The True Marks of a Christian

In a previous blog, I talked about what it means to be saved, and what happens when we truly repent (we become new creatures).  Today, the Lord has laid it on my heart to talk about love and forgiveness.  When it comes to loving others, and forgiving others, talk is cheap.  We can say that we are loving, that we love God and others, and then we may go around slandering people, gossiping about them, and secretly wishing them revenge and ill will if they have wronged us in some way.  If we look at the following verses, John emphasizes the core meaning of love:

1Jn 3:9  No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God's seed remains in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God.

1Jn 3:10  This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God; nor is anyone who does not love his brother.

1Jn 3:11  This is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another.

1Jn 3:12  Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own actions were evil and his brother's were righteous.

1Jn 3:13  Do not be surprised, my brothers, if the world hates you.

1Jn 3:14  We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love our brothers. Anyone who does not love remains in death.

1Jn 3:15  Anyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life in him.

1Jn 3:16  This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.

1Jn 3:17  If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him?

1Jn 3:18  Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth. NIV

It is crucial that we get this, because this is what distinguishes us from the world.  All the good works in the world will not make us any different than any unbeliever.  This is what Jesus said:

Joh 13:34  "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.

Joh 13:35  By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." NIV

Maybe we are on the outs with someone, or things aren’t going well in a relationship we are in.  Our hearts have turned cold towards someone because they have repeatedly hurt us or wronged us.  When it comes to loving others, regardless of what they’ve done, or failed to do, we have to raise the bar.  We have to be and act, or react, noticeably different than our flesh is telling us.  This is what will make all the difference.  This is what Jesus has told us to do in John 13:34.

For many years, I had been reading the Bible.  Somewhere along the line, I started to think that I was superior to others, since I had so much knowledge of the Bible (or so I mistakenly thought).  I would sometimes use the Bible as a weapon in my defense of my beliefs, not realizing how much damage I was doing to the person I was contending with.  Rather than change the person’s mind, all it did was stir up strife, and create a harboring of bad feelings.  I didn’t realize how prideful I was being until one day the Lord would no longer reveal His Word to me in the same way as He had always done before.  Pride is so subtle.  It is self wanting the glory and the attention that rightfully belongs to God.  Rather than care more about how much knowledge I had that I could share, I needed to care more for the person I was sharing it with.  This is how God reached me in the first place!  He showed me that He cared more about me than He did about all the wrong I had done against Him.

It has been a long and slow process for me to learn about love, and to learn God’s perfect ways, but He is so patient, He never gives up on me.  Recently, I learned a valuable lesson about loving your brother or sister (both saved and unsaved).  I was responding to a blog and talking about how we more deeply experience God’s love and grace when we also have a knowledge and revelation of our own sin.  In other words, we appreciate God’s love that much more when we realize we could never deserve such love.  After I wrote it, if my intentions were to try and have people see things my way, the Lord quickly changed my agenda.  Rather than a feeling of “listen, and pay attention to what I have to say because you need to hear it,” I instead felt a great deal of pity, sorrow and a burden for readers on that blog.  I started to pray for them, and then I started to feel undone (convicted).  I realized God had given me knowledge of Him, and allowed me to experience His love AS A GIFT from Him, and that when I shared this, it also had to be given AS A GIFT to others (and received as if it was from Him).  I am just His agent.

God’s love to us is an incredible gift that nothing and no one can compare to.  It is not just some touchy-feely emotional thing that we feel and then act on.  It is a tangible, life-giving gift to be given ESPECIALLY when it is least deserved.  Perhaps today we need to take a good, long and hard look at ourselves.  Have we cheapened God’s love, and just give a little here and a little there when it suits us, or are we going the extra several miles to deliver His love with a heart filled with humility, gratefulness and joy?  He hasn’t asked us to love; He has commanded it in John 13:34.  Here’s what happens when we obey this command:

1Jn 4:12  No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us. NIV

 

Can you imagine?  God chooses to dwell in us and He loves others through us.  We don’t have to wait to love that way either.  Today we have a choice.  If we have something against someone else, the first thing we need to do is repent of it, and then we need to make things right with that person.  It might mean a simple confession and “I’m sorry,” or it might mean a small gift or something more.  If we feel that someone has done something against us, we still need to forgive them because we can harbor anger and bitterness in our hearts until we do.  Until it is cleared up and we do the right thing, God’s love cannot live in us because it goes against His very character and His Word.  It is us who must obey Him and do what He’s asked us to do.

Are we struggling with sickness today?  Then there’s another promise about forgiveness found here:

Jas 5:16  Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective. NIV

Rather than slander, gossip, attack, and be angry towards others, let’s do the right thing today and lighten our own load, and someone else’s.  We might even put a great big smile on their face.

What It Means to Truly be Saved

     Recently, it has become overwhelmingly evident that there is most likely an alarming number of people who claim to be Bible-believing, church-going Christians, and yet there are glaring evidences that they truly are not sold out for Christ, and are not God-worshipping Christians at all.  In its simplest terms, a Christian is one who follows “Christ.”  To take it further, a Christian is someone who has recognized their need of a Saviour, and knows they cannot hope to save themselves.  They see their sin for what it is, confess it, and then repent of the life they have thus far lived, apart from God, and then turn away from their sin.  Anyone who does not recognize their own depraved state of sin, and then repent (turn away from it), cannot truly call themselves a Christian, can they?

     While I believe there are no special formulas for becoming a Christian, the Bible clearly instructs us how to be saved:

Rom 10:9  That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

Rom 10:10  For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. NIV

It is just that simple.  Yet, can a person be truly saved if they have not fully committed their life and heart to the Lord Jesus Christ?  If you have already done the above, then a tremendous change will have occurred in your life. You will have exchanged your old life for the new life in Christ Jesus.  In other words, ALL THINGS HAVE BECOME NEW.  You are a new creature in Christ.  Do you feel different?  Yes.  You feel different. You act different.  You think different.  You may even look different (not sad and depressed like before).  Why?  Because you ARE different.  Here is what happens when a person becomes saved:

2 Cor. 5:17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

To go deeper, true repentance means a change of heart, at the deepest, core level.  There is nothing superficial about it, and it rarely occurs without some kind of difficulty; it’s costly, it’s cleansing, and it’s life-changing.  Many people want to just bask in the love of God, but the fullness of the revelation of the love of God for us only comes with the knowledge and revelation of what we have been saved from, our own sin and eternal separation from God.  We become unquestionably aware that it is not just the heavy weight of our own sin that needs to be forgiven, but the consequences of it - the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life (Romans 6:23).  If we have not yet experienced the depth of our own sin and the price that was paid for our redemption, then has true repentance occurred in our life?  David fell on his face when he realized what he had done - "Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight" (Psalms 51:4).  Job (a righteous man) fell on his face when he recognized how errant he'd been about his knowledge of God.  Paul gloried in the cross because this is where he recognized his own depravity, and his complete inability to save himself.
     True repentance gives us a crystal clear vision of our own depravity and God's great mercy.  No one deserves this kind of mercy, and yet, some people have dared to cheapen God’s grace and take for granted that everyone will make it into heaven, whether they have repented or not. The fact of who God is – Awesome, Holy, Just, Merciful, Omnipotent, etc. should be enough to make us tremble, and give us a healthy fear and reverence to submit ourselves wholly to Him.  

     Today, there are all kinds of false doctrines and belief systems that have steered away from the original and unadulterated Gospel message as offered in God’s Word.  Any time someone adds to or takes away from the Word of God, you have the makings of a cult.  This is serious business to God.  In fact, anyone who does such things is not just condemning themselves, but eternally condemning themselves.

Gal 1:8  But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned!

Gal 1:9  As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned! NIV

Many people may begin on the right track, but somewhere along the way they listened to some false teachings that sounded right, but clearly, these teachers were confused in their teaching of God’s Word, not dependent on the truth of the Holy Spirit’s revelation, and wholly dependent on the Word of God as it has been given.  If you challenge them with the Word of God, these same teachers will shun what you’ve got to say, and they are not open to the Bible. We are warned:

1 Thes. 5:22  Abstain from all appearance of evil. KJV

Evil is subtle, sweet, and deadly.  It may sound right, but if it in any way contradicts the Word of God, avoid it, and don’t give it a second thought.  The Bible is powerful, able to change our thoughts, our hearts, and our life.  Instead of being busy doing things, we need to be reading it, studying it, and making sure we haven’t strayed from its powerful teachings.  The Psalmist wrote:

Psa 119:9  How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to your word.

Psa 119:10  I seek you with all my heart; do not let me stray from your commands.

Psa 119:11  I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you. NIV

     Are we truly saved (confessed our sins and repented), bought with the precious blood of Jesus, seeking Him with all of our heart, and loving Him at every opportunity?  Do we reverence Him and respect Him and His Word?  Are we living as the “new creatures” He has made us?  If so, then it’s time to get serious, and live the new life in Christ that cost Him so dearly.

Fear of Hell

In the past few months the Lord has impressed it upon our heart (me and my husband Craig), to warn people about the reality of hell.  He has led us to defend His Word where people have been denying the truth about the existence of hell.  We have done this by reviewing a book that denies the existence of hell (see Craig’s review here), and Craig has begun to write his own book about the surety and existence of hell.  I have also been doing my own Biblical research about this important subject.  The following is an article I wrote about hell a couple of months ago.  It was one of the most difficult articles I’ve ever had to write, and I even asked the Lord several times if I really had to go through with it.  I wanted Him to ask someone else to write it and publish it, but I kept getting the impression that I was supposed to write it.  So now I am led to share it, not only as a warning to beware of people who teach that hell does not exist, but as a reminder that we have an important job to do – to warn people that hell exists and to avoid it at all costs. 

When people do not have a healthy reverence, revelation, and fear of God, they will not be afraid of the horrific, doomed, everlasting place of torment called hell.   Today many people are deceived and being deceived because they do not have a revealed knowledge of the Scriptures regarding hell.  In turning to 2 Peter 2, there are many parallels to the world at that time, to the world we live in today.  We are going to go through this important passage to discover just how serious it is to not only know that certain judgement awaits the unrighteous, but what provokes God to judge the world in the first place.  We’ll also look at false prophets, who they are, and what they are about.  

Who are the messengers, masking the truth about hell, and saying that people will not end up there?  They are the false prophets that the Bible warns us about, and today they are in our midst, some of them masquerading as Christians, leading as many astray as they possibly can.  Let’s take a look at 2 Peter 2, to discover more about them.   

2 Pe 2:1  But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.

2Pe 2:2  And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of.

2Pe 2:3  And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not.

2Pe 2:4  For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment;

2Pe 2:5  And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly;

2Pe 2:6  And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrha into ashes condemned them with an overthrow, making them an ensample unto those that after should live ungodly;

2Pe 2:7  And delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked:

2Pe 2:8  (For that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds;)

2Pe 2:9  The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished:

2Pe 2:10  But chiefly them that walk after the flesh in the lust of uncleanness, and despise government. Presumptuous are they, selfwilled, they are not afraid to speak evil of dignities.

2Pe 2:11  Whereas angels, which are greater in power and might, bring not railing accusation against them before the Lord.

2Pe 2:12  But these, as natural brute beasts, made to be taken and destroyed, speak evil of the things that they understand not; and shall utterly perish in their own corruption;

2Pe 2:13  And shall receive the reward of unrighteousness, as they that count it pleasure to riot in the day time. Spots they are and blemishes, sporting themselves with their own deceivings while they feast with you;

2Pe 2:14  Having eyes full of adultery, and that cannot cease from sin; beguiling unstable souls: an heart they have exercised with covetous practices; cursed children:

2Pe 2:15  Which have forsaken the right way, and are gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Bosor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness;

2Pe 2:16  But was rebuked for his iniquity: the dumb ass speaking with man's voice forbad the madness of the prophet.

2Pe 2:17  These are wells without water, clouds that are carried with a tempest; to whom the mist of darkness is reserved for ever.

2Pe 2:18  For when they speak great swelling words of vanity, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through much wantonness, those that were clean escaped from them who live in error.

2Pe 2:19  While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage.

2Pe 2:20  For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning.

2Pe 2:21  For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them.

2Pe 2:22  But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire.  

In 2 Peter 1-3, we have a description of the false prophets.  They bring in heresies (these can be personal opinions, theories, and so on that are not backed up by Scripture – subtle, cunning, and evil), deny the Lord, pernicious (destructive, wicked, harmful), and covetous.  They take the truth and make it sound like it is something evil.  This is evident today as we see in the news media, how Christians are branded “intolerant” for their far “right wing” opinions, and said to be prejudiced towards anyone who is not a Christian.  If the news media and liberal thinkers had actually read the Bible, they would discover that, for a Christian, tolerance (not of sin) and love are the first commandment, and that true Christians are the first to accept and forgive others in spite of their (the unsaved) sin and continued abuse towards believers!   

People think that things are different today than they were when Peter wrote this around 64 A.D.  The world, in its liberal thinking, expects us to tolerate everything, from sex before marriage to same-sex marriage, even though the Bible condemns such behavior and practices.  If God punished the same behavior, or worse, and caused the destruction of the angels, the world with a flood, and the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah (see verses 4-6), we are warned that such disobedience and evil behavior, will promise the same type of judgement.  In fact the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah was given as an example of what will happen when people choose to live an ungodly life.  But many would rather not believe this; rather, they argue that we all sin, and that all sin is the same, and they think, Who are we to judge? However, careful and close study of what prompted God to act so harshly and bring judgement, had to do with “sexual” sin and sexual aberrations and deviations from what God had originally intended, and indeed commanded!  To make up the rules as we go along, because we feel more comfortable is, really, another form of heresy because it denies what Scripture clearly states. 

Also, in verse 10, the unjust and unrighteous are described as walking in the flesh, and giving in to the vilest form of lust and uncleanness.  They despise authority, are presumptuous, and self-willed.  They are fearless and heartless towards those over them, and they have no respect to those whom deserve respect.  In several verses in this passage, notice the surety of the end of the unrighteous:  

2Pe 2:3  And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not. 

This is a promise for false prophets:  They will be quickly judged and their damnation is imminent. 

2Pe 2:9  The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished:  

They may not be judged today, but far worse, they are reserved for the “day of judgement.” 

2Pe 2:12  But these, as natural brute beasts, made to be taken and destroyed, speak evil of the things that they understand not; and shall utterly perish in their own corruption;  

Notice that the Lord will not cause them to perish, but that they will perish because of their own corruption. 

2Pe 2:13  And shall receive the reward of unrighteousness, as they that count it pleasure to riot in the day time. Spots they are and blemishes, sporting themselves with their own deceivings while they feast with you;

2Pe 2:14  Having eyes full of adultery, and that cannot cease from sin; beguiling unstable souls: an heart they have exercised with covetous practices; cursed children:  

What is the reward of the unrighteous?  To perish, without any hope of salvation.  And in verse 14, they are cursed, which means they are already damned. 

In this passage in 2 Peter 2, we can see that people who do not revere or respect others, will not revere or respect God.  In keeping with an evil agenda to do harm, they will invent all kinds of doctrines to avert people from the truth.  They will lead as many people astray as possible so that they will not be confronted with their own sin.  They love their unrighteousness, and will make it a public policy for you to love it too.  They will orchestrate parades and parties to flaunt their lusts and love of sin.  They will not tolerate you if you happen to disagree, but will judge you as intolerant if you challenge them in their sinful practices.  Is it possible that people love their sin so much that they’d rather perish, and go to their chosen end, rather than repent and turn away from their evil ways?  According to 2 Peter 2, this is exactly the kind of people who have no fear of hell.

IMPORTANT NOTE:  Today my husband received an email from Chad Holtz.  If you remember, last year he was fired from Marrow’s Chapel United Methodist church in North Carolina for claiming that there is no hell.  Today, the angels in heaven are REJOICING and so are we!!!  Chad has written a blog called Unchained where he has sincerely, humbly, and honestly repented for his lifestyle and his errant beliefs.  Read his blog to discover the life-changing God we serve. Jesus longs to set us free from our self-imposed prisons of sin, and all things are possible with Him.  Pray for others like Chad, that they experience the transforming power of God in their lives.  Our God is a God of miracles!!

About Driving With The Top Down

     Want to add another novel to your summer reading?  I’d like to recommend one of my own fiction books, Driving With The Top Down, currently available on Amazon.com as an eBook.  Sometimes people wonder where I get ideas for some of my books.  Strangely, this one came almost out of the blue.  It all started one cold winter day while I was sitting in church and something gave me a wonderful and wild idea for a women’s Christian fiction book.  It isn’t your typical romance novel, although there’s some romance included; rather it’s a playful book with a premise that challenges us to think outside the parameters of our comfortable, known world.  Driving with the Top Down is a departure from my usual inspirational non-fiction books.  The idea of female friendship under fire appealed to me and the thought of putting three close friends together in a most unusual setting formed the basis for the story.  The thought of pulling up stakes and living out of a suitcase has always been an appealing and playful idea to me, and so I wanted to explore what might happen if my characters actually had the idea and then carried it out.

     What resulted is that they find themselves involved in a search, not so much for the familiar things of home, but for that very instinctual need for continuity and purpose that we all strive for.  At the outset we discover that the challenge is: Do we find purpose in a traditional home environment, in a place where everybody knows us, or can we find it outside of our familiar comfort zone, or what can easily become a rut?

     Driving with the Top Down offers an interesting paradigm — What would happen if?  Find out what happens when three middle-aged characters take this challenge seriously, set out for the open road, and find “home” in the most unusual places.

     If you get lost on Amazon, just go to my webpage, www.creativefocus.ca

and there’s a link that will take you to my author’s page on Amazon.com.  Here you will find all my eBooks currently available for sale at greatly reduced prices! 

Note:  You don’t have to buy a Kindle to access my books.  Just go here to download a free copy of the Kindle for your pc, Apple, and most other devices.

     If you happen to download Driving With The Top Down, and you read it and enjoy it, please take a moment to post a review on Amazon.com.  Thank you and enjoy your summer reading!

Beware of Ignorance

This morning I was checking the statistics on my blog The Rapture Question, and then decided to skim through the different blogs I had written almost a year ago.  In my blog, Order of Events – Part 3, I recommended a book called The Rapture Question, by John F. Walvoord.  I linked his book to Amazon.com where it is available for purchase.  Just out of interest, I wanted to see what some of the reviews were for this book, so I began reading some of them.  Clearly, the rapture issue is a very controversial one and always has been, namely the argument is Will Jesus return before or after the 7 year tribulation prophesied in the book of Revelation in the Bible?  People were commenting on the reviews that did not like the book (which argues the pre-tribulation belief) and thought it wasn’t scripturally sound, which I also found astounding that they could say this, since it is a book that is difficult to refute.  And the people that didn’t like the book could not and were not pointing out Scripture “in proper context” to soundly refute why Walvoord’s book is not accurate.  For one thing, many people believe that in Matthew 24 Jesus is referring to Gentiles and Jews.  But here, learned Jew and Gentile scholars of today BOTH believe that Jesus is speaking to the Jews only.  And the time He is referring to follows the rapture and is leading up to His Second Return when He delivers His own people (the Jewish nation) in the Battle of Armageddon.  In Matthew 24, therefore, He is warning them and showing them the signs to look for before His return. 

For me, the rapture issue is extremely important because it clearly indicates the nature and relationship of Christ to His beloved Church, which includes every redeemed born-again believer in Christ.  To miss this and fail to understand this loving relationship is to fail to understand the very heart and nature of God.  In fact, any time someone takes Scripture and either misinterprets it or takes it out of context (the very basis for ALL false cults), I question the source of their information, and whether they have discerned that the Scripture they are arguing is truly consistent with who God says He is.  For a few years before I really began walking closely with the Lord, I was open to being deceived.  I had Scripture all wrong because my idea of God was all wrong.  It wasn’t until the Lord revealed Himself to me that Scripture began to come alive for me.  And this is how God reveals His true nature – by revelation of His Word. 

In trying to understand Scripture, we must be careful to prayerfully ask the Holy Spirit to reveal His truth to us.  In Jesus time, people were confused wondering who Jesus was.  Clearly, it had not been revealed to them that He was the Son of God.    

Mat 16:13  When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do people say the Son of Man is?"

Mat 16:14  They replied, "Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets."

Mat 16:15  "But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?"

Mat 16:16  Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."

Mat 16:17  Jesus replied, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven.  NIV 

And if we take a look at John, we have the testimony of one that had seen Jesus and had known Him to be the Savior of the world. 

1Jn 4:14  And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world.

1Jn 4:15  If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him and he in God.

1Jn 4:16  And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him.

1Jn 4:17  In this way, love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment, because in this world we are like him.  NIV 

Notice what the distinguishing mark of a true believer in Christ is in verse 15 and 16: 

  If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him and he in God.  And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him.     

Many doctrines out there today do not reflect the love of God for His people or His Church and we need to be careful how we interpret Scripture.  If we love God and He has revealed His love for us, then we have been given a great gift.  For there is no greater revelation than to receive such a priceless gift especially when we could never deserve it.  From this knowledge, we should be able to easily discern Scripture whether our interpretation is accurate, and has been revealed to us by God, or another source, ever so subtle, that will not reflect His true character.

Fear or Faith?

     The following is an excerpt from my book, Pathways to Devotion I.

     For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.  2 Timothy 1:7 KJV 

     I believe one of the greatest problems affecting people today stems from a small four-letter word called “fear.”  Yet, what great distress it can bring us and at times can even dictate the kind of decisions we make.  I am not talking about the healthy kind of fear that preserves your life (like driving carefully and cautiously on slippery roads!).  I am talking about fears that are based on unreal and often imagined disasters.  For instance, if you are afraid of heights, you may feel paralyzed at the thought of flying, so try to avoid it as much as possible.  Some people may have anxiety about leaving their house (agoraphobia); others are afraid of enclosed or tight spaces (claustrophobia).

     Some people try many things to try to overcome their fears, like talking to a counselor or reading books about how to overcome it.  Still others try to face their fears by taking greater risks or facing the thing they fear the most (like flying even though they are afraid of heights or enclosed places).  The problem with trying to cure fear though, is that even though you may overcome one fear, you may find you have other fears to overcome that are just as daunting as the one you overcame.

     My own fears have been many and frequent (like fear of flying and public speaking), but I have usually forged ahead in spite of them.  A couple of years ago, however, I found myself entertaining so many fears that it began to affect my life in a debilitating way.  After doing much research, I discovered that of all the books and articles written about fear, the Bible is one of the best and most reliable resources.  For instance, I learned that fear is not from God, but rather from an unwelcome spiritual source that is demonic.

     If you really think about it, people who live in a constant state of fear and anxiety do not and cannot have a sound mind.  It is not until a person experiences the “peace and love of God” that they can know true serenity.  “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear; because fear hath torment” (I John 4:18).  God loves you and I with a perfect love even though we ourselves are far from perfect.  This in itself is a tremendously comforting thought.  Like a mother or a father wants to protect their child, so does God want to protect us.

     This love that God has for us has been proved to me time and time again.  I have learned that all I have to do when faced with fear is remember that I don’t HAVE TO give in to it.  I can choose to believe that God will help me and protect me because of His great love and care.  I know He will do the same for you! 

Application:  Read: Psalm 91; I John 4:4,7-18

Pray: against every thought contrary to peace; for a mind that’s filled with faith thoughts & the courage & willingness to obey God’s Word.

Reflect: Meditate on Philippians 4:6-8. What do these verses mean to you? Be specific: make a list.

Taken from Pathways to Devotion I. Copyright 2006 by Linda McBurney-Gunhouse.  Published by Creative Focus Publishing.  All Rights Reserved.

When we Are Weak

Since it is winter, I read that we are apparently entering into flu season and there are many viral-based illnesses going around.  I believe I’ve been hit with something, not quite the flu, but feels like it – throbbing headache, achy, weak and so on.  It hasn’t been fun and I’ve had to stay inside and curtail all my plans for now.  I know there are many others with colds and trying to get over annoying coughs and so on.  It’s not a very fun time. 

Prior to getting sick, I managed to write a complete short book in about four days.  I had just started getting it into publishing mode when I started coming down with the sickness.  In addition to writing, since the weather had been nice, I had been out every single day making sure I got in a walk and the fresh air that is so refreshing in January when it’s not so freezing out there.  I was also feeling a great deal of stress trying to recuperate after a very busy three weeks of celebrating Christmas.  I am sure I’ve been slack in getting to bed early enough since there’s always so much to do.  I really wasn’t functioning as well as I should.  Then finally I came down with the sickness. 

But while I’ve been at home feeling weak and at times discouraged, the Lord has reminded me of some verses that a friend shared with me years ago when I had so many problems I could hardly stand up: 

2 Cor. 12:9  And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

2 Cor. 12:10  Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.  KJV

What does this mean?  For me, although I’ve prayed and others have prayed for me to be healed, it is taking time to run its course.  During this time I am reminded that even though I may not be healed right away, the Lord’s presence feels even nearer to me in my weak state than when I am strong, busy and self-determined.  When I am well, somehow I miss out on discovering that Jesus is a friend who sticks closer than a brother; He is there especially in my weakness, and He takes pity on me when I am too sick to help myself get better.  I become humbled by the knowledge that He doesn’t have to care for me and about me as much as He does, and He doesn’t have to be here with me around the clock.  It also makes me appreciate Him and all the good health He normally blesses me with, not to mention the blessings of family and friends and so many other things. 

If you are feeling unwell today, please take heart. It can be the most endearing time to reach out to the Great Physician and become acquainted with His ways.  He understands our sickness and sorrow because He’s also gone through all that we’ve been through and are currently going through.  He can and will heal, and in the meantime, He will be there for you as He is for me, to strengthen all that is weak and to draw us closer to Himself.