Recently I have been mulling over some thoughts and ideas in my head, each one being made real or proved void through God's guiding grace. One that has proved real is this: SUFFERING.

This life is one I love. Christ is real to me, I have the best friends, and I have authority over the devil and his little devices, in Jesus' name.

:-D Yes, I love this life, I cherish it. It is one huge mission field. One thing I know, though, when everything is going smooth, I become cozy and comfy, which morphs into lazy, which becomes a slight, situational apathy, a ho-hum attitude. That leads to temptation, which, in my ho-hum attitude, busts me.
Now right now, I have moved out a dry spell, I have taken ahold of that authority, that power, and I want to share this truth.

1 Peter 4:1 says "He who has suffered in his body is done with sin." So, when I suffer, I lean on God, when I am in His presence, where sin cannot get in. So I'm protected from the devil by God!

So, I pray for suffering. Maybe I'll cook dinner and fast that meal, then clean up the mess, praising God all the while. Maybe I'll excuse myself from my friends and seek God, or sleep on the floor, calling out to God.

When I suffer in bigger ways, like being teased or slandered, or rejected, I praise God, because (although I'm not being beat within an inch of my life), I am joining Christ in the fellowship of His suffering, and it teaches me to cherish him and hold on to Him. :-D :-D

OH, THAT I COULD SUFFER MORE!!!
In Christ,
Chad

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Chad Lough