Refuse to worry and be troubled

Jesus was and is always in perfect control. And one of the reasons He was so powerful was that He walked in the Shalom (peace) of God. The word "peace" in John 14:27 is the word “Shalom “in Hebrew. It means wellness, wholeness, completeness, as well as peace of heart and mind. So having Shalom means having every part of you - spirit, soul and body-well.

So when Jesus said, "Shalom I leave with you. Not the world's shalom, but My shalom"? This is what He meant:"The shalom you saw Me living in; the shalom you saw Me sleep in, in that boat; the shalom you saw Me walk in, in the midst of the  people who wanted to stone Me; the shalom that renders the devil powerless to touch Me; this shalom, My shalom, I   give to you."

This is the peace that Jesus has given to you. It is not a worldly peace that comes through soothing music, meditation or deep breathing. It is more robust than that! It is not dependent on circumstances and it works in the midst of the storms of life.

So if Jesus has given you this peace, why are you still so troubled and worried about anything?"

It’s because you have allowed your heart to be troubled. Notice that immediately after Jesus said, “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you... He said, "Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid." You have to let not your heart be troubled or afraid. The Lord cannot "let not" for you. Your Pastor cannot "let not" for you. Other humans cannot "let not “for you. You have to "let not" yourself!

Many people are guarding their finances, careers and so on. But the Lord does not want you to guard those things. Instead, He wants you to guard your heart:

Proverbs 4:23, Above all else, guard your heart, for It Is the wellspring of life.

You are to guard your heart above all else. If you will guard that which is inside God will guard all the other things on the outside. If you will let not your heart be troubled or afraid, righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit will start flowing in your heart. That is actually seeking first the kingdom of God, and all those things on the outside that you need will be added to you! (Matthew 6:33)

Make this Truth that The Holy Spirit has given you, Empower You. You don't have to worry about things. You just have to guard your heart. People make foolish decisions when their hearts are troubled. They do things that they would otherwise not do. So guard your heart. For if you will guard your heart from being troubled or afraid, then if it is a miracle you need, a miracle you will get! Whenever trouble comes to your heart or you feel fearful, say, John 14:27 "I will let not my heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid." And you will release the power for the fulfillment of this Truth. The peace of God will start flowing in your heart.

You have areas of weaknesses and strengths. What troubles others may not trouble you and vice versa. The devil knows which buttons to push for each one.

Noticed that the devil cannot get you in the areas of your life that you are not concerned about? The areas that you are not troubled about are the areas where you see Gods grace at its best, where his blessings are at their richest. So realize that there are areas that you have no troubled where God's grace flows freely.

Don’t think that any of your problems are too small for God to handle. "Almost like your too embarrassed to tell God what troubles you. Listen, if it causes your Heart to be troubled, it is not a small thing! God wants you to cast it to Him. He does not want your heart troubled by anything, big or small. And if you will cast it to Him and let not your heart be troubled, His grace will flow freely in that area of your life.

Notice that just before Jesus talks about giving His disciples His peace, He talks about the Holy Spirit's guidance: John 14:26-27 it’s about the Helper, The Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.  27Peace I leave with you•••

Jesus is telling you that the Holy Spirit teaches you all things on the way of peace. In other words, if you guard your heart from being troubled by a problem, if you refuse to worry about it and just abide in His peace, the Holy Spirit will "teach you all things". He will show you the way out of any situation!

When you see His grace, He sees your faith.

If you want God's promises to be sure in your life, you cannot depend on you. If you depend on you -your obedience, goodness, service and even faith, you will not be able to receive God's promises. But when you depend on God's grace -His unmerited, unearned, undeserved favor toward you that is when His promises become sure in your life.

This was true of the woman with the issue of blood. (Matthew 9:20-22) She didn't go around saying, "I must have faith ... I   hope that I have enough faith ... I   will have faith ... I   will not lose faith." No, she was only conscious of the grace of Jesus -how He always healed the sick, how powerful He was in raising the dead and how He was to use that power for her healing.

She just saw His grace abounding toward her, so much so that she said, "If only I   may touch His garment, I shall be made well." And when she came behind Jesus and touched the very hem of His garment, she was healed. At the same moment, Jesus stopped, turned around and said to her, "Be of good cheer, daughter; your faith has made you well."

When the woman saw His grace, God saw her faith! It was not for her to see her faith by doing something about her faith. It was for God to see her faith. And so it was by grace, through faith, that God's promises became sure in her life.

God wants you to see His grace. God says, "For by grace are you saved through faith." (Ephesians 2:8) The Greek word for saved, means to save from hell, but also to heal, preserve and make whole. So it is by grace that you are made whole, kept healthy, preserved and prosperous. It is by grace through faith that God's promises become sure in your life! When you see His grace, He sees your faith.

The way to enjoy your relationship with Christ.

Jesus said to him, "He who has bathed does not need to wash, except for his feet, but he is clean all over;" (John 13:10)
And in those words The Holy Spirit gives you a beautiful explanation of the process of salvation. It begins with a bath. That initial coming to Christ, in which you take the place of bankruptcy before him, coming without any trace of your own righteousness to offer, and allowing Jesus to cleanse you, is like a bath in which you are washed all over, completely, from head to foot. Jesus is referring to a very common social practice in those days. It was the custom to take a bath before you went out for a meal. But in walking through the dirty streets of the city with sandals on, your feet would be defiled. And so when you arrived as a guest, a servant would wash your feet. But you would not need to repeat the bath.
So Jesus is saying, "When you first come to me, you are bathed, you are cleaned all over." This is what the Bible calls "justification by faith." It is a washing away of all the guilt, all the defilement, and all the evil and sin of your entire life -- past, present, and future. But as you walk through life, Jesus knows, there will be defilement contracted in the feet, in the walk, and that needs to be washed away. Thus he teaches you that not only do you need that initial never-to-be-repeated cleansing, which washes you as a bath; but you need also the many-times-repeated experience of forgiveness, of coming to Christ for the cleansing away of the defilement of your life’s walk, and being forgiven again and again and again, over and over again. It is this which determines that you have a part with him.
In other words, the enjoyment of your relationship with Christ is lost when you are temporarily defiled by wrongdoing, by guilt and by sin, by attitudes which are wrong in your life. You lose the enjoyment of your relationship with him. His attitude toward you doesn't change, but your attitude toward him does. That is why you are taught all through the Scriptures, "If you confess your sins, he is faithful and just to forgive you of your sins and to cleanse you from all unrighteousness," (1 John 1:9). And the moment you do so you are renewed, that original cleansing is renewed to you, and you feel that cleansing once again -- the washing, the restoration, the renewing of your spirit, the lifting up of the vitality of your spiritual life -- and you go on again, restored. Every believer has experienced this, but Jesus makes it clear to Peter.

Peter said to him, "You shall never wash my feet." Jesus answered him, "If I do not wash you, you have no part [with] me." (John 13:8)

And Peter's error is still being repeated today. There are those who, like him, refuse to have Jesus wash their feet. They are rejecting the basic way for enjoying their relationship with Christ. When people refuse to let Jesus wash their feet, as Peter said, they lose that sense of partnership with him.

On the other hand, there are those who, like Peter, feel that they need a bath all over again when they sin, that they have lost their salvation and that somehow they have to start all over in their Christian experience. Many people are laboring under those delusions, who think that they need to be born, not only again, but again and again and again. But Jesus teaches you by this whole process that only one bath is needed. This is reflected in the truth of baptism. You are baptized once, as the initial act. But the Lord's Supper reflects the washing of the feet, the need for the cleansing again and again through life from the defilement and the guilt of sin.

(John 13:12-17) In those words Jesus is explaining the meaning of what he is doing. He begins again with his own authority. "You call me Teacher and Lord; and you are right. I am your teacher, I am your Lord -- your teacher, with the right to instruct you; your Lord, with the right to command you." He acknowledges his own claims before them, asserts that he has this right in their lives. But his argument is, "If I, then, with this acknowledged position of authority in your lives, have washed your feet, then you also are to wash one another's feet."

But what he means is that just as you need the cleansing and forgiveness of the Lord in order to maintain the sense of unity and refreshment of spirit in your Christian life, so you need to forgive one another, to extend to one another free forgiveness for guilt and for the injury that they may have done to you. You are to be, "tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God, through Christ, has forgiven you," (Ephesians 4:32 ). This is what Jesus taught you in the Lord's Prayer "Forgive us our trespasses, even as we forgive those who have trespassed against us," Matthew 6:12). He is exhorting you to forgive others, and his authority to do so is based upon his own example.

He knows that it is difficult, sometimes, to forgive, that the flesh within cries out for revenge. But you’re forgetting that Jesus the Lord and Master humbled himself. He laid his rights to be worshiped all aside, did not demand it, did not seek it, did not insist upon it, and washed the feet of his own disciples. And so he says that you must do the same for one another.

Your Limitations will Lead to God’s Opportunities

When Job reached the end of his rope only then was he ready to realize God’s opportunities. "But now I am mocked by those who are younger than I, by young men whose fathers are not worthy to run with my sheepdogs." (Job 30:1)

Job felt extremely humiliated as he had lost and suffered extreme loss. Few people tend to see God’s opportunities in their extreme suffering, at least at first. Now Job faced additional humiliation at the hands of young upstarts who poured on insult to injury.  At this point, Job had lost his family, possessions, health, position and good reputation. It seemed to everyone, including Job, that he was being punished by God for a terrible unconfessed sin. Job was not even respected for bravely suffering through his harsh conditions.

God was teaching Job that He has the right to do whatever He wants to do at anytime, anywhere and with anything, since He is the sovereign Lord of the universe. So let go of all your assumptions about what you deserve and let God be the Lord of all aspects of your life.

Young people too often mock that which they do not understand. In this case, several young upstarts were taking advantage of an elderly person, as so often happens, because they saw weakness, vulnerability and a chance to take advantage of someone who had fallen out of public favor. Remember, that God supports those who are limited in their ability to defend themselves. Fear the Lord and turn away from evil as vengeance is mine says the Lord and I will repay. He supports the weak, the fatherless and the vulnerable.

Strong people should realize that their abilities, powers and advantages can easily be taken away by God. Pride goes before destruction and a haughty spirit before stumbling. God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Humble yourself under the mighty hand of God and He will exalt you at the proper time.

Job complained that he had lost all of his strength. (Job 30:11) "Now that God has unstrung my bow and afflicted me they throw off restraint in my presence." When a man in Job’s day felt he had lost his bow, he had no capacity to hunt or conduct warfare. He felt powerless. Job felt so sorry for himself that he felt he had no power to defend himself. Remember, the Lord is your shield, defender and deliverer in times of trouble. He will not fail you or forsake you.

Job felt he had lost all sense of personal dignity, respect and self-esteem. He wrote, "Terrors overwhelm me; my dignity is driven away as by the wind, my safety vanishes like a cloud. and now my life fades away, days of suffering grip me." (Job 30:15,16) God gives you your sense of dignity, respect and a healthy self-esteem. God has not given you the spirit of fear, but of power, love and a health sound mind." (2 Tim. 1:7)

Job felt that terrors overwhelmed him to a point of despair. He wrote, "Terrors overwhelm me.. My life fades away... I am reduced to dust and ashes... The churning inside me never stops.. My harp is turned to mourning, and my flute to the sound of wailing." (Job 30:15,16, 19,27, 31) Like David Job needed to say, "I sought the Lord and He heard me and delivered me from all of my fears." (Psa 34:1) You need to recite Psa 46:1,2 where David cries out, "The Lord is my refuge and strength a very present help in the time of trouble. Therefore, you will not fear though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging." (Psa 46:1,2) You can sing, trust and rejoice in His deliverance, you will be uplifted if you look to Him in times of trouble.

Let your extremity open new doors for God’s opportunities. He has began a good work in you and He is able to complete it until the day of Jesus Christ. (Phil. 1:6)

Pray: Help me, Lord, to be a person who builds a house on a solid rock, so when the storms beat on me, I will stand firm and use those Limitations as opportunities for your glory and purpose for me!

You rob God day after day

Ask God for a fresh anointing through this message, Ask Him to speak to you concerning the fact that many times you still continue to choose the path of darkness and insignificance. You claim to desire to walk in the light of the gospel and to see and experience the brightness of the glory of God in your life but then often you choose the path that is unsure and dark? You fail to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit and you continue to walk in your own understanding.

If you will examine your own life and the way that you live you will find that you often choose the path that leads to destruction. You are a creature that is filled with pride, self-reliance, and often, absolute disregard for God’s Word or His will. Look at the lives of those who call themselves Christian and still make daily decisions that only lead them deeper into the paths of darkness and away from the light of God.

Isaiah 59:9-11 You're a far cry from fair dealing, and you're not even close to right living. You long for the light but sink into darkness, long for brightness but stumble through the night. Like the blind, you inch along a wall, groping eyeless in the dark. You shuffle your way in broad daylight, like the dead, but somehow walking. You’re no better off than bears, groaning, and no worse off than doves, moaning. You look for justice with not a sign of it.

Have you ever wondered why it is that you fail to experience the peace of God that you seek so much? Well this verse contains your answer! The problem is that you do not judge your “goings” and continue to walk a crooked path.

Malachi 3:9-11: Begin by being honest. Do honest people rob God? But you rob me day after day. "You ask, 'How have I robbed Him?' "The tithe and the offering—that's how! And now you're under a curse —because you're robbing Him. Bring your full tithe to the Temple treasury so there will be ample provisions in Gods Temple. Test Him in this and see if He don't open up heaven itself to you and pour out blessings beyond your wildest dreams.

Here is One answer to your dilemma! What you have is a curse, if you would give to God that which belongs to Him in the first place, God will then see to it that what you keep is far more blessed. When you don’t give to God what you owe him, then you are saying, “God, I don’t trust you, I don’t believe you, and I don’t believe that you can meet my needs!” Wow! God won’t bless you when you curse him in that fashion. Give to God what you owe him He will pour out blessings unto you that you could only dream of.

Don’t miss your opportunity of a lifetime

2 Kings 13&14  In the midst of his despair, God handed King Jehoash the opportunity of his lifetime. The opportunity to terminate the Syrians once and for all.

God told Elisha to tell Jehoash’s specific instructions of what he was to do. Jehoash was to take a bow and some arrows then Elisha put his hands momentarily on the king’s hands signifying the power of God moving through the prophet of God into Jehoash to perform this great feat. Then the king was to shoot an arrow out the window in the direction of the Israelite territories held captive by Syrian armies. When he did this Elisha explained the action by saying that the arrow represented the victory God would give to the armies of Israel over Syria.

While looking at this story it cannot be stressed enough that throughout God’s Word the victory in any battle that you are in will not be won through physical, intellectual or political might, but by the power of God.

The story of Jehoash and Elisha is no different. The symbolic laying on of hands and the declaration concerning the arrow were to show Jehoash that the victory would be won by God’s power, not Israel’s might or Jehoash’s skill as a leader. God was giving Jehoash the opportunity of a lifetime.

A Lost Opportunity
After the initial firing off of the arrow, Elisha now wanted Jehoash to take the remaining arrows and “Strike the ground with them” After being instructed by Elisha to strike the ground with the remaining arrows, Jehoash shot only a portion of the arrows and then stopped. If you were him and stopped as he did you probably wouldn’t think anything of it, except for the fact that the text says that Elisha became angry.

Why do you think Elisha was angry? You might assume that Jehoash half-heartedly shot the arrows simply going through the motions possibly doubting that this symbolic exercise would produce any desirable results. In other words, a lack of faith. Perhaps he didn’t know why he was shooting the arrows, but after shooting that first one and hearing the result of his doing so, you’d think if he truly believed what Elisha was proclaiming then he would quickly fire off every arrow he had eagerly awaiting the prophet’s next message. His lack of zeal and faith resulted in his receiving much less than what God desired to give him.

Jehoash defeated Syria 3 times just like Elisha said but he stated that if only he’d struck the ground 5 or 6 times “you would have struck down Syria until you had made an end of it”. But because of a lack of faith he only received a partial victory.

Unbelief is paralyzing and it usually is the reason you see very little of the working of God in your life in the ways you long to see. When you show a lack of faith as Jehoash did you miss out many times on what God desires to do in you and through you. Jesus went to his own hometown and Mark 6:5-6 says, “He could do no mighty work there…And he marveled because of their unbelief.” Why was this so? Because more often than not, God works in accordance with your faith (Mark 9:29, Matthew 9:20-22, 27-30; 15:28; 17:14-21). You too often get stuck in a cycle of unbelief like the children of Israel. You believe little because you’ve seen little, and you’ve seen little because you believe little”. You need to believe that God truly is who He says He is and that He really can do what He says He can do. Unfortunately your unbelief will reap severe consequences. Just think of what you won’t accomplish when you choose not to believe God for the ability to accomplish that to which He has called you. “It is a solemn thought that your unbelief can limit and hinder Christ’s work in the world.

Your Opportunity
Jehoash took a golden opportunity and turned it into a lost opportunity because of a lack of faith. Don’t suffer from a lack of faith. God wants you to believe for bigger and better things so don’t get stuck in a cycle of unbelief.

Many are like Jehoash. Not necessarily that you are living in wickedness, but that you share the lack of faith he expressed in front of Elisha. Is your passion all but quenched and you talk about what God used to do. And therefore you are living in ‘the wish God would do something for me world.’ If only Jehoash had had the faith to strike the ground a few more times until that quiver was empty. If only you would trust God for the victories in your life despite the odds. Jehoash lost his opportunity because of unbelief, will you? Take the challenge stretch your faith! God is able to do immeasurably more than you can ask or imagine.

Are you feeling the meaningless life

The top of the mountain doesn’t go on forever; and the time quickly approaches when life would see you going over the side and falling swiftly into the valley once more.

Have you discovered that you spend a lot more time going down into, staying in the depths of, or struggling to climb out of the valley, than you have on the mountaintop? And have you also come to know that it is not on the mountaintop as much as it is in the struggles of the valley that faith in God is built and made stronger.

First of all you must take note that God has placed within you a natural desire for seeking the truth of his existence. Though many will suppress that desire and even deny its existence because they refuse to give God a place in their lives, yet that emptiness and thirst down deep inside cannot be quenched by anything other than the presence of the Lord. There is a place in your heart that nothing, nor anyone else can fill, but Jesus. So many search for something to satisfy that longing inside, but nothing can make them ultimately happy.

You can give a human all the wealth of the world and it won’t satisfy the emptiness of their heart and soul. King Solomon had so many wives and lovers that his palace was becoming crowded but no other person can fill that void that only Jesus can fill, and in the end Solomon could only say that all of life was filled with vanity; things that have no meaning without God. All of the excitement of travel, vacations, sports, or accomplishments in the world of business cannot satisfy that thirst, and in a moment the temporary high disappears. Drugs and alcohol are nothing more than tools that humans use to dull the reality of the pain in their hearts because of the emptiness and sinking feeling of the meaningless life that they live without Jesus, a life without purpose or fulfillment.

As long as you are in this world there is always a battle to fight. Sometimes the battles are with natural enemies, those who seem to be chasing after you all the time to take what you have worked hard to earn, or to steal that which God has blessed you with.

Sometimes the battle you fight is more in the realm of the supernatural. You can never let down your guard against the enemy of your soul because Satan and the powers of darkness never sleep and he is a relentless foe, every seeking whom he may devour. Satan is ever roaring, searching for Christians who have strayed from the presence of God and gone searching for greener pastures out in the world. Spiritual warfare never ceases and the closer you stay to the Lord, the safer you will be.

Staying close to God doesn’t make you immune to Satan’s attacks, but when you are close to God, then you have only a short distance to “Run” before you can feel his grace keeping you from falling prey to the devil.

You’re often running as fast as you can to get away from the attacks of the devil but you should simply stand fast in God and resist the devil. As long as you are running, he won’t stop chasing. But the instant you stand upon the Word of God in faith and resist him, Satan has to turn and flee.

When you seek him you will find him; when you ask of him you will receive and when you knock on the doors of Heaven; they will be opened to you. But notice this – you have to make the first move! You have to ask, seek and knock first! There are too many Christians who just sit around expecting God to answer their prayer that they never pray to begin with; to open doors of blessing without ever knocking on the door, and who also expect God to reveal himself to them in a greater measure every day while they never seek to know him more!

Why do many Christians have so much trouble? Why does God allow you to become tempted and tried? Why are you always running from the devil, and walking in dry, thirsty places in the spiritual realms? The answer is that God has to allow something or someone to chase you, so ultimately it make you run to him, which is where you should have been in the first place!

When you stand before God, what will he remember about you

Will he remember every time you were slack in your commitment to Christ? Will he remember every time you decided that going to church, or studying His Word was just too much trouble; or that you were too tired? Will he remember that other things in life were more important than prayer and getting alone with God? Were the posting of your friends on Facebook more important to you than what God posted in his Word? Was your IPhone, Blackberry, IPod, IPad or any other source of information and communication more important than your relationship with God? Do you have more minutes on your phone bill talking to friends than you have minutes on record in Heaven talking to God? Do you check your email 20 times a day but speak to God only once a week?

You’re living in a time when fast travel, constant communication and unending breaking news stories are a constant distraction. Communication devices and the desire to know more has become a tool of the devil to destroy your very soul unless you get them under control. What’s more important to you – your cell phone carrier or the Bible? It’s not the fault of the phone; it’s the fault of your own heart!

Will God play back all of your text messages, voice messages; or will your record in Heaven contain all the time you spent in prayer and reading of God’s Word? What is God going to remember about you?

Ezekiel 18:24 But when the righteous turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, and doeth according to all the abominations that the wicked man doeth, shall he live? All his righteousness that he hath done shall not be mentioned: in his trespass that he hath trespassed, and in his sin that he hath sinned, in them shall he die.

What is God going to remember about you? What will he have recorded about your life when you stand before him in the judgment? Will he remember only your days spent in pursuit of the things of the world? Will he remember that everything else; and everyone else, was more important to you than Him? You do not want this to be the way your record reads!


If you put Jesus first above all else, and live according to the will of God, forsaking those things that would separate you from God, then God will only remember the things that you have done in faith.

Just as much as it will sadden the heart of God to turn away sinners, it will bring gladness to the heart of God for each one of his children that are welcomed home. How much it will please God to say, “Well done and welcome home”. How will all of Heaven shout for joy; and how great will be that celebration when the Bride is finally united forever with the Groom. Don’t you want to be a part of that great celebration!

You can sense the presence of the Lord and you can hear the voice of the Lord speaking, you know that you are at the very door of the coming of the Bridegroom. Keep your lamp trimmed and burning brightly. You are in the midnight hour and at any moment you will hear the cry, “Behold the Bridegroom has come!” Be ready for that instant.

God’s final word to you is, “…Turn yourself in the right direction; turn yourself and live!” God wants you to have that life eternal but you must chose to turn to him in repentance for sin. Turn and humble your heart before him. Turn and face the Cross and let the blood of Jesus be applied to your heart. Turn and make Jesus the most important thing in your life. Turn and live forever!

What will God remember about you? Only you know the answer to that question – you and God!

Here’s How to escape your feelings that control you.

Transformation comes when you renew your mind. “Let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think.” Once that happens, you’ll find yourself no longer conforming to the pattern of the world but to the will of God. Your behavior will change, when you’re thinking changes. If there is no change in your behavior, question your thinking.

Rom 12:2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is - His good, pleasing and perfect will.

Behind every sin is a lie.
• It starts with the mind. At the moment you sin, you’re doing what you think is the best thing for you. You say, “I know God says to do that, but I’m going to do this.”
• What are you doing? You believe a lie. Behind every sin is a lie.

Start looking for the lies behind why you act the way you do.
• When you live in sin, you’re living in deception and believing a lie.

Confront these lies. When you start dealing with them, you’ll start seeing change.
Change always starts in the mind.
• You’ve got to start with the belief – the lie – behind the behavior.
• Romans 12:2 “Be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”

The way you think determines the way you feel, and the way you feel determines the way you act.
• If you want to change the way you act, you must determine the way you think.
• You can’t start with the action. You’ve got to start with the thought.

THOUGHTS AFFECT YOUR EMOTIONS
You do not just get hit by a certain feeling out of the blue. You have thought something first that causes your feelings to be activated.  It is amazing how your feelings can change so rapidly! And the actions that follow.

If you want to see a change in your life – change your beliefs first
• Jesus said, “You will know the truth and it will set you free.” (John 8:32)
Expose the lies that you are basing your behavior upon.
• If you are feeling afraid, you need to ask yourself what you are thinking.
If you are sad, you need to ask yourself what’s in your mind that caused it.
• You need to change your thoughts about the situation by looking at the Word – reading, listening, studying, meditation, and memorizing it.

When you saturate your mind with God’s word, you are thinking His thoughts.
• It is truly amazing how your feelings will no longer control you.
• When you know the truth, it does set you free.
• The difference between worldliness and godliness is a renewed mind.

Trying to change your behavior without a change in your belief is a waste of time.
Your belief patterns are in your mind. Every time you think about a belief, it creates an electrical impulse across your brain. Every time you have that thought again, it creates a deeper rut. Over time, a mindset is formed.
• When you have learned something over and over, being taught by the world’s way of thinking, you’re programmed to go that way.
• If you want to change that, and align it back to God’s truth permanently, you have to be transformed by the renewing of your mind, by the constant feeding of the truth of God’s Word!

The Bible called this ‘change of mind’ REPENTANCE.

• The word “repentance” in Greek – metanoia – means “to change your mind.”
• It is just changing the way you think about something by accepting the way God thinks about it. So technically, repentance is not behavioral change. The change is a result of repentance. Repentance does not mean forsaking your sin. Repentance simply means to change your mind.

The prodigal son has a change of mind. Only then did he have a change in behavior.
• The renewed action was the fruit of repentance.
• John the Baptist said in Matt 3:8, “Produce fruit in keeping with repentance.”

Life change happens only AFTER you change your thinking.
• And your thinking can only be changed by the Word of God.

You’ve let the World create deep ruts in your mind. Simply accept the way God thinks, even when you don’t fully understand. YOU CAN CHANGE TODAY.

The way to keep your fear from paralyzing you.

Cast your burdens on the Lord. Cast your cares on the LORD and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous fall. (Ps. 55:22) Just as in fishing what does it means to cast something? It means to hurl it away from you using force. You grab that pole and you swing it hard so the hook goes far from you. But where are you supposed to hurl your cares? To the only one who can handle them. The LORD. And what will happen if you do this? The promise is HE WILL SUSTAIN YOU. He will hold you up. He will keep you in place. He will make sure you have the nourishment you need.

Sometimes you’re called to stay put and battle the enemy head on – but sometimes when you feel weak you need to realize God has invited you to run to Him for refuge.
So God instructs you to CAST your fears His way, and to run to Him as your place of refuge. But you also have a way to fight back against fear, and that is to…Replace anxiety with thoughts of God. (Phil. 4:6-8, Ps. 23:4, Ps. 46:1-3)

It is the most natural thing in the world to be scared, and the clearest evidence that God’s grace is at work in your heart is when you do not get into panics….The remarkable thing about fearing God is that when you fear God you fear nothing else, where if you do not fear God you fear everything else.

God has given you the way to keep your fear from paralyzing you – and it involves changing your focus from the things that are causing you fear to thoughts of God.

Philippians 4:6-8
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable-- if anything is excellent or praiseworthy-- think about such things.

These verses promise you that if you can cast all your anxieties and fears at Him in prayer, then your heart and mind will be guarded by the peace of God. A peace that passes understanding. A peace that doesn’t make sense. A peace that God brings to those who offer Him all that they are anxious about and let Him take it.

And then Scripture instructs you what you SHOULD think about, instead of all the things that are causing you fear. Whatever is true, or noble, or right, or pure, or lovely, or admirable, or excellent, or praiseworthy?

Psalm 46:1-3 God is your refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore do not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.

This passage is to remind you that sometimes you just have to CHOOSE not to give in to fear. You need to fill your mind with the picture of God as your refuge. God is your strength. God is your Good Shepherd. And say, “I will NOT fear.”

One of the reasons you fear is that you forget that this life is not all there is. You were created for ETERNITY. 2 Corinthians 5:6,8 Look forward with confidence to your heavenly body. And do not be afraid, but be quite content to die, for then you will be at home with the Lord.

Death, for Christians, is a transfer, a promotion. It’s on to better things. No more problems. You’re not ready to live until you’re ready to die. You don’t know how to live until you’re ready to die. Only a fool would go all through life, totally unprepared for something that everybody knows is inevitable. You’re going to die - someday. If you have accepted Christ, then you’re going to go to heaven.

"He will wipe away all tears from their eyes, and there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying, nor pain. All of that has gone forever." Rev. 21:4

Doesn’t that make you a little homesick for heaven?

2 Corinthians 4:16-18
Therefore do not lose heart. Though outwardly you are wasting away, yet inwardly you are being renewed day by day. For your light and momentary troubles are achieving for you an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So fix your eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

The next time you feel the fear grip your heart – change your focus to eternity!

What does happen to you once you die

The body is an incredibly amazing thing. God designed your body for this life which lasts perhaps 70 or 80 years on average. A lot of people, even Christians, fear death. What does happen to you as a believer once you die? Does it take you a few years to get to heaven or are you instantly in the presence of the Lord? Is there something you have to do after you die before you can be accepted into God’s throne room? These are very significant questions because unless Christ returns in your lifetime, you are going to die. So here is the big question. . .

As a Christian What Happens When you Die?
Angels Carry you to Paradise; Luke 16:22
Focus not on what happened to Lazarus after he died, but specifically on what happened to Lazarus at the moment of his death. Read the verse. What you’ll discover is something that you have not experienced yet. However, as a Christian, it is something all can look forward to one day one day in your future.

Luke 16:22
"Now the poor man died and was carried away by the angels to Abraham’s bosom; and the rich man also died and was buried." First, notice that the poor man was carried by the angels. At the moment of death you are going to meet your first angel face to face. At that moment the spiritual world is going to become as visible as the material world that you’ve lived here on the earth. At that moment you are going to be escorted from this world to the next. Your guide in that journey will be, according to Luke 16:22, angels. And notice that word is plural. The passage doesn’t say how many angels there were, but you can know that there was more than one. Was it two, four, eight, or a thousand? You don’t know, you just know that God didn’t send a single angel, He sent more than one.

Once your human body ends or you Die. The word death literally means, "to separate." At that time the body and the spirit separate. All of your life you have lived in that body. However, at death that body will be placed in the ground, but your spiritual being, who you really are leaves the body and goes to be with God. The moment of your death you will separate from your body and meet your first angels & they will guide you from this life to the one to come. In other words, you aren’t going to make that journey alone.

2 Corinthians 5:6-8
Therefore, being always of good courage, and knowing that while you are at home in the body you are absent from the Lord— for walk by faith, not by sight—and prefer to be absent from the body so you can be at home with the Lord.
Understand that you have yet to see the Lord face to face, you can look forward to that, but you haven’t personally experienced it yet. This earthly life is all you know at the present though you look forward to a greater life. Right now, you walk by faith knowing that one day you will see face to face what you only see now through the eye of faith. Look forward to the day when the present reality will be reversed. Instead of being absent from the Lord, you will be absent from your body. Instead of being at home in the human body, you will be at home with the Lord. You will finally truly be home because when it comes to eternity, home is where the Lord is.

Luke 23:43
43 And Jesus replied, "I assure you, today you will be with me in paradise."
Jesus makes three points. First, he says that what is going to happen will take place that very day. It’s not going to happen later, it will be that very day. Secondly, notice, that He says the condemned man will be with Him. Finally, He calls the place they will be together, "paradise." His words of reassurance were directed to the criminal, but indirectly they are directed to you as well. At the moment of your death when the angels show up to whisk you away to the next life, you can know now you’re going to be with Jesus.
Scripture calls this place where you will go immediately upon our death "Paradise" What’s really important is that when you arrive Jesus will be there to welcome you home.
Someday soon God will send for you to take you to a new home. Don’t fear the summons, the strange journey or the dark messenger of death. At the end of the road you will find love & a welcomed waiting, & you will be safe in God’s care.
Remember Jesus words when he said that if you being evil know how to give good gifts to your children, then how much more will the Heavenly Father know how to give good gifts to those who ask Him.
For those who are Christians, death will merely be the moment when you finally get to go home.

There’s got to be something more

"Heaven is a place, just as much a place as is New York or Chicago.” even in this skeptical age there is something deep inside the human heart that cries out, There’s got to be something more. Something more than the pain and suffering of this life. Something more than 70 or 80 years on planet earth, something more than being born, living, dying, and then being buried in the ground. You were made to live forever somewhere. In a real sense you were made for heaven. Whenever you talk about living forever somewhere, it would help to know for sure where you are going. After all, if you’re wrong about heaven, you’re going to be wrong for a long, long time.

The Bible tells you that heaven is the dwelling place of God. His throne is there, the angels are there, and the Lord Jesus Christ is in heaven. Philippians 3:20 says very plainly that “your citizenship is in heaven. And you can eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ.” That’s why Jesus told the thief on the Cross, “Today you will be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:43).  (And here is a fascinating fact), the Bible hints that heaven is not as far away as you might think.

 You’re not that far from heaven. You’re not that far from the angels. You’re not that far from your loved ones in heaven. You’re not that far from God. You’re not that far from Jesus himself. Heaven is a real place, it’s where Jesus is right now, and it’s not far away from you.

What is heaven like?

In Scripture you have images and pictures of heaven and comparisons with life on earth. What is heaven like? Here are some biblical facts about heaven. It is … God’s dwelling place (Psalm 33:13). Where Christ is today (Acts 1:11). Where Christians go when they die (Philippians 1:21-23). The Father’s house (John 14:2). A city designed and built by God (Hebrews 11:10). A better country (Hebrews 11:16). Paradise (Luke 23:43).

Heaven is a place where the streets are paved with gold, the gates are made of pearl, and the walls made of precious jewels. Revelation 21-22. When John writes about the streets paved with gold, He simply reports what he saw in his vision. Thus his words are meant to tell you that the things you value so highly in this life will be used to pave the roads in heaven.

A City Built By God. What would such a city look like? It would be a city with … No pollution for the skies would always be crystal clear. No crime or violence for no criminals would ever enter. No greedy politicians, no drug pushers, no child molesters. No potholes and no power outages either. It would be filled with abundant parks, rivers, rolling meadows, and flowing streams. Lining the streets would be flowers in constant bloom, fruit trees of every kind, every species of plant life growing free from pestilence and disease.

The gates would be made of pearl, the walls of jasper, and streets of gold. Precious stones would lie on the ground like playthings emeralds, rubies, and diamonds galore. Everywhere there would be children laughing, bright conversation, and music floating from every direction.

 In the city that God builds, there are no tears, there is no sorrow … no regret … no remorse. Bitterness gone forever, failure left far behind, suffering redeemed and rewarded. There are no eyeglasses, no braces, no wheelchairs, no false teeth, no bald heads, no hearing aids, and no crutches. There are no more hospitals, no more nursing homes, no Doctors, paramedics or CPR. Aspirin gone, accidents over, cancer disappeared, heart attacks banished, AIDS a distant memory. In heaven no one grows old and feeble.

There is one other thing you won’t find in heaven. There are no cemeteries in the city God builds. Why? There are no funerals … for in that glad city no one ever dies.

Once you’ve made it to the city, you live forever, never to die again. Either you believe in heaven or you don’t. It’s either a real place or it isn’t. This is heaven-where all your best dreams finally come true.

Forget those things which are behind

The voice you listen to will determine the direction you will walk. If you listen to your emotions you will remain in the spiritual desert. If you listen to the whispers of the enemy you will be intimidated. If you listen to voices of your critics, you will be distracted. Only if you regularly hear the voice of God will you have the courage to do God’s will and overcome the grasshopper complex. Joshua 1:1-1:9

In times of war it is absolutely imperative to have clear lines of communication. A faulty communication system can spell disaster for a unit going into battle. Proper two-way communication inspires courage, gives guidance and unifies the attack.

The Bible says that you are in a spiritual battle that can only be fought with spiritual weapons. In order to know the strategy of the battle plan you must be in constant communication with the, Commander in Chief

One of the great truths of the Bible that can give you encouragement during confusing times is that you can both know and understand the voice of God. Your relationship with Him is a two-way communication where you can express your love, desires and fears to Him, and He will respond with His love, assurance, guidance and will for your life.

There are many Christians today who are trying to fight their spiritual battles with their communications system in disorder. They are not in daily contact with the Lord in prayer, and therefore suffer from spiritual fatigue. They are, in effect, fighting on their own without direction and confidence.

Consider Joshua:

With Moses dead, Israel was still short of its goal...The Promised land. The option was open to them; they had learned to survive in the wilderness 40 years, so why go on?

It wasn’t God’s will for them to remain in the wilderness. He had better things in store for them. He had more for them than just the desert life of frustration. God needed a person who would take the people forward! Joshua was His man. Joshua was not content to just sit around with the present comforts. He wanted to do something significant for the Lord. So Israel and Joshua had a choice. They could exist with things as they were or follow God’s commands and accomplish great things for him. ‘Are you satisfied with living on someone else’s experiences with God or do you wish to do something that will have eternal consequences?

Sooner or later you will have to face a similar choice. If you are content today to just exist and survive, then you need to be aware of the consequences of your choice. If you choose to just exist in your Christian life then you will also experience the frustrations that plagued Israel for 40 years of wilderness wandering.

God has so much more for you as a Christian. God wanted them as well as you to move forward into a land flowing with milk and honey and not just be satisfied with spiritual survival in the desert.

Many are shackled by the regrets of the past. They are trying to run the race by running backward or some are distracted by the successes of the past. Both are a hindrance from achieving Gods best. Scripture says it this way: this one thing do, forget those things which are behind... (Phil.3:13)

The choice is yours. God is looking for you to have the conviction to move forward, and then watch Him move. Let go of the past, and press on towards the promises for you!

No one can stop the clock.

Mostly alone, in a dark, quiet room of a hospital Dad sits and lies upon the bed from which he will never leave again. He is slowly dying each day, his body with pain and his energy exhausted so that he has not even the strength to eat or talk much if he wanted. All hope for the future here in this world has gone now. The doctors, nurses and hospital personnel have done all they could do. Now it is only a matter of time.

Time – the one commodity of life that we all take so much for granted when we have it. But time is not my Dads friend anymore. Time has become his enemy.

His time has passed so quickly in years gone by. Only weeks ago he was remembering many of the days that he had spent so frivolously, but now the medication and the suffering of this last week have erased those memories. He could only bring himself to remember the names of us sitting beside him and then sometimes not. Now all that remained of time for Dad is days not months or years.

There, on the wall, hung his enemy; and at the same time, his greatest friend. It was a clock that just hung there in almost mute silence, glaring down upon him, gloating over its power to end his life.

Tic-Toc; Tic-Toc was the only sound it made as it hung there doing what it had always done before. Dad could hardly see it anymore, and not aware that it was there at all, steadily moving to the end of the hour and the end of his life.

I kept seeing the second hand as it so quickly made its journey around the circle, one second at a time. As I looked at that second hand moving along, I was reminded of the swiftness of the passing of time when all of us are busy, active and carefree. How many seconds, minutes, hours and days are wasted in uncontrolled living? Soon Dads flesh life will count for nothing. His experiences, lifelong goals, his what will I need to do tomorrow thoughts, will be all gone, within moments once he steps across into the eternal life. Yes many care whether he lives or dies, but no one can stop the clock.

In Dads room my spirit became aware of the clock that the second hand on the clock was going on, and would continue to go on, long after Dads time on earth had ended. I stared at it, concentrating as hard as I could, hoping that somehow, through wishful thinking and the power of my mind, that I could just slow that second hand just a little to gain a few extra seconds, but it was to no avail. The seconds just steadily ticked away. Around and around it went, and with each trip around I knew that there was one minute less for life left for Dad.

Those minutes were passing all too quickly. I began to remember those wasted minutes like when I sat at my desk just waiting impatiently for the get out of school bell to ring so I could rush off to continue doing what I wanted to do or the wasted minutes Dad and our entire family had experienced trying to make our business work. Oh, if only we could redeem those kind of minutes now! How much more could we make of our lives if we could only bring back those wasted minutes. But it is impossible to do. “Time waits for no one.” Dads minutes and seconds were passing away one by one; - the clock just keeps on ticking.

Dad can feel the cold hand of death as it began to grip his body. His limbs are as heavy as lead weights and he can barely move them no more. He barely has the strength to gasp each breath, and yet my mind remained fixed upon that clock, watching as Dads time drew nearer and nearer.

As I watched the hour hand it was ever so slowly moving onward. That was the hand to be feared the most, for it is the hour hand that would show the final hour of Dads life as it comes to an end.

I thought about that hour hand and it reminded me of the fact that we often forget that the seconds and minutes are the building blocks of the hours of our lives. We are caught up in the rat race of life, like the fast moving of the second hand. Then we see the days go by one by one, just like the slow moving of the hour hand. We often forget of the passing hour hand because it moves so slowly that sometimes it’s almost invisible. Yet it is moving.

All of the things I have thought so important at the time are now so unimportant. As Dad said only Days ago if only I could go back and give much more of my life in knowing the Bible and knowing Jesus. But, it was too late now

I keep remembering “James 4:14, "… For what is your life? It is even a vapor, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away."

I know the end is near. Dad’s body is no longer movable on his own. His lips tremble as they move. It takes every ounce of strength he can muster just to open his eyes long enough to see my face.

He whispered last night Soon I’m going to be with Jesus.

Uncertain times are opportunities for God to do something in you.

Scripture: Genesis 37-47 the proper response to uncertainty is to accept it as from Him, look for his hand, and live as someone who is confident that God is with you.

It is more difficult to follow God when circumstances seem to point to the fact that he isn’t interested in being followed or seems to be waving you off. And he’s not intending to reward your efforts. Uncertainty leaves you confused as to how to approach God. He’s so quiet. He’s so still. He seems so distant.

The Bible makes it look simple. God kept appearing to say, "Hang in there."When things aren’t great, it’s tempting to think he is not interested in the details of your life. This raises two questions: What is God up to when he is so quiet and What are you to do in the meantime?

God does his greatest, his most significant, and his deepening works individually during times of uncertainty. God is not absent during these extreme times. He has been more active than at any other time. In each example in Scripture when men and women’s lives were interrupted or the familiar predictable things were wrenched away or sometimes when the structure of their lives disintegrated and it seemed like God had fallen asleep at the wheel-and in the middle of what felt like total chaos, but He always showed up in ways they could only marvel at.

When you read and watch their faithfulness and wonder-what if they had abandoned God? You can ponder on what they would have missed for God was at work and they would have never known.

From God’s perspective, uncertain times are opportunities to do something in you. He can do more in you during times of uncertainty than He could ever do in the normal 9 to 5, everything-the-way-it-ought-to-be times. Why? All are idolaters at heart. Each have a natural tendency to lean on and trust in the things they’ve created or has been created by someone else. Such as: your job status, your businesses, your finances, your 401K, other investments, your network of friends and associates, your families, and your health. All of these things represent STRUCTURE, familiarity, and order. Nothing wrong with that and it is the image of God in you that motivates you to create order from chaos. But many become entangled in comfort zones that wean you away from dependency on the Father.

So, when God comes along and shakes your structures or allows you to be shaken, it’s easy to panic. And in your state of panic . . .he has your undivided attention.
When God has your undivided attention, you are positioned to grow.
Suddenly, what’s real, what’s important becomes the focus of your attention. It is then, when He is all you have, that you discover He is all you need. From God’s perspective, uncertainty creates opportunities to do something through you as well.

For God to accomplish something great in and through you, you must respond correctly to times of uncertainty.

Assume God’s hand in the uncertainty you’re facing and accept the uncertainty as coming from God. For God to accomplish what he wants to accomplish in your uncertainty, you must see him in it and respond accordingly.

Uncertainty is a fact of life. It is not evidence of God’s inactivity. This is not the time to doubt. This is the time to follow closer than ever. The Good news is your heavenly Father is the master of uncertainty. He does this all the time. He is in control. And he has something in mind for you, your family, and his kingdom.

You can trust him. Live confident that God is with you. Pray. Seek. And Follow.

Only what’s done for Christ will last

My father is a mist in the wind, just like the rest. In the overall scheme of things, he was here for a moment and then he will be gone. But who he was and how he lived his life certainly had their affect on me; whether for good or for bad. Mostly good, I hope.

One way or another, his life left its indelible mark on mine. In some cases I learned and avoided some of his mistakes. In some I’ve repeated them. In other ways my fundamental character was shaped by the values he taught and lived. If I exhibit honesty, integrity, truthfulness, courage, kindness, to a large degree I can attribute that to the values that my father and mother tried to instill in me.

And in ways you’ll probably never realize, what he instilled in me has now affected your lives. It’s the ripple effect.

Everyone can point to someone in their past that left them the same kind of legacy.
Simply because they were imperfect men and women, just like my dad, they left you both good and bad. But the fact is, they impacted not only your life, but the lives you’ve affected because of what you’ll pass on.

My father’s influence in my life has influenced the life of my children, and it will influence their children, just as his life was influenced by his father and his grand-father.

So recognition that your days are in God’s hands and you ought to lay presumption and arrogance aside and seek His will for the day, you should also remember that having done so, in making your plans and setting your goals you should remember that the daily decisions and actions you take will have a profound effect, even on generations after you.

When you measure the nature of the impact of the lives of men and women down through history, using the plumb line of scripture and the lives of those who have served God against those who have not, then it becomes clear that the amount of time they lived didn’t matter, whether long or short; the enormity of their acts didn’t matter; the wideness in scope of the overall effects of their deeds didn’t matter; the degree of worldly celebrity and power and acclaim they attained to didn’t matter.

In fact, although you have names, like Moses and Abraham and Paul and Peter who have been the greatest and most influential names in history, for the most part, the people who have had the greatest and most significant impact on history never received celebrity or acclaim. At least, not here. But you can bet their names are known in Heaven.

Because when it comes right down to it, no word was ever written or spoken truer than this; ‘only what’s done for Christ will last’.

My friends, My Dads life is so close to the end And just like His moments His days His years were like a mist, here for a moment and they vanish we are but the same.
You don’t have long. None are here for long.

But the backward view shows that even in the brief time you’re here, your life can make an astounding impact that will have a ripple effect on generations to come. Not just for your own family, but in the lives of anyone who has been exposed to the claims and the person of Jesus Christ through you.

How are you going to act when the pressure is on.

Trials. He tests your faith. Why. Because testing your faith is guaranteed to bring out the worst in you and you never know the depth of your character, the strength of your maturity or the wisdom you possess until the pressure is turned on.
Then, the rubber meets the road. The question is; how are you going to act when the pressure is on.

Look at what God has done –When things are going along smoothly, when times are cruising, when the pay check is fat and things are running smooth, be happy. Its time to be happy.
When times are not so good, when the fridge is empty, the car is out of fuel, there’s no one to talk to, when you’re having your history laid out and the entire world is watching, consider this: God has everything in his control. He made the good times; and he is in control of the not so good times.

Fortunately for you, Jesus isn’t just a "good times only" savior. He’s with you not only when things are going well, but during your bad days also. When hard times hit you, he doesn’t disappear, saying, I’ll be back when you’ve got it all worked out, No he’s faithful and caring through every kind of season and every feeling you endure during your hard times.
So, how can God help you deal with those inevitable, really bad days? The answer may surprise you. “Be truly glad! There is wonderful joy ahead, even though it is necessary for you to endure many trials for a while. These trials are only to test your faith, to show that it is strong and pure. It is being tested as fire purifies gold – and your faith is far more precious to God than mere gold. So if your faith remains strong after being tried by fiery trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world. (1 Peter 1:6-7)

Be truly glad while enduring a really bad day? You might be thinking that’s crazy? Here are four crucial lessons that offer enduring hope:

1. Really bad days… must be endured but there is a promise of joy ahead.
2. Really bad days… strengthen your faith just as fire purifies gold.
3. Really bad days… in God’s eyes produce a tested faith that is more precious than gold.
4. Really bad days… will bring you much praise and glory and honor in heaven.

In your life your years of service to God don’t seem to matter near as much to Him as a tested faith that is strengthened and purified by your pain and struggle?

In other words, how you learn to cope with really bad days often shapes your outlook on life and defines your relationship with God. How you overcome really bad days represents your witness to the outside world.

You need to continually pursue a deeper relationship with God. The comfort is that in the end, the really bad days will all be forgotten as you relax in the praise and glory and honor in heaven. Although Bad Days Are Inevitable, They Should Become Fewer and Less Disturbing to you as You Grow In Your Knowledge Of Who You Are in Christ.

Ask God to make up for you the wasted years.

“What do you do in your free time?” Do you throw away hours in a make-believe world, trashy novels, gossip magazines, internet garbage?

“How you spend the time that is your own greatly determines what you think about. Have no doubt about it – Satan brings his greatest temptations to you when you have time on your hands. It takes you to discipline your character and proper goals to handle correctly the extra hours that’s given to you.”

You don’t want to look back over your life and see a life of wasted time, wasted days, wasted years? Even if you haven’t used your time very wisely for the Lord up to this point in your life Here’s what God can do for you: “I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten, The crawling locust, the consuming locust, And the chewing locust. Joel 2:25

God was talking to the Israelites. There had been a period of time where the Israelites were unable to grow their fruits and vegetable gardens, which meant they were unproductive as farmers and people. But at one point God comes to them and says, “I am going to restore to you those lost years, the lost productivity, the lost income.

Understand Paul’s testimony it will absolutely pierce your soul. Make Gods words something you can’t get rid of in your heart. “In his final days Paul looked back over his life and testified, "I HAVE FOUGHT A GOOD FIGHT. I HAVE KEPT THE FAITH. NOW A CROWN OF RIGHTOUSNESS IS AWAITING ME.

You can say that with Paul! Even though there’s been a gap in your years, a time of wasting months - even years. A period when you was in deep dark sin, yes there was a time that you were drifting, and you was not at your best for Jesus.

Many can look back with regret at wasted years that have been eaten away by the locust! The fact is, the closer you get to the heart of Jesus, the more those wasted years grieve you. The more you fall in love with Christ, the more you cry out to Him within, "Dear Lord, how could I have hurt You so? How could I have been so deceived? I took years that belonged to You and threw them away! So many people live with a sense of loss. They live with regret, remorse, grief over what’s been lost. Yet, God makes to you this incredible promise. “I will restore to you the years the locusts have eaten…” The New American Standard says, "I will make up to you for the years... eaten."

How can God do this? Normally you are limited by time. But God is not limited by time the way you are. He invented time itself.

Here is an example of how God does it: at one point in Israel’s history God instituted a rule. He told them that they would plant their fruits and vegetables for 6 years, and then every seventh year they were not to do any work during that entire 7th year. So they work 6 and off 1. Work another 6 and off 1. And in Leviticus God answers one of their questions.  20 But you might ask, ‘What will we eat during the seventh year, since we are not allowed to plant or harvest crops that year?’ 21 Be assured that I will send my blessing for you in the sixth year, so the land will produce a crop large enough for three years. 22 When you plant your fields in the eighth year, you will still be eating from the large crop of the sixth year. In fact, you will still be eating from that large crop when the new crop is harvested in the ninth year. – Leviticus 25:20-22
God only has to speak and He can make up to you the years you have lost. Ask God to make up for you the wasted years.

Loss means change, change sometimes means pain

Everybody deals with loss in their life. No matter who you are all lose things in life
the things you loss in life that brings an impact on you emotionally. Like when someone you love passes away. Everybody deals with this kind of loss in their life. Money won’t make you immune to loss. Good looks won’t make you immune to loss. A high I.Q. won’t make you immune from loss. Nothing makes you immune to loss.

Loss means change, change sometimes means pain. Learning to deal with a loss means learning to cope with unwanted changes in your life. There are many LOSSES PEOPLE FACE IN LIFE…Death is only one example. You can never really cheat death. You will die one day. No one escapes this fact of life. “No one has power over the spirit to retain the spirit, and no one has power in the day of death.” – Ecclesiastes 8:8 “…each person is destined to die once and after that comes judgment.” – Hebrews 9:27

How do you deal with loss? What do you do when you’re facing a significant loss in your life? How do I handle it? As someone who believes in God and wants to follow Jesus, how will God help you get through it?

Steps in Dealing with a Major Loss: Look for God to replace your pain with a sense of gain. One of the toughest things about going through a major loss is the way it affects you emotionally. It can feel like someone kicked you in the stomach. Your world feels like it’s spinning out of control. You can feel helpless like a paper boat drifting on an ocean of sorrow.

The pain is real. But so is God. It’s in these low times of your life that you discover just how real God is. God specializes in replacing pain with gain. He loves to turn crucifixions into resurrections.

“O LORD my God, I cried to you for help, and you restored my health…You have turned my mourning into joyful dancing. You have taken away my clothes of mourning and clothed me with joy…” – Psalm 30:2, 11 David, who wrote this Psalm, was going through the painful loss of his health. Some of you know that pain. You live with chronic back pain, arthritis, and other issues that plague you and make your life difficult.

David said, “God turned his sorrow into joyful dancing.” David looked to God. It’s important that you look to God in the losing times of your life because He wants to replace your pain with a sense of gain.

How can you let God replace your pain with a sense of gain? •Ask God to erase painful memories. Your mind, the brain God gave you, is more powerful than the greatest computer. Your mind stores information at rates and speeds that far outpace the fastest computers today. And it’s because you have such incredible mind that you often suffer from memories that cause you pain.

If anyone knew about painful memories of loss, it was Joseph in the Old Testament. Joseph knew firsthand the pain of loss. Sold into slavery by his brothers, wrongfully accused of rape, sent to jail unjustly. Finally he was noticed by Pharoah. He had Loss after loss after loss.

Joseph was 17 when he was sold into slavery. He was 30 when he finally became Second in command to Pharoah. For 13 years, Joseph experienced loss after agonizing loss. One bad experience after another.

Yet, listen to what he says when his two sons were born. Joseph named his older son Manasseh, for he said, God has made me forget all my troubles Genesis 41:51

You say, “Is this really possible?” Joseph could remember what it was like when he was having the losses, because he says he had troubles. When Joseph says, “God made me forget” he’s talking about how he feels about his past. He’s not saying he actually can’t remember details of what happened. He’s saying, “When I do think about it, it doesn’t feel like it used to. The sting is gone. It feels like I’ve forgotten what it felt like.”God had taken away the pain of the losses he experienced.

And notice what God gave Joseph in its place. 52 Joseph named his second son Ephraim, for he said, “God has made me fruitful in this land of my grief.” – Genesis 41:52  God had replaced Joseph’s grief with a sense of gain. God had taken away the pain of those early memories and in their place put a satisfaction and appreciation for the blessings of the present. Joseph looked down at that little baby and all God had given to him and his mind stopped rehearsing the pain of his past. Now, he looked into the future and saw hope and God’s hand.

This is one of the ways God restores your losses. He erases the sting of painful memories. Ask God, pray and asked Him to erase your painful memories?

You can have it (if) you’re willing to stretch

You can come out and you can get what the devil said you couldn’t have, and you can do what people said you could never do. What you need is the fire power of the old saints who knew how to get a hold of the horns of the altar and persevere in prayer until the very atmosphere was pregnant with the presence of Jesus. Just say it out loud: Come on in Lord Jesus! When Jesus shows up miracles happen.
Mark 3:1-3:5 and there was a man there which had a withered hand. And they watched him, whether he would heal him on the sabbath day; (that they might accuse him.) Many times it’s religion itself that is the greatest hindrance to the manifest presence of Jesus. Everybody don’t have to agree with you for you to get blessed, they don’t even have to like you. When God gets ready to bless you, he’s not going to consult with others, He’s not going to ask their opinion, he’s just going to do it.
If you are hungry and thirsty for God he will come to you and he will meet you at the point of your need and he will touch you and your life will never be the same. You got to be hungry for Jesus to touch you?

Mark 3:1-3:5 The fact that this mans hand was withered, he either contracted some kind of disease or had some kind of accident. In other words: He wasn’t born that way.
Praise God for the power of the blood, the power that sets you free, the power of the blood of Jesus will heal your heart; heal your mind, to purge your conscience. Remember living in this world life infects your mind, and life is not always kind and life is not always fair (and it withered up your hand of faith) it withered up your expectation of better days. And now maybe you have quit dreaming, quit reaching, maybe quit expecting. You’ve just settled down into that’s just the way it is attitude. One of the worst things that can ever happen to you is to quit dreaming and settle down into just existing. Jesus said: The thief cometh to steal and to kill and to destroy, but I have come that you might have life and have it (more abundantly.)

Mark 3:1-3:5-- Jesus looked at this man, and he saw more than just a withered hand, he saw a withered life. He saw all his anger and frustration, he saw all his disappointments and broken dreams, he saw every time he had tried and failed.
Then Jesus said to him as he says to you today: Stretch forth thy hand.  He know it’s going to be hard, He know it’s going to take some effort, He knows you’re going to have to push past the bad experiences of the past, He knows there’s going to be some pain that you’re going to have to overcome some opposition But go ahead and stretch forth thy hand.
Child of God if you are going to go anywhere in God you are going to have to stretch, it may cause some discomfort, it may upset some people, some people may turn their backs on you, some people may lie on you, (but to walk with Jesus you have to be willing to stretch.)
Part of the stretching is separation from the crowd: Everybody can’t go where God is taking you, everybody don’t want to go where God is taking you. (The bible teaches you to follow the cloud, not the crowd) The glory of God is in the cloud not the crowd
That withered hand represents all the can’t and don’ts of life and all the opposition to your dreams and visions and desires.
When Jesus spoke those words to that man: It ignited an explosion in his spirit, and faith came alive and instantly the impossible became possible. Instantly he was able to do what everybody said he could never do. Instantly his life and past failures broke off. And instantly that which was withered, became whole and complete.

You right now can breakthrough; to break loose it’s going to take some stretching but you can do it. Your mind is being stretched, your faith is being stretched (Your going to break out of the way things usually are. See yourself right now, doing what they said you could never do.
The Holy Spirit is telling you today that the devil is a liar: and God is telling you (you can have it) you can reach it (if) you’re willing to stretch. To go to this next level you’re going to have to pray like you’ve never prayed before And Praise like you’ve never praised before and sow like you’ve never sown before.
You can have it, you can reach it (if) you’re willing to stretch. Dare to stretch and start reaching into the faith realm.

You’ll endure affliction so don’t give up

Affliction: - A condition or cause of pain, suffering, or distress. Psalm 34:19 know that there are going to be in your life some distress, sufferings, unhappiness, pain, disappointments, hurt feelings, loneliness, and many other problems BUT THE LORD WILL DELIVER YOU OUT OF THEM ALL.

Now patience powerfully proves your eternal life, it causes you to be able to bear trouble, suffer and endure affliction for a long time and remaining faithful. Patience is not arguing with the Lord, backsliding from the Lord, blaming the Lord or others, finding fault with God or complaining about your situation, quitting your spiritual duties, leaving the church, envying those not suffering.

You might be facing all kinds of afflictions, it may seem like your perfect and complete life has lost all of its power. Trouble may be facing you on every side and you are at the point you feel that there is no hope. It may seem like you are not going to make it. It may seem like the grass is greener over there, it may seem like God is blessing others and has left you out in the cold. But hold on and endure times of affliction because if you give up now it will affect not only you but generations to come. Tell somebody wait – don’t be so quick to run-a-way generations to come are depending on you to endure affliction.

You might even get to the point that you question God and say this is not what I expected. You might even think of telling God I’m not cut out for this anymore, I am going back to my old ways my old me because this affliction is more than I can bear. But God, wants to lead you to 2 Corinthians 4:17 where Scripture says “For your light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for you far more an eternal weight of glory”. So remember, this time is just temporary.


Know that The Holy Spirit knows your thoughts and if you listen for His voice He has thoughts of goodness and not of evil to bring you. He says: I have seeds that I have placed in you to bring forth; you are royalty in my Kingdom you are going to be effective in leading many souls to glory.

He wants you to know Gods joy is your strength. He wants you to know you can make it, every step you take will give you more strength and with His joy that He provides, you’ll be strengthened to make it another step, each step He will give you more strength and you’ll endure affliction.

REMEMBER: - Do not allow your soul, which is where your emotions, will, and intellect are housed, to wander about without the supervision of your enduring faith. As you persevere in the faith, you’ll endure affliction so don’t give up, keep on believing, hold on to God’s unchanging hand and as you keep the faith, the faith will keep you.