Monthly Archives: October 2018

Why Fear?

Posted on by

fall path with light

It is human nature to experience fear at many points in your life. The experience of fear can be very short, or it can be very long. The word fear is defined as to be afraid of someone or something as to be dangerous, painful or threatening.  According to a survey done by Chapman University, some of the top fears in 2018 include corrupt government officials, not having enough money for the future, loved ones becoming seriously ill, loved ones dying, high medical bills, and many more. These are all common things to fear, and I am sure you can brainstorm a long list of many more.

But too often we let our fear get the best of us, and we often forget God’s Word in times of fear. Jesus said in John 14:27, “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”.  We must remember that God has a plan for us. You might be worrying about your future with your job, house, insurance, or retirement, but God has a plan at work for you for your future. We must trust in him and seek him. Jesus tells us in Matthews 6:34, “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”.

As I said previously we must trust in the Lord. We know he has plans for us not against us. It might seem impossible right now, but God knows the result and will have the final say in the situation. We must trust and seek the Lord in all we do in our daily lives. Proverbs 3:5-6 says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.”.  Additionally, Psalm 34:4 says, “I sought the Lord, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears.”. The word sought also means to seek like I said before we must seek the Lord along with trusting in Him.

Some people might have issues with anxiety and may have been diagnosed with an anxiety disorder. When I was in fourth grade I had terrible anxiety issues, I was even put on medication for it. Without the medication, I would not be able to sleep at night. One night I was prayed for at my church, and I went home that evening. My family got home later than usual, and I forgot to take my medication before bed. I slept great that night and didn’t take the medication the next several nights and had no issues. By the body and blood of Christ, I was delivered of that anxiety issue. Now there are times I might still get nervous about something here and there. That is normal for really anyone. So, whether you are dealing with a chronic anxiety disorder or just regular anxiety remember what God’s word tells us. Also remember Psalm 94:19, “When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought me joy.”.

By seeking the Lord daily and trusting in him, you can overcome your fears.  Don’t sit back and let your fear consume your mind, you must conquer your fear with God’s Word, otherwise, your fear will conquer you.

 

Staying in the Word

Posted on by

Bible opened up to Psalm, with cup of coffee

So where do you stand right now with the Lord?  If you have already accepted Jesus as your savior that is great. But there is so much more to your walk with the Lord, other than saying the sinner’s prayer sincerely. We have been given a very great tool to help us in our walk with the Lord, and that is the Bible. With the great advancement of technology, you can literally carry the Bible in your pocket anywhere you go!

 

The Bible is a large book to read, it can seem overwhelming to anyone to read. The Bible has been translated into many different languages. In English, we have many options available to us. We have a word for word translations, such as the King James Version or the English Standard Version. Additionally, we have a sentence for sentence translations, such as the New International Version. So there are many different options in the English language you can pick from for what is right for you.

 

Why must we read the Word of God daily? Psalm 119:9 (NKJV) says, “How can a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed according to Your word.” The NIV version translates this as, “How can a young person stay on the path of purity? By living according to your word.”. The word pure means: genuine, real, true, incorrupt, unadulterated, from guilt, guiltless innocent, and chaste. James 1:22 says, “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.”. Living your life according to the Word of God, will bring you success in your life in the eyes of the Lord. Of course, you will have obstacles in life, and when troubled times come you must know what His Word says, and accept His promises. It is one thing to hear and read God’s word, but we must also act on it, including his promises to us. Matthew 7:24 says, “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.”.

 

The Bible is about 2,700 years old, you might question why you should apply something to your life if its thousands of years old. This is also answered in scripture several times. Matthew 24:35 says, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.”. No matter what, God’s word is still alive today, if it was true yesterday then it will be true today and forever. Furthermore, in Hebrews 4:12  it says, “For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.”. As we live in a dark and fallen world, we need something to guide us, and that is the Bible. Psalm 119:105 says, “Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.”. By having a personal relationship with Him and putting his Word to practice he will keep us protect and provide for us. 2 Thessalonians 3:3 says “But the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen you and protect you from the evil one.”

 

Only by the Word of God and His grace, by Him sending His only son to die for our sins,  can you be saved, James 1:21 says, “Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you.”. I challenge you if you haven’t already to do the following to get closer to God (along with regular church attendance):

  1. Accept Jesus as your personal savior. Read John 3, regarding The New Birth.
  2. Find out which translation works best for your daily reading.
  3. Read the Bible Daily, there are many great tools to develop a reading plan the works best for you. Here are several good resources to help…
    https://www.ligonier.org/blog/bible-reading-plans/https://www.biblegateway.com/reading-plans/?version=NIV

    https://www.mybibleplans.com/

  4. As you read the Bible, live your life accordingly and accept God’s promises (healing, provisions, strength, etc.).
  5. After you read it entirely read it again and study deeper into it.

 

What You Tolerate, Will Dominate

Posted on by

chain links

What is it that you tolerate in your life? Do you tolerate bondage, depression, sickness, pain, or even poor circumstances? These are all things that are of our world, but are they of God? No, they are not of God. God made this world for us to enjoy our time on, to have a purpose and mission, however, this is a dark world full of sin. If we continue living lives by our flesh, we will be dominated. If we live our lives by Spirit we will have eternal life.

 

In John 3:3 Jesus said: “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.”. Further, in this same chapter, Jesus explains what born again means, along with differentiating flesh and Spirit. In reading verse six, Jesus said: “Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.”. If you jump down to verse sixteen, Jesus said, “ For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”. So by being born again which makes us new of Spirit we have eternal life, through the one and only Son of God.

 

So in being born again, how are we to live our lives? Are we to live according to our flesh?  No, Paul said in Romans 8:12, “Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation—but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it.”. Okay, you cannot live by flesh, so how must you live? If you read the next verse it says, “For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live.”.So we are to live by our Spirit, our Spirit brings us closer to God in our personal relationship with him by being born again. By living in Spirit, God protects us because we are his children. This is supported in the next verse Paul wrote (Romans 8:14), “For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God.”.

 

So how about if you are already born again and have a strong relationship with God, and down the road, you get struck by a horrible disease for which there is no cure, and you can only manage the symptoms for the rest of your life, what do you do? You might begin to question God, become depressed, and turn away from God. Sickness is not what God intended for anyone. There is no sickness or pain in heaven. But we live in a world of darkness, so we will encounter times of trouble in our lives. This is when we have to put our faith in God’s Word into action. If God’s Word promised us something, then we need to be steadfast, ask for it and believe we will receive it according to his will.

 

If you are dealing with an illness remember Isaiah 53:5, “But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes, we are healed.”. Notice it uses ‘we are healed’. Not we might be, but we are healed. Having faith for healing is like planting a seed, you plant it and water it and make sure it can get sunlight where you plant it. Do you take your seed out of the ground and check on it? No, no farmer would do that. It is the same thing with faith, we often are led by how the flesh feels with our natural five senses, we forget we need to act in Spirit with our faith. James 2:17 says, “So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.”.

 

We will encounter many challenges on earth even if we are born again. Remember Jeremiah 29:11, “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”. Isaiah 54:17 says, “No weapon formed against you shall prosper,”. So we will encounter weapons, but according to God’s will, they will not prosper. We might go through a hard time, such as a disease, job loss, or bad circumstance but, we must remember God’s will for us in His Word and live our life to it. We must pray to expect with faith according to His Word. By going through trials in life, if we act in faith according to His will we will come out stronger in the end.

 

2 Corinthians 11:20 says, “You put up with it when someone enslaves you, takes everything you have, takes advantage of you, takes control of everything, and slaps you in the face.”. This talks about when one is the slave of another, but if you put this into perspective this is the same when you are a slave unto your sickness or poor circumstances. Should you tolerate your sickness? No, it is God’s will to heal you. Should you tolerate your poor circumstances? No, God has plans for you, not against you. This is a concept other preach on and is true, what you tolerate, dominates you. If you tolerate a sickness, instead of applying the healing scriptures of the Word to your life, it will dominate you. If you tolerate poor circumstances, instead of applying God’s Word regarding his plans for you, your poor circumstances will dominate you. We might have to change course at times to get on track with God during these times, but we should not tolerate times of trouble, we should turn to God and overtake the situation with our faith.  Even in the darkness of the world, remember Deuteronomy 31:6, “ Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the Lord your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you.”.

 

Forgiving Others

Posted on by

flowers

As followers of Christ, we must know and apply the word forgiveness every day of our lives. We all should know that our sins are forgiven by our savior Jesus Christ. By knowing him as your personal savior your sins become forgiven and you are made new in Spirit, as written in John 3. We all can be forgiven by the blood of Jesus, Ephesians 1:7 says, “In Him, we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace”. This is confirmed in Colossians 1:14, “in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.”. God loves everyone even the sinner, this is why he sent his only son to die for us, John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”. If you read further to the next two verses, “ For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.”. By God sending his son to Earth to die for our sins and to heal us of our infirmities this confirms God’s love for us. Looking at 1 John 4:9 it says, “In this, the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world so that we might live through him.”.

So we know that God’s Word says Jesus was sent to die for our sins so that we can be forgiven. But what about when others do us wrong? What about when someone cheats you, lies to you, or just plain out hurts you? Whether this is done intentionally to us or not, God’s Word provides us with very clear instructions on handling this. Luke 6:37 says, “Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.”. Further, Matthews 6:14-15 says, “For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins might find it difficult to forgive others when they wrong us.”. God commands us that we forgive others who do us wrong.

If we cannot forgive others then how can God forgive us? Holding a grudge against someone else doesn’t accomplish anything, it is not what God wants us to do either. Job 5:2 says, “For anger slays the foolish man, And jealousy kills the simple.”. Also, Proverbs 20:22 says “Do not say, “I will repay evil”; Wait for the LORD, and He will save you.”. We must remember that God will deal with those who do us harm for it is written. Romans 8:28 says, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”. Additionally Romans 12:17-21 says, “Never pay back evil for evil to anyone Respect what is right in the sight of all men. If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men. Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, “VENGEANCE IS MINE, I WILL REPAY,” says the Lord.”.

By looking at God’s Word we know that he commands us to forgive others and not to seek revenge. When you are dealing with someone that is giving you a hard time or just being annoying to you it can be difficult to forgive them. But by forgiving them and treating them kindly you show them God’s love by example. We must remember that God didn’t just send his son Jesus to die for your sins, but the sins of those who have harmed you and annoy you. By living your life as an example you can show them God’s love and will give an opportunity for them to know Jesus as their savior.