Some Thoughts For The Storm

I was thinking about how we deal with difficult circumstances. Here is some Godly perspective

that may help.

Philippians 4:12-13:

I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him (Christ) who gives me strength.

Here are some key points we can derive from the above passage:

• Learning the secret of being content in any situation. 
  (The possibility of perpetual contentment in every circumstance of life.)

• I can do everything through Christ (The one who provides the strength for that contentment.)

• Christ will give me strength  (The one who supplies us with supernatural strength to endure)

Conclusion:  

Christ Gives me the strength to do everything through Him and be content in every situation whether favorable or not.

What does it mean to do everything through Him:

He gives us the passion for serving God, family and ministry.

He gives us the desire to live as a fully devoted follower

He gives us the goals and dreams and gifts to serve Him with.

He also gives us the strength and endurance to fulfill what God has called us to do..

Questions:

Are you content with your situation in life?

Challenge - what necessary changes do I need to make?

Identify a situation you are going through right now that is weighing heavy on you?

Ask/pray for God to enter into your circumstances

Also - Ask yourself  these Questions:

What God is trying to do in my particular circumstance?

Is He trying to get my attention so I focus on Him?

Is He pointing out some sin in my life?

Is God trying to teach me something?

There are many circumstances in life that we will have absolutely no control over. But what we can control is our responses to those circumstances. This is where I get in trouble. I have the tendency to respond to my circumstances with limited perspective and in my own strength causing me to make matters worse. I tend lose the bigger picture and want to carry the burden myself allowing those burdens to weigh heavy on me and in turn causing others to suffer along with me. As a follower of Jesus I should trust God even when life seems out of control. The reason is this: God is at work in every circumstance for our good and for His Glory.

Read the verses below to see what God is up to.

Philippians 1:6:

being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion 

until the day of Christ Jesus.

Philippians 2:13:

for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.

The lessons that God is trying to teach us through our circumstances will helps build patient endurance and character. God will allow difficulties to come into our lives, in order to train us to respond to Him in faith, and trust in His promises.

Romans 5:1-5: 

Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.

James 1:2-5: 

Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.

What will help us in our time of need is to know what God’s promises are. How can we trust in God’s promises if we don’t know what they are. This is true for all of God's principles. We must take the time to learn how life is meant to be lived as a follower of Jesus. If we truly desire to learn we will discover that followers of Jesus live by faith and trust in God. We will discover that God desires our obedience when it comes to living a life set apart to Him. When we are obedient to God, in essence, we are taking God's principles that are written in the Bible and applying them to our lives. Our obedience shows love for God and becomes a blessing to us as well.

Luke 11:28:
He replied, "Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it.

John 14:23:  
Jesus replied, "If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, 

and we will come to him and make our home with him.

1 John 5:3:
This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome

With the help of the Holy Spirit we can begin to receive and apply God’s teaching. 

John 14:26 NIV:
But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.

In retrospect, when we examine the different stages of our lives and the difficulties we have experienced, we can see that there were things we really needed to learn. Even though our circumstances were not at all pleasant at the time, they were well worth going through because we were still at a stage of spiritual and emotional maturity that needed to be developed. It is better to have gone through a difficult circumstance and to have learned from it, than continue on a path of self destruction.  As followers of Jesus we need to not allow our circumstances to derail our faith and trust in God. Instead we need to look for the lessons He is trying to teach us and take them to heart.

Let’s allow God to produce an enduring faith and character in each of us .  Let’s trust God to be the true Lord of our lives.

This  passage of scripture helps me when I am struggling :

2 Corinthians 4:16-18 NIV:
Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. 

Just Sayin………………….Dave

What God Really Wants

What does God really want from you? Does He want your money, your acts of service? 

Do you believe you can be right with God by playing Church for a couple of hours a week?

I think that God really desires a personal relationship with His people. Why else would He

provide a way for us to become part of His family. The Bible says that God loves us so much that 

He was willing to sacrifice His own Son Jesus to prove it. (Read - John 3:16). 

What God desires from us has more to do with relationship than with work. Remember we can’t earn our salvation. We can’t make God love us anymore than He already does. God’s love for us is not based on how good we are or how much we can do for His kingdom. If that were so, our lives would hang in the balance on how well our accomplishments tipped that balance in favor of our good works. Since no one is 
righteous due to our sin nature, we have to see life for God with a whole new set of eyes.  Remember, God does not love anyone more than anyone else for the amount of time, service or money they give to the Church. God really desires our worship, our praise, our moments of contemplation, our prayers, our hopes and our dreams. 

The Bible also tells us that Worship to God is important and needs  to be in spirit and in truth. God desires that our lives reflect that kind Worship by us living according to His Word. God tells us that love is the most important aspect of life and that we are to love in accordance with the depth of love and grace He has shown us. We should never forget to love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength and to love our neighbor with the same weight we love ourselves. (Read - Mark 12:29-31) 

This kind love is what God seeks in His children. No matter how successful you are according to the world's idea of success, success in God’s eyes has more to do with great faith by those who walk with Him according to His ways. Just look at the lives of Noah, Abraham and David to name a few. What is said about these men has more to do with their faith and relationship with God than with their works.  

An example from the Bible that highlights this idea of Relationship VS Works is this passage from Luke which describes how Mary and Martha chose to spend their time while Jesus came for a visit.

Luke 10:38-42 NIV :

As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet listening to what he said.  But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, "Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!"   "Martha, Martha," the Lord answered, "you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed.  Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her."

What can we learn From Martha an Mary:

• We need to get our priorities in order. (We need to put God first in our lives)

 Matthew 6:33    (Develop a need for God and daily walk in accordance to His Word)

"But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well"

Matthew 16:24-26 NIV    (Live a God centered life, maintain an eternal perspective)

Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it.  What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?

Mark 1:35 NIV    (Pray continuously)

Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed. (This is an example of Jesus withdrawing from ministry to spend time with God)

Psalm 119:2 NIV  (Be obedient to God, retain the spirit of His Word and principles, be sure to place them firmly in your heart) Blessed are they who keep his statutes and seek him with all their heart.

Luke 11:9 NIV  (Petition God, seek His will in all areas of your life)
"So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.

 

• We should not worry about things we can’t control.

 Matthew 6:25   (God is our real provider)

"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear.  Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?

 Matthew 6:34   (Cast your worries and fears into the hands of God)

Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Philippians 4:6-7 NIV   (God is our true peace)

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

• We should not get caught up in “worldly things” which distract us from spending time with God.   (If we don’t spend time with God how will we know what He wants us to do. We may get      caught up in our own vision for our lives and even ministry and ignore God’s will if we get too distracted with what we want to do.)

Ephesians 5:15-17 NIV    (Discern the will of God in order to live wisely)

Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise,  making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.  Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is.

Romans 12:2 NIV  (Develop an eternal perspective through a daily emphasis on spiritual disciplines) Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

• Most of all we need to take time to sit at the feet of Jesus. 

      (There are benefits to having a daily devotion time with God )

        What a real relationship with Jesus should be comprised of:

John 4:23-24 NIV   (Developing a life of worship)

Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are  the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth."

John 6:35 NIV  (More of Jesus – He will fill that ultimate desire to be fulfilled)

Then Jesus declared, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.

John 7:37-38 NIV  (Needing God and living by faith – Those who believe receive The Holy Spirit )

"If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink.  Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him."

John 8:31-32 NIV  (Learning God’s Word - God’s truth - which teaches us about real freedom)

 Jesus said, "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples.  Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."

John 10:27-28 NIV   (Devotion –  to a Savior - who protects and provides for His followers)

My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.  I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand.

John 14:23 NIV  (Obedience - to God – who loves those who walk in accordance to His teaching)

Jesus replied, "If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.

John 15:5 NIV  (Remaining in Christ – doing all things for His Glory, bearing fruit for His kingdom) "I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.

So Let’s not forget to spend time with God. Let’s put our focus on our relationship with Him

in order to live abundantly.

Gifts believers have received from God through our saving relationship with Him:

• Peace with God:   
  
  Because we are  no longer enemies of God, our peace with God is                                         permanent and cannot be undone. God made this promise to believers.

• Access to God:   
  
  Because of what Jesus did on the cross, we are now in a right relationship with Him.                   
  We can stand before Him and will listen to our prayers and requests

• Hope which is certain: 
  Our salvation is guaranteed

• Salvation (Present): 
  deliverance from bondage to sin and condemnation.

• Glorification (Future):   
  
  When our salvation is complete the state of our bodies change from perishable                         
  to imperishable, from mortal to immortal. (Death has been swallowed up in victory)                                            

• Rejoicing in our suffering:  
  
   Suffering has a purpose, is constructive and develops Christ like                                                         character in us.

• The Holy Spirit:   
  Our deposit and guarantee that we are saved. It is God’s seal of ownership.

As followers of Jesus we have already gotten some great gifts. And we must remember that

they are gifts and we did not earn them. And this is what is so amazing about God’s love
and God’s grace.

Romans 5:8 NIV  (God’s unbelievable love)

 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

So what does God want?  Lets start by sitting at the feet of Jesus.

Just Sayin…………………Dave

A Great Word

Here is a word you will come across while reading and studying the Bible. This word has a great deal of significance for you and I as followers of Jesus. The word is “Justified or Justification”.

Justification:

·        is the legal act whereby God declares the sinner "not guilty" and imputes to them the righteousness of Christ. This places the believing sinner in a right relationship with God. This is not a subjective reality, but an objective 
positional reality.

·        being pronounced or made righteous; the act of God, through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, bringing about reconciliation between God and human beings.

·        To be declared free from the penalty of sin.

The Central doctrine of Christianity:

·        Justification by God’s grace through faith in Jesus Christ.

Romans 5:1 NIV

Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

·        Justification is God’s answer to the most important of all human 
         questions: How can we be right with God?

Charles R. Swindoll  describes it this way:

Justification “does not simply mean ‘just as if I’d never sinned.’ That does not go far enough! Neither does it mean that God makes me righteous so that I never sin again. It means to be declared righteous. Justification is God’s merciful act, whereby He declares righteous the believing sinner while he is still in his sinning state. He sees us in our need, wallowing around  in the swamp of our sin.  He sees us looking to Jesus Christ and trusting Him completely by faith, to cleanse us from our sin. And though we come to Him with all of our needs and in all of our darkness, God says to us ‘Declared righteous! Forgiven! Pardoned!”

How it all works:

·        We are all under God’s wrath because of our sin. 

·        Because God is Holy His wrath had to be appeased (Propitiation: the act 

         of atoning for sin or wrongdoing).

·        We must become right with God or perish eternally.

·        God had a plan to save us from His wrath. 

·        Jesus would take the sin upon himself and substitute His life for ours.

·        Jesus willingly fulfills God’s plan and offers himself as the atoning 

         sacrifice on the cross. 

·        God accepts Jesus’ atoning death on our behalf.

·        Through our faith and God’s Grace (unmerited favor) we are saved. 

·        Jesus had redeemed us from our sin, setting us free from our bondage

               by His death. (Redemption: to purchase and set free by paying a price, to 

              free someone from bondage )

·        God has paid the price for our sin through Christ so that our salvation  

          would be free.

·        There is nothing we can do to earn this salvation. It is a free gift from 

          God.

We must understand that faith is the channel by which justification becomes ours.

·        Faith is not a good work. Faith is God’s gift.

Ephesians 2:8-9 NIV

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.

In Short:

·        Propitiation:

 describes what Jesus’ death accomplished in relationship to God: Jesus’ sacrifice satisfied God’s just wrath against sin.

·        Justification:

      describes what God does for us legally on the basis of Jesus’  

           propitiation: He declares us righteous. We are now in a right 

           relationship with God even though we are still sinners.

·        Redemption:

          describes what Jesus, our Savior does for us personally: He redeems 

          us from sin, setting us free from bondage by His death on the cross. 

          There is nothing we can do to earn this.

This is really “Good News”!  A Free Gift from God!  Declared Not Guilty!

Justified!

Just Sayin…………………..Dave

Do What It Says

Bible study is a great way for us to grow in our faith and love for Jesus. Studying the Bible which goes beyond just reading it, will challenge us to make important changes in our life. This is because God's Word is living and active, and when we connect with the source of all truth, the Holy Spirit motivates us to live according to God's pleasing and perfect will. We then become accountable to God through the challenge of living in obedience to His commands and exhortations.

These passages explain:

Hebrews 4:12-13 New Living Translation 

 For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God. Everything is naked and exposed before his eyes, and he is the one to whom we are accountable.

Romans 12:1-2 New International Version 1984 

Living Sacrifices
Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

Here is the situation before I began to Study God's Word and really apply it: 

I struggled with focusing on the obstacles in my life. I kept seeing each difficult circumstance like trying to climb a rocky mountain in my bare feet with no water nor any direction to get to the summit. I focused on the negative in everything, and because of this, I rarely dealt  with the issues of sin in my life that caused me to stumble. Even after my relationship with God became more of a priority in my daily life, I failed to glorify Him because I put God in a box and forgot that nothing is impossible for God. Jesus reminds me however:

Luke 18:27 New International Version 1984 

Jesus replied, “What is impossible with men is possible with God.”

I also got to the point where I couldn’t make decisions because of a fear and a lack of trust in God. 

But when I began to dig deeper into the Bible and actually studied and applied God's principles taking them to heart according to the way the the Holy Spirit was teaching me, I found out that I could trust God. I saw how God kept His promises to His people time and time again. I realized that He was also keeping His promises to me as well. At that point I knew could trust Him with every decision I needed to make, every trial I had to face, and most of all, my eternity. When we are burdened,  when we have to make tough decisions, when we a hurting, sick, tired, tempted, and scared, God is right there with us. Followers of Jesus know through the reading of God's Word that He will never abandon us nor forsake us. 

Because I took a step toward God, because I had to operate on faith and trust in God to direct my life, I am in a much better place to deal with the obstacles that confront me.  In fact, now I have a different world view and direction in my life that helps me avoid the things that used to steer me away from God.  In my life God’s Word has become more powerful and more alive and continues to resonate in my heart and mind daily.

This verse below helps me realize that trusting in God is the only way to stay connected to His will.

Proverbs 3:5-6 New International Version 1984 

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.

This verse is my reminder that God is faithful in keeping His promises:

Hebrews 10:23 New International Version 1984 

Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.

So, because I decided to Study God's Word I learned that God is faithful and keeps His promises. When I trust Him, He gives me the strength to make difficult but important changes in my life. One of the hardest things to do is to  avoid conforming to the pattern of this world. Yet with God’s help I can live the abundant life, His pattern, that He desires for me.

I tell you this, it is good to know God’s Word and to be filled with the Holy Spirit, especially for those times when we are seeking wisdom, comfort, direction, discernment and supernatural strength. When God’s Word is written on our hearts and minds we begin to filter life through His eyes and gain an eternal perspective.  So when difficult circumstances arise so does opportunities to trust God, grow in out faith, and allow the Holy Spirit to continue to transform us from the inside out. Don't just read your Bible, Study it and do what it says.

James 1:22New Living Translation 
But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves.

Just Sayin…………………..Dave