New days bring new challenges and we cannot MOVE FORWARD in life unless we step out...in faith.
God requires us to trust Him. In fact, James 1 tells us that when we ask God for wisdom, we must ASK IN FAITH or we will not receive anything from the Lord! James goes on to say that when we don't ask in faith, we become double-minded and are driven and tossed by the wind...becoming like the surf of the sea, unstable in all of our ways. If we walk in doubt, instead of faith, we will not receive anything from God.
What does it mean to ask in faith? Do we really understand what faith is?? Paul says in Hebrews 1 that "faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see". Paul goes on to say that WITHOUT FAITH, it is impossible to PLEASE God...
When we ask God for wisdom, we must ask in faith that HE WILL lead us. God does not want us to walk around in the dark, not knowing where we are going! God wants us to walk in the LIGHT and He wants us to know His purpose and will for our lives. He has a plan for us that is for our good, to give us a future and a hope. God wants us to be led by His Spirit and not by fear or doubt.
Faith is a choice to believe God even when we cannot see the answer with our eyes. Faith is trusting in the goodness of God no matter what our circumstances may be.
God is good and He is pleased with those who WALK BY FAITH. If we want to please Him today, we must choose to let go of the past, take God at His word and trust that He will guide us through this life...one day at a time.
We can trust that He is working all things out for the good of those who LOVE HIM and are called according to His purposes. We can ask in faith and move forward, trusting that He is with us and that He has a plan.
Our lives are in His hands, there is no safer place to be.
Emotional Jungles
This past year has been an incredible journey through a jungle of emotions. After losing a sister through a VERY traumatic circumstance at the end of 2008, I soon realized what "going through the motions" really meant. I found myself in social situations without a clue of how to respond to people...wanting to be positive and happy, I possessed a cheerful attitude but all the while the inside of me was screaming, what in the world just happened here?!
I know that God in heaven was watching over me and I believe that what I experienced was His peace and grace for that time, but as this year has worn on, the magnitude of what happened when I lost my sister has only sharpened, not dulled.
When you experience any loss, there is sorrow, even if the person we loved is, as we believe, going to heaven. There is the loss of that person here on earth, much like when a loved one might move MANY MILES away and perhaps we knew they would never be able to visit us again...at least not for a very long time.
God surely was with me during this journey, He did not leave me in my sorrow... Life can be like a jungle with it's emotional twists and turns and the path may not be clearly marked. More often than not, we must cut our way through, one step at a time and make the path as we go but if we allow God to guide us, He will bring us safely to the other side.
I know that God in heaven was watching over me and I believe that what I experienced was His peace and grace for that time, but as this year has worn on, the magnitude of what happened when I lost my sister has only sharpened, not dulled.
When you experience any loss, there is sorrow, even if the person we loved is, as we believe, going to heaven. There is the loss of that person here on earth, much like when a loved one might move MANY MILES away and perhaps we knew they would never be able to visit us again...at least not for a very long time.
God surely was with me during this journey, He did not leave me in my sorrow... Life can be like a jungle with it's emotional twists and turns and the path may not be clearly marked. More often than not, we must cut our way through, one step at a time and make the path as we go but if we allow God to guide us, He will bring us safely to the other side.
TRUST GOD!
YES, WE CAN TRUST GOD when circumstances are difficult... We CAN choose to stay calm by an act of our faith, even when life seems out of control.
Trials will come but God is able to keep us and preserve us in the midst of those trials. He can and will strengthen us and protect us during times of stress and difficulty if we will choose to rely on Him and trust in His goodness.
We must not fear in times of trouble but keep our eyes on the One who is above all things. God is a God of love and His perfect love casts out fear... If He keeps His eye on the sparrow that lives wild in the mountains, He will surely keep His eye on those who put their trust in Him...
God is able to deliver us from our enemies and from the difficult trials we face in life but we must not lose faith or hope in Him... We must continue to draw closer to Him...the harder life is, the harder we must lean on Him.
He is the only Savior, the only God, and only He can rescue us in times of distress. He will meet us in the hidden, quiet places of life, when we look solely to Him for our support...
II Thessalonians 3:3 says, "The Lord is faithful and He will strengthen and protect you from the evil one."
Isaiah 41:10 "Fear not for I am with you. Be not discouraged for I am your God. I will strengthen you. Yes, I will help you! I will hold you up with My righteous right hand."
We CAN TRUST GOD at all times. He is our Help and our deliverer. Do not listen to the voice of discouragement that shouts in your ear... Listen to the still small voice that whispers your name and says, "I will never leave you or forsake you..."
The Lord is my helper!
I will trust and NOT be afraid!
What can man do to me!
Hebrews 13:5,6
Trials will come but God is able to keep us and preserve us in the midst of those trials. He can and will strengthen us and protect us during times of stress and difficulty if we will choose to rely on Him and trust in His goodness.
We must not fear in times of trouble but keep our eyes on the One who is above all things. God is a God of love and His perfect love casts out fear... If He keeps His eye on the sparrow that lives wild in the mountains, He will surely keep His eye on those who put their trust in Him...
God is able to deliver us from our enemies and from the difficult trials we face in life but we must not lose faith or hope in Him... We must continue to draw closer to Him...the harder life is, the harder we must lean on Him.
He is the only Savior, the only God, and only He can rescue us in times of distress. He will meet us in the hidden, quiet places of life, when we look solely to Him for our support...
II Thessalonians 3:3 says, "The Lord is faithful and He will strengthen and protect you from the evil one."
Isaiah 41:10 "Fear not for I am with you. Be not discouraged for I am your God. I will strengthen you. Yes, I will help you! I will hold you up with My righteous right hand."
We CAN TRUST GOD at all times. He is our Help and our deliverer. Do not listen to the voice of discouragement that shouts in your ear... Listen to the still small voice that whispers your name and says, "I will never leave you or forsake you..."
The Lord is my helper!
I will trust and NOT be afraid!
What can man do to me!
Hebrews 13:5,6
Fast?
Why fast? Why in the world would not eating food, be something that we need to do to seek God?
I do not understand fasting, never have and maybe never will but I do know that Jesus said we would need to fast... He said in Mathew 6:16, "WHEN" you fast, not IF you fast...let your fasting be in secret and God the Father would reward you openly.
He Himself set the example by fasting forty days, at the begining of His ministry... At the beginning, He fasted, which is when we need to fast as well... At the beginning, before we embark on a new journey in to the unknown wilderness of life...
We must prepare ourselves through a process called "fasting", not because we understand it, but because that is what God has called us to do... We don't have to understand something, to know that it works... I don't understand how a TV station can project a LiVE image through a cable in the wall to a box in my livingroom, but I sure am not going to wait until I figure it out to watch the news. Fasting works, whether or not I understand it...
There is something about denying ourselves what we need or take pleasure in, in order to seek the ONE Who gives us what we need and is the author of pleasure... I remember how Jesus denied Himself to take up His cross and then denied Himself and His rights and His innocence to die for our sins, an unspeakably horrible death...
Maybe in the denial of our fleshly need for food, we experience a small taste of giving something up, in order to attain something greater...
A Call to Prayer
God wants us to pray for others...and to stand in the gap for them.
Paul in Ephesians 6 tells us that we are to put on the whole armor of God...and to stand firm and to pray with all kinds of prayers and requests for all the saints, which is what we are: God's holy people. We, the church, are called His saints... We are His people, who have been called out of the darkness, to walk in His Light...
God will reward us for praying, just as Jesus said in Matthew 5:5,6, that if we will go and pray in secret, in a private place, behind closed doors... He will reward us openly... God seeks our fellowship. He draws us to Himself. No one comes to Jesus (of his own accord) but the Father Himself draws us to Himself. Think about that, if you ever think God doesn't care. You didn't come to God on your own, but He drew you. It is contrary to our nature to seek God, because we were born with a sinful, rebellious nature. The proof of God's love for you and that He has chosen you, is that you are wanting to come close to God. That desire was given to you by God. It is your choice to follow Him, but He is always working in our lives to draw us to Himself... (John 6:44)
We always have a choice. We must choose to spend time with Him. Time with God IS the most important thing we can do... There is nothing that matters more, not even what we believe that we are doing FOR Him... We must choose Him, choose to listen to His voice, to spend time to in His presence so that He can teach us and strengthen us and give us the wisdom that we need.
You ARE loved and God is good. He is faithful and will strengthen and protect you from the evil one...II Thess. 3:3 So do not fear. Spend time alone with God and let God help you. Prayer is simply communication with God, talking and being quiet enough to listen to His Spirit on the inside of you, speaking to you, teaching you, even telling you about the things to come... He will help you and when you cannot do it, He will fight the battles for you. He will give you the wisdom and the strength to do what you must do...You ARE loved by God.
He does not want you to be fearful or anxious or worried... The Word of God says in Philippians 4, Rejoice! Do not be anxious or worried about anything...but in everything by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, to present your requests to God... and then the PEACE OF GOD which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus... And He tells us to think about good things... not evil things... and the GOD OF PEACE will be with you...
You ARE loved. He knows what you need before you ask Him (Matthew 6:32) but He says to seek Him and His righteousness (His kingdom) and all the things that you need will be given to you... Do not worry about tomorrow, but trust that the God who is with you today, will be there with you tomorrow as well.
Jesus spoke to His disciples in the garden of Gethsemane just as He speaks to us today... calling us to prayer. Can we not tarry in prayer for one hour? Think of all the things that we do for one hour...
He waits for us to come... He can and will show us what to do. We ARE loved by the Father Himself. God Almighty watches over us.
We must choose to seek Him and to call on His name. We are in a battle and we must fight it through the weapons that God provides. Prayer is the highest calling and strongest weapon that we have.
We must choose to walk in reverential fear and holiness for without holiness, the word says that we will not see God. He has called us to holiness and righteousness. James 5 declares that the effective fervent prayer of a righteous man will accomplish much. What a promise!
We must choose to LOVE HIM more than this world... We must choose to spend time in prayer, so that we can know HIM. We must choose to walk in love toward others. Then He will say to us "COME, YOU GOOD AND FAITHFUL SERVANT... ENTER INTO THE JOY OF YOUR MASTER."
We must choose to pray for our Leaders as the word tells us to in I Timothy 2:1-4, saying, "I urge then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone, for kings (presidents, leaders of states, cities, schools, etc.) and all those in authority, that we may live PEACEFUL and QUIET lives in all godliness and holiness...This is good and acceptable and pleases God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth"
YOU ARE LOVED!
Paul in Ephesians 6 tells us that we are to put on the whole armor of God...and to stand firm and to pray with all kinds of prayers and requests for all the saints, which is what we are: God's holy people. We, the church, are called His saints... We are His people, who have been called out of the darkness, to walk in His Light...
God will reward us for praying, just as Jesus said in Matthew 5:5,6, that if we will go and pray in secret, in a private place, behind closed doors... He will reward us openly... God seeks our fellowship. He draws us to Himself. No one comes to Jesus (of his own accord) but the Father Himself draws us to Himself. Think about that, if you ever think God doesn't care. You didn't come to God on your own, but He drew you. It is contrary to our nature to seek God, because we were born with a sinful, rebellious nature. The proof of God's love for you and that He has chosen you, is that you are wanting to come close to God. That desire was given to you by God. It is your choice to follow Him, but He is always working in our lives to draw us to Himself... (John 6:44)
We always have a choice. We must choose to spend time with Him. Time with God IS the most important thing we can do... There is nothing that matters more, not even what we believe that we are doing FOR Him... We must choose Him, choose to listen to His voice, to spend time to in His presence so that He can teach us and strengthen us and give us the wisdom that we need.
You ARE loved and God is good. He is faithful and will strengthen and protect you from the evil one...II Thess. 3:3 So do not fear. Spend time alone with God and let God help you. Prayer is simply communication with God, talking and being quiet enough to listen to His Spirit on the inside of you, speaking to you, teaching you, even telling you about the things to come... He will help you and when you cannot do it, He will fight the battles for you. He will give you the wisdom and the strength to do what you must do...You ARE loved by God.
He does not want you to be fearful or anxious or worried... The Word of God says in Philippians 4, Rejoice! Do not be anxious or worried about anything...but in everything by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, to present your requests to God... and then the PEACE OF GOD which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus... And He tells us to think about good things... not evil things... and the GOD OF PEACE will be with you...
You ARE loved. He knows what you need before you ask Him (Matthew 6:32) but He says to seek Him and His righteousness (His kingdom) and all the things that you need will be given to you... Do not worry about tomorrow, but trust that the God who is with you today, will be there with you tomorrow as well.
Jesus spoke to His disciples in the garden of Gethsemane just as He speaks to us today... calling us to prayer. Can we not tarry in prayer for one hour? Think of all the things that we do for one hour...
He waits for us to come... He can and will show us what to do. We ARE loved by the Father Himself. God Almighty watches over us.
We must choose to seek Him and to call on His name. We are in a battle and we must fight it through the weapons that God provides. Prayer is the highest calling and strongest weapon that we have.
We must choose to walk in reverential fear and holiness for without holiness, the word says that we will not see God. He has called us to holiness and righteousness. James 5 declares that the effective fervent prayer of a righteous man will accomplish much. What a promise!
We must choose to LOVE HIM more than this world... We must choose to spend time in prayer, so that we can know HIM. We must choose to walk in love toward others. Then He will say to us "COME, YOU GOOD AND FAITHFUL SERVANT... ENTER INTO THE JOY OF YOUR MASTER."
We must choose to pray for our Leaders as the word tells us to in I Timothy 2:1-4, saying, "I urge then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone, for kings (presidents, leaders of states, cities, schools, etc.) and all those in authority, that we may live PEACEFUL and QUIET lives in all godliness and holiness...This is good and acceptable and pleases God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth"
YOU ARE LOVED!
If and When...
Driving home a few days ago, after dropping off my youngest child at school, I was thinking about something hurtful that had happened. I quickly made a decision to forgive and as I did, a scripture suddenly came to mind. In 2 Timothy 2:24, it says, "The Lord's bondservant must not argue, but be kind to all, able to teach, patient WHEN wronged..."
As I drove along, I began to ponder this thought...and it became obvious to me that this scripture didn't say IF you are wronged but WHEN you are wronged. At some point, sooner or later, we will be wronged and we will be faced with a decision: to obey God's word to be patient, kind and forgiving WHEN wronged or to give in to anger or resentment and the unforgiveness that is sure to follow.
When the word says to "be patient when wronged," it is not declaring that the perpetrator of the wrongful deed is innocent, but simply that we have a choice in how we react to that wrongdoing.
God says in His Word (John 14:23,24) that IF we love Him, we will do what He commands.
So, ultimately, IF we love God, we will choose to be patient WHEN wronged.
As I drove along, I began to ponder this thought...and it became obvious to me that this scripture didn't say IF you are wronged but WHEN you are wronged. At some point, sooner or later, we will be wronged and we will be faced with a decision: to obey God's word to be patient, kind and forgiving WHEN wronged or to give in to anger or resentment and the unforgiveness that is sure to follow.
When the word says to "be patient when wronged," it is not declaring that the perpetrator of the wrongful deed is innocent, but simply that we have a choice in how we react to that wrongdoing.
God says in His Word (John 14:23,24) that IF we love Him, we will do what He commands.
So, ultimately, IF we love God, we will choose to be patient WHEN wronged.
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