By: Ron Fraser

The two verses below are special to me because they remind me that I am fallible and have no control over my life, even though I may think I do. Realizing that, I then need to decide how I am going to respond to that infallibility when struggles come into my life. There really are only two choices: blame God and try to work them out myself, or trust God.

“Oh, that I knew how to find Him, That I might come to His home!” (Job 23:3), and “Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him” (Job 13:15).

Job sought God in his suffering instead of waving a fist over the feeling of being treated unjustly. With the loss of his children, the failure of his business, and the infliction of physical pain, Job chose to seek God in the middle of his severe trials. Our heavenly Father designed faith to be tested by trials and temptations. Untested faith is unfamiliar with the depth and breadth of God’s love and care. Like any relationship, there is only a surface, shallow understanding of one another until one or both walk through the valley of fear, shame, or loss. Job desired to go home to be with his God—not run away in fear—but run toward Him in humble trust.

Are you running to the Lord in humble trust, or drifting away from Him in fearful distrust? Pause. Pray. Take a deep breath…and believe. Believe your same Savior Jesus, who secured Heaven for you by His grace, is the same Lord Jesus who is in control of your life and circumstances. The Holy Spirit will lead you as you lean into Him, hopeful and aware of His presence to show you your next step, one day at a time. God gives you grace for today and hope for tomorrow. Rest. Go deep in intimacy with an almighty God in your time of intense affliction. Immerse yourself in His love.

Remember, those watching you are looking to see if you live out what you have believed all these years as a faithful follower of Jesus. Use your new reality as an opportunity to gain experience and adapt—not become a victim stuck in your situation. Give genuine attention to those who tirelessly serve and give you attention, not taking advantage of your neediness to totally drain all their energy. Be grateful to God and His children who love and give so you might live.

Live with love. Live with peace. Live with joy. Live with hope. Your life is a living sacrifice of intimate love on the Lord’s altar of affliction. Like Job, “Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him.”

“Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God” (Hebrews 12:2).

I don’t know what 2025 will hold for you. But of this one thing, I am sure: it will not be without its struggles in some form or another. How will you handle them when they come?

By: Ron Fraser

There comes a time when we all come to a fork in the road of life where we must decide which road we are going to take. You only need to look at what is going on in our world today to know that the time is now! The decision becomes how we are going to live our lives and in what or whom we are going to believe.

It has been said that no matter which road we take, it doesn’t matter because all roads lead to God. Unlike the physical highways that we travel—which do not all go to the same location—the road we take in life always leads to an encounter with God. Why? Because God exists. When you die, you will meet Him, regardless of the “road” that you are on. It does not matter what your religious affiliation is; when you leave this life, the road that you are on will, at one point, lead straight to Him.

But what happens then? While what you believe about God right now may not seem to matter to you at all—and you may not care one bit whether you’ll eventually meet Him or not—you need to understand that when you do come face-to-face with your Creator, what you believe about Him and what you have done with His truth will matter greatly.

You see, while all roads lead to God, only one leads to His forgiveness, mercy, grace, and eternal life. All other roads lead to His judgment. This is by His design. If there were any other way or road that led to God’s place of forgiveness, then Jesus wouldn’t have had to go to the cross. In the garden, the Son said, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me” (Matthew 26:39). If any other road were viable, Jesus would have given it to us.

Instead, Jesus went to the cross, took on Himself the sins of those who put their trust in Him, and delivered us from the wrath of God that falls on those who ignore His gift. This is why He calls Himself the Way (John 14:6) and not a way; that’s why He describes Himself as the Door (John 7) and not just one door of many. When we say it is only through Jesus that eternal life with God is possible, we are not being arrogant, intolerant, or narrow-minded.

To speak the truth is the most loving thing a person can do. When the only Man ever to die, be buried, and rise again—something witnessed by hundreds—says that He is the only Way, the only Truth, and the only Life, we need to listen.

Time is quickly running out, and there will be consequences for the life we have lived. 2 Corinthians 5:10 tells us, “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to what he has done, whether it be good or bad.”

You have a choice to make, and it is not one that you should put off until tomorrow! “Hear what God says: ‘When the time came for me to show you favor, I heard you; When the day arrived for me to save you, I helped you.’ Listen! This is the hour to receive God’s favor; today is the day to be saved!” (2 Corinthians 6:2).

By: Ron Fraser

I am about to bridge a topic that is often skirted and seldom discussed for a multitude of reasons. This will be part one of a two-part series on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood. Although applicable to every believer, my challenge is to the professional driver who spends most of his/her time on the road, someone who sometimes believes this does not apply to them.

“Man of God” is the description given to a man who follows God in every way, who obeys His commands with joy, who does not live for the things of this life but for the things of eternity, who willingly serves his God in giving freely of all his resources yet gladly suffers as a consequence of his faith. Perhaps Micah 6:8 sums up the man of God in one neat verse: “He has shown you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.”

The man of God does not swindle or defraud his employer by turning up late for work or spending an hour on the internet during work hours. He doesn’t gossip or slander; he keeps his mind and heart pure by guarding his eyes and ears from the filth of the world. He is the spiritual leader of his family. No matter what your occupation this holds true of all men. He does everything opposite to what the world does or approves of; he goes “against the grain” of society because he knows these things displease God. He considers those who are “disadvantaged” or those rejected by society, those who are lonely or despairing; he is a listener to other people’s problems and does not judge.

Most of all, the man of God understands that when our Lord commanded him to “be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matthew 5:48), he is only able to accomplish that because God enables him to be “holy and blameless in his sight” (Ephesians 1:4) through His power and the indwelling of His Spirit. On our own, we are incapable of holiness and perfection, but through Christ who strengthens us, we can “do all things” (Philippians 4:13). The man of God knows that his new nature is that of the righteousness of Christ which was exchanged for our sinful nature at the cross (2 Corinthians 5:17; Philippians 3:9). The final result is that he walks humbly with his God, knowing that he must rely solely upon Him to be able to live to the full and persevere to the end.

Perhaps the Christian today is lacking in these qualities, but this is what faith in God is all about—the simple faith that is sufficient to please God: helping those in distress and keeping oneself from being polluted by the world (James 1:23). We can have an awareness of all biblical doctrines, we can know all the theological terms, we may be able to translate the Bible from the original Greek and so on, but the principle of Micah 6:8 is the principle that the man of God must follow in relationship to what we call Biblical Manhood: act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with God.

The fundamental requirement for biblical manhood is a proper relationship with God. This informs and empowers every other responsibility a man has in his life. Humility means an acknowledgment of his imperfection (Romans 3:23), acceptance of Christ for salvation (2 Peter 3:9), and a continual sense of dependence on God (1 Peter 5:7; Hebrews 13:15). A godly man will study, learn, and understand the will of God (Matthew 6:33; Romans 12:2) through the word of God (Hebrews 4:12). This gives him the tools to meet all of his other obligations; it does not automatically make his life biblically sound (1 Corinthians 3:2).

Knowing what God wants is only the first step, as biblical manhood also requires submission to that knowledge. Men are called on to control their urges and appetites (1 Thessalonians 4:3–5), relying on God to overcome temptations (1 Corinthians 10:13). Men, according to the Bible, are not to twist the Scriptures in order to get their way (Mark 7:8–9) or to match their preferences (Proverbs 14:12). Instead, they are to follow God’s commands (Proverbs 1:7) instead of their own urges (Romans 6:12; 1 Peter 1:14). This includes the other requirements of biblical manhood, which can be difficult to apply in a humble, godly way.

By: Ron Fraser

I recently learned about a man in our neighborhood who could no longer deal with the struggles in his life and the stress that the existing culture has put on him and his family. So he chose suicide to escape the pressures of life, leaving a wife and children without a husband and father.

The fact that I did not know him very well does not soothe my spirit for not having made a greater effort to share the gospel with him or to befriend him. The reality of the situation is that this was a lost soul to whom I might of, or could have, made a difference in his life had I not held back or lived in my own fear of what was going on around me.

Though denial is rampant in our day, on some deep, perhaps even intuitive level, most people sense that we are living in troubled and potentially very dangerous times, and they are searching for guidance. Threatening clouds seem to be invading all areas of life, from personal health to economic stability to world peace. To be sure, troubled, and dangerous times are nothing new in human history. 

They are divided into two types, however, there were times of crisis that were met with vision and courage and there were times of crisis that failed to give rise to strong leadership. The question we need to ask is this: to which type does our present crisis belong? Will the problems that beset us lead to a deepening of the foundations of our lives and our faith in God, or will

we be overwhelmed by our situation and allow ourselves to be buried under our circumstances? One observation that we can make is this: in our own civilization’s history, the Bible and one’s faith in God has often played a central role in motivating a courageous response to crisis. The Bible has been a source of vision and courage in troubled periods of the past.

All faiths have dealt with the challenge of keeping faith alive under the adverse conditions of war or diaspora or persecution—but never all faiths at the same time. Our faith, in a time of extreme difficulty that may be yet to come, will face challenges as to what it means to minister and to fellowship. But what we do know is that this crisis will also expand the opportunities for those who are looking for them.

I have noticed that this crisis has gotten the world’s attention. I’ve had the opportunity to share the gospel with a few people already and this crisis has only just begun in the United States. I believe this time of trouble and unrest is going to be here for some period and that people are going to be more and more receptive to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I believe that in the days

and weeks to come the church is going to need to step up and do God’s work. My prayer for the church, and all other ministries, is that we be obedient and stand strong in faith. We are going to get to see God do great things. Keep praying to be used by God in whatever way possible in your regional area. My challenge to you is to think outside the box, considering your

present situation, as to how God can continue to use you to reach others with the gospel of Christ. Consider how you can be that light to someone living in a dark world. Ministry does not stop when the world goes into crisis. Believers should be the lighthouse for the rest of the world to see in a time of real darkness. Pray also for the church to start teaching the whole counsel of God. Remember that we are all blessed to preach the gospel and that it is an absolute honor that God would choose us to bring forth His Word in a time like this. Men and women, step up and then step out. Our world needs your leadership now.