Security and Strength from God

 When feeling tension or fear, we must remember that our security and strength comes from God.  He will be our shelter and our shield to keep us safe and secure.  Only God can give us the hope and protection we need.

My soul, wait thou only upon God; for my expectation is from Him.

He only is my rock and my salvation: He is my defence; I shall not be moved.

In God is my salvation and my glory: the rock of my strength, and my refuge, is in God.

- Psalm 62:5-7 (KJV)

Let your faith in God give you hope now and in the future.  Do not show any fear or be anxious about anything. because He has got you in every circumstance that comes along.  Keep your faith in God and rely on Him to deliver you from any situation.

Better Leadership for a Brighter Future

We have been living under a cloud of evil for so long, can we hope to see a better future with new leadership?  Can we joyfolly look forward to truth, liberty, and prosperity again?  When we pray, are we assured God is listening and will help us to move forward? The answers are YES, because our God wants to bless His people and give them a bright future.

When the righteous triumph, there is great elation; 

but when the wicked rise to power, people go into hiding. 

Whoever conceals their sins does not prosper, 

but the one who confesses and renounces them finds mercy. - Proverbs 28:12-13 (NIV) 

Will the former corrupt leaders and their partners-in-crime confess their evil deeds, ask for God's forgiveness, and plead for mercy from the people they have lied to and cheated for so long?  Will the citizens continue to fight for truth and justice or will evil be allowed to hide or abide until they can force their wicked ways again?  The answer depends on how we pray, the important actions we and our trustworty leaders must take as we put faith in God to guide us back to His plan for us. 

Evildoers are snared by their own sin, 

but the righteous shout for joy and are glad. 

The righteous care about justice for the poor, 

but the wicked have no such concern. - Proverbs 29:6-7 (NIV)

Twelve Minutes with God

Feeling alone or abandoned?  Wondering how you can possibly survive with all the evil around today?  Are you thinking nothing can be done to improve your situation? 

It is time to reprogram your brain and renew your spirit.  How? Consider spending at least twelve minutes each day with God in prayer.  Forget the persistent "God knows" excuses for not praying - how I feel, what I need, when things are bad, where i need to go, who can help, why we need Him.  He wants you to talk to Him!  So ask for what you need, give God praise, trust Him, listen for His voice, and feel God's love.

Forget the excuse of "I don't have time to pray" - everyone has time to do something they value.  Do you value God?  Jesus believed prayer was important, you should too!  A relationship with God means more than time spent sitting in church or reading a devotional and then meditating on it.  Prayer is real communication with God and it leads to real spiritual growth.

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, 

by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 

And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, 

will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, 

whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, 

whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things." 

- Philippians 4:6-8 (NIV) 

“It has been found that 12 minutes of daily focused prayer over an 8 week period can change the brain to such an extent that it can be measured on a brain scan. This type of prayer increases activity in brain areas associated with social interaction compassion and sensitivity to others. It also increases frontal lobe activity as focus and intentionality increase." - Dr. Caroline Leaf, neuroscience PhD  + author of Switch On Your Brain and books on stress.  For more about how prayer changes the brain and body, visit Renewing All Things blog.

Personally, I have been doing this for a few months and am amazed at how much it has improved my attitude about things and increased my faith.  I walk daily for exercise and I spend the first 12-15 minutes of my walk praying and praising God.  I try not to ask for anything, instead I  use the time to acknowledge who He is and what He means to me.  I feel reassured that my awesome God has got this, He will take care of everything, He holds me and those I care about safely in his strong but loving hands.  Nothing is impossible for my God!  Indeed no thing is too small for Him to care about or too big for Him to conquer!

POST SHORT URL = https://tinyurl.com/6ddt7wft 

Do your best and God will do the rest

My pastor has explained to us there are three steps we must take to reduce our stress and find happiness with our own little successes in life.  These steps can easily be summed up with "Do your best and God will do the rest."  The first step is what can humanly be done, the other two steps rely on what God can do.  

1 - Do what you can do.
2 - Give God what you CANNOT do.
3 - Trust God no matter what.

"I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of contentment in every situation, whether it be a full stomach or hunger, plenty or want; for I can do everything God asks me to with the help of Christ who gives me the strength and power." - Philippians 4:12-13 (TLB)

A different perspective (via Gospel 24/7 blog using other Bible scriptures) is to flip the order of the steps by letting God do what He will first and that reduces your stress and allows you to rest upon Him.  Get into God's Word and see what He leads you to do! 

SHORT POST URL = https://tinyurl.com/32dumsjs 

You Are Special!

In a recent sermon, my pastor shared many Bible truths on how God loves us and that each one of us is special to Him.  God created each of us uniquely for a special purpose and that we are perfect for that reason as He created us.  God requires no physical or surgical changes to our body to love us. We only need a willing spirit to receive His love.  Pastor shared a list of things that we should always remember about God and our relationship with him.  Below is a version of that list.

"And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. 

Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else. 

From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; 

and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. 

God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, 

though he is not far from any one of us." - Acts 17:25-27

• You are God's unique and purposed creation
• He ransomed you with a great price, his son Jesus Christ
• God never gave up on you
• He looks after you even though you did nothing to deserve it
• God saw you long before you saw Him
• You have been loved by Him since before there was time
• God never asked anything from you to get His love
• You are the apple of God's eye
• God gave everything to you through the gift of His Son

The God Who Sees Me!

When you are really sad or feeling mistreated, do you wonder where God is?  Does He see what is happening to you?  Will He intervene? Does He not care abut this?

Have you ever heard God called El Roi?  It means the God who sees me.  GOD as in the ALL knowing, ALL seeing, ALL powerful one.  He sees ME!  ME in I, myself, and mine.  Which also means He sees YOU and Yours too.   

"You are the God who sees me, ... I have now seen the One who sees me." 
- Genesis 16:13 (NIV)

We find "El Roi" name for God used by in the desert by a lonely Hagar, the handmaid of Sarah and Abraham.  Hagar is greatly mistreated and feels cheated roe than once in the book of Genesis.  Yet, she and her son are recognized by God and given comfort of their own promises rom Him.  

You may be going through a trial by God or through a horrible test of faith like the devil inflicted on Job.  You may be encounting wrong treatment by people around you or you may be reaping something you may have brought upon yourself through loss of faith.  

"Yet you know me, Lord; you see me and test my thoughts about you..." 
- Jeremiah 12:3 (NIV)

The prophet Jeremiah understood how it felt to have people try to harm him verbally and physically.  Yet, he realized his God was with him and had a plan for his life.   He may have been discouraged and his attitude was not always good, but he knew his God.   However, his faith in his calling was stronger than his weaknesses.  Jeremiah put his trust in the Lord to keep him safe and help him to deliver the words God wanted him to share.

Rest assured, God sees and recognizes you too. He has a good plan for you too.  No matter what is going on in your life right now, remember He sees you and He wants the best for you.  It may take some time. but you will come out of whatever is going on in your life.  Look for your best attitude in every situation that tempts your faith. Will you come out closer to the God who sees?  Will you recognize His love and help when it comes?  Rise in His glory and stand on your faith.  

Got Worries? Give Them to God

As Christians, why do we have worries?  What do we have to feel anxious about?  How can we get past our concerns?  

"If you will humble yourselves 
under the mighty hand of God, 
in his good time he will lift you up. 
Let him have all your worries and cares, 
for he is always thinking about you 
and watching everything that concerns you."
 - 1 Peter 5:6-7 (TLB)

We have to remember that God is in charge of our lives.  He has plans for  each of us.  When we go outside of His plan and try to do things on our own or rely on others instead of God, things can and will go awry. When this happens, we must turn back to God and trust Him for aid and direction.  We do this through prayer to God and gratitude for all He has done for us and will do for us.  We are His children, so He always wants what is best for us.  

Overcoming Negative Emotions

In the world today, there is so much focus on negative emotions we inflict upon ourselves or force onto others (sometime knowingly and often unknowingly).  Modern marketing tells us we will be happy if we can just get a little more of something.  We are bombarded with psychological and societal methods for improving the way we feel.  If a method works,  it is only for a short time.  The emotions return and too often are more intense with time.  There is no better emotion-shifter than having a relationship with God.  

"But He gives more grace. Therefore it says, 

'God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.'  

Submit yourselves therefore to God. 

Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 

Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you. 

Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, 

you double-minded."- James 4:6-8 (ESV)

This does not mean we will no longer experience negative feelings of anger, fear, loneliness, or sadness.  Instead, we will have a power to call on our God to will help us overcome the negativity in our lives.  He can replace: anger with composure, fear with determination, loneliness with His presence, and sadness with contentment.  Deciding to accept a relationship with God (instead of continuing in wordly indecision) is no guarantee that life will always be tranquil. However, we will know and experience the true promise of God's love. 

Trust God When Afraid or Anxious

If you are feeling anxious about things going on around you, then reach out to God.  You may be cautious during critical times, yet you are worried that something may happen to you or your family.  You may be witnessing things that concern you, which you never perceived as possible in the past. Do not fret, instead cry out to God and tell Him your concerns.  Do not fear, but have faith and believe that the all-knowing God will help you.  In a time and a way that is in accordance with His will, God will come to your aid. 

"What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee. 

In God I will praise his word, in God I have put my trust; 

I will not fear what flesh can do unto me." -  Psalm 56:3-4 (KJV)

What seems like insurmountable adversity to you, is nothing compared to the power and might of God.  As His child, there is nothing that mankind can do to you without God's permission.  He is your shelter, your fortress, your deliverer.  Keep your faith in God strong and remember to give Him the glory for all He does for you.  Praise God for His deliverance ,even before you see the results.  Keep thanking Him and reminding Him that you are trusting in His promises and for His best resolution to your concern or issue.