not see any solution any more. For many it has been like they got to the bottom and they thought they would not survive if it felled out again.

When bad things happen to us when we are doing everything right, we often question our position but also God.

We’ve all heard the question asked “Why do bad things happen to good people”. Well it happens to give you an opportunity to grow. If things aren’t happening in your life that are pruning you, that’s when you should be concerned. {Why bad things happen to good people}

Like there are pruning tools, we also do have to find the right tools to go through life – Some Pruning tools that can be used to maintain a garden. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

We may do a lot of good works and not see the nice results of it, but in the end we should know that no matter what happens it always shall come to a certain point because of our actions taken. Be them good or bad, it at a certain time shall show.

We all produce fruit in our lives. Our actions produce results. Our results show God, others and ourselves what’s important to us. There is a law of sowing and reaping. {Why bad things happen to good people}

If you sow time I to other’s lives, you will reap love. If you sow forgiveness, you will reap joy. If you sow understanding, you will reap peace. On the other hand if you sow selfishness, you will reap loneliness. If you sow bitterness, you will reap hate. What you do matters and will come back as fruit in your life. God wants us to produce good fruit in our lives so that others will be able to see Him through us. {Why bad things happen to good people}

Many people want to see it that when they become a Christian that they will never have to face pain any more, and that they should not do any works any more or not have to be careful to be not bad. They think they are saved and at all times shall end up in heaven, instead of understanding the good hope of the coming Kingdom of God.

We should come to understand that the Divine Creator expects something from His creation. He wants us to love Him and to recognise Him as the Only One God, and not to bow down in front of pictures or statues, worshipping other gods (be it men, women, nature elements, animals or plants). He knows man wanted to go his own way, but has given them an opportunity to grow and to restore the relationship between God and man again. He even provided a ‘son of man’ who was willing to obey Him and showed it to humankind that man can follow the Divine Creator and do His will instead of the own will.

“God’s Son, His unspeakable gift, is the measure, even as He is the pledge of grace.” {Horatius Bonar}

“Jesus fully paid the price for your sin, which means you don’t ever have to hide from God, no matter how messed up you think you are.” {Paul Tripp}

“It’s by grace alone that your sins are forgiven, and it’s by grace alone that the wandering allegiance of your heart is reclaimed.” {Paul Tripp}

With that special example of the promised Messiah in mind we should also remember how he even at to suffer, though he had not done anything wrong, he had never sinned, and always followed the commandments of his God, the God of Abraham. When people say only good things can come to good Godly persons and ungodly persons shall receive bad things, they should remember Jesus Christ who also had to undergo bad things, though he never earned such bad things. Bad things are no punishment from God.

When bad things happen to good people it is like the bad things that can happen to bad people. They can learn from it or can moan about it and continue to walk in the negativity of that life. Others can try to get the positive out of the negative. They can try to see that bad things happen to everyone and learn form them. They can see in it an opportunity to grow and to produce more and better fruits than ever before, in the acceptance that they are like pruned by God.

If you are being pruned right now, stop and thank God instead of questioning Him. It means that He thinks you are producing good fruit and He has bigger plans for you. Trust in Him and in His plan for you. Handle the pruning with grace and look forward to the next time of harvest in your life. {Why bad things happen to good people}

Pruning: dense growth after shearing. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Without pruning, we can only produce so much of each fruit. When He does prune us, He creates more opportunity to produce than ever before. But by that pruning and producing fruit we also should know that:

God doesn’t give us groceries for a week (which is how most of us shop). He wants us to be dependent on Him daily and to go to Him daily for our needs. He could provide a lifetime of bread for us with just one word, but He doesn’t. He longs for us to go to Him and to rely on Him. {Hold You, Dada!}

God knows that if He were to supply more than our daily bread, we would start to forget who provided it and then begin to take credit for His work. It’s not a far stretch to take that further to our salvation. {Hold You, Dada!}

God accepted the ransom offer Jesus brought in front of Him. Jehovah was willing to take Jesus out of the dead, after having been three days in hell, and made him higher than angels, to come to sit next to Him, to be a mediator between Him (Jehovah God) and man.

As such we have somebody who gave his life to save us. By this offer for which we do not have to pay, we got a clean-washing of our sins (by the Blood of Christ). Having bought free by Christ, many do think than everything is finished and cleared, and now they may do whatever they want, because “Once saved, always saved”. They are very mistaken! If they are not careful it can well be that they loose everything. It can well be that they become like the fig tree which did not produce any good fruits any more and was cut down. We also can be cut off from the entrance to the Kingdom of God. We can still miss all the chances, all the opportunities which where freely given to us.

God knows that our independent nature wants to do things to earn His grace and salvation, but that’s not God’s plan. Our dependence on Him is what He’s after. {Hold You, Dada!}

It is not God Who has done the work. It is not God Who has paid the price. It is the Nazarene man Jeshua, Jesus Christ, who is the Messiah and has offered himself as a Lamb for God and for mankind.

People may be been “baptised into the Body of Christ Jesus” and may be “marked with the cross of Christ” and “sealed with the Holy Spirit” but this does not mean it shall be “forever”.  When they are been grafted onto the “Tree of Life” than they should be people who follow the Wish of the Most High Divine Creator. Those who are willing to step in the footsteps of the master teacher Jeshua (Jesus Christ) should be willing to bear fruit, not because you fear the harvest, but because this is who you are:

a branch of Christ’s choosing, nourished by the root of God’s saving love and mercy, strengthened by the stirring sap of the Spirit. {Sermon: On doing the things}

We all should be careful that we do not get Emotional pain and emotional deadness but keep seeing the light of salvation and stay encouraged by it and by are fellow believers. Others around us should see our hope in action. With our actions and words we should bring others to come to realise who they have to follow and what they have to do, making them to come from pain to purpose. Each person for himself has to decide or to determine the drive.

When there is faith there should also be works of faith resulting in fruitage of the Spirit.

Every person who is calling himself a Christian should make him or herself perfect in every good work to do the Will of God,  like Jesus did not his will but the Will  of his Father. It is only when we by faith work at ourselves and allow us to change and grow in Christ, that we shall have the working in us that which is well pleasing in God His sight through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever.

Now the God of peace, who brought up the great shepherd of the sheep, our Lord Jesus, from the dead with the blood of an eternal covenant*,  (21)  perfect you* in every good work, to this end, you* should practice his will, working in you* what is well pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ: to whom is the glory forever and ever. Amen. (Hebrews 13:20-21 MLV)

+

Additional reading:

1. Why think that (4) … God would reveal himself in words
2. Doubting the reality, genuineness and effectiveness of God’s love
3. Does God stands behind all evil on earth
4. Fragments from the Book of Job #1: chapters 1-12
5. Fragments from the Book of Job #4: chapters 27-31
6. Fragments from the Book of Job #5: chapters 32-37
7. I Can’t Believe That … (2) God would allow children to suffer
8. The Immeasurable Grace bestowed on humanity
9. Luck
10. From pain to purpose
11. 1 Corinthians 15 Hope in action
12. Are you right down in the dumps? Stop digging!
13. It continues to be a never ending, exhausting battle for survival.
14. End of the Bottom Line
15. In Defense of the truth
16. Running away from the past
17. I said God it hurts
18. Dealing with worries in our lives
19. Challenging claim 4 Inspired by God 3 Self-consistent Word of God
20. Trusting, Faith, calling and Ascribing to Jehovah #1 Kings Faith
21. Trusting, Faith, calling and Ascribing to Jehovah #2 Calling upon the Name of God
22. Trusting, Faith, Calling and Ascribing to Jehovah #5 Prayer #1 Listening Sovereign Maker
23. Trusting, Faith, Calling and Ascribing to Jehovah #9 Prayer #7 Reason to pray
24. Trusting, Faith, Calling and Ascribing to Jehovah #15 Exposition before the Creator
25. Trusting, Faith, Calling and Ascribing to Jehovah #16 Benefits of praying
26. Trusting, Faith, Calling and Ascribing to Jehovah #17 Sorts of prayers
27. God is Jehovah Shammah-God is There!
28. Determine the drive
29. Faith Over Fear
30. Opportunity!
31. God’s Comfort
32. Aligned
33. Faith because of the questions
34. Trust God to shelter, safety and security
35. God is my refuge and my fortress in Him I will trust
36. It is not try but trust
37. Gaining Christ, trusting Jehovah
38. Acknowledge the majesty of the Lord’s reputation!
39. A person is limited only by the thoughts that he chooses
40. How do you keep people from stealing your joy?
41. Looking forward to God’s faithfulness
42. Hope is faith holding out its hand in the dark
43. Al-Fatiha [The Opening] Süra 1:1-7 Help from God our Maker
44. Bearing fruit
45. You cannot change anything in your life with intention alone
46. Fruits of the spirit will prevent you from being either inactive or unfruitful
47. Looking for True Spirituality 5 Fruitage of the Spirit
48. Looking for True Spirituality 8 Measuring Up
49. Myth 12: The Hyper-Grace Gospel Makes People Lazy

+++

Related articles

• Dig for Thursday the 4th of December……Jesus, nothing added and nothing taken away, that is God’s best…..Ecclesiastes 3 v 14 (heilanword.wordpress.com)
  Jesus could only do the work of His Father; this is made clear in Scripture, especially the Gospel of John.
  +
  The finished work of Jesus Christ was complete and perfect and the express will of God the Father.Nothing needs to be added to the work of Jesus.

   

• Christ In The Book Of Hebrews: “Working in you that which is wellpleasing in his sight through Jesus Christ” (mydelightandmycounsellors.wordpress.com)
  Through Jesus and His work on our behalf, God works His pleasure in us.
• Believers In Jesus Christ Are World Overcomers! (fggam.org)
  As believers in Jesus Christ, as sons of God, as the Body of Christ, endued with His overcoming power, we have His ability in us to change the evil conditions around us. However, we must first deal with the evil conditions that are in our own souls so that we can confidently and in the love and power of Jesus Christ live and conduct ourselves as the conquerors God has made us to be in this world.
• The Stage Is Set (atimetoshare.wordpress.com)
  I don’t deserve His pardon. My works don’t mean a thing, / But through His Hero, Jesus, Christ, He’s made my spirit sing. / The story has unfolded. The truth lays at our feet. / The happily ever after comes when we our Savior meet.
• Doing works for God or Doing God’s will (thepauls.wordpress.com)
  This is a warning to all missionaries, full-time and part-time church workers and the lay person, for the people that Jesus is referring to here are not those who are unaware of the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, but those who have prophesied, cast out devils and done (not some but) many wonderful works, in his name – the works that Jesus calls – works of iniquity.
• Don’t give up on yourself (freedom4eternity.wordpress.com)
  His mercy is ever-lasting. Be confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus — Phil. 1:6 NIV (syntax modified).
• Thanksgiving Day (emmanuelchatham.typepad.com)
  Almighty and gracious Father, we give you thanks for the fruits of the earth in their season and for the labors of those who harvest them.
• Brethren, be Forthright and Dutiful, share Scripture with Vigor! (authorrubengarza.wordpress.com)
  Brethren, be Forthright and Dutiful, share Scripture with Vigor. Live at Peace with one another for it unifies Souls and lays Foundation for the Kingdom of God. Move with us to a place where Songbirds warble Melodies to Christ, King of Life. You have what it takes to become a Pillar for your neighbor’s home.
• Jesus Christ and Race Relations (fggam.org)
  In Christ’s family there can be no division into Jew and non-Jew, slave and free, male and female. Among us you are equal. That is, we are all in a common relationship with Jesus Christ. Galatians 3:28
• 2 Become 1! (newheavenonearth.wordpress.com)
  The tree of life has one kind of fruit: awesome, wonderful, amazing, supernatural, extraordinary, divine Love! This Love has no opposite; it is Light without any darkness at all! It is nondual, single awareness, God-consciousness, super-abundant, powerful, spiritual energy, and comes from a sound, light-filled Christ-Mind!