The World vs. God
1John 2:15-17
Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world - the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life - is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.
This is one of the Christian's most chronic problems. We want friendship with the world and friendship with God. We want to love both. But our desires are like those of a husband who wants to love two wives or a wife who wants to love two husbands. A one-to-one relationship is corrupted by multiple loves. And God always insists on a one-to-one relationship with us. Though He has the capacity to love billions - He is God, after all - we do not. If He is not our highest affection, we are idolaters, and He is jealous. He will not be one of our many treasures. He wants all or nothing.
Our pursuit of wisdom will compel us to choose between God and our other loves. As much as we'd like to, our hearts cannot balance both God and anything else. And our pursuit of wisdom will dictate which one is the rational choice. It should be obvious that the One who designed us for Himself would leave us unfulfilled with our other suitors. Only He can satisfy because we were created only for Him.
Do you struggle with dissatisfaction? Perhaps you have invested your affections in something that is ultimately unsatisfying. Forsake it and turn your heart toward God. He alone can fill our hearts.
[An excerpt from "The One Year Walk with God Devotional" by Chris Tiegreen]
Application of God's Word: Ecclesiastes 3:14
Verse: Ecclesiastes 3:14
I know that whatever God does,
It shall be forever.
Nothing can be added to it,
And nothing taken from it.
God does it, that men should fear before Him.
Application:
What is the purpose of life? It is that we should fear the all-powerful God. To fear God means to respect and stand in awe of him because of who he is. Purpose in life starts with whom we know, not what we know or how good we are. It is impossible to fulfill your God-given purpose unless you revere God and give him first place in your life.
This verse applies to all of God's works, but today, consider its application to your life. Do you wonder if God will change His mind about you? That perhaps you have overstepped His mercy? That mabye He will not complete what He's started in your life? Trust Him. The work that He does - including you - will endure forever. He promised it so you would revere Him.
Philippians 1:6
being confident of this very thing that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.
Sermon: Let Me Show You The Door
If the enemy has been attacking you, then you’re probably headed
into a season of greater impact. Shut the devil down God’s way!
Shame Doesn't Get The Final Say
“๐โ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐, ๐กโ๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐ค ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ก๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐กโ๐๐ ๐ ๐คโ๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐ถโ๐๐๐ ๐ก ๐ฝ๐๐ ๐ข๐ ...”
Romans 8:1
Romans 8:1
Not that long ago, my life looked anything but godly. I spent my college years like a walking stereotype: the semi-goody-two-shoes Christian girl who goes to college, joins a sorority, and turns into a party girl.
Then for years after, I lived in shame.
I felt like if anyone knew my mistakes, they would write me off. When I compared my past to others’, I felt like mine was so much worse. And when I slipped back into old habits, I beat myself up for days.
If you’ve ever felt this way, you’re not alone. In all the hiding, and sometimes self-hatred, it’s easy to start believing that God couldn’t redeem any of it. Then it becomes even easier to believe that where you are right now is a direct result of what you’ve done.
๐๐๐ ๐๐ต๐ถ๐น๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐บ๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐ป๐ ๐๐ผ ๐๐๐ฒ๐ฎ๐น ๐๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐๐, ๐ถ๐ ๐ฑ๐ผ๐ฒ๐ ๐ป๐ผ๐ ๐ด๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ณ๐ถ๐ป๐ฎ๐น ๐๐ฎ๐ ๐ถ๐ป ๐๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐.
Today’s verse
reminds us what is true:
“Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who
are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1).
In Christ, you are free from having to hide in shame.
While we can know in our heads that this is what the Bible says, it feels more challenging to believe in our hearts that it’s true. So if we find ourselves stuck in shame or believing we have to earn the blessings we long for, where do we go from here?
We turn to what’s true. We open our Bibles and find out what God says about the lies we believe. I’ve found three simple steps to do this:
๐ญ. ๐๐ฐ๐ธ๐ป๐ผ๐๐น๐ฒ๐ฑ๐ด๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐ถ๐ ๐ฎ ๐น๐ถ๐ฒ.
If it
contradicts God’s Word, it’s not true. Sometimes we need a friend to remind us
of this, so send the text or make the phone call, and ask someone you trust if
you’re believing a lie.
๐ฎ. ๐ฅ๐ฒ๐ฝ๐น๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐น๐ถ๐ฒ ๐๐ถ๐๐ต ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ถ๐ฏ๐น๐ฒ ๐๐ฎ๐๐ ๐ถ๐ ๐๐ฟ๐๐ฒ.
(And there’s
no shame in Googling to find a verse if you don’t know where to start looking.)
๐ฏ. ๐ฅ๐ฒ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ฟ๐๐๐ต ๐๐ป๐๐ถ๐น ๐ถ๐ ๐ณ๐ฒ๐ฒ๐น๐ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐น.
Which
sometimes feels crazy, but eventually it sticks. And then the next time the lie
creeps back in, the truth more quickly comes to mind. If you start there, I
think you’ll find when the enemy whispers in your ear that this is all your
fault or you’ve missed it or it’s too late, you can tell him and yourself the
truth:
God’s goodness does not change based on your decisions.
He is sovereign
(Proverbs 16:9; Colossians 1:17).
He loves to redeem His people's pasts and
mistakes (Ephesians 1:7-9).
Regardless of your past, Jesus makes a way for
refuge in Him. There’s no wrong you’ve done that cannot be forgiven. He is
safe. All you have to do is run to Him.
God, thank You for the forgiveness that
comes from faith in Jesus. I praise You that I no longer walk in shame from my
past. Help me identify the lies shame tries to tell me and replace them with
truths from Your Word. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
- Meghan Ryan Asbury
Provided by
"Proverbs 31 Ministries"
Quote: Pastor Steven Furtick
"To doubt yourself is to doubt God's creation. He knew
everything you would struggle with and yet, He created you anyway. If God
called you to it, He gave you everything you need to do it. Let the places
where you feel weak become the ones God fills with His strength."
Turn To The Lord
๐ฆ๐ฐ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฝ๐๐๐ฟ๐ฒ:
“๐ฟ๐๐ก ๐ข๐ ๐๐ฅ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ข๐ ๐ค๐๐ฆ๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ก๐๐ ๐ก ๐กโ๐๐, ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ก ๐ข๐ ๐๐๐ก๐ข๐๐ ๐ก๐ ๐กโ๐ ๐ฟ๐๐๐.”
- Lamentations 3:40 (NIV)
- Lamentations 3:40 (NIV)
๐ข๐ฏ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป:
This verse is written by the Prophet Jeremiah during the siege and destruction
of Jerusalem by the Babylonians. Jeremiah had spent most of his life attempting
to turn the hearts of the Israelites back to God and had been beaten, mocked,
abused in all sorts of manners and kicked out of the temple as well. Yet such
is his heart for his people and for the Lord that he willingly endured all of
that and continued to cry out to the Lord to bring them back to Him. This is
why he was known as the weeping prophet. If ever there was a great example of
prayer for God to change the hearts of people, the book of Jeremiah and
Lamentations are it. However, they are also a great example of how the Lord
works, or is hindered to work, in our lives because of the rules He places upon
Himself. Have you ever wondered why He doesn’t just stop everything and change
everyone’s hearts and minds to do what He wants so that this world would truly
be on earth as it is in heaven? The answer to that question is because love
without free will isn’t love, it is control. God has always allowed free will,
even with the angels when one third of heaven chose to follow Lucifer (Satan)
instead of Him. Adam and Eve only had one rule in the garden; “But you must not
eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it
you will certainly die” (Genesis 2:17). Today and ever since the Garden, we
have had the ability to choose who we will follow, God or the world. That is
what makes today’s verse so interesting. Jeremiah is crying out to the
Israelites to examine their ways and test them against what the Lord says so
they can remove those things from their lives that are hurting them and their
relationship with the Lord. When they are willing to do so, it is then that
they will be able to return to the Lord. If that sounds familiar to you, it
should. Today we call that the Sinner’s Prayer. The truth is that our
relationship with the Lord has never been about control, He could have had that
any time He wanted to. No, instead it is about trusting Him to help us to not
hurt ourselves and each other and understanding that His love is the greatest
thing we could ever have. He still wants us to examine our ways and test them
today, weeding out those things that will keep us from Him. What will you find?
๐๐ฝ๐ฝ๐น๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป:
It seems like such a simple thing and yet is so hard to do on our own. This is
why Jesus told us that no one can come to Jesus unless the Father draws them.
(John 6:44) Not that God is picking and choosing, but rather it is because we
can’t do it on our own, so He helps us. Unfortunately, not all of us will.
๐ฃ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ:
Father, I ask You to draw me to You in all areas of my life and help me to
shine Your light in the darkness of this world so that others may see Your
grace and love. In Jesus’ Holy and Mighty Name, Amen.
- Chuck Glover
Provided by "All About God"
- Chuck Glover
Provided by "All About God"
Application of God's Word: Psalm 1:2
Verse: Psalm 1:2
But his delight is in the law of the Lord,
And in His law he meditates day and night.
Application:
This "law" means all of Scripture. The more of the whole scope of God's Word, the more resources we all have to guide us in our daily decisions.
You can learn how to follow God by thinking about his Word. This means spending time reading and thinking about what you have read. It means asking yourself how you should change so you're living as God wants. Knowing and thinking about God's Word are the first steps toward applying it to your everyday life. If you want to follow God more closely, you must know what he says.
A godly person is influenced not by unrighteous people but by his meditation on the Word of God. Such meditation necessarily involves study and retention. This is possible only if he has a desire to do so, here referred to as a delight. The psalmists found direction, not drudgery, from the Law of God.
God's Is Our Foundation
๐ฆ๐ฐ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฝ๐๐๐ฟ๐ฒ:
“๐ผ ๐ค๐๐๐ ๐ โ๐๐ค ๐ฆ๐๐ข ๐คโ๐๐ก โ๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐คโ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ก๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐ โ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ฆ ๐ค๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐ข๐ก๐ ๐กโ๐๐ ๐๐๐ก๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ก๐๐๐. ๐ป๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐ข๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ โ๐๐ข๐ ๐, ๐คโ๐ ๐๐ข๐ ๐๐๐ค๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐กโ๐ ๐๐๐ข๐๐๐๐ก๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐, ๐คโ๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐, ๐กโ๐ ๐ก๐๐๐๐๐๐ก ๐ ๐ก๐๐ข๐๐ ๐กโ๐๐ก โ๐๐ข๐ ๐ ๐๐ข๐ก ๐๐๐ข๐๐ ๐๐๐ก ๐ โ๐๐๐ ๐๐ก ๐๐๐๐๐ข๐ ๐ ๐๐ก ๐ค๐๐ ๐ค๐๐๐ ๐๐ข๐๐๐ก.” - Luke 6:47-48 (NIV)
๐ข๐ฏ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป:
It amazes me when I hear people complain about
how the Lord doesn’t do anything for them or even answer their prayers. I have
no doubt that He answers them, He just tells them No because they are asking
for things that either go against His Word or will hurt them in the short or
long term. I have seen studies that have projected that the number of
Christians that have read the Bible through even just once ranges from less
than thirty percent to less than ten percent. For those that read the Bible
daily, it is less than even ten percent. Now consider this, how do people
expect to know the Lord’s will for their lives and the principles to live by if
they never open His Word? They go through the storms of life and get swamped by
them because they don’t know or understand His principles and they think that
He abandoned them! If only we would heed the promise, He gives us all in Joshua
1:8, “Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it
day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then
you will be prosperous and successful.” The verse above is a word picture of
Joshua 1:8. Not only does He tell us to meditate on His Word day and night but
that it will increase our faith for as faith comes by hearing, and hearing by
the word of God. (Romans 10:17) so that when the wind and the waves come
crashing down you will not be like the man who built his house upon the sand,
but instead built it upon our Rock.
๐๐ฝ๐ฝ๐น๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป:
People have asked me how I have dealt with the
trials in my life, and I tell them plainly that it is because of my foundation
of the Word of God. I trust Him because I have gotten to know Him through it,
and I know my prayers are answered according to it and He will do the same for
anyone else that asks.
๐ฃ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ:
Father, I thank You that You have given us
Your Word to read and grow with. That I can look to You through it to find any
answer I need, and it has given me access to You in a way I would never have
had. In Jesus’ Holy and Mighty Name, Amen.
- Chuck Glover
Provided by "All About God"
Sermon: Reverse The Ripple
An event is not your identity.
Pastor Steven Furtick helps us go back to the source of what we’re
going through so we can begin to write a new story for our lives.
going through so we can begin to write a new story for our lives.
Victory in Jesus
John 12:31
Now is the time for judgment on this world; now the prince of this
world will be driven out.
John 14:30
I will not say much more to you, for the prince of this world is
coming. He has no hold over me,
We know that Jesus won the victory over
the evil one. But we also know that the evil one is active to this day. We
struggle with the implications of the victory of the Cross, because we don't
always see them. Though we are inhabited by the Spirit of God, the spirit of
this world often grips our hearts. And what a grip! No living human has yet
fully been released.
Why not? Is the power of Jesus
insufficient? No, He is able to save us completely. We are beyond the enemy's
control. But he still attacks. If he can get us completely absorbed in the
battle, then we cannot be completely absorbed with our God. We cannot focus on
the war and maintain our focus on the Victor - unless we've learned to let the
Victor fight our battles.
Jesus claimed all authority over the
enemy - in heaven and on earth (Matthew 28:18). That has profound implications
for us. When we are attacked, we know our source of victory. When we are
tempted, we know our source of resistance. When we are discouraged, we know our
source of hope. Everything the enemy threatens to do with us on the
battleground of this world is countered in the arsenal of Jesus. But there's a
catch. In order to realize this victory in the here and now, we must employ
faith in the Beginning and the End. The Alpha and Omega, our Savior and Lord,
gives us the key to every weapon. But we must take it and use it.
Are you battle-weary? Be encouraged.
This world is not an everlasting domain. Its ruler has been legally stripped of
power, and his apparent resistance is deceptive. He holds no real power over
the person of faith. The world and all that is in it is passing away (1 John
2:17). It's a dying and desperate regime. When we understand this - really get
a grasp of it - the temptations we face and the trials we endure become much
more easy to handle. Why? Because our faith is not in our ability to overcome,
it's in the Overcomer. Jesus is the only One to truly transcend this world, and
He brings us with Him into glory. Trust in Him. Know the victory that is His.
The exiled prince has nothing on you.
[An excerpt from "The One Year Walk with God
Devotional" by Chris Tiegreen]
How Do I Become A Christian?
๐๐ง ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ค๐ญ๐ข๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ช๐ต๐ฉ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ต๐ฉ, “๐๐ฆ๐ด๐ถ๐ด ๐ช๐ด ๐๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฅ,” ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ญ๐ช๐ฆ๐ท๐ฆ ๐ช๐ฏ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ข๐ณ๐ต ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐๐ฐ๐ฅ ๐ณ๐ข๐ช๐ด๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ฉ๐ช๐ฎ ๐ง๐ณ๐ฐ๐ฎ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ข๐ฅ, ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ธ๐ช๐ญ๐ญ ๐ฃ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ข๐ท๐ฆ๐ฅ.
Romans 10:9
Realizing how to become a Christian is the most important discovery of your life! Becoming a Christian is more than joining a church or saying a prayer. It is a personal relationship that will last for eternity. Do you know what will happen to you the moment you die? Where will you find yourself? Where is your destination?
There are only two destinations - and both are eternal: You will either find yourself living for eternity in heaven or existing for eternity in hell. Where will you be?
๐๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ป๐ถ๐๐ ๐ถ๐ป ๐ต๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐ป - This destination is reserved for those who receive Jesus Christ's gift of eternal salvation. Contrary to popular belief, heaven is not for the church-goers, the devout, or the "good people." The only stipulation is receiving God's gift of salvation.
๐๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ป๐ถ๐๐ ๐ถ๐ป ๐ต๐ฒ๐น๐น is reserved for those who reject Jesus Christ and His Gospel. The Bible sums up the Gospel like this: : "...That Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures" (1 Corinthians 15:3-4). Hell is described in the Bible as a fiery lake of burning sulfur.
๐๐ผ๐ ๐๐ผ ๐๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ผ๐บ๐ฒ ๐ฎ ๐๐ต๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐๐ถ๐ฎ๐ป - ๐ฆ๐๐๐ฑ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ฎ๐ฐ๐๐
The Bible explains how to become a Christian in very simple terms:
๐ฅ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐น๐ถ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐ผ๐ป๐ฒ ๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ป๐ฒ๐ฑ and can not live up to God's standard of holiness. Romans 3:23 says, "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." ๐จ๐ป๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฎ๐น๐๐ ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐๐ถ๐ป ๐ถ๐ ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐ต. Romans 6:23 states: "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." ๐๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฒ๐ฝ๐ ๐๐ผ๐ฑ'๐ ๐ด๐ถ๐ณ๐. God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to die in our place, so we could be spared from hell. Romans 5:8 says, "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." According to the Bible, we aren't required to subscribe to a religious formula or do more good things than bad ones. God gives His gift freely to all who ask. "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved" (Romans 10:13).๐๐ผ๐ ๐๐ผ ๐๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ผ๐บ๐ฒ ๐ฎ ๐๐ต๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐๐ถ๐ฎ๐ป - ๐ญ๐ฌ๐ฌ% ๐๐๐๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ
Once you discover how to become a Christian and then accept God's gift, the Bible says that you can be 100 percent assured of your eternal designation.
1 John 5:11-13 says, "And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God ๐๐ผ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ผ๐ ๐บ๐ฎ๐ ๐ธ๐ป๐ผ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ผ๐ ๐ต๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ป๐ฎ๐น ๐น๐ถ๐ณ๐ฒ."
Do you know for sure that you will spend eternal life with God in heaven? If not, this is a decision you don't want to put off.
๐ฃ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ข๐ณ ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐น๐๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป
๐ง๐ต๐ฒ "๐ฃ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐น๐๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป" ๐ถ๐ ๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐๐ถ๐ฟ๐๐ ๐ฅ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐น ๐๐ผ๐ป๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐ช๐ถ๐๐ต ๐๐ผ๐ฑ
The "prayer of salvation" is the most important prayer we'll ever pray.
When we're ready to become a Christian, we're ready to have our first real conversation with God, and these are its components:
We acknowledge that Jesus Christ is God; that He came to earth as a man in order to live the sinless life that we cannot live; that He died in our place, so that we would not have to pay the penalty we deserve. We confess our past life of sin - living for ourselves and not obeying God. We admit we are ready to trust Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord. We ask Jesus to come into our heart, take up residence there, and begin living through us.Music: "Amazing Grace"
This is not only my FAVORITE gospel song of all time, but this
rendition is so dang POWERFUL! [and even that word doesn't do it any justice]
I can honestly say, there hasn't been a time when I have listened to it, that tears
aren't filling my eyes - and even running down my cheeks - as the
presence and power of the Holy Spirit floods my soul.
To God be the glory, forever and ever!
I can't wait to be "home" with Him.
Rest In Danger
Psalm 91:1
๐โ๐๐๐ฃ๐๐ ๐๐ค๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐กโ๐ ๐ โ๐๐๐ก๐๐ ๐๐ ๐กโ๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ก ๐ป๐๐โ ๐ค๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ก ๐๐ ๐กโ๐ ๐ โ๐๐๐๐ค ๐๐ ๐กโ๐ ๐ด๐๐๐๐โ๐ก๐ฆ.
What do you do when the world seems dangerous? Hide? Obsess about self-preservation? Pray your heart out? All are instinctive, but God asks us to do something that is contrary to our instincts. He calls us to rest.
How can we rest when disasters threaten? How can we live safely in an unsafe world? It all depends on where we choose to dwell. There is a kind of trust that is more preoccupied with the rock-solid character of our Sovereign than with the circumstantial evidence of danger around us. When the psalmist tells us to dwell in the shelter of the Most High, the Spirit is directing us to look at the God who is certain rather than the world that is not. He calls us to count on His utter dependability rather than the ominous headlines of impending doom. And He urges us to hang on to the truths we believe rather than the lies we see. The ability to so absorb ourselves in the character of the Almighty qualifies us as God-dwellers - those who know the strength of the walls of His house. In other words, those who rest.
The restless soul looks at the troubled world and is troubled. It hears the newscasts and panics. It cannot rest secure because it does not know the source of security. It does not understand that whatever happens in this painful world, there is an eternal reality behind it. In that reality is a peaceful kingdom where sins cannot follow, and tears cannot stain. The God who reigns there urges us to find our citizenship with His people. The restless soul can find rest.
Where do you dwell? The dreadful things that cross our minds will attempt to toss us around like a rowboat in a hurricane. God tells us to anchor ourselves in Him. That means to place our hopes, our fears, our dreams, our sins, our faith, our weaknesses under His shelter. His shelter is our refuge, because there is nothing that can penetrate it - no terrorist, no war, no disease, no financial collapse, no broken relationship - nothing. The place of safety is available to us. Dwell there and rest.
“What a blessedness, what a peace is mine, leaning on the everlasting arms.”
- Elisha A. Hoffman
[An excerpt from "The One Year Walk with God Devotional" by Chris Tiegreen]
Sermon: Rescue Your Testimony
Pastor Steven Furtick helps us deal with disappointment
and revive our hope through the lens of God’s faithfulness.
Beyond Pettiness
Proverbs 17:14
Starting a quarrel is like breaching a dam; so drop the matter before a dispute breaks out.
2 Timothy 2:23-24
Don’t have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments, because you know they produce quarrels. And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful.
What is it in the human psyche that compels us to pursue a matter straight into the heart of a conflict? Do we just enjoy a good fight? For some reason, we frequently feel we must establish truth - as we see it - in even the most petty of disagreements. We often value our opinions more than we value our relationships.
Why is that? What so captures our indignation that we will sacrifice friendships and feelings over something that just isn't worth it? Blessed are those who do not have a contentious spirit within them, but most people at some time or another have struggled with one. It is human nature. We feel offended when people disagree with us, and we are bent on establishing who is right and wrong. Even when there is no right and wrong.
Does this mean there's no place for conflict? Obviously not. We are called to stand up for what is morally and spiritually right - to a point. Even Jesus was no stranger to conflict, and He is our model. But we must develop the discernment to know what is worth fighting for and what is not. Most of us find ourselves frequently confused on the issue.
When you sense a conflict escalating, what is your response? Do you take it as a challenge to win? Or can you step back and assess whether it is really worth fighting for? Broken relationships are no pleasure to God. He even inspires the writer to call a quarrel “sin” a few verses later (Proverbs 17:19). Petty squabbles once begun are hard to stop. They do not suit a child of God.
Learn to practice a discipline of restraint. Do not run from an important issue, but do not pursue a pointless one. Let relationships become more important to you than petty proofs and problems. God has done so with us. We must do so with others.
“I have never yet known the Spirit of God to work where the Lord's people were divided.”
- D. L. Moody
[An excerpt from "The One Year Walk with God Devotional" by Chris Tiegreen]
Perfect Peace Is Possible
Looking to our feelings instead of Truth to steady our souls is dangerous ground.
I saw a vivid depiction of this several years ago when we remodeled our house. I invited a friend over and asked for his expert opinion. But when he started staring at the ceiling with a look of grave concern, I knew something was wrong. One of the major beams had been poorly repaired and wasn't able to provide enough support - a point proven by the sagging floor upstairs.
Seeing those broken boards barely hanging on, I felt like God was giving me a glimpse of the unstable places inside of me. It was a loving admonition to stop assessing His goodness based on how my life felt at any given moment.
Why? Because feelings are fragile props. Only Truth is solid, unchanging and stable. The beliefs we hold should hold us up even when life feels like it’s falling apart.
Which brings us to our key Bible passage for today. Isaiah 26 focuses on the strength God gives His people so they can accomplish His purposes.
First, we need to know that one of the keys to understanding Isaiah 24-27 is realizing that the prophet Isaiah was looking ahead to the end of all things. Isaiah knew while things may not look good right now, God promises us His plans are good. God is moving us toward that day when death will be swallowed up and He will wipe every tear from His people’s eyes (Isaiah 25:8). He has ordained our peace (Isaiah 26:12).
But we aren’t just promised peace in eternity. Isaiah tells us how we can experience and walk in strength and peace today:
“You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. Trust in the LORD forever, for the LORD GOD is an everlasting rock” - Isaiah 26:3-4 (ESV)
The Hebrew word for the phrase “stayed on” means “to brace, uphold, support.” In other words, those with minds fully braced, upheld and supported by trust in God and His Truth will be kept in perfect peace. This means an all-embracing peace. It comes from God, by the power of His indwelling Spirit, giving us the strength internally to face whatever comes our way externally.
This doesn’t mean that our circumstances will feel peaceful, that all our relationship troubles and hardships will suddenly get better, or that all the prayers we pray will suddenly get answered. But our minds can be steadied with God’s Truth instead of overrun with thoughts of fear, anxiety and worst-case scenarios.
The God who rescued David from Saul (1 Samuel 23), who split the Red Sea so the Israelites could safely pass through (Exodus 14), and who promised strength to His people through Isaiah is the same God you can trust with your life.
God is always doing more than you know, working toward a good you’ll one day rejoice in.
Dear Lord, help me to keep sight of Your goodness in the brokenness of this world. I realize I must keep my eyes fixed on You and the Truth of Your Word. Thank You for the peace You give me. I want my security to be found in You - my unchanging, undeniably good and unquestionably loving God. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
- Lysa TerKeurst
Provided by “Proverbs 31 Ministries”