Some feel they have made it, but most of us are a work in progress. We are all on a journey. Our text tells us God’s work in us continues until the day of Jesus Christ. That means that none of us are complete. Our text speaks about planning for a construction project. When someone builds something, they must first consider the cost and if they have the means to complete it. We look around at businesses and buildings that sit empty and incomplete. The project started with great promise, but something happened, and work stopped along the way. The partially complete projects sit as unfinished testaments to the limitation of men. We need God to help us complete. We must acknowledge that we cannot do it alone and need His help to finish the work He began.

Brother Starks continues his study of lessons learned from the conquest of Cannan.

Brother Starks continues his study of lessons learned from the conquest of Cannan.

Brother Starks continues his study of lessons learned from the conquest of Cannan.

Things happen in life that seem not to have any bearing on our journey. But there is a reason that the rain falls and the sun shines. Many things in life do not make sense to us. All of us have asked, why did that have to happen? Our humanity wants to know why. In our text, the children of Israel find themselves between promise and fulfillment. They have wandered for 40 years, and God wanted them to know that wilderness time was not a waste of time. He was working in their lives to prepare them for the promised land. What we have been through was for a purpose. He reminded them that He had led them all along the way. Do not just rejoice that we made it, but remember the victories God gave us along the way. We may not understand why when we face difficulties, but once we get there, we will see the provision, protection, and preparation that God has. God is not caught off guard by what we are facing. Maybe the things we struggle with are part of God’s plan to refine and prepare us for a brighter future.

Mary tells Jesus that Lazarus would not have died if He had been there, but Jesus delayed getting there for a reason. If he had been there to keep Lazarus from dying, no one would have known his power and glory. By waiting for several days, many looked on and believed in Him.

Jesus’ encounter with the Samaritan woman at the well was intentional. He had gone out of his way to travel through Samaria specifically to meet with her so that He would be glorified.

Paul and Silas were in prison for preaching, but God knew that there was a jailer whose family needed salvation. Joseph was in a pit because his brothers conspired against him, but God had a reason for Joseph’s suffering that reached hundreds of years into the future.

There is a reason for our mountain. There is a reason for our pit and our suffering. There are seasons of life, and there is a reason for these seasons.

Things happen in life that seem not to have any bearing on our journey. But there is a reason that the rain falls and the sun shines. Many things in life do not make sense to us. All of us have asked, why did that have to happen? Our humanity wants to know why. In our text, the children of Israel find themselves between promise and fulfillment. They have wandered for 40 years, and God wanted them to know that wilderness time was not a waste of time. He was working in their lives to prepare them for the promised land. What we have been through was for a purpose. He reminded them that He had led them all along the way. Do not just rejoice that we made it, but remember the victories God gave us along the way. We may not understand why when we face difficulties, but once we get there, we will see the provision, protection, and preparation that God has. God is not caught off guard by what we are facing. Maybe the things we struggle with are part of God’s plan to refine and prepare us for a brighter future.

Mary tells Jesus that Lazarus would not have died if He had been there, but Jesus delayed getting there for a reason. If he had been there to keep Lazarus from dying, no one would have known his power and glory. By waiting for several days, many looked on and believed in Him.

Jesus’ encounter with the Samaritan woman at the well was intentional. He had gone out of his way to travel through Samaria specifically to meet with her so that He would be glorified.

Paul and Silas were in prison for preaching, but God knew that there was a jailer whose family needed salvation. Joseph was in a pit because his brothers conspired against him, but God had a reason for Joseph’s suffering that reached hundreds of years into the future.

There is a reason for our mountain. There is a reason for our pit and our suffering. There are seasons of life, and there is a reason for these seasons.

Things happen in life that seem not to have any bearing on our journey. But there is a reason that the rain falls and the sun shines. Many things in life do not make sense to us. All of us have asked, why did that have to happen? Our humanity wants to know why. In our text, the children of Israel find themselves between promise and fulfillment. They have wandered for 40 years, and God wanted them to know that wilderness time was not a waste of time. He was working in their lives to prepare them for the promised land. What we have been through was for a purpose. He reminded them that He had led them all along the way. Do not just rejoice that we made it, but remember the victories God gave us along the way. We may not understand why when we face difficulties, but once we get there, we will see the provision, protection, and preparation that God has. God is not caught off guard by what we are facing. Maybe the things we struggle with are part of God’s plan to refine and prepare us for a brighter future.

Mary tells Jesus that Lazarus would not have died if He had been there, but Jesus delayed getting there for a reason. If he had been there to keep Lazarus from dying, no one would have known his power and glory. By waiting for several days, many looked on and believed in Him.

Jesus’ encounter with the Samaritan woman at the well was intentional. He had gone out of his way to travel through Samaria specifically to meet with her so that He would be glorified.

Paul and Silas were in prison for preaching, but God knew that there was a jailer whose family needed salvation. Joseph was in a pit because his brothers conspired against him, but God had a reason for Joseph’s suffering that reached hundreds of years into the future.

There is a reason for our mountain. There is a reason for our pit and our suffering. There are seasons of life, and there is a reason for these seasons.

In 1973, world-renowned psychiatrist Karl Menninger predicted that the word sin would disappear from the human vocabulary and be replaced by syndrome or social dysfunction, or other words that removed the accountability of the individual for behaviors, choices, or conduct. Everyone would be innocent because they were a victim of something. Here fifty years later, we see that he may have been right. Has sin lost its appearance of sin in our lives? Have we found a way to excuse our behavior? The Bible is clear on what sin is and how to recognize it. Time does not change God, and if God called it a sin, then it is a sin now, no matter how we may try to redefine it. Our world has redefined sin, but God’s definition has not changed. No matter what society calls it, we must call what God calls sin, sin. When we change the language and characterization of a problem, we open ourselves to un-Godly solutions. We begin to use excuses and relativism to dismiss the sin that is in our lives.

In 1973, world-renowned psychiatrist Karl Menninger predicted that the word sin would disappear from the human vocabulary and be replaced by syndrome or social dysfunction, or other words that removed the accountability of the individual for behaviors, choices, or conduct. Everyone would be innocent because they were a victim of something. Here fifty years later, we see that he may have been right. Has sin lost its appearance of sin in our lives? Have we found a way to excuse our behavior? The Bible is clear on what sin is and how to recognize it. Time does not change God, and if God called it a sin, then it is a sin now, no matter how we may try to redefine it. Our world has redefined sin, but God’s definition has not changed. No matter what society calls it, we must call what God calls sin, sin. When we change the language and characterization of a problem, we open ourselves to un-Godly solutions. We begin to use excuses and relativism to dismiss the sin that is in our lives.

In 1973, world-renowned psychiatrist Karl Menninger predicted that the word sin would disappear from the human vocabulary and be replaced by syndrome or social dysfunction, or other words that removed the accountability of the individual for behaviors, choices, or conduct. Everyone would be innocent because they were a victim of something. Here fifty years later, we see that he may have been right. Has sin lost its appearance of sin in our lives? Have we found a way to excuse our behavior? The Bible is clear on what sin is and how to recognize it. Time does not change God, and if God called it a sin, then it is a sin now, no matter how we may try to redefine it. Our world has redefined sin, but God’s definition has not changed. No matter what society calls it, we must call what God calls sin, sin. When we change the language and characterization of a problem, we open ourselves to un-Godly solutions. We begin to use excuses and relativism to dismiss the sin that is in our lives.