I will put my Hope in God!

We need to commit this verse to memory to use when you become discouraged. Practice praising the Lord even when you feel discouraged. You will be amazed at how it will lift your spirits. How many times do we despair about our circumstances, or become discouraged because of a situation? It is easy to do if we take our eyes off our Redeemer, the One who can save us.

“Why am I discouraged? Why is my heart so sad? I will put my hope in God! I will praise him again, my Savior and my God!” ~Psalm 42:5

The book of Psalms is such an incredible wealth of inspiration, encouragement, wisdom and insight. There are so many times we can relate to the Psalmist David. He cried out to God in times of deep anguish and despair. He rejoiced and praised the Lord during times of blessing and provision. The one thread we see throughout the Psalms is this – whether he was praising the Lord, or asking for His divine intervention, he recognized God’s hand in everything that took place in his life. He knew that no matter what happened around him the Lord was mighty to save and would provide a way of escape. He never took his eyes off the Lord and placed them on his circumstance.

This passage explains very clear instructions as to how we are to handle distress, disappear, loneliness, depression and a myriad of other emotions that can so easily plague our minds. Put your hope in the Lord. Maybe we can’t see the relief that is coming, there seems to be no light at the end of that tunnel. We need to constantly be checking where our focus is. Is it on the end of that tunnel? Are we more focused on where and how the answer is coming than we are on the One from whom it comes? How, where and when is up to the Lord and His timing. If our focus is right this will bring the peace that is evading us in our present situation.

Where is your focus today? Do you need to take some time to refocus your thoughts on Christ rather than on your circumstances? Meditate on Psalm 42:5, asking the Lord to let it sink deep into your spirit. Doing so will bring your spirit peace.

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Turn the blunders into blessings in your life, and open your eyes to the possibilities.

Today you need to place our faith in God today, and ask Him to direct each step you take, and to give you the wisdom, strength, and faith to hope for great things. Trust that as you submit all things to Him, He will take each experience and create good things from them. Turn the blunders into blessings in your life, and open your eyes to the possibilities. “I am the LORD your God, who teaches you what is best for you, who directs you in the way you should go.” Isaiah 48:17

Allow your heart to seek the good things in this life and trust that, even the blunders can be turned into blessings. Submit all things to God in prayer, knowing that He hears and is responding. Regardless of the situation, you will witness Him skillfully weaving each experience into something beautiful and good. Dare to trust and place your faith in Him.

When you feel as if you are backed against a wall, have the courage to trust in His strength. When you feel confused and alone, don’t be afraid to hope for better days, placing complete confidence in God, rather than your circumstance. Let go of the mindset, the situations have to be handled “your way”; allow God to order your steps, and then walk in them. Know in your heart He loves you and longs to gather you in His arms. His ways are perfect and flawless. He will be your defender; you will always find a safe haven in Him.

God is so good in our lives. He gives us everything we need, and more than we could ask for. But it does not stop there. We have to trust Him in our life. He teaches us to know what is the best for us so we can live a healthy, godly lifestyle. He knows what is the best for us. Let us open our hearts to Him everyday, believing in His promises, keeping His commands, setting our eyes into worship. Let’s continue to have this lifestyle. And as we experience His love in our life, we are moving into higher heights, into a new level of understanding, having a renewed mind and pure heart before God. Let’s commit ourselves to God.

 

God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand!

God will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand! We need to have a battle plan from God to be victorious over the battles we face during this lifetime. Today I want to focus on the temptations we all face each day. It is giving into those temptations that end up putting us in the battles we eventually have to fight. So it is key to understand how to overcome the initial temptations, thus avoid having to spend so much of our valuable life fighting battles in our personal life which keep us from being the productive servants God has raised us up to be. Have a wonderful day in the presence of the Lord. Love you all.

“The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure.” ~1 Corinthians 10:13

Hear this point clearly. If Satan can’t get your soul, his next goal is to at least keep you so busy fighting personal battles. The more time you spend fighting personal battles, the less time you have to serve God. That is why overcoming temptation is so important.

The Bible clearly teaches us that evil comes from our heart. The actual progression is that it starts in our heart, moves to our mind, and is manifested in our actions. That is why “creating a clean heart” is so important. That is why it is important to stay in that deep, intimate, daily contact with the Lord so that what flows from our heart is pure and clean…since that is what dictates our actions.

Temptations flow from the sin and evil still in our heart, and then goes into our mind. It is in our mind that the temptation finds fertile ground to grow. That is why is it so important to “renew our mind”, how important what we put into our mind on a daily basis is. It is in our mind that temptation grows and ultimately manifests itself in our actual conduct.

This scripture is one of God’s special promises. God tells us that He will always provide us a path of escape. That path of escape occurs while the temptation is still in our mind. THAT IS THE TIME WE MUST OVERCOME TEMPTATION. Once we allow it to live in our mind, the die is cast and will ultimately result in our rebellious behavior.

There is not one person reading this that can say God didn’t give you a path of escape. The problem is, you chose to ignore it. Many times, He gives us many chances to escape, but we choose to keep going right through the stop sign, right through the red light, right through the barriers….and then wonder how we could have gotten into such a mess.

To overcome temptation, you MUST use the path of escape God gives you while that temptation is still in your mind. Once you decide not to use that path of escape, it is only a matter of time before that temptation actually results in rebellious conduct.

I love you and care about you. I know so many of you are fighting the battles of life each day.

You are in very difficult situations. My goal is not only to help you overcome those difficult situations, but help you to avoid getting yourself in those circumstances in the future. Jesus loves you so much. Having walked this earth, He understands your weaknesses and has promised to help you to avoid the temptations of this life.

Your intimate daily contact with Him strengthens you, and your love and desire to live for Him give you the motivation to take that path of escape He offers and overcome temptation. You can count on my prayers, that you recognize each day the temptations this life offers and use the tools God has given you to live victoriously.

Think of the incredible peace, joy, and abundance this life can be when we are living for Him, serving Him, and not constantly wrapped up in those personal battles. May you be committed today to take that path of escape he offers the next time you face temptation, and live in the victory Christ won on Calvary!

“Why Did This Happen, God?”

We often find there are things in life that happen which we JUST don’t understand. I think we can all say we have had our share of circumstances where we could question God on things that have happened in our lives or around us. We could say, “Why did this happen, God?” With all our studying of the scriptures and what we believe the Bible teaches, we still have times where things that have happened just don’t make sense; deaths, illnesses, accidents, relationship breakdowns, and the list goes on. We believe we know why some of these happen, but there are other areas where we just draw a blank. No matter how diligently we study the Word and seek God for answers, we often come up blank or assume the WORST, that God has failed us. So, if you have any area in your life that just makes no sense, a “Why, God?” area, please leave it alone. God in His time will give you the answer even if it is on the other side after your life on earth ends. Do not let the incomprehensible get in the way of your love walk with Jesus!

” For now I see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known”. – 1 Corinthians 13:12

Without getting into ALL the theological debates of our often futile attempts to explain these things, I would like to personally share how I recommend dealing with these “Why, God?” areas in our lives. I feel this will HELP and ENCOURAGE some of you, and prayerfully, BRING SOME OF YOU OUT OF A BACK-SLIDDEN STATE.

How I have dealt with this is so basic and practical, yet it has helped me stay in love with my LORD; therefore, I ask you to NOT take this answer too lightly. In spite of my knowledge of the Word of God and thinking I know what the Bible answer is for a given situation, I have learned to acknowledge that God is all-knowing and I am not. I see through a spiritual glass or mirror (Thank God, I see!), but ever so darkly, dimly. Now, in ALL my knowing, I ONLY know in PART a fragment of the Truth. But, Praise God, the day is coming when I will get to the other side and I will see clearly, knowing even as I am known! (1 Corinthians 13:12)

I pray that today that you do not get angry or bitter with God concerning things that happen in your life or around you; even if, because of your theological beliefs, you’re convinced that you are SO RIGHT and God is so wrong. Let me submit for your consideration that your THEOLOGY IS WRONG if it justifies your anger or bitterness with God. It may not be until you get to the other side that you will fully understand how or why something has happened. But when that day comes, whether in this lifetime or on the other side, you will surely see that God was ALWAYS just. All things will then make sense and you will see that all anger and bitterness toward God was unfounded. You will then wonder how you could have been so foolish or blind as to think that being angry or bitter with God was appropriate.

 

Heavenly Father, There are things that have happened in our lives, around us, and in this world that have made us angry or bitter with You. I ask You to forgive us for the anger or bitterness. I ask You to help us trust You enough to leave the incomprehensible happenings alone and for You to answer in Your time, even if that time is after we leave this world to be with you in Eternity. Let us ever remember that You see everything dimly and that we know only in part. Thank You, that someday all of this will make sense and we will see that You, never for a moment, stopped being a loving God. In Jesus’ Name, Amen!

Let Not Your Heart Be Troubled!

You and I have this promise in hard times. God will not let our hardships destroy us. Though they may be tragic in and of themselves, He will use them for our good. You and I cast our worries on God because it’s His responsibility to give us what we need. As we trust him with the bigger picture of our lives, the weight is lifted and peace washes over our anxieties. 

 

Nothing makes us want to live safe in God’s love and protection than when we are plagued by fear and anxiety. The million dollar question is.. How do we get to a safe place in God where we run free and leave our anxious cares with Him? We follow the advice of Peter in 1 Peter 5:7. Even the most mature Christians today are apt to labor under the burden of anxious and excessive care such as personal concerns, family woes, cares for the present, cares for the future, cares for themselves, for others, and for the church. Peter saw this anxious care as a heavy burden and he gave us some wise counsel for dealing with it. Isn’t that amazing? You and I don’t have to carry the burden of our worries. God is willing to release us from our cares, and take our concerns upon Himself.

 

Let me be honest. It’s easy to cast our cares upon God. The hard part is not taking them back. When it appears to us that God is not paying attention to our needs, worry returns and we feel the need to do something about it. I assume by casting our situation on God and asking him to carry the burden means our troubles would go away. What was the point of giving our burden to God in the first place if he wasn’t going to make it all go away? You may wonder.

 

The point is this. When you and I cast our cares on God we are acknowledging and recognizing that it’s His responsibility to care for us not ours. At first the weight is lifted until God doesn’t respond to our need like we think He should. Then, we are quick to retrieve the burden. We forget that God is painting on a large canvas. He sees the big picture. We only see what’s happening to us at the moment. God may allow events to come into our lives—good things and bad things; things that make sense and things that don’t. Every one of these incidents serves as part of his plan for our lives. What you and I may think is harmful and destructive God is using for our good—to bring us to completion in godly conduct and character. He will allow nothing to happen to us that isn’t first filtered through his screen of protection. In other words, what won’t destroy us God uses to better us. Ultimate harm would be if God left us in the state we are in.

Difficult Times!

And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.~~ Romans 8:28

Perhaps, nowhere in Scripture is this better illustrated than in the experiences of Joseph. Despised, rejected and abandoned by his family, falsely accused and imprisoned by his employer, forgotten by others and yet throughout all this we read `and the Lord was with Joseph`. Finally at the end of the story when Joseph, as ruler in Egypt under Pharaoh, reveals himself to his brothers and forgives them for how they had treated him declares `But don`t be upset, and don`t be angry with yourselves for selling me to this place. It was God who sent me here ahead of you to preserve your lives` (Genesis 45:5). There are many other notable examples of those whose faith was severely tested, in some cases almost to the point of death. Paul, for instance, gives a whole catalog of his experiences which must have tested his faith (2 Corinthians 11:16-33) and yet he is able to say elsewhere `We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed and broken` (2 Corinthians 4:8). Jesus didn’t promise us an easy road- just the opposite in fact (Matthew 24:9 -12) but He did promise never to leave us. In these days He is looking for those whose faith is strong enough to enable them to face the `lions` as Daniel did and to walk through the `fiery furnace` like Shadrach and his friends. How`s your faith today?

Let`s take heart from the words we read in 1 Peter 1:6-7. `So be truly glad! There is wonderful joy ahead, even though it is necessary for you to endure many trials for a while. These trials are only to test your faith, to show that it is strong and pure. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold – and your faith is far more precious to God than mere gold. So if your faith remains strong after being tried by fiery trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world.

Consider the lilies….

Matthew 6:28–29
So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.

You may think that you must work very hard to provide for yourself and get ahead in life. But God wants you to consider the lilies of the field—they do nothing. They toil not, spin not and struggle not. Yet, they grow and are clothed by God while simply resting and basking in the sunshine of God’s love! And when God clothes them, they look even more glorious than King Solomon, the richest king who ever lived.

Like the lilies of the field, God wants you to let Him take care of providing for your material needs, instead of you striving to do it yourself. When you let go and let Him, you will see Him bless you supernaturally, abundantly and generously!

God was faithful. God can do for you what He did for all those in the Bible. Just believe that if God clothes the lilies and grass of the field, which are here today and gone tomorrow, how much more will He clothe you, His eternal and precious child, with beauty and favor! All He asks is that you cease from your striving, allow Him to take over and just flow with Him!

Nothing too hard….

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“I am the Lord, the God of all mankind. Is anything too hard for Me?” Jeremiah 32:27

We often have a difficult time seeing how all the pieces of God’s plan fit together. He leads us down a path and we fail to see the purpose – especially when the enemy begins to attack. We want to fight back, but God says to patiently trust Him and pray. We want to determine a solution and solve the problem, but God says to love Him with all our heart and share His love with others.

The times in which we are most tested and pressed down ought to be the times of greatest growth and closeness with our Heavenly Father. When it seems we have no where else to turn, we ought to rejoice and trust Him even more! Let’s put our life firmly in His Hands and submit to His guidance – even when we may not see where we are going or how we will get there. Let’s trust His ways and always remember…for God, there is NOTHING too hard!

Be an Eagle!

When you are sitting in the storm, when you have been praying and feeling as though your prayers are hitting the ceiling, don’t give up! I can’t stress this enough! DO NOT GIVE UP! God has a way of teaching us things we need to learn during that storms and as hard as it may be to endure the storm, it is the faith we have, the praise we give, the trust in God which we rely on that helps to get us through that storm and I can promise you – that storm will end and if you continue to endure as God would have you endure it, you are becoming more than a conqueror. You become stronger through Christ who strengthens us. We are weak but He is strong. Then the next time that storm rolls around you now are stronger, wiser and more able to see that you are more than a conqueror; so much more than the last time which helps you, but it also makes God proud and smile at His child to see how much you grow each time a storm comes around. Stand strong and believe in yourself and rely on God and DON’T GIVE UP!!! It is called perseverance! When all other animals run and hide in the storm remember the eagle who spreads its wings and waits for the storm winds to come and he is lifted and he soars. We should be like eagles and soar knowing that God will be carrying us.

When storms come we know some animals are sensitive to this, such as chickens who run for the hen house, dogs run for cover, but EAGLES!!!!…. Eagles spread their wings and wait for the approaching storms with their wings spread and once the storm arrives they are lifted up high and soar! Eagles are what we should be. Knowing that the winds of the storm that lift the eagles are really our faith and our belief and trust in God and that we should always rely on him during the storms to take care of us… you know what I mean? I want to be an EAGLE! Don’t you?

Dare to dream bigger!

I heard a story about a little frog that was born at the bottom of a well. Just a small circular well like you might see on a farm. This frog and his family that lived down there and they were so happy, so content to swim and splash in the water all day long. He thought, “Life is good. We’ve got all the water in the world to ourselves.” As he got a little older, he noticed the light at the top of the well and wondered what was up there. One day, very carefully, he climbed up the side of the well. With great caution he looked over the edge and the first thing he saw was a pond. He couldn’t believe it. It was thousands of times more water than what he and his family had. He jumped out of the well and started hopping until he came to a lake. He stood there in amazement. He had no words. He hopped a little more and came to the ocean and as far as he could see was water. He began to realize how limited his vision had been. He thought he had it all but all he really had was a drop in the bucket compared to what was out there for him to enjoy.

Friend, God’s dream for your life is so much bigger, so much more rewarding than you can imagine. You haven’t even touched the surface of what God has in store. Why don’t you stretch your faith and dare to step outside of your well. In other words, step out of your comfort zone. Let go of the limiting mindsets. Turn away from small thinking and, like that frog, go a little further than you’re used to. Break out of your box and look out over the horizon. Dream bigger, think bigger, see bigger, and embrace the oceans of blessings God has in store for you!