Perseverance

How do you respond when you are "thumped" by people at work, school, family, or anyone in general? Your initial reaction during these times reflects who you are. What responses need to change? The character of a person is checked by these thumps. Late-night phone calls. Grouchy teacher. Grumpy moms. Burnt meals. Flat tires. "You've got to be kidding me" deadlines. Those are thumps. They are those irritating inconveniences that bring out the worst in us. They catch us off guard. They're small, but if you get enough of them, watch out. Thump. Thump. Thump. How do I respond? Do I sing? Or do I thud? Jesus said that out of the nature of the heart a man speaks. (Luke 6:45) Good people bring good things out of the good they stored in their hearts. But evil people bring evil things out of the evil they stored in their hearts. People speak the things that are in their hearts. The true character of a person is seen not in momentary heroics, but in their day-to-day living. (James 1:1-27) My brothers and sisters, when you have many kinds of troubles, you should be full of joy, because you know that these troubles test your faith, and this will give you patience. Let your patience show itself perfectly in what you do. Then you will be perfect and complete and will have everything you need. But if any of you needs wisdom, you should ask God for it. He is generous and enjoys giving to all people, so he will give you wisdom. But when you ask God, you must believe and not doubt. Anyone who doubts is like a wave in the sea, blown up and down by the wind. Such doubters are thinking two different things at the same time, and they cannot decide about anything they do. They should not think they will receive anything from the Lord. Believers who are poor should be proud, because God has made them spiritually rich. Those who are rich should be proud, because God has shown them that they are spiritually poor. The rich will die like a wild flower in the grass. The sun rises with burning heat and dries up the plants. The flower falls off, and its beauty is gone. In the same way the rich will die while they are still taking care of business. When people are tempted and still continue strong, they should be happy. After they have proved their faith, God will reward them with life forever. God promised this to all those who love him. When people are tempted, they should not say, "God is tempting me." Evil cannot tempt God, and God himself does not tempt anyone. But people are tempted when their own evil desire leads them away and traps them. This desire leads to sin, and then the sin grows and brings death. My dear brothers and sisters, do not be fooled about this. Every good action and every perfect gift is from God. These good gifts come down from the Creator of the sun, moon, stars, who does not change like their shifting shadows. God decided to give us life through the word of truth so we might be the most important of all the things he made. My dear brothers and sisters, always be willing to listen and slow to speak. Do not become angry easily, because anger will not help you live the right kind of life God wants. So put out of your life every evil thing and every kind of wrong. Then in gentleness accept God's teaching that is planted in your hearts, which can save you. Do what God's teaching says; when you only listen and do nothing, you are fooling yourselves. Those who hear God's teaching and do nothing are like people who look at themselves in a mirror. They see their faces and then go away and quickly forget what they looked like. But the truly happy people are those who carefully study God's perfect law that makes people free, and they continue to study it. They do not forget what they heard, but they obey what God's teaching says. Those who do this will be made happy. People who think they are religious but say things they should not say are just fooling themselves. Their "religion" is worth nothing. Religion that God accepts as pure and without fault is this: caring for orphans or widows who need help, and keeping yourself free from the world's evil influence. I know I just threw a long scripture at you, but read it again and again and get the true meaning of it please. Like I said in an earlier post, we should never ever let someone that has no joy, steal our joy. When we come across ignorant and stupid people, we need to set an example. Not foe them, but for God. We need to show God that we have heard his message, and that it is in our hearts, and that we will remain faithful and on top of our game. It's all a test. Satan went about roaming the earth looking for someone to test, and he happened upon you. Why? I can't say. But I can say this, don't fall into the trap that he is trying to lay down for you because you will be losing out on a blessing. (Romans 2:7) Some people, by always continuing to do good, live for God's glory, for honor, and for lifethat has no end. God will give them life forever. Life forever... Can you even begin to comprehend that? Not only will you receive eternal life by following God's laws, but you will receive blessings here as well. (Romans 8:24-25) We were saved, and we have this hope. If we see what we are waiting for, that is not really hope. People do not hope for something they already have. But we are hoping for something we do not have yet, and we are waiting for it patiently.  No matter what challenges we face, and I know there are many, we must remain steadfast in our faith, hope, and beliefs. (2 Corinthians 6:3-7) We do not want anyone to find fault with our work, so nothing we do will be a problem for anyone. But in every way we show we are servants of God: in accepting many hard things, in troubles, in difficulties, and in great problems. We are beaten and thrown into prison. We meet those who become upset with us and start riots. We work hard, and sometimes we get no sleep or food. We show we are servants of God by our pure lives, our understanding, patience, and kindness, by the Holy Spirit, by true love, by speaking the truth, and by God's power. We use our right living to defend ourselves against everything. I want to end this post by saying that God allows tough situations in our lives in order to refine us and bring us closer to him. We should approach these times with a right attitude and seek his wisdom. God bless you all.