The Test We All Have
First Things First (part 5)

God will bless you, if you don't give up when your faith is being tested. James 1:12 CEV


When Does My Faith Get Tested?

When many of Jesus’ disciples heard him, they said, “What he says is hard to accept. Who wants to listen to him anymore?”
Because of what Jesus said, many of his disciples turned their backs on him and stopped following him. Jesus then asked his twelve disciples if they were going to leave him. Simon Peter answered, “Lord, there is no one else that we can go to! Your words give eternal life. We have faith in you, and we ...have learned to believe and trust... ” 	John 6:60,66-69 GWV, CEV, Amp


 * When I Don’t Understand What

I don’t understand what’s going on. I hate my life! 	Job 9:21 Msg

Jesus answered, “You don’t understand now what I’m doing, but it will be clear enough to you later.” 	John 13:7 Msg


 * When I Don’t Know Why

“You know, I’m sure that this is highly irregular. Jews just don’t do this—visit and relax with people of another race. But God has just shown me that no race is better than any other. So the minute I was sent for, I came, no questions asked. But now I'd like to know why you sent for me.”	Acts 10:28-29 Msg


 * When I Don’t See How

We couldn’t relax because we didn’t know how it would turn out. 			2 Corinthians 7:5 Msg


 * When I Feel Like Giving Up

...desperate people give up on God... 	Job 6:14 Msg

They were trying to intimidate us into quitting. They thought, “They’ll give up; they'll never finish it.” I prayed, “Give me strength.” 	Nehemiah 6:9 Msg

But they don’t have deep roots, and they don’t last very long. As soon as life gets hard or the message gets them in trouble, they give up.	Matthew 13:21 CEV

We often suffer, but we are never crushed. Even when we don’t know what to do, we never give up. 	2 Corinthians 4:8 CEV

Take the old prophets as your mentors. They put up with anything, went through everything, and never once quit, all the time honoring God. What a gift life is to those who stay the course! You’ve heard, of course, of Job’s staying power, and you know how God brought it all together for him at the end. That’s because God cares, cares right down to the last detail. 	Job 5:10 Msg


How Can I Pass the Test?

 * I Only Need to Know Who

Whoever doesn’t lose his faith in me is indeed blessed. 	Matthew 11:6 GWV

So keep your mind on Jesus, who put up with many insults from sinners. Then you won’t get discouraged and give up. 	Hebrews 12:3 CEV

Abraham didn’t focus on his own impotence and say, “It’s hopeless. This hundred-year-old body could never father a child.” Nor did he survey Sarah’s decades of infertility and give up. He didn't tiptoe around God’s promise asking cautiously skeptical questions. He plunged into the promise and came up strong, ready for God, sure that God would make good on what he had said. 			Romans 4:19 Msg


We know how much God loves us, 
and we have put our trust in him.
1 John 4:16 NLT




God has put us together as Ridgewood to:

Get Out the Good News
Gladly Glorify God
Grow More and More Godly
Give Our Gifts Generously
Gain Genuine Grace-Filled Friendships