Showing posts with label savior. Show all posts
Showing posts with label savior. Show all posts
Thursday, December 27, 2012
I Know It Smells on the Ark...
I know it smells, but the Ark is the only thing floating! ~ Noah on day 299.
Do you ever wonder about the conversations that took place on the Ark? It would seem that Noah and Mrs. Noah were on the Ark with their three sons and three daughters in law for about a year. Combine the close quarters of eight people with all of the animals and even a vessel as large as the Ark was will become very small. You have to wonder what took place and what was said.
I wonder if they reacted like I sometimes tend to do? I find that sometimes when I am in the midst of being “saved” from adversity I complain about the method of that “salvation.” Rather than being thankful all I can see is the “stink” that is around me.
Now you know the boat had to stink! Have you ever been to a zoo? Have you ever driven by a dairy? How about pulling up to a signal light and finding yourself setting next to a livestock truck? Anytime you get several animals together the natural result is going to be a smell. In fact it is going to be a really big, bad smell! A smell that would get more intense and eventually drive a person to a distraction!
What do you do? The Ark is the only thing floating. There is no where else to go. Actually the Ark is your salvation. If you hadn’t gotten on board the Ark you would have drowned with everyone else. But now, the Ark is stinking and you are wishing you were anywhere but on the Ark.
Been there and done that! I have often prayed prayers that go like this: “God I have got to make heaven no matter the cost and I need your help.” So God looks at me and sees some things in my life that will keep me from heaven and goes to work. Then in the midst of God’s mercy and grace I begin to complain that what God is doing in my life is too painful, it stinks!
Another prayer that I have prayed is, “God I want to know you and to be like you. Show me what I need to do.” Again, God takes me at my word and begins to show me what I must do to know him and be like him. However, the cross is heavy, the road is lonely and, well, it just stinks!
Yet when I look around me. When I look at all that is happening and going on in my world. I see a lot of destruction! There is so much that is failing! So many are drowning in the cares of life. They have put their hopes and trust in the things of life and all of its assurances only to have it wiped out. I know, the Ark is the only thing floating!
So, despite the smell. Irregardless of how uncomfortable it might become I am going to stay in the Ark. I have found safety from the storms of life, in the Ark. I have truly found that I can rise above all adversity in life by remaining in the Ark. I will admit it isn’t always as pleasant as I would like it to be. However, it sure beats trying to tread water.
Remember, it is just a thought!
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Our Helmet of Salvation
The Helmet of Salvation
The Roman soldiers used several types of helmets worn. Most of the helmets consisted of bronze. They designed them to cover the back of the neck and having metal cheek guards to protect the sides of the face. The helmet had a reinforced ridge along the forehead to protect against downward slashes.
Paul tells us, in Ephesians 6:17, to, “take the helmet of salvation . . .” I find it interesting that Paul links salvation with the helmet. The helmet’s design and purpose were to protect the head of the soldier. Salvation is to protect the head or mind of the Child of God.
3 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh:
4(For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds ;)
5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; (2 Cor. 10:3-5 KJV)
The battle or warfare of the Christian soldier takes place in the mind. Satan, the enemy of our soul, will wage war upon us by attacking our mind. The control center of the body is the head or the brain, the mind. The same is true spiritually in that our spiritual control center is our mind. Our thoughts and our thought process determine who we are and how we respond in all situations. If our enemy can attack our minds and gain control of them, he is then able to disable us. In fact, he will eventually destroy us.
Paul tells us that our spiritual weapons are powerful, through God, to the pulling down of strong holds. Strong holds would be fortresses or castles that the enemy has control of. Paul speaks of them, spiritually, as imaginations or those things that exalt themselves against our knowledge of God. He goes on to call our thoughts controlled by Christ.
The word imagination, used here, is speaking of reasoning of evil intent. It is the contemplation of actions because of the verdict of the conscience. In other words it is reasoning that is hostile to our Christian faith or teachings. It is thinking about things that are contrary to the Word of God. Our conscience says it is all right to do, what we are thinking about, so we go ahead and do it.
The helmet of our salvation is our protection against those evil thoughts. Let’s take a few moments and try to break this down a bit more. Salvation speaks to us of deliverance, safety, security, refuge and sanctuary. When we think of our being saved, we think of a defender or deliverer. In fact, we could actually use the word savior in place of the word deliverer. We also know that in Luke 2:11 the angel of the Lord told the shepherds in the field that Christ the Lord was their Savior. The angel told Joseph that the baby, Mary would have, would be named Jesus, because He would save His people from their sins. Of course many more scriptures confirm that our Lord Jesus Christ is our glorious Savior.
Paul says to the Church of Ephesis, “Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body.” (Eph. 5:23 KJV) As the head and as my Savior or salvation he is protecting me. When I allow Christ to be my head or the authority of my life I bring myself into His protection. With Christ in authority I now have the advantage when in battle. Those strong holds of my mind will crumble before Him. The thoughts, which are ungodly and destructive, will be brought into captivity to Christ. I can live victoriously!
“Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” (1 Peter 5:8 NIV)
The wildebeest is the most fierce of all hoofed animals. Even a lion will not attack a healthy adult wildebeest. However, every animal has its nemesis or their adversary. The nemesis of the wildebeest is a fly. The information that they gave me says this fly will crawl down into the ear canal of the wildebeest and lay its eggs. When the eggs hatch, the maggots crawl even farther into the ear canal. They begin to eat the brain of the animal from the inside. It isn’t long until this causes the animal to be in intense pain.
What will happen next is sad, but try and picture it. The wildebeest will be eating and suddenly the pain in its head becomes so intense it is like the animal goes crazy. Trying to get rid of the pain they will suddenly jump straight up in the air and then spin around in circles. They are trying to get rid of the pain in their heads. After a few moments they will resume their eating. Until this all, happens repeatedly. It becomes more frequent as the fly’s progress farther and farther into the brain.
Lions are predators and will lie around the herd of wildebeest. They remain just on the fringe waiting and watching. Because of the fierceness of the wildebeest, the lion will not attack a healthy alert one. So they wait for one that has become ill and weakened by the attack of the flies on their brain. When they have spotted an animal that repeatedly goes into frenzy, they creep as close as possible, watching and waiting. Eventually the wildebeest will come out of his frenzied spinning totally confused, bewildered and even dizzy. This is the moment his enemy has been waiting for and with a roar the lion launches himself through the air in attack. The wildebeest is bewildered and befuddled. He is having a hard time standing. His world is spinning around. There is a loud confusing noise, a roar, but where is it coming from? He doesn’t know and then it is too late.
Let’s consider a couple of interesting things we can learn from this. We all know we have an enemy or adversary who is Peter likened to a roaring lion, (1 Peter 5:9). Beelzebub is a Bible name for Satan. In fact, Matthew 12:25 calls Beelzebub Prince of devils. In Luke 11:15 called Satan the chief of devils. The word, according to the dictionary, is a Latin word taken from a Hebrew word and means “Lord of the Flies.” In the Greek Beelzebub means the “dung-god.” It was actually the name of an Old Testament idol that Israel often worshiped, (2 Kings 1:2-3,6,16) In John 8:44 Jesus called Satan the father of all liars.
Now think of this. Beelzebub, the Lord of the Flies, comes to us and whispers in our ears. He tells us lies, whispering those little “flies” into our ears. God doesn’t love us or we would be experiencing so much pain. God doesn’t care what happens to us, He could change things if he wanted to. Go ahead and sin a little, it won’t hurt. God deserves it if you sin, He hasn’t treated you right. You can’t make it! You are a failure! You are a loser! Look at all the mistakes you have made! You aren’t worthy of God’s love! Do I need to go on? Do I need to say more? Lies that come from “The Lord of the Flies” and attack our minds. Little flies that land and creep farther and farther into our minds. They lay their eggs in our minds.
These eggs lay there and eventually hatch. They begin to eat away at our minds. The lies grow and destroy. It destroys us of our spirituality, our faith, our hope and finally our life. It is just as Jesus said, the thief comes to steal, kill and destroy. That is just what Beelzebub is trying to do. The pain becomes intense, to the point it is unbearable. We find ourselves bewildered. We become confused. We become disillusioned with everything. We are dizzy, dazed and befuddled! Then in the midst of this, the devil roars “like” a lion. We don’t know where the roar is coming from and we give up to his attack.
The helmet of salvation is to protect our minds against such attacks. It is the knowledge and understanding of God that will keep and protect us during the attack on our minds or our thinking. The attacks will be focused on exalting the enemy against the knowledge of Christ. This is what Paul spoke about in 2 Corinthians 10:5.
The prophet Hosea wrote that Israel was destroyed because of a lack of knowledge. They had rejected the Word of God and God rejected them. (Hosea 4:5) They had forgotten the Law of God and God forgot them. The wise man of Proverbs warns us to:
“Apply thine heart unto instruction, and thine ears to the words of knowledge.” (Prov. 23:12 KJV)
A few verses later he stresses that we pay the price for truth and refuse to sell it. Along with truth we should get wisdom, instruction and understanding.
“Buy the truth, and sell it not; also wisdom, and instruction, and understanding.” (Prov. 23:23 KJV)
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of all wisdom. With wisdom we need to get understanding. Understanding is going to help us to overcome the attacks of the enemy.
“The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding.” (Prov. 9:10 KJV)
“And this is what he says to all humanity: 'The fear of the Lord is true wisdom; to forsake evil is real understanding.' " (Job 28:28 NLT)
When I use the helmet of salvation, I am trusting in the wisdom, knowledge and understanding that I have received from God. I am protecting myself against the lies of the enemy that would have me to doubt God. My mind is protected, because of my awesome respect for God. My knowledge and understanding of Him guard my mind against the lies of the enemy. I recognize what the enemy says as lies and reject them, before they can harm me. Before the enemy can build a stronghold in my mind, I can tear it down and destroy it.
It is vital that I constantly reaffirm what I have already learned of God. I need to strengthen it by constantly adding to that knowledge. I also need to seek the face of God and ask Him to help me to increase in knowledge, wisdom and understanding.
The Roman soldiers used several types of helmets worn. Most of the helmets consisted of bronze. They designed them to cover the back of the neck and having metal cheek guards to protect the sides of the face. The helmet had a reinforced ridge along the forehead to protect against downward slashes.
Paul tells us, in Ephesians 6:17, to, “take the helmet of salvation . . .” I find it interesting that Paul links salvation with the helmet. The helmet’s design and purpose were to protect the head of the soldier. Salvation is to protect the head or mind of the Child of God.
3 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh:
4(For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds ;)
5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; (2 Cor. 10:3-5 KJV)
The battle or warfare of the Christian soldier takes place in the mind. Satan, the enemy of our soul, will wage war upon us by attacking our mind. The control center of the body is the head or the brain, the mind. The same is true spiritually in that our spiritual control center is our mind. Our thoughts and our thought process determine who we are and how we respond in all situations. If our enemy can attack our minds and gain control of them, he is then able to disable us. In fact, he will eventually destroy us.
Paul tells us that our spiritual weapons are powerful, through God, to the pulling down of strong holds. Strong holds would be fortresses or castles that the enemy has control of. Paul speaks of them, spiritually, as imaginations or those things that exalt themselves against our knowledge of God. He goes on to call our thoughts controlled by Christ.
The word imagination, used here, is speaking of reasoning of evil intent. It is the contemplation of actions because of the verdict of the conscience. In other words it is reasoning that is hostile to our Christian faith or teachings. It is thinking about things that are contrary to the Word of God. Our conscience says it is all right to do, what we are thinking about, so we go ahead and do it.
The helmet of our salvation is our protection against those evil thoughts. Let’s take a few moments and try to break this down a bit more. Salvation speaks to us of deliverance, safety, security, refuge and sanctuary. When we think of our being saved, we think of a defender or deliverer. In fact, we could actually use the word savior in place of the word deliverer. We also know that in Luke 2:11 the angel of the Lord told the shepherds in the field that Christ the Lord was their Savior. The angel told Joseph that the baby, Mary would have, would be named Jesus, because He would save His people from their sins. Of course many more scriptures confirm that our Lord Jesus Christ is our glorious Savior.
Paul says to the Church of Ephesis, “Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body.” (Eph. 5:23 KJV) As the head and as my Savior or salvation he is protecting me. When I allow Christ to be my head or the authority of my life I bring myself into His protection. With Christ in authority I now have the advantage when in battle. Those strong holds of my mind will crumble before Him. The thoughts, which are ungodly and destructive, will be brought into captivity to Christ. I can live victoriously!
“Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” (1 Peter 5:8 NIV)
The wildebeest is the most fierce of all hoofed animals. Even a lion will not attack a healthy adult wildebeest. However, every animal has its nemesis or their adversary. The nemesis of the wildebeest is a fly. The information that they gave me says this fly will crawl down into the ear canal of the wildebeest and lay its eggs. When the eggs hatch, the maggots crawl even farther into the ear canal. They begin to eat the brain of the animal from the inside. It isn’t long until this causes the animal to be in intense pain.
What will happen next is sad, but try and picture it. The wildebeest will be eating and suddenly the pain in its head becomes so intense it is like the animal goes crazy. Trying to get rid of the pain they will suddenly jump straight up in the air and then spin around in circles. They are trying to get rid of the pain in their heads. After a few moments they will resume their eating. Until this all, happens repeatedly. It becomes more frequent as the fly’s progress farther and farther into the brain.
Lions are predators and will lie around the herd of wildebeest. They remain just on the fringe waiting and watching. Because of the fierceness of the wildebeest, the lion will not attack a healthy alert one. So they wait for one that has become ill and weakened by the attack of the flies on their brain. When they have spotted an animal that repeatedly goes into frenzy, they creep as close as possible, watching and waiting. Eventually the wildebeest will come out of his frenzied spinning totally confused, bewildered and even dizzy. This is the moment his enemy has been waiting for and with a roar the lion launches himself through the air in attack. The wildebeest is bewildered and befuddled. He is having a hard time standing. His world is spinning around. There is a loud confusing noise, a roar, but where is it coming from? He doesn’t know and then it is too late.
Let’s consider a couple of interesting things we can learn from this. We all know we have an enemy or adversary who is Peter likened to a roaring lion, (1 Peter 5:9). Beelzebub is a Bible name for Satan. In fact, Matthew 12:25 calls Beelzebub Prince of devils. In Luke 11:15 called Satan the chief of devils. The word, according to the dictionary, is a Latin word taken from a Hebrew word and means “Lord of the Flies.” In the Greek Beelzebub means the “dung-god.” It was actually the name of an Old Testament idol that Israel often worshiped, (2 Kings 1:2-3,6,16) In John 8:44 Jesus called Satan the father of all liars.
Now think of this. Beelzebub, the Lord of the Flies, comes to us and whispers in our ears. He tells us lies, whispering those little “flies” into our ears. God doesn’t love us or we would be experiencing so much pain. God doesn’t care what happens to us, He could change things if he wanted to. Go ahead and sin a little, it won’t hurt. God deserves it if you sin, He hasn’t treated you right. You can’t make it! You are a failure! You are a loser! Look at all the mistakes you have made! You aren’t worthy of God’s love! Do I need to go on? Do I need to say more? Lies that come from “The Lord of the Flies” and attack our minds. Little flies that land and creep farther and farther into our minds. They lay their eggs in our minds.
These eggs lay there and eventually hatch. They begin to eat away at our minds. The lies grow and destroy. It destroys us of our spirituality, our faith, our hope and finally our life. It is just as Jesus said, the thief comes to steal, kill and destroy. That is just what Beelzebub is trying to do. The pain becomes intense, to the point it is unbearable. We find ourselves bewildered. We become confused. We become disillusioned with everything. We are dizzy, dazed and befuddled! Then in the midst of this, the devil roars “like” a lion. We don’t know where the roar is coming from and we give up to his attack.
The helmet of salvation is to protect our minds against such attacks. It is the knowledge and understanding of God that will keep and protect us during the attack on our minds or our thinking. The attacks will be focused on exalting the enemy against the knowledge of Christ. This is what Paul spoke about in 2 Corinthians 10:5.
The prophet Hosea wrote that Israel was destroyed because of a lack of knowledge. They had rejected the Word of God and God rejected them. (Hosea 4:5) They had forgotten the Law of God and God forgot them. The wise man of Proverbs warns us to:
“Apply thine heart unto instruction, and thine ears to the words of knowledge.” (Prov. 23:12 KJV)
A few verses later he stresses that we pay the price for truth and refuse to sell it. Along with truth we should get wisdom, instruction and understanding.
“Buy the truth, and sell it not; also wisdom, and instruction, and understanding.” (Prov. 23:23 KJV)
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of all wisdom. With wisdom we need to get understanding. Understanding is going to help us to overcome the attacks of the enemy.
“The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding.” (Prov. 9:10 KJV)
“And this is what he says to all humanity: 'The fear of the Lord is true wisdom; to forsake evil is real understanding.' " (Job 28:28 NLT)
When I use the helmet of salvation, I am trusting in the wisdom, knowledge and understanding that I have received from God. I am protecting myself against the lies of the enemy that would have me to doubt God. My mind is protected, because of my awesome respect for God. My knowledge and understanding of Him guard my mind against the lies of the enemy. I recognize what the enemy says as lies and reject them, before they can harm me. Before the enemy can build a stronghold in my mind, I can tear it down and destroy it.
It is vital that I constantly reaffirm what I have already learned of God. I need to strengthen it by constantly adding to that knowledge. I also need to seek the face of God and ask Him to help me to increase in knowledge, wisdom and understanding.
Sunday, December 25, 2011
Shoes of the Gospel of Peace
Our first inclination when we sense danger is to run and hide. We want to flee the threat of danger! Our pulse begins to race! Our adrenalin begins to pump! Fear grips our heart! The first thought we have is to make a retreat and save ourselves.
Fear is a controlling, amazing thing. The cause of fear doesn’t even have to be real, it can be something we have imagined or someone has told us. Experiences can cause fear in our lives that are either real or imagined. Fear will control you. Let me give you an example.
I was driving home from Church one Sunday with my mother. We exited the Interstate and came to a stop sign at an intersection. Across from where we sat, about a hundred feet away and to our right, we could see the shore of a lake. My mother looked at the lake and said, “That makes my stomach hurt!”
Not sure what she was referring to, I asked, “What are you talking about?” To this she replied, “That water! Looking at it makes my stomach hurt!”
Now I was very curious how the lake’s water could make her stomach hurt, so I asked her. To this she replied, “Well, when I was two years old I almost drowned. So when I look at water, it makes my stomach hurt.”
I was surprised and said, “Mom, you can’t even remember when you were two years old. How can that experience make you afraid of water to the point it makes your stomach hurt to look at it? You are just going on what someone told you.”
Mom replied, “I don’t care! It makes my stomach hurt to look at water.” I then began to recall how afraid she had been all of my life whenever water was involved. She had never, in my lifetime, gone swimming. In fact, I don’t ever remember her going wading or standing in the waves at the ocean. When we were kids, we would beg to go swimming at the river. When mom would finally give in and would take us we could only get in the water up to our knees. I was eighteen years old when I learned to swim. A fear that someone had told her about, had controlled her life for seventy-five years.
The same thing happens to us spiritually. We often deal with fears that things that we have experienced in our past have caused. Sometimes the enemy of our soul will whisper lies in our ears that will breed fears into our lives. Our imaginations begin to expand on the lies, making them larger and more real in our minds to the point fear controls us.
Paul tells us, “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 KJV)
John also writes and tells us, “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.” (1 John 4:18 KJV)
Fear is the root of so much of our spiritual troubles. It is the cause of much of the conflict we have with our brothers and sisters in the Lord. We can find ourselves going through life responding to the fears of what others think about us. We are afraid of what someone else will do or say if we dress a certain way or fail to respond in a certain way. Too often we find ourselves bound by things we are sure others are saying about us. Fear and condemnation can blind us until we become helpless.
When fear sets in it brings torment! Torment will result in the victim becoming self centered. Not because they are egotistical! This happens because they become consumed by the fear that has overtaken their lives. Everything becomes centered on this fear and how it affects them.
The “Good News” is that God hasn’t given us the spirit of fear. He has given us the “Spirit of Power.” Power is the opposite of fear. Fear leaves you feeling weak. Fear causes you to feel vulnerable and helpless. However, power is strength, ability and authority. “But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you,” (Acts 1:8a KJV).
The “Good News” is that God hasn’t given us the spirit of fear. He has given us the “Spirit of Love.” Love is the opposite of fear. Fear causes you to feel alone. It will make you feel that no one cares and no one is listening to your cries for help. Fear will make you feel that no one will be there to take care of you. Love, on the other hand, is the assurance that someone is there and they do care. It is the knowledge that there is someone you can call to and they will respond and wrap their arms around you in a loving embrace. Peter admonishes us, “Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.” (1Peter 5:7 KJV)
The “Good News” is that God hasn’t given us the spirit of fear. He has given us the “Spirit of a Sound Mind.” Several translations use the word discipline here. A mind that is undisciplined will cause fear. They allow the imagination to be in control. However, when we control or discipline our mind, fear is no longer able to rule over us. Paul admonishes us, “Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ”; (2 Cor. 10:5 KJV).
When I recognize that I have protection from fear I am free to walk in peace. I will enjoy peace that is beyond understanding in my life. I will know peace with my fellow man. It is then that I will be free to spread the “Gospel of Peace” in a world that is searching for peace. As Jesus said in His last words to His disciples, “But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me” (Acts 1:8 KJV).
Paul encourages us in to, “Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. If you do this, you will experience God's peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.” (Phil 4:6-7 NLT)
(An excerpt from the second chapter of the book I am presently writing.)
Fear is a controlling, amazing thing. The cause of fear doesn’t even have to be real, it can be something we have imagined or someone has told us. Experiences can cause fear in our lives that are either real or imagined. Fear will control you. Let me give you an example.
I was driving home from Church one Sunday with my mother. We exited the Interstate and came to a stop sign at an intersection. Across from where we sat, about a hundred feet away and to our right, we could see the shore of a lake. My mother looked at the lake and said, “That makes my stomach hurt!”
Not sure what she was referring to, I asked, “What are you talking about?” To this she replied, “That water! Looking at it makes my stomach hurt!”
Now I was very curious how the lake’s water could make her stomach hurt, so I asked her. To this she replied, “Well, when I was two years old I almost drowned. So when I look at water, it makes my stomach hurt.”
I was surprised and said, “Mom, you can’t even remember when you were two years old. How can that experience make you afraid of water to the point it makes your stomach hurt to look at it? You are just going on what someone told you.”
Mom replied, “I don’t care! It makes my stomach hurt to look at water.” I then began to recall how afraid she had been all of my life whenever water was involved. She had never, in my lifetime, gone swimming. In fact, I don’t ever remember her going wading or standing in the waves at the ocean. When we were kids, we would beg to go swimming at the river. When mom would finally give in and would take us we could only get in the water up to our knees. I was eighteen years old when I learned to swim. A fear that someone had told her about, had controlled her life for seventy-five years.
The same thing happens to us spiritually. We often deal with fears that things that we have experienced in our past have caused. Sometimes the enemy of our soul will whisper lies in our ears that will breed fears into our lives. Our imaginations begin to expand on the lies, making them larger and more real in our minds to the point fear controls us.
Paul tells us, “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 KJV)
John also writes and tells us, “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.” (1 John 4:18 KJV)
Fear is the root of so much of our spiritual troubles. It is the cause of much of the conflict we have with our brothers and sisters in the Lord. We can find ourselves going through life responding to the fears of what others think about us. We are afraid of what someone else will do or say if we dress a certain way or fail to respond in a certain way. Too often we find ourselves bound by things we are sure others are saying about us. Fear and condemnation can blind us until we become helpless.
When fear sets in it brings torment! Torment will result in the victim becoming self centered. Not because they are egotistical! This happens because they become consumed by the fear that has overtaken their lives. Everything becomes centered on this fear and how it affects them.
The “Good News” is that God hasn’t given us the spirit of fear. He has given us the “Spirit of Power.” Power is the opposite of fear. Fear leaves you feeling weak. Fear causes you to feel vulnerable and helpless. However, power is strength, ability and authority. “But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you,” (Acts 1:8a KJV).
The “Good News” is that God hasn’t given us the spirit of fear. He has given us the “Spirit of Love.” Love is the opposite of fear. Fear causes you to feel alone. It will make you feel that no one cares and no one is listening to your cries for help. Fear will make you feel that no one will be there to take care of you. Love, on the other hand, is the assurance that someone is there and they do care. It is the knowledge that there is someone you can call to and they will respond and wrap their arms around you in a loving embrace. Peter admonishes us, “Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.” (1Peter 5:7 KJV)
The “Good News” is that God hasn’t given us the spirit of fear. He has given us the “Spirit of a Sound Mind.” Several translations use the word discipline here. A mind that is undisciplined will cause fear. They allow the imagination to be in control. However, when we control or discipline our mind, fear is no longer able to rule over us. Paul admonishes us, “Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ”; (2 Cor. 10:5 KJV).
When I recognize that I have protection from fear I am free to walk in peace. I will enjoy peace that is beyond understanding in my life. I will know peace with my fellow man. It is then that I will be free to spread the “Gospel of Peace” in a world that is searching for peace. As Jesus said in His last words to His disciples, “But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me” (Acts 1:8 KJV).
Paul encourages us in to, “Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. If you do this, you will experience God's peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.” (Phil 4:6-7 NLT)
(An excerpt from the second chapter of the book I am presently writing.)
Monday, June 6, 2011
Today is the Day of Good News!
Have you ever been sorry that you received good news? I can’t think of one time that I have regretted receiving good news. I do not remember one morning when I have awakened and thought, “I hope that I get some bad news today!” I do know that most mornings I am hoping for some good news. In fact, to be honest, I look forward to hearing good news, even when it isn’t for me.
The four men looked at each other and one of them said, “This situation looks really hopeless!” Another continued the thought, “That’s right! If we continue to sit here, we are going to die. If we go to the city we are going to die and if we go to the camp of the Syrians, our enemies, we will die.” Another one said, “You are right about dying if we sit here or if we go to the city, however, there is a chance the Syrians might feel sorry for us if we go to their camp and they might feed us.” The last man said, “What is there to lose? Let’s go take our chances with the Syrian camp.”
The Syrian army had besieged Samaria causing a great famine. It was so bad and people were so desperate for food that a donkey’s head sold for twenty pieces of silver. In fact the famine had gotten so bad that people were killing their babies and eating them. There was not hope in the city! This situation compounded the hopelessness of having the dreaded disease of leprosy for which there was no cure.
The four men got up from where they were sitting and began the walk to the Syrian camp. The Bible tells us in Second Kings seven that as they walked, the Syrians heard the sound of many chariots and many horses and a mighty host approaching. They thought Israel had found some allies to join them in the war so the Syrians fled before their imagined foe.
When the four lepers came into the camp, they found it deserted! The Syrian army had fled and left everything behind them just “as it was” and fled for their lives. The four lepers had come upon a bonanza! They entered into a tent and ate and drank and then carried off the treasure they found to hide it. They returned and went to another tent and carried off the treasure and hid it as well. They were going to live! Not only were they going to live, they were going to live well!
As they were returning to get more treasure one of them said to the others, “Fellas, this isn’t right. Today is a day of good news and we are keeping it to ourselves. People are starving in the city and if someone comes upon us we are going to lose everything we have. Let’s share the good news with the King.”
The angel of the Lord appeared to shepherds in the field and said to them, “I bring you good news that will bring great joy! A savior has been born today who is Christ the Lord!” Today is a day of good news. We have a Savior!
Many of us is as the lepers were. Our lot in life is hopeless and we don’t know which way to turn. If we stay where we are we will die! If we go to the left, we will die! If we go to the right, we will die! There is not hope! However, today is a day of good news! We have a Savior!
It was His custom to go to the synagogue and so He went. As the service progressed, the minister handed Him the Book of Isaiah and Jesus turned to the sixty-first chapter and began to read; “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty they that are bruised, To preach the acceptable year of the Lord. “ He handed the Book back to the minister and told the people, “Today is this scripture fulfilled.” (Luke 4:18)
The word gospel simply means good news. In fact if you read this passage in the Old Testament it actually says to preach good tidings or good news. The good news is that each of us can have hope. Life deals us blows! As life happens, it often breaks our hearts. Yet let me assure you, today is the day of good news! Jesus came to heal the broken heart. The circumstances of life can leave us bound, chained by fear and defeat. However, today is a day of good news! Jesus came to deliver the captive. The fears and failures caused by the events of life often leave us blinded, unable to see what God can do and what He wants to do in our lives. But today is the day of good news! Jesus came to restore sight to the blind. The emotional and spiritual blows of life leave us laying bruised and battered, unable to continue on! I assure you that today is the day of good news! The blood of Jesus Christ will liberate the bruised and bring spiritual and emotional healing to your life.
Life happens and it happens to us all. We will be broken, captive, blinded and bruised. We will be poor in spirit, at the point of hopelessness with no where to turn. Yet in the midst of a time of despair in your life, be assured, today is a day of good news! We have a Savior!
It’s just a thought!
The four men looked at each other and one of them said, “This situation looks really hopeless!” Another continued the thought, “That’s right! If we continue to sit here, we are going to die. If we go to the city we are going to die and if we go to the camp of the Syrians, our enemies, we will die.” Another one said, “You are right about dying if we sit here or if we go to the city, however, there is a chance the Syrians might feel sorry for us if we go to their camp and they might feed us.” The last man said, “What is there to lose? Let’s go take our chances with the Syrian camp.”
The Syrian army had besieged Samaria causing a great famine. It was so bad and people were so desperate for food that a donkey’s head sold for twenty pieces of silver. In fact the famine had gotten so bad that people were killing their babies and eating them. There was not hope in the city! This situation compounded the hopelessness of having the dreaded disease of leprosy for which there was no cure.
The four men got up from where they were sitting and began the walk to the Syrian camp. The Bible tells us in Second Kings seven that as they walked, the Syrians heard the sound of many chariots and many horses and a mighty host approaching. They thought Israel had found some allies to join them in the war so the Syrians fled before their imagined foe.
When the four lepers came into the camp, they found it deserted! The Syrian army had fled and left everything behind them just “as it was” and fled for their lives. The four lepers had come upon a bonanza! They entered into a tent and ate and drank and then carried off the treasure they found to hide it. They returned and went to another tent and carried off the treasure and hid it as well. They were going to live! Not only were they going to live, they were going to live well!
As they were returning to get more treasure one of them said to the others, “Fellas, this isn’t right. Today is a day of good news and we are keeping it to ourselves. People are starving in the city and if someone comes upon us we are going to lose everything we have. Let’s share the good news with the King.”
The angel of the Lord appeared to shepherds in the field and said to them, “I bring you good news that will bring great joy! A savior has been born today who is Christ the Lord!” Today is a day of good news. We have a Savior!
Many of us is as the lepers were. Our lot in life is hopeless and we don’t know which way to turn. If we stay where we are we will die! If we go to the left, we will die! If we go to the right, we will die! There is not hope! However, today is a day of good news! We have a Savior!
It was His custom to go to the synagogue and so He went. As the service progressed, the minister handed Him the Book of Isaiah and Jesus turned to the sixty-first chapter and began to read; “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty they that are bruised, To preach the acceptable year of the Lord. “ He handed the Book back to the minister and told the people, “Today is this scripture fulfilled.” (Luke 4:18)
The word gospel simply means good news. In fact if you read this passage in the Old Testament it actually says to preach good tidings or good news. The good news is that each of us can have hope. Life deals us blows! As life happens, it often breaks our hearts. Yet let me assure you, today is the day of good news! Jesus came to heal the broken heart. The circumstances of life can leave us bound, chained by fear and defeat. However, today is a day of good news! Jesus came to deliver the captive. The fears and failures caused by the events of life often leave us blinded, unable to see what God can do and what He wants to do in our lives. But today is the day of good news! Jesus came to restore sight to the blind. The emotional and spiritual blows of life leave us laying bruised and battered, unable to continue on! I assure you that today is the day of good news! The blood of Jesus Christ will liberate the bruised and bring spiritual and emotional healing to your life.
Life happens and it happens to us all. We will be broken, captive, blinded and bruised. We will be poor in spirit, at the point of hopelessness with no where to turn. Yet in the midst of a time of despair in your life, be assured, today is a day of good news! We have a Savior!
It’s just a thought!
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