No Fear

Psalm 118:6 "The Lord is on my side; I will not fear: what can man do unto me?"

As Christians we have a rich heritage of our faithful ancestors that faced persecution and death for their belief in God's Word. Those faithful Christians of days gone by understood a vital principle contained in Psalm 118:6. They knew, that as Christians, they had a Father in Heaven that stood by their side during times of fear and persecution. They had a God of all comfort that would bring them solace during the dark days that they faced. They understood that the power of man was limited, but the power of their God was unlimited. Man can only destroy our physical body. Man can't destroy our soul and spirit. If we have trusted the Lord Jesus Christ by faith, we don't have to fear man, because we have a God that has already taken eternal possession of our soul and spirit. We can face the worse that the world has to offer with boldness and courage by faith in our God. We don't have to be subjected to a life of fear and defeat.

Every Knee Shall Bow

Philippians 2:10  "That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;"
Philippians 2:11  "And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."


We live in a world that worships a variety of different gods.  The Bible declares to us unapologetically, that there is only one God manifested in three personalities.  Today's bible verses teach us that there is coming a day when all of mankind, past, present and future will bow their knees in obeisance to the Lord Jesus Christ.  Those that know the Lord Jesus Christ as Saviour will bow down in thankfulness for what Christ has done in their life.  Those that reject the Lord Jesus Christ in this life will be forced to bow in that day in the presence of the Saviour that died for them and the one whom they rejected.

How much better will it be for those that are able to bow down in love and obedience to Christ.  Where are you today?  Have you acknowledged that you're a sinner and asked God for forgiveness, putting your faith and trust in Christ's finished work on the cross at Calvary?

Help for Marriage

Image Ronnie MacDonald Wikipedia Common Images

Ephesians 5:21  "Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God."

There are tons of books on the market that deal with the topic of having a happy, healthy marriage.  If you read all of the books you will find many ideas and suggestions on how to improve your marriage.  You will find ideas that agree and others that conflict with one another.  God's Word has much to say about marriage.  What should we rely on, the wisdom of man or the wisdom of God?  The answer should be obvious.  Who knows more about the creature than the Creator?  God instituted marriage and He knows the ingredients to a happy and fruitful marriage.

This verse in Ephesians 5:21 is framed within a passage of Scripture that outlines the proper relationships between husbands and wives.  Husbands and wives have a responsibility to submit themselves one to another.  When we put our spouse first in the marriage relationship we avoid a variety of ills.  Selfishness in a marriage leads to all kinds of problems in the family and home.  A selfish spirit is never satisfied.  A selfish spirit quickly grows discontent in the marriage.  If everything in the marriage doesn't revolve around the selfish spouse, the spouse will seek fulfillment elsewhere.  This selfishness is a tremendously destructive force in a marriage.  When our heart's desire is to see our spouse fulfilled our marriage finds itself on a path that is pleasing to God.  An interesting thing happens when we focus our attention on the needs of others.  When we focus on others, our problems, concerns and fears quickly diminish.  Paul instructed Christians in Philippians 2:3b "Let each esteem other better than themselves."  This counsel is good for a marriage, good for a family and good for a church.  Let's concern ourselves with the well-being of others and quit focusing so much on ourselves.

God's Everlasting Mercy

Psalm 118:1-2  "O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good: because his mercy endureth for ever.   Let Israel now say, that his mercy endureth for ever."

We can rest assured that the God whom we serve is always good.  Many times in our lives when trials happen we have a tendency to  believe that God has somehow forgotten about us.  That He isn't aware of the trial that we are facing.  We would do well to realize that God does everything for our good, including the trials, even the ones we don't fully understand. 

 Not only is God good, but He is also merciful.  The Bible gives us the illustration of God's mercy toward Israel.  God the Father sent his Son Jesus Christ to be Israel's long awaited Messiah.  Israel rejected Jesus as their messiah and caused Him to be crucified.  The Scriptures teach us that because of unbelief Israel has been temporarily set aside.  God will eventually restore the nation of Israel to their place of prominence in His plan.  God loves Israel and in spite of her rejection of Christ He will show forth His mercy toward Israel.

God's mercy towards Israel should speak to our own hearts.  God loves us and is willing to be merciful to us, if we come to Him with repentant hearts.  You may have started to doubt God or to blame God because of some trial that you're experiencing.  Never forget that God is good and His mercy  is everlasting.

Release Anxiety

 

1 Peter 5:6-7

^{6 "}Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:
⁷ Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you."

Have you ever felt like you were running in quicksand, expending more and more energy to get absolutely nowhere?  As humans we often find ourselves getting ahead of God's perfect plan for our lives.  We tend to forget that God's timetable isn't our timetable.  God has his own schedule for accomplishing things in our lives for his honor and glory.  We're guilty of racing ahead of God and trying to shine the spotlight on our own accomplishments.  The Bible teaches us that if we will humble ourselves, then God will exalt us in due time.  When we're trying to accomplish everything in our strength and our energy we feel like we're banging our head against the wall.  It can lead to disappointment and frustration, but we are taught in these verses that we can cast all of our care upon him because he cares for us.  

Let's focus on serving God day by day and leave the results up to God.  If you faithfully serve God in spite of any lack of recognition God will exalt you in his perfect time.

 

Growing Spiritually

1Corinthians 13:11  "When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things. "

The Apostle Paul is expounding to the church at Corinth an important truth about spiritual growth as a believer.  We know that there were many immature believers in Corinth which resulted in a whole host of church problems.  When believers are new in the faith and immature they say and do many interesting things.  The have a zeal, but not according to knowledge.  They are excited about this new found life in Christ, but they don't have a large repository of prior knowledge.  They are in a very real sense, like a newborn child.  They have to begin the process of spiritual growth.  They have to apply themselves diligently to the study of God's Word.  They must be faithful to church attendance in order that they can learn from the preaching and teaching of God's Word.  Faithfulness to church allows them to see Christ at work in the lives of other believers.  The day will come when that new believer will be changed step by step into the image of Christ.  They will become a man in Christ and can put away childish (spiritually immature) things.

Where are you today?  Are you growing in the knowledge of the Lord and His Word?  It's sad to see Christians that have been saved many years, but are still immature in their faith.  Spend time in God's Word today and allow God to speak to your heart and guide you on the path to spiritual maturity.

How Much Should We Love God?

Deuteronomy 6:5  "And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might."

How much should we love our God?  It should be an all encompassing love that affects every area of our life.  Our heart should be wholly devoted to Him.  We have to guard our heart from the corrupting influence of the society around us.  We are to love God with every bit of our being, every fiber that is within us, with all of our soul.  We are to love God with all of our might.  We should gladly spend our time and our energy to benefit the cause of Christ.  We should dedicate our strength to Him.  When we consider all that He has done for us, the least we can do is love Him with all the love we have.