David faced insurmountable odds against his success. His own followers were talking of stoning him because they were so grieved over the kidnapping of their wives and children. They blamed David for all their problems. …
Keeping Yourself EncouragedRead More »
Keeping Yourself Encouraged Read More »
Many years ago I heard someone suggest reading the book of Proverbs one chapter a day according to the calendar date. I began this practice and have benefited greatly from this wonderful book of divine wisdom. …
Promises for Righteous LivingRead More »
Promises for Righteous Living Read More »
Instantaneous electronic communication fills 21st century humanity with a constant birage of news about earth’s troubles. This knowledge can easily overwhelm us with dread and remorse. In fact, Jesus predicted, “On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity….People will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world,” Luke 21:25-26.
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Your Companion During Troubled TimesRead More »
Your Companion During Troubled Times Read More »
“Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; do not fret when people succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes. Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret—it leads only to evil,” Psalm 37:7-8.
The word “fret” is defined in Webster’s 1828 Dictionary as “to rub; to wear away by friction; to corrode; to gnaw; eat away; to agitate; disturb and vex.” Obviously, God warns us of fretting because of its dire consequences for us. Fretting always hurts you physically, spiritually and in every other way. Its corrosive effect eats away at your strength to seek the Lord because fretting turns your attention from him toward those who care nothing at all about Jesus. …
Stages make up our lifetime on earth. God wants to serve as Lord over the stages of our lives. Stages are inevitable as we spend more and more years on planet earth. Consequently, don’t try holding on to the past . Let them go and enjoy where you are in energy level, number of years, and interests.
Lots of pleasant memories fill my mind. Delores and I have fun talking about these past events, but we don’t want to return to any of them. Why? Because we are having fun being seniors. More importantly, we have the faith to enter new stages of life because God is with us and God has good things in mind for the current time of life in which we find ourselves.
Here is a Scripture Sheet entitled God Wants Better Than The Best For You. This “best” includes the stage of life you are in.
God Wants Better than the Best for You
Be greatly encouraged, James.
God Wants Better Than the Best for You Read More »
Lots of distressing thoughts tried worming their way into the Apostle Paul’s mind. No wonder! The government of the Roman Empire held Paul prisoner and intended to place him on trial. The emperor’s decision would determine whether the apostle lived or died.
Additionally, news from the churches wasn’t always pleasant and encouraging. Paul’s love for the new Christian believers burdened him with concern for their welfare. Reports of their struggles, their failures and their difficulties filled his heart with pain. Tears trickled down his face as he called on the Lord Jesus to strengthen the churches he had started.
As Paul awaited trial before the emperor, he sent a letter to the Christians in Phillipa, Macedonia. These followers of Jesus needed to hear a word of assurance from the man who founded their church. As Paul wrote to these precious people he used the word joy six times in this very brief letter. “In all my prayers for all of you I always pray with joy.” (1) On top of that he penned the word rejoice eight times. “Because of this I rejoice. Yes, and I will continue to rejoice.” (2) “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice.” (3) These are not the words of a depressed, despondent and apprehensive man. Joy bubbled up in Paul’s spirit and a rejoicing mind filled his vocabulary with words of victory. Why? Paul practiced meditation that built him up and never tore him down!
As Paul reached the end of writing his letter to the Philippians, he wrote a description of meditation that always builds us up. “Finally…whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.” (4) Yes, we choose to entertain thoughts that either build us up or tear us down. We are in charge of the thoughts that fill our minds. No, it isn’t always easy to think about things that are true, pure, noble, right, excellent or praiseworthy, but we can walk through this life selecting thoughts that are up-building while rejecting thoughts that are destructive.
The human mind is a very noisey place. It never rests except during sleep. Ideas, reactions, dreams and words fill the mind even when we wish it would quiet down.
Even though life irresistibly moved the apostle Paul toward his trial, he purposefully practiced Bible type meditation. Consequently, peace filled his mind and joy infused his emotions.
Meditation engages our thoughts with the object of our attention. The mind thinks about whatever the heart loves. Therefore, Paul’s powerful love for Jesus glued his mind on him.
Satan, the godless world and our own adamic nature wish to clutter our minds with lots of noise. To counter this attack of fear, anxiety, godlessness and false teaching we fill our minds with God’s written Word. Then here is what happens to the Word filled mind.
“Great peace have those who love your law, and nothing can make them stumble,” Psalm 119:165.
“If only you had paid attention to my commands, your peace would have been like a river,” Isaiah 48:18.
God’s Word is more than a text-book comprised of print on paper. “The Word of God is living and active.” (5) Jesus confidently declared, “The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life.” (6) Scripture originated in the Holy Spirit and this same spirit makes God’s written Word come alive in our human spirits. It truly is, “active and living!” Therefore, when fear or anxiety shouted words of doom in Paul’s mind, he attacked these words by deliberately rehearsing God’s promises. As a result the peace that comes from God beat down the clamor aroused by fearful thoughts and em
otions. Psalm 119:95 certainly applies to Paul’s situation: “The wicked are waiting to destroy me, but I will ponder your statutes.”
Bible based meditation lifts our thoughts to the Lord, his goodness, his power and his love. We don’t merely guess about our future or our current situations. We know what God is like because his Word describes his character, his innermost being, his essence. As we gaze on him by meditating in his Word his love quiets our troubled minds and calmness spreads throughout our entire person!
Jesus did not inherit Adam’s sinful nature. He inherited his heavenly Father’s sinless nature. Nevertheless, Satan felt confident in his ability to corrupt Jesus’ purity and thereby disqualify him from becoming the Savior of the world.
How did Satan go about his effort to contaminate Jesus’ devotion to heavenly Father? He injected impure thoughts into the Lord’s mind!
“The devil said to him…” (Luke 4:3).
“The devil…said to him…” (Luke 4:5-6).
“The devil… ‘if you are the Son of God,’ he said…” (Luke 4:9).
Although forty days of fasting had torn Jesus down physically and emotionally his human spirit remained powerful. Consequently, he dominated his mind by the power of his spirit. He rejected and obliterated the deceitful thoughts Satan forced into his mind.
You are a child of God and the Spirit of the living Jesus dwells in you. Therefore, by the power of Jesus’ Spirit you can subdue meditation that attempts to tear you down. Jesus’ presence in our spirits does not shield our minds from all satanic suggestions. We, like Jesus, are susceptible to godless ideas. However, the presence of Jesus equips us with divine power to rule our minds and bring them into submission to God’s ways and thoughts. “The one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.” (7)
You can choose to exercise control over your meditation because God restored to you all the rights Adam and Eve gave away. Jesus regained for us the right to govern our minds and master the thoughts that try debilitating us.
Footnotes:
1. Philippians 1:4
2. Philippians 1:18
3. Philippians 4:4
4. Philippians 4:8
5. Hebrews 4:12
6. John 6:63
7. 1 John 4:4
Meditation that Builds You Up and Never Tears You Down Read More »
Quiet peacefulness enveloped a grove of olive trees just outside the wall of Jerusalem. We call this place the Garden of Gethsemane. Darkness added a feeling of calmness to the scene. Jesus’ apostles continued hoping their leader from Nazareth would, like Moses, bring Israel into freedom from foreign oppression.
Suddenly human voices, muffled by distance, sounded in the apostle’s ears. Gradually these angry voices grew louder as men holding torches approached. This furious mob shattered their idyllic surroundings. …
Accessing Jesus’ Peaceful ThoughtsRead More »
Accessing Jesus’ Peaceful Thoughts Read More »
Impossibly tough times faced King Jehoshaphat. Three nations secretly aligned themselves against the King of Judah and marched against his kingdom with a huge force. Jehoshaphat learned of this impending invasion at the last moment—the enemy was almost upon him. (1)
The small kingdom of Judah appeared totally hopeless. Its army was no match for the hoard moving against the people of the Lord. Understandably, anxiety seized King Jehoshaphat. Nevertheless, he and his people defeated dread by eliminating reasons for feeling anxious. Let’s follow their example.
We are not defeated when anxious feelings invade our emotions and minds. God isn’t disappointed in us when worry suddenly pounces on us and fills us with apprehension. Don’t find fault with yourself when nervous about your future. Anxiety isn’t failure—it’s a motivation to recall God’s greatness.
“Jehoshaphat stood up…and said…O Lord, God…are you not the God who is in heaven? You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations. Power and might are in your hand, and no one can withstand you.” (2)
Jehoshaphat never mentioned the huge size or the military might of his opponents. He only considered God’s greatness. In Jehoshaphat’s mind God’s greatness eliminated every reason for anxiety. God’s greatness ended the matter.
Reasons for trust in God always exceed our reasons for feeling anxious. He can handle anything and everything the future holds in store for us.
Anxiety attempts to live the future before it arrives. It revels in guessing what’s going to happen and how we will react. Consequently, this struggle to deal with what hasn’t yet happened exhausts our emotional and physical energy.
Jehoshaphat admitted, “We have no power to face this vast army that is attacking us. We do not know what to do.” (3) However, the King refused to allow ignorance of the future to plunge his mind into anxiety. He concentrated his attention on the God he knew: “Our eyes are upon you!” (4) His knowledge of God triumphed over his ignorance of the future. Consequently, anxiety neither filled his emotions nor saturated his thoughts.
Ignorance about God opens our minds to multitudes of worrisome thoughts. Fortunately, God sent us a text message we call the Word of God, Bible or Scripture. Through the Bible we come to know God. Scripture dispels ignorance about God and brings us into a familiarity with him.
Jehoshaphat’s acquaintance with Scripture told him what God is like. Therefore, he confidently declared, “We…will cry out to you in our distress and you will hear us and save us.” (5) Scripture filled him with consciousness of God’s reliability.
The Word of God introduces us to Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Therefore, we must do everything possible to implant God’s Word in our thoughts. Read the Word, hear it taught and preached, and meditate on it. The implanted Word of God transforms anxiety into a less formidable foe.
When under attack by anxiety turn your thoughts to the God you know. Trust his promises whenever you cannot possibly explain how you will survive the future.Concentrate on divine promises and quit devising human explanations!
We must get use to it: God’s ways are not our ways and his thoughts are not our thoughts. (6) Let’s accept his ways and thoughts by implementing them rather than only talking about them. “Do not merely listen to the word…. Do what it says.” (7) What does it say? Praise God, praise God and praise God! Over and over Scripture commands us to praise. These commands are not an option—God gives us no choice.
“Sing joyfully to the Lord, you righteous; it is fitting for the upright to praise him,” Psalm 33:1.
“His praise will always be on my lips,” Psalm 34:1
“Praise the Lord. How good it is to sing praises to our God, how pleasant and fitting to praise him,” Psalm 147:1!
“Praise him for his acts of power; praise him for his surpassing greatness,” Psalm 150:2.
Jehoshaphat’s military methods defy orthodox military tactics. He placed a choir at the head of the army and instructed these singers to declare, “Give thanks to the Lord for his love endures forever.” (8) “As they began to sing and praise the Lord” God annihilated their enemies. (9)
Praise of God is our most powerful weapon against anxiety. Unorthodox? Yes, but unbelievably effective! Train yourself to be a praiser. This doesn’t mean you lift your hands as you drive. You don’t speak audibly in the grocery store. True, Scripture often refers to lifting our hands and speaking our praise out loud. But when you can’t physically demonstrate praise, praise the Lord in your thoughts. Train yourself to frequently tell the Lord you love him and appreciate him. The habit of praising God expels anxiety from your mind and emotions. Expectations of victory and success replace expectations of defeat and disappointment. After all, God’s promises list innumerable reasons for anticipating better than the best and more than the most. “My mouth shall tell of…your deeds of salvation…for their number is more than I know.” (10) “He performs wonders that cannot be fathomed, miracles that cannot be counted.” (11)
Refuse to be victimized by anxiety. Trust the God who commits his infinite person and inexhaustible resources to caring for your welfare.
Footnotes:
1. 2 Chronicles 20:1-2
2. 2 Chronicles 20:5-6
3. 2 Chronicles 20:12
4. Ibid
5. 2 Chronicles 20:9
6. Isaiah 55:8
7. James 1:22
8. 2 Chronicles 20:21
9. 2 Chronicles 20:22
10. Psalm 71:15 (Amp.Version)
11. Job 9:10
Eliminating Our Reasons for Anxiety Read More »
Feeling condemned over our fearful feelings isn’t that uncommon. On the other hand, fearing our fears magnifies them. We think God doesn’t want anything to do with us since we are entertaining fear and, therefore, we hesitate to ask him for help. So, it’s very important to overcome fear of our fears. …
Don’t Fear Your FearsRead More »
Don’t Fear Your Fears Read More »
Israel’s army was capable of defending the tiny nation. The army’s leader, King Saul, looked like an impressive warrior men were willing to follow into battle. Equipped for warfare and trained for battle, Israel’s army looked prepared for an encounter with the Philistine forces.
In spite of appearances, the Israelies proved woefully ill prepared for military engagement. “…Saul and all the Israelites were dismayed and terrified,” 1 Samuel 17:11. “When the Israelites saw (Goliath), they all ran from him in great fear,” 1 Samuel 17:24. They were controlled by fearful imaginations. They could only picture themselves slaughtered by the opposing army. They could not imagine themselves as victors. …
Controlled by a Fearless ImaginationRead More »
Controlled by a Fearless Imagination Read More »