"Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds,
for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.
And let steadfastness have its full effect,
that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God,
who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.
But let him ask in faith, with no doubting,
for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind.
for that person must not suppose that he will recieve anything from the Lord;
he is a double-minded man, unstable in his ways."
.James 1:2-8.
Quotes from Joe Calabello's sermon in Jacksonville on Sunday, July 15th, 2007:
::Trials are the way to maturity...
>"it is by faith that we are saved, justified, and brought near to God. Therefore, it should be no surprise that it is our faith that is tested by the trails."
>"How will you know how strong your faith is in God unless it is tested? Do you think God is the one who needs to know how strong your faith is?"
>"the way we respond to a trial exposes what we really believe."
>"we don't control the weather-- we respond to it. Likewise, we don't control trials-- we respond to them."
::Trials cause us to depend on God...
>"If we try to do everything in our own strength, we will never learn to rely on God."
>"The children of Israel had to learn to trust God... those trials brought them to a deeper trust in God."
>"The assumption is that everyone in a trial lacks wisdom of some kind. This is a time for God-given understanding that enables a person to avoid the paths of wickedness and to live a life of righteousness."
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Very good message. even when I am away from my home church, God still speaks so directly to me.
/out.
3 comments:
wow, that's ...oooo, the word has escaped me. But i liked it :)
U & Dams put up the most amazing God-centered posts.
I try to. but those were not my words, so I can't take any credit for it.
sounds excellent. glad you went up and had fun. i have so much to tell you and i don't even know where to begin...i am struggling with culture shock and mild sickishness and mostly with the fact that wales is much farther away than canada.
i know you have lots to tell me.
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