Five F's to Avoid

Satan loves to get us down and discouraged, or if nothing else, at least to distract us.  Satan is the Master Deceiver:  He is the Father of Lies.  Why?--because he knows the end of the story!  His end is in "the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever." (Rev. 20:10) --And because he knows his end, he wants to take as many as he can with him!  But if we know Christ as our personal Saviour, the most he can do is get us down, or discouraged, or distract us.  And why does he want to do that?--so that we aren't of any use to Christ.  (not a good place to be in--don't go there!)  So today I want to talk about the five F's to avoid!

1. Fear

For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound   mind.  (2 Tim. 1:7)  Those are key components to the workings of Christ.  We need to stand upon them.  Don't allow Satan to distract you with fear…fear of

         (a) change

         (b) being found out

         (c)  death

2. Failure

Luke 16:9 says, "when ye fail," not "if."  Failure is part of life.  Failure is part of learning.  So if you've failed at something, get up, dust yourself off, and get goin' again!  Proverbs 24: 16 says, "For a just man faileth seven times, and riseth up again; but the wicked shall fall into mischief."  My second point is this, failure is an event, not a person. Just because you might have failed at something, doesn't make you a failure.  Look beyond it!  Christ sees so much more!

3. Feelings

vs. The Word of God

I don't know why it is (particularly as women), we tend to live our lives by our feelings; but that is just wrong.  Feelings just tend to bring us down and depressed and discouraged (funny how a lot of the devil's tactics begin with the letter "d"!).  No, we as Christians need to live our lives by the Word of God!  It is there that we find power and strength and encouragement.  Don't forget, the Word of God plays a major part in the Armor of God that God tells us to put on every day--and every part of every day!  It is powerful!  Meditate upon it, memorize it!

Let's think of a train for a moment:

Fact

Faith

Feeling

"Fact" is what we get from God's Word.  God's Word is true and it is powerful.  Next comes "Faith."  Don't forget, "Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of truth." (Rom. 10:17).  Then lastly, is feeling.  God will give us the right kind of feelings (faith, of course, confidence, courage, love, joy, peace, etc., as we put God first and depend upon Him.  But the key here is putting God and His Word at the front of the train.  Anytime we get that train turned around, we're in for disaster!

4. Futile

--thinking our service to Christ doesn't count or doesn't matter--you would be so wrong!

1 Corinthians 15:58 says, "Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain the Lord."  God is the reason for it all!  He is what we should be laboring for!

5. No Future

There is life after whatever it is you're going through.  Don't allow the difficult times to make you bitter; they were provided in your life to make you better.  Question is--which one will you choose?  God isn't finished with you yet--ya know how I know?--because you're still here! 

• Check your report card!  Are you focusing on some F's today?  Ok--it's time to take your eyes off what's getting you down--it's time to focus on the Lord.  God can still raise those grades!  He can and He will--if you will just trust Him!

It’s time to focus on the Lord!

   Merle

This was taken from a sermon preached by Pastor Mike Ray at our church, Lighthouse Baptist Church in Pleasanton, CA, on October 13, 2008.  Mike Ray is Pastor of Hopewell Baptist Church in Napa, CA.  If you're ever in either Pleasanton or Napa, CA, be sure to stop in.  Both churches are just wonderful and you wouldn't want to miss either pastor preaching.

Patience Waits upon the Lord

Psalm 27:14 "Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and He shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord."

Isaiah 26:3 "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on Thee: because he trusteth in Thee."  

Isaiah 30:15b "In quietness and confidence shall be your strength."       


James 1:4-5 "But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.     If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him."

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What do all of these verses have in common?  They all have an ingredient of waiting upon the Lord or patience.  And why are these such good qualities to have?  Many times in our fleshly natures, we tend to just do what we think is best, or worse, we tend to think we can just do it ourselves.  Those are both very poor responses.  Why?--because it leaves the key ingredient out--the Lord!  Let me take a few minutes to tell you about patience.  Let's phrase it this way--the difference between patience and perseverance-- 

• The difference between patience and perseverance is attitude.  
• Ya know, our attitude tells a lot about our character.  How we react to situations and circumstances in our lives, tells volumes about our character.  
• Patience is waiting when everything inside you says to do what you want to do, to do what your flesh says to do.  
• Patience waits upon God so that He may be able to work, and so that He may impress upon you the correct response in the given situation.  
• Patience means remaining faith-ful in the midst of trying circumstances.  
• Patience has a quality of serenity to it.  It speaks of tranquility, calmness, peacefulness, quietude, stillness.  It also speaks of composure, poise, settledness, contentment, repose…being at rest…rest in the Lord!  
• Yes, we need to "endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ" (2 Tim 2:3); we need to persevere; but patience is something more!  
• Patience means to be at peace, to be content, while at the same time persevering…trusting and persevering!  
• In other words, no matter the test, you need to exercise your faith, trusting God completely, and push on with determination when the Holy Spirit directs you to do so.

May we wait upon the Lord…

      and remain faithful!

        Merle

Responding to the Trials and Testings of Life

"James 1:3-4  "Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.  But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing."

I love the book of James.   He is so practical.  I may have used this verse before…you'll forgive me if I use it again.  It makes for a good stepping off point!  Many times God is at work in our lives…it may be to reprove us and call us back to Himself, or it may be He knows He can produce more fruit if He can just get our attention.  I don't know where this will find you in your spiritual walk today; but I do hope you will stay to listen.

Trials…that is God's time to put your faith to the test!  Will you turn to God and trust, or will you high-tail it outta of there and run the other way?!  Know that when your faith is being tested--no matter the trial or temptation--it is the time to trust God; but you must allow the testing to bring about its intended purpose--that is, to strengthen your faith and character.

man's response	Godly response
doubting	trusting
questioning	dedicated
willful	surrendered
independent	dependent
stubborn	submissive
fearful	confident
proud	humble

How you respond through the testings of life, speaks volumes of how strong your faith and character are.  Remember that!  When faced with a trial or temptation, who do you depend on?  Do you go to God, asking Him for the grace and strength to see you through it?  Or do you get independent and think you can do it all yourself?  Or worse, are you still at the immature stage of asking questions and dodging bullets?  Maturity!  That's what it's all about!  God is at work molding you like Christ.  Question is--how are you responding?  How you respond to the testings of life is a real display of how mature or immature you are.  Submit to God's plan and trust Him to see you through it--it is then that you will mature, and your faith and character will mature as well!

         May we submit to God’s plan

            and go forward for God!

             Merle

Enabling Power

This is a photo of Niagara Falls copied from Bing Images online.  It speaks volumes of God's wondrous glory and power!  God's power--that is what I want to talk about today.  Here are some wonderful verses regarding just that:

Zec. 4:6  "Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of the Lord unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the Lord of hosts."

2 Sam. 22:40  "For Thou hast girded me with strength to battle: them that rose up against me hast Thou subdued under me."

Dan. 11:32  "And such as do wickedly against the covenant shall he corrupt by flatteries: but the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits."

2 Tim. 1:7  "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind."

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These are all excellent verses.  Meditate upon them for a little bit, if you would…and notice the words I've put in bold print.  The point is this:  In our human flesh, we still struggle with sin and temptation, attitudes and actions, choices and our own free wills.  We will always have those struggles and temptations this side of heaven because we still have a sin nature. That sin nature again, struggles to have its own way.  Why?--because of pride, rebellion, self…all raising its ugly head.  Call it what you may…it is all still the sin nature within us.

Question is--do you want the victory?  I read a quotation yesterday and it said this:  "Things are the way you like them, or else you'd change!"  I'm sorry I do not know who originally said it, but it is very, very true.  We like our sin.  We do the things we want to do. 

But dear Christian, we are also very different than the world.  We have the Holy Spirit of God living within us!  And that changes us for two reasons--(1) We have God's power at our ready access! and (2) He desires to do a work in and through us--in us to change us into the image of Christ and through us that others might be saved!

I asked you a moment ago, do you want the victory?  Well, do you?  Do I?  What does that mean exactly?  It means are we ready to obey the Holy Spirit of God--when we face struggles  with our sin nature, times of temptation, or just day-to-day choices--are we ready to obey the Holy Spirit?  That's the bottom line!  And that is God's greatest desire! 

In a previous posting, I listed three important steps to God's process of changing us: Step One--"put off the old man" or the behavior of our old nature.  Step Two: " be renewed in the spirit of your mind." (Eph. 4:23).  God is able to work in you as you read His Word!  So we need to saturate ourselves with the Word of God so that He can not only work in our hearts, but give us the power to continue on for Him.  Step Three: "put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness." (Eph. 4:24).  We need to follow hard after God, obey His Word and His Holy Spirit, that we might produce lives that are pleasing to Him.     Why?--that we might glorify God! 

Yes, those are our responsibilities as Christians; but the point I really want to make is, we cannot do what God desires without the power of God.  Though our "new man" desires to please God, we cannot please God without the Holy Spirit enabling us by His power to do so. 

In closing, let me turn your attention to a well-known passage, John 15, verses 4-5 which says, "Abide in Me, and I in you.  As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in Me.  I am the vine, ye are the branches:  He that abideth in Me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit; for without Me ye can do nothing."       God is our power.  The Holy Spirit is our enabler.  We cannot move forward for God without Him empowering us!

            May we depend fully

               on God’s power!

            Merle

Two Wolves: Cherokee Wisdom

One evening an old Cherokee told his grandson about a battle that goes on inside people.  He said, "My son, the battle is between two 'wolves' inside us all.      

                               

One is Evil.  It is anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority and ego.

The other is Good.  It is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith."

The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather, "Which wolf wins?"  

The old Cherokee simply replied, "The one you feed."

The Bible probably has various verses that back this up; but the one that comes to mind is Romans 8:6 which says, "For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace."

The point is this: We can choose self and the flesh or we can choose God.  God's ways are always best!

           Choose God’s ways!

           Merle

The initial portion of this blog message was copied from an email message.  I'm sorry, I can only guess; but probably the original was from Chicken Soup for the Soul.

Only Jesus Can Satisfy Your Soul

Galations 4:4-9  says, "But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.  And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.   
Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.  Howbeit then, when ye knew not God, ye did service unto them which by nature are no gods.   But now, after that ye have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage?"

As I said in my previous entry, "tragically, it has been my experience, that many Christians today are more prone to just go their own way, with no thought of what God desires of them."  Perhaps this particular blog entry is a continuation of that, or perhaps it is just pointed at those Christians that really have no thought of pleasing God.  In any case, I hope you read on!

Let's paraphrase a portion of the above-mentioned verses!  Why--after you have become the King's own daughter (or son), do you desire to be a homeless person, living in the gutter??  Why would you want to go back there?    And why--after you have become the King's very own--do you just stand in the doorway?  Go in! and abide in fellowship!  God desires to give you so much more!

If you missed the analogy--If you are truly saved and one of God's redeemed children of God, why do you continue to live in the filth and decay of this world, desiring to party with the rest of the world?  Yes, it may be pleasurable for a time, but dear Christian, do not allow Satan to pull you into that trap.  God desires to give you so much more!   

Ok, perhaps you're not living among the filth of this world, but are you just "standing in the doorway"?  Go in!  Abide with Him!  God desires to give you the "abundant life," a life more joyful, peaceful, enriched, and fulfilling than any other life you can imagine!  God's ways are always best!  

One of my favorite verses, John 10:10 says this: "The thief (Satan) cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly."  

Romans 8:32 says, "He that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?"      Oh, the blessings of God!  God desires to bless us in so many ways--we cannot imagine!  But dear Christian, we are the only thing that limits what God can do!  Think on that!

        Oh, that we might experience

         God’s abundant life!

             Merle