Becoming Spiritually Successful預覽

"Blessed are those who mourn"  

In your local church, I will encourage you to look out for new converts who have been added to your fellowship. Most of them mourn and go through periods of grief. Whether they are Muslims coming to Christ and risking the rejection of their families or business owners abandoning their illicit way of making money so they can become part of the church, we need to help these folks.

We mourn our loved ones when they depart from us. Even though we Christians believe we will see them when Jesus comes, we still can’t hold our tears. In the same way in our own lives, we mourn when we make hard choices to give up earthly things that provide pleasure to us. Most of the time, these supreme decisions are the hardest ones a person could make in a lifetime. One’s initial decision to follow Christ borders between being comfortable and uncomfortable. But hear Jesus speak to you in the book of Matthew: Blessed are those who mourn for they will be comforted. 

Before I came to Christ, I was living like a young prince with so much to spare in a day. I made so much money illegally taking advantage of some poor mining workers. On the day of my repentance, I let go of this business and all the benefits that came with it. It was a very hard decision letting go of something that brought me pleasure, fame, and wealth, but I’m glad I did it.  For months I struggled with no income, no clothes, no place to sleep, and sometimes no food to eat.

I remember locking myself in the room, mourning and counting how much I would have earned if I was still doing the business, but my hand was already on the plow, so there was no time to look back. The Lord spoke to me, and the devil spoke to me. In all I’m glad I listened to the Lord’s voice.

It wasn’t a smooth transition, but His right hand was always there to carry me when all hopes were lost. My needs helped me to see the faithfulness of God through the provisions He made. From the beginning of my new life, I decided not to be a “sit-on-the-fence Christian,” not fully belonging to God or the devil.

Somebody in my church saw my struggles. He called me and gave me some new clothes. A few days later, another brother offered me the chance to live with him until I got back on my feet. What these brothers did for me is part of the reason l continued to stay in the Lord.

It is good for those of us who have already received comfort from the Lord to learn to comfort others, and by helping new converts, we will build strong churches in our locals. And to the new converts, my friends, you took up your cross to follow Jesus, a decision that is causing you great grief at this time, but if you will stay true to God who called you, you will see His faithfulness in your life.