Faith Bible Fellowship

Dear friends,

This Sunday we will begin the final two sermons as we finish the word of the Lord to us through the prophet Malachi. Malachi 3:13-18 brings forward the classic complaint of God’s people concerning the apparent injustice of life, namely the prosperity of those who could care less about Christ or are even hostile to the things of the Lord. What gives with that? Does it make a difference how we live, does God not care what we do? Is there any reward for those who suffer for His Name? Psalm 73 is a perfect picture of this problem. As the writer puts it – “For I was envious of the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.” Jesus deals with this complaint of His disciples in Matthew 19:16-30
The constant presence of the Lord may be a comfort or a terror to us depending on how we live. The Lord is not top cop, but the Friend who walks with us through the day. We can be painfully honest with Him and share our inner most joys and problems. The book of remembrance reminds us that the Lord knows what we do for His sake even when no one else notices. That time we did not retaliate or get revenge or were patient when provoked. 1 Peter 1:18-25 calls upon us to follow the example of Christ – When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly. Remember, without a Biblical understanding of the Gospel, such suffering seems pointless and without any reasonable justification.
Just as the fire can be sustained by gathering the coals together so Christians need each other for comfort, sharpening, and encouragement to persevere in our walk with Christ in an alien, ungodly world. We need each other, resist the temptation to withdraw from the presence of others believers. Instead find a few you can talk with, believe it or not, they are there to listen, help and pray for us. Read these passages over this week as we receive light from the Lord’s infallible Word.

Lee