Category: Faithfulness

When Pain Feels Like Punishment

R. Mangold

And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that [there is] none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil? and still he holdeth fast his integrity, although thou movedst me against him, to destroy him without cause. Job 2:3

Growing up, if your parents were anything like mine, we were disciplined. Alright, that’s “frou-frou” for “we were spanked.” Of course that wasn’t the only form of punishment, but we soon learned that to do wrong brought with it very unfavorable consequences. Put simply, we associate pain with punishment. But, pain in some forms is not punishment at all, rather a reminder that we’re human, and part of our condition, in addition to the joys, there will be pain.

Job sought for purpose behind his pain believing he had wronged God and was being punished for it. Nothing could have been further from the truth. In fact, he had the distinct honor of being considered by God as a “perfect man who shuns evil.” Essentially, this was God’s vote of confidence. This runs contrary to our human logic, but God created you and knows what you’re fully capable of…even if it stretches us beyond the scope of human reason.

We may not always be able to make sense of our pain, but knowing God has the confidence in us to achieve victory, it’s almost as if God has faith in US, while at the same time helping US build OUR faith in HIM!

“Serminutes” – Sermon in a Minute. A one minute spiritual pick-me-up for busy Christians!  Visit this POST for details on what exactly that is. Thank you for visiting today! May the Lord richly bless you. Rodger Mangold

Prematurely Pulling the Plug on the Process

R. Mangold

I have seen the travail, which God hath given to the sons of men to be exercised in it. 11He hath made every thing beautiful in his time: also he hath set the world in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end. 12I know that there is no good in them, but for a man to rejoice, and to do good in his life. Ecclesiastes 3:10-12

If you’re a collector, or one that loves antiques, you know that some things gain more value with a very important ingredient…TIME. Herein lies the challenge for many of us – while time may add value to antiques, for humans it’s the proverbial “kiss of death.” In a generation that wants instant gratification, the value of growing, maturing, and experience is all too often minimized in favor of a quicker result.

We’d do well to remember, God is in charge of not only the clay, but the wheel on which the clay is spinning. He has in His mind a perfect plan, a defined design, a prescribed purpose for each of our lives. While we’re spinning on the wheel we’re tempted to offer God our “recommendations” AND even go as far as to say when we feel the work is complete!

In order to maximize the “glory that shall be revealed in us” we must trust God with our future. Let God finish what He’s started in you. He’s faithful to complete it. And when given “time” He makes “everything” beautiful. Yes, “everything” – even the flaws, faults, and failures. Let’s not presume to “pull the plug” on God’s process prematurely.

“Serminutes” – Sermon in a Minute. A one minute spiritual pick-me-up for busy Christians!  Visit this POST for details on what exactly that is. Thank you for visiting today! May the Lord richly bless you. Rodger Mangold

Blessed or Blissed?

R. Mangold

The blessing of the LORD, it maketh rich, and he addeth no sorrow with it. Proverbs 10:22

It is a gross misconception when we equate God’s blessings with God’s sanctioning. Even Jesus decried this delusion when he said, “For he (God) maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust” (Matt. 5:45).

False teachers presume to preach a gospel of prosperity and mislead millions into believing if you’re blessed you must be pleasing to God and conversely, if you’re not blessed, you must not have enough faith. This is a miscarriage of the Gospel that Jesus taught…Blessed are the poor, the mournful, the meek, the merciful, and the persecuted! (Matthew 5)

This list reads like a “who’s who” of mistreated, brokenhearted, and the socially outcast of our day. What the world views as weakness, God sees as a trust in His Strength that is made perfect in weakness. What the world sees as poverty, God sees as being an heir to the Kingdom of Heaven.

God does indeed bless His people in so many ways, but if we’re so infatuated with the blessings rather than the “Source” from whom all blessings flow, we’re in extreme peril of being “blessed” rather than “blessed!”

For an expanded version of this post please visit Rodger’s Rants, Writings, and Rambles

“Serminutes” – Sermon in a Minute. A one minute spiritual pick-me-up for busy Christians!  Visit this POST for details on what exactly that is. Thank you for visiting today! May the Lord richly bless you. Rodger Mangold

STIR IT UP!

R. Mangold

In 2 Timothy 1:1-6, Paul tells Timothy, the faith that was in your Grandma, and your Mama….I now see is also in you! So this is a gift…passed down from generations. Someone said, “If you ever see a turtle on a fencepost, you know he didn’t get there by himself”.

None of us started out with our own ‘stuff’! Just like the son of Aaron the High Priest. The only anointing upon him was what soaked into the clothes he now wore…FROM HIS FATHER IN MINISTRY! Only AFTER you walk under HIS anointing, do you get your own anointing! That’s where “double portion“ comes from! Nobody can pray it on you! You receive it by manifesting as a faithful son in ministry!

There are gifts passed from generations, deep inside of you…It was there when you were born! You’ve been studying generational curses; you NEED to study generational BLESSINGS!

As you reach adulthood, all the gifting that was apparent in you as a child, has a tendency to get covered up with A LOT OF STUFF….THAT’S why Paul told Timothy…STIR UP THE GIFT!

STIR IT UP, CHILD OF GOD!

By Rev. J.S. Willoughby – To read other posts by Rev. J.S. Willoughby visit his blog at http://jswilloughby.wordpress.com

“Serminutes” – Sermon in a Minute. A one minute spiritual pick-me-up for busy Christians!  Visit this POST for details on what exactly that is. Thank you for visiting today! May the Lord richly bless you. Rodger Mangold

God Cannot Lie

R. Mangold

 “Let God be true, but every man a liar…” Romans 3:4

Humanity’s first ever encounter with Satan was laden with insidious deceit. He twisted the truth just enough to convince Eve to take that fateful bite. Satan called God a liar then, and hasn’t stopped spreading his despicable delusions since. When will the people of God stand up and bear witness? GOD CANNOT LIE! God’s Word is absolute, infallible, eternal, and forever settled outlasting both Heaven and Earth! God has magnified His Word “above all” His Name. [Ps. 138:2]

Just by virtue of who God is, He is incapable of lying. The Creative Omniscient Power of God is so vast, the moment He spoke what could defy human logic or the laws of physics, it would cease to NOT be true. So incredible is His power, the moment the words leave God’s lips, it becomes TRUTH! Jesus said it best, “With man it is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” [Matt. 19:26]

In the words of God Himself, “So shall my word be that goes forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.”  [Isa. 55:11]

“Serminutes” – Sermon in a Minute. A one minute spiritual pick-me-up for busy Christians!  Visit this POST for details on what exactly that is. Thank you for visiting today! May the Lord richly bless you. Rodger Mangold

One Chance Too Many

R. Mangold

Steve Irwin, or as he was nicknamed the Crocodile Hunter, knew the imminent danger he faced each time he approached a deadly creature. By his own estimate, Steve had been bitten by thousands of animals, insisting it was always his fault, not the animals’.

Steve Irwin died September 4, 2006 while filming a documentary in the Great Barrier Reef, when a barb from a Sting Ray entered his heart and killed him instantly. Ironically, after the thousand or so bites and attacks by much wilder animals, a normally peaceful and not easily provoked creature, the Sting Ray took the daredevil Crocodile Hunter’s life!

Like Steve Irwin, we think we can cheat death, or even punishment. The Bible says, “Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil [Ecc. 8:11].”

We’d do well to learn from examples of just one offense that resulted in immediate punishment or death – One bite of the fruit (Adam). One glance over the shoulder (Lot’s Wife). One strike of the rock (Moses). One haircut (Samson). One touch of the Ark (Uzzah). One lustful look at a bathing beauty (David).

“Serminutes” – Sermon in a Minute. A one minute spiritual pick-me-up for busy Christians!  Visit this POST for details on what exactly that is. Thank you for visiting today! May the Lord richly bless you. Rodger Mangold