Tag: faith

NO ONE COMPARES

I Cor 12:14-18 For the body is not one member, but many.  15 If the foot shall say, Because I am not the hand, I am not of the body; is therefore not of the body.  16 And if the ear shall say, Because I am not the eye, I am not of the body?  17 If the whole body were an eye, where were the hearing?  Where were the smelling? 18 But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body as it hath pleased him. 

Notice verse 18 God hath set the members in the body the way he wishes.  We have to accept the perfect will of God. Sometimes we look at other people’s callings and they look more glamorous than our own. But when God was creating each of us, he made us with the talent and temperament to walk in our calling.

If you compare yourself to others, it is easy to get down on yourself. Sure, everyone would like to have the perceived glamour jobs in the body.  What people don’t often understand is the day-to-day, behind-the-scenes things people do. Every function in the body is important. We all needed to see this lost world saved. The harvest is ready; what if everyone wanted to drive the truck to the storage barn. No one wanted to pick the fruit of the harvest. Nothing would get accomplished. 

Life is better if we just do what God has asked of us and allow everyone else to do the same. The plan will all come together because God is a master at planning. We all have a task to do for the end-time harvest. What is yours? If you know, go and do it with all your heart; souls are depending on it. If you don’t know yet, that is ok too.  Seek His face and all will be revealed to you at the right time.

Comparing ourselves to others can cause harm in two different ways. One, if you feel like others are better than you, you are in danger of the enemy causing you to give up.  You may feel like you will never measure up.

Two, if you feel like you are above others, you are in danger of developing a superior attitude. You may feel like you have arrived and will quit trying. This could also make you judgmental. Life is best when we are just simply who we were created to be by God.

Remember, you are fearfully and wonderfully made; there is no one like you.  So don’t waste your time trying to be someone else.

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

GET UP

You know, sometimes we feel like that; we are one mistake away from God doing a facepalm and saying, “Uh, I’m so done with them. They just make too many mistakes. They fall down too many times. They’re just not what I thought.” Because that’s how we get with people sometimes.

People often test our limits, and we’re like, “I just can’t deal with them anymore. Not one more thing can I deal with when it comes to them.” Then, we tend to walk away from people, which gets us to the point of being so exasperated that we just can’t take one more thing.

But God never feels that way about us. He sees the potential of what we can be. He sees our worth as far greater than we can see in ourselves. He never shakes his head and goes, “I just don’t know what I’m gonna do with them. I just can’t believe they have done that.” Again, He’s not surprised by anything. He knows everything. He knows why we make the choices we make. It’s because of some trauma or experience in our past. Most of the time, we have a tendency to react instead of stopping and thinking about what we should do? It is easy to just react. But sometimes, we lack self-control when those situations arise.

 But God has never been surprised. Nothing we do shocks him. And you know He says, if we are His child, “I will never leave you, forsake you, or fail you.”

 Deut 31:6 Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the Lord thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.

Heb 13:5 6 Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the Lord thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.

I am so grateful that God shows us grace when we fail. I am so glad he doesn’t give up on me. Over the years, many people have disappointed us, hurt us, taken advantage of us, and lied to us. It is a great comfort to know that we are in good hands with Jesus. We can trust his hands because they are nail-scarred for us.

James 4:10 10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.

There is not anywhere we can end up that God is to able to save us.  We cannot fall too far for him to pick us up. We often talk about how we are not supposed to judge God’s children. Have you ever stopped to think about how that includes yourself?

I have, at times, been very hard on myself. This is a trick of the enemy.  If he can keep us distracted by being hard on ourselves, then we will not be doing what we need to do.

Gal 6:1-2 Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted. 2 Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.

If we do what God wants us to do when others fail or fall down, we pick them back up. Then we also ought to pick ourselves back up, when we fall.  God is not ready to give up on us.  We should not give up either.

Zeph 3:17- 17 The Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing.

He rejoices over us. He is not ready to throw in the towel and walk away as long as we try. He knows our hearts. I love this verse; it makes me think about how a parent rocks a baby to sleep. Holding them close and quietly singing over them. That singing brings peace to the child.

We have peace through Jesus Christ because He loves us. We can depend on him to be with us.

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

Why Does God Allow Evil?

As I sat watching a small sparrow flutter about in a tree, I thought about the verse that says God takes care of the sparrows.  He is so amazing; He also wants what is best for us. Many people question how such a good God can allow such evil to go on in the world.

When He made man, everything was perfect.  Then, sin entered the world through disobedience.  It is in that disobedience that all the evil we see entered the world. Because God is long-suffering and good, he wants to give everyone a chance to be restored. He wants nothing more than for them to repent and change their ways. He watches from above with sadness at the evil.

When He is pushed beyond the longsuffering and He has given people their last chance to change, He moves quickly to cut off evil. Sometimes, bad things happen to cause us to rise up in just anger and make changes or to push for changes in our government.

We cannot blame God for what is wrong in the world when we are not willing to be obedient to Him. God wants us to look to Him and trust that He will move quickly. He will bring justice to each and every one of us. Through the blood, we are justified.  Through sin, we are condemned by not allowing God to purify us by His blood.

Things appear scary as prophecy is being fulfilled before our eyes. At least, they appear scary to the average person.  But to those of us who trust in God, it is a sign that God is shaking loose the evil to set free His people.

God needs his warriors to arise and be strong.  We are to be the light, we are called to be in this world. Light is often thought of in the scriptures as enlightenment.

 Psalm 119:105 Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.

But light also exposes what is hidden in the dark. Luke 12:2-3 2 For there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; neither hid, that shall not be known.  3 Therefore whatsoever ye have spoken in darkness shall be heard in the light; and that which ye have spoken in the ear in closets shall be proclaimed upon the housetops.

Luke 8:17-18 KJV  For nothing is secret, that shall not be made manifest; neither any thing hid, that shall not be known and come abroad.

God will bring every evil to light. Nothing that has been hidden will stay hidden. Now is the time to pray for his light to expose any darkness within us.  Ask him to help his body to get rid of everything holding us back from doing his will.

Now is the time to make everything, everything right before God. He will only tarry so long. The time of judgment is coming soon. If you don’t know Jesus, get to know Him.  If you are already a child of God ask him to search your heart. 

Psalm 139:23-24  [23] Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: [24] And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

Make sure you are on the right side of the line God is drawing. Choose this day who you will serve. God is tired of “Christians” who are worldly and Christian in name only. He wants us to be strong and stand for what is right. He wants us to have integrity and walk every moment as if someone is watching.

I want God to look down on me and look at my life with a smile and say, She is the real deal. If everyone who claimed with their lips that they were a Christian would walk that way, we could take this world by storm. The harvest would be gathered without one grain dropped to the ground.

“Why does God allow bad things to happen? Why doesn’t He stop the evil?”  He is waiting for His body to rise up and be the prayer warriors we are called to be; only a body of believers who have the heart to be intercessors (prayer warriors) will be able to call down the power to stop this evil.

THE LESSON(S) OF ALONE

JOB 23:8-10  Behold, I go forward, but he is not there; and backward, but I cannot perceive him: (9) On the left hand, where he doth work, but I cannot behold him: he hideth himself on the right hand, that I cannot see him:  (10) But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold.

Lately, I have had several friends comment that they feel like God is not near to them.  They say they cannot feel his presence.  I have been there at times in my spiritual walk with God. I understand how it can feel like you are alone. Job probably felt this more strongly than any of us. 

God allowed him to be tested by the enemy.  In that test, he proved to be true and faithful.  As gold tried in the fire. When gold ore is mined out of the ground, it has a lot of minerals, dirt and impurities.  The ore has to be put into an extremely hot fire and melted. During the melting process, dirt and other impurities cannot withstand the fire. They burn up.

The story of the three Hebrew men who were put into the fiery furnace by King Nebuchadnezzar. This is a literal example of how we are often tested.  But they did not fear the fire. They knew their God would deliver them.  We must know that “OUR GOD” will deliver us out of the fire.

Zec 13:9 And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, The LORD is my God.

Do not allow the trials of life or the feeling that you are all alone to cause you to fear or worry.  God is right there with you.  He was with the three Hebrew men in the fiery furnace; he was with Job when he felt alone; he will be with you, too.

Sometimes, like Job, we have miserable comfort. People mean well but do not have the right perspective and their advice is not always sound. We must always filter other’s advice with a bible filter.  In other words, does their advice line up with God’s word? Is it sound according to what I believe God is telling me or has told me in the past.

Other times, God will isolate us from people too.  This could be because of a season of transition for us. He is preparing us for the next level in him. The distraction of people will often taint this process, so God isolates us from the influence.

I Peter 1:7 That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:

There are many in-depth studies out there about gold and the way it is processed.  The process is compared to our walk with God. I will not take the time to go into great detail here. However, it is something interesting to dig deeper into if you have time. I hope I have said enough about the process to encourage you that if you faint not, you will reap in faith and blessings.

Look at the story of Job; when he was done with the process, God abundantly blessed him. I think that many times, the trial is taking out something within us that will hinder our next level of God’s presence and blessing.  Until it is gone, whatever it may be, we cannot level up. Embrace the times of isolation. He is there even when you don’t feel His presence or see His hand moving.

Keep on being faithful to what God has given you to do, even in times of isolation.

Until next time, BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

LEAVEN

Paul wrote letters to many different churches. The church in Galatia was one of them. Each church had its own issues. The church in Galatia was having problems with legalism and false teaching. Paul wrote that there is only one gospel.

Gal 1:6-9  I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel:  7 Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ.  8 But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.  9 As we said before, so say I now again, if any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.

How do we know what is right? How would those followers have known?

Gal 1:11-12 But I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man. 12 For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ.

There is only one gospel, one body, one Lord, one Faith and one baptism. Man has, through ignorance or blatant deception, twisted the gospel into what the church looks like today. For us to be effective, we will have to find unity in the Word.  If we would all sincerely ask for God to search our hearts and our theology, we may find that God would start removing some things from our ideas of what it means to serve Him.

I pray often, “Empty me of me and the ideas that I have which are not from you Lord. Fill me with the things I need to know. Guide me to do what you have created me to do.”

Gal 5:9 A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump.  When baking bread from scratch, you need to make sure you have the right ingredients. There has to be yeast to get the bread to rise. Paul used this analogy to explain a little bit of false teaching can change the whole body of Christ.

In Mark 8:15 Jesus warned them to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of Hearod. In other words their false teachings and ideas.  Jesus came to change the world. Just as a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump of dough, what we would consider a tiny sin or little bit of false teaching can have an extensive influence.

If we walk in the Spirit, He will lead us into all truth. Then, we will be wise enough to not fall for false teachings. He went on to explain that we will reap what we sow. That is an entire study alone.  But in summary, if we sow good things and follow God’s word, we will reap good things.

It is up to each of us to study to know the word and understand our role as Christians. II Tim 2:15-Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

It is our responsibility to pray for guidance to walk in God’s love.  We are in times when lines are being drawn in the sand.  We need to be sure that we stand for the truth of God’s word. Do not allow the leaven of the world to ruin what we need to be for the cause of Christ.

ARE YOU IN THE BOOK

Many of us have a treasure box of things from our past. Trophies from a contest or sporting event that we won. Grade cards and awards from school. Tiny things that were given to us by friends or a first love. A seashell we picked up on our first beach trip. More important than any of these treasures, we have friends and family that we can really truly rely on to be there in times of crisis. (If your family is not like that, I am truly sorry; I know some aren’t.) But the family of God should be that way. We are to treasure one another.

There is a treasure that far exceeds any memory or knowing how much you are loved by close friends and family. The biggest treasure is to be a child of God. Many say, “We are all God’s children.” Referring to mankind, but that is not true. We do not become his children until we are born again and have received His Spirit. The work He did on the cross gives us the right to be called the “children of God or sons of God.” But unless we accept what he did to redeem us. He will say, “I never knew you.”

It is nice to go to class reunions and relive our youth’s “glory” days. Looking through old photos and treasure boxes can be fun. Looking at our old yearbooks and seeing who all signed it is always bittersweet. But the best treasure is to know that our names are written in the “Lamb’s Book Of Life.”

Have you ever thought about the name of the book, “Lamb’s Book Of Life.” It is a book that lists all those who are born into the kingdom, those who have passed from death of sin to life in Christ. That is one book to make sure our names appear, the book that the Lamb of God owns that lists all who are alive in Him.

Luke 10:19-20  Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you. 20 Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven.

We need to be determined to see that the book doesn’t have any space left to write one more name. The harvest is ready. Jesus has the ink pen ready to write the names, all we have to do is go out and share his words.

BE BOLD. BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

RIGHT WORDS

It’s hard sometimes to sit back and watch people struggle with situations and problems when you have the answer. But we must be careful about how we deliver that answer. Yeah, Jesus is the answer to every problem. But, if it’s the wrong timing or said in the wrong way, we can do more harm than good. 

Prov 25:11 -A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver. 

Which means that timing is everything. You can tell people the right thing and be right. It still could be wrong. What if you say it like you are a know-it-all all and you have the answer? What if your attitude is off by coming across as being self-righteous? People are going to be hurt or put off by the judgmental tone.

We must be loving with our words, even though we’re right and there’s nothing wrong with the sentiment. There’s nothing wrong with telling people that God is the answer. But it’s how we say it.  We can be compassionate, “I know you’re really struggling with the situation. I understand because I’ve been through similar things. Or I understand that you’re really bothered about this and you’re hurt by your situation. I’ve been through things in my life that have really hurt me. I’ve found that Christ is the answer.”

The people will become more accepting of what you’re saying. But still, if that’s not at the right time, it may plant a seed. It may open the door a little bit. I’m not telling you not to ever tell anybody Jesus is the answer unless you think it’s perfect timing. Because we are called to witness to others. It’s just all a matter of timing.

Praying for God’s guidance will help us to know the right timing of everything. Because God’s time is always perfect. Nothing is impossible and we need to be willing to step out and talk to people.

But again, we can’t be aristocratic about it like we know it all. We have to be humble. God wants us to be humble. We can say, “Let me help you out here. Let me give you some advice.” God will use that to make an impact in somebody’s life. And that’s why we’re here. We’re here to see the lost saved.

Someone witnessed us or we wouldn’t be where we are today. Someone stepped out of their comfort zone and taught us about Jesus, or we wouldn’t know anything about him.

 If we depend on the media, they are very anti-religious and very anti-God and most of them consider themselves atheist or agnostic. And many of them, it’s because they’ve been hurt by church people. They said there can’t be a God or I wouldn’t have got hurt like I did. The enemy uses offense. It’s one of his greatest tools. If he can cause us to be offended by something and take that to heart, he can use that hurt and grow it into all sorts of things. He could grow in anxiety, fear, and stress. The enemy will grow it into a hatred for a person or hatred for a church. He even turns it into hate for God himself, to the point that people say, “I don’t believe there is a God.” And it’s just because they’ve been hurt.

It is not enough to have the right answer. It is important that we share the answer in the right way at the right time. We will know about God’s timing because he will lead us to speak. We cannot be effective unless we are close enough to God to hear his voice.

Staying in the Word and praying for His guidance is important. If we do these things, we can be assured he will give us the right words at the right time. Don’t be afraid to share the good news; just be careful how you do it.

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

GOD IS NOT SURPRISED

You know, sometimes we feel like that, we are one mistake away from God doing a facepalm and saying, “Uh, I’m so done with them. They just make too many mistakes. They fall down too many times. They’re just not what I thought.” Because that’s how we get with people sometimes.

People often test our limits and we’re like, “I just can’t deal with them anymore. Not one more thing can I deal with, when it comes to them.” Then we have a tendency to walk away from people that gets us to the point of being so exasperated that we just can’t take one more thing.

But God never feels that way about us. He sees the potential of what we can be. He sees our worth is far greater than we can see in ourselves. He never shakes his head and goes, “I just don’t know what I’m gonna do with them. I just can’t believe they did that.” Again, He’s not surprised by anything. He knows everything. He knows why we make the choices we make. It’s because of some trauma or experience in our past. Most of the time, we have a tendency to react instead of stopping and thinking about what we should do. It is easy to just react. But sometimes, we lack self-control when those situations arise. But God has never been surprised. Nothing we do shocks him. And you know He says, if we are His child, “I will never leave you, forsake you or fail you.”

 Deut 31:6 Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the Lord thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.

He will not fail or forsake us; He wants us to put on the whole armor of God. (Eph 6) Then, we are equipped to stand strong and be courageous. Fear is the opposite of how we should react to situations. The God who created everything is our Father and he will send angels to protect us.  He will move mountains for us if we just stand strong and believe.

Heb 13:5 6 Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the Lord thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.

My encouraging words to you today are: Do not fear. Do not get hung up on the past; if you have repented, then move on. He doesn’t expect us to wallow in self-loathing and self-bashing. He has already blotted out your mistakes, sins and shortcomings. We can be encouraged because He is with us.

He didn’t come to punish us or make us feel bad. Jesus died to set us free. He took all of our punishment because we were not able to bear it. Instead of repenting over and over for the same thing, we are already forgiven. Try thanking Him for what he did on the cross to set us free. Then, BE FREE from the past. Remember, Jesus loves you.

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

GET RID OF THE EMPTY

All of my life, I have heard the phrase, being filled with God.  Having a life full of God’s presence.  To be filled with God’s Spirit. If you walk in the Spirit, you will not fulfill the desires of the flesh. This morning, I woke up with thoughts of what it means to be filled. If we take a water bottle and run water into it under a tap until there is only water inside, we say it is full. I had an incredible thought this morning.  To be filled means to get rid of all the empty space.  Before the water went into the bottle, it was full of air, but we considered the vessel to be empty.

I pray, God fill all the emptiness.  Don’t leave one small portion without him.  I used to pray, “Empty me of me and fill me with more of you.” God is going to do amazing things. We all walk through seasons when we feel that God is far away.  We feel empty.  It is in this time that we must trust. Learning to wait for him to show us the next step can be a lonely place. If we wait on Him, He will speak and guide us.

When we are filled with God’s Spirit, we will be full. As Christians, we must be so full of God that others can feel his presence. They should be able to see Christ in us without us saying, “I am a Christian or I believe in Jesus.” They should know, even if we are not wearing our Christian t-shirts and ballcaps. (Not that I have an issue with t-shirts; I own several.)

 I Cor. 3:16 16 Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? If God’s Spirit dwells within us, we will be filled. It will take over all the empty spaces within us.

When Moses had been in the presence of God, he glowed.  How many people do you know that glow with God’s presence? I pray that God helps us to not just let our light shine but that we will glow with his presence and love.  Gal 5:16 16 This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. We have to have his Spirit in order to walk in the Spirit. (Let our light shine)

Most Christians I know are dealing with serious things at this time. I am not saying we should wear a fake smile and pretend all is fine. It is ok to be who we are and allow those closest to us to know our struggles. The word says to confess our faults to one another. I also think that can be true of our struggles, pain, and the battles we are fighting.  But be careful who you share those things with; not everyone who acts concerned will do the right thing and pray. Some are waiting to gossip and tear you down. Now more than ever, we need to have discernment about the events in the world and other people. God will show us who is not going to have our back, but who will shove a knife into it. These people know the right things to say. But they are not full of God, they will not have God’s glow.

Being full means there is no lack. Everything we need we already have in our hands. I have said this before; if our Lord Jesus Christ dwells within you, you have everything you will ever need.  When we need something, it will rise to the surface. If we need strength, it will rise up.  If we need encouragement, it will rise up. If we need his healing power, it too, will rise up within us to bring deliverance.

Healing sometimes comes in miraculous ways; instantaneously. But other times, healing comes in stages. God knows what is best for us. Sometimes, when he works in those instant right now kind of ways, it is to increase our faith or show someone around us that he is God. Other times, when we have to walk out our healing, it is to teach us to lean on Jesus.

Christians are not exempt from troubles, we have the same trials of life that sinners do. But we have someone who is with us and will help us. I pray, Lord never let any type of pain or disappointment be for no reason. Help me learn from it, so that I can help others to be encouraged.

MAKE IT PERSONAL

Many years ago, I attended a church that I can barely remember, even though I was in my twenties. I, however, do remember two things that have stuck with me for at least thirty years. One testimony and one sermon. We often feel like we don’t have anything to say, but what if your one testimony or one sermon was the one that changed someone’s life? We need to step out in faith when God puts something in our hearts to share.

At the time of the testimony, I was bound by worry, fear and anxiety.  There was an elderly preacher who attended our services.  One morning, he got up to testify and he said, “I thank God for all that he is…and Worry is not faith.”  That was the entire testimony. It hit me full force. Here I was, trying to be a Christian and walk by faith. Yet I worried about everything to the point of anxiety.

The other thing that stuck with me was a sermon on David.  It was preached from the Psalms.  The preacher said we need to make the Psalms personal. Then he read a verse that said, “Thou art my God” but when he got to the word “MY” he stressed it. He read several verses and encouraged us to read the Psalms in that same way.  It makes the word come alive and makes it personal. 

Still, to this day, when I read the Psalms and any verse says, “Thou art MY” I can remember that sermon. Because it really is all about a relationship.  It is about our one-on-one time with HIM. People can attend church from the time they are born until the time they die, but if they do not have a relationship with Him, he will say, “Depart from me.”

Today, I want to encourage you to make the Psalms personal and remember that worry is not faith.  We don’t have to worry about anything if we can be comfortable enough to lean on Jesus.  Both things are all about the relationship. His desire is for us to sit quietly in his presence and talk with him.  His desire is for us to worship him and study his word. Why do we study the Bible? It should be because we are hungry for a deeper relationship with Him.  Studying the Bible shows us His character and how much He loves each of us.

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS