Faith Not Fear

BIGGER THAN YOUR FEARS

"A righteous man will be remembered forever. He will have no fear of bad news; his heart is steadfast, trusting in the LORD. His heart is secure, he will have No Fear."
PSALM 112: 6 –8

Who of us hasn't spent nights tossing and turning?

Nights when we look at the clock, and it barely moves. We lie there mulling over situations and issues, most of which we can do nothing about —but fearful of the outcome.

In John 14: 1, Jesus says, "Trust in God; trust also in me."

The answer to fear —is FAITH!

When I'm fearful for a loved one or something that's coming up in my life, I'm comforted and calmed as I meditate on who God is.

It helps me plant my faith in someone bigger than my fears.

The next time fear overwhelms you, think about who God is.

Look for a Scripture verse that underscores God's characteristics.

Then consider your situation in light of who He is.

Trust in God.

He will NEVER fail you, leave you, or forsake you.

You can count on Him!

From "Fixing My Eyes on Jesus" by Anne Graham Lotz

Stay Strong!

In Memory of D.L...
Lord, may eternal rest be granted to him and perpetual light shine upon him. Through your mercy Lord may he rest in peace in the love and promise of your holy Kingdom for all of eternity.
Amen.

Why??

OUR OWN WORST ENEMY

"He has not despised or disdained the suffering of the afflicted one; he has not hidden his face from him but has listened to his cry for help."
PSALM 22: 24

"We're often our own worst enemy when it comes to suffering.

Headaches and stress can be made worse by bitterness or anger.

We can be injured in a car accident by choosing to disobey a signal or a law of the road.

So it's a legitimate response to examine ourselves before God to determine if we're suffering because of personal sin.

Or because of someone else's sin.

Yet your suffering may be no one's fault.

John 9: 1–3 describes a situation when Jesus'disciples were sure the man's handicap was someone's fault.

Jesus said, "Neither this man nor his parents sinned, …but this happened so the work of God might be displayed in his life"(v. 3).

God's grace and power seem to reach their peak when we're at our weakest.

You can glory in your weakness and rejoice in your suffering because it gives God an opportunity to display His work in your life."

Dirt on Our Hands

He poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples'feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.
JOHN 13: 5

In the midst of the suffocating nightmare of losing a child, a friend of mine desired that God would be glorified.

She asked me to pray for her loving patience and thoughtful sensitivity.

She was asking me to pray for more of Jesus' dirt on her hands!

Just what is His dirt on our hands?

It's serving others when you need to be served.

Praying for others when you need to be prayed for.

Getting our hands "dirty"with more of Jesus in your life is illustrated wonderfully by Jesus'example on the night He was betrayed, just before His crucifixion.

Jesus took His disciples to an upstairs room, where the Bible says He served them!

Their "dirt" was on His hands.

When you're overwhelmed with problems and pain, get involved in the needs of others.

Drop to your knees and cry out to God:

"Give me more of Your dirt on my hands!"

From " Fixing My Eyes on Jesus " by Anne Graham Lotz

Stay Strong!

Ask; and You Will Receive

I have always taken great comfort in this passage taken from Jesus' Sermon on the Mount which we are in this week.

It is a Promise and a Gift to all of us who choose to believe and to accept it.

It never fails.

And most importantly it is given ONLY IF we Ask.

Stay Strong!  :)

"I tell you, therefore: do not fret about what to eat, or what to drink, to sustain your life, or about what to wear on your bodies.

Is not life more precious than food, and the body more precious than clothing?

Look at the birds of the air: they do not sow, or reap, or store up provisions in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them.

Are not you more precious than they?

And which of you can by fretting add one minute to his span of life?

And as for clothing, why do you fret?

Observe the lilies of the field!

How they grow!

They do not toil or spin; and yet, I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory did not dress like one of these.

Now if God so clothes the grass in the field, which is there today and is thrown into the furnace tomorrow, will he not much more readily clothe you?"

Jesus shook his head from side to side, slowly.

"What little faith you have!"

"Therefore, have done with fretting, and do not constantly be asking: 'What are we going to eat?' or, 'What are we going to drink?' or, 'What are we going to wear?'

Why, the heathen make all these things an object of eager search; besides, your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.

No, let your first concern be the kingdom of God and what he requires of you; then you will have all these things thrown in for good measure.

In short, have done with fretting about the morrow.

The morrow, surely, can do its own fretting.

One evil a day is burden enough."

"Ask, and you will receive;

Seek, and you will find;

Knock, and you will gain admission.

In fact, only he who asks receives; only he who seeks finds; only he who knocks will gain admission.

Really, will anyone among you give a stone to his son that asks him for bread? or a snake, when he asks for a fish?

Well, then, if you, bad as you are, choose to give useful gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give what is good to those that ask him!"

- Matthew 5:5

"Commit your way to the Lord; trust in Him, and He will act.

He will bring forth your vindication as the light, and your right as the noonday.

Be still before the Lord, and wait patiently for him; fret not yourself over him who prospers in his way, over the man who carries out evil devices!

Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath!

Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil."
  
    - PSALM 37

In Any Need or Circumstance

The Keys of the Kingdom

"I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven."
   --Matthew 16:19a

The keys of the kingdom represent the access you have to the Father through your relationship to Jesus Christ.

With this relationship you have access to everything that is accessible to Christ.

However, this access is not given indiscriminately; Jesus gave the keys to His disciples only after they recognized that He was the Christ.

Only then did they enter into a unique and personal relationship with Him.

Likewise, your relationship with Christ opens the door of heaven for you and gives you direct access to the Father.

Peter discovered that once he had keys to the kingdom, he could go to the Father in every situation.

When he stood to preach before thousands on the day of Pentecost, this simple fisherman opened the door to the kingdom for three thousand people in one day (Acts 2:41).

When he encountered a lame man, he used his access to God and His healing power, and the man was healed (Acts 3:6).

When he was imprisoned, Peter discovered that the keys of the kingdom could open even the most secure prison door (Acts 12:6–10).

If you are a believer in Christ you, too, have keys to the kingdom of heaven.

You do not need an intermediary, for you have an unobstructed access to God.

With that access come all the resources you need to face any circumstance.

When you are afraid, you have access to God's peace that surpasses comprehension (Phil. 4:6)

When you have a broken relationship, you have access to the God of reconciliation (2 Cor. 5:18–21).

When you meet someone in need, you have access to God's provision for that person.

What an incredible privilege to be entrusted with keys to the kingdom of heaven!

From "Experiencing God Day by Day" by Richard Blacksburg

Stay Strong

Do Not Settle - Do Not Give Up

"And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up."
(Galatians 6:9, ESV)

Don't Allow Yourself to Settle

Everyone has God-given dreams and desires.

We all have goals we want to accomplish and situations we are believing will be turned around.

Sometimes, it seems to take longer than we originally thought.

Sometimes, things don't work out the way we planned, and it's easy to lose enthusiasm.

If we're not careful, we'll get discouraged and end up just settling where we are.

But God doesn't want us to settle, He wants to take us higher.

Many times, people miss out on God's best simply because they give up too soon.

They don't realize how close they are to their victory.

Don't let that be you today.

Don't give up just because things seem hard.

You've invested so much, and you never know, just a few more days of believing, another few weeks of doing the right thing, another few months of staying in faith, and you could see that situation turn around.

Remember, God is on your side!

Keep standing and keep believing because you are closer than you think to fulfilling every desire He's placed inside of you!

A Prayer for Today
"Father, today I come to You believing that You are working behind the scenes on my behalf. Give me Your strength to keep moving forward into the place of victory You have for me in Jesus' name. Amen."

- Joel O

Stay Strong!

Lip Service?

Trusting God First

"Thus says the Lord: "Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart departs from the Lord."
- Jeremiah 17:5

The Israelites of Jeremiah's day believed they could trust in their army, the diplomacy of their king, and their foreign alliances to protect them from the powerful Babylonian empire.

They gave lip service to their trust in God, but their actions showed where their faith really was: in their military and financial might.

God spoke through Jeremiah to warn them that He would not bless those who trusted in anyone or anything instead of Him.

Placing your ultimate trust in anything other than God is idolatry.

How can you know if your faith is not truly in God?

Ask yourself these questions:

Where do I turn when I experience a crisis?

When I am hurting or afraid, to whom do I go?

When I have a financial problem, whom do I want to tell first?

Where do I seek comfort when I am under stress or discouraged?

God often uses other people as His method of providing for you.

But be careful lest you inadvertently misdirect your faith toward His provision instead of toward the Provider.

God may meet your need through your friends, but ultimately your trust must be in God.

The Israelites were so stubbornly committed to trusting in human strength instead of God that, even as the Babylonian army approached Jerusalem, they continued to desperately seek for a person, or a nation, or an army that could rescue them.

They realized too late that they had neglected to trust in the only One who could deliver them.

Don't make the same mistake as the Israelites.

Go straight to the Lord when you have a need.

He is the only One who can provide for you!

From "Experiencing God Day by Day" by Richard Blackaby

Stay Strong!