Have you ever heard it said that there is a place in all of us that only God can fill? For certain, we all have a void that needs to be filled by the presence of God, via the Holy Spirit in our hearts and lives. But it can also be filled with the wrong thing or things. Many of us know from personal experience that when we first become believers, we find pure joy and a peace from the Lord that surpasses any other kind of peace.
It is life-changing when we turn from self-lordship and submit our lives to Father God as true Lord. We go from lost to found, from the bondage of sin to freedom in Christ and no longer wanting to sin. We go from hell-bound to heaven-bound! And those of us with this experience, know that in time, if we are not careful, we can lose that wonderful peace and true joy we acquired. The old selfish nature longs to creep back in. And the devil and his evil forces want us to stumble more than ever. The world and the people of it, would pull us back into it with the blink of an eye. We learn that we cannot serve the Lord and this world too. Our hearts, if not guarded, can have less of the Lord in them and more of things they shouldn't. Becoming born-again is just the beginning. We must guard our hearts from the old nature by denying it daily (crucifying it). We must keep our distance from being pulled back into the world and follow the Lord closely, keeping our ears open to Him and shut to the enemy. We have to learn God’s Word so that it can be effective in our lives and so it’s truth can guide us and in knowing it, we can recognize the lies of the enemy. Even though I have been a Christian for many years, I recently fell into a trap of the enemy by allowing myself to become more full of something else than the Lord. As spirit beings, our spirits are invisible. But we are guided by them. If we are in submission to the Lord, then the Holy Spirit guides us from there. If our hearts (which are really the centers of our spirits) can get distracted enough, we can lose that incredible peace and joy we once had and if not corrected, can even go astray. I did not consciously choose to forsake the Lord, but I allowed a distraction in my life that became all consuming. I literally felt like it was trying to take over lordship. This problem is not unique to me. For many, it comes in the form of a cell phone, gaming, Facebook or even something as seemingly innocent as working out. None of these are bad in themselves, no more than my hobby was… until, it became all consuming. I began to work on it in all my spare time or I was thinking about it night and day. Someone else might get carried away by work or ambition. Or perhaps another person, a spouse or love interest. But no person or thing, should ever become more consuming in our hearts than the Lord. In John 15:1-8, the Lord Jesus explains how we need to abide in Him and He will abide in us. He also explains what happens if we do not. He loves us and wants us to find our life in Him. Then He goes on to say more in the following verses.
We must abide in the Lord. Jesus is the vine and we are the branches that come from Him. I believe the Holy Spirit in us, is the life-giving force we need spiritually, just as a physical vine needs to be alive with its sap and the nutrients within to live. A poor source naturally would produce a poor vine. But a thriving vine, must be thriving internally to be the best. We must have the Holy Spirit in us and be full of Him, and not ourselves or anything else. I like to think of our hearts as having a throne upon them. And the question is always, who is on that throne? Lordship means total submission to whoever or whatever is lord. It could be self, good works, alcohol or drugs, another person, a career, anything, even a ministry. I found out the hard way that even a hobby could become all consuming.
We must keep the Lord first. It is the greatest mistake and a horrible sin to forsake Him. And as we see in this verse, He is the fountain of living waters. And when we allow anything else to take us over, it is like we choose broken cisterns in place of the Lord, that cannot even hold water. And it is not only bad for us, but it is an insult to the Lord. As you can imagine, I repented and threw myself upon the mercy of the Lord. But my heart had become so dry, I needed a miracle to even start to refill again. Praise the Lord that He helped me even to do that. As I started singing and worshiping the Lord from my heart, I could feel my heart begin to soften and as I yielded to the Holy Spirit, healing and refilling began. Paul in his letter to the Romans said the following to them.
We cannot overflow with something we do not have. If we are full of anything besides the Lord, that is what we will overflow with. Jesus said that the mouth speaks out of the abundance of the heart. Bless the Lord, He never gives up on us. I hope and pray that your heart is filled with the Lord today and if not, that you too would put out anything that has come between you and Him. The greatest peace and joy, belong to those who choose to heed the Word of God and the voice of the Holy Spirit! Eli Cockrell
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God looks at our hearts. What matters to Him is that we are willing to keep our hearts pure and surrender it all to Him. Obedience should be the result of a heart that loves God fully and is not self-serving. Paul was saying in 1 Corinthians 13:3, “If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.” Our good actions done with a wrong heart do not really please God and have no eternal value. Our relationship with God must be based on sincere love and all we do should be the result of it. The original Hebrew word translated “life” in the verse from above is “chay” and it means “as consisting of earthly felicity combined (often) with spiritual blessedness” (“Brown-Driver-Briggs Lexicon”). So, when we love God with all our hearts, minds and strength, we can have a truly happy, abundant and fulfilled life. The promised land, that “good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey”, that God promised to His people in Exodus 3:8, for us today is the life fully surrendered to the Lord, following His guidance and receiving all His blessings. God loves us so much, that He desires to lead and guide us step by step. He wants to participate in every decision we make and help us fulfill His amazing plan for our lives. He created us in a certain way, so that we fit perfectly in His plan and have whatever it takes to live a happy life while doing His will. The Lord’s plan for each of us is so uniquely designed that we must adhere to the one for us and not fall into the trap of copying others because we will miss out on God’s best for us. The Lord wants us to depend on Him and be the one we call on in times of trouble. Whenever we think we are self-sufficient and can handle everything in our own strength, we get in trouble and step out of our Lord’s will and plan for our lives. When we start our day asking God what He wants us to do and follow His to-do list, we have more joy and peace. How many times have we planned our day without seeking the Lord, to only end up getting very little accomplished or going right? Life is full of unplanned interruptions and because we are affected by the actions of others, we can end up frustrated, unhappy and lose our peace. Thankfully God knows what we do not and if we call on Him and trust His guidance we can accomplish more, keep our peace and be happier. When we become born again, we are just babies in Christ and we need to grow and mature spiritually. God loves us enough to not allow us to step into ministry before we are ready to handle the good and the bad of interacting with people and spiritual reality. It takes time for that to happen. We have to be transformed, by renewing our minds with the Word of God, to change the way we think, view life and make decisions God’s way. And that takes time. The more time we spend with our Lord, studying and meditating on His Word, and changing our character to become more like Jesus, the sooner we are ready to do what God called us to do. Whenever God is everything to us, we are in the best place we can ever be. God is not selfish in asking us to love Him, on the contrary, it is in our best interest. When we love God we want to please Him, we care about what He likes or dislikes and we start to desire the same things as the Lord does. We love people more and we want them to be saved and our whole perspective about life changes. And to be where God wants us to be, we need to do what the following verses say.
And then we need to go deeper than that, by becoming a living sacrifice.
To crucify our flesh and become a holy sacrifice is impossible in our own strength. Our flesh is our natural evil nature and contrary to our born-again spirit. And as we live in human bodies, it is easier to follow its desires than to follow the guidance of the Holy Spirit, who became one with our spirit since we became born-again. It is not easy to change and stop living as we did in the past, but the more we desire to do it and ask God to help, it is do-able, praise God! Jesus said:
Even if the Lord’s words sound harsh, losing our lives for His sake is the best thing that can ever happen to us. To let our God, who knows and can handle everything, lead and guide our steps is wonderful because it takes all the pressure off our shoulders. The only care we should have, is to please Him, listen for His voice and direction and to be obedient. In living a surrendered life, we have so much more joy and peace, and are blessed with the abundant life that Jesus desires for each of us! Hallelujah, thank You Lord! Carmen Pușcaș Several years ago a lady by the name of Kimberly D. Henderson, sat down on a regular Sunday morning and typed out words she felt the Lord was impressing on her heart. They were words of encouragement written for a loved one who was going through an incredibly difficult season of life. It has ended up being the most shared writing she ever put out on social media, which has told her that it really was for far more than just the person she wrote it for. She has graciously allowed us to re post it here.
Please know that she has posted it on a permanent page on her blog – in case someone needs it that it can be easy to find. A link to that page will be posted at the bottom of this blog. Please know her words are not in any way excusing or allowing for abuse or neglect. Nor is her message about standing idly by while people are hurting. These words are for those times when you have prayed for yourself or for someone else and God has responded, “Trust Me.” Please be encouraged by her message: I would have pulled Joseph out. Out of that pit. Out of that prison. Out of that pain. And I would have cheated nations out of the one God would use to deliver them from famine. I would have pulled David out. Out of Saul’s spear-throwing presence. Out of the caves he hid away in. Out of the pain of rejection. And I would have cheated Israel out of a God-hearted king. I would have pulled Esther out. Out of being snatched from her only family. Out of being placed in a position she never asked for. Out of the path of a vicious, power-hungry foe. And I would have cheated a people out of the woman God would use to save their very lives. And I would have pulled Jesus off. Off of the cross. Off of the road that led to suffering and pain. Off of the path that would mean nakedness and beatings, nails and thorns. And I would have cheated the entire world out of a Savior. Out of salvation. Out of an eternity filled with no more suffering and no more pain. And oh friend. I want to pull you out. I want to change your path. I want to stop your pain. But right now I know I would be wrong. I would be out of line. I would be cheating you and cheating the world out of so much good. Because God knows. He knows the good this pain will produce. He knows the beauty this hard will grow. He’s watching over you and keeping you even in the midst of this. And He’s promising you that you can trust Him. Even when it all feels like more than you can bear. So instead of trying to pull you out, I’m lifting you up. I’m kneeling before the Father and I’m asking Him to give you strength. To give you hope. I’m asking Him to protect you and to move you when the time is right. I’m asking Him to help you stay prayerful and discerning. I’m asking Him how I can best love you and be a help to you. And I’m believing He’s going to use your life in powerful and beautiful ways. Ways that will leave your heart grateful and humbly thankful for this road you’ve been on. © Kimberly D. Henderson, 2017 We all go through seasons in life when we need the encouragements written in Psalms 91. Many Christians quote the verses about the protection and victory that God promises us, but only few realize what is needed for them to become real in our lives. God loves us unconditionally and all He asks us to do is for our own good. But if we choose to doubt the love of God, fear the hardships, and worry about what will happen, we miss out the protection and blessings that are already in store for us.
Many theologians believe that Moses wrote this psalm, because he is mentioned as the author of the previous one and it has similarities with his writings, but even if we are not sure of the identity of the writer, we can be sure that his inspiration was the Holy Spirit. The first 2 verses, as well as verses 9 and 14 show who may benefit of the promises of this psalm. This protection from evil is not for those who just visit the presence of the Lord on rare occasions, especially when in need, or are desperate. These promises are for those who remain, and even dwell, in the shelter offered by God. To dwell in the presence of the Lord means having a constant relationship and resting in Him. The NIV and some other versions, translate the Hebrew word for “abide” with “rest,” and I can understand why. We need to feel so comfortable under our Lord’s shadow that we can rest. We give Him our worries, fears, problems because we are sure that He has the best solutions for everything. The words we speak are very important. Let us remember that "Death and life are in the power of the tongue" (Proverbs 18:21a) and the quality of our lives depends on what we say. When we declare and believe that the Lord is our place of safety and that we trust Him, we have what we say. Knowing that our Heavenly Father loves us so much that He cares and helps us solve every problem we have, we can live relaxed and enjoy life. To get to where we rest in the Lord, we must know Him and trust that He saves us from trouble, surrounds us with His protective walls, and wants our good even more than we can wish for ourselves.
Verse 3 says that the Lord will not let us fall into the snares of the evil ones, and protect us from the contagious diseases and their consequences. God's truth is a strong shield that protects us, but we must choose not to fear any evil of the kingdom of darkness or of the world we live in. Even if there are thousands of victims around us, if we choose to sincerely love the Lord, live in His presence, and trust His protection, we will be safe and only watch how expensive disobedience is for the wicked ones. If we do not understand how this kind of amazing protection is possible, verse 9 reminds us.
How wonderful it is to know that we can have a safe place in the Lord, where we are protected from the destructive attacks of the enemy. We continue to see that God commands His angels to guard us in everything we do according to the will of the Lord, and even if we have to go through difficult situations, we will be victorious. And the ending is even more wonderful:
Our Almighty God says that He saves and protects us from evil, because we love Him, we know who He is and how powerful the proclamation of His Name is. Our prayers are heard, the Lord is with us, for better or for worse, we are never without Him, because He lives in the heart of every born-again Christian. The most amazing thing is that He does not only saves us from evil, but also honors and blesses us with long lives and saves our souls. What can be more beautiful and desirable than to love God and be loved by Him? Let us know that if we trust in the Lord, we can rest in His presence, be guarded from anything that could destroy us and in any difficult situation, not have to fear. With Jesus, even if we leave these physical bodies we still gain, as Paul said: For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain. – Philippians 1:21 Carmen Pușcaș Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever. 1 Chronicles 16:34 If God's mercy (kindness, patience, grace and compassion) is everlasting, it means that it never ends, and that our heavenly Father is on our side and has the best feelings for us at all times. The Lord truly deserves all our praise, love, and gratitude. In difficult times, that seem to have no way out, the Lord reminds us of how important it is to praise Him. When we praise God for who He is and for all the wonderful things He has done for us through His Son, Jesus Christ, our problems no longer seem so serious. Why? Because we remember how good the Lord is, that nothing is too hard or impossible for Him, and that He does not leave us alone not even for a moment. Let us not forget what Jesus said in John 10:10: “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly” and that we were created for love, joy, peace, and all that results from the presence of the Holy Spirit in the heart of the born-again Christian (Galatians 5:22-23). Thoughts that lead to negative emotions, whenever we are worried or afraid of something that may or may not even happen, do us no good. King David understood the power of praising God very well, as through praise and worship he was able to get through difficult times in his life. The psalms he composed inspired by the Holy Spirit have helped and comforted believers of all times.
When those around us see that we choose to praise God no matter what we go through and that we have the right attitude in any situation, they will want to have what we have. Personal example is the most effective method of evangelism. We do not only obey God, but we can also keep our peace and joy in hard times and help those around us to trust the Lord and desire to become His children. If we wait to be happy and rejoice only when everything goes our way and we accomplish all our plans, we may not have much joy. Is there any benefit in being sad, depressed, unhappy, or frustrated? Do we solve anything when we are worried and lose sleep thinking about things we cannot change or bad memories from the past?
And Jesus concluded by saying: “But seek the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added to you.” (Luke 12:31). When we are focused on what the Lord wants us to do and what pleases Him, we can keep our hearts pure, because we no longer seek the things of the world or what can hurt us. Everything God wants for us and what He expects from us is always for the best. The more we love the Lord, the more we will praise Him and the happier we will be. Life with Jesus is a happy life here on earth and for all eternity in His presence. When we choose to praise the Lord, we rise above the problems and allow Him to show us the best solution for our situation. A thankful heart is a happy heart that lives in God’s will and utilizes this key for a blessed life and making it to heaven! Carmen Pușcaș The troubles that happen in our lives are used by the Lord to show us what is in our hearts and needs to be corrected. The Lord loves us fully, with pure and perfect love, and does not enjoy our suffering, but only in hard times are our weaknesses revealed. The Lord never forces us to do what is right, because He has given us free will. We ourselves, must choose to renounce whatever is wrong and ask Him to help us change.
Have you ever wondered, why God allows the devil to attack us? There are several biblical scenarios that answer this question.
Whenever we sin, we do the will of the evil one (Romans 6:16), giving him the legal right to hurt us, until we ask God to forgive us. Sin opens the "spiritual door" for the enemy, and it seems he never misses the chance to use it. Let's see how Jesus characterizes Satan:
Satan is the master of twisting the truth with lies and cunning deception. The thoughts he brings into our minds are not usually obvious sins, because we would not accept them. There are often grains of truth in the enemy’s temptation, so that we may fall into its trap. He uses things from our past, old worldly patterns of thinking, the opinions or actions of others, etc. The devil has no power over us as born-again Christians because Jesus paid for our redemption and set us free from the power of sin. When we believe the enemy’s lies, we empower him to do to us what we believed. Job said, "For the thing I greatly feared has come upon me, and what I dreaded has happened to me." (Job 3:25). We need to pay close attention to the thoughts that go through our minds, to identify what is coming from the evil one, and to oppose it. The Holy Spirit convicts us of sin, while the devil condemns us. When we lose our peace that comes from the presence of the Holy Spirit, we may have sinned. That is why we pray to the Lord to show us what we have done wrong, repent and ask for His forgiveness. If we continue to feel condemned after sincerely repenting, it is certain that the devil is the source of those accusations and not the Holy Spirit. And it is time to use the spiritual authority we have in the Name of Jesus Christ to resist the devil, as we read in James 4:7, “Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.” But what do we do when the free will of another person causes us aggravation or suffering? For as long as we live on this earth, we are in relationships with our relatives, friends, neighbors, colleagues, and others. It is sad that the devil has access to some of them, as they have rejected Jesus and are not living by God's laws. There are also those who have chosen to obey the evil one and find pleasure in what is evil. We can handle the wickedness of those around us better, if we know that Jesus Christ, who is in our hearts, is greater than the devil who is in the world (1 John 4:4). Through the Lord we are already victorious. Even if we go through trials, we are not defeated. We pray for those who want to harm us to renounce their evil ways and be reconciled with God, and for us to keep our hearts pure without hatred and wickedness. By doing so we can keep our peace and trust in the Lord's protection during hard times. No matter how hard the season we are in is, it will end at some point, and the Lord certainly will not allow us to be hurt beyond our ability to endure. Our heavenly Father loves us to the fullest and wants us to make heaven. He will never, ever leave or forsake us. Praise God! If we wholeheartedly desire to do God's will, nothing, not even physical death, can rob us of our salvation. Paul said in Philippians 1:21 that for him, "to live is Christ, and to die is gain." The life lived for Christ is a victorious life. When we see everything with a heavenly perspective, we can stop loving the world and the material things as we did before we were born-again. The more we seek to know God and have a heavenly focus, the better we handle the wickedness of men, and whatever goes wrong. If we know that physical death means just leaving this body and that our spirit will be instantly in the presence of Jesus, we do not fear death. On the contrary, in heaven there will be no suffering, sorrow, torment, or pain, only true eternal happiness. No matter what we have to endure, let us stand firm knowing that God is on our side, wants the best for us, and will help us overcome anything and everything. The Lord "... heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds." (Psalms 147:3) and it is worth it to praise Him and live for Him, no matter what happens in this world. Carmen Pușcaș Were you involved in sports in your youth or as a teenager or maybe later as an adult? If so, then you know it gets harder as you go. For the young ones, the balls are often bigger and softer, the rules are quite lax. If you stay with it, the older you get, the harder the balls and tougher the rules become! In a sense, it is similar to what has happened in the world we are living in today. If you were playing any kind of softball before, those days are over. It is a hardball world today with tough rules, high-speed fast balls and wild curve balls that are often difficult to see coming.
In order to make it, one has to be diligent. It does not take much, and you can be “out of the game.” Praise the Lord, He is with us and cares about every facet of our days and lives. Praise the Lord, even if the world were to go completely insane, He is still Lord and He is still with us. My prayer is that no matter what happens in this world, you will be so attuned to the Lord, that He will be able to guide you through it. There is a measure of evil that will be allowed in the last of the last days. Are we there yet? Personally, I think we are on the edge, but even if I am wrong, we are closer than ever. So what do we do? The most important thing anyone can do is be right with God and draw close to Him no matter what. If times get harder, this will become even more important. One needs to have their soul fed with the water and the word. What does that mean? We need to be strong in the Holy Spirit and the Bible. This is done through prayer, study, and worship. By worship I mean praise and adoration. Praise is being thankful and glorifying God for who He is and for His provisions, mercy, and grace. Adoration is something more. It is intimate. It is not usually loud. It comes from intimately adoring the Lord because of knowing Him. All these things, make one stronger in Christ and it is more important than ever to be strong in the Lord. It is not enough just to be a milk-toast Christian, one needs to be resilient in the Lord. As for hearing the Lord, if you are not quite there yet, just pray and listen for His voice. He still speaks today. Do not let anyone’s negativity hinder you. He speaks in the heart area (the spirit), kind of where your gut instincts come from. It may seem like you hear Him in your head, but in reality, He is directing you and speaking by the Holy Spirit to your spirit. And usually after asking the Lord for help, you know deep inside what to do. Sometimes He speaks in a calm, soft voice. He speaks in this manner on purpose, so that we must listen to hear. He does not force this kind of voice on people who will not listen. Learn to pray and learn to listen. Learn God’s Word. The devil knows the Bible. Yes, the devil knows the Bible and he knows very well how to twist it. That is his specialty. But how would we know when it is being twisted if we don’t know the truth of it? How can we stand on the promises of God if we do not know them? This is the time to dig into God’s Word! Not just read it, but read it to seriously learn and get it correctly and deeply into our hearts. There will come a day when the Bible will be outlawed. It will happen because the enemy does not want the truth known. How will anyone learn then, when anything godly has been removed from stores, the internet, and libraries? Eventually church will even be outlawed. I bet many people will wish they had gone when they could have. We must get deeper in God’s Word today. We must intensify our relationships with Him. The Bible says, if we draw close to God, He will draw close to us. The days of easily making it to heaven are probably days behind us. The days of playing church are quickly disappearing. A line has already been drawn. One side will have it easier in the world but will regret it for all eternity. The other side, will stand faithful to the Lord no matter how much pressure and persecution comes, but will have eternal peace and joy. The choice is up to us. It is time to get serious in our relationship with the Lord. Eli Cockrell As we pass from one year to the next, it is natural to pause, reflect and set our hearts to go forward. In the last two years, the whole earth has faced new and exceedingly difficult challenges. The gravity of living in this current age is very serious.
As we move forward, we must set our hearts to be faithful to the Lord, no matter how much pressure the wicked of this world and the devil put forth. What will give us the wisdom and strength to hold fast in our faith and trust in the Lord’s provision on these stormy seas? The answer is found in keeping our eyes upon the Lord and purposefully staying close to Him, having Him guide us through whatever comes.
I find what Jesus said when closing the parable of the persistent widow, quite interesting,
As one who believes that Christians will go through a measure of tribulation (not God’s wrath) before the rapture, this section of verses really speaks to me. God will avenge what is done to His people and speedily. And imagine Jesus looking each one of us in the eye saying, “when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?” In Matthew 10:22, 24:13 and Mark 13:13, Jesus has said we need to endure to the end to be saved. We can trust the Lord for provision, even if we have to be like Elijah and Elisha where we see how the Lord provided for them in very miraculous ways during harsh times (1 Kings 17, 18; 2 Kings 4). Let’s look to the heroes and heroines of our faith. Abraham struck out from his homeland, trusting the voice of the Lord and after many years, really did become the father of many nations. Joseph’s faith stood fast even when his own brothers betrayed him and sold him into slavery. Though his prayers did not get answered in the way he wanted, God used him to save many lives, including the lives of his own family and heal their dysfunctional hurts. David was anointed to be king but had to endure years of being hunted down by the “wrongful king” wanting to kill him. In the end, God used him as king of Israel and a psalm writer whose verses still help people and bless God to this day. Daniel stood fast, even being taken captive when his country was overtaken, and many killed. God used him mightily in his day and even gave him incredible dreams, visions, and prophecies for the future. Ruth (a Gentile) married into a foreign family (Hebrew) and became a widow, along with her mother-in-law and sister-in-law becoming widows too. Through her faithfulness, God provided for her and her mother-in-law in amazing ways. She became part of the lineage of Christ. Rahab was a prostitute but when the opportunity of faith came her way, she yielded to the Lord and helped save God’s people. She also became part of the lineage of Christ. The Lord will take care of us in His wisdom, as we put our trust in Him. Our choices not only affect us currently but have the potential of eternal value. And not only do our decisions affect us, but affect our families, coworkers, and many others, whether we realize it at the time or not. And most importantly, our main motivation should be the Lord. Whatever we do, matters to Him. And He is the one who has given His all for us, (even with great pain, taking upon Himself our sins and even with much rejection) we can love and respect Him in return, and trust Him through whatever lies ahead. Both He and His love for us, have been proven to mankind since the Garden of Eden. Let us hold on to the Lord, let us hold on. E Cockrell The night Jesus was born, an angel of the Lord, said to the nearby shepherds,
The angel spoke these great words of encouragement to the shepherds that day and since then, these words have blessed more people than we could count. The angel was announcing the Messiah, Christ Jesus. And even more, the angel said “a Savior” was born, and not just for the Jews, but for “all people.” John, the apostle, recorded in 1 John 3:8b, that the Son of God came to “destroy the works of the devil.” Not only did Jesus come to be our Savior, paying the price for our sins, but He came to deliver us from the fallen nature that came with sin. The first Adam was created pure and to be sinless, but when he disobeyed God and sinned, we, his descendants, have no longer been naturally born in the image of God, but instead, have been born with a fallen sinful nature. But the second Adam, Jesus Christ, came to us sinless and stayed sinless. And through the Lord and His sacrifice, we can be born-again. Jesus has made the way, for us to get back to the image of God, that man was first born in. We are still, born first, from our parents with a sinful nature, but when we become Christians, we become born-again in our spirits, which no longer have a sinful nature. This was a huge part of the mission of Jesus Christ when He came! Hallelujah! In the flesh, we have the carnal, fallen image of the devil. In the spirit, we (born-again Christians), have the image of God. As long as we are in these bodies, we will have the war. The born-again us, has to constantly rule over the carnal nature. This is why we each, have to pick up our cross and carry it daily. It is our flesh, our carnal nature, that we must keep crucified. In the following verse, we can see that each one of us, is either a child of the devil, or a child of God. Everyone, is one of the two.
We were born "children of the devil" through our earthly parents, but through Christ, we become the children of God!
This is what Jesus made possible! Not only did He acquire forgiveness for us, but He made it possible for all who will repent, believe upon and follow Him, to be able to be one with God. And when He ascended to heaven, the Father sent the Holy Spirit to indwell, comfort, strengthen and guide us! When we belong to the Lord, we are in Him and He is in us. All this is possible because Jesus came and made the way! When Jesus came, He brought life for us, and destroyed the works of the devil, for all who will receive Him! Behold what manner of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called the children of God. 1 John 3:1a The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; and He knows those who trust in Him. Nahum 1:7 The Lord is gracious and full of compassion, slow to anger and great in mercy. Psalms 145:8 The goodness of God is an undeniable truth and so are all His attributes. Therefore, if we do not recognize His goodness in our lives, the problem is not with God, but with us. God is perfect, He does not have to change, nor does He need to do anything better than He already does. We are the ones who need to change.
Let us not forget that all that is good comes from God (“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.” - James 1:17). On the other hand, sickness, all that is evil and can destroy us, come from the devil (“He (the devil) was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him…” - John 8:44b). Even the evil that our fellow men do to us, has its origin in the evil thoughts and impulses of the carnal nature or in what they receive from the evil one, and not from God (“... God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone.”- James 1:13). Maybe you are going through a difficult time, and have many reasons one could complain about, frustrations, fears and perhaps even lost a loved one and the pain you feel could only be fully understood by the Lord. Circumstances, feelings, previous experiences and traumas inherited from previous generations, all contribute to the level of suffering that each one of us has to endure at some point. Maybe you have a difficult situation in the family, at work, at school or with people who are very important to you. Whatever the situation, if it is not up to us to change it, we must ask the Lord to show us how to handle it. He has the best solution for any problem. Maybe God has allowed us to be in a difficult place, that we can learn something from it, that we would not have learned any other way. Perhaps the Lord wants us to detach ourselves from problems and draw closer to Him through Bible study, prayer, praise, and worship. Maybe we need to learn how to love those who are hard to love and help them change. Maybe it's time to change something and get out of the environment we are in and where we do not belong anymore. Sometimes, the very fact that the situation becomes unbearable can be a sign that victory is near and the enemy is doing his best to make us doubt that the Lord is helping us and to accept defeat. The Lord's timing is very important. Let us not be ahead of Him, nor too late in what we have to do. When we act in God’s timing, success is guaranteed by the One who can do everything and for whom nothing is too difficult! In any difficult situation it is very important to keep our heart pure, because the springs of life come out of the heart. If we allow frustration and dissatisfaction to build up, they become the source of the words we speak and our attitude becomes hostile and negative. It is well known that even if we cannot control the circumstances, we can control how we respond to them. We do not solve the problems if we get upset, agitated, lose sleep or even have a pity party. The correct solution comes from the Lord, and when we put our trust in Him, we find the patience we need and do what He leads us to do. Let us choose to believe that the Lord has the perfect solution for our problem and ask the Holy Spirit to show us God’s will and help us see the good side of the situation. Let us remember what the following verses say:
Jesus is full of mercy for us, because He lived in a human body and was tempted in all aspects, even though He did not fall into temptation and sin. Jesus was the perfect “blameless and spotless” lamb, who was needed to be the perfect sacrifice for all the sins of mankind, including for each of us. So we can come boldly to “the throne of grace” with everything that bothers and upsets us. The Lord always cares about our suffering, He always has a solution, and He always wants to intervene for us, if we will but ask Him and choose to trust that He will. We reach the throne of the heavenly Father, only through Jesus Christ, and there we find all the love, mercy, and favor we need when we are struggling. You may be wondering how we get to God's throne? The desire to communicate with the Heavenly Father is the first step, and if you have not yet surrendered your life to the Lord Jesus, this must be the second step (Romans 10:9-10, “that if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”).
Because Jesus is the only way to God the Father, after He becomes the Lord of our lives, we can reach the "throne of grace" when we pray sincerely. The Lord looks at “the heart” of the one who prays and not at how sophisticated their prayer is. He wants us to tell Him the truth about what we feel, what hurts or makes us happy, and especially to want to receive His answer to our requests and obey it. Sadly, many Christians believe that God must do or give them anything they ask for, regardless of His plans or wisdom. And when they do not receive what they asked for, they become frustrated and turn away from the Lord. The truth is, that when we choose to follow Jesus and receive salvation through His sacrifice, we are redeemed from the penalty of death for our sins. We then no longer belong to ourselves but belong to the One who paid for our salvation. Therefore, we must obey God’s will, that He teaches us through His Word, and what He tells us through the Holy Spirit. Everything God asks us to do is truly for our own good and has eternal implications. That is why it is up to us to give all our hurts to Him and take time daily to study and meditate on God's Word. By knowing the Scripture, it helps us learn to hear when He speaks to us and to recognize which thoughts are from the Holy Spirit or not. Let us ask God to reveal more of Himself and of the depths of His love and grace to us, and help us to trust Him more. When our hearts are filled with gratitude and praise to God for all He has done for us, we can face difficult situations more easily and may even be filled with the joy and peace of the Holy Spirit as we focus on the Lord and not on the circumstances. Carmen Pușcaș |
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