practical benefits

there r many people, including myself, that r walking thru trials. some of those people look to the world for the answers. other people, do their best to work it out themselves. some people just totaly give up on life. and then there r those that run to God and hang on to Him with everything they have.

each of the theses groups of people call themselves Christians. which group do u fall into?

following Christ Jesus is not a bed of roses. it's a life changing relationship u grow. each day brings it's own joys, trials, and whatnot. how we handle them is how we grow our relationship with God. i know people that r in dire straits, some that need a place to call home, and still others that r "ok".

i have learned thru the years to trust God in everything. and learning this was not easy. i fought it and fought it. God was patient with me tho and He continued to gently lead me to Himself. i know i have a mother who has never stopped praying for me thus God was reminded about me every day. 🙂 i now am a mother of 2 grown children and i do not stop reminding God of them along with their families.

at this time, my oldest has caused such a heartache and has severed herself from her parents. my youngest is going thru a very trying time for just the basic needs.

my youngest is having a difficult time with trusting others. seems those that said they would be there didn't really mean it. i believe God is trying to get both her and her husband to stop looking to people and start looking directly to God among other things. this is not an easy thing to learn or do. it breaks my heart to see them have to walk this path with 2 small children and one on the way.

when u read the passage of scripture below, think about the practical reasons y u follow Christ. write them down and thank God for each one.

Romans 5:1-8 MSG

[1-2] By entering through faith into what God has always wanted to do for us---set us right with him, make us fit for him---we have it all together with God because of our Master Jesus. And that's not all: We throw open our doors to God and discover at the same moment that he has already thrown open his door to us. We find ourselves standing where we always hoped we might stand---out in the wide open spaces of God's grace and glory, standing tall and shouting our praise.

[3-5] There's more to come: We continue to shout our praise even when we're hemmed in with troubles, because we know how troubles can develop passionate patience in us, and how that patience in turn forges the tempered steel of virtue, keeping us alert for whatever God will do next. In alert expectancy such as this, we're never left feeling shortchanged. Quite the contrary---we can't round up enough containers to hold everything God generously pours into our lives through the Holy Spirit!

[6-8] Christ arrives right on time to make this happen. He didn't, and doesn't, wait for us to get ready. He presented himself for this sacrificial death when we were far too weak and rebellious to do anything to get ourselves ready. And even if we hadn't been so weak, we wouldn't have known what to do anyway. We can understand someone dying for a person worth dying for, and we can understand how someone good and noble could inspire us to selfless sacrifice. But God put his love on the line for us by offering his Son in sacrificial death while we were of no use whatever to him.

Are there any practical benefits to following Christ?

Paul lists three in these verses: peace with God, hope in affliction, a love that’s unconditional.

When Jesus said, “Whoever loses their life for me will find it” (Matthew 16:25), he didn’t mean that our lives would become empty when we made the trade. Paul helps us see some of the wonderful blessings that fill our lives when we make that exchange.

Life is full of peaks and valleys. Christ-followers make it through both the good times and the tough times by clinging to promises such as these that God has made.

Taken from NIV The Journey Bible