April Showers Bring May Flowers

“April Showers Bring May flowers,” is a phrase heard often in the spring when storms can dampen picnics and outdoor activities for many. The words are uttered to remind that the beauties of spring will soon follow. It is a phrase that is also spoken in times of trial and struggle. The sentiments are that this season must be endured but happiness and joy is soon to follow.

James gives a similar statement in James 1:2-4. He says “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” James reminds us that the trials and struggles we face now help mold us into the people God wants us to be. We all, standing on the other side of storms in our life, can look back and see how they have helped us to mature and to grow to where we are today.

In this life, we will face trials and many storms. We need to push through with endurance looking forward to the growth and maturity that we are developing. When you find yourselves suffering during a storm always remember, “April showers bring may flowers!”

Blessings,

Jeremy

The Sunday Morning Speck

On Sunday morning, I looked in the mirror and saw a small speck of something on my suit jacket. My first assumption was, it has to be food. I proceeded to pick the speck off of my jacket. As I pulled on the object, it continued to grow. I realized it was a piece of thread from my jacket. Now it looked worse than before. Hind-sight, I realized I should have done the sensible thing and sought assistance from my wife who is a master at helping me look presentable (and what a difficult task that can be). She would have quickly snipped the thread and removed it completely.

Having a preacher’s mind, I immediately thought of spiritual application. This is often how we deal with sin in our life. Our first thought is, “I can fix it on my own.” Typically, our first inclination is to try and hide it. We see this thought process in King David after engaging in sin with Bathsheba (1 Samuel 11:1-27). His first response was to cover it up. This led to unethical decision making as King, lying, and ultimately murder.  When David took matters into his own hands, things got worse quickly. It wasn’t until a good friend confronted him that he finally took it to God in repentance (2 Samuel 12:1-13).

The reality is we all sin and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). Jesus is the only one who can remove our sins. If you have not been covered by the blood of Christ in baptism (Acts 2:38), there is nothing you can do to remove your sin. We cannot cover up the bad with good deeds. We definitely cannot hide our sins from God. They have to be forgiven by Jesus.

After we were baptized, we all realized that temptation continued and we still fall short at times. As real as the temptation to sin is, there is still a temptation to deal with sins on our own. We must remember what John tells us in 1 John 1:9, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” Christ is faithful to forgive us our sins. We all need to recognize our inadequacy in dealing with our sins and take them to the only one who can remove them from our life, JESUS!

Blessings,

Jeremy