In doing a bible study from Charles Stanley, I learned so much I thought I'd share it with you all today. With the world in such turmoil lately, it really hit me hard that we all need to be prepared to handle difficult times in a Christ-like manner to the best of our ability.
The apostle Paul understood how to handle tough circumstances. Even while he was confined in a prison cell, he kept his eyes on Christ and trusted firmly in the Savior. Therefore, despite being in chains, he was able to celebrate the Lord's work in his life. In fact, the Epistle he wrote from jail to the Philippians was filled with rejoicing (1:18; 2:18; 3:1).
Focusing on Christ is neither a natural reaction nor an easy one. Our instinct is to dwell on the situation at hand, searching for solutions or stewing over the pain and difficulty. As a result, troubles look scary and overwhelm us with a sense of defeat.
However, fear and defeat cannot live long in a heart that trusts in the Lord. I'm not saying you'll forget what you're going through, but you can choose to dwell on His provision and care instead. He is the Deliverer (2 Cor. 1:10). He is the Healer (Deut. 32:39). He is the Guide (Prov. 3:6). The believer who lays claim to divine promises discovers that God pushes back negative emotions. In their place, hope, confidence and contentment take up residence (Phil. 4:11). You aren't going to be happy about a difficult situation, but you can be satisfied that God is in control and up to something good in the midst of trouble.
The Lord's principles and promises don't change, no matter how severe or painful the situation is. Focus on Christ instead of the circumstances - God will comfort your heart and bring you safely through the trial. Then you can answer Paul's call to "rejoice in the Lord always" (Phil. 4:4).
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Death Sentence for Murders...pondering my feelings
Watching all the hype and news coverage over the Troy Davis death sentence has been very emotional for me. I'm torn between the feelings of the family of the man that was murdered and what God would have done to Troy Davis.
Since Danielle was murdered I can speak first hand to this issue and watching it from the outside looking in, I can't help but wonder what the son of the man that was murdered is feeling right now. Troy Davis robbed him of his father for his entire life, as he was only 7 months old when his father was murdered. I only hope the child can forgive Troy Davis so that he doesn't suffer the fate of harboring ill will for his entire life. That wouldn't be justice at all.
If you believe in the New Testament of the Bible then you have to believe that Jesus died for all of our sins equally. Not just the little ones or the ones we believe to be forgivable sins. This would include any broken Commandment, right? Thou shalt not lie, Thou shalt not covet, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill...this puts the cheaters, liars, thieves, jealous people and killers in the same class. If you believe in Jesus then you have to believe we all can be forgiven of our sins if we ask. When Jesus died for our sins, it means He died for all of them not just the ones that are socially acceptable to the world we live in.
Arguments support that God said an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth, therefore we gave birth to if you kill someone we can kill you (the death sentence). I have to say that until I was a true Christian I did agree with the death sentence. However, now I believe God is the only one that can truly pass judgment on our sins. We will all be judged according to His word on the day of our passing.
This is when I think more and more of what we were asked to do by God, and that was to forgive others as we want to be forgiven and not to judge others as we will be judged as we judged others. Don't get me wrong, I believe that all of us that commit illegal behavior should be punished appropriately, however, I do also believe God never meant for us to take another life regardless of what they have done.
My husband once told me something very wise, he said "Honey, if you believe that God has a plan for your life and would forgive you of any sin you commit, don't you believe that God had the same intentions for the boy that took Danielle's life?" That made me really reconsider how I felt about Darryl (Danielle's Murderer). I felt pity for him, I prayed that he would be affected by prayer and his heart would be softened so that the word of God would be able to enter his life and he would be able to do good works in the life he will have behind bars. I did forgive him and if I can, everyone should be able to.
Back to Troy Davis, I believe that if he has asked God for forgiveness, then we should also forgive him as well. If he has been saved then I believe he will go to heaven and answer for his crimes and be shown how his errors affected so many lives. This will be punishment enough...I trust my God to be Just! How about you?
Since Danielle was murdered I can speak first hand to this issue and watching it from the outside looking in, I can't help but wonder what the son of the man that was murdered is feeling right now. Troy Davis robbed him of his father for his entire life, as he was only 7 months old when his father was murdered. I only hope the child can forgive Troy Davis so that he doesn't suffer the fate of harboring ill will for his entire life. That wouldn't be justice at all.
If you believe in the New Testament of the Bible then you have to believe that Jesus died for all of our sins equally. Not just the little ones or the ones we believe to be forgivable sins. This would include any broken Commandment, right? Thou shalt not lie, Thou shalt not covet, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill...this puts the cheaters, liars, thieves, jealous people and killers in the same class. If you believe in Jesus then you have to believe we all can be forgiven of our sins if we ask. When Jesus died for our sins, it means He died for all of them not just the ones that are socially acceptable to the world we live in.
Arguments support that God said an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth, therefore we gave birth to if you kill someone we can kill you (the death sentence). I have to say that until I was a true Christian I did agree with the death sentence. However, now I believe God is the only one that can truly pass judgment on our sins. We will all be judged according to His word on the day of our passing.
This is when I think more and more of what we were asked to do by God, and that was to forgive others as we want to be forgiven and not to judge others as we will be judged as we judged others. Don't get me wrong, I believe that all of us that commit illegal behavior should be punished appropriately, however, I do also believe God never meant for us to take another life regardless of what they have done.
My husband once told me something very wise, he said "Honey, if you believe that God has a plan for your life and would forgive you of any sin you commit, don't you believe that God had the same intentions for the boy that took Danielle's life?" That made me really reconsider how I felt about Darryl (Danielle's Murderer). I felt pity for him, I prayed that he would be affected by prayer and his heart would be softened so that the word of God would be able to enter his life and he would be able to do good works in the life he will have behind bars. I did forgive him and if I can, everyone should be able to.
Back to Troy Davis, I believe that if he has asked God for forgiveness, then we should also forgive him as well. If he has been saved then I believe he will go to heaven and answer for his crimes and be shown how his errors affected so many lives. This will be punishment enough...I trust my God to be Just! How about you?
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Jealousy, "The Big Green Monster"
I have been studying jealousy lately and thought I'd share what I learned with you guys. It's been a blessing to me and I hope it will for you as well.
Have you ever noticed when you get what you thought you wanted, it's really not all that great. That means you made it happen (living in the flesh) and didn't wait to follow God's will for your life. When you pray and wait for God's will you will always be satisfied and content with how your prayers were answered. Believe it or not, He does know best!
Love is not touchy or jealous so therefore when you are those things you have no love in your heart. You can't be both at the same time. When you realize you are being jealous or coveting what someone else has then pray fervently to love the person you are jealous of, even bless them by doing something wonderful for them. This is how the jealousy will get under your feet and you will be able to freely love everyone!
One of the Ten Commandments that we are to keep is "Thou shalt not covet". Did you ever wonder what that really meant? Well, it means that you won't lust after or wish you had what someone else has or look like someone else or live the lives they live. You never know what is behind the front we see in public. There could be pain, deceit, lies or evil associated with what is shown outwardly. We need to be happy with who we are and love ourselves and pray for God to live and shine through us outwardly. This will make you happier than you could ever imagine.
Jealousy breeds strife and where there is strife, there is every evil work. Intentionally seek and pray for peace and content, then you will most definitely find inner strength to overcome jealousy and show all others what God is doing through you because of it!
Have you ever noticed when you get what you thought you wanted, it's really not all that great. That means you made it happen (living in the flesh) and didn't wait to follow God's will for your life. When you pray and wait for God's will you will always be satisfied and content with how your prayers were answered. Believe it or not, He does know best!
Love is not touchy or jealous so therefore when you are those things you have no love in your heart. You can't be both at the same time. When you realize you are being jealous or coveting what someone else has then pray fervently to love the person you are jealous of, even bless them by doing something wonderful for them. This is how the jealousy will get under your feet and you will be able to freely love everyone!
One of the Ten Commandments that we are to keep is "Thou shalt not covet". Did you ever wonder what that really meant? Well, it means that you won't lust after or wish you had what someone else has or look like someone else or live the lives they live. You never know what is behind the front we see in public. There could be pain, deceit, lies or evil associated with what is shown outwardly. We need to be happy with who we are and love ourselves and pray for God to live and shine through us outwardly. This will make you happier than you could ever imagine.
Jealousy breeds strife and where there is strife, there is every evil work. Intentionally seek and pray for peace and content, then you will most definitely find inner strength to overcome jealousy and show all others what God is doing through you because of it!
Monday, September 19, 2011
Forgive and Forget...only God is that great!
Recently, I posted something in Facebook that sparked a challenge to my thought process. I posted, "God commands us to forgive, he never said you had to forget the hurt. God is the only one that forgives and forgets wrongs." One of my friends that shall remain nameless to the blog argued that if we are truly living a Godly life then God lives through us and we should also forget the hurts, as well as, forgive. I understand where he was coming from in that we all should lead a Godly life as an example and I believe we do have the Holy Ghost living in us and Jesus said we would do things on earth greater than he did. However, we are only human, of the flesh and I believe that we as human beings we are not perfect, we are all flawed in some way. We can try to forget past hurts but I believe that remembering them helps us protect ourselves from future hurts as well.
When we forgive, we are releasing ourselves from bondage to the person that hurt us. We do it for us, not for them. When you reach the point where you have truly forgiven someone, when you think of the past hurts, it will no longer hurt you.
When you say the Lord's Prayer, as we all probably resighted from the time we could talk, as you read it, and it says "Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us." Think about that verse, do you really want God to forgive us the same way we forgive others? If you can't say yes than you need to work on your forgiveness skills.
I challenge each of you to consider these words as you forgive others. If you can forgive and forget, you should! However, if you are flawed like most of the world, our main goal is to forgive and move on. Don't hold onto the past hurts and move forward into a glorious relationship of love with everyone and especially God!
When we forgive, we are releasing ourselves from bondage to the person that hurt us. We do it for us, not for them. When you reach the point where you have truly forgiven someone, when you think of the past hurts, it will no longer hurt you.
When you say the Lord's Prayer, as we all probably resighted from the time we could talk, as you read it, and it says "Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us." Think about that verse, do you really want God to forgive us the same way we forgive others? If you can't say yes than you need to work on your forgiveness skills.
I challenge each of you to consider these words as you forgive others. If you can forgive and forget, you should! However, if you are flawed like most of the world, our main goal is to forgive and move on. Don't hold onto the past hurts and move forward into a glorious relationship of love with everyone and especially God!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)