God Gives Us The WILL and POWER To Obey

 

I have not only heard but have thought it myself years ago, "There's no way I can do what God wants of me. It would be like pushing a boulder up a hill. I'm only human!"  Have you ever said that? Have you ever felt so overwhelmed by the Christian life that you believe it's impossible to obey God? Unfortunately, I've got bad news for you. You're right! YOU will never be strong enough within your own self to do what God wants. And that, simply because you are human. However, I also have fantastic news!! When you come to Jesus and make Him the Lord of your life, God gives you the power and the will to obey Him! Did you get that?? Did that sink in? Not only has Jesus died for you, forgiven you, cleansed you by His blood, SAVED you, He also gives you the WILL and the POWER to obey Him! Christ has provided the means to obey Him. Look at Philippians 2:13. Read it slowly and carefully, "For it is God which works in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure." This verse should turn your head and make you jump for joy! God is working IN US to give us the will and power to do what pleases Him. WOW! We have help!

Let's look at several versions to double-check the wording!

1) KING JAMES VERSION: "For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure."

2) NEW LIVING TRANSLATION: "For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases Him."

3) NEW REVISED STANDARD: " For it is God who is at work in you, enabling you both to will and to work for his good pleasure.

4) MODERN ENGLISH VERSION: "For God is the One working in you, both to will and to do His good pleasure."

5) LIVING BIBLE: "For God is at work within you, helping you want to obey him, and then helping you do what he wants."

6) COMMON ENGLISH BIBLE: "God is the one who enables you both to want and to actually live out his good purposes."

7) AMPLIFIED BIBLE: "For it is [not your strength, but it is] [a]God who is effectively at work in you, both to will and to work [that is, strengthening, energizing, and creating in you the longing and the ability to fulfill your purpose] for His good pleasure."

I love the simple words from the Living Bible: "For God is at work within you, helping you want to obey him, and then helping you do what he wants."

The Spirit in us gives the supernatural power necessary to accomplish that godly desire! What desire? Obedience. So we could paraphrase the verse I gave, in simple words, by saying that God's Spirit is continually giving us the grace (desire and power) to do what pleases Him! Grace ought to free many of us who are "trying to clean ourselves up!" It can't be done! We are human as I said. We are flawed. We need God's grace to give us the desire to "clean up" and the power to "clean up!" Only the Spirit of God in us can give the supernatural power necessary to accomplish that godly desire! Are you resisting His grace? You can either receive it or resist it! Just know, the first way leaves you filled, while the second way leaves you empty, dry, and spiritually barren. However, every believer shouldn't merely rest in the Holy Spirit for victory over sin and the production of a holy life. They must in addition to this dependence upon the Spirit, say a positive NO to sin and exert himself to the doing of the right (working out his or her own salvation (Philippians 2:12 "Dear friends, you always followed my instructions when I was with you. And now that I am away, it is even more important. Work hard to show the results of your salvation, obeying God with deep reverence and fear"). Here we have that incomprehensible and mysterious interaction between the free will of man and the sovereign grace of God. The best definition of grace I've heard is that God's grace is "both the desire and the ability to do the will of God." 

In his letters, Paul wants us to be mindful that we cannot carry out this supernatural work of living a "Christ-ian" life without Divine Assistance. We can live a religious life but it is like taking "Christ" out of the word "Christian"! We need to keep this in mind as we seek to carry out the many commands in the NT, commands like mortify the deeds of your flesh, "Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry" (Colossians 3:5). Just try to do that in your own strength! Need I say more? The presence of God's power does not preclude Paul's personal struggle or energetic striving or laboring. Rather, it makes it possible. God's power is not designed to eliminate our responsibility to work hard but to enable us to fulfill it. Paul is able to work hard because God is working hard. The latter doesn't destroy or undermine the former.

Finally, don't be discouraged beloved, and certainly don't give up in your fight against sin, for Paul is saying our Great and Mighty God is Himself always at work in us for our good (Romans 8:29) and for His glory. It is for this reason that sanctification will continue throughout the believer’s life for "He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus" Hallelujah! If you are discouraged by failures, the truth that God is continually at work in you and clearly has not given up on you should encourage you to forget what lies behind (Philippians 3:13) and press on (Philippians 3:14) in His power knowing that it is always too soon to quit! Live with the realization that you do not work alone, that you have infinite power within you, that God is actually working out His will for you and motivating you both to will and desire to accomplish His good pleasure. Not that we are adequate in ourselves to consider anything as coming from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God, who also made us adequate as servants of a new covenant, not of the letter, but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life" (2 Corinthians 3:5,6)Paul's point is that God energizes His children to obey and serve Him! His energy enables our ongoing, daily supernatural process of sanctification. Jesus' warning that "apart from Me you can do nothing" is understandable (John 15:5). When it comes to change in our lives, we know what God demands; we know what is necessary. We must change. For real change to occur we must yield to God’s Law, confess, repent from sin, and as we look in faith to Christ and His indwelling Spirit, as we consider and seek to conform our lives to God’s revealed will, change will happen.

Until He Comes,

-Pat-

Garbage In Garbage Out

 

I read the following, "The average person has 10,000 separate thoughts each day. That works out to be 3.5 million thoughts a year." WOW! That would mean every one of those 10,000 thoughts represents a choice we make, a decision to think about this, and not about that. What about you? How is your thought life? Positive? Negative? We hear a lot today about "Positive Thinking" and how to train your mind to dispel negative thoughts. There are articles, books, and videotapes on how to approach unpleasantness in a more positive and productive way. The idea is to think the best is going to happen, not the worst. Positive thinking often starts with self-talk. Self-talk is the endless stream of unspoken thoughts that run through your head. Do you know who the first positive thinker was? The Apostle Paul! At the end of his letter to the Philippians, he gives a prescription for positive thinking that if followed has the power to transform your life. This is his advice in Philippians 4:8 "Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things." Paul is instructing before you think and before you speak, ask yourself these six questions.

Is it true?

Is it honest?

Is it right?

Is it pure?

Is it lovely?

Is it admirable?

Paul says, “Think about these things.” It is a command for Christian living and if you notice, it’s in the present tense. We are to keep on focusing our thoughts on these eight areas. Find the truth and think about it. Find the honest and think about it. Find the lovely and think about it. Find the virtuous and think about it. Do it, and verse 9 tells us that “the God of peace will be with you.” Those who think on these things experience God’s peace in their lives. Who doesn't want that?

But what if things around you are so bad you just can't seem to think positive about anything .. your health is shot, you're dangerously in debt, your spouse wants a divorce, your child is strung out on drugs. All of us fight the tendency to let our minds dwell on the negative. I do at times. Just watching the nightly news can make my heart quiver. So how do you “change your mind?” It all begins with "Garbage In, Garbage Out." If you put garbage into your mind, garbage is what you will get out. It can involve so many areas of life because we receive input from so many sources: The music we listen to, TV, rented videos, radio stations, books we choose to read, who we date, conversations at work, on and on and on. 2 Corinthians 10:5 says that we should “take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” What does it mean to take every thought captive? It means that you have a chance to do something about all thoughts that are not well-pleasing to God before they enter your heart and become a part of you! “As a man thinks, so is he,” says Proverbs 23:7. In order to do that, however, you’ve got to look at the sources of your input. For instance, begin with changing your "diet."

1. Do an inventory of what you’ve been putting in your mind. Are you guilty of reading trashy novels, listen to filthy song lyrics, partaking in gossip? 

2.Examine the Influence of Your Friends. I Corinthians 15:33 warns us that “bad company corrupts good character.” You become like the people you hang around with. If they drink, curse, are easily angered, negative, hostile, critical, filled with self-pity, and convinced that the world has cheated them, those traits will rub off on you sooner or later! You’ll never get a new mind unless you examine your friends and the impact they have on your life.

3. Begin to Memorize Scripture. As you begin to hide God’s Word in your heart, it will slowly but surely “change your mind.”

More than once I have found myself waking up in the night bothered by some problem or gripped by some fear. In those moments, as I begin to quote “He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty” (Psalm 91:1), I discover that God’s Word soothes my soul, chases away my fears, and brings my problems down to their proper size.

Look at this closely! You’re not what you think you are, but what you think, you are! Proverbs 23:7 reads, “As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he.”  Your mind is the best predictor of your future. Why? Because if you think you can’t, you probably won’t.If you think angry thoughts, angry words are sure to follow. If you fill your mind with sexual fantasies, your body will find a way to fulfill those desires. If you dwell on your problems, they will soon overwhelm you. If you feel like a victim, soon you will become one. If you give way to worry, don’t be surprised when you get ulcers. If you think low thoughts of yourself, you'll soon hate yourself. If you expect defeat, you’ll probably lose. If you dwell on rejection, you will set yourself up for even more rejection. If you focus on how others misunderstand you, you will soon become angry and bitter. What goes in must come out! Sooner or later your thoughts translate into reality.

You’re not what you think you are, but what you think, you are. The flip side is also true. If you focus on the truth, you will speak the truth. If you look at noble things, nobility will mark your life. If you seek out lovely things, your life will be lovely to others. If you dwell on that which is right, that which is wrong will have no attraction to you. If you think about pure things, you will become pure. If you look for virtue, you will find it. If you search for higher things, you will elevate your own life. THIS is God’s prescription for believers trapped in unhealthy living: Think On These Things! Focus on the good, the pure, the true, the holy, the right, the lovely. Find those things that elevate the mind and think about them!

“Find them,” you exclaim. “But where do I look?” Look all around you. Even in our fallen world, beauty is everywhere, truth is right by your side, purity is yours for the asking, things that are admirable are all around you. If you are a Christian, you have within you the power to obey this command. God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, AND A SOUND MIND. You can literally change your mind if you want to. How? By remembering that all that is best is embodied in a Person! I speak of Jesus Christ. If you link yourself with Jesus, you are joined with the highest moral power in the universe. He is the embodiment of everything Paul has commanded us to do. Jesus is all virtue, all beauty, all holiness, all truth, all that is good and right is found in him! Remember, you have a personal relationship with Jesus! If Christ is in your thoughts, then all these things must also be there. Woo Hoo! It is the magnetic power of His transforming life. As you hold on to Jesus, He pulls you up from the muck and mire of the old life. He pulls you up from bitterness, up from futility, up from resentment, up from impurity, up from dishonesty, up from selfishness, up from greed, up from pessimism, and up from despair. Do you want to change your mind? You can. Realize Christ lives in you and His Word has the power to renew your mind (Romans 12:2; Ephesians 4:23; Colossians 3:16; John 17:17; Romans 8:6). Enthrone him in your mind. Then you will find it easy to “think on these things.” 

Until He Comes,

-Pat-

Spirit, Soul, Body

 

I want to begin with this scripture, "The Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit" (2 Timothy 4:22).  Here is an honest question. What is YOUR spirit? Do you know? Could you describe what it is to another person?

What about this scripture, "My SOUL magnifies the Lord, and my SPIRIT rejoices in GOD my Savior" (Luke 1:46.) Here is my second question.  What is YOUR soul? Do you know? Could you describe what it is to another person?

Jesus said, "What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world but loses his own soul in the process? Is anything worth more than your soul?" (Matthew 16:26). I'm asking, is there a difference between the soul and the spirit? Are they the same thing? The simple answer is no and please don't feel bad if you've always thought the soul and the spirit were the same things. I did for years.

Our bodies (shell of our physical flesh and organs) is clearly distinct from the soul (perception, memory, mind, intellect). In the same way, the soul is also distinct from the spirit (our only connection to God). “For the word of God is living and operative and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing even to the dividing of soul and spirit and of joints and marrow (there's the 3- soul, spirit, body), and able to discern the thoughts and intentions of the heart (Hebrews 4:12). The joints and marrow in our physical body are closely related, yet they’re distinct and can be separated. In the same way, our soul and our spirit can be divided by the Word of God, showing that they’re also distinct from each other as shown in scripture. Let's look at our spirit (connection to God), and the soul (mind/consciousness) to realize their functions. 

SPIRIT: The function of our spirit, the deepest part of our being, is related to the spiritual realm: it enables us to contact and receive God Himself. Our spirit was created by God so that we can contact and receive Him. Our body and our soul have their own specific functions; only our spirit has the ability to contact God. In order to contact or worship God, who is Spirit, we must use our spirit. "God is spirit and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth (John 4:24). Here is a great illustration: The way radios can function is a good illustration of our spirit’s unique ability to contact and receive God. When a radio is turned on and properly tuned, it can receive the invisible radio waves in the air and interpret them. Our human spirit is like a radio, and God is like the radio waves. Our spirit is the part of our being that corresponds to what God is, so we have to use our spirit in order to contact Him.  God being Spirit means His substance is Spirit. Our spirit is the part of our being that corresponds to God and has the ability to contact, fellowship with, and worship Him. John 3:6 shows us our spirit has the ability to receive God: “That which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” When we were born again, we were born of the Spirit in our human spirit, not in our soul. We received the Lord, and He came to live in our spirit. 

SOUL: Our soul is who we are, our personality, and is composed of our mind, emotion, will, reason, thought, and desire.  God created us with these faculties so we can express Him. God’s purpose in creating human beings with a spirit and a soul was that they would receive Him in their spirit and express Him through their soul (mind/thoughts/emotions). God formed man’s physical body/flesh from the dust of the ground. Then God breathed into man's fleshy nostrils, and man became a living soul. This, of course, consists of the mind, emotion, and will. Now, where is the human spirit in this verse from Genesis 2:7? We don’t see the words human spirit, but what we do see is the breath of life. In Hebrew, the original language of the Old Testament, the word translated as breath is neshamah. This same Hebrew word is translated as spirit in Proverbs 20:27, which says: “The spirit of man is the lamp of Jehovah.” The term "Spirit of God" is used in the Old Testament to signify "God's breath" (Job 33.4)-- the spirit of life! By this, we can see that when God breathed into man, man’s human spirit came into existence. Our human spirit is the deepest part of our being AND was made in the image of God. Our spirits were fashioned like God, but not God, in that, we too were given godly wisdom, understanding, counsel, power, knowledge, and we were sinless. **Note: This was before the fall. Our spirits were pure and righteous.

Luke 1:46-47 also shows the different functions of the soul and spirit in Mary’s praise of the Lord: “And Mary said, My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.” She's expressing two different things. Soul and spirit. Remember, the function of our spirit is to contact God and RECEIVE God, and the function of our soul is to EXPRESS God. In short, Mary’s spirit rejoiced in God; then her soul (expressions through thought) magnified (glorified) the Lord as praise. Her praise and rejoicing overflowed and issued from her spirit and then was expressed through her soul. Her spirit was filled with joy in God her Savior, and her soul manifested that joy in magnification of the Lord. She lived and acted in her spirit, which directed her soul.”

We, believers, have divine life in our spirit. God wants us to live and act not by ourselves, that is, by our soul, but by His life in our spirit. But here’s the problem. From the time we’ve lived by our soul. How so? Our minds are educated in school and we actively live according to what we have been programmed to think. We also experience a wide range of human emotions in our time here on earth, and we often respond to situations and matters according to how we feel. Based on what we think or feel, we make decisions with our will. Living by our soul is what we’re used to. When we were saved, Christ came to live in our spirit. Now He’s The Word of Truth in us who has and is showing us His own thoughts, feelings, and intentions. He came to live in us so that He would be our life, and we would live by Him. But living by His life in our spirit isn’t something we’re used to. So throughout our day, we have to realize we can either live according to our natural human life filled with all kinds of emotions and free will in our soul or by the life of Christ in our spirit. Read that again. We can easily live and act apart from the Lord in our soul according to our own thoughts or feelings. When this happens, we express ourselves in various non-scriptural ways. Even if we do something "good," the source isn’t the Lord in our spirit, so God actually isn’t expressed. But when we live by the divine life in our spirit, Christ is the source of our living, and the thoughts, feelings, and intentions of our soul are directed by our spirit. Then in our words, actions, and living, we express God. 

Sometimes it can be hard to tell whether we’re living and doing things in our soul or in our spirit. Spending time with the Lord in His Word helps us discern where we are. When we exercise our spirit by praying with the Word of God, the Word becomes living to us. It's really that simple. The living Word (described as sharper than any two-edged sword) is then able to divide our soul from our spirit and discern all the thoughts and intentions of our heart. Here is the exact verse from Hebrews 4:12, " “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” Thessalonians 5:23 "Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ." Paul is praying that all three things remain blameless at the appearance of Jesus at His return. When we are saved the Spirit of God breathes His breath of life into us and at that point, we are blameless of any sin. Paul was praying we remain that way until the Lord's return. 

When we discover we’re living in and by our soul, we simply need to turn to the Lord in our spirit again. We can pray, “Lord Jesus, I turn away from living in my soul. I turn to You in my spirit. Lord, I want to live by You.” Or as King David pleaded, "Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me" (Psalm 51:10) ... notice Paul didn't use the word soul, but rather "create a new spirit within me." The more we contact the Lord and are filled with Him, the more He will be the source of our thoughts, our feelings, and our intentions. Then we can genuinely express God to the people around us. 

Until He Comes,

-Pat-

Fear Mongering

 

I don't know about you, but as a Christian who trusts God and His Word, I am fed up with all the fear-mongering swirling around the Covid-19 pandemic. I am tired, exhausted, fatigued, and overwhelmed by the differing mantras to "wear a mask," "don't wear a mask," " you should double your mask," "no, triple your mask," "a mask won't protect you," "a mask does protect you," "get vaccinated - take off your mask," "get vaccinated - keep your mask on," " you'll need a booster shot after you get the first two injections," "there is a deadly variant coming worse than Covid-19," "he's wrong, she's right," on and on and relentlessly on! The Bible is very clear about spreading fear (fear-mongering). What is fear-mongering? Fear-mongering or scare-mongering is a form of manipulation. It causes fear by using exaggerated rumors of impending danger or doom. Certainly, there are justified health concerns regarding viral outbreaks as there are every year when a new strain of flu is discovered. Pandemics are nothing new in history, and their long record across the ages and continents has much to teach us about how best to handle the current outbreak. Fear-mongering is not one of them.

Whether you believe Covid-19 is true or false, overblown or not overblown, the regular flu or an out-of-control full-blown pandemic that will kill 1/3 of the planet is not my point nor why I'm writing this blog. The 15-month "pandemic" is simply the vehicle that has given me an opportunity to speak about how dangerous and deadly fear is. In fact, fear is more dangerous than any pandemic past or present!  I see a lot of scare-mongering today, ridiculously so, causing people to unreasonably worry. As a believer, if you are more concerned about your health, your financial future, or wearing a mask than you are about lost souls, then you are not right with God. If you are more concerned about the end of life as we know it, motivating you to store food, toilet paper, and ammunition than you are about searching the Scriptures and sinning less, then you are not right with God.

Just because someone presents a conspiracy theory, doesn’t make it true. Just because it is believable by some or even most doesn’t mean it should be believed.  In a pandemic of fear, some of which is very real, and much of which is only fear-mongering we have a Christian duty not to walk in the ways of everyone else! When something makes you afraid and you are not sure if it is true or not, you are to cast your anxieties on the Lord in prayer (1 Pet 5:7), verify the message through research and study as much as you are able, and speak (or forward) only that which is both truthful and loving (Colossians 3:9; Ephesians 4:15). Proverbs 29:25 says, "The fear of man brings a snare: but whosoever puts his trust in the LORD shall be safe. SHALL BE SAFE! Not might be, not could be, SHALL BE! During all the panic and ever-changing messages you are hearing, have you truly placed 100% of your trust in God? Are you allowing fear to make your decisions instead of believing what God has promised to those that love Him?

God is the God of uncountable armies at His disposal. Consider these comforting words from Psalm 91: "If I make the LORD my refuge, if I make the Most- High my shelter, no evil will conquer me; and no plague will come near my home. For He will order his angels to protect me wherever I go! They (His angels) will hold me up with their hands so I won’t even hurt my foot on a stone. I will trample upon lions and cobras; I will crush fierce lions and serpents under my feet! The Lord says, “'I will rescue those who love me. I will protect those who trust in my name."' Have you truly made the Lord your refuge? Do you dwell with Him on a daily basis? Do you trust His Word as absolute truth? He promises to PROTECT THOSE THAT TRUST HIM. We honor the LORD by spreading Truth, both to people in general and to those who fear every conspiracy and forwarded that fear-inducing message to us. We need to be aware of fear-mongers! Don't let anyone cause you to worry about future provisions here on earth, disease, pandemics, viruses, food shortages, etc. more than laying up treasures in Heaven. Solomon figured it all out. You don't need gold more than you need to go soul-winning. You don't need storable food more than you need to get saved if you've never come to Christ. You don't need ammunition more than you need to search the Scriptures as a defense. You don't need to fear any virus more than God's promised protection. Your spiritual condition comes first. The Bible repeatedly tells us to trust God (Psalm 118:8), lean not unto our own understanding (Proverb 3:5-7), and separate from this sinful world (1st John 2:15-17).

Dictators, cult leaders, abusers, and Satan himself have always used fear to control their victims. Fear of retribution, fear of being alone, or losing self without their presence, fear of the ‘outside’, fear that they are right and all else is wrong. Fear that without them, you are nothing. Fear you'll die if you don't comply with their manipulations, etc. Fear is the most powerful driving force known to man, right next to love. Scripture tells us, "There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear: because fear has torment. He that fears is not made perfect in love" (1 John 4:18). It is no surprise then, that fear the best tool of the enemy of your soul. Through fear, evil people and Satan get total control of you, thereby manipulating you into compliance for whatever. Knowing fear has this power, men and women who use it are an extension of evil, working their iniquities either by purpose, or ignorance!

Who is fear-mongering today and trying to cause all of us to become ensnared by the Spirit of Fear? You do know don’t you that God doesn’t operate like that right? God does not cause His children to fear like that. He may cause our enemies to fear like that, but not us. No, when you encounter someone trying to make you afraid because of all the evil or the "unknown" running rampant in the world right now understand that the spirit of that person is not a messenger from God. Yes, this country may very well come under judgment from God, but does that mean that those of us who are in Christ will ever be separated from the love and protection of God? Regardless of what you're afraid of be it death, taxes, global warming, debt, China, identity theft, war, someone you love dying, your own health, the dark, unemployment, tornadoes, or the current lingering pandemic, do not allow fear to negate your faith in God's promises. Despite how easy it can be to let fear lead our lives, it's important for our mental, physical, and spiritual health to actively war against fear by applying God's promises as given to us in the Word of God. 

Until He comes,

-Pat-

I Will Praise You In My Wellness, I Will Praise You In My Illness

Early last month was a difficult one for me. I was suddenly stricken with horrific nerve pain from a weather front, as well as unrelated nausea and fever. I was miserable. I felt like I was under attack for no particular reason. I began to take inventory of myself. I had not committed any sin. I had remained faithful to tithe. And I had no hidden hatred or unforgiveness in my heart that I knew of.  Sometimes in our misery, we can have a tendency to believe God sends punishment of some kind because we've been a "bad child." Job had done nothing against the Lord and in fact, was sold out on Him 100% yet he suffered terribly with the loss of his children, property, wealth, his good name, and his health. When I realized my relationship with the Lord was stellar and yet Satan was attacking me I put my foot down.  I was angry with Satan for thinking he could get me to blame God or to doubt God's goodness. I know there are those of you out there who question God or blame God for illness or chaos in your life, IE: "Why are you doing this God?" "Are you mad at me God?" "What did I ever do to deserve this?" Sound familiar? Instead of getting mad at God, instead of complaining or whining, instead of letting frustration get the best of me (which I have done I admit), I decided to praise God in the midst of my agony. I was not going to let Satan win. I wanted Jesus to hear my voice loud and clear that I was still with Him, for Him, and loved Him regardless of my present situation. The Bible is filled with examples of praise when we see His power released. There are life-changing miracles, dramatic stories of the enemy being halted or defeated, hearts being changed, and people drawn closer to Him. We have so much to praise God for, there's great power in giving honor to Him. And many of you live that truth out every single day of your lives.

Sadly, the reality is that way too often, daily struggles or constant life demands can crowd out our praise to God.  For some, it really is a sacrifice to offer praise. We may not feel like it. We're struggling. We're weary of life. Or maybe, we feel like He's let us down. We think God seems distant, or against us, or that He doesn't really care about what's troubling us. Painful life blows, families in disarray, illnesses, conflicts with our spouses, etc. might have recently sent us spiraling. We must realize what can make a lasting difference. When we make the decision to fix our eyes on Him, and DAILY praise Him, no matter what is staring us in the face, we suddenly realize that God has already begun to release the grip those struggles and circumstances can have over us. One of THE MOST powerful scriptures is, "God inhabits the praises of Israel"(some translations say 'His people.') The Matthew Henry Commentary says, (quote) "This may apply to any child of God, pressed down, overwhelmed with grief and terror." There is power in our acknowledgment that He is worthy, above all else, of our worship and praise. His Spirit urges us onward, to press close to Him.  That's what happened to me, that still small voice in my spirit that said, 'draw close to Me and I will draw close to you.' It didn't matter how miserable I felt, I could still sing. And I did. I looked miserable, I sounded miserable as I held back becoming sick to my stomach, but what mattered was this -- my heart was in tune with our Creator and King. 

Why is praise so important? Let me count eight ways. #1) It truly gets our focus off ourselves and back on God.  IT DID FOR ME! Life is not all about us though we are now living in a "selfie" focused world. (Psalm 150:2; Psalm 35:28). #2) Praise truly brings us to a place of humility. Again, IT DID FOR ME.  As tears rolled down my face I realized how small I am in the scheme of things and how dependant I am on God (Psalm 95: 2-3; Psalm35:18). #3 Praise makes the enemy flee! How? Praise pushes back the darkness because evil will not stick around if we are praising God! In my case, I felt it waning, literally! (2 Chronicles 20:22).  #4 Praise leaves no room for complaining and negativity. Through praise, we're focused on Him, no longer allowing too much attention to be centered around the struggles. When I began singing it wasn't long until I felt physically better, but not only that, I felt empowered. (Psalms 103:2; Hebrews 13:15). #5 Praise makes room for God's blessing over our lives. Again, praise opens the gateway of blessing as we come into the presence of our King! (Psalm 100:3; Ephesians 1:3). #6 Praise invites His presence.  Oh yes!  I felt Him right there.  My pain which manifested as a scowl turned into a smile and joy. (Psalm 22:3; 1 Peter 2:9). #7 Our spirits are refreshed and renewed in His presence. Just as I was strengthened by His peace and refueled by His joy as I felt His presence. (Psalm 16:11; Psalm 63: 3-4). #8 Praise paves the way for God's power to be displayed. Remember what happened to Paul and Silas when they sat in prison? Though shackled and chained they kept praising God, and God sent an earthquake that shook the prison cells and broke the chains. AND... that very night even the jailer and all his family came to accept Christ. (Acts 16: 25-26).

We have a choice every day in this life... to live absorbed in worry, stress, doubt, fear, and defeat by staying tuned into the roar of the world or our own messages of doubt that play through our heads. OR we can ask God to help us take our eyes off all that is swirling around us: our problems, our mess, or the voices of others that try to convince you there is no victory in Christ. We can look up -- to Him, the One who holds it all together, and who holds us in His hands. God desires our whole hearts. He waits for us. He wants us to lean on Him, count on Him, TRUST HIM WITH ALL OUR WHOLE BEING. He longs for us to know the power of His presence in our lives. He really does desire to bless us more than we could imagine.  Praise will put you in the presence of the Lord, and in His presence there is peace, there is assurance.  In His presence fear melts away, problems become lighter, joy fills your heart, confidence grows, healing comes. In closing, here is a prayer for all those who reading today.

Dear God, we praise You today with our hearts and songs, we praise You for Your faithfulness, we praise You for Your great power and love.  We confess our need for You, our lives don't go so well when we just spin around on our own. We struggle and worry, get weary and worn. Yet, You never leave us. Thank You for your presence.  Thank You for Your care over us, thank You that You breathe renewal right into our souls when we worship You.  We ask for Your Spirit to fill us now and work Your purposes through us, as we set our eyes on You. In Jesus Name. Amen. 

Until He Comes,

-Pat-

ENCOURAGEMENT

 Encouragement (2 Corinthians 1:3-5)

We all face struggles of various kinds, some are self-afflicted and others are not.  We need to take comfort in what Christ has done on the cross and how Jesus’ sacrifice guarantees that God loves us and is watching out for us though there are times it feels like He has left us.“ When life is tiring, when you are struggling with your sin, when family members aren’t saved, when bills aren’t paid, when school is difficult, when work is exhausting, when your health is failing, when your loved ones are hurt, when the future is unsure because of this pandemic, or when a good friend betrays you, it is easy to be discouraged.

Discouragement is a thief.  Why? It steals your vitality, your zeal, your joy, your peace, and your contentment.  If discouragement dwells long with you, its friends will soon join.  Their names are fatigue, hopelessness, despair, self-pity, depression, doubt, and bitterness, and even illness. Sometimes, discouragement can be so strong that you even don’t want to go on living. If we have nothing to rely on, or we forget our blessing and look to our circumstances, then that is when discouragement begins to take hold. Instead, what we need is encouragement.  We need hope and peace and the knowledge that the Lord knows our troubles, has great concern and compassion for us and is not leaving us unloved or uncared for. Keeping your eyes on Jesus is the best way to be encouraged because in Him, you can have comfort and peace, and encouragement.  You need to find Him and His words, and by faith rest in Him!

Be encouraged because God is a God of mercy and comfort. Verse 3 says, "Blessed by the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort." In Greek the word “mercy” is oiktirmos.  It means compassion, pity, mercy.   And, it is something that is felt in the heart.  In God’s very heart, He feels mercy toward you. WOW. He is the author of mercy.  His mercy toward you brings salvation, the forgiveness of sins, and deliverance from eternal damnation… and this, because of Jesus, because of His sacrifice, because of His shed blood for you. God IS the God of mercy: Psalm 86:5 says, “You are forgiving and good, O Lord, abounding in love to all who call to you.” The word in Greek for “comfort” is paraklesis.  It means, exhortation, comfort, and encouragement.

In fact, a form of this word, parakletos is used for the Holy Spirit. That is why the Holy Spirit is called the Comforter in the KJV in John 14:26: “But the Comforter, [which is] the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, He shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you. In the NASB the word is rendered “Helper.”

All this shows you that God is a God of Comfort, exhortation, and encouragement. All comfort comes from God who is the God of comfort, mercy, and love. It isn’t an angel, or a cosmic force, a pill, psychotherapy, or a quick and clever slogan that warms your heart and lifts you up.  It is God! But you may ask, “How is the Comfort received from God?” 

1. By faith – because God says He is the God of comfort, then you need to believe it and act upon it; that is, you need to trust Him and receive His comfort as He provides it. 

2. From others – God uses His people to comfort you.  When you have a problem doesn’t the Lord send someone with an encouraging word, a helping hand, or a shoulder to cry on? 3.Through His word – reading and hearing – The words of God are beautiful and are there for our instruction and encouragement.

3. By the Holy Spirit.  He is called the Comforter. He indwells you! You can take encouragement too because God is there in your afflictions.  Verse 4 – “who comforts us in all our affliction . . . . so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.”

Affliction (NASB) (“trouble” in the NIV) in Greek is the word is thlipsis.  It can be translated as tribulation, trouble, anguish, persecution, burden, and, of course, affliction. Afflictions come in all different shapes and sizes. Sickness, financial difficulty, loss of a loved one, an unsure future, an auto accident.  But also, and this is something very important, the affliction occurs in the heart in that place where we get frustrated, confused, and hurt. Why do we have afflictions? Because we live in a fallen world. And it takes a world with trouble in it to train Christians for their high calling as children of God and to carve upon their souls the features of the face of Christ.

James 1:2-4 says, “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.  Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” (NIV) So then, afflictions are a way of making you better.  And that is how they should be tackled: as the testing and strengthening of your faith — through the comfort and mercy of Jesus. So for those of us, particularly those suffering from physical conditions, disease, or disorders, we push through and persevere sometimes without even knowing it's making us stronger.

You don’t have to worry whether or not He is going to take care of you.  He already has, (THE CROSS), He is currently doing so, and He will continue to care for you.  After all, aren’t you more valuable than sparrows and He cares for them. YOU SHOULD BE ENCOURAGED BECAUSE YOU CAN BE AN INSTRUMENT OF COMFORT TO OTHERS.  Verse 4 “ . . . so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.” Personally, I've known others who have said they are encouraged by me even in my condition which in turn has given them strength to endure their own physical challenges. This glorifies God — to comfort others. Being used by God makes you feel good – that isn’t the only reason to help someone, but it does feel good when the Holy Spirit uses you to do good. As odd as this may sound, you need to praise God that you have even had afflictions so that you can be able to help others. How many of you, because of a trial, have been able to help another better because of that same type of trial? You see, God does not comfort you to make you comfortable, but to make you comforters. Let that sink in. God never causes diseases, sickness, or illness, but He can use it for good.

Lighthouses are built by shipwrecked sailors. Roads are widened by mangled motorists.  Hospitals are built by those who were sick. Where nobody suffers, nobody cares!  When you suffer you learn to care, right?  That is why God does not comfort us to make us comfortable, but to make us comforters.

But don’t forget, He suffered first….. You should be encouraged because the comfort you receive from God comes through Jesus.  Verse 5.  “For just as the sufferings of Christ are ours in abundance, so also our comfort is abundant through Christ.” This means that all comfort, encouragement, and hope that you receive through people, through the Word, or through circumstances are filtered through Jesus. Encouragement is something that belongs to you as a Christian.  You do not have to live in a world of hurt and doubt.  You don’t have to live alone. You don’t have to weep in solitude.  You have the body of Christ to lift you up.  You have the group "Just Saying" and the Christians who gather here. You have the Word of God to teach you.  You have the Holy Spirit indwelling in you who warms your soul. You need to depend on and keep your eyes on Jesus and Him alone. Be encouraged. You are not walking alone.

Until He comes,

-Pat-

Where The Mind Goes The Body Follows

 I once bought an unassembled gadget. After reading and re-reading the instructions I couldn’t figure out how the pieces went together. In my frustration, I finally threw the instruction booklet down, picked up all the pieces, studied them, then began assembling the gadget. In a short time, I put it together without the instructions. I'm still like that today with watches, mechanical things, furniture, etc. I simply cannot follow instructional manuals or the processes as written! I have to look at something to be assembled or taken apart AND THINK on my own!

The human mind is amazing. It has great power to imagine and carry out good or evil. It has the power to shape a person’s life. What we think about is what we are or what we do. In reality, where the mind goes the body follows! How powerful is that thought! We all need the mind of Jesus! To become like Him we need His mind and His Spirit and this will only happen when we set our minds on His Word. Philippians 2:5 KJV  “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus.” Whatever you hold in your mind will tend to occur in your life. If you continue to believe as you have always believed, you will continue to act as you have always acted. If you continue to act as you have always acted, you will continue to get what you have always gotten. If you want different results in your life or your work, all you have to do is change your mind. Thinking controls our actions. A wise person will change their corrupt mind. A fool never will. All of us are changing whether we want to admit it or not. The world affects and changes us through our thinking. For example, TV and movies are powerful influences on children and even adults. Commercials influence us to buy products. That’s why companies pay millions of dollars to produce them. Movies can influence a person’s behavior. Kids have watched violence and immorality and then have gone out and put these things into practice. It’s sad to think that good doesn’t affect us as much as evil does. Of course, we see less good than we do evil on the movie screen. 

If you want to know the mind of a person, just listen to their words. What a person talks about is what he is thinking. Why don't we talk about the Word of God and Christ? Could it be that we are not thinking about them? Out of sight out of mind? Our bodies will manifest what our mind harbors. One battle, particularly for men, is the attraction to pornography. King Solomon once said, “Can a man scoop fire into his lap without his clothes being burned?” (Proverbs 6:27). Along those lines, can you repeatedly bring sexually arousing images into your head without consequences? You may not be physically burned by sexual images, but psychologists argue that those images can actually be burned into your mind. My husband and I knew of a married couple who regularly washed their minds with pornographic movies until it became an addiction and soon escalated into areas of deviation.

WE MUST THINK and train our minds to follow Paul's instructions found in Philippians 4:8, KJV: "Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. However, when you make the decision to clean up your mind, do you think the battle will be easier or harder? It gets harder. Temptation isn’t much of a battle if you easily give in to it. It is fierce when you decide to stand against it. Although you may despair at times, with all your steps backward, God won’t give up on you. Remember, your sins are already forgiven. This is a winnable battle because you are alive in Christ and dead to sin, you can become all God has called you to be. The bigger war has already been won by Christ.” No matter your sin ... big, small, perverse, habitual, all spiritual battles can be won because greater is He who is in us than he who is in the world! We must believe this, trust, and ask for the Lord to work in us and through us. We must ask for Him to strengthen us powerfully by His Spirit who lives within us! Here are some relatable scriptures:

1) Colossians. 3:1-2 “Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.”

2) Philippians 4:8 “Finally, brothers, 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.”

3) II Peter. 3:1-2 “Dear friends, this is now my second letter to you. I have written both of them as reminders to stimulate you to wholesome thinking. I want you to recall the words spoken in the past by the holy prophets and the command given by our Lord and Savior through your apostles.” The only way to wholesome thinking is by reading the Word of God. Psalm. 119:11 “Thy Word have I hid…”

4) II Corinthians 10:5 “We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”

As we set out to rid our minds of years of impure, foolish, vain, and prideful thoughts (making it obedient to Christ), remember that merely trying to stop thinking bad thoughts, whatever they may be,  won’t work. You must fill your mind with the crystal-clear Word of God. There is no alternative plan. We overcome the father of lies by choosing the truth! A good illustration is to picture your polluted mind as a pot filled to the brim with stale black coffee. It’s dark and smelly. There’s no way to get the pollution of coffee out of the liquid. However, sitting beside the coffee pot is a huge bowl of clear ice cubes. Your goal is to purify the contents of the pot by adding ice cubes to it every day. I wish there were a way to dump all the cubes (words of the Bible) in at one time, but there isn’t. Every cube dilutes the mixture, though, making it a little purer. Since you can only put in one or two cubes a day, the process seems futile at first. But over the course of time, the liquid begins to look less and less polluted, and the taste and smell of coffee decrease. The process will continue to work. But only if you don’t add more coffee grounds! Do you follow what I'm saying? Daily, little by little, line by line, precept by precept, scripture by scripture, verse by verse, chapter by chapter, THE WORD OF GOD washes your mind of old ways of thinking. Where the mind goes, the body follows.  "And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God" (Romans 12:2)

Until He Comes,

-Pat-

Sin, Iniquity, Transgression

 Matthew 7: 21-23 are alarming words the Church needs to hear because of their sheer intensity. Why do I say that? Simply because I am concerned for souls. Pick up your Bible today and read the verses closely! In it, Jesus is rejecting and telling Christians to depart from Him. Did I say, Christians? Yes. If you look closely at the two verses you will see that the people He is addressing had to be believers and followers of Jesus Christ because the only way a person can cast out demons in 'Jesus name is if they have been baptized in the Holy Ghost! Therefore, they had to be Christians who had been filled with the Holy Ghost. They also had admitted to doing other mighty works in His name as well as the gift of prophecy. By these, they thought they were worthy to enter heaven, and yet, were directed by Jesus to depart! Why? All Christians have a guaranteed ticket to heaven, right? Once saved always saved no matter what, right?

As a follower and believer in Jesus, you realize non-believers are not able to cast out demons, right? Where have you ever read in the Bible that a non-believer ever cast out Satan or cast demons out of people? A non-believer is simply not able to do that. Only a believer who has been filled with the Holy Spirit can do that. Then who were these who came to Jesus admitting they had cast out demons in His name and expected by that to be able to enter heaven? The "casting out power" comes from God alone within a believer not a non-believer. Jesus said, "Greater things than these shall you do ONCE THE HOLY GHOST HAS COME UPON YOU" John 14:12.  It requires the Holy Ghost to do these things! These people were Christians! Again, why would Jesus cast them out?  Jesus said, "I am the good shepherd, and I know My sheep and am known by My own" John 10:14.  Ask yourself, if they were filled with His Holy Spirit and admitted they had cast out demons in His name, wouldn't that make them a part of the body of Christ? Jesus answers that question in the same verse. Watch closely. He said, "Depart from me YOU WORKERS OF INIQUITY." Jesus did not say, depart you who are sinners. Jesus did not say, depart you who do not believe. Jesus did not say, depart you who are lost, you who have transgressed, or you who have never heard of Me. He specifically called them workers of iniquity. It is pertinent we understand what being a "worker of iniquity" means. That's the key to Jesus' rejection.

In the Bible, three offenses are mentioned: Sin, Transgression, and Iniquity. There is a distinction we need to understand between these three. Put on your thinking caps. In Psalm 32:5, the psalmist says, “I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to the LORD.’” In this one verse, “sin,” “iniquity,” and “transgression” are all mentioned. Basically, the three words communicate the same idea: evil and lawlessness as defined by God (see 1 John 3:4). However, upon closer examination, each word also carries a slightly different meaning which you need to grasp. Let's break it down:

The word sin and its two other similar words are used 786 times in the New International Version of the Bible. Sin means “to miss the mark.” It can refer to doing something against God or against a person (Exodus 10:16), doing the opposite of what is right (Galatians 5:17), doing something that will have negative results (Proverbs 24:33–34), and failing to do something you know is right (James 4:17). In the Old Testament, God even instituted sacrifices for unintentional sins (Numbers 15:27). Sin is the general term for anything that “falls short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). Sin leads to a downward progression that, without the restoring power of the Holy Spirit, we all tend toward. The sin nature is present in every human being born since the Fall of Adam (Genesis 3:6–7; Romans 5:12). Naturally, it's why your 2 or 3-year-old will stomp his feet in rebellion, refusing to obey, and screaming no at you. That's not something you taught him. It comes naturally because of our fallen nature! Once a person reaches the age of accountability, continual sin if left unchecked, leads our sinful nature to gravitate naturally toward selfishness, envy, and pride, even when we are trying to do good. The apostle Paul alluded to his propensity to sin when he wrote, “For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out” (Romans 7:18).

The sin nature leads to trespassing. A trespasser is someone who crosses a line or climbs a fence that he should not cross or climb. A trespass may be intentional or unintentional. Trespass can also mean “to fall away after being close beside.” Peter trespassed when he denied Jesus (Luke 22:34, 56–62). We all “cross the line” in thought, word, or attitude many times a day and should be quick to forgive others who do the same (Matthew 6:15). But what about transgression. Transgression refers to presumptuous sin. To transgress is to choose to intentionally disobey; transgression is willful trespassing. Did you get that? An example would be Samson intentionally broke his Nazirite vow by touching a dead lion (Numbers 6:1–5; Judges 14:8–9) and allowing his hair to be cut (Judges 16:17); in doing so he was committing a transgression. David was referring to this kind of sin when he wrote, “Blessed is the one whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered” (Psalm 32:1). Today we could say it's when we knowingly run a stop sign, tell a lie, or blatantly disregard an authority, we are transgressing.

However, INIQUITY is more deeply rooted! This is the one we need to focus on and the one you must understand clearly. Iniquity refers to a premeditated choice; to commit iniquity is to continue in sin without repentance regardless of what you have learned what God wants of you. David’s sin with Bathsheba that led to the killing of her husband, Uriah, was iniquity (2 Samuel 11:3–4; 2 Samuel 12:9). Micah 2:1 says, “Woe to those who plan iniquity, to those who plot evil on their beds! At morning’s light, they carry it out because it is in their power to do it.” In David’s psalm of repentance, he cries out to God, saying, “Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin” (Psalm 51:2). This is what God has shown me again and again I must show BELIEVERS! As a believer and follower of Christ Jesus, to plan, think on, plot, and purposely continue in a particular sin whether it is (as an example) an adulterous affair, fornicating outside of marriage, drunkenness, homosexuality, etc. without any remorse, repentance, or turning from the vices you once lived in aligns you in a category of "you that work (or are workers of) iniquity. Why do you refuse to repent and turn from these sins? You simply cannot come to Christ, accept salvation, be baptized in the Holy Spirit, then continue in a life of deliberate debauchery. God forgives iniquity, as He does any type of sin WHEN WE REPENT AND TURN FROM OUR WICKED WAYS (Jeremiah 33:8; Hebrews 8:12). However, iniquity left unchecked leads to a state of willful sin with no fear of God! The build-up of unrepentant sin is sometimes pictured as a “cup of iniquity” being filled to the brim (Revelation 17:4; Genesis 15:16). Continued iniquity leads to unnatural affections, which leads to a reprobate mind. Romans 1:28–32 outlines this digression in vivid detail. The sons of Eli are biblical examples of reprobates whom God judged for their iniquities (1 Samuel 3:13–14). Rather than repent, Eli’s sons continued in their abominations until repentance was no longer possible. There can come a time it's too late once you've known the truth and still reject to obey what you know to do.  And there is no excuse to remain disobedient because the Holy Spirit is the power within you to perform it. 2 Peter 2:21, "It would be better if they had never known the way to righteousness, than, to know it and then reject the holy commandment delivered to them" (2 Peter 2:21). Look at this verse, "We know that God's children do not make a practice of sinning" (1 John 5:18 NLT). This, therefore, is the key!! God's children DO NOT LIVE IN INIQUITY. Children of God do not remain in and willingly continue to practice a particular sin (being a "worker" of iniquity) that remains a part of their old life! Will we slip, commit sins, and miss the mark of perfection? Of course! But we always feel remorse, we repent, we ask for forgiveness, then we keep marching to finish the race. A true follower of Jesus who has been "saved" and baptized in the Holy Ghost will not remain in their old lifestyle, refusing to leave sins they enjoyed before being saved. 

Regardless of how depraved a human heart may become, Jesus’ death on the cross was sufficient to cover all sin (John 1:29; Romans 5:18). Psalm 32:5 ends with these words: “And you forgave the guilt of my sin.”  I  implore all Christians who are non-compliant, purposely and knowingly practicing sin(s) from the past, to REPENT REPENT REPENT. Finally, if you call yourself a Christian but:

*Continue coupling outside of marriage or continue an extra-marital affair... 

*Willfully continue drinking and ignoring what God has shown us in Revelation that no drunkard will inherit the Kingdom of God ...

*Refuse to end your homosexual relationship ...

*Are Entangled in the debauchery involving immorality or perversion without remorse or fear of God ...

Please repent. Do not be a worker of iniquity any longer. You will be in danger of judgment because you have rejected the command you were given to live a life separate from the world and unto Christ. God will forgive you and give you the power to overcome if you repent and turn from your old lifestyles. Do it before it's too late.

Until He Comes,

-Pat-