Archive for the ‘Bible Study’ Category

The Holy Spirit – The Abundant Life

Posted in Bible Study, Christianity, inspirational, tagged , , , , , , on June 2, 2012 | 1 Comment »

It is only through the Holy Spirit that you can live the abundant life.  If that statement is true then it is imperative that we understand who the Holy Spirit is and how he works.  Here are a few scriptures that gives us a short overview of the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit is the third person of the Godhead:  The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Matthew 28:19 NASB  “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,

The Holy Spirit was there at creation.  Isn’t it interesting to know that all three, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit took part in creation?

Genesis 1:2 NASB  The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters.

He was present in Old Testament times.

Micah 3:8 NASB  On the other hand I am filled with power– With the Spirit of the LORD– And with justice and courage To make known to Jacob his rebellious act, Even to Israel his sin.

Ezekiel 3:12 NASB Then the Spirit lifted me up, and I heard a great rumbling sound behind me, “Blessed be the glory of the LORD in His place.”

Psalms 51:11 NASB  Do not cast me away from Your presence And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.

There are many others.  And, of course, we see the Holy Spirit all through the New Testament.

So, let’s focus on how the Holy Spirit can effect our Christian life today.   Let’s bring it right down to where we live.   Let’s discover how we can be victorious and have the abundant life Jesus would like us to have.

Just before I was saved, and that was many years ago, I started having a curiosity about the Bible.   I wondered what it said, and if it was important or not.   I knew people who went to church and read the Bible, and I wondered what it did for them, if anything.

I had a lot of problems in my life at the time especially horrible panic attacks that were ruining my life completely.   There didn’t seem to be any hope for my future.   I really didn’t know where to turn and I experimented with fortune tellers, astrology, and alcohol in an effort to find answers.   Then I thought maybe I’d find some answers in the Bible.   I didn’t know where to look though, so I just began reading at the beginning.   That was hard because it wasn’t long and I was bogged down in genealogies which are very boring and difficult to read.   So, I skipped them and pressed on.   I read some in the New Testament too, but I had a hard time understanding much of it.

Finally, I said to a friend who I thought was “religious.” “I don’t know why, but I’m reading the Bible, and I don’t understand it.”

She answered, “Well, if you don’t have the Holy Spirit you can’t understand the Bible.”

“What?   You need something called the Holy Spirit to understand the Bible?   I don’t even know what that is, or where I’d get that.” I replied.   It all sounded kind of spooky to me.

Later, I discovered how to get the Holy Spirit.

Ephesians 1:13 NASB  In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation–having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise,

You see the moment I heard the gospel message and committed my life to Christ, the Holy Spirit came to indwell me and sealed my salvation.

Not only is the third person of the godhead in me, but He also is my teacher.   He also uses good Bible teachers to help us and I found Dr. J. Vernon McGee on the radio who also helped me tremendously.

1 John 2:27 NASB  As for you, the anointing which you received from Him abides in you, and you have no need for anyone to teach you; but as His anointing teaches you about all things, and is true and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you abide in Him.

Jesus was talking with His disciples and He told them that He had to go away but that the Father would send them another Helper, and that Helper was the Holy Spirit.   He was sent to teach us.

John 14:16 NASB  “I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever;

John 14:26 NASB  “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.

God knows us and He knew that we would need help in this world.   While Jesus was here on Earth, He was only in one location at a time.  But, He needed to go back to the Father and He promised to give us the Holy Spirit who can be in all of us at the same time no matter where on Earth we are located.   That is simply amazing!

Now, that we have the Holy Spirit does He make any difference in our lives?   Do you realize that we have the “power of the Holy Spirit,” living in us.   That power is the same power that raised Jesus from the dead.   Wow!   What power!   If we have that much power why then are we so weak and unable to break out of our sinful habits?   We have the power but it doesn’t seem to work for us.

Romans 8:4 NASB  so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

Shortly after I was saved this dear Christian lady whom I later came to call my spiritual mother, sent me a little booklet called, “Walk in the Spirit.”   I wish I still had that little gem.   It was printed in England and was out of print at the time, but she felt I might benefit from it so gave me her last copy.

As I remember, the booklet talked about how to learn to walk in the Spirit much the same way as a little child learns to walk.   He starts out, takes a step or two, and then falls down.   The child usually gets right back up and tries again.   He does this over and over until he is actually gets all over the house and gets into lots of trouble. (We are not to do that part.)

But, to walk in the Spirit is like that.   We go to God in prayer and ask Him to help us follow the leading of the Holy Spirit.   Then, we start out our day.   Yes, we slip too and fall down. We sin. When we do then we must go back to God, confess how we messed up, and try again.   It is a learning process and with time will yield much success.

I’m so glad I received that little booklet back then because it got me started out on the right foot, so to speak.

What was the alternative?   Well, the alternative is that we would walk in the flesh.   You see, when we get saved we become a new creation on the inside.   We get the Holy Spirit and all of His power in our lives, but there is a catch.   Even though Christ died on the cross for our sins and we have been forgiven completely, and we are a new person inside, we still have to deal with the flesh.   That is our humanness.   Our outer man.   Our inner man is new, but we still have the outer man.   The outer man and the inner man are in a constant battle.   It’s really a good thing we have the Holy Spirit because we could not win this battle without Him.

Now, we have a choice. We can live our lives according to the flesh, or we can live our lives according to the Spirit.   We can follow the desires of our flesh.   When we do we will not be victorious over the sins in our lives. They will grow and get worse.   When we live according to the Spirit we can have victory.   That is the difference.

When we try to beat some besetting sin and we continue to fail, we need to ask ourselves if we are operating in the flesh or the Spirit?   That is the question.   That just may be the key to your success as you battle sin.   When we try to beat sin in the flesh it will never work.   We might have a small victory here or there but we will never gain the total victory over it.   But, if we totally yield ourselves to the Holy Spirit and allow Him to lead us in the battle, He will defeat the foe.   We will be successful, and then we can give all the praise and glory to God.   We will be able to live the abundant life He desires for us.

Ephesians 5:18 NASA  And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit,

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Where is the Truth?

Posted in Bible Study, Christianity, Faith, God, inspirational, tagged , , , , on November 11, 2011 | Leave a Comment »

Are you confused?  Today it is easy to get really confused.  We have  many voices coming at us and they take us in all different directions.  Where do you look for truth?

If we look to politicians for the truth we are in for a big disappointment.  They tell us one thing and do another.  They don’t keep their promises and they let us down every time.  It doesn’t matter which party, they are all alike.  Sometimes when they are on television, I will say, “Hey! His nose  is getting longer!”


Do we look for truth in the world?  How many commercials have you seen and then went out and bought the product and found it wasn’t at all like they advertised? It’s happened to me a lot.  No, we can’t trust the world for the truth. 

How about special “sales,” in stores.  Many times I’ve gone to get a certain product that was advertised as “on sale” and when I got there they were “all out.”  Can you say, “bait and switch”?  We can’t trust commercial enterprises.


What kind of truth are you looking for?  Is it truth about a health issue?  Maybe the psychologist will help.  Not so fast! They don’t tell us the truth either.  They don’t tell us that we have a spiritual problem that needs to be fixed between God and ourselves.  Instead, they probe into our past and try to dig up things that might cause our distress.  But, is that where we find the truth?  No!  That usually only causes more confusion.  They may prescribe psych pills that can be actually dangerous to our health.  We can become dependent on them and our psychologist.  That is not good either.

The news media is another place where we can’t find the truth.  If you surf the channels you will find many different views of the same news story.  So, who does tell us the truth?  Hard to say.  Maybe none of them.  Who do we believe?

So, let’s surf to the so-called Christian stations.  What have we here?  There is much false teaching on these stations.  We have to be careful.  How many people can actually tell what is true and what is false teaching?  You can’t if you haven’t been a student of the Word of God.  Much of it has some truth, but then they throw in all the false teachings to go along with it.


(1Co 5:6)  Your glorying is not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump?

Well, I do have the answer to the question of where is the truth.  The absolute truth is found in the Word of God, the Bible.  Do you realize that the Bible is the only book that is alive?  It is the living Word of God.  Do you know that the Bible has the answers to all of our problems?  It does, and we can trust what it says.

(2Pe 1:3)  According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:

(2Ti 3:16)  All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:

(2Ti 3:17)  That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.

God tells us in the Bible that His words are truth!

(Bold print in the verses below are mine.)

(Psa 119:160) “All your words are true, all your righteous laws are eternal.”

(Psa 31:5)  Into thine hand I commit my spirit: thou hast redeemed me, O LORD God of truth.

(Isa 65:16)  “Because he who is blessed in the earth Will be blessed by the God of truth; And he who swears in the earth Will swear by the God of truth; Because the former troubles are forgotten, And because they are hidden from My sight!

(Exo 34:6)  Then the LORD passed by in front of him and proclaimed, “The LORD, the LORD God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth;

(Psa 108:4)  For Your lovingkindness is great above the heavens, And Your truth reaches to the skies.

(Psa 57:10)  For Your lovingkindness is great to the heavens And Your truth to the clouds.

(Joh 17:17)  “Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth.

(2Sa 7:28)  “Now, O Lord GOD, You are God, and Your words are truth, and You have promised this good thing to Your servant.

God cannot lie!

(Tit 1:2)  in the hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised long ages ago,

(Num 23:19)  “God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent; Has He said, and will He not do it? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?

(1Sa 15:29)  “Also the Glory of Israel will not lie or change His mind; for He is not a man that He should change His mind.”

(Heb 6:18)  so that by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have taken refuge would have strong encouragement to take hold of the hope set before us.

J.I. Packer in “Knowing God,”  speaking of God’s words says: “They are an index of reality:  they show us things as they really are, and as they will be for us in the future according to whether we heed God’s words to us or not.”

No matter if we believe God’s Word is true or not it doesn’t matter because it IS true, and it doesn’t change.  It will be true forever.  We can bank on it.

The Truth is in the Bible!

Mystery solved!  We can go to the Bible to find the truth.  God is truth and His word is truth.  You can depend on it!  You can be secure in it!  It is trustworthy!  Today, as we face our challanges, we can turn to the Bible and know that we will find the answers and they will be true.


It still boggles my mind to think that the God of all creation loves me so much that He gave me an instruction book on how to live my life.  He cares about me!  He tells me how I should conduct myself on a daily basis. He helps me understand why people act the way they do.  He tells me He loves me and wants an intimate relationship with me.  He helps me know what is right and what is wrong.  He gives me wisdom and understanding.  I know when I read something in the Bible it is TRUTH!  It doesn’t matter to me what other people say about it.  I know in my heart that it is the truth and that I need to stand on it.


If you would like to read a chapter in the Bible that tells us about the Word of God there is no better one than Psalm 119.  Some of my favorite scriptures are in this chapter.  Here are a few of my favorites that encourage me to live a life that is pleasing to God.

Psalm 119:11 “I have hidden thy word in my heart that I might not sin against you.”

Psalm 119:15 “I meditate on your precepts and consider your ways.”

Psalm 119:18 “Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law.”

Psalm 119:103 “How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth.”

Oh, there are so many more!  Go, read, and be blessed!

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Does Mother Nature have PMS?

Posted in American culture, Bible Study, Christian, inspirational, Religion, Scripture, tagged , , , , , , on January 7, 2011 | Leave a Comment »

MR900020735    

It seems like she is really in a bad mood lately, doesn’t it? Our nation has  had extra bad weather over the past month or so.  And, who gets the blame?  Mother Nature is the one who makes the headlines.

New York State Thruway Shuts Down, Leaving Hundreds Stranded – December 2, 2010

“A New York State Thruway was shutdown Thursday after a storm dumped up to 2 feet of snow on the area, leaving hundreds of motorists stranded and spending the night in their vehicles.”

Some of my own family members were stranded in this shutdown for several hours.  It was like a blizzard as the snow came down in buckets.  The road closed down and traffic came to a stop.  To top it off they were on their way home from the hospital with their special needs child who had just had his tonsils out.  But, thank the Lord, someone came along and got them unstuck and they were able to finally get back home.  Some people were stranded there overnight in the same location.  According to the news reports, Mother Nature had hit the city hard. 

Then came the terrible rain storms in California: 

STORM DAMAGE:  MOTHER NATURE OWES OC $23 MILLION, 12/19/2010  —   OC Weekly

“Original Post, December 27, 11:16 a.m. : ​​If you’ve been living in OC the past two weeks, you know it’s been a wet existence. Downpour, after downpour, slanted rain, water rising from the ground, flooded gutters. It wasn’t the most pleasant time to be singing the praises of living in Southern California.

Mudslides left families stranded (Silverado Canyon) and major roadways blocked off to traffic… Car accident reports spiked, as motorists were spinning out of control or were blinded on the wet roadways. Four hikers were stranded in the San Gabriel Mountains, requiring a helicopter rescue by Los Angeles fire fighters…

It go so bad that Lt. Gov. Abel Maldonado declared a state of emergency in nine Southern California counties.”

Blizzards in the Midwest closed down roads and left motorists stranded in their cars. In North Dakota there was a 100 car pile up.  Airports were closed and many holiday plans were ruined.  At one point up to 17 feet of new snow was dumped in the mountains. 

MOTHER NATURE STRIKES AGAIN 12/30/2010  abc news

There was an unusual tornado outbreak for December in 7 states right around New Years.  These caused 6 or 7 deaths, and terrible destruction.  Missouri was one state hit pretty hard on New Year’s Eve.

What is wrong with Mother Nature anyway?  Can’t she cut us break? All his devastation and heartache.  

It’s the gift that Mother Nature just keeps giving this season—snow. More is coming to southeast Michigan.  Freep.com  Detroit Free Press, 1/06/2011

……

Mother Nature delivers Heavy snow, frigid temps descend on southwest Montana. Bozeman Daily Chronicles  11/24/2010

……

MOTHER NATURE IS GOING TO BE COMPLETELY OBNOXIOUS!  The Weather Channel 1/7/2011

I’ve been thinking about all of these storms being blamed on Mother Nature.  Does she have PMS?  Well, no, not really. She does not actually exist, therefore, she could not have PMS.   If you believe in Santa Clause then maybe you believe in Mother Nature.  She is simply a myth.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mother_Nature

So, who or what is responsible for natural disasters and horrible weather outbreaks?  God is! That’s right, but you won’t hear that on the news.

Now if you think my point is groundless and that a loving God would not do such a thing as allow terrible storms, tornadoes, hurricanes, earthquakes, mudslides, blizzards, freezing rain, damaging winds, and other natural disasters, to come upon us, then let me take you to the Word of God and show you what God Himself says.

God is the God of the universe.

Isa 44:24 NASB  Thus says the LORD, your Redeemer, and the one who formed you from the womb, “I, the LORD, am the maker of all things, Stretching out the heavens by Myself And spreading out the earth all alone,

God created all things through Jesus Christ, and He continues to this day to hold it all together.

Col 1:16-17 NASB  For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities–all things have been created through Him and for Him.  (17)  He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.

God is in control.  He is Sovereign and can do whatever He pleases.  Nothing happens by chance.  Nothing!  He is in total control of the weather.  He causes the weather.

Psalm 135:5-7 NASB  For I know that the LORD is great And that our Lord is above all gods.  (6)  Whatever the LORD pleases, He does, In heaven and in earth, in the seas and in all deeps.  (7)  He causes the vapors to ascend from the ends of the earth; Who makes lightnings for the rain, Who brings forth the wind from His treasuries.

Psa 148:8 NASB  Fire and hail, snow and clouds; Stormy wind, fulfilling His word;

Why does God cause bad weather?  I do not know His reasons because we cannot comprehend it.  He has His reasons and they have to do with His divine providence.

Job 37:5-7 NASB  “God thunders with His voice wondrously, Doing great things which we cannot comprehend.  (6)  “For to the snow He says, ‘Fall on the earth,’ And to the downpour and the rain, ‘Be strong.’  (7)  “He seals the hand of every man, That all men may know His work.

God directs the weather and storms.  He is orchestrating it. Verse 13 may help us understand as it says it might be for correction, or for His world, or for his lovingkindness.  That again is hard to understand, except, not all storms are bad.  He brings rain to water the crops so we have food.

Job 37:9-13 NASB  “Out of the south comes the storm, And out of the north the cold.  (10)  “From the breath of God ice is made, And the expanse of the waters is frozen.  (11)  “Also with moisture He loads the thick cloud; He disperses the cloud of His lightning.  (12)  “It changes direction, turning around by His guidance, That it may do whatever He commands it On the face of the inhabited earth.  (13)  “Whether for correction, or for His world, Or for lovingkindness, He causes it to happen.

Notice in verse 7 below He says He is the one “causing well-being, and creating calamity.” This is eye opening to me! I’ve never noticed that verse before.  God Himself creates troubles.

Isa 45:5-7 NASB  “I am the LORD, and there is no other; Besides Me there is no God. I will gird you, though you have not known Me;  (6)  That men may know from the rising to the setting of the sun That there is no one besides Me. I am the LORD, and there is no other,  (7)  The One forming light and creating darkness, Causing well-being and creating calamity; I am the LORD who does all these.

Amo 3:6 NASB  If a trumpet is blown in a city will not the people tremble? If a calamity occurs in a city has not the LORD done it?

……

What if, just for conversation, what if, we would insert the word “God” in these headlines in place of “Mother Nature?”  How would that sound on the nightly news.  Let’s try some on for size.

STORM DAMAGE:  MOTHER NATURE GOD OWES OC $23 MILLION

MOTHER NATURE GOD STRIKES AGAIN 

MOTHER NATURE GOD DELIVERS HEAVY SNOW, FRIGID TEMPS DESCEND ON SOUTHWEST MONTANA.

IT’S THE GIFT THAT MOTHER NATURE GOD JUST KEEPS GIVING THIS SEASON–SNOW.

How would that sound?  Kind of odd wouldn’t you say?  But, do you know what?  There’s a lot of truth in that!

Listen and watch for the term, “Mother Nature,” and when you come across it simply change it to God and see how it sounds.  It puts a whole new perspective on things don’t you think?

What is our reaction when we hear that Mother Nature wreaks havoc?   We feel bad for the people who were involved.  We simply say to ourselves, “That’s  Mother Nature for ya,” and more or less except it and continue with the cleanup. 

On the other hand, what if we acknowledged it was God’s doing? What would our reaction be then?  I think we might realize how fragile life is and that we have no control over nature.  We might throw ourselves onto the mercy of God, and pray He would spare us.  We need to take stock of ourselves and gain an added reverence and respect for God.  Most importantly, we need to get right with God.  We need to be ready in the event that it would be our time to move on from this life.  This perspective would have a positive impact on us and our country.  I truly believe that.

Quote by Gil Rugh “Nothing happens by an act of Mother Nature; everything happens by an act of Father God!”

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Thanks for What we Have in Christ

Posted in Bible Study, Christian, Holidays, inspirational, Religion, Scripture, tagged , , , , , on November 22, 2010 | Leave a Comment »

Thanks for What we Have in Christ

This Sunday Joel Spencer was our speaker for our special Thanksgiving message.  He brought us to Colossians 1:1-23 to highlight some things that we have to be thankful for as Christians.

Have you ever thought about how many times in a week you say, “thank you?”  We say it all the time, and it is polite to say “thank you.”  We thank the cashier in the check out line when they hand us our change or bags.  We thank strangers when they hold open a door for us.  We thank our spouses when they do something nice.  Thanksgiving is a part of our lives.  But, how many times do we thank God?  And, if we do what do we thank Him for?

In this message we will see several things that we can thank God for if we are Christians.  I hope you will be encouraged to think about all that God has done for us and be forever grateful.

Click below to listen to this uplifting message.

Thanks for What we Have in Christ – Joel Spencer

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Complete in Christ

Posted in Anxiety & Stress, Bible Study, Christian, devotional, Faith, inspirational, Panic Attacks, Religion, Scripture, tagged , , , , , , , on October 2, 2010 | 2 Comments »

Do you know that when we become Christians we are finally complete in Christ?  At least from God’s perspective.

Before we were born-again we were on our own.  The Bible teaches that we were dead in trespasses and sin.  We were in the realm of Satan’s kingdom, and were subject to sin, death and hell.  Isn’t that an awful picture of those who live in the world today without Christ?

So, how are we complete in Christ now?  What does that mean?

Let’s take a look at Colossians 2: 8-15 to find our answer:  These are marvelous scripture verses and loaded.  I can only skim them.

Col 2:8-15 NASB See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ.

First of all Paul tells us not to let the world take us captive through philosophy or man’s worldly ideas and deception, and not to follow the traditions of men.

(9) For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form,

Wow!  In Christ, in His human body dwells all the fullness of Deity!  That is amazing.  He is complete!

(10) and in Him you have been made complete, and He is the head over all rule and authority;

If you are a Christian you also have been made complete!  Let’s try to see what that means as we read more of this passage.  Christ is also the head over all rule and authority.  Keep that in mind.

When we were saved we were completely saved:

(11) and in Him you were also circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, in the removal of the body of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ; (12) having been buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised up with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead.

This is talking about our salvation.  We were made spiritually complete in Christ when we were saved.  When He died on the cross we somehow joined Him.  At the moment we were saved, we were baptized with the Holy Spirit, (not water baptism).  And, we died and were raised up with Christ by God.  God raised Jesus from the dead literally, and He raised us from our spiritual death.

When we were saved we were completely forgiven:

(13) When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions, (14) having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.

We were spiritually dead because of our sins and the uncircumcision of our flesh.  But God made us alive with Christ.  He forgave us all of our sins, past, present and future.  He nailed them to the cross and canceled out the debt that we owed because of them.  God the great judge declared us to be free from the penalty of sin.

Joh 19:30 NASB Therefore when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” And He bowed His head and gave up His spirit.

When we were saved we were given complete victory:

2Co 5:17 NASB Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.

(15) When He had disarmed the rulers and authorities, He made a public display of them, having triumphed over them through Him.

When Jesus died on the cross He also went and disarmed all the rulers and authorities.  He was victorious over them and took them all captive.  That is great news for us because they no longer have any hold on us.

Heb 2:14-15 NASB Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, (15) and might free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives.

Being complete in Christ means that we can live in this world without fear.  We are capable of being victorious over sin.  The sting of death has been removed so we don’t have to fear that anymore, and we do not have to worry that we will spend eternity in hell.  Satan has been defeated and he can not claim you as one of his.  I like that!

Eph 3:16 NASB that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man,

When we get these things settled in our minds, it is much easier to face life.  Trials and temptations will come our way, but knowing we are complete in Him, gives us the courage to face them head on.  God is always in control and sovereign over what happens to us.  We can trust Him to make our path straight and to take care of us in every situation.  He loves us as a dear Heavenly Father and will take care of his children.

2Pe 1:3-4 NASB seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. (4) For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.

Isn’t that an uplifting scripture?  We really don’t have to worry about things.  God has granted us everything we need that pertains to our life and to be a godly individual.  He gives us that through the true knowledge of Him.  As we study the Word we learn how to live our lives in a way that is pleasing to God and He also gives us the power to be successful in doing that. That power is in us because Christ is in us and it is the same power that raised Jesus from the grave.  Now that is power!  We can even escape the corruption that is in the world. I praise God for that. 

I pray we will all try to realize all that we have in our possession when we become Christians, and that we will know in our hearts that we can overcome anything that comes our way.

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Do You Have a Spirit of Fear?

Posted in Agoraphobia, Anxiety & Stress, Bible Study, Christian, devotional, Faith, inspirational, Panic Attacks, Scripture, tagged , , , , , , , on June 28, 2010 | 13 Comments »

My last post was titled “Perfect Love Casts Out Fear!”  In it we learned that God’s love perfected in Christians tosses fear  out of our lives.  What a marvelous thing that is!

Now, we need to take a good look at another scripture dealing with fear:

The Apostle Paul wrote this letter to his spiritual son Timothy from prison when he knew he was toward the end of his own ministry.  Timothy would have to carry on where Paul left off and Paul exhorted him not to be intimidated by the false teachers, the Romans, all the other hostile forces that would come against him.  He told Timothy to be of good courage and not fear those who came against him, because God had equipped Timothy with a spirit of power, love, and a sound mind. 

“for God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.”  2 Timothy 1:7 (NKJV)

Do you have a spirit of fear?  Are you a believer?  If you realize what God teaches us in the Bible you will know that you should not live in fear.  In fact, it is sinful.  It is not only sinful, but it is selfish.  You may not like that, they are strong words, but it makes complete sense.  If our thoughts are constantly about ourselves, the way we feel, and our symptoms, then we cannot think about others.  Those unhealthy thoughts crowd out everything else.  That is not how God wants us to live.  He wants us to think of other people as more important than ourselves. 

Php 2:3 NASB  Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves;

But, you might think, “That sounds good, but I just can’t help how I feel.  It’s just the way I am!  I can’t do anything about it!”  I’m here to tell you there is something you can do about it.  You can be free from fear!  You can think of others as more important than yourself!

However, if you are not a Christian, then, it is perfectly natural for you to live a life full of fear, anxiety, and worry.  You do have a spirit of fear, and I can’t help you.  That spirit of fear comes from our natural man. 

You see, fear, anxiety, and worry are a part of our old personalities that we had before we became Christians.  Remember, when we were saved we became a new creation and old ways became new. 

2Co 5:17 NASB  Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.

I think many Christians still live in fear because they do not know what happened when they were saved.  No one told them.  Or, they haven’t studied the Bible enough yet to have discovered this wonderful truth. So, I will tell you right now.

When you were saved you did not receive a spirit of fear because you already had that in your old self.  Instead, God renewed you and gave you a spirit of power, a spirit of love, and a spirit of a sound mind.  What does this all mean in a practical sense?

The spirit of power

The spirit of power is the Holy Spirit.  When we are made new in Christ the Holy Spirit comes to indwell us.

2Ti 1:14 NASB  Guard, through the Holy Spirit who dwells in us, the treasure which has been entrusted to you.

Rom 8:9 KJV  But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.

What kind of power does the Holy Spirit have available to us?  The kind of power that raised Jesus from the grave. That’s dynamic power!

Rom 8:11 KJV  But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.

You have that kind of power in you.  You do not have to live in fear any longer.  Be of good courage! 

The spirit of love

The opposite of fear is love.  God also gave you a spirit of love.  Now you can love in a whole new way.  People of the world know nothing of this kind of love.  The Bible calls it agape love.  It is a God kind of love.  It is the very highest love there is. God through the Holy Spirit in us gives us the power to love with agape love and we can reach out to others in a way we never could before. 

We are not to stay to ourselves.  We don’t have to any more.  We can reach out to others in love.  God gives us that ability. Step out in faith and try it.

I remember shortly after I was saved how I actually looked at people differently.  I saw everyone as one of God’s creations that needed to know Him.  My eyes were opened and I began to have urgings to tell others about Christ.  It was hard for me too at the time because I was so inundated with fear.  Slowly I reached out to others in love.  But, at first in very small ways.  I would send someone a card.  I would call and talk to an elderly shut-in on the phone.  After doing that a bit I began to visit people who were shut-ins, and another woman and I went to the hospital and visited sick people from church.  Little by little God grew the spirit of love in my life.

The spirit of a sound mind

God also gave us a spirit of a sound mind.  What does that mean for us?  Well, a sound mind is a rational mind.  We do not have to think all the “what if” thoughts, and worry about the future.  We do not have to fear man, and we do not have to fear God.  Fear has been broken.  Alleluia!

Once you discover these truths you will see how you need to change.  If you are still living in fear then you are still living in the old flesh.  You need to take advantage of the Holy Spirit living in you and walk in the Spirit.  You will have to work on changing your thought patterns as you renew your mind with the Word.  Old unhealthy thought habits can be replaced with new healthy godly thoughts. 

I suffered with panic attacks for many years and I did not know this teaching right away.  So, I continued on even after I became a  Christian thinking sinful fear filled thoughts.  I would blow things way out of proportion.  If it started to snow, I’d think we were going to get a blizzard.  If I had to drive somewhere that day I would obsess about the weather until I would have a panic attack.  If it was raining and the sky looked ominous I would be sure we were going to get a tornado, and I didn’t even live in a section of the country that gets tornados very often.

My panic attacks became so bad I became Agoraphobic.  I was afraid to leave my home.  I actually gave up driving for several years.  If I needed something from the store it was a major problem to get up the nerve to step out the door, get into the car, and go to the store.  Once there, it was a major effort to go into the store and get my groceries.  If I managed to get that far, then I still had to conquer the walk through the crowed isles, find my items, stand in the scary line as my legs shook, pay, and get back home.  It was exhausting!  Surely, that was no way to live, and certainly God didn’t want me to live like that.  I wasn’t much use to him at that point.

The only way I conquered my fears was when I discovered that I had God’s power within me.  I realized somewhere along the way that “I” could not do this in myself.  I needed help!  All the courage I tried to muster up in myself would not do it.  I had to rely on God.  I turned to God and I would pray. I’d ask God for the strength through the Holy Spirit, to go and do whatever it was I had to do.  I prayed before I went, I would go and pray all the way, and I would get back home and pray again to praise and thank God for how He got me through my fearful situation.  It did become easier.  I prayed a lot!

I don’t even have panic attacks any more.  I drive, I’m free to do whatever I want.  God gave me back my freedom as I grew in Him.  I discovered scripture promises and applied them to my own life.  I now have a spirit power, of love, and of a sound mind.  It is a disciplined mind.  I’m careful what I think about.  If I find myself going in the direction of worry, I check myself, and ask the Lord to help me think on godly things.  It does take practice and I urge you to start today.

Where are you today?  Are you bogged down with worry, fear, and anxiety?  My friend, if that is you and you are a Christian, you are living in sin.  You need to realize that and confess your sin to God, then repent of it and learn to fill you mind with godly things.  Keep in the Word, study it, memorize good scripture promises, pray for others, and yourself.

God has provided everything we need to live a godly, holy life.

2Pe 1:3 KJV  According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:

He will help you.  Go to Him in prayer.  Pour out your heart.  Get right with God and then claim your benefits of the spirit of love, power, and a sound mind. 

Please stop fearing the future, step out in faith and find your freedom today.  You can be sure that you do not have a spirit of fear anymore.

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Perfect Love Casts Out Fear!

Posted in Agoraphobia, Anxiety & Stress, Bible Study, Christian, inspirational, Panic Attacks, Scripture, tagged , , , , on May 10, 2010 | 6 Comments »

I was especially interested in hearing a sermon our pastor gave recently because he had to deal with I John 4:18  “There is no fear in love; but perfect love cast out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love.”

I’ve used this scripture before in some of my articles, but I only used part of it, “There is no fear in love; but perfect love cast out fear…,”  When I first found that scripture I was excited to learn there was no fear in love, but perfect love cast out fear.  It was encouraging!  Jesus Christ is perfect love, therefore, He can cast out fear.  It told me the Lord didn’t want me to live in fear, and the way to get rid of it was to allow Him to cast it out.  Wow!  That was a revelation to me at the time.

Now, my pastor took me to a deeper level.  He teaches the Bible verse by verse and deals with scripture in it’s context. 

John was talking to Christians here and he shows us another test of a true Christian, and that is love.  If we love one another, that is the test.  In 1 John 4:12 you will note, “God abides in us, and His love is perfected in us…”  When we are born again God does abide in us through the Holy Spirit, and His love is being perfected in us.  

Also, look at I John 4:17  “By this, love is perfected with us.”  Again he is talking about love being perfected.  It means that as we grow in Christ, His love is made more mature in us.

The “By this,” refers back to the verse above where he says “the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.” Isn’t that a wonderful thought.  God and us abide in each other.  If you stop and meditate on that for awhile it really boggles the mind.    

Now, we get back to 1 John 4:18 where he says, “There is no fear in love.”  Here fear means being terrified, and full of dread.  That kind of fear.  

Have you ever thought about this?  Love and fear cannot exist at the same time.  There is no fear in love.  It is not possible.  They are opposites.  If we are full of love, we are not full of fear; and if we are full of fear, we cannot be full of love.  God is love, remember that. And, we are to abide in Him. 

Then, John says, “but perfect love casts out fear.”  What does he mean by perfect love.  Well, actually in the context of this passage, he means that mature love that is being perfected in us as we grow in Christ.  And that perfected love, what does it do?  It casts out fear!  Praise God!  That phrase “casts out,” means throw away like garbage.

Isn’t is so true with us?  We carry around all this garbage all the time.  Wouldn’t you like to simply throw it away?  We talk about excess baggage; well fear is just that.  But, the only way to throw it away and get rid of it for good is to perfect the agape love that God has placed in us.  

We can do that!  I realize some of you are doing that with your lives right now.  You are in the Word, you are in prayer, you are in fellowship with other believers, you are reaching out with love toward your fellow believers.  You  grow and are becoming mature in Christ.  Eventually, when the time is right in God’s eyes, you too will throw off the shackles of fear like it is rubbish and toss it out of your life.  

Also, in 1 John 4:18 he says, “fear involves punishment.”  I’ve thought about that too.  In the context it means the punishment that is awaiting all men at the final judgement day.  Those without Christ should be fearful as they have that to look forward too, but we who know Christ can rest assured that we will not face punishment.  We can be confident and know those fears were cast out when we were saved.

But, looking at us today as we struggle with fear and anxiety doesn’t our fears also involve punishment?  We are fearful that something awful is going to happen, and with those thoughts we actually punish ourselves with stress, anxiety, and more bad thoughts.  When we are fearful of other things in life such as getting a terrible disease, don’t we punish ourselves with thoughts of what might be?  Yes, fear does involve punishment.  We don’t need that!  We don’t need to beat ourselves up that way!

Then, John goes on to say in that same verse, “the one who fears is not perfected in love.”

From what we’ve gone over that would indicate that fearful people are not mature yet in God’s love.  Isn’t that interesting?  

When we finally reach a more mature state then we will not fear.  What can hurt us?  God is in control of everything in our lives.  What do we have to fear?  Why do we punish ourselves with worry?  Worry can’t stop anything or change anything.  It isn’t worth it.  All it can do is make us fearful and stop us from becoming mature in Christ.

I plead with you to take hold of these thoughts and realize you too can be free from fear.  Stay in the Word and renew your mind.  If you are a believer you do not have to live in a state of fear!

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Peace With God – Peace Of God

Posted in Anxiety & Stress, Bible Study, Christian, Faith, inspirational, Religion, Scripture, tagged , , , , , , on April 12, 2010 | Leave a Comment »

What is the difference between peace with God and the peace of God?  Have you ever wondered about that? 

I want you to know right from the start if you are a Christian you already have both of these kinds of peace.  You may not actually know it, but you do.

Peace with God

Before a person is born again or saved they cannot know either one.  We are actually enemies of God.  We are born with a sin nature which is bent against God in every way.  We cannot please God.  We are not at peace with God, and we do not have the peace of God.  We are God’s enemy and we are hostile toward Him.

Jas 4:4 NASB You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.

When we trust in Jesus Christ we become a new creation and things change. 

Col 1:21-22 NASB And although you were formerly alienated and hostile in mind, engaged in evil deeds, (22) yet He has now reconciled you in His fleshly body through death, in order to present you before Him holy and blameless and beyond reproach–

We were alienated and hostile toward God, but once He redeemed us we become children of God instead of enemies of God.  Jesus can present us holy and blameless before a holy God.  What a difference!  We obtain peace with God, the moment we are saved.

Rom 5:1 NASB Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, (italics mine.)

Remember, your friends who are not believers do not have peace with God.  It is impossible!  That may explain some of their actions and many of their worries and fears. There is a war waging inside them between themselves and God.  They are actually spiritually dead.

Peace of God

Now we get to the exciting part for Christians.  You, right now, this moment, no matter what’s going on in your life; no matter how you feel; you have the peace of God!  That is a bold statement for me to make.  But it’s true. We all have it. God has given us everything we need to live a peaceful life, but most of us don’t realize it.  Let’s go to scripture and see what God says.

First of all God tell us not to be anxious about anything.  If it were not possible He would not have told us that.  It is a command, and if we are to be obedient we have to learn how we can cease from anxiety and worry.  He gives us the antidote right here.  We go to God in prayer and ask Him to meet our needs, and we do it with an attitude of thanksgiving.  He says to make our requests to God.

Php 4:6 NASB Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

When we do that the peace of  God will guard our hearts and minds if we are believers.  And, we will be surprised at this peace because it goes beyond what we can comprehend.

Php 4:7 NASB And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Then, Paul says to do the things he taught them, and to look at his life as an example, and when you do the God of peace will be with you.  Isn’t that amazing?  It is all right here.  God is the God of peace.  He originated peace.  We have His peace in us and it is activated when we obey his commands.

Php 4:9 NASB The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.

Oh, why do we make it so hard?  There have been many books written on how we can have a peaceful life.  God doesn’t make things difficult.  We do!

When we were saved we received the Holy Spirit as He came to live in each and every one of us.  Having the Holy Spirit allows us to grow the fruit of the Spirit in our lives.  We already posses these fruit, but in many of us they lay dormant.  They need to be cultivated by renewing our minds with the Word and acting on it in obedience.  You will notice that peace  is one fruit of the Spirit.  See there it is!  We already have it!

Gal 5:22 NASB But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, (Italics mine.)

It is important to realize that when we keep our minds fixed on God, He will keep us in perfect peace.  The reason this is true is because when we do this we indicate that we trust God.  He is trustworthy.

Isa 26:3-4 NASB “The steadfast of mind You will keep in perfect peace, Because he trusts in You. (4) “Trust in the LORD forever, For in GOD the LORD, we have an everlasting Rock.

There is a big difference between believe and trust. You can believe the facts about Jesus. You can believe He is the Son of God, that He died on the cross for our sins, that he was buried and then rose again the third day.  You can believe all the facts about Jesus and yet not be saved.  Did you know that?  I can prove it because even the demons believed and knew who Jesus was, but they were not saved.  They even shuddered to think about Him.

Jas 2:19 LITV You believe that God is One. You do well; even the demons believe and shudder.

So, there is more to it than merely believing the facts about Jesus.  You must trust Him.  There are many people in churches today who call themselves Christians but who have only believed with a head knowledge.  They believed an idea, and never really trusted in a personal Savior. 

We must trust Him with our very lives.  We can believe something but it becomes trust when we put it in action.   For instance, say I’m looking at a chair to sit on.  I can know a lot about that chair.  I can know what color it is, what it is made of, and what shape it is.  But, that is not trusting the chair.  That is just head knowledge about the chair.  I trust the chair when I take the next step and actually sit down on it.  That is trust.  I trust the chair is going to hold me up. 

You see, we can believe all about Jesus Christ, and not really trust Him.  We trust Him when we give up ourselves and rely on Him completely. We surrender our whole selves to Him.  That is trust!  We trust Him to take care of us, to provide for us, to work out every detail of our lives.  That is trust!  We look to Him alone for salvation.  We trust and expect the peace of  God.  We depend on Him and not on ourselves or others.  He is Lord and Master of our lives.  That is trust! 

Do you trust Him my friend?  Is He the one who rules your heart?  Do you have peace with  God?  And, do you have the peace of  God?  He is the God of peace.  When we activate the peace of God in our lives, we will not worry and be filled with anxiety and fear.  They cannot live together.  Satan is the author of unhealthy fear and unhealthy thoughts.

Rom 16:20 NASB The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.

2Th 3:16 NASB Now may the Lord of peace Himself continually grant you peace in every circumstance. The Lord be with you all!

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