PROSPERITY OF ADVERSITY

THE MIGHTY GOD HATH SPOKEN

Photo provided by Leroy Ochoa

The mighty God, even the 

LORD, hath spoken, and 

called the earth from the 

rising of the sun unto 

the going down thereof.

Psalm 50:1

THEY SHALL SEE THE GLORY OF THE LORD

Photo provided by Leroy Ochoa 

The wilderness and the solitary place 

shall be glad for them; and the desert 

shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose.

t shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice

 even with joy and singing: the glory 

of Lebanon shall be given unto it, the

 excellency of Carmel and Sharon, they 

shall see the glory of the LORD, and 

the excellency of our God. Strengthen ye 

the weak hands, and confirm the feeble 

knees. Say to them that are of a fearful 

heart, Be strong, fear not: behold, your 

God will come with vengeance, even 

God with a recompence; he will come 

and save you.  Then the eyes of the blind 

shall be opened, and the ears of the 

deaf shall be unstopped.  Then shall the 

lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue 

of the dumb sing: for in the wilderness 

shall waters break out, and streams in the 

desert.  And the parched ground shall 

become a pool, and the thirsty land springs 

of water: in the habitation of dragons, 

where each lay, shall be grass with reeds 

and rushes. And an highway shall be there, 

and a way, and it shall be called The way of 

holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it; 

but it shall be for those: the wayfaring 

men, though fools, shall not err therein.  

No lion shall be there, nor any ravenous 

beast shall go up thereon, it shall not be 

found there; but the redeemed shall 

walk there:  And the ransomed of the LORD 

shall return, and come to Zion with songs 

and everlasting joy upon their heads: they 

shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow 

and sighing shall flee away.

Isaiah 35:1-10

HE PREPARETH RAIN FOR THE EARTH

Photo provided by Kay Rowe

Sing unto the LORD with thanksgiving; 

sing praise upon the harp unto our God:

Who covereth the heaven with clouds, 

who prepareth rain for the earth, 

who maketh grass to grow upon 

the mountains. He giveth to the beast 

his food, and to the young ravens which 

cry.  He delighteth not in the strength 

of the horse: he taketh not pleasure 

in the legs of a man.  The LORD taketh 

pleasure in them that fear him, in those 

that hope in his mercy.  Praise the LORD, 

O Jerusalem; praise thy God, O Zion.

Psalm 147-6-12

WHAT DOES GOD WANT FROM ME?

A question I have often heard from some people is: "God, what do you want from me?"

I have a concern about this question and it is this: Like rebellious teenagers, some people may be asking it because they seek their own independence; however, such independence is not possible. We will always be dependent upon our Creator. We might like to think we can get by just fine on our own but we can no more do so than a baby can provide for oneself, or a car can take care of its own maintenance. Some people say that if there is a God, they don't need him, but they do. Make sure that if you're asking this question that it's not out of a desire to divorce yourself from God's authority and oversight. We all really do need him. Jesus said, "Without me, you can do nothing."[i] If you are not relying on the Lord, you must be running from him.

You, however, may be asking “What does God want from me?” because you have a legitimate desire to know. There is nothing wrong with this. We should all care about what God wants, desires and requires. He is our Creator, Lord and Master. It is right for him to expect certain things of us. Surely the sincere seeker will want to know what those things are.

He Wants Us to Obey Him.

He wants us to: honor him and treat our fellow humans well and fairly.

He gave us the Ten Commandments to express this desire:
1. You shall have no other gods.
2. You shall not make graven images to worship.
3. You shall not take the name of the LORD (Yahweh) your God in vain.
4. Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.
5. Honor your father and mother.
6. You shall not murder.
7. You shall not commit adultery.
8. You shall not steal.
9. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
10. You shall not covet ... anything that is your neighbor's.[ii]

I am struck not only by how much God cares about how we respect him but also by how much he loves people so that he would set these guides upon our behavior toward each other. These commands encompass: 

· Our worship,
· Our finances,
· Our business dealings,
· Our social activities,
· Our speech,
· Our family lives and even
· Our thought processes.

He Wants Us to Love Him.

Jesus summed these things up with the attitude of our heart when he stated:

"'You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.' This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.[iii]

The heart attitude God wants from us is the attitude of love.

The prophet Micah summed up all that God wants from us in these words:

He has shown you, O man, what is good;
And what does the LORD require of you
But to do justly,
To love mercy,
And to walk humbly with your God?

This sounds very simple – basically doing what is right but showing mercy to those who come short of it, and then to be humble toward God. The big problem is that none of us can live up to any of these standards and/or commands. We all fall short of what God expects from us [iv].

Where does this leave us in relation to him? It leaves us alienated from him. God is holy and will not tolerate our rebellion and disobedience. Something must be done to reconcile us back to God! God has done just that!

He Wants Us to Trust Him.

God’s word in the book of Romans, tells us that even when we were “without strength,” … “ungodly,” … his “enemies,” and “still sinners,” that he “died for us,” “justified us,” “saved us,” and “reconciled us.”[v]

“How can I know if I’m saved?” you may ask. You can know you are saved if you believe in Jesus.[vi]

What does God want from me? He wants you and me to believe on him and to believe on his Son, Jesus Christ, whom he has sent – and, for those who do, he has freely provided for forgiveness for our coming short of obeying all he has said.

All the requirements that God has made upon our lives that we cannot live up to, he has met through the righteousness of his Son, Jesus Christ. Believe it!

[i] John 15.5
[ii] Exodus 20.1-17
[iii] Matthew 22.37-39
[iv] Romans 3.10
[v] Romans 5.6-10
[vi] John 6.47

WHAT RULES YOUR HEART?

Photo provided by Darry Poss

And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, 

to the which also ye are called in one body; 

and be ye thankful. Let the word of Christ 

dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching 

and admonishing one another in psalms and 

hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace 

in your hearts to the Lord. And whatsoever 

ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of 

the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the 

Father by him.

Colossians 3:15-17

WHO IS THIS CHRIST?

When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea 

Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, 

Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?

And they said, Some say that thou art John

the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, 

or one of the prophets. He saith unto them, 

But whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter 

answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the 

Son of the living God.  And Jesus answered 

and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon 

Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed 

it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.

And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, 

and upon this rock I will build my church; 

and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

Matthew 13:16-18