Articles for May 2017

Philippians 4:6, “Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.  And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus” 

I could easily end this blog at this point. These are great verses with a great message and great promises:

• Don’t be anxious about anything.
• Pray about everything.
• Ask concerning your needs.
• Be thankful.
• Don’t hesitate to make requests of God.

Then God promises:

• Peace that only comes from God will be yours.
• God will keep your hearts and minds focused on Him.

This seems to be an area of great neglect on the part of a lot of Christians – we don’t talk to God about our needs and frustrations. Yet, over and over again in the Scriptures, He tells us to do so.  He wants to hear from us and He wants to answer our prayers.  We are not burdening God with our needs – we are obeying Him when we present them to Him.

God tells us quite clearly in these verses that He wants us to present everything to Him in prayer. These prayers will result in a peace given to us by God, and He will keep our hearts and minds focused on Him. If you ever have any doubts about God loving you – just read these verses, along with many others in the Scriptures, and your doubts will dissolve into thin air.

We have a wonderful God.  Let Him know you love and trust Him by talking to Him about all your needs and concerns!

God’s Word is so clear when it comes to preparing us for the realities of life. It’s all there – everything we need to know about how to live when good things happen, and how to live when bad things happen.  It seems to be part of our nature to want to major on the pleasant and positive promises of the Bible and fly over the areas we prefer not to think about.

I Peter 4:12, “Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you:” 

The wording of this verse is ominous. A fiery trial sounds like a serious problem, not just a minor inconvenience.  It sounds scary and hurtful.  Notice that God doesn’t say if. He is saying when it occurs we should not be surprised.  The Scriptures goes on to say in verse 13, “But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.”

II Timothy 3:12 is a clear statement by God Himself to Christians – “Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.” If we are living the way we ought to for the Lord – witnessing and being a godly testimony, God says we will suffer persecution.  He has told us what to expect and therefore these happenings should not trigger a long list of ‘whys’ on our part.  We should rejoice because God has promised us victory and blessing because we are living the way that He desires for us to live.

We should not become bitter and disheartened because of trials and persecutions. Instead,  we need to follow the example of the apostles in Acts 5:41,42,  “And they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name.  And daily in the temple, and in every house, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ.”

Psalm 73:28, “But it is good for me to draw near to God:  I have put my trust in the Lord God, that I may declare all thy works.” 

“It is good for me” – implies something that is beneficial and helpful. It is something that will enhance my life and make it better.  (Now, often times I do not choose to do the things that are ‘good’ for me due to the fact that it may take hard work and discipline, such as, exercising more or eating properly.  But the fact remains, whether I chose to do them or not – they WOULD be good for me if I did them!)

This verse says that it is good for me to draw near to God.  A lot that we accomplish in our Christian life is actually dependent on us.  To draw near to God is an action on our part.  It is developing a close relationship to Him by depending on Him and seeking His face continually throughout the day.  It is acknowledging His presence and trusting that He is in control of all that happens in our lives.

In the second part of this verse, the psalmist says that he has put his trust in the Lord God. Trusting is also an action.  We need to draw near and trust Him daily in order for the ‘good’ results of these actions to be activated in our lives.

When we are living close to God and are trusting Him, then we will be able to say with the psalmist – I will declare all thy works. We will be the testimony for the Lord in this world that so desperately needs Him.  It will be easy to praise Him and share the wonderful ‘good’ things that He is doing in our lives.

It’s plain and clear to see how these actions: drawing near to God, trusting Him, and declaring His works, will be of great benefit to us.  But, remember it’s your choice if you are going to decide to incorporate them into your life.  God promises ‘GOOD’ things if you do!

Jude verse 24, “Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy,” 

He is able — He is able — He is able — to keep us from falling. What a great promise.  Life is full of stumbling blocks.   We face obstacles every day that could cause us to trip and hinder our walk with God.  BUT – He is able to keep us from falling. God’s love is so amazing.  He wants to help us through the rocky terrain of life and to keep our lives in balance and our feet secure.

I’ve always appreciated the ‘feet’ verses as I’ve come across them in my reading. Verses such as:  Psalm 18:36,  “Thou hast enlarged my steps under me, that my feet did not slip.”  I get an amusing picture in my mind when I read this verse –  I picture myself walking around with feet so huge that nothing could possibly cause me to topple over.  This is basically what God is saying in these verses.  Through trusting Him and following His Word we can have balanced, secure lives that will not stumble when we are tossed about with the winds of circumstances. Believe God is able to keep you from slipping.

The second half of this verse goes on to say that we will be presented faultless before God. This is because of what Jesus did on the Cross.  When we accepted Him as our Saviour, our sins were completely forgiven.  This truth and knowledge ought to give us exceeding joy when we think about it.

Jesus is able – to help us in all areas of our lives and to keep us until the day He presents us faultless before the throne of grace! 

(Other good ‘feet’ verses to consider: Psalm 40:2, Psalm 119:59,  Psalm 18:36, Psalm 119:105,  Proverbs 4:26 – to name a few.)

Nahum 1:7, “For the LORD is good, a strong hold in the day of trouble; and he knowth them that trust in Him.” 

God is good – I’ve heard this statement may times – in testimonies, in church, during special meetings. God is GOOD – all the time.

What exactly does this mean? When everything seems to be going wrong; when hardships seem to pile up, and there seems to be no end in sight.  How can we see ‘good’ in any of it?

The answer is – when we see God for Who He really is. He’s not just a being who is a step above man.  He is the all powerful and all knowing creator of this universe.  He is the one in control of ALL that happens in this life.  He is the omnipresent being Who has promised to be there for us in all the trials of life.

We must remember that earth is not Heaven. Heaven is a promised place of freedom from evil and total happiness in the presence of God.  We need to realize that until God takes us home, we are in this world where the works of Satan abound and hardships and trials are very real.  In the midst of all that is going on in your life (no matter what it is), you must keep your heart and mind focused on the fact that God has promised to be a strong hold (a fortified place, a place of security) for you in all the hard times and challenges of life.  

This verse goes on to say that He knows them that trust Him. We show our trust in God by acknowledging that He is good even when we do not understand a situation.  It’s thanking Him even in the midst of hardships and problems because we know that He is in control.

We need to stay focused on this simple truth:   God is good —– All the time!

John 8:12,   “Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.” 

Several years ago, I was in a ladies restroom in a large department store. As a lady walked out of the room, she turned off the light.  It was quite a large room and I could not see anything – not a flicker of light.  I groped around bumping into things as I was looking for the door.  The relief I felt when I opened the door and the light shone in, was amazing.

This is the same magnitude of relief and thanksgiving that we should have towards Jesus because of the light that He offers to each one of us in this dark and sinful world. We do not need to flounder around in the dark wondering which path to take.  The light of God’s love and direction are always available to those who are following Jesus.

This verse is a great promise from Jesus Himself. Darkness is oppressive – it limits our movement.   It makes us hesitant to move forward and can cause us to become stagnant.  Jesus says to step out because His light is shining in our lives to guide and to lead us.  We can move forward and accomplish the things that God wants us to, because Jesus will light the way for us.

Every day you need to be praising Jesus for the light of His presence.  You truly are surrounded by the light of His love.  Remember that the switch is always on – when you are following Him!

Philippians 1:10. “That ye may approve things that are excellent; and ye may be sincere and without offence till the day of Christ.” 

This is the type of mind set that God wants us to have. He wants us to strive for excellence.  He wants us to have high standards in the midst of a world where standards are crumbling and sinking every day.  God does not want us to blend in with society.  He desires for us to stand out and be a testimony for Him.

There is no doubt about it – this will take work and thought on our part. We truly are representing God in everything we do.  We need to show the world that God has made a difference in our lives.  This involves many areas — how we speak, where we go, how we dress, (ouch), how we treat others, to name a few. God has a standard for our lives and it is a HIGH standard!

This verse goes on to say that we need to be sincere and without offence (honest and upright in our living). We need to be people of integrity and good character.  So often as we walk through life we do not even think about the fact that others are judging God by how we live.

II Corinthians 5:20a says we are ambassadors for Christ, (an authorized representative).  We need to think about and acknowledge this fact everywhere we go.  When others look at us do they see a reflection of Jesus?  This is what we should be striving for!

Psalm 112:7, “He shall not be afraid of evil tidings: his heart is fixed, trusting in the Lord.” 

Wow! God’s Word is so up to date and pertinent to every generation.  This verse is certainly needed today with all the ‘evil tidings’ we are bombarded with every day: politically, morally, economically, spiritual false teachings – the list can go on and on.  The world seems to be going crazy and evil seems to be taking over.

BUT, praise God, the Christian need not to be afraid in the midst of all of this chaos.

Fixed means – settled, established, firm, fast, stable, (1828 dictionary). God is telling us that our hearts (our innermost self) need to be fixed on Him.  Our eyes need to be looking at Him and His power, not on man and his evil ways.  When we are trusting God and acknowledging that He is in control, then we will be able to stand firm in our faith and nothing will be able to shake our resolve to serve God.

How can mere men develop this kind of faith? We need to keep spiritually fit by reading the Word and following it.  We need to experience God’s presence in our lives.  We need to pray and walk with Him throughout every day.  We need to acknowledge Him in everything we do.

(I know that I say all of these things frequently – but they are so basic to our spiritual health that they cannot be ignored. They are like the spiritual ‘vitamins’ that need to be taken daily so that we can have a strong faith!)

God says that if our eyes are fixed on Him and we are trusting in Him, no matter what is going on around us there will be no cause for anxiety and fear in our lives.

What a great promise!

Philippians 4:11-12a, “Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.  I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound…” 

To be content means to be satisfied and happy. The definition of ‘learn’ is to gain or receive knowledge by practice or performing.

Basically, Paul is saying that as he grew and matured in his Christian faith, he began to realize that his state of contentment was not dependent on the circumstances of his life. If he was rich (abounding) or abased (poor), it made no difference on his satisfaction thermometer.  He was not gauging his contentment on what was going on around him.

Paul’s life consisted of doing as much as he could for the cause of Christ. Wherever God led him, whatever the surrounding circumstances, His eyes were on the Lord.  He was fully persuaded that God was in control of all that happened in his life and he rested in this knowledge.

Contentment is an emotion and often our emotions can be on a roller coaster – up and down with the waves of the circumstances of life. This is not how God desires for us to live.  This is not how we have to live if we learn to keep our eyes on God and trust that He is in control of all things.

Isaiah 26:3 is still in the Book, “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.”

Contentment and peace is promised to the Christian – IF  his mind is stayed on God.  Money in the bank is of no use unless drawn out and used.  The promises in the Bible are not beneficial to us unless we seek them out and claim them.  Appreciate God’s Word, love God’s Word, and start claiming His promises.  The life of peace and contentment is available to all of us!

Acts 4:13, “Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marvelled; and they took knowledge of them,  that they had been with Jesus.” 

What a great verse. It is FULL of encouragements and truths that we can apply to our own lives.

We see here a group of religious leaders observing the lives of Peter and John. These men saw the boldness with which the apostles were speaking.  Peter and John were not intimidated by those around them.  They were not hedging or apologizing for their message.  It was clear and to the point.  Acts 3:19a,  “Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out.”   Acts 4:12,  “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.”

These elite and educated leaders of the people perceived that Peter and John were uneducated and unlearned and yet they spoke with authority and assurance.  (Isn’t it wonderful who God chooses to do His work.  Don’t ever feel that God cannot use you.  It really is a heart thing – not a brain thing.  If your heart is open to serving God and you obey His leading, you can do great and mighty things for Him – no matter what your background or education.  It’s great to know that God has a place for each one of us.  Our part is to be willing to let Him use us!)

Finally, these learned men marvelled because of the testimony of Peter and John.  They saw strength and power in their lives and they KNEW (took knowledge) that they had been with Jesus.

What a great example and testimony for all of us.  We too, need to get the message of salvation out to those around us. We should not be intimidated by their position or education (or lack of).  We need to be bold – holding forth the truth in the power of the Holy Spirit.  We should live in such a way that others will see our lives and come to the conclusion that we had been with Jesus!