Category: General Christian Living

The Unexpected Lives Of Ruth
By Messianic Rabbi Jonathan Cahn

The Book of Ruth starts out one way and ends up much differently.  Naomi – expected to stay in Israel her whole life, see her sons marry Israelites, and give her grandchildren.  Ruth – probably expected to remain in Moab, marry a Moabite, and live and die that way.  Boaz – undoubtedly expected to marry an Israelite, but then he got older and probably thought he wouldn’t marry at all.  Then Naomi moves to Moab, her sons marry Moabites, and her husband and sons die.  Ruth marries a foreigner who dies.  Then Ruth returns with Naomi to Israel where Boaz is now an older man, expecting never to marry.  But the old bachelor marries, Ruth becomes an Israelite, and the bereaving Naomi is comforted and rejoices.  Nobody’s life went as planned.  So, too, if you follow God, your life may not go according to your plans.  But God’s plans are better.  He never promises a perfect picket fence life.  He promises a redeemed life.  It will turn out better than your plans for a “perfect life.”  Go God’s way for His way is better, and His life is better than what you planned.

Today’s Mission:  Today, choose to walk in God’s plan for you life and not your own.

For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my (God’s) ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.
Isaiah 55:9

God bless,

Mark

For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
Romans 3:23

In the garden when Adam and Eve fell, sin entered the world and they died, spiritually…

God absolutely does not want to leave us in our sins because He loves us and because the wages (payment, what one earns) of sin is death.  He sent Jesus to rescue us from our sinful ways the devil is using to steal, kill and destroy us.

The thief (the devil) cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy:  I (Jesus) am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.
John 10:10

Does God desire to modify (change, conform) our behavior?  Yes, definitely.  The devil greatly modified our behavior (the result was our sin nature) through the fall in the garden.  He wanted (and still does) to destroy us.  Through Jesus’ death and resurrection, God made it possible for mankind to reverse the impact of the fall.  God wants to restore us (See Romans 12:2) to the relationship He had with us in the garden.  God tells us to renew our minds (modify, if you will) to His ways in order that we might no longer be conformed to this world’s destructive behavior (our fallen ways).

And ye shall know the truth (God’s ways as discovered in the Bible), and the truth shall make you free.
John 8:32

And be not conformed to this world:  but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
Romans 12:2

I can honestly tell you, dear friend, that as I cooperate with God’s work in my life, as I learn to yield to His lead, His truth is modifying me and it’s the most wonderful experience I’ve ever known.

God bless,

Mark

But godliness with contentment is great gain.
1 Timothy 6:6

This precious piece of scripture can really slow and calm me down, and make me rest in God’s love, care and provision.

Happy Monday, everyone.

God bless,

Mark

It takes the mighty hand of God to soften our dry, hard clay, to change us, to set us free, indeed.  Nothing less can do it.

Rejoice in the Lord always:  and again I say, Rejoice.
Philippians 4:4

But without faith it is impossible to please him:  for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
Hebrews 11:6

Submit yourselves therefore to God.  Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.  Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you.  Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.
James 4:7-8

Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.  In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.
Proverbs 3:5-6

Be not afraid of sudden fear, neither of the desolation of the wicked, when it cometh.  For the Lord shall be thy confidence, and shall keep thy foot from being taken.
Proverbs 3:25-26

Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;
Ephesians 5:20

Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:
Philippians 1:6

Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.  And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:6-7

And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
Romans 12:2

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.  He maketh me to lie down in green pastures:  he leadeth me beside the still waters.  He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.  Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil:  for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.  Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies:  thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.  Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.  Psalm 23

These precious scriptures (and so many more) were beginning to have an impact in my life and it was such a relief, so reviving, and SO refreshing.

I’m finding that the reward for following Christ is to have victory over my flesh and this world.  It’s worth everything.  Trading me and this world in for Christ’s mighty hand is SO wonderful and life-changing.

I hope the following is clear enough to encourage you to keep following Christ.

The fear of man, the devil, and pride were keeping me from the freedom Christ had for me.

Finally, I came to the place (really, God allowed me to come to the end of my rope which is always a good thing) in my life where I was ready to apply God’s Word to my everyday situations and circumstances – nothing else I was doing was working.  I was finally ready to humble myself under the mighty hand of God – Before that, I was pretty much on my own as far as handling life went.  The clay (me) was ready for the Potter’s hand.

Most of the time, we react to life from the way we were raised, the flesh, and the world’s ways.  God was wanting to show me that I could react to life differently by applying the Word to every situation I encountered.  Little by little, I began to experience God’s mercy, grace, strength, peace and freedom in my spirit and my willingness to follow His Word began to change me on the inside – This change was His reward for my efforts to choose Him every day.  I was truly finding that Jesus is the way, the truth and the life.

This is why humbling ourselves under the mighty hand of God is so important – Doing so changes us inside in our spirits.  We begin to respond to this world with faith and trust in God and really believe that He’s in control while working for our good.  It’s such a relief to get to this point.  It can be a battle to continue growing in God, but the effort is so worth the liberty He gives us as we remain faithful to apply His Word to life.

Humble yourselves under the mighty (The Name that is ABOVE) hand of God?  You betcha.  Search as we may, there’s no other way to be set free in life, and no other way to enter His rest.  Really!

God bless,

Mark

I didn’t know I was operating in my own strength.  I certainly didn’t realize that I was full of pride or that I was operating “under my own hand.”

Some years ago, basically, God said to me, “Son, do you want to continue down this road you’re on and go crazy?  Or would you like Me to teach you how to cast all your cares on Me?  Are you willing to humble yourself in order to learn to apply My Word to your life and to discover that I (God) can take care of you by showing you how to enter My rest?”  I was so worn out at that point that I said, “Yes, Lord.  Do whatever it takes.”

And, I feel like I’m only beginning to understand the “rest” I can have under the mighty hand of God.

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.
1 Peter 5:6-7

6 But he giveth more grace.  Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.
James 4:6

28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart:  and ye shall find rest unto your souls.  30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
Matthew 11:28-30

God bless,

Mark

17 Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, and let not your heart be glad when he stumbles, 18 lest the Lord see it and be displeased, and turn away his anger from him.
Proverbs 24:17-18

I read this verse the other day and it really hit me.  It’s so natural to be happy when an adversary “gets what they have coming to them.”  God doesn’t want us to have that kind of attitude and it keeps our hearts in His peace to obey His command in Proverbs 24.  I’m continually amazed by how much God covers my emotions and how He keeps developing His love in my life.  His ways really can bless our lives if we’re willing to follow His lead by doing His Word.

God bless,

Mark

When this happened the other day, I knew the Lord wanted me to share it with you…

The other day, with a smile on their face, someone dear to me told me, “Have a nice day.”  They’d gone out of their way to say this to me.  Immediately, the Holy Spirit prompted me to tell them, “I love you” and gave them the “thumbs-up” gesture.  I love those kinds of moments when the Holy Spirit leads me to encourage someone, to lift them up, to let them know I’m with them, that I’ll always love them and be available to them, and to encourage them in the Lord.

Love someone dear to you today.  Affirm them with your love and with the love of God.  God will never leave us nor forsake us and we all need to be told that and know that through the love we have for each other.

Happy Monday!

 

 

 

 

 

God bless,

Mark

Heaviness comes to us in many forms.  Feeling down and dealing with a heavy spirit?  Boy, it seems that so many people have heavy spirits today.  I was being influenced by one when the Lord reminded me that He already sees me in Heaven with all tears wiped away.  I love it when He speaks to me this way.  It’s so easy to take thoughts that begin to weigh us down in our souls – especially when I’m on antibiotics.  Want to be set free in Jesus?  Read chapters 60 and 61 in the Old Testament Bible book of Isaiah.  It will really pick you up and give you Jesus’ garment of praise.

In Jesus, we’ve won.  Like He reminded me, keep acting like it. ☺

To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified.
Isaiah 61:3

God bless,

Mark

Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.
1 Corinthians 10:31

Just talked with my wonderful wife again about taking thoughts captive to the obedience of Christ.  I love this topic because it’s vital to our Christianity and victory in Christ.  My wife mentioned that, lately, she’s been asking herself if each of her thoughts are building her faith and glorifying God.  If she has a thought that doesn’t seem to be glorifying God, like thinking negatively about something or someone, sensing that a thought is putting a dent in her faith, she changes her thoughts and moves onto something that brings glory to God like encouraging someone, etc.  At times, and often before we know it, what we’re thinking can start to have a negative impact on us and our day.  So many of our thoughts can weigh us down, spiritually, and one way to become aware of this behavior is to ask God to help you test thoughts.  He’ll be faithful to help us in this arena.

Such a wonderful Heavenly Father we have as Christians, as new creations by being born again in the Spirit.  He’s always teaching us to have His thoughts of edification, encouragement, faith, hope, love, mercy, grace, rest and peace.

Therefore encourage one another and build up one another, just as you also are doing.
1 Thessalonians 5:11

that is, that I may be encouraged together with you while among you, each of us by the other’s faith, both yours and mine.
Romans 1:12

God bless,

Mark

Judging or Loving?

Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.  See if there is any offensive (wicked, harmful) way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.
Psalm 139:23-24

“Is there anything in my life that You want to change, Lord?  Like David, in the verse above, please search my heart…”

The devil wants us to stay bound by sin.  He’ll plant every excuse in the world in our minds to keep us from obtaining Jesus, to keep us from Jesus’ liberty, love, grace, peace and rest in our souls.

I was thinking that Mary was probably like Martha before she came to Jesus.  I believe this is true because Mary wept at Jesus’ feet when she had her initial encounter with the Lord.  Sometimes, repentance (a desire to leave the life we’re living in exchange for God’s ways of living) includes tears of release from a sinful lifestyle that had us bound and miserable.

So many today are using words like “judging and judgemental” about having something pointed out in their life that the Holy Spirit, a friend of family member shares that may be harming them.  In the Bible, many such situations were merely times when Christians, out of love for each other, were ministering to each other (especially Jesus and the Apostle Paul in the Bible’s New Testament) and being accountable to each other, being their brother’s keeper, and helping each other grow in the liberty, grace, love and mercy of the Lord.

I was raised to think like Martha in the Bible story in the book of Luke.  I was a lot like Martha – I think I was worse. I was worried and upset about many things and didn’t realize that Jesus could change me – In fact, I didn’t think I needed to change.  Like my parents, and many other Christians I knew, I thought I’d been seeking Jesus, but He knew I wasn’t really seeking Him to the degree that I needed to in order to come away from all my worry and being upset about many things so much of the time.

Jesus tried to help Martha see something (Him and the beautiful life she could have in Him) that would help her in her life.  He took the opportunity to minister some important truth to her that He knew would help her.  He said to Martha, “You are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed.  Mary has chosen (she chose Jesus instead of the life she’d been living before) what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”  Luke 10:38-42 NIV

Maybe like me, the Lord has spoken similar words to you in order to spare you from some harmful behaviors in order to bring you closer to Him, to His green pastures and still waters, to restoration of soul.

Jesus was pointing out a life-important truth to Martha and, like each of us, Martha had a choice to make.  Like many today, she could have gotten offended, thought in her heart that Jesus was too judgemental and said, “Don’t judge me,” and stayed the way she was.

Or, she could have refused to be offended, stopped what she was doing and thought, “You’re right, Lord,” received Jesus’ words and recognized the Holy Spirit’s love for her as He drew her closer to God’s true will for her life which was to spend time with Jesus so she could be set free from the “worried and upset” condition in her life.

Today, if the Lord helps you see something He wants to change in you, be open to the Holy Spirit.  Instead of refusing His helping, loving, healing touch in your life, ask Him to show and help you become free in Jesus.

I’m still being healed of worry and being upset about many things, but I’m so thankful that when Jesus saw my need that He called me like He did with Mary.  I’m so grateful that what He’s given me (New life in Him) “will never be taken away from me.”

God bless,

Mark

I’ve lived in the miry clay of unrest when I couldn’t find the peace of God.  It’s a horrible, tormenting dwelling place that I wish on no one.

The other day, I caught myself losing Jesus’ peace about something – Having severe PTSD and anxiety for so many decades, Jesus helped me to get to the place where I test thoughts and take them captive to His obedience, to my Prince of Peace.  When I took the time to listen to Jesus about the matter, the Holy Spirit showed me He wasn’t the one who was stealing my peace.

Jesus does not lead us away from His abiding peace.  The devil is the one who will do everything he can to steal the peace Jesus has for us.  Jesus says our peace is not circumstantial – Be of good cheer, I (Jesus) have overcome the world (John 16:33).  The devil tries hard to have us think otherwise.  Even regarding the end times we’re living in, Jesus says to look up when we see end times events occurring.  The devil would have us be consumed by worrying about end times events.

Stay close to Jesus in the dwelling place of peace found only in The Prince of Peace.

*******

Is it Worth It?
By Joyce Meyer

Therefore love truth and peace
Zechariah 8:19 NLT

It is God’s sincere desire for you to live a life full of peace.  The closer you get to the Lord – the more you depend on Him – the more peace you will have.

No position or possession is worthwhile if you don’t have peace.  Money, status, popularity – it’s all meaningless if you don’t have peace.  You simply cannot put a price on the value of peace (So true for me – Mark).

Many people spend their lives trying to climb the ladder of success, but every time they go up one more rung, they lose more of their peace, joy, and time to spend with their family.  Their whole life is consumed with the pressure and stress of trying to keep what they’ve gained.  But we are never truly successful unless we have peace.

Some even work several jobs to acquire what the world dangles in front of them, saying, “You must have this to be truly happy.”  They get those “things,” but they still don’t have any peace.

Romans 14:17 tells us, “The kingdom of God is not meat and drink” – it is not things that money or status can secure – but it is “righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost” (KJV).  The kingdom of God is found in knowing who we are in Christ and having “the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding” (Philippians 4:7NKJV).

God wants you to have your needs met abundantly and be in a position to bless others.  Never doubt that God wants to bless you, but don’t seek to have anything if you cannot have it peacefully.

*******

Remember to always test the spirit behind thoughts.  If a thought has you losing your peace, get back to Jesus and rest in His care for you.

God bless,

Mark

This was such good word this morning that knew I needed to pass it onto you.  It’s taken from Joyce Meyer’s daily devotional titled, “Closer To God Each Day.”  I hope it’s a blessing for you like it was for us.

*******

For who has known the mind of the Lord and who has understood His thoughts, or who has (ever) been His counselor?  Romans 11:34

Life would be so much easier if we would live in the realization that God is smarter than we are.  No matter what you or I may think, God’s way is always better than our way.

We are often tempted to think we know what is best, and then we throw all our energy into bringing it to pass.  We experience a lot of disappointment, which hinders joy and enjoyment, due to deciding for ourselves that something has to be done a certain way or by a certain time.  When we want something very strongly, we often try to convince God why it is important and why He should bring our will to pass, instead of simply trusting He knows what is best for our life.

As Romans 11:34 reminds us, God has no need of a counselor to tell Him what He should do for us.  His will is perfect, and He has good plans for us to become all that He intends us to be.  The prophet Jeremiah says, “For I know the thoughts and plans that I have for you, says the Lord, thoughts and plans for welfare and peace and not for evil, to give you hope in your final outcome” (Jeremiah 29:11).

When you face puzzling situations, I encourage you to pray, “Well, Lord, this may not make sense to me right now, but I trust You.  I believe You love me, You are with me, and You are doing what is best for me.”

God does not need your counsel in order to work; He just needs your faith.

*******

God bless,

Mark

I’m on medicine and haven’t had much sleep lately, so I hope I can convey what I feel so excited about this morning.  God is so good, all the time.  I just love looking for His favor no matter how the day or week starts out just as I stated in Monday’s email.  God will always come through for us if we’ll continue to walk with Him. ☺

*******

And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.
John 1:14

In John 1:14 above, God told us that Jesus is the Word.  When I read the Bible, I’m reading about Christ and all He’s made available for me as His child.

4 (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) 5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;
2 Corinthians 10:4-5

Wow, my fantastic wife’s been having the Holy Spirit speak to her lately about “to the obedience of Christ.”  She told me Jesus wants us to take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ to protect our lives.

I know that the only time I (Mark) get in trouble in my own thought life is when I don’t take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.  For example, if I don’t forgive someone when I think they’ve wronged me, I’m not taking the unforgiving thought captive to the obedience of Christ which tells me to forgive everyone all the time – doing so keeps me from having a root of bitterness planted in my spirit.  Jesus tells me to live a forgiving life for good reasons.

Another example is if I’m being careful about something instead of casting that “care” on Christ.  I start to take on care instead of being obedient to Christ.  And this kind of lesson covers all of life as outlined in the Bible.  This is why it’s so important to study and know the Word of God, the Bible.  If we don’t know the Word, we don’t know that we can take certain thoughts captive to the obedience of Christ, and, instead, we live in bondage to those thoughts instead of living free from them to/in the obedience of Christ.  Boy, this is so powerful.

In His love for us, God gave us this precious scripture to liberate us from sin’s (doing things our way instead of God’s way) grip on our lives – and the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23).  He gave us these verses so we could live His way which leads to life instead of living our way which leads to such bondage and death in so many areas of life.

Husbands, love your wives (Ephesians 5:25) is another way I can be obedient to Christ.  When I’m loving my wife, our marriage and lives thrive.

There are so many of these types of scriptures in the Word of God.  When we discover them – like “be careful for nothing” – we can choose to live in “to the obedience of Christ” and live in the liberty only Jesus can give us.

This is so wonderful.  Christ has set us free from the consequences of sin by showing us how to be obedient by taking thoughts captive to His truths as spelled out in the pages of the Bible.

God bless you, precious people of God.

Mark

I’m sick and will hopefully see a doctor today. ☺

Keep praising and thanking God in all things.  Doing so can really keep the devil’s lies from impacting you.

God bless,

Mark

Happy Monday, Everyone!

I’m sick, but that’s okay.  Whenever the day or week begins with the unexpected, the Holy Spirit is so faithful to encourage me by reminding me that He’s with me, and watching over me.  He tells me to watch for His loving favor.

Wait for, look for and anticipate God’s favor in all you do this week.  Remember, His mercies are new every morning.

God bless,

Mark

Nothing in life means as much to me as wonderful Jesus.  It wasn’t always this way.  I’m losing interest in anything outside of Christ, and it’s healing me deep inside.  It’s bringing His abiding Presence into all areas of my being.

There’s so much unrest in our lives and the world today.  So many are burned out, used up and at the end of their rope.  How can this be turned around?

Be still and know that I am God – Psalm 46:10. Such a powerful, life-changing piece of scripture.  If we let it, it will change our life, who we are and make us strong in the Lord.

I know we all have things we must do and want to do.  But, many are too busy today and it’s taking a toll on their lives and walk with the Lord.

For decades, I was so conformed to this world and its ways of living and behaving.  I wanted to do it all and see it all.  I wanted to have the full life experience, or at least what I thought was “life.”  I got upset when things didn’t go my way and was living with a “double-minded” mindset that made me inconsistent, unpredictable and unstable (James 1:8) – I had faith sometimes and fear, doubt and worry at other times.  I didn’t know the wonderful, beautiful, life-changing “stillness” of The Prince of Peace.

I want to encourage you today by telling you to let God have His way with you, with your life.  Let Him remove anything in your life that’s hindering your growth in Him.  Let Him develop the marvelous fruit of the Spirit in you (See Galatians 5:19-25).  Give Him the opportunity to show you how to let the peace of God reign in your heart regardless of circumstances.  Let Him remove busyness from you.  Be like Jesus.  He came to show us how to live His way by coming away from the world – in our minds, emotions and souls – to be transformed into His loving, beautiful, peaceful likeness.  All throughout our lives, and all throughout history, He’s what/Who we need.

One thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to inquire in his temple.
Psalm 27:4

Be still…And know, really know in your deepest parts, that He is God.

“Oh, dear, precious Prince of Peace, remove anything from my life that stands in the way of You reigning in my life.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

God bless,

Mark

Always remember, the devil is a liar and the father of lies.  (See John 8:44)

For we wrestle (fight) not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
Ephesians 6:12

6 And David was greatly distressed; for the people spake of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and for his daughters:  but David encouraged himself in the Lord his God.

7 And David said to Abiathar the priest, Ahimelech’s son, I pray thee, bring me hither the ephod.  And Abiathar brought thither the ephod to David.

8 And David enquired at the Lord, saying, Shall I pursue after this troop?  shall I overtake them?  And he answered him, Pursue:  for thou shalt surely overtake them, and without fail recover all.
1 Samuel 30:6-8

“Don’t take 15 cents worth of nothing off the devil!”

Test the spirit behind every thought.  Is it of God – uplifting?  Or is it of the devil – defeating?

When I received Beth’s prayer request this morning, I knew what I needed to share with you today.

When I get pushed into a corner of fear, discouragement, doubt or despair, feel confused and like I’m losing hope, the Holy Spirit reminds me to get out my sword.  I almost always turn to Psalm 91 first, but I’ll often read other Psalms and Bible passages out loud as well – or I’ll sing a powerful Christian song over and over to encourage myself in the Lord like David did in the Bible story.

God’s given us His Word to use as the sword of the Spirit that it is to swing around to scare off the devil.  The spiritual realm, that is more real that what we can see here on earth, understands and reacts to the Word of God, precious people.  If you’re getting spiritually attacked, please, get out your Bible and attack the enemy with its truth.  Say the Word out loud until you notice a breakthrough in your spirit.  It really works and we need to learn to use the precious, all-powerful sword of the Spirit God’s given us to chase off the devil’s lies.

This is Who (Yeshua, Jesus) confronts the devil when we use our sword, the Bible:

 

 

 

 

Behold, I (Jesus) give unto you power to tread on serpents (discouragement, fear, anger) and scorpions (doubt, confusion, dismay, hopelessness), and over all the power of the enemy:  and nothing shall by any means hurt you.
Luke 10:19

 

 

 

 

 

We have no idea how many mighty, all-powerful, Heavenly resources are dispensed to our aid when we call on Heaven to stop the devil’s attempts to take us down.  You and I are no different than David in the Bible.  We must confront the enemy of our souls just like he did by turning to God to encourage himself in the Lord.  Encourage yourself in the Lord!  Charge!

Onward and upward, fellow Christians!

God bless,

Mark

But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.
James 1:22

Wow, that verse sounds a lot like how I could be.  I was conformed to the world, I was not a “doer” of the Word, and I was deceived and very unhappy.

As I’ve said in previous emails, I was living so differently from the precious lyrics in the following song.  My circumstances had me living with sorrow and mourning.  It seemed like God was totally against me.  I may have been “saved” from hell fire, but my mind and emotions were far from being renewed.

Therefore the redeemed of the Lord
By Ruth Lake

Therefore the redeemed of the Lord shall return
And come with singing unto Zion;
And everlasting joy shall be upon their head.

Therefore the redeemed of the Lord shall return,
And come with singing unto Zion;
And everlasting joy shall be upon their head.

They shall obtain gladness and joy;
And sorrow and mourning shall flee away.

As the Lord helped me grow in Him (He’ll grow us in Him until we go to be with Him), little by little, He began to turn my sorrow and mourning into gladness and joy.  I was stubborn and reluctant to change my attitudes until I saw a change in my circumstances – never good.

Even though my circumstances weren’t necessarily improving, Jesus was changing my reaction to my situation and circumstances.  Even though I’d been redeemed from an eternity spent in hell by asking Jesus into my heart, I still had to let Him help me renew my mind to His Word.  Without that happening, I was doomed to living a defeated Christian life – and Satan knew it.

Learning to thank and praise God in all things, taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ, and believing that He was really able to work all things together for my good were key tools to renewing my mind.

Everlasting joy and getting rid of sorrow and mourning would not become realities in my life without learning to “do” these three things.  That’s why I always encourage others to ask the Lord to show them how to renew their minds.

Praise Him in all things, take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ and believe that He’s working all things together for your good.  It will change you and you’ll be redeemed from more than spending eternity separate from God in hell, you’ll obtain His gladness and joy, now, in this life.

Say “no” to the devil and get on the road to renewing your mind.  Believe me, the longer you put off following God’s command to “do” these three things, the longer you prolong misery.

And be not conformed to this world:  but (the great escape from this world and its ways) be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
Romans 12:2

Therefore the redeemed of the Lord shall return, and come with singing unto Zion; and everlasting joy shall be upon their head:  they shall obtain gladness and joy; and sorrow and mourning shall flee away.
Isaiah 51:11

God bless,

Mark

I once heard another Christian say that what God wants anyone to do with their life will be simple and fit who they are.  That comment’s really helped me over the years.

Early in our marriage, God made it really obvious that He wanted me to spend my life loving my wife.  He wanted me to concentrate and focus on her.  I find the greatest joy living with and loving my Annie.

Sometimes I think I should be doing more for God, but He always brings me back to simply loving my cute little wife.  That makes me glad, it’s simple and really does fit with who God’s made me.

Don’t make your Christianity too complex or difficult.  Keep it simple as you grow in Jesus.

 

 

 

 

 

God bless,

Mark

And let the peace of God rule in your hearts,
Colossians 3:15a

Priorities
Taken from the Closer To God Each Day Devotional by Joyce Meyer

Depart from evil and do good; seek, inquire for, and crave peace and pursue (go after) it!
Psalm 34:14

Being at peace should always be a priority in our lives.  In Psalm 34:14, David instructs us to pursue peace, to crave and go after it.  That’s how important peace is.

Frustration and stress are natural enemies of peace.  Many times, to combat these peace destroyers, it is necessary for us to reorganize our priorities and let go of things that are not bearing fruit.

If you want to live in the peace of God, make the choice not to exceed your limits.  While many of the things in your life are important, are they all absolutely necessary?  Think about it for a moment.  Start looking at your life, figure out the commitments that are not bearing any fruit, and start pruning those things back.  You are the one who sets your schedule, and you are the only one who can change it.

It is so important not to overcommit yourself.  Ask God for wisdom and follow His leading as to what you are to be involved in and where you are to use your energy.  When you do, you will find that time with Him is always the priority – everything else is secondary.  When you make God your number one priority, and when you seek His direction for how to spend your time and energy after that, you’ll be amazed at the peace that will come into your life.

You can rest in the assurance that God is with you in all that you face.  He doesn’t just give you peace – He is your peace.

God bless,

Mark