Tag Archives: Bible

If God Promises Me That I Am An Overcomer – Why Do I Still Have Problems?

11 Jun

Spending time daily in prayer and with God’s Word is the answer to developing our relationship with Him and allowing Him access to our hearts so that we can make necessary changes in the way we think and feel about the circumstances that surround us.

God’s Word tells us that in this life we will have trouble, but Jesus came that we might overcome the trouble that faces us in this world. Being a believer is like having on an invisible armor that shields us from every kind of evil that we can imagine. God’s grace is sufficient for everything we need. Our part, our responsibility, is to spend time with our Lord, loving Him, acknowledging Him in all we do. As we keep our mind stayed on Him throughout the day and turn to Him when we have a question or concern, He is there for us.

• 11 For he will command His angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; 12 they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone. 13 You will tread upon the lion and the cobra; you will trample the great lion and the serpent.

Verses 11 through 13 of Psalms 91 tell us that God commands His angels concerning us, that they are to guard us in all of our ways. It is so! Angels unaware are around us, to guard us, to keep us from harm, to help us when we need it. Verse 13 is God’s way of telling us that He will protect us from the dangers around us that would try to destroy us. Further, he is telling us that we are the ones who will be victorious!

Our God gives us every reason to trust Him. It won’t take long to realize that God is real. He is alive today, here, now! If we will be sensitive to the situations around us every day, we will see God in action on our behalf. We must make a choice to be aware of God’s work in and around us. That is one of the ways we acknowledge God in everything we do.

• 14 “Because he loves me,” says the LORD, “I will rescue Him; I will protect Him, for he acknowledges my name. 15 He will call upon me, and I will answer Him; I will be with Him in trouble, I will deliver Him and honor Him. 16 With long life will I satisfy Him and show Him my salvation.” NIV

God tells us in verse 14 of Psalms 91, that it is because we love Him that He rescues us, and protects us, because we acknowledge His name. And, in verse 15 He says that if we call upon Him He will be with us in trouble and He will deliver us and honor us. Wow! How awesome is that! Further, He says He will satisfy us with a long life and show us His salvation. This means that God will show us, He will teach us His ways.

This one chapter in the Bible is so powerful! They are not just words – they are WORDS OF LIFE! These are God’s Words – His promises to us. Meditate on these promises – memorize these words and turn to them when any of life’s difficulties try to hinder you in any way.

Acknowledgement of His Word is a powerful way to pray. Repeat this to God in prayer. He encourages us to “prove Him” – meaning God Himself will demonstrate to us that we can trust Him, that His Word is real, it is true – it works! God will confirm to us in many ways that He is listening and that we can trust Him.

If God Promises Me That I Am An Overcomer – Why Do I Still Have Problems?

All throughout history we read of the trials and tribulations of God’s people. They struggled in so many ways. When they were obedient to God, they were victorious. When they were rebellious, they paid consequences.

Some believe that the Old Testament is not relevant to us. That could not be further from the truth! It is in the Old Testament that we learn so much about who God is. The Old Testament is just that – it is a testament, evidence of our beginning. We learn from the recordings of the scribes how the people of that time lived, how God led them, protected them, provided for them and corrected them.

The world has obviously changed – it has progressed in tremendous ways. However; God’s children today are basically the same. We share the same struggles, the same victories, and the same rebellion. The Old Testament was given to us as an example. It is full of truths that will impress upon our hearts what God’s ways are like – yes, they are the same. He tells us He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. – Circumstances may have changed, but basically, the root causes are the same.

How Can I Be Triumphant When Circumstances Are So Difficult?

There are some people who believe that once you accept Jesus and become born again, you are instantly changed into a new personality. Once we accept Jesus and invite Him to rule and reign in our lives our hearts are instantly changed and our names written down in the Lamb’s Book of Life. However; our personalities do not change instantly. At this time our lives do become new and we begin a new way of life. God has no expectations of our becoming immediately changed. He accepted us just as we are. God is aware of our past our present and our future. The blood of Jesus covers our sin — past, present, and future. We are the reason He gave His life upon the cross. It was our sin that sent Him to that cross to die.

It is extremely important that we know right up front that our enemy, satan, will come immediately to try to steal, kill, and destroy. He cannot. We are now in God’s care, under His wings of protection. His Word tells us that “there is therefore, now, no condemnation to those who love the Lord”. This means that we, now being born again, have all of God’s promises, His word, God Himself to protect us. God loves us with an unconditional love. The depths of His understanding are beyond measure. After all, remember, God gave Jesus, His only son, to die on our behalf. With such an act of love and unselfishness as that, how could we question whether or not God will do anything else for us, as long as it is in His will, for our good!

His Word also tells us that God came to give us abundant life. We cannot interpret this to mean, “Oh boy, now I can have whatever I want”. Another important fact we need to understand from the beginning of our new walk is that God’s ways are not like our ways. For this reason, we acknowledge God in all we do day by day.

God is definitely on the cutting edge. We sometimes think we’re way ahead of God, that He is old-fashioned. Nothing could be further from the truth. Walking with God is the most exciting thing you will ever experience in your life. Nothing can compare to it. Having God in our lives is bigger than any problem, any heartache, and any trouble of any kind that we can experience. His love is so dynamic, so powerful, so exciting, and that far exceeds anything else we can think or imagine.

Who’s In Control?

So many people believe that we have no control over how we feel or how we act. Therefore, we can be tossed back and forth, wavering, undecided, and confused. Our feelings may change from one day to the next, depending on our surrounding circumstances. We may give in to whatever circumstances are present at the time. We may be completely unsettled. We could be unpredictable and difficult to be around.

God wants us to be on an even keel. He wants us to trust Him in all things and to be at peace no matter what the situation. It is possible – – it can happen! We may still have questions and that is OK with God. We may have concerns and that is OK. Fear may try to grip us, that is not OK. This is where we call upon God and take Him our questions, our concerns, and even our fears.

Reading and meditating upon God’s Word will allow our hearts to be in a position to receive what God has to say to us. His Holy Spirit will speak to our hearts and bring comfort and possibly, direction. The direction He gives us may simply be to wait on Him. That does not mean that we do nothing. It means continuing our daily lives and allowing Him the time He requires to “make all things work together for good according to His purpose for our lives”.

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God Is Not Like Grandma, He’s Not Old Fashioned or Behind the Times!

7 Jun

Many of us don’t think much about the spiritual side of things. We believe we have our lives under control and we are ready for what comes our way. Conversely, we are experiencing more and more stress and frustration. We have been taught by the world around us that we need to be strong. We dare not let anyone see us as weak.

Perhaps our spiritual condition doesn’t seem like much of an issue. Some of us may even think that our spiritual lives are separate from our daily lives. Definitely not! We may try to keep it separate thinking it isn’t part of daily living. Besides, it’s not cool to be spiritual. Exactly the opposite is true. Our spiritual condition (our heart of hearts) is where our true character resides.

• Prov 16:9 “ In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps.” NIV

• Matt 15:18-20 “But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart , and these make a man ‘unclean.’ For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. These are what make a man ‘unclean’; but eating with unwashed hands does not make him ‘unclean.” NIV

The ways of God obviously are not the ways of man. If man had his way there would certainly be no suffering. It is imperative that we realize how much we need God every day with every step. We could not take another breath, or another step if He did not allow it. Whether we believe it to be true or not doesn’t matter. Our denial of God’s truth doesn’t invalidate it.

God is always with us, not just for our bedtime prayers, but as we get dressed, eat breakfast, drive to work, and in all else that we do. We can talk with Him at any time about any and every issue. It’s kind of like being at home with a loved one. We are busy in one room and they are busy in another. We know that we can call out to them at any time and they will answer. Only God is not in the other room, He is right with us – wherever we are.

Our conversations with God are not one way. He will speak to our hearts. He will take away our fears and direct us through our every concern, if we will allow Him to.

• John 10:26-27 “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.” NIV

God has His own time-table. It most often does not agree with ours. He is not intimidated by our deadlines. Don’t think that just because He does not work like the high-speed internet that He is old-fashioned and out of date. To the contrary, His ways far exceed that. He created the universe out of nothing. He knew us before we were formed in our Mothers’ wombs. He can handle today’s technology. God is actually the one who gave knowledge to the creators of our technology. What? You think they did it on their own?

Scripture tells us that there is nothing new in the world. Technology was part of God’s plan from the beginning. Don’t think for a moment that we have moved on without Him. No, Friends, He is the one who made it all possible. He is not just our Grandma’s God. God’s miracles and ancient stories of the Bible didn’t stop when the Bible was made into a book with a cover. God is the reason we have progressed to where we are today.

• Eccl 1:9 “What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.” NIV

His ways are not outdated. He is the author and finisher or our faith and the reason that we are who we are. We need to recognize His authority. When we read the Scriptures we will find that events do not just happen on their own. God is the force behind them. He places people where He wants them and uses them according to His plan.

God’s Word, the Holy Bible, still operates in our lives as it did in the lives of those ancient men and women of the Bible. They are not fictional like Winnie the Pooh or Alice in Wonderland. Rest assured you will not meet those characters in heaven one day. However; you will meet many of those ancient men and women of the Bible there. You will hear from their own lips of their awesome adventures.

God is just as real today as He was when all the events of the Bible took place. He walks with us, covers us like a shield. He goes before us, behind us, beside us. We cannot go anywhere that He is not there.

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Let Your Faith Be Seen!

12 Jan

Matthew 9:2 says, “When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, ‘Son, be of good cheer; your sins are forgiven you'”.

Charles Stanley, in his Life Lessons Bible, notes that it would be hard to “see” faith if it never worked its way out in meaningful action. He said that if our faith does not affect the way we live or ever get noticed by others, then perhaps it is not genuine faith at all.

As I read that in my prayer time this morning, it excited me. Many things came to my mind about faith. For example, many times we feel led by God to do something that may appear strange to others. As they begin to give us “their opinion” we begin to reason and sometimes even allow the words of others to cause us to stumble.

For the record, the word “opinion” is the view of the other person and their view of the worth or of the value of someone or something. And, according to the Thesaurus, another word for opinion is “judgment”. Just sayin’.

This works both ways. Let’s make sure we are not the ones to cause someone to stumble. After all, our opinions are just that – they are our opinions. If we give our opinion we should make sure that the person we are speaking to understands that even though we are giving our opinion on a matter — it is them who is responsible for following God’s direction. We never want to be guilty of overriding God’s direction to someone. That’s a little scary to me.

On the other hand, if we are the one presenting our situation to another about what we believe God is saying to us, we need to leave the consequences to God (another of Charles Stanley’s Life Principles). We can’t know what God is doing in someone’s life. That’s why we are told not to judge others.

I can tell you, I have done some things at God’s leading that have thoroughly convinced others that I may not be of sound mind. But, I have learned to hear the voice of my Lord and Savior and it is Him I want to please. It is important that we share with others and not hide our light under a bushel. God uses us in ways we can’t know. Others are watching and they “see” our faith in action. Then, they “see” when God steps in and takes control.

Let your faith be seen. Don’t be afraid of what others think. Don’t hide your light under a bushel. Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine. I think it’s wonderful when we have others praying for us and they become a part of God’s miracle in our lives. This is how we share one another’s burdens. This is how our faith grows.

Keep in mind that even Moses looked like a failure in men’s eyes, even as he was following God’s direction to the letter. Those around him doubted him and what he said. But, then they “saw” his faith through the works of God.

Ask God today to help you show your faith to others. And, ask Him to help you to encourage others and to be careful of any words of doubt you may speak.

Obviously, all things we hear are not from God. But, let’s not be too quick to judge. That’s why we need prayer and God’s Word to speak to our hearts and show us the truth.

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God Talks Back

31 Dec
Not only is God a good listener, He is a wonderful conversationalist! Many people tell me that God doesn’t talk to them. God tells us in His Holy Bible that His sheep know His voice! If you are a born again Christian, that means you are one of His sheep and you hear His voice.
 
You don’t have to be a seasoned Christian to hear God speak. Some don’t realize God is talking to them. They think it’s their conscious (sometimes it is). Or, they think they just had a great idea. Then, at times, they wonder why they had a particular thought.
 
God’s voice is generally small and quiet. If we are not familiar with His Word (the Bible), we may confuse His communication with other voices we hear. God gave us a conscious and He gave us common sense. He also gave us Christian friends who can offer us their opinion. Then, there is our enemy, satan, whom the Bible tells us comes to steal, kill and destroy. He is quick to feed us bad thoughts and ideas to get us out of God’s will.
 
God gave us His Word so we could learn about Him. He wanted us to know that throughout all of time men and women  have been just like us. Sometimes we obey God’s Word and sometimes we don’t. As we read God’s Word we learn about how God dealt with His people – how He taught them to walk uprightly. We also learn from those stories how God rewards us and yes, how He disciplines us. Sometimes we see how God punished those who rebelled against Him.
 
So, even though we may be a new Christian and have the ability to hear God, we must spend time with Him in prayer and in reading His Word so that we can learn His ways, thus identifying His voice more clearly.
 
If someone gave you a new car – just handed you the keys and said, “It’s all yours!” – You may find yourself in great danger if you tried to drive without some sort of training. If you decided to hop in the car anyway and take your chances, you could get into a lot of trouble – possibly even die. I know that sounds a bit drastic, but we can’t assume every voice we hear is God. We need to spend time getting to know Him. As we do we will learn to discern God’s voice from all the others.
 
Are you willing to give Him some of your time?

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