What To Do With Anxiety

Philippians 4:6–9

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

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.

We all struggle with worry and anxiety. Yet Paul gives us a command here to not be anxious. This is not a new command; Jesus gave the same imperative in Matthew 6:25: “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?”

Yes, this is an imperative. To worry is to lack trust in God and to not believe His promises. Romans 8:28 tells us that “we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose.”

If we believe that God is sovereign—which the Bible fully teaches—then we can trust that what He says, He not only can do, but He will do. He promises that all things are being worked out for good for His people.

Yet we all wrestle with anxiety and worry. So Paul gives us the solution: “In everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.”

Pray to God and tell Him your worries and concerns—and then believe His promises. Once we give it to God, we must let Him have it. We cannot hold on to what we just gave to Him.

When we do this, His peace—which is incomprehensible—will guard our hearts and minds.

There is one more thing that Paul adds to this equation: this is all conditional.

Philippians 4:8–9
Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.

The conditions for the God of peace to be with us are that we think about the things that are true, just, pure, lovely, commendable, excellent, and worthy of praise. This is a pretty good description of Jesus.

Paul commands us to practice the things that we have learned, received, heard, and seen in him. In other words, read your Bible and do what it says. Then the God of peace will be with you. Then your faith will grow. Then you will believe God.

This is the disconnect many of us have: we believe in God, but we don’t believe God. We don’t read His Word, and we don’t make it what drives our thoughts. Instead, we fill our minds with the things of the world, and we let the world dictate how and what we think.

We do not need to be anxious or worried. But we must saturate ourselves with His Word and spend our time in prayer, always thinking of Christ. We must surround ourselves with other believers who will encourage us in this. We must sit under sound, biblical teaching. We must be in Christian community more than we are in worldly community.

There is peace to be found—but only in Christ.

Learning to Pray

 Did you know that prayer is a taught discipline?

Luke 11:1

Now Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.”

For some of us, prayer comes easy. For me, God has taught me to pray through the sorrows and struggles of my life. I cannot make it one hour without praying. 

But for others, prayer can be a struggle. The answer is simply to ask Jesus to teach you to pray.

Funny thing is, in order to ask Jesus to teach you to pray, you have to pray. So, start there. Pray that Jesus would teach you to pray. 

But anyone who ever took lessons to play an instrument or to hit a baseball or whatever, you know you have to practice to get better at what you are learning. 

So, pray. Pray about everything. Soon you will find yourself being completely dependent upon Jesus. Soon you will understand how it is possible to live out 1 Thessalonians 5:17 (which commands us to "pray without ceasing."

This will change everything.

Be A Doer of the Law

Today’s command from Paul finds itself imbedded within this passage.

Romans 2:12-13 

For all who have sinned without the law will also perish without the law, and all who have sinned under the law will be judged by the law. For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified.

I want to reemphasize this point again and again. We are not saved by following God’s law. We are saved by grace and grace alone. That is the truth of the Gospel. But as Paul states here, that does not mean the law has no importance in our salvation. 

To be justified is to be saved. And Paul directly states that “it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified.”

If this seems confusing or contradictory, it is not. In order to fully understand scripture, you must interpret it by scripture. We must fall back to the words of Jesus in Matthew 5:17, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.”

Then look at Hebrews 10:15-16

And the Holy Spirit also bears witness to us; for after saying, “This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws on their hearts, and write them on their minds…”

That verse is a quote from Jeremiah 31:33 

For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

Jesus fulfilled the law by writing it on our hearts. And what Paul is saying is that we are to obey the law God has placed within our hearts. We are to obey this law in our hearts because God, in His mercy, has sent Jesus to die on the cross for every single sin we have or we will commit. 

Has your heart been changed my friends? If it has, then your attitude about violating the laws of God, is different. This is what repentance is. A change of heart. 

Paul goes on to say this in the rest of this passage from Romans 2:14-16, 

For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them on that day when, according to my gospel, God judges the secrets of men by Christ Jesus.

My prayer for each of us today, is that we humble ourselves to the commands of God and let the Holy Spirit, who lives in the heart of all believers, lead us to a righteous life that brings glory to God by showing that the work of the law is written on our hearts.

The Commands of God - Live by Faith

Today I begin a new journey, or at least, a different path to the same place. Over the last several months I walked through the Gospels with the goal of pulling out the things Jesus commanded us to do as He walked the earth in the years of His incarnation. The overall object of this journey is to find out what it is God commands us to do. For Jesus said in John 14:15, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” I want to love Jesus. To do that, I must know what he asks of me. 

The writers of scripture wrote by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. When they speak in the Bible, it is God speaking. Today we begin in the Book of Romans.

Paul doesn’t waste much time in giving us the first commandment of this letter to the Romans.

Romans 1:16-17 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”

The righteous shall live by faith. 

This is not an option. Hebrews 11:6 tells us that “without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists…”

Faith means believing without seeing. It means trusting in God and in His plan, without necessarily understanding it. It means when things happen that we do not like, or that bring suffering and pain, we do not fall apart. We don’t get mad at God. We don’t give up. No, we walk in faith, trusting that the Word of God is true. Believing that Romans 8:28 is true; And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good.

The righteous shall live by faith. May we live this out each and every day.

Giving Thanks

It's really easy to preach things the Bible says and since as far as I know, almost all of my friends here on Facebook lay claim to being Christian. that's what I try and do. I'm going to throw a scripture out this morning that I know is really hard to do, especially when circumstances are not what we hope for. 

Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 1 Thessalonians 5:18

I am struggling this morning to do this and I bet many of you are as well. But the Bible is clear; this is God's will for us.

We cannot say we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior and then choose to not seek His will in our lives.

So, today I am going to be thankful. Truth is, I have way more to be thankful for than I can even remember. 

Yet, I know this is hard. I keep a prayer journal and when any of you express prayer needs or sometimes I just see them in your lives, I write them down and try most days to lift them up to our God. This morning as I prayed it became clear, my problems are small and not all that bad compared to the many difficult trials many of you are in right now. Yet, the same call is upon you. be thankful in those circumstances. This is God's will for you.

It has been oft said that there is no safer place, no better place than to be in God's will. So, I encourage each of you, take a few moments to thank God for where He has you today.

How can you do that? 

By faith in him. Don't just believe in Him, believe Him. Open up your Bible and you will see that He is sovereign over all things, even your situation. He i working in them. Hos Word says that, "we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose." Romans 8:28 

It says even if we don't know what to pray the Spirit does. 

Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. Romans 8:26-27 

Psalms 34:17-22 tells us this,

When the righteous cry for help, the LORD hears and delivers them out of all their troubles.The LORD is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.Many are the afflictions of the righteous,but the LORD delivers him out of them all.He keeps all his bones;not one of them is broken.Affliction will slay the wicked,and those who hate the righteous will be condemned.The LORD redeems the life of his servants;none of those who take refuge in him will be condemned.

Whatever you face today and tomorrow, God knows, He is working in it and in the right time He will deliver you out of it. 

This might not happen today. Or tomorrow. But we can know for sure that He will deliver us from all this mess and there will come a day when He will wipe away our tears and we shall dwell in the House of the Lord forever.

We must live by faith, not by sight. 

This is how we give thanks in all circumstances. 

Trust in the LORD with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.            Proverbs 3:5-6

How To Get Wisdom

Life is hard. I think most of us would agree. Knowing what to do and how to do it, can seem overwhelming. It is easy to get confused over even simple decisions sometimes, much less the serious ones. 

We live in a world today, that is filled with information. We can go online and Google it. We can read any number of blogs and articles that advise us how to live. Post your questions and concerns on Facebook and I promise you, there will be no shortage of people willing to throw in their two cents. There actually still are a few bookstores and libraries that carry self-help books by the dozens and Amazon can ship them to you in a day or two. Stay up late and watch TV and there will be commercials that have telephone numbers you can call and have some psycho, I mean psychic tell you what the future holds, making your decisions easy, because they know how it will all turn out. 

But Christians, yes, I’m talking to you, there is a better way. Dust off that Bible and get on your knees.

If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.  - James 1:5-8 

For the LORD gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding; he stores up sound wisdom for the upright; he is a shield to those who walk in integrity, guarding the paths of justice and watching over the way of his saints. Proverbs 2:6-8

God has spelled it out. If you lack wisdom, (don’t we all?), then ask God. That is called prayer. And if you ask God, God has promised to give wisdom generously to all, and He will do it without reproach. 

But there are some conditions. You must ask in faith. You must not doubt. If you doubt, you won’t receive the wisdom you need and you will probably continue to flounder in your own decisions.  

We must also walk in integrity and be upright. If we do that, God will not only give us the wisdom we need, He will be a shield to us and He will guard the paths of justice and watch your way. 

Look at the world today. Look at our country. Look at the lives of so many.  It is a mess. It is a mess because we are not seeking God’s wisdom. We are seeking our own and we are putting hope and faith in godless people and in man’s way. We have no integrity. Sadly, most of us don’t even have faith. Yes, I mean us Christians. We must stop simply believing in God and start believing God.

I provided two passages from God’s Word. They are promises from God to those who seek to follow Him and to live by faith. The application is simple. Humble yourself before Him, ask Him for the wisdom you need, and then believe what He tells you. He wrote a whole book that is filled with His counsel and His truth and we simply don’t follow His way. 

Christian, do you believe God’s word? Then do what it says. Read His Word and know it, then believe it. 

I leave you with one more scripture. I really suggest you commit it to memory. Even more so believe it and obey it.

Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. Proverbs 3:5-6

How To Come Against the Attacks of Our Enemy

 

Reading this morning in Isaiah 36:13-15, “Then the Rabshakeh stood and called out in a loud voice in the language of Judah: “Hear the words of the great king, the king of Assyria! Thus says the king: ‘Do not let Hezekiah deceive you, for he will not be able to deliver you. Do not let Hezekiah make you trust in the LORD by saying, “The LORD will surely deliver us.”

This is a picture of how Satan comes against us. Just as Rabshakeh calls out to the people and tells them not to trust their king and what he says, Satan, the deceiver and liar by Biblical definition, calls out to us in the midst of our trials and sufferings and tells us not to trust God. 

Notice how the enemy twists the truth, turning it around to make it seem it is our king we cannot believe. 

But if we continue on in this narrative from Isaiah, listen to what the king says.

But they were silent and answered him not a word, for the king's command was, “Do not answer him.” - Isaiah 36:21 

The king, Hezekiah tells the people to simply be silent and not answer the enemy. But he doesn’t stop there. Read on.

It may be that the LORD your God will hear the words of the Rabshakeh, whom his master the king of Assyria has sent to mock the living God, and will rebuke the words that the LORD your God has heard; therefore lift up your prayer for the remnant that is left.’” - Isaiah 37:4

Hezekiah reminds the people that God hears the rhetoric of the enemy. And then Hezekiah gives them an explicit command saying, “lift up your prayer for the remnant that is left.”

Just as they had an enemy whose method was to cast doubts upon their faith in God, so we have the same enemy. And his tactics are the same today. Satan will implant in our minds doubt in the midst of our sufferings. 

The story we read of here in Isaiah speaks of a literal enemy which threatens a literal invasion by a literal army. But behind it all is a spiritual attack. Whatever we face today, at its core we are involved in a spiritual battle. And God has provided us with a specific scripture reading that is our battle instruction.

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints.Read that through carefully. - Ephesians 6:10-18

We are not called to advance against the enemy, calling out rebukes and engaging in battle. No, we are called to “stand against the schemes of the devil.” So that “you may be able to withstand in the evil day.” And “having done all, to stand firm.” We put on the whole armor of God so that we may “stand.”

It is “the Lord and in the strength of his might” by which the devil is defeated. Not by our power displayed by making a full-frontal assault on the enemy. The only action we are to take is be “praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication.”

Our God is sovereign over all, including the enemy, Satan knows this. Read the Book of Job. So, what he will do is just as in this OT reading, he will attempt to cast doubt in our minds and hearts. We must use the sword of the Spirit, which is God’s Word, to cut down the lies of the devil, while praying at all times, in the Spirit.

That’s how we do battle. We stand. And we let God. 

One of my all-time favorite passages is the prelude to the parting of the Red Sea. 

And Moses said to the people, “Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will work for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again. The LORD will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.” - Exodus 14:13-14

Again, what was the command? “Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the LORD.”

Brothers and sisters, yes, we are in a war. But we can and must stand firm and trust in our God. We cannot win these battles. But He can.

The LORD will fight for you, and you have only to be silent. And in that silence, we pray. Then we stand.

It’s worth repeating.

Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will work for you today.

How Big Is Your God?

The God of the Bible is an amazing god. From the beginnings of Genesis 1, until the end of Revelation, we find story after story of God doing things that our science and our logic would call impossible.

Listen to opening of scripture. Genesis 1:1, “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” Science has yet to offer an explanation for the creation of the world that proves this statement to be untrue. Even more amazing is how the Bible says He did it. 

And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. - Genesis 1:3

And God said, “Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.” And God made the expanse and separated the waters that were under the expanse from the waters that were above the expanse. And it was so. - Genesis 1:6-7

And God said, “Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear.” And it was so. - Genesis 1:9 

And on and on it was so. God said, and it came to be. Even man was created because God created him. 

Then the LORD God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature. - Genesis 2:7

As the history of the world is recorded in scripture, we see God doing things that defy nature. He floods the earth, saving only a handful of people and animals to repopulate the earth in a restart of unbelievable magnitude. 

He chooses one man to be the start of a group of people to be His chosen ones and from whom the world will be saved from its sin. He does this by promising a child to a woman well past the age of childbearing. This feat was so impossible that the woman laughed when God said it.

The LORD said, “I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife shall have a son.” And Sarah was listening at the tent door behind him. Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in years. The way of women had ceased to be with Sarah. So Sarah laughed to herself, saying, “After I am worn out, and my lord is old, shall I have pleasure?” The LORD said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Shall I indeed bear a child, now that I am old?’ Is anything too hard for the LORD? At the appointed time I will return to you, about this time next year, and Sarah shall have a son.” - Genesis 18:10-14 

Scripture is replete with examples of God doing impossible things by human standards. He parts the Red Sea so that only His people can pass through while their enemies are destroyed as they seek to follow them. God puts men into positions of authority and removes them as He sees fit. He makes a donkey speak. The miracles of scripture go on and on. And they don’t cease in the New Testament. 

We see Jesus born to a virgin. We see men raised from the dead and people healed, sometimes by merely touching the cloak of Christ. We see that Jesus controls the weather. He can stop a storm merely by commanding it to stop. We find Jesus not only resurrected from the dead, but we see Him ascend back into heaven. 

We find the Apostles given the power over sickness and death. An earthquake open jails for the apostles and angels show up to break prison chains.

I could go on and on. The Bible is filled with the stories and the miracles of God. 

Many of us have experienced miraculous events in our own lives. As Christians, we say we believe that God sent Jesus to earth to save us from our sins and that we are saved by faith alone to receive eternal life. We tell others that we believe this, and we use scripture to show why we believe this.

But in the day to day struggles of our own life on earth, we worry and fret and far too often live this life without joy and in fear. 

Why?

Because we simply don’t really believe God is big enough, strong enough, or willing enough to help us. We reduce God to a small god and in doing that, we make ourselves or others our god.

If what we say we believe, is really what we believe, then our God is big enough, strong enough, and gracious enough, to not only save us from our sins, but He is big enough to bring us through every single trial or storm we face. 

The fact is we need to believe what scripture teaches. God is sovereign. We must understand what that word means. It means He is over all things. Everything. Nothing moves on this earth, unless God has ordained it and allowed it.

The problem we have is that our finite minds cannot understand the how or the why of God’s movement. Scripture answers that question for us. 

He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man's heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end. - Ecclesiastes 3:11 

For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. - Isaiah 55:8-9 

Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised, and his greatness is unsearchable. - Psalms 145:3 

Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! - Romans 11:33 

We must stop reducing God to our level and instead begin to worship a God who is so much more than we can even imagine. We must believe what He says about Himself. 

“Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh. Is anything too hard for me?” - Jeremiah 32:27 

Nothing is too hard for God. Nothing. We must believe that. Then we must trust that all things are under His control. It all comes down to what may be my favorite verse.

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. - Romans 8:28

How big is your God? I can promise you this; He is big enough. I pray we would all begin to live with that God as the one we truly trust in for all things. But we must also understand this life isn’t about us, it’s about God’s will and purpose. That’s the key to being able to rest in faith, knowing that God’s purposes aren’t ours. We don’t pray to change God’s mind; we pray to change ours. 

So today, look at the God you say you believe in. How big is He? 

Trusting God in the Turmoil

Yes, we are living in strange and even scary days. 2021 may be worse than 2020, who knows? But listen to the words of King Solomon, the man who God gave wisdom.

In the day of prosperity be joyful, and in the day of adversity consider: God has made the one as well as the other, so that man may not find out anything that will be after him. - Ecclesiastes 7:14 

Brothers and sisters in Christ, our calling is to stay focused on what God has called us to do, not to worry and fret over what may come. God is still in control. Completely. 

Faith. That is what we must have in both the good times and the bad. Commit yourself to living a life built around faith. 

If that is a struggle then here is the answer.

So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.                         -Romans 10:17 

Commit yourself to God's Word. Pray that the Holy Spirit will reveal the truth of God as you read it. Memorize it. Hide it in your heart. Write it on your doorposts. But most importantly believe it. It is God's Word. 

Trusting in the Power of God

The LORD reigns; he is robed in majesty; the LORD is robed; he has put on strength as his belt. Yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved. Your throne is established from of old; you are from everlasting. 

- Psalm 93:1-2  

"The world shall never be moved." Nope, not unless God wants it to. 

We must lay ahold of the amazing power of God. Nothing can happen, nothing can move, nothing exists or ceases to exist unless the all-powerful and sovereign hand of God allows it to. 

Whatever you face today, it is not too big for God nor is it beyond His control. 

Trust Him. He created this universe. His throne is everlasting. He is in control.

If you believe that, then you can hand all your issues over to Him and just rest in His arms.

The LORD reigns; he is robed in majesty. 

The God Who Holds Our Every Breath

 

Many of the famous sayings we use, find their origin from the Bible. 

The phrase "The handwriting is on the wall" comes from this story;

Suddenly the fingers of a man's hand emerged and began writing opposite the lampstand on the plaster of the wall of the king's palace, and the king saw the back of the hand that did the writing. - Daniel 5:5 

Check that story out. In that chapter we learn that men who are in positions of authority are literally placed there by God.

"He was also driven away from mankind, and his heart was made like that of beasts, and his dwelling place was with the wild donkeys. He was given grass to eat like cattle, and his body was drenched with the dew of heaven until he recognized that the Most High God is ruler over the realm of mankind and that He sets over it whomever He wishes. - Daniel 5:21

We also are reminded that our very breath comes from God and thus our lives are in His hands. 

But you have lifted up yourself against the Lord of heaven. And the vessels of his house have been brought in before you, and you and your lords, your wives, and your concubines have drunk wine from them. And you have praised the gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood, and stone, which do not see or hear or know, but the God in whose hand is your breath, and whose are all your ways, you have not honored. - Daniel 5:23 

King Belshazzar learned all this. The hard way.

That very night Belshazzar the Chaldean king was killed. - Daniel 5:30

Put your trust in God. He's in charge. He is the God in whose hand is your breath.

Trusting God In the Midst of a Pandemic

Satan wants you to be afraid and to doubt God. He uses the systems of the world such as the media to attack our minds by instilling fear and doubt. Every day for month upon month, we have been bombarded with the news of Covid. While I am in no way saying we should not walk cautiously in these days of the raging virus, but to the Christian, that should never be fueled by the fear of death, suffering, or sickness. 

God is in control.

Yet this barrage of fearful news wears on us. We are tempted to be afraid. 

I feel that. But when I open up God's Word I am reminded that it is only Him I must fear. 1 John 4:18 reminds us though that perfect love casts out fear. Jesus is the perfect love it speaks of us. When we place our faith in Christ and in Him alone, we can rest in Him. 

God is sovereign people. I was reminded of that tonight as I, once again, took notice of Psalm 139, particularly verse 16. Listen to the psalmist explain who God is.

"Your eyes have seen my unformed substance; And in Your book were all written The days that were ordained for me, When as yet there was not one of them."

Nothing can nor will change the days that God ordained has for you. He wrote them in His book before you were even formed in the womb.

Nothing. Not even Covid-19. So, take your rest in Christ. Live for Him, by Him, and in Him.

Pray this and then follow His lead.

Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me and know my anxious thoughts; And see if there be any hurtful way in me, And lead me in the everlasting way. - Psalm 139:23-24

The One Thing We Need To Understand From The Book of Revelation

If you find the Book of Revelation difficult to understand, then at this point just lay hold of this truth from its words.

There will no longer be any curse; and the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and His bond-servants will serve Him; they will see His face, and His name will be on their foreheads. And there will no longer be any night; and they will not have need of the light of a lamp nor the light of the sun, because the Lord God will illumine them; and they will reign forever and ever. - Revelation 22:3-5

The Bible story after creation begins with the curse being put upon the earth because of the first sin of Adam and Eve. This is why life is such a struggle. This why sickness and death exist. This is the root of every single problem on this earth and no matter how much man tries to defeat sickness, addictions, abuse and every other ailment that drags us down, he will not.

But the good news is that if we live by faith in Jesus and what He suffered on the cross, then there is a day coming soon in which that curse will be gone.

This is what we need to receive out of Revelation. We don't need to speculate on and argue over what symbolic mysteries it presents. We need to lay hold of the promises the Word of God gives us and live in joyful expectation of the return of Jesus when all this comes to fruition.

There will no longer be any curse. There will no longer be any night. Darkness will be gone. We will not have need of the light of a lamp nor the light of the sun, because the Lord God will illumine them; and we will reign forever and ever.

That is what we most need to understand from the Book of Revelation.

What To Do When Your Faith Is Tested

The world is in a crisis this very day. For the most part, there is nowhere one could go that the threat of sickness and even death, is not real, due to the corona virus situation. People are scared. The world has basically shut down and many people hiding out in their homes.

As a Christian, I am called to be different than the world. No, we Christians are not perfect, we still worry and get anxious, but to be Biblically truthful, we are not supposed to be afraid, nor are we to be anxious. We are all at different levels of spiritual maturity, so each of us will have our own struggles.

This begs the question, what are we to do with the current situation? What does this all mean? Why is this happening?

If you follow me on social media, you may likely know that I am one of those crazy Christians, who has the audacity to sat that this virus is a warning from God. I have always believed that the message of repentance is the correct one that ought to be preached. John the Baptist came out of the wilderness preparing the way for the coming Messiah, with this message saying “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” - Matthew 3:2. We see that Jesus began His public ministry with the same words, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” - Matthew 4:17. The call to repent is a serious one and I find no scriptural reason that we shouldn’t believe that we ought to be still preaching the same thing. The world we live in today has for the most part moved further and further from God and is very similar to the one we read of in Genesis 6, where man had become so corrupt, that God decided He would clean out mankind and start anew with Noah. We live in a world today that appears ripe for a cleansing.

No, I don’t believe God is going to wipe out mankind at this time, but I do believe that since we live in an age of grace, since the coming of Christ, and  that because “The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.- 2 Peter 3:9, I believe God is showing His mercy in bringing a warning to this lost and godless world. The message to those who reject Him is simple; “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

But we Christians, though we all have things to repent of, are not guilty of the only sin that will lead you to hell, which is the sin of unbelief. We who are Christ’s have repented of that sin and are forgiven and have received the gift of eternal life.

Then what are we to do with this crisis?

The answer is simple and is found clearly in scripture. We are to see this as a trial and a test of our faith. Look at the Book of James and it becomes easy to see what we do.

“Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.  And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” -

James 1:2-4  

We are to count it all joy. Clearly this is a trial and James tells us that trials of various kinds test our faith. I don’t know about you, but my faith is being tested. I’ve spent the last several years purposely trying to build my faith, for I know from past experience, difficult times come. But as hard as I’ve worked at it I still struggle. I’ve committed myself to a daily time of Bible study, have attended church regularly, joined a small group where I get encouraged, I’ve prayed and prayed that the Holy Spirit would guide me to greater faith, and made it my goal to believe every word that God has written down in the scriptures. But still as my faith is tested daily, I am struggling and fighting to avoid fear, anxiety, and doubt.

James tells us though that the testing of our faith produces steadfastness. Steadfastness, if we let it have its full effect, will make us perfect and complete, lacking nothing.

These aren’t my words; these are the Words of God.  I know that because it says this in 

2 Timothy 3:16-17, All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

The answer to how we count this as joy, in the midst of uncertainty, sickness, and even death, is to lay hold of the truth that God is actually using these times, this pain and sorrow, to make us more like Jesus. James said that trials make us “perfect and complete” which would certainly describe Jesus.

I know this is hard. Some of us will face different levels of testing. I don’t know why God may test your faith differently than mine. Some of us will face tests that will seem impossible to bear and unless you keep your eyes on Jesus and you live in His strength, not your own, it may be impossible. But don’t try to do this alone. Let Jesus take you through it and believe what He has told us in the Bible. Moses had a message for Israel as they prepared to cross into the promised land and his message had a promise that is also ours. “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you." - Deuteronomy 31:6  

The same promise is echoed in Hebrews 13:5 which says, “Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”

I don’t know what the immediate future holds for any of us. I know what the end result will be for all of us who “let steadfastness have its full effect.” We will lack nothing and will one day soon be free from this broken and corrupt world that has sin and sickness beating us down. We will live in eternal bliss with our Lord and Savior for all of eternity.

I hope this encourages you to dig deeper into God’s word and learn even more of the joy and the peace we can live in until he comes back or takes us home. If you have trouble understanding and knowing what to do next, James speaks to that as well.

If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.  But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. - James 1:5-6  

When your faith is weak, turn to Jesus with whatever little faith you can muster up and go to Him in prayer. Believe God. If you do, then you will be able to do as James commands us to.

“Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.  And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” - James 1:2-4  

May God richly bless you.

Finding All You Will Ever Need In A Crisis - Grace

I just finished a study on the Book of Hebrews. The main point of Hebrews is that the New Covenant of grace is far superior to the Old Covenant of law. It is a lesson in the preeminence of Christ, our Savior.

I love how the author finishes the letter.

Hebrews 13:25

Grace be with all of you.

Grace. It is the most wonderful gift of God. It is what we must live both under and in. We must receive it to be saved and we must give it to live out our calling from God.

Grace. It is what we need to get through every step of life; both the good and the bad.

When Paul cried out to God to take away the throb=n in his side, God's answer to his prayer was this, "But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”

And how does Paul respond?

Paul said, "Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

 2 Corinthians 12:9-10

We are in difficult times. I would offer this is a calamity.

God will answer our prayers for healing and protection in different ways.

But he has answered those who live by faith in His Son, Jesus, already in this sense:

He has given us grace. No matter what else happens in this life, in the coming days, weeks, and maybe months, He has given us grace and that is sufficient to get us through whatever earthly things happen until He calls us home to be with Him.

His grace is sufficient for you, for His power is made perfect in weakness.

So, Grace be with all of you.

How To Get Up When It Seems Hopeless

This morning is one of those mornings when I realize the value of the exercise of spiritual discipline. Every morning I commit myself to first telling God thank you for simply giving me another day. Then I open the Bible study I am working on. It begins with scripture, then it breaks it down verse by verse, providing interpretation and application, using scripture itself to interpret scripture, for that is proper way to study God’s Word. I ask the Holy Spirit to come be my teacher and to open my mind to understand things, I am not smart enough to do on my own. I make notes on the verses. When my study time is complete, I go into prayer mode. I start with praise, worship, and thanksgiving. Then I have a book in which I have written down the names of the prayer requests I am aware of and the names of those who God places on my heart. Because I am on the prayer team at my church, I then pray through those requests. Having completed all this, I can now go on with my day. Yes, there are days I might fail to do these things for various reasons. But most days this is the course I follow.

Sounds good doesn’t it. Makes me kinda look like some super Christian. I am not. I am probably the least of all, I give Paul a good run at the “chief of all sinners” thing.

This morning, in the midst of this chaos and uncertainty we are living in, I woke up and wondered, why even get up? I know the news today will be bad. The market will continue to drop, there are more sick people, and some have died. It’s dreary and rainy out. The government doesn’t want me to go out, there is little to do anyway, everything being closed, and when I do go out, some are going to call me selfish and taking risks that I shouldn’t be exposing them to. So why not just lay in bed and let depression have its way with me?

But I did get up. I thanked God for another Day. I made my tea and sat down and followed through with my morning spiritual discipline. You see, this discipline is more than what it sounds like on paper. It is time with God. Every single bit of it is God and I in conversation. It is God and I relating and loving each other. It is the spiritual equivalent of a husband and wife going through all the things two lovers go through. It is intimacy. It is conversation. It is finding comfort in being held and being touched. It is everything marriage ought to be. We are the bride of Christ. It is everything childhood ought to be. God is our father and we are His children. It is the perfect meal. My hunger is fed, and my thirst is quenched, for Jesus is the bread of life and He is the living water.

Here is my morning Bible passage.

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. - Hebrews 12:1-3

What God had to say to me this morning is perfect to where I was when I woke up. I can look back at those great men of faith, who ran the race of life before me. They made it through many great and difficult trials and battles the same way we must. They looked to God, to the hope of the coming Jesus, who not only founded their faith, He perfected it. And because of their faith in Jesus, whom they had never seen and had far less revelation of than you and I have, they endured the agonizing marathon of life.

Because of Jesus, they did not grow weary or fainthearted. They put aside the weights of both worldly things, not sins, just weights of the world, and the sin that weighs us down.

Why get out of bed? Why go on? Because Jesus endured the cross, despised the shame, and now sits at the right hand of His Father where He has founded our faith and he is perfecting it until the day He takes us home.

These are difficult days. It would be easy to just quit.

But I shall not. I will look to Jesus. I will keep getting up every morning and spending time with Him and His Father. You must do the same. The only hope we have is Jesus and that hope is a sure hope.

I leave you with a scripture that, thanks to my wife, who gave me a little visor clip that had it on it, allowed me every day at work to remember its hope. This is what we need to remember in these scary days.

Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the LORD, The Creator of the ends of the earth, Neither faints nor is weary. His understanding is unsearchable.  He gives power to the weak, And to those who have no might He increases strength.  Even the youths shall faint and be weary, And the young men shall utterly fall,  But those who wait on the LORD Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint. - Isaiah 40:28-31  

Fix your eyes in Jesus. Then run and don’t get weary.

The Battle Against Fear and Anxiety in the Midst of Death

Fear, worry, anxiety, and a plethora of other emotions are knocking at each of our doors as we begin another week that looks to be even scarier than the last. I’m not anymore immune to this than anyone else is. Though I’ve continually preached against panic and overreaction, the temptation to do so is attempting to rise up in my own mind. Adding to the fears are the government’s response to lock us all down, through the orders to close restaurants, bars, and prohibit public gatherings. I can get by without going to Cracker Barrel and Bandanas to eat. I don’t drink alcohol, so the ability to go to a bar won’t matter one bit to me. But the straw that threatens to break the camel’s back in my life, is the closing of parks and fishing venues. I need the outdoors. I need to be in my kayak away from the problems of normal life, much less the newest issues we all face in the midst of this craziness. Even worse, my ability to gather with fellow brothers and sisters to worship and pray is most likely going to be taken from us.

All of this contributes to the temptation to let the fear and anxiety win.

But I will not go down without a fight. As a matter of fact, I won’t lose the war. I might get my rear end kicked in a few battles, but the war has already been won by my King, King Jesus. Every day I put on the spiritual armor as we read of in Ephesians 6. In case you forgot what that says or aren’t familiar with it, here it is. We need to do what this says.

Ephesians 6:10-20  

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might.  Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.  For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.  Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.  Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace.  In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one;  and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God,  praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints,  and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel,  for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak.

The Sword of the Spirit and prayer are the only two offensive weapons we see in this. And as I stand against the enemy’s attack on my peace, I will yield these weapons with the full force of the Holy Spirit’s power.

The Sword of the Spirit is the Word of God. I will live and I will pray through it and by it. In the midst of this battle, I am reminded of the story of three men who stood firm against the threat of death. They refused to submit to a king who demanded they worship him instead of God. Their names are Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Their story is found in Daniel 3:8-30. Take a few minutes, open your Bible and read the story. But it can quickly be summed up as this.

They were ordered to worship the image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up. If they still refused, they were to be cast into a burning fiery furnace.

Listen to their response, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. If this be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king.”

I love it. Pure, unadulterated rebellion against the king, who not only wanted to stop them from worshipping God, but also wanted them to worship his man-made god.  These are my kind of guys.

But what they said next is of even more importance.

“But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.”

We must understand something here. God has the power to deliver us from every and any danger this world might throw at us. Scripture tells us that nothing is too hard for God. Look at Jeremiah 32:26-27. This is God speaking. “The word of the LORD came to Jeremiah: “Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh. Is anything too hard for me?” Matthew 19:26 says that “Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego believed God would save them from the fiery furnace. They knew with 100% certainty, He could.  But even if God did not save them, they were still going to worship the one and only true God, not the false image of the king.

That, my friends, is faith. Faith in God. The kind of faith that says, God, whatever it is you allow to happen today, is okay with us, because we trust you.

The story ends well. More than well, it ends in a preincarnate appearance of Christ, who performs a miracle that changes everything.

Daniel 3:24-25

Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astounded and stood up in haste; he said to his high officials, "Was it not three men we cast bound into the midst of the fire?" They replied to the king, "Certainly, O king." He said, "Look! I see four men loosed and walking about in the midst of the fire without harm, and the appearance of the fourth is like a son of the gods!"

Daniel 3:24-25  

Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astounded and stood up in haste; he said to his high officials, "Was it not three men we cast bound into the midst of the fire?" They replied to the king, "Certainly, O king."  He said, "Look! I see four men loosed and walking about in the midst of the fire without harm, and the appearance of the fourth is like a son of the gods!"

It gets even better.

Daniel 3:28-30  

Nebuchadnezzar responded and said, "Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego, who has sent His angel and delivered His servants who put their trust in Him, violating the king's command, and yielded up their bodies so as not to serve or worship any god except their own God.  "Therefore I make a decree that any people, nation or tongue that speaks anything offensive against the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego shall be torn limb from limb and their houses reduced to a rubbish heap, inasmuch as there is no other god who is able to deliver in this way."  Then the king caused Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego to prosper in the province of Babylon.

Our faith will be tested today. The stock market will most likely crash even more. Some of us will catch the corona virus. Some people will die today. Fear will continue to grow. And our government will continue to ask us to trust them. In a sense, they are like Nebuchadnezzar, they want us to cower in fear and place our faith in them. That is a form of worship.

I am tempted to be afraid.

But I shall stand against the enemy and I will refuse to bow to the world and its false offer of protection.

My God whom I serve is able to deliver me from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver me out of their hand. But even if He doesn’t, if by the end of the week my entire pension fund is gone, if this virus has invaded my body and takes my very breath away, and even if the National Guard sets up a perimeter around my house and tells me I cannot go to church Sunday, I will not worship the king. Instead I will worship THE KING, my Lord, my Savior, Jesus Christ.

I will pray. I will worship. I will read His Holy Word. I will do more than believe in God, I will believe God. And I will not be alone, for Jesus has promised me this.

Matthew 28:20  

“I am with you always, even to the end of the age."

Deuteronomy 31:6  

"Be strong and courageous, do not be afraid or tremble at them, for the LORD your God is the one who goes with you. He will not fail you or forsake you."

Faith and Science

By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible. - Hebrews 11:3  

Man has an innate desire for knowledge and understanding. In his quest to attain such knowledge, he created something we call science. Science comes from the Latin word scientia, which means knowledge. Merriam-Webster defines it as “the state of knowing : knowledge as distinguished from ignorance or misunderstanding.” Knowledge then is defined as “the fact or condition of knowing something with familiarity gained through experience or association.

Man has been practicing the art of science since around 3500 years before Christ came. There is probably no greater quest in science than the quest to explain where all this came from. We Christians refer to this as the creation. Every single thing that exists within our entire universe had to come from somewhere. Logically, it would make sense that there must be a “science” to it. There must be a fact or condition of knowing how the creation got here. There must be knowledge distinguished from ignorance or misunderstanding.

Yet, in the 5500 some years man has used science to try and explain how everything came into existence, the truth is that he has yet to prove anything. Yes, we have theories. But we do not have knowledge, there are no proven facts that explain the beginning. So far, science has failed us in that area.

Then we have us Christians. And even those who believed in God before the time of Jesus. Hebrews 11:3 is our science. “By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.”

That has just as much factual proof as does the Big Bang Theory. Or any other of man’s scientific efforts to prove where it all began.

I am a very logical person. I’m not the smartest. But I do believe in logic. I have yet to meet or hear anyone speak who can logically explain the universe without admitting that the only logical explanation has to include the concept of something being eternal. Logic completely defies any though that includes the theory that something came from nothing. Yet in our finite, human mind, eternity seems illogical. It’s a bit of a paradox, I think.

Enter the Bible. The Bible says that God is eternal, and He always existed and always will. The Bible says he spoke everything into creation. Interestingly, the Bible never tries to explain how God could be eternal or where He came from. It just says that He is. In the Old Testament, God simply refers to Himself as “I AM.” When Moses asked who he should tell the people sent him, God said, “Tell them I AM has sent me to you.” God has no interest in proving Himself.

It takes faith to believe that. I believe it. Logically, I shouldn’t. I am one of the most untrusting and skeptical people you will ever meet. I question everything. I challenge things people say all the time. I have always tried to prove or disprove what people say. Yet, when I read the Bible and God says I AM, I simply believe that. Since that doesn’t line up with my own logic, I can only believe this; my faith is from God.

Hebrews 11:6 says that “without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.”

Hebrews 12:2 says that “fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

My logical nature is overridden by the author and perfecter of my faith. I did not drum up this faith. God has given it to me.

For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God - Ephesians 2:8  

So, I know where we came from and how we got here.

By faith I understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.

That’s all I need. How about you? If you took the time to read all this, even if you doubt at this time, God has a message for you.

For I know the plans that I have for you,' declares the LORD, 'plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.  'Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you.  'You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart. - Jeremiah 29:11-13  

Seek the LORD while He may be found; Call upon Him while He is near. - Isaiah 55:6  

Have you? Will you?

The Obedience of Faith

I began studying the letter Paul wrote the Colossian Church yesterday. Though my first reading and subsequent study, dealt only with the first eight verses, which would be considered merely the greeting of the letter, I have already learned something new and vital to my understanding of the life of a Christian in respect to faith.

My newfound knowledge came in the area of the word faith.  In verse three, Paul is telling the Colossians how he thanks God for them, whenever he prays for them. He then explains why he thanks God for them, saying in verse four, it is “because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all the saints.”

In my study I learned that the Greek word used for faith is pistis, which is derived from the Greek word peithō. A deeper study of the Greek word peithō tells us that one of the meanings it carries is to obey. So, when we define faith, we find that it involves a belief that the object of our faith is something that we can have so much confidence in, that we are compelled to obey its source. And what is the primary source of our faith? It is Jesus who we place our faith in. Thus, our faith, as defined in the scriptures, demands our obedience to the object of our faith. In simple terms, we are to have such a strong confidence in Jesus, that we are led to believe that what He says to us, is true and we can rest confidently in obedience to Him. We are to obey what Jesus has said to us.

The very reason that Paul opens his letter by telling the church at Colossae that he thanks God for them, is because they are obedient to Christ’s call on their lives and that is demonstrated to all by their love for each other. Remember that in the New Testament, every single Christian is called a saint. When Paul says they love the saints, he is speaking of the love they have for their brothers and sisters in Christ. Every single person who has entered into the family of God by their faith in Jesus, is called to love their fellow saints in the faith. 1 John 3:14 gives us the litmus test for true faith in Christ saying that “We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love abides in death.”

If we do not love our brothers and sisters in Christ, then our profession of faith is a farce and a lie. Unless that love exists, we are not Christians. This confirms the idea of faith demanding obedience to Jesus.

As I pondered this thought over the course of my day, the Holy Spirit began to work on me. By evening I had moved on to other thoughts and had as usual, went back to the everyday things of life. But at 3:00 a.m. this morning, I woke up with a bit of a headache. As someone who stumbles through with the struggles of what the shrinks call bi-polar manic depression, I often cannot sleep. What happens is my brain won’t turn off. It’s sort of a sensory overload, I guess, and it can be quite frustrating, as it just becomes impossible to rest.

So, here I am awake in the early hours of the morning. But rather than fight the battle to go back to sleep, this morning I could hear that quiet voice of God speaking. First of all, I took a few minutes in prayer just to praise and thank God for the blessings of my life. Then I simply let God speak and what I am hearing this morning is Jesus preaching the sermon we all know and call the Sermon on the Mount. As the Holy Spirit brought that sermon back to my mind, I began to ask myself questions. Questions that center on my faith. This morning I am sharing those questions with those of you reading this. The questions are to be answered in the context of faith, meaning that I am to obey my Lord, Jesus, for that is what saying I have placed my faith in Him means. It means I trust Him so much that I am willing to do the things He calls me to do. My prayer for each of you is that you will take some time to open your Bible and answer some of these questions in your own heart.

For me, this morning, my questions come straight from what we call the Beatitudes.

Am I poor in spirit? Do I mourn? Am I gentle? Do I hunger and thirst for righteousness? Am I merciful? Am I pure in heart? Am I a peacemaker? Have I been persecuted for the sake of righteousness? Have people insulted and persecuted me, saying false, evil things against me because of Jesus?

Those are powerful questions that honestly, bring strong conviction to my heart. I don’t think I can say yes to most of those questions, so in them I have a lot of soul searching to do.

The reward for living the life that Jesus describes there, which goes completely counter to the culture we live in, is that we will be blessed. Blessed here brings the connotation of happiness. Look at the rewards of such a life.

Matthew 5:3-12
 "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.  "Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.  "Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth.  "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.  "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.  "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.  "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.  "Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.  "Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me.  "Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great.”

Even in the early morning, when my eyes are fuzzy and my brain tired, I can see clearly the power and blessings of an obedient life of faith.

How about you?

I hope and pray your faith and my faith will reveal itself to each other and, to the unsaved world, so that Christ will be glorified, and His love will be on display for all to see.

I’m tired now. But having spent time this morning in God’s Word, causes me to simply rest in Jesus. I hope you also will do the same.