Tag: faith

God’s Promise: Joy and Peace

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The words of Jesus:

John 14:27-28

Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.  

John 15:11-12

These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full.  

John 16:33

These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.

Jesus says, “Peace I give to you” and “your joy will be full.”  But, His peace and joy are much different than the world view of peace and joy.  That doesn’t mean everything will run smoothly in your life; it means that no matter what life throws at you, you will have peace and joy in your heart.  That God will lead you through it.  That Christ is by your side.  That the Spirit within you will give you strength.  That you will have confidence and faith, knowing that you will be in heaven with almighty God. Continue reading “God’s Promise: Joy and Peace”

God’s Promise: You Will Overcome

This week started out with some struggles at work.  I was frustrated and angry.  Someone said some things that really upset me.  It was early in the day, so it put me in a bad mood for awhile and I was flustered.  So, I prayed.  I prayed to clear my head and to not allow this affect my thoughts, my mood or how I treated others.  I prayed that I would have wisdom and that I would do my job well and that I would be a light to those around me.  I think to the most part, I was able to do that.  The Bible says, “be angry and do not sin,” or another version is something like “do not sin in your anger.”  I think I did pretty well, but the person I was most angry at was gone by the time I got back from underground (I am a geologist in an underground mine, so I was away from most of the people in the office).  As I was thinking about that this morning, I was thinking of one of God’s promises, that He is always with me and He will help me to overcome whatever situation I may be in.  As a child of God, I have this confidence. Continue reading “God’s Promise: You Will Overcome”

No Need to Fear

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The Lord is my Light

Psalm 27:1

The LORD is my light and my salvation;

Whom shall I fear?

The LORD is the strength of my life;

Of whom shall I be afraid?

With all the talk of violence and mass shootings and gun laws and the direction our country and this world is heading, one thing we can be sure of is that God is in control and there is no need to fear.  Many would ask, then why does God allow these things to happen?  I do not know the answer, but we live in a fallen world.  We are not God’s puppets, and there are evil people in this world and Satan is allowed to roam this earth…for now.  But I believe his time is short.  It appears we are living Matthew 24.  But, those of us who believe in Jesus Christ, who follow Him, have nothing to fear.  God assures us of this and there are better things to come.  No matter what we are going through, God is with us and He will guide us and He will give us all that we need.  No matter what happens to us on this earth, we have so much to look forward to.  There is no need to fear. Continue reading “No Need to Fear”

What to do to Grow in the Spirit

In my our previous post, we discussed how God helps us to mature as a believer.  Today we will look at what the scripture says what our part is.  We don’t just sit back and watch God work.  He wants us to do something.  As a believer the Spirit indwells in us and guides us to live in a way that honors God and in so doing, our faith will grow and so will our character.  In our daily lives as well as the ministry God has called each of us to do, we need to be like Peter and get out of the boat and obey what Jesus commands us to do.  The other twelve sat in the boat and watched while Peter walked on water. Continue reading “What to do to Grow in the Spirit”

Be Ready: Live for Jesus’ Return

In the previous post, we talked about using what God has given us to further His kingdom.  When Christ returns, how will we answer the question, “what have you done with the talents I gave you?”  Another question we might ask ourselves is, “how are we living to prepare for Jesus’ return?”  Will He say to us, “Well done, good and faithful servant?”  Will there be other people in heaven because of us or other believers who have become more mature because of the work God has done through us?  Did we follow His will and fulfill the ministries He gave us?  Of course the most important question, is, “Do you know Jesus and is He Lord of your Life?”  Does He know you?  So, let’s talk about what the Bible says we should do in our lives to prepare for The Day of the Lord.  It is going to be a great day for those of us who are in Christ, but terrible for those who have rejected Him.  Thanks be to God for His grace!  I pray that you have accepted that grace or will accept it. Continue reading “Be Ready: Live for Jesus’ Return”