Headwinds

We live in an incredibly dangerous world. From the moment we take our first glance around as a newborn to the moment we close our eyes for the last time as we enter into eternity, we will be kicked around. The Apostle Paul gets at this in the second letter to the Corinthians (2 Corinthians 4:8ff), as we read a series of events that will most assuredly encroach upon us.

Paul tells us, “We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.” This series of onslaughts Paul refers to happens in the context of his ministry, and do not be unaware that ministry itself will always magnify the trials of the believing life, for as a believer, we have painted a giant target on our back.

Resistance to the believing life will always come, be it in the open spiritual battlefield of the gospel, the failure to temptation to sin, or those episodes along the way involving loss, illness, grief or any other calamity, the truly transformed follower of Christ has in them the true weapon of God, as Paul goes on to say in v. 10, we are “always carrying around in the body the dying of Jesus.”

When we carry the “dying of Jesus” with us, we are being crucified with him, in the language of Paul in Galatians (2:20). We cannot escape the possibility of the joy of Christ referred to in Hebrews 12:2, “Looking only at Jesus, the originator and perfector of the faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross …” as we ourselves travel the journey to which Christ has called us.

When we face the headwinds of resistance in the forms of affliction, perplexities, or persecutions that seem to threaten our footing and “knock us down,” we must stand firm, allow the empowerment of the Holy Spirit to strengthen us, knowing the dying of Jesus is powerfully resident in us.

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We can come to know Christ through confession of our sins and repentance (turning away from sin). Let me encourage you to do this by talking to God through prayer. Here is an idea of how you might do that:

"Dear God, I believe your son Jesus Christ died in my place on the cross and rose from the dead on the third day following his death. I confess my sins, all of them, to you now with a humble heart. I repent of those sins and ask you to empower me with your Holy Spirit in overcoming further sin. Amen”

If you prayed this or a similar prayer committing your life to Christ and becoming one of his followers, let me encourage you to find a good, Bible-believing church. If you live in the Weslaco/Rio Grande Valley area of Texas, let me invite you to the church I attend, Mid-Valley Assembly (www.midvalleyassembly.com).

Begin talking to God in prayer and reading the Bible daily. A good way to begin to read the Bible is to start with the Book of John in the New Testament.

Feel very free in connecting with me if you need any further help in your walk with the Lord Jesus Christ. You can do this via the above email or Facebook page or this web page.

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Mercy Road Ministries was founded and now led by Ben Bounds. Ben has pastored churches across Texas for over thirty years and is an ordained minister with the Christian and Missionary Alliance (C&MA). He holds a BA in Pastor Pastoral Ministry and Biblical Studies from Southwestern Assemblies of God College and did graduate theological studies at the BMA Theological Seminary.

Ben's first book, The Divine Chase: Responding to a Pursuing God, was released on 12.08.2017 through Westbow Press, a division of Thomas Nelson and Zondervan. It is available in paperback and hardback through your preferred bookseller (Mardels, Barnes and Noble, etc.) and paperback, hardback as well as ebook through online book retailers (www.christianbook.com, www.cokesbury.com, www.amazon.com, www.booksamillion.com, www.barnesandnoble.com, etc.).

Ben is the host of Staying in Bounds, an on-air Bible devotional broadcast multiple times daily on KWJV 103.7 FM Weslaco, TX which can also be heard worldwide online at www.kwjvthestar.com. Ben and his wife, Linda, together have four adult children and nine grandchildren. They live in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas.

Ben can be contacted for preaching engagements at benbounds695@gmail.com or 903.441.3279. Ben can also be contacted via his website @ www.benbounds.com, which is also his blog and contains more information about his ministry.

Follow Ben @ https://www.facebook.com/mercyroadministries/ and this website www.benbounds.com.

 ©2024 by Ben Bounds. All rights reserved.