Lonely Fear / Doubt

This Sunday's Lesson opened with the song: “One thing Remains” by Kristian Stanfill

 

So what is fear?  It is an unpleasant emotion caused by the belief that someone/something is dangerous. I feared being a grown-up..LOL. Do you fear someone?

Deuteronomy 1:17 says - "You shall not show partiality in judgment; you shall hear the small and the great alike. You shall not fear man, for the judgment is God's. The case that is too hard for you, you shall bring to me, and I will hear it."
Do you fear being alone or is it Ok to be alone?
According to Psalms 68:6, God makes a home for the lonely - "God makes a home for the lonely; He leads out the prisoners into prosperity, Only the rebellious dwell in a parched land."
Do you know that your never alone..even in your darkest hours. Do you have doubts about this?
How many times have we said “I never planned for that to happen”? I’m sure it started with a doubt, we not lying about planning, it’s just that several bad choices were made without looking at the consequences. Usually we stray off the Christian path way before we stumble and fall on our face…or worse sin, before we realize we strayed. It starts with a thought..that leads to a word from the mouth…that turns into an action with the body.
Matthew 12:34 says, "You brood of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak what is good? For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart."  So basically if you think it with your mind then speak it with your mouth…you start to believe it in your heart and then you act on it.
That’s how Satan works, filling our heads/minds with a littlest of doubts, fears, and/or dislikes. He moves cautiously and slowly with well thought out cleaver plans..that has worked for centuries.
So we read Ephesians 6:12,"For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places."  Compared to modern thoughts about evil spirits, Paul pictured the churches battle for survival as a struggle against the devil, demons, and other evil supernatural beings.
Do you every doubt your parents/partner truly, truly love you? Do they listen when you talk? Do you spend time together? Do they not pay attention when ya’ll talk about problems?

Have you ever had someone say to you when you discussing your problems “Your parents/partner doesn’t deserve such a nice, sweet caring person like you” FYI…that’s Satan also working in them. Every time you take a tiny step off the righteous path, you justify your actions in your mind..example..you think in your mind if parents/partner won’t listen to me, that person who spoke such kind, caring word…will listen to me. Your are avoiding the problem not addressing…leading to a secret from your parent/partner.

We usually don’t grasp that Satan is never in a hurry, all he needs is an opportunity to put in a doubt…unholy self-centered thought in our head. If we don’t get them out right then and there, they start growing and Satan keeps going with his destructive evil schemes.

So we read Ephesians 6:10-11,18,23,24 -
"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might.  Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil.

With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints,
Peace be to the brethren, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.  Grace be with all those who love our Lord Jesus Christ with incorruptible love."

Thoughts inspired by Joyce Meyer “Battlefield of the Mind”

Begrudged?

We've talked a couple times about forgiving and although I think we are all works in progress, I think we have a pretty good idea of what we need to do to forgive.  But what do we do when we have forgiven and the other person hasn't forgiven us or when someone is holding a grudge against you?
How do you deal then?
Do you have someone holding a grudge against you?
Someone being mean or just rude to you no matter how nice you are to them?
When we think of a "grudge" we think of words like hate, contempt, spite and hostility.  Now there are any number of reasons why someone would be holding a grudge against someone but usually it just comes down to envy and jealousy.  We could easily get caught up in the hate and jealousy ourselves and retaliate but obviously that is not what God wants us to do.
God wants us to love.
Contrary to what we have always been told about love is blind, Philipp. 1:9-10 tells us to love with knowledge and incite.  God never intends on us loving blindly and dealing with grudges and forgiveness is no different.
So why is this person being so hateful to you?
Well evaluate your actions and ensure you have done everything in a loving, Christian manner and your heart is right and if you still come up wondering why...perhaps this person is not experiencing the fullness of God and the Holy Spirit.
So what do you do about it?
Ask God for insight into what is broken in that person so you can have compassion.
If you don't have compassion on people like this, if you are not careful yourself...one day you could become broken just like them...bitter and angry.
So why are these kind of people in our lives?
Why would God even have us deal with such things?
Seams cruel, huh?  Not really.
Has it ever occured to you that these people were assigned to our lives...for a specific purpose?
God positioned these people in our lives.
To test us.
To grow us.
To teach us.
To make us better people.
So what happens if you have tried all of this and nothing works?
You forgave.
You continue to take the high road.
You always did right by this person.
And still they hold a grudge that you just can't get past.
We have to consider whether or not this was a relationship God intended.  Is it a toxic relationship.  Some relationships were not meant to be restored.  As long as we are obedient to God and we love, we forgive, we lay down our pride and give it to him, we have pleased him.  that is all we can do.
So maybe you didn't do anything to provoke a grudge within your family, at school or at work or with someone you once thought of as a good friend.
In 1 Samuel (1 Sam 16:15-26:25), King Saul held a grudge against David.  David didn't do anything to provoke the grudge, in fact, he had slain the giant Goliath on behalf of King Saul.  But when people started praising David for this heroic deed, Saul became so jealous, he began plotting his death.  After repeated evil acts and attempts on David's life, one day Saul and his men fell in a deep sleep allowing David to get close enough to kill him but he didn't.  David spared Sauls life even knowing Saul held this grudge and tried to kill him over and over.  You too can use David's strategy and not become vengeful by returning evil for evil.  Remember or lesson on "kill'em with kindness"?
We can look to Jesus as an example so we can also forgive the person holding the grudge against us (if we haven't already done so).
Matt. 5:44-45 tells us to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us.
Proverbs 16:17 says "When the Lord takes pleasure in any ones way, he causes their enemies to make peace with them"
The Bible talks over and over about how God rewards not returning evil for evil and having compassion for those who may be our enemies or holding grudges against us.
So keep your Christan values and always be the better person because it will set you free just as it says in John 8:31-32 "So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, 'If you continue in my word, then you are truly disciples of mine; and you know the truth, and the truth will make you free."
Let it set you free.


Resources: Godlywoman.com, Loving Well Bible Study by Beth More

Forgiveness

We open up our lesson this morning with the song “Forgiveness” by Matthew West.  As we listen, we reflect on what it means to really forgive.  In the words of the song, "It flies in the face of all your pride"...how true.

Matt 18:21-22-Peter came and said to him, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him?(Matt 18:15 - If your brother sins “against you”, go and Show him his fault in private; if he listens to you, you have won brother.)Up to seven times?’ (Jesus gave his disciples instructions one of them is in Luke 17:4– And if he sins against you seven times a day, and returns to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’-forgive him.”) Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.

Forgiveness is a major part of the Christian faith and your forgiveness grows through encounters God and meditating on his word. Have you ever said “please forgive me” to someone out of love? What I mean is to love is to forgive, if you love really someone you can forgive them…no matter how difficult (example 1 Cor. 13) Read if you have never heard? How do you feel if you walk away from someone you know you should tell them you’re sorry or u forgive them, but you decided not to say anything? How do you feel when someone does it to you?

Forgiveness is a timing thing, sometimes when you’re ready they are not and vice versa they are ready and you are not. Forgiveness is like love, you can interchange the two in your Christian journey..but the thing to remember is that neither of them cannot be faked or expected in return when given to others. It goes back to the timing thing, when ya’ll are ready and also it cannot be rushed.

Matt 6:14-15 – (Jesus say)For if you forgive others for their transgressions, (Jesus warns in Matt 7:2 – ‘For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you.’ More examples of his warnings Mark 11:25, Eph 4:32, Col 3:13)your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions.(Another example read Matt18:23-35) definitions as we are reading: A talent was worth more than fifteen years’ wages of a Laborer, Denarius was a day’s wages.

Closing Prayer: Thank you God for the positives (high) points this week and realize the negative (low) points are where we were lacking you. Lord hear our petitions also let us pray O-lord for those who are lost or lonely or sick or dying. We pray for those who do not know you but need you, that they will find you. Please Lord hear the prayer of your people who do your service throughout the World. Dear God help us to smile until we speak again, Lord help open our eyes and hearts to your work in the world around us and happily join in the struggle to spread your great, most highest Word to the world…and all Gods people say..Amen

Life's Not Fair

How many times have you said IT’S NOT FAIR!! 

You look at your life and think “it’s not supposed to be this way”. Maybe something you didn’t want came into your life and messed it all up…a bad report card, accused of something you didn’t do, punished a little more harshly than you think you should be. 

Well you are certainly not the only one that feels that way.  We all feel that way sometimes.  It happens a lot actually. 

You’ve heard the old saying “Life’s not fair!” 

Well there is a lot of stuff in life that seems “unfair”. Like when you need a friend more than anything in the world and they just aren’t there for you when you need them, when that person you thought you knew inside and out turns out not to be who you thought they were or when your girlfriend/boyfriend breaks up with you. 

We put expectations on other people and find ourselves disappointed.  When life throws us these curve balls we can’t seem to find the logic in it all.  Life and love collide and we rack our brains to figure out reasons for what has happened or why people have done what they have done but we end up even more confused. 

2 Corinthians 1:3-7 tells us that God is the comforter of us all.

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.  For just as the sufferings of Christ are ours in abundance, so also our comfort is abundant through Christ.  But if we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation or if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which is effective in the patient enduring of the same sufferings which we also suffer; and our hope for you is firmly grounded, knowing that as you are sharers of our sufferings, so also you are sharers of our comfort.”

So do you think life was fair to Jesus? 

Do you think he was ever disappointed in the people he put expectations on?

Jesus faced these same trials and was disappointed by people too.  Human life was not fair to him either and stuff didn’t always make sense to him either.  But Jesus, being the great comforter he was, always had a passion for comforting people even during unmet expectations, when things didn’t make sense, and when people were disappointing…evenup until his death.

Although Jesus does not promise that things will be perfect, he does tell us over and over again in the bible to lay our burdens down on him.

In Matthew 11:25 Jesus tells us “Come to me, all who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give yourest.”  

He doesn’t sayothers will always live up to our expectations…

He never promises it will all make sense…he just asks that you leave it all to him.

For it is in these moments…in these disappointments, these times of confusion that we find him. It is in these moments that we connect and find comfort.

These are the times that he uses for us to come to our knees and look up to him.

“Cast your burden on the Lord,  and he shall sustain you” – Psalms 55:22

On our own, we will spend hours dissecting thesituation, trying to figure out everything. We wait until everything is perfect and it all makes sense, not realizing that we have missed out on it all together.  If we wait till Love is perfect, Life is perfect, everything is perfect we never find what we are looking for and we miss out on the true meaning of why Jesus went to that cross for us in the first place.

 

According to Romans 8:28, Jesus wants us to love Life, others and him “And we know that all things work together for good to them that loves God, to them who are called according to his purpose.”

Love Life

Love Others
Love Him
That is the True Meaning of Life.

References:

www.godlywoman.com
http://EzineArticles.com/49625

I Got This

“I got this”

Song: TobyMac “Me without You”

Read Matt 6:33-34

How many times have we’ve said “I’ve got this”?, How many times have we heard a friend or parent say that? What’s your first instinct…like most of us we think..what?, wait, I’ve got to watch this. Cause usually it will be either epic success or epic fail..but it’s usually a show..lol. Think about this…if you know that person was doing it wrong would you stop them? Or would you let them fail & say “I told you so”, so.. you think I just taught them a lesson right?...is that the Christian thing?

There’s always the explanation when plans/action go wrong “it seemed like a good idea at the time”…but it’s usually not. When we take matters into our own hands, we substitute another plan for God’s plan. Clearly, any plan opposed to God’s will fail sooner or later.

Our human nature is that we like to test people, like our parents and even God, rather than trust them. We want to “skate on thin ice” rather than rely on your parents or God for advice. So what is your faith worth if you don’t trust God completely? It’s normal to trust in your own understand, but what if you don’t know the answer? My walk of faith means I will trust the bible, its teachings, and direction. It’s perfectly normal to say “I don’t know” or “I need help”. Ask advice from your fellow Christians.

Advice can be found anywhere and if you look hard enough, you can find someone who will tell you whatever you want to hear. God’s Word, however, is the truth, and it stands the test of time. Example of Bad Advice: Adam & Eve, Eve on Satan’s advice (Gen 3:1-6)

So what?  How does this apply to you?  Right now you may or may not be weighting a tough decision in your life, however, there will be many situations in life where God wants us to wait on his perfect timing. We might not know when or where, but we need to trust his will.
Example Read (Heb 11:6)

Let me ask you this, if you’re in a car with a foggy window or in bathroom with a steamed up mirror…how many wipes does it take to before the window/mirror is before its clear?....If we keep saying “I got this” and not trusting God’s plan, he will continue to let us fall on our face…he’s teaching you a lesson that sooner or later you will have to look up. Proof of God’s Will…Creation & Life (Genesis), Moses (Ex 2:11-15) , Noah (Gen 7-9)

I know waiting on God is hard, but it’s an important and necessary part of this faith journey…we have plenty of examples of what happens when we say…”I got this”, so next time you say “I got this” you should think hard and pray for God’s wisdom, perfect timing and invite him to show you the blessing and benefits of waiting..

Closing Prayer: Dear God, we want to follow you. We will turn from sin and place our trust in you alone and ask for your forgiveness. Right now, we receive your gift of eternal life and confess you as Lord. Thank you for loving us and dying on the cross for us. Thanks you for giving us new life, in Jesus’ name, Amen.

Anger Management

Do you get angry?
Is it okay to get angry?
Many think it's not very Christian to get angry and if you want to be a Christian you should never get angry.  They think... I can never be a Christian if I feel anger.  The truth is anger itself is neither right nor wrong.  It's "amoral" (meaning it doesn't have a sense of morals).  It's actually what you do with the anger and how you handle it that matters.

Ephesians 4:26 says
"Be angry, and yet do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger."

So even the bible says its okay to be angry...but do not sin.

So where does anger come from?
What is it's purpose?

It may not be the answer you are thinking.

Since the purpose of anger is to fight evil and right wrongs, anger is actually a God given emotion.  We are meant to use our anger in God given ways.  Since rage, hostility and bitterness is of Satan. we are to stay clear of that path.  We have to speak the truth in love and own our feelings.  Never hostilely tell someone they made you angry.  No one can make you angry without your permission.  So how do you handle the situation?  Let them know you understand that  your feelings are your responsibility but you feel angry and would like to talk about it.

A lot of times when there is anger from the past that you haven't addressed it can get triggered easily and you can over react.  Just remember what they do to you is their issue but how you react is your Christian responsibility.

So is it worth getting angry about?

Think about a few things the next time you feel anger coming on...
- Is it worth getting angry for?
- Will I regret for what I'm about to say or do later?
- How will this effect my relationship?

A lot of the things that get us angry are really just things that waste time, annoy us or threaten our egos.  These things will never stop.  God wants us to practice patience to learn how to handle them.

Psalms 37:7 tells us
"Be sill before the Lord and wait patiently for him: do not fret when men succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes.


Righteous Anger
Even Jesus got angry.  When Jesus got angry at the moneychangers in the temple it was because they were exploiting religion instead of using it to bring people closer to God. Jesus taught the truth but they refused to listen.
We can also get angry at injustice, such as killing the unborn, drugs dealings, molesting children, polluting our environment and so on.  Rather than stewing about the problems, we can band together with others and take action to fight, by peaceful, lawful means. We can volunteer and donate to organizations that oppose abuse. We can write our elected officials. We can form a neighborhood watch. We can educate others, and we can pray.

In Matthew 10:16, Jesus told his followers to be as "shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves."  We are to protect ourselves without stooping to the level of our attackers.  An angry outburst accomplishes little, besides satisfying our emotions.

Jesus told us to expect persecution. The nature of today's world is that someone is always trying to take advantage of us. If we are shrewd yet innocent, we will not be as shocked when it happens and will be better prepared to deal with it calmly.  *consider your audience*Getting angry is a natural human emotion that does not have to lead into sin—if we remember that God is a God of justice and we use our anger in a way that honors him.

Sources: About.com, Christianstories.com

Enticement of Sinners

Enticement of Sinners or Peer Pressure

Proverbs 1:8-19 (theme 10-16) (read)Define Sheol (SHEE-ohl) Hebrew word-translation “grave” or ”pit”; in the bible the Hebrew word meant “underworld”. In 200 BC the Greek translated the scriptures and replaced “Sheol” with “Hades”.

Think about that only 1 of 10 ppl do the Christian thing each and every time. Majority of the time peers give us advice that’s opposite of what our parents/step-parents instruct us to do. You must decide to be the Christian (1 out 10) or to run with the crowd when you know it’s wrong (90%). Easier said than done right? So think about it, if someone/friend or not ask you to compromise something that you believe in…they are probably not that Christian friend you need to be around. The key to peer pressure is to determine your standards and boundaries (Personal/Spiritual) before a situation arises, it’s difficult to make the right choice in the heat of the moment.

Personal boundariesPersonal boundaries are guidelines, rules or limits that a person creates to identify what are reasonable, safe and permissible ways for other people to behave around them and how they will respond when someone steps outside those limits. They are built out of a mix of beliefs, opinions, attitudes, past experiences and social learning. Personal boundaries define you as an individual, outlining your likes and dislikes, and setting the distances you allow others to approach. They include physical, mental, psychological and spiritual boundaries, involving beliefs, emotions, intuitions and self-esteem.

Spiritual BoundariesThe most important boundary you can protect is your spiritual boundaries. There are a number of spiritual boundaries that are key to keeping yourself sane in this world. We have all heard the comment or we have all said something and waited for that lightning bolt to strike us. While this will most likely not happen as a result of some spiritual punishment, the fear has been duly placed in our mind. As a result, we need to define our Spiritual Boundaries.

1.Inner Spiritual Boundaries:

1. Core Values

2. Central Belief System

3. Fundamental Spiritual Structure

Each of these (3) areas can get you into trouble spiritually if you’re not careful.  Inner Spiritual Boundaries are where we start. We have to be careful not to ignore or force our beliefs on ppl before they ready.  Most people have never defined their core values and so have difficulty understanding why they are conflicted or have chaos in their lives. This is true in life or more specifically in the spiritual lives. As we define who we are we must also define each area of our life to understand who we are and the boundaries we want to set for ourselves. It all begins with our core values.

These core values create who we are and what we do on a daily basis. Our true identity is built by what we decide we are going to believe in over a lifetime. These central beliefs shape our choices in jobs, fun and even our mate. It is a fundamental key to our central belief system. Those thoughts that get us in trouble or celebrate the life we lead. The good and bad we have done are developed in our mind by that belief system.

The key to unlocking these beliefs lie in the Fundamental Spiritual Structure. This is the structure that we are growing up with and “learning” to believe in and act upon. Actions over time develop habit and belief in a certain structure. That structure creates the boundaries that protect us and creates walls that are hard to penetrate.

2. External Spiritual Boundaries:

1. Bad Influence

2. Bad Habits

3. Non-Self-Convicted opinion

External Spiritual Boundaries are the ones that we must understand and are affected by until we understand the Inner Spiritual Boundaries. The external barriers are more easily seen and kept under control because they are visible to everyone. We HAVE to make a conscious effort to fit in to the crowd or make a special effort to NOT fit in based on those external boundaries. As young ppl you are taught to NOT hang around bad people or bad influences. However, as we age those boundaries become less restrictive and we need to establish these for ourselves. The creation of these protections becomes less guided by authority and more by our convictions. The external influences of the internet, media, Hollywood and our circle of friends/influence are key to what we allow into our conscious and subconscious minds. They can influence us in small or large ways. As much as nutrition affects our physical health, this onslaught of material that we allow our senses to come in contact with directly and indirectly affect our fundamental structures mentally. As these structures are affected, we in turn create either good or bad habits. These new structures we allow to be created mold our action set. Bad habits can be formed from this external attack or our moral fiber. Forcibly (or consciously) creating those habits that will remain congruent to our core values is critical to maintaining inner-peace and combating the chaos created by NOT doing battle correctly.

Loss of BoundariesThe loss of conscious boundaries could occur when an individual was caught up in a fast-moving crowd.  Our identities become controlled by the definitions offered by others.

What are the effects of crossing these barriers or letting them slide?The end result of not maintaining proper boundaries is the existence of continual chaos. This chaos take over our lives given free reign and it takes monumental effort to return to where we left the road/path of God.

Rebuilding boundariesWhile a healthy relationship depends on the emotional space provided by personal boundaries, co-dependent personalities have difficulties in setting such limits, so that defining and protecting boundaries efficiently may be for them a vital part of regaining mental health and Spiritual Health .

Family therapists and reading your bible can help family members to develop clearer boundaries, by behaving in a well-defined way when treating them, drawing lines, and treating different generations in different compartments- something especially suitable families where unhealthy involvement overrides normal personal boundaries.

However, Be careful the establishment of personal boundaries in such instances may produce a negative fall-out, if the relationship is there everything.

What can you do to protect yourselves from these different distractions both inner and external?

1. The key is to protect them from the outset and not let you travel too far down any wrong path.

2. Spaced repetition with the good information that you wish to put into your mind, read your Bible as often as possible.

3. Daily meditation/prayer and focus on the path that you want to travel.

4. Careful consideration of those whom you choose to associate with.

These steps will create the spiritual freedom that you want and the separation from the troublesome part of your spiritual path.