"A Troubled Heart"

"Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me." John 14:1 

Don't let your heart be troubled-- disquieted, anxious, disturbed, fearful, restless, distressed, agitated. Does this sound like you? Are you anxious? Are you fearful? Are you restless? In the world in which we live it is easy to find ourselves in this state. Daily responsibilities, bad reports, the cares of this life, the state of affairs, tribulation, our job situation, the words and actions of others, can become an instrument to make our hearts troubled. But for the disciple of the Lord Jesus, we ought not have a troubled heart. 

 

We tend to excuse our "troubled hearts" with the defense that "I am only human". Yes, we are human, but we are humans who believe in and put our hope and trust in God. We are humans who are in a transformation process of becoming more like Him in this world. We are humans who have been called to take up our cross, deny ourselves, put to death the works of the flesh and reckon ourselves dead to this world and alive to Christ. We are humans who must decrease so that Christ can increase in our lives. 

 

I don't want to sound cruel, hard-hearted or judgmental. We do face very real, very hurtful, very trying, very distressful situations. But we can't constantly give into them. During those times we have to let God arise and be seen in our lives. We have to follow the example of our beloved Savior- who for the joy that was set before Him became obedient unto the death of the cross. We have to follow the examples of the early church who counted it all joy when their faith was tried- even through persecution and tribulation. We have to follow the example of those in Revelations who loved not their lives unto death. 

 

"You believe in God, believe also in Me." Do we "believe" in God? If we do, then we should act like it even in trying times. We should have faith that He will make all things work together for our good. We should be fully persuaded that He is able to keep what we commit to Him. We should be confident that He will supply all our need, He will make a way, He will fight our battles, open prison doors, give us streams in the desert, guide us with His eyes and never leave us nor forsake us. Then we should know that He is watching over us and walking with us. Then we should know that we are still more than conquerors through Jesus no matter what we face. 

 

Yes, we face difficulties, (I am not denying that) and we always will as long as we are in this world. (John 16:33) But the more we give in to the feelings of our humanity and use it as an excuse to have troubled hearts we will never walk in the victory that Christ has given us. We will never experience the abundant life that He desires for us to have. We won't have joy or peace. And we will never walk in a level of faith that is worthy of those who say they "believe in God"-- but we will be defeated instead.

 

Have a great day. Stop defending your humanity and allowing it to be an excuse for a troubled heart. 

 

For further reading:

Matthew 16:24

John 3:30

Hebrews 12:2

James 1:2

Revelation 12:11

"The Gift Wrap"

"Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning." James 1:17 

Sometimes we don't recognize the gifts that God is giving us because of the "package" they come wrapped in. I have received gifts that were wrapped in beautiful paper and bows. I have received gifts that were placed in a gift bag with pretty colored tissue stuffed in the top. But I have also received gifts that were wrapped in the plastic bag that they came from the store in. But each one-- even the one in the plain plastic bag-- was a gift. The wrapping just covered the gift. It didn't change the gift from being a gift. It didn't change the value of the gift. 

 

God sent mankind the gift of salvation and eternal life through Jesus His Son. When the gift of God came into the world, it came wrapped in swaddling clothes laying in a manger. What an odd "wrapping". When the gift was presented, it came "wrapped" in blood, nails and a cross. The outside "wrapping" didn't make it appear to be a beautiful gift, but it was the most wonderful, beautiful gift that could have been given to man. 

 

Some people miss the gift of salvation because of the way it came "wrapped". They miss it because they see the suffering, the blood, the crown of thorns, the beatings, and the crucifixion and reject the gift of eternal life. There are other gifts that the Lord is trying to give to us that we miss as well because of the "wrapping". For example, we miss the gift of patience because it is wrapped in tribulation. "Tribulation worketh patience". (Romans 5:3b) 

 

God is wanting to get some gifts to us, but we won't receive them because of the way they are "wrapped"-- we reject them because of the packaging. "But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you." (1 Peter 5:9) He wants to perfect us, establish us, strengthen us and settle us, but it comes wrapped in suffering, so we reject it. The gift of a greater revelation of who Jesus was came to the disciples wrapped up in a storm on the sea. Joseph received the gift of destiny wrapped up in a pit, slavery and imprisonment. God gives good and perfect gifts to us, but the way they come wrapped may not look so good and perfect. 

 

Have a great day. Don't reject the gift because you don't like the wrapping. 

 

For further reading:

Matthew 8:27

 

"Don't Leave It Behind"

"He hath made his wonderful works to be remembered: the Lord is gracious and full of compassion." Psalm 111:4 

Recently we talked about forgetting/leaving some things behind-- past failures and victories-- and not camping out in yesterday. God has called us to go forward and not allow the "past" to hinder us from doing so. But there is one thing we have to mention on this subject. There is something that we can't leave behind and we must remember-- God's wonderful works, His grace, goodness, and compassion to us.

 

We can't leave our testimony of what God has done for us in the past-- His wonderful works are to be remembered. In saying that I need to also say that we don't "camp out" in what He "did" for us and stay in that. He wants to do new works and miracles in our lives today. But at the same time, we should never forget what He has already done. Don't forget where He brought you from. Don't forget the time He delivered you out of the pit. Don't forget the time He calmed the raging storm that threatened to destroy you. Don't forget the many times He has healed your body, given you wisdom in a situation, given you strength when you were weak, lifted up your head when it hung down, came through at the last minute, and made a way when there was no way in sight. These wonderful works should never be forgotten. 

 

In the Old Testament the Lord told the children of Israel to set up memorials-- through feasts, by the placing of stones, through writings, etc. These were to be reminders to them and the generations to come of God's wonder working power in their lives. By remembering the wonderful works that the Lord has done for us, we are making a memorial to constantly remind us of how good He has been to us. When you are going through a trial, you can look back at what He did for you in the past and be encouraged by it. When you are going through the fire, remembering the last time He delivered you from the fire will give you faith to know that He will do it again. When you remember how He came through for you in the past, it will remind you of His power to do what seems impossible and you will know that He can do the same again this time.

 

Again, in leaving those things that are behind, we must never leave in the past our confidence in the Lord, our faith in Him, the knowledge of His mighty power, the memory of the times He did great and wonderful things for us, or our praise of His faithfulness. 

 

Have a great day. When we forget those things that are behind, we can't forget the wonderful works that the Lord has done. The memory of them will encourage us in the trials we face today.

 

For further reading:

Exodus 12:14

Ecclesiastes 12:1

Psalm 42:6; 77:11

 

"Get Out And Go"

"Blessed be he that cometh in the name of the Lord: we have blessed you out of the house of the Lord." Psalm 118:26 

This may be "stretching" the verse a little, but "get out of the house of the Lord and start blessing people". It is so easy for us as Christians to want to shut ourselves up behind the four walls of the church. We want to stay in our little comfort zone and do our own little religious things. We want to stay around other Christians in our own safe little world. But the Lord commissioned us to go, not stay. 

 

Church and church attendance play a vital role in our Christianity. We are told not to forsake the assembling of ourselves together. It has a place. It is where we are helped to grow and be encouraged so that we can "go" out into the world and do the work we were called to do-- reach the lost for Christ. 

 

"Blessed be he that cometh in the name of the Lord". This was a prophesy about the Messiah who would come. The key word is "come". Jesus didn't stay in heaven behind gates of pearl, enjoying the splendor of heaven, surrounded by adoring angels, strolling down streets of gold. He came to earth. He walked among us. He went to the temple, but He didn't "live" there. He went at the appointed time-- it was His custom to do so. But the rest of the time He got out where humanity was-- the highways, byways, market place, the seashore, etc. He went to where the lost, the hurting, the afflicted, the rejected, the scorned, the condemned, and the guilty were. We are to not only follow His example, but continue the work He started by reaching people with the good news of the gospel. We do this by being those who "come in the name of the Lord" to those who are lost and in the darkness of sin. 

 

Are you fulfilling the commission to go? Are you staying in the house of God and neglecting the call to go into your world? Are you blessing others by giving them the good news that God loves them and Jesus saves-- outside of the house of the Lord, as well as inside it? 

 

Have a great day. We have a commission to fulfill, and we won't fulfill it inside the four walls of the church. We have to get out of the house and start blessing others in the name of the Lord.

 

For further reading:

Mark 16:15

Acts 1:1

Luke 4:16

Isaiah 52:7

Romans 10:15

Hebrews 10:25

"Appreciate The Gift"

"For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." Romans 6:23 

A gift is something that is given willingly to a person without payment in return. There is nothing that the recipient of the gift does to earn it. God gives us gifts every day, and many of them we take for granted-- like air to breath. The greatest gift He has given is the gift of eternal life. This gift was provided for us by Jesus at the cross. 

 

There are many things that a person can do with a gift. They can refuse it, they can receive it, they can neglect it after they have received it, or they can enjoy the gift and use it. It is the same with the gift of salvation/eternal life that God has provided. 

 

Many have and still are refusing the gift of salvation. They don't want it or anything to do with it. Therefore, they will not receive it. When they stand before the Lord one day, they will want it then, but it will be too late. When that time comes, they can't blame God, it will not be His fault. It is not up to the giver whether a gift is accepted or not, it is up to the receiver. It will be their fault that they did not receive it-- not God's.

 

On the other hand, many have received this free gift that God has so graciously provided. But what are they doing with it? If you have received it, what are you doing with it? Are you enjoying it and using it? Are you neglecting it? If you appreciate a gift you will use it and not neglect it. I bought my husband a turkey hunting vest for Christmas. It is evident that he appreciates that gift because every time he went turkey hunting he wore it. Had he not liked or appreciated it he would have left it hanging in the closet.

 

If we "appreciate" the gift of God's salvation there will be evidence. The main evidence is our lives will show it. They will show it through our communion and fellowship with the Lord. They will show it through praise, worship and adoration of the Lord. They will show it by our lifestyle. They will show it through the love of God radiating from our lives. They will show it through our witnessing and testifying of God's love and goodness to others. If we don't appreciate it there will be evidence also-- neglect. 

 

Have a great day. If you appreciate the gift of salvation that you have received, you won't neglect it and your life will show it.

 

For further reading:

John 3:16; 4:10

Ephesians 2:8

James 1:17