WHAT TO OFFER A STRUGGLING BELIEVER (5 OF 15)
Scripture: 1 Thessalonians 2:17-20, 1 Thessalonians 3:1-13
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What to Offer a Struggling Believer (5 of 15)
Series: 1 Thessalonians
Robert Dawson
1 Thessalonians 2:17-3:13
John Mark, Kristal and I are reading a book called Champ. One of the main characters is a little guy who is struggling to please his dad who is a big sports hero in their little town. The problem is that he just isn't very sporty and his dad is not real sensitive to the issue. The little guy has a problem of his own, he quits. He quits when things are not going well or difficult. He quit soccer. He smashed a toothpick bridge because he was upset. He wants to quit baseball because he can't hit (I can sympathize). Every time he encounters an obstacle he gives up and quits. (I hope by the end of the book he sticks with and succeeds at something).
I have found in life that a lot of us, including myself, are like that. When life gets hard we quit. When a job gets hard or demanding we quit. When a marriage gets difficult we quit. When parenting gets difficult we quit. When people hurt us or inconvenience us we quit - who needs people. When we don't progress or get what we think we should we quit. When it becomes difficult - and it is difficult to live out your faith - to put it into practice even in the small private areas of our lives we quit.
Our world is full of starters but there are very few who finish and even fewer who finish with excellence.
I guess that's why when I look at the Bible I am in absolute awe of what God did through Paul. I look, and need to look at Paul's ministry every now and then and see what he went through. I need to see how he, being just an ordinary guy, endured extraordinary difficulties and did it with faith, joy and grace. It humbles me and makes me realize how petty and pathetic I can really be
If anyone had reason to be bitter and discouraged it was the apostle Paul. If anyone had reason to quit it was Paul.
If you go back to the book of Acts, you find that his ministry was not paved with rose petals and sw ...
Series: 1 Thessalonians
Robert Dawson
1 Thessalonians 2:17-3:13
John Mark, Kristal and I are reading a book called Champ. One of the main characters is a little guy who is struggling to please his dad who is a big sports hero in their little town. The problem is that he just isn't very sporty and his dad is not real sensitive to the issue. The little guy has a problem of his own, he quits. He quits when things are not going well or difficult. He quit soccer. He smashed a toothpick bridge because he was upset. He wants to quit baseball because he can't hit (I can sympathize). Every time he encounters an obstacle he gives up and quits. (I hope by the end of the book he sticks with and succeeds at something).
I have found in life that a lot of us, including myself, are like that. When life gets hard we quit. When a job gets hard or demanding we quit. When a marriage gets difficult we quit. When parenting gets difficult we quit. When people hurt us or inconvenience us we quit - who needs people. When we don't progress or get what we think we should we quit. When it becomes difficult - and it is difficult to live out your faith - to put it into practice even in the small private areas of our lives we quit.
Our world is full of starters but there are very few who finish and even fewer who finish with excellence.
I guess that's why when I look at the Bible I am in absolute awe of what God did through Paul. I look, and need to look at Paul's ministry every now and then and see what he went through. I need to see how he, being just an ordinary guy, endured extraordinary difficulties and did it with faith, joy and grace. It humbles me and makes me realize how petty and pathetic I can really be
If anyone had reason to be bitter and discouraged it was the apostle Paul. If anyone had reason to quit it was Paul.
If you go back to the book of Acts, you find that his ministry was not paved with rose petals and sw ...
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