God Sees, God Knows, God Cares

Trying to control your own life is exhausting. With our mouths, we say that we trust God, but in reality, we get overwhelmed trying to fix and control things ourselves. Our trust in God becomes nothing but a statement we feel we should say rather than what we are actually living out. Distrust settles in. Self-reliance becomes our go-to. And then we wonder why we feel more and more exhausted.

If you can relate to these confessions, there are specific examples of this in 2 Chronicles14 and 15, God had given Asa rest on every side because of his dependence on the Kord. God even gave Asa victory in the face of a massive army. Yet in Chapter 16, when king Asa finds himself in a border conflict with Ki;g Baasha of Israel, Ase has a sudden and surprising shift in behavior.

Instead of crying out to God as he has before, Asa immediately turns to his own means of addressing the situation, misusing the treasures of the temple and placing his hope in an unwise military alliance. The ultimate result? Unrest for Asa and his people. This King, whose faith meant victory in the past, invited battles into his future because he refuses to trust God in the present. Just like Asa, our past declaration of faith are no guarantee that we will rely on God in the future.

When life gets hard, we can sometimes wonder if God is blind to all we’re facing. But there’s a reminder tucked into the words the prophet Hanani speaks in verse 9: “For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to Him.”

We serve a God who sees. He is continually aware of every detail of our lives. And not only is God aware, but He’s also looking to strengthen individuals who are willing to wholeheartedly place their trust in Him.

Are there areas where we’re inviting not only exhaustion but possibly destruction because we’re refusing to rely on God? Do our frantic and controlling actions fail to match our faith-filled declarations? Let’s not just declare we have faith. Let’s live our load that we believe God is good, faithful and trustworthy.

He sees, He knows, He cares. And we an rest in that in that today.

2 Chronicles 16: 1-9

How Can I Go Deeper With God?

One of the great joys is to find Christians who are longing for a deeper and more meaningful Christian life. We sense that the answer is found with God and that the Bible should be able to tell us how to have a deeper relationship with God. This occurs because the Holy Spirit has placed that passion within every Christian to know God and grow spiritually. Sadly, many find their church to be primarily a social gathering, and the preaching shallow or empty. Therefore. How does a Christian dive deeper into spiritual things?

Preparing For A Deeper Relationship With God

The first step is to go deeper in your spiritual life and draw close to God is to confess all known sins to God in prayer. David did this in Psalms 51;4. There we read that he confessed his sin to God and God alone. The scriptures teach that confession of our sins restores a Christian’s relationship with God.

I acknowledge my sin to you, and my iniquity I did not hide; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord” and you forgave the guilt of my sin. Selah.

Psalm 32:5

Confession removes guilt if we believe His promises in Psalm 103, Micah 7: 18-19, 1 John.

Who is a God like you, who pardons iniquity and pleases over the rebellious act of the remnant of His possession? He does not retain His anger forever. Because He delights in unchanging love. He will again have compassion on us; He will tread out iniquities underfoot. Yes, you will cast all their sins into the depth of the sea.

Micah 7:18-19

The first step of confession repairs our sun-damaged relationship with God and prepare us for the second step.

The second step to a deeper relationship with God is to pursue Holiness by being obedient to God’s commands. This is, we seek to please Him. (Ephesians 5:10, Hebrews 11:5-6) His commands reveal His will for us. 1 Peter 1:14-16 reveals the God wants us to be holy as He is holy. In 2 Timothy 2:22, He urges us to flee sin. The Old and New Testaments provide us with commands, principles, and encouragement as to how God wants us to live. Hebrews 12:4-11 teaches us that God will discipline us when we are disobedient. His discipline is designed to motivate us to be holy. He does this because He loves us.

But God has not left us alone in our fight with sin. The Holy Spirit will help us if we followed step 1. Confession not only restores our relationship with God, but it enables the Holy Spirit to fill us or empower us moment – by -moment so that we can live a holy life and know our God deeper. The momentary filling of the Spirit is being “filled with the Spirit’ and the repeated filling of the Spirit moment after moment (Ephesians 5:17-18) is called walking in the Spirit. (Galatians 5:16)

“How to be filled with the Spirit,” “What are the signs that a person is filled with the Holy Spirit? And “Holy Spirit gives us victory over sin.”

When we are walking in the spirit, we will be having greater victory over sin, and Christ’s promise in John 14:21 will be fulfilled x. In that verse, Jesus tells us that our sins hinder us from knowing Him more. Or stated positively, obedience helps us understand the deeper truths of Christ.

He who has my commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me, and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will disclose Myself to him.

John 14:21

Notice Christ’s promise that if we want to know God more and deeper, we must keep His commands. That is true because then the Holy Spirit has greater freedom to teach spiritual truths.

Not Of This World

In The World But Not Of The World

Have you ever heard of this phrase? It’s said all too often by Christians.

Home. The word stirs deep sentiment, a subtle longing, nostalgia. We can make a house a home, but the essence of home doesn’t require the support of four walls. At any moment, no matter where we are, that at – home feeling can sweep over us. The lingering aroma of a slow roasting turkey, the gentle caress of a wrinkled hand, a baby’s coos – our senses can spark the feeling of home, butt no single word in the English language can adequately capture the depth of its meaning.

What Does It Mean To Live In The World But Not Of The World?

During His final days of ministry on earth, Jesus was confronted with the question of home. The same world He had spoken into existence now screamed against Him. The vey people He had chosen to call His own chose to disown Him, Jesus stood before Pilate and declared, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders. But now my kingdom is from another place.” (John 18:36)

With that powerful proclamation, Jesus turned the world upside down. Since the beginning of His ministry, Jesus had tried to convey to His followers that the time had come – that time which had been foretold by the prophets – the time when God’s children no longer needed to search for refuge in a sin-laden land that was not their own. The King had come. And with Him came the keys to an everlasting Kingdom they could now call home.

Christ’s Kingdom is the homeland for believers – it’s where we belong. In Him and with Him. We may physically reside on planet earth, “But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ.

What Does The Bible Say About ‘In The World But Not Of The World’?

As citizens of Heaven, our view of this temporal world matters. What we think and believe about this foreign land helps us find our proper place in it,

Can Your Thoughts Kill You?

How Powerful Are Your Thoughts?

We all know that hanging around complainers causes people to catch their negativity. Bitching, moaning, and general drama are contagious. Buts that’s apparently not the only problems you can catch if you spend too much time with the eternally pessimistic, you might also pick up a host of health problems too.

Negativity has been conclusively shown to rewire your brain, making it easier to see the bad in the world and harder to see the good. (The opposite is also true – positivity is a muscle that grows with use.) Buy science is just as certain that negative feelings like anger, hostility, and cynicism are also terrible for your body.

Negativity Can Kill You…

Take anger, for example. Being with people who tick you off wastes precious mental energy, but it can also take a toll on the body in the form of high blood pressure, stress, anxiety, headaches and poor circulation. Research also shows that even one five – minute episode of anger is so stressful that it can impair your immune system for more than six hours. All of those health issues can lead to more serious problems such as heart attacks and stroke,

Distrust is also harmful. Research shows that high levels of cynicism later in life… to a greater risk of dementia compared to those who were more trusting. A study that was done a few years ago showed data from nearly 100,000 women and found that the most cynical participants were more likely to have heart disease that least cynical individuals.

One study of Chinese Americans even found that those who believed in Chinese astrology and whose birthdays were considered “inauspicious” actually died earlier than non – Chinese Americans born at the same time taking in account lifestyle factors and other variables. It’s not because there’s anything to astrology. It’s because negativity and pessimism can quite literally hasten your death.

…And negativity is catching

All of which is completely terrifying. But it’s even scarier if you consider just how contagious these feelings can be.

The more time you spend with negative people around you, the more you will become like them. Psychologist Elaine Hatfield has done research. She has found out that we start to imitate facial expressions, posture, and even tone of voice of those we spend a lot of time with. Most importantly, we adopt their mental state as well. Since we’re empathetic people, we feel with them. If they’re in a bad mood, so will we be.

The most reasonable conclusion to reach from all this science is that it’s past time to ditch the more negative people in your life. Or if you’re pretty much stuck with some of them, take pre-conscious measures to neutralize their negativity and learn to channel your own anger in a more healthful way. Finally, if you have to complain together, opt for the only kind of complaining that’s actually good for you.

Plan Of Salvation:

What Do You Understand It Takes For A Person To Go To Heaven?

Let’s consider how the Bible answers this Question. It’s a matter of Faith.

F is For FORGIVENESS. We cannot have eternal life without God’s Forgiveness.

A is for AVAILABLE. Forgiveness is available.

I is for IMPOSSIBLE. It is impossible for God to allow sin into Heaven. Because of who He is: God is loving and just. His judgment is against sin. Because of who we are: Every person is a sinner.

But how can a sinful person enter heaven, when God allows no sin?

H is for HEAVEN. Heaven is eternal life. Here. Hereafter.

T is for TURN. Turn means to repent. Turn From something: sin and self. Turn to someone: true Christ only.

How can a person have forgiveness, heaven and eternal life, and Jesus as a personal Savior and Lord? By trusting in Christ and asking Him for forgiveness. Take the step of faith described by another meaning Faith: Forsaking All I Trust Him.

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, I know I am a sinner and have displeased you in many ways. I believe You died for my sin and only through faith in Your death and resurrection can I be forgiven. I want to turn from my sin and ask You to come into my life as my Savior and Lord. From this day on. I will follow You by living a life that pleases You. Thank You, Lord Jesus for saving me. Amen.

After you have received Jesus Christ into your life, tell a Christian friend about this important decision you have made. Follow Christ in believer’s baptism and church membership. Grow in your faith and enjoy new friends in Christ by becoming part of His church. There, you’ll find others who will love and support you.

Reference Scriptures:

  • Ephesians 1:7
  • John 3:16
  • Matthew 7:21
  • James 2:13
  • Romans 3: 23
  • Luke 13:3
  • Romans 10:9
  • John 10:10
  • John 14:3

May God Bless You And Keep You.

Asking For Wisdom

We often find ourselves walking in circles. Our to-do list is long but we end up accomplishing nothing. Nothing except shifting messes from place to another and getting increasingly frustrated with ourselves. Many days we just plod along, hoping that somehow we will pull ourselves together and move forward. Sadly, our success rate with that approach is pretty low. Just doing more doesn’t help when our mind is scattered. Often when our mind is scattered. Often our biggest foe is our cluttered mind. When we don’t think straight, we can’t solve problems.

We become frustrated at our circumstances, confused about what to do, discouraged and defeated. It’s a downward cycle. Sometimes I think we never think to ask God for help with making little decisions. Maybe we will bring Him in on the big decisions, but the little ones we could figure we could handle ourselves. When this happens we miss out on so much clarity and focus.

If you are having trouble thinking ask God to clear your mind and direct your decision-making. Then trust He is doing just that. Once you ask God, expect it to happen. This expectation is crucial to hear from God. James writes that “if any of you lack wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.” We should expect to receive from God.

If you do start to doubt, then take that thought captive and choose to trust God has spoken. Listening and trusting are important parts of prayer, because prayer is not always to get God to move.

Many times, prayer positions us to hear God’s direction clearer. Is the clutter in your mind making it hard to think clearly? Perhaps one of the problems is that you’re trying to figure things out on your own. We’ve been given the mind of Christ and we are offered the wisdom of God. So let’s ask and receive it.