They preached the good news in that city and won a large number of disciples. Then they returned to Lystra, Iconium and Antioch, strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to remain true to the faith. "We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God," they said. Paul and Barnabas appointed elders for them in each church and, with prayer and fasting, committed them to the Lord, in whom they had put their trust.

We often do not think of the fact that there will be hard times because we are Christians. Paul tells us to remain true to our faith. We read about the hardships of being in prison, of being stoned to death, of leaving loved ones behind, and much more in the Bible. The reason we need to know these things is so, when our trials come, we will remain faithful. The trials will come. They came to Jesus, they came to the apostles, and they came to the first century church. If this is what we read about, then why do we not prepare for the hard times to come to us? Why do we pretend that we are so important that hard times will cease when we decide to follow the Father who created us. I wonder how we think it will even be plausible. God does not miraculously make our life free of trials just because we choose to follow Him

SO, let the hard times come; they will anyway. Embrace them; I will not be so bold as to say enjoy them. Be thankful we have Jesus to walk with us as we go through them. Strive to learn how we can help others see Christ through us. Sometimes, in the midst of pain, when we hold on to our Father with so much earnestness, others are able to see God in ways He is not visible to them at any other time.

SO, go be that Bible. Go be that story that takes God’s word to the world, or at least to your small portion of it. Hold your head high and know that, through God, all things are possible and it is God’s strength that will see you through, not your own!

“When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own house, his possessions are safe. But when someone stronger attacks and overpowers him, he takes away the armor in which the man trusted and divides up the spoils. He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me, scatters. When an evil spirit comes out of a man, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, 'I will return to the house I left.' When it arrives, it finds the house swept clean and put in order. Then it goes and takes seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that man is worse than the first."

Many years ago, some evil people came into my family’s home and destroyed it. They threw food all over the house, plugged the sinks and let them run over, broke the blades of ceiling fans and so much more. Just a lock on the door protected my home. I turned the key, locked the door, and left for an overnight trip. I was gone less then twenty-four hours. I was unable to protect the house at all times.

Now I have an alarm. The next time the mean people kicked my door in, they ran, or at least they did not come in long enough to take or destroy anything. I was prepared. I had studied and found an agency that was always on call that could watch over my home. The loud noise sounded; the police were called; my home was protected.

Listen to what Luke is telling us. Your soul is your house. Your alarm comes from reading and studying the word of God. When God dwells in your house, you are protected at all times. We are to stay strong in our relationship with God. We are to remain in His word because, if we do not, then there will one day be someone stronger than us to overtake us and dirty our clean house. Our clean lives will no longer be clean. It is like not setting the alarm.

Do you need a reason to pray and study? This is just one of many you will find in God’s word.

So also the tongue is a small part of the body, and yet it boasts of great things. See how great a forest is set aflame by such a small fire!

This is taking the negative and telling you why you need to be careful. It appears to me, though, it is why we need to be talkative as well. If the tongue can be so destructive when not used appropriately, just think of the good when used constructively. It is much like a pair of sewing scissors: it is how, where and when you cut that makes the cloth a dress or makes a mess out of the cloth.

As a teacher and a mother, I have learned it is what you say and do for the child that can encourage him to produce good works.

Yes, we do need to tame our speech. We do need to watch what we say to others. We also need to learn that what we say, whether in word or deed, is out there for a lifetime. What words would you like to be known for? You have to say the words first. You have to say the words aloud to others. You have to put yourself out there.

One small spark can set a forest aflame, but one small spark put in the right place can set the world aglow for Christ.

Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ.

As for those who seemed to be important—whatever they were makes no difference to me; God does not judge by external appearance—those men added nothing to my message.

Are you trying to live in the limelight? Are you trying to be important? I do not think it is wrong to be a person in the limelight. I do not think it matters to God if we are famous, hold a position of authority, if we sweep the floor or clean toilets. He cares about the position of our soul, that place where our heart resides.

You can be the leader the free world, or China. You can be worth millions, have discovered the cure for polio or, one day, the cure for cancer; you can teach those children who go on to do these things, all of which are good things to do. However, if you do not have your heart filled with Christ, you will still be told, “Go away from me; I never knew you.”

Are you trying to win the approval of man or of God?

Brothers, as an example of patience in the face of suffering, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. As you know, we consider blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job's perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy.

I am reading about patience again. Is the Lord trying to tell me something? How many lessons on patience do I need? Well, maybe that is something I need to answer. How long will I take to give in and be patient? I used to think I was just being impatient with myself, but is that really true? Who made me the way I am, God or me? We all know that answer: does the pot form itself out of the clay? I do not think so. So, being impatient with me is just as bad as being impatient with others. Maybe being impatient with me is worse, because I am being critical of God’s handiwork. That statement sounds rather foolish, little me critical of God’s handiwork; what would I have done different?

Learn to be patient then, family, until the Lord comes. Sit and wait through the seasons. Do not complain about yourself or others. Just wait, listen, obey and follow God’s promises until the day we see God’s compassion and then give Him credit for that compassion.