Page 4
January 2006
The AC Phoenix
Wishing You a Happy
and Vxospexous
Y^ar!
2000 W. FIRST STREET
SUITE 102
WINSTON-SALEM, NC
(336) 723-0375
WAUGHTOWN BRANCH
3001 WAUGHTOWN STREET
WINSTON SALEM, NC
(336) 788-2005
5610 UNIVERSITY PARKWAY
WINSTON-SALEM, NC
(336) 776-9262
G>nTmMri*tyBank
A Strong Faiffi In God Yields
What He Has Prepared For You
By: Pastor Harold Cobb
Paul says in 1 Corinthians 2:9 (NIV); “However, as it is
written: No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has
conceived what God has prepared for those who love him.”
We are quick to read this verse and apply it to the future. It
is appropriate to be reminded of what is in store for us in heav
en wiii be greater than we have seen, heard, or even imagined
in this world. After all, this world is corrupted with sin. There
is discouragement, discontent, brokenness and gloom on
every hand. Our news media is filled with murders, school
shootings, teen gang activities, drug abuse - thus, we find
every state with the construction of prison among their top
priorities. We are appalled by the acts of violence, HIV epi
demic, Hoof and Mouth disease and other diseases that are
destroying our communities, brought about because of our
own sinful, self-centered ways.
To Paul, this verse spelled out comfort, confidence and
security. It meant more: He had a great expectation that at
any moment, something great would happen. We, too, as
followers of Christ should not place ourselves within a box,
looking to the future, but God is also a “right now God.”
As gloomy as the present may be, our life is centered in the
living Christ. The range and inspiration of our faith springs
from that mighty event—in the death, burial and resurrection
of Christ. That same God who raised Jesus from the dead is
equal to any possibility. To those who have a receptive and
expectant faith, the gates of the future are filled with unex
pected possibilities. These gates were open widely by Christ.
How good It is to have a firm grasp of such a faith at all times
and to know that God has prepared not only a future for us,
but, a wonderful life in this present age.
For the resourcefulness of God is seen in the creative
process. That same truth is illustrated in the lives and
characters of men and women who love the Lord. When God
is given the opportunity to work in the life of humanity, things
that the eye has not seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has
conceived are open and possible in the “here and now” for
those who love the Lord!
It is here that Paul, whose magnificent mind impassioned by
the Christian worldview, gives us every incentive to abandon
ourselves to one who came to be our life, joy and peace.
I encourage you to hold fast to faith! Let nothing diminish
the flame in your hearts. What God has for you will
outdistance your highest spiritual Imagination. What God has
for us is now, as well as in our futurel “This is the day that the
LORD had made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.” (Psalm
118:24 NIV).
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