Posts Tagged ‘Holy Spirit’

A New Hope!

Posted in Abolish Anxiety, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , on February 24, 2017| 1 Comment »

2corinthians5_17txt

II Corinthians 5:17 (NIV) “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a
new creation; the old has gone, the new has come.”

When we know Christ personally he makes us new persons. Our sin debt has
been paid, and our old selves have been crucified in Christ. This takes place
on the inside of us in our spirits.

Since the old self has been “put off” and the new self has been “put on,” we
are totally new people and are empowered by the Holy Spirit to be conformed to
his image. Because of this we are directed by God’s Spirit and are able to understand the things of God which are revealed to us in the Word.

The hope within us is that we can change. This is really important to
understand. Christians are different when we fight the battle of fear because we
have a special power inside us for the fight. God wants us to become more like
him, and with his enabling power we can. He doesn’t want us to be slaves to fear.
It is his will that we change. We can hang onto this hope!

There is one problem with the above scripture. It sounds as though we are a
new and fully capable creation instantly. Actually, we are new in our inner spirit,
but we still have to learn how to apply the teachings of the Bible to our lives. As
we begin to do that we will begin to see the new creation that God gave us
surface to the outside. It is a process.

The old things will pass away and new things will take their place. We will
begin to think differently having more healthy thoughts.

I trust this scripture thought today will help fill your heart with a new hope!

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Your Body is aTemple of the Holy Spirit

Posted in devotional, inspirational, Religion, Scripture, tagged , , , , on November 9, 2012| 1 Comment »

1 Corinthians 6:19 NASB  (19)  Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own?

I suppose I’ve read the above scripture many times and kind of skimmed over it and the meaning didn’t really set in.  Maybe you have also.  Let’s take a few minutes and meditate on these verses.

Just think, the Word says our bodies are a temple of the Holy Spirit.  Now, what does that mean?  When we became Christians the Holy Spirit came and now dwells in us.

2 Timothy 1:14 NASB (emphasis mine) Guard, through the Holy Spirit who dwells in us, the treasure which has been entrusted to you.

The Holy Spirit of God now actually lives in us!  Wow!  That seems impossible doesn’t it?  But, it is true!  The third head of the godhead now lives in me!  And also in you! We have been changed! We are different now that we have Him in us!  What an awesome privilege it is that God in His infinite wisdom chose to allow the Holy Spirit to live in us.  That simply boggles my mind!

We are not the same as when we walked in the world before we were saved.  In fact, the Bible says we “are a new creation.”

2 Corinthians 5:17a NASB  (17)  Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature;…

What does it mean that our bodies are a “temple” of the Holy Spirit?  The word temple means a sacred place.  We are the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit and our bodies are to be holy, acceptable to God.   How can my body be holy?  I know that when something in the Bible is holy it means that it is set apart for a special use, such as the vessels used in the temple in Old Testament days.  So, that must mean we are set apart by God for a special use and part of that is for us to be a temple for the Holy Spirit.

This is serious business!  As we live out our Christian lives we must remember who we are in Christ.  We must remember that the Holy Spirit lives in us and that we are His holy home.  We need to think about the things we do and the places we go.  Remember, who is with you at all times.

As I ponder these things, I realize it is vitally important how I act, where I go, and who I spend my time with.  I need to evaluate my actions with the fact that the Holy Spirit lives in me.  I need to remind myself throughout the day of this fact.

Do you remember from the scriptures how Jesus went into the temple area and found the money changers there and because there was corruption and greed going on He threw over the tables and cleansed the area?  He said, “…My house shall be called the house of prayer, but ye have made it a den of thieves.” (Matthew 21:13 KJV) Likewise the Holy Spirit intercedes for us in prayer according to God’s will.  We are the means the Holy Spirit uses to offer up His prayers.

But, what if we don’t live holy lives?  We are a temple and when we sin we are as the money changers.  We corrupt the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit, and that is shameful. Do you think God just might discipline us for that?

Do you realize that Jesus Christ paid the ultimate price to purchase our salvation?  He gave His life so that we might not have to pay the penalty for our sins.  The Bible tells us “the wages of sin is death.”

Romans 6:23 KJV(emphasis mine)  For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

1 Corinthians 6:20 NASB (emphasis mine)   (20)  For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.

We must keep our bodies undefiled because they are a shrine of the Holy Spirit. When we live holy lives we glorify God.  We show Him respect and honor by living the right way.

After meditating on these things I think we need to take an inventory of our lives and see if we live a holy life, or if we follow the things of the world.  There is  much coming at us all day long that can trip us up.  We need to be mindful of who we are in Christ and who lives with us.

  • Can we take the Holy Spirit to the bar?
  • Can we take Him to the casino?
  • Can we take Him out on that date with an unbeliever?
  • What about the kind of people we hang out with?  Is there coarse language and dirty jokes?
  • Do we watch the right kind of movies and television programs?
  • Can we go out partying like we did before we were saved?

I believe that when we are faced with a decision about whether we should do something or not we need to ask ourselves: “Would Jesus do this?  Does this thing honor Him and will it bring Him glory?”

A few weeks back I wrote an article about doing Tai Chi.  As a Christian I determined that I could not do that because I should not participate in a false religion.  I could not take Jesus with me to Tai Chi.  It would not glorify God.  This is just one example of how we need to evaluate what we do and who we spend our time with knowing that our bodies are a temple of the Holy Spirit.

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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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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| 22 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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Sanctification: What is it?

Posted in Bible Study, Christian, Faith, inspirational, Religion, Scripture, tagged , , , , , , on January 29, 2010| 1 Comment »

Many times in church or when we are listen to Bible teaching we hear words that we don’t really understand. I believe some pastors and teachers simply take it for granted that we all know them.  Sanctification is one of those words.  Do you know what it is?

According to Webster’s Dictionary:

“Sanctification

SANCTIFICA’TION, n. [See Sanctify.]

1. The act of making holy. In an evangelical sense, the act of God’s grace by which the affections of men are purified or alienated from sin and the world, and exalted to a supreme love to God.

God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation, through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth. 2 Th 2. 1 Pet 1.”

Sanctification is very important for us to understand.  You will see that word, and also sanctify, and sanctified in the Bible and we need to know what they mean so we can understand the scripture.

In my own words:

Sanctification is a process which begins when we get saved. The Holy Spirit sanctifies us right then and sets us apart as something different from what we were.   When we are saved we are actually made a new person by the Holy Spirit.  But, that is not the end of it. All during the time we are alive here on earth we are continually shaped and molded into the image of Christ. This is God’s desire for us. This is a process which continues on until we reach Heaven, and reach perfection.  So, if you are a Christian you are somewhere on the road of sanctification.  You are being sanctified.

Let’s look at some scriptures that show us that:

1Co 6:11 NASB Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.

Here we see right from the Word of God that we were washed, sanctified, and justified when we were saved. 

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.

One of the first things we must get a hold of is the fact that now that we are believers we are actually and truly a new person.  We are not the person we were when we were born.  Then we were dead (spiritually) in trespasses and sin.  We were dead because of Adam and Eve’s sin of disobedience which was passed down to us.  We could not please a holy God. A holy God cannot look upon sin.

I don’t think I realized at first after I was saved that I was actually a new person.  It wasn’t until I read the verse above that it sunk in.  It doesn’t matter what has gone on in your past, what your life was like, you are now a NEW person inside.  Do you get that!  It is so important and wonderful.  You don’t have to live like you did in the past.  You don’t have to continue in the old habits that dragged you down. God in His mercy has given you a second chance. You have been set free! 

Joh 8:36 NASB “So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.

Gal 2:20 NASB “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.

You see we died (our old person) when we accepted Christ and were saved.  Then the Holy Spirit came to live inside us.  He gave us a new spirit (new person inside us) so now we have the ability to live as God would want us to.  We could not please God before. We live this new life by faith in Christ.  He loved us enough to take our sin penalty and die for us, therefore, we can love Him as we give our lives to Him.

So, how does this sanctification process work in our everyday lives? 

We must die to our old self.  You may say, I thought you said we died with Christ when we were saved.  That is true our old person did die and we were recreated a new person inside.  But, we still live in this old physical body with it’s desires, and it can and does influence us. 

See what Paul says in, 1Co 15:31 NASB I affirm, brethren, by the boasting in you which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily.

He said he dies daily.  He had to die to his flesh everyday, and so do we.  Otherwise, we will be tempted to follow the desires of the flesh and live in disobedience to God.  When we were saved we were made alive spiritually, but we still do have our same minds and memories.  We still can stray away from pleasing God.  I think you will agree with me on that.  We are far from being perfect.  And where does temptation to sin start?  In our minds.  That is Satan’s playground.

Mat 16:24 NASB Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me.

Jesus said to deny self and take up your cross and follow Him.  The cross speaks of death and to deny self is to die to our old selfish desires.  We are naturally self-centered.  We need to take our eyes and mind off from self and get them on things above. 

We are a work in process.  God has given us the Word that tells us how to live a Christian live.  We need to keep in the  Word and obey what it tells us.  When we do, we grow in Christ.  God has told us to renew our minds.  As we do we can resist the devil and he will flee from us.  We do not have to live in sin as a Christian.  Sure there will be a constant battle, but we can overcome by God’s grace and power.

Rom 12:2 NASB And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.

As we renew our minds we become transformed, and we know God’s will for us.  We can only renew our minds by our study of the Word of God.  When we read the Bible and obey it, we become transformed.  We change.  Again this is a process.  Look back to the time you were saved and compare yourself to now. Do you see any change for the good?  If so, you are being transformed.  If not, you should revisit whether you are truly saved.

So, we die to ourselves and our selfish desires, we renew our minds and become transformed.

Rom 8:28-29 NASB And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. (29) For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren;

“to become conformed to the image of His Son.”  That’s God’s goal for our lives. 

If you always wanted to know what God’s will is for you, well there it is.  He is now, right now, working in your life to make you more and more like Jesus.  You have a choice.  You can obey God and grow in grace toward that goal, or you can disobey God and live a miserable Christian life, always fighting it, not wanting to die to self.  Yield to God and let Him live His life through you.

Now we are being sanctified as we live the Christian life according to God’s will, and finally we will be totally sanctified when we get to Heaven and see that we are like Christ.  Rom 8:29 “…He would be the firstborn among many breathern;” Just think how wonderful that will be!  All true Christians will be fully sanctified, and we will have the same kind of bodies as He has, we will have the same kind of mind and attitude that He has.  We will be joint heirs in all that He has. Oh, it is more than I can comprehend!  All I can say is “Thank you dear Heavenly Father, that you chose me to be a part of this great eternal adventure!

“

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Where Should We Go For Help?

Posted in Anxiety & Stress, Bible Study, Christian, Faith, inspirational, Religion, Scripture, tagged , , , , , , , , , on November 20, 2008| 1 Comment »

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Where should we go for help when we have problems?  That is a good question which everyone must answer.  We do have choices.

When you fall down and break your arm, it’s easy to decide to go to the doctor to get it set and a cast put on so that it will heal properly. God does the healing.

When you feel out of sorts and don’t know why, you know to get to a doctor and have a check up.  You might have some disease like diabetes, or thyroid problems, or the flu.  The doctor can help. 

So, where should we go when things get so bad that we are anxious all the time and even become afraid of doing things?  Or when we start having spells where we get out of breath, perspire, get weak, shaky, and our heart pounds? 

First, I believe you should go to your family doctor and find out if there is anything physical going wrong in your body.  They will run a few tests and tell you if you are physically alright. 

Second, if your tests all come out okay, but you are still having these kinds of issues, then you should consider them to be of a spiritual nature. 

“Struggles of the soul and problems of living must be dealt with as spiritual problems with spiritual solutions.”  Competent to Minister, The Biblical Care of Souls, by Martin & Deidre Bobgan. (Pg. 15)

Psa 1:1-3 NASB  How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, Nor stand in the path of sinners, Nor sit in the seat of scoffers!  2  But his delight is in the law of the LORD, And in His law he meditates day and night.  3  He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, Which yields its fruit in its season And its leaf does not wither; And in whatever he does, he prospers.

This Psalm tells us that we should not seek out worldly people for advice. That includes psychiatrists as well as Christian counselors who add psychology to their teaching.  We should not even hang out with worldly people.  Instead, we should go to the Word of God, delight in it, and meditate on it.  There we will find the answers to problems of the soul.  And God will bless us for going to Him for our counsel.

We can also go to mature spiritual Christians, or pastors who know the Bible and are living according to it.  They can pray with us and for us.  Along with the power of the Holy Spirit, God will reveal how to handle these problems.

Jeremiah 17:7-8 “(Most) blessed is the man who believes in, trusts in and relies on the Lord, and whose hope and confidence the Lord is. For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, that spreads out it roots by the river and shall not see and fear when heat comes, but his leaf shall be green; he shall not be anxious and careful in the year of drought, not shall he cease from yielding fruit.” (Amplified Version)

God wants us to be blessed and not full of fear and dread.

Because God loves us and created us He knows how we tick.  He has given us His Word as a guide.

2Ti 3:16-17 LITV  All Scripture is God-breathed and profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness,  17  so that the man of God may be perfected, being fully furnished for every good work.

Scripture is sufficient to guide us in all things that have to do with the heart, soul, and mind. 

2Pe 1:2-4 NASB  Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord;  3  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.

The Bible is full of promises. There are hundreds of them.  God does not lie but He does keep His promises.  He can do that because He is God.  We fail miserably in that area don’t we?  How many times has someone broken a promise to you and you were heartbroken?  How many times have we also failed to live up to a promise?  We all do it because we are human.  But, not so, with God.  If you find a promise in scripture you can be sure God will not let you down.

We don’t need psychiatrists telling us how to live our lives.  We don’t need secular counselors giving us advise.  We don’t need all those psychotropic drugs that put us in la-la land.  We have the Wonderful Counselor! He is the Prince of Peace, and He can give us the peace that passes understanding.

Isa 9:6 NASB  For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. (NASB)

When Jesus left this earth He sent the Holy Spirit to indwell every believer to be our teacher, our comforter, and counselor.

Joh 14:26 LITV  but the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He shall teach you all things and shall remind you of all things that I said to you. (LITV)

The Word of God is precious.  Immerse yourself in it.  Read and study the Word and you will find the answer to all your problems pertaining to life and godliness.  We want to live in a way that glorifies our precious Savior. 

As we grow in grace we become more and more like Christ.  Our old habits, fears, and worries pass away.  We don’t have to carry them anymore.  Our Lord handles them for us. We begin to change as we put on new godly habits, and give our troubles to the one who loves us most.  And, to think someday we will be like HIM!  Oh, Glory to God!

Blessings,
Bonnie

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Before and After In Christ

Posted in Agoraphobia, Anxiety & Stress, Bible Study, Christian, Faith, Gospel, inspirational, Religion, Scripture, Worship, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on February 19, 2008| 3 Comments »

 

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This pansy started out as an dried up, dead looking, unattractive seed.  Then the Lord made it into this beautiful flower. What a transformation!

Quiet often when people are saved they are left to themselves and no one comes along beside them and explains how they are different and what has just happened.

We will look at ourselves from God’s point of view before and after we were saved.  Below are the actual words of God and not man’s ideas of mankind. 

Before:

Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death,

We were spiritually dead.

Romans 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

We were eternally separated from God because we were all sinners.

James 4:4 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.

We were actually enemies of God.  I didn’t realize that myself.

Romans 8:7 because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so,

We were not only enemies but were actually hostile toward God, and helpless. 

2 Corinthians 4:3 And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing,

We also were blinded by Satan to the gospel.

2 Timothy 2:26 and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will.

Satan held us captive to do his will.  We were working for him, but we probably didn’t realize that.

Ecclesiastes 7:20 Indeed, there is not a righteous man on earth who continually does good and who never sins.

Everyone has sinned at some time.

John 8:34 Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin.

We were powerless on our own to overcome sin’s hold on us. It owned us.

1 Corinthians 2:14 But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised.

We were unable to understand the things of God.

John 15:5 “I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.

We were incapable of living a spiritually fruitful and meaningful life.

Ephesians 2:12 remember that you were at that time separate from Christ, excluded from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.

We were without hope.  No hope for the future, and no hope of accomplishing anything on our own in this world. 

God had to reveal himself to us in order that we could be saved. We were hopeless left on our own. He had to open our eyes of understanding and allow us to hear and understand the gospel message.  He gave us the faith we needed to respond and we were saved.  Then he ushered us into his family and gave us eternal blessings.

When I go over this and think about all God has done for me in allowing me to become a believer and all the benefits and blessing that go along with it I am humbled and forever grateful.  I see where I was and what God saved me from.  It is scary to realize that I could have stayed in the “before,” state and my fate would have been eternal hell.  What a Savior! God’s love surpasses any that we know, and his grace is abundantly poured out on us time and again.

After we became a Christian our position in Christ changed dramatically.  Here is how God see us now.

After:

Colossians 2:13 -14 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, 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 forgiven of all our sins.  Christ bore them on the cross for us.

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

We became a new creation in Christ.  That is something we need to understand.  We are truly a new creation, and we can live out a new life here and now.

John 3:3 Jesus answered and said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

We had a new spiritual birth.  We were born again.  We became babes in Christ.  And, we have a new home in Heaven.

1 Corinthians 12:13 For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.

We were baptized into the body of Christ by the Holy Spirit. 

2 Corinthians 1:21-22 Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and anointed us is God, who also sealed us and gave us the Spirit in our hearts as a pledge.

We were sealed in Jesus Christ, and given the Holy Spirit.

John 10:28 and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand.

We were given the gift of eternal life and we cannot lose it.  We are in God’s hands.

Romans 8:15 For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, “Abba! Father!”

We have been adopted into God’s family.  We need not to fear.

Philippians 3:20 For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ;

We are a citizen of Heaven.  We are in this world but we are not of this world.

Romans 6:22 But now having been freed from sin and enslaved to God, you derive your benefit, resulting in sanctification, and the outcome, eternal life.

We are now freed from sin and a slave of God, with many blessings.

Colossians 1:13 For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son,

We were delivered from darkness to light. 

1 Corinthians 10:13 No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it.

We can defeat any problem because God will not allow any difficulty that can overwhelm us.

Romans 5:3-5 And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

We can now realize that God uses our problems and trials as opportunities for our spiritual growth.

1 Peter 2:9 But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light:

God has chosen us and blessed us to be different and special so that we can glorify him for what he has done for us.

These are just some of the blessings we have been given when we came to know Jesus as our Lord and Savior.  I pray as you read this over and meditate upon it you will see how much God has changed us from what we were before. 

Romans 8:37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.

We can be more than conquerors through Christ in anything that comes our way in life.  That includes panic attacks and agoraphobia. 

We need to ponder this question:  Am I living like a believer or an unbeliever?  Stay tuned.

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