Growing up in a traditional church setting gave me a basic understanding of the Bible, yet the Bible was never presented in a way that seemed to apply to my everyday life. When I discovered that it was possible to have a personal relationship with God and that His Word still gives real life solutions, my life changed forever.
That is what we are all about at New Harmony Christian Church – growing together in our relationship with God and experiencing the power of His Word in our lives. If you’re also looking for life as God intended, we invite you to check us out. It might not be church as you remember it but we think you will like the difference.
- Bishop Jim and Sheila Outen
Greetings in the Name of Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ:
In James 1:1-4, James wrote,
“James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad, greeting. My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.”
Let me share a few things about trials. Sometimes our trials may seem to be very simple, and other times we feel like we are drowning in them. A young man who has a wife and two kids is driving to work in their only car when the transmission goes out. They live from paycheck to paycheck and cannot afford the $1,400 repair.
A mother who has raised her children in church and sent them to a Christian school finds out that her daughter wants to quit school because she is pregnant and is "in love."
As I am writing this I think of some of you. I think of some of the physical trials that some of you may be facing, some of you may have received a bad report from the doctor or may have had a love one that has received a bad report. I think of some of the financial trials that you may be facing. Some of you may have lost your job and school is fixing to start and you are going to have to buy school supplies and some new school clothes. Maybe you need tires too, or you’re struggling just to put gas in the car each week or just to buy groceries each week. Then there are always those extra expenses that we knew nothing about. I think of some of the spiritual trials that you may be facing. God telling us to do things that we are so unsure of. Telling some of us to go into new territory that we have never traveled and to do things we have never done. There are dozens of other situations that you are facing, some we know about and others that you are quietly enduring.
Trials have a tremendous effect on our lives, and they have the power to either make us or break us. How do you react to trials? And how are you handling the trials you are facing right now? Do you blame others? “If those people had done this or that thing then my situation would be better.” Do you use escape tactics? Do you run to a drink? To the fridge? To a pack of cigarettes? Do you “veg” out on television when the pressures of life get to be too much? Maybe you don’t want to deal with your trials, so you deny them or try to minimize them. “She’s just being a kid – this problem really isn’t all that bad.”
You may be like the hunters I read about. Some organization offered a bounty of $5,000 for wolves captured alive. It turned Sam and Jed into fortune hunters. Day and night they scoured the mountains and forests looking for their valuable prey. Exhausted one night, they fell asleep dreaming of their potential fortune. Suddenly, Sam awoke to see that they were surrounded by about fifty wolves with flaming eyes and bared teeth. He nudged his friend and said, “Jed, wake up! We’re rich!”
Now, either God is a liar and James is out of touch with reality, or there is something truly extraordinary that happens in the life of a believer when he faces and endures the trials that come his way. As you think about your particular trials, are they strengthening and developing your faith, or are they wearing you down?
James says here that we are to have joy in the midst of our trials, but really, can we count it all joy in these situations? Can we have joy in the midst of our trials? Can you experience abundant living when life dishes out more and more grief? I believe we can.
So let’s just learn to Thank God for whatever situation we are in and don’t look at the circumstances but look at the Maker!!!
