Confidence in the Midst of Uncertainty

Never in our lives have we experienced as much uncertainty as in the past year. You know about the kind of pain that people have experienced — fear, huge societal changes, sickness, mourning, psychological imbalance and illness are a few of the major challenges the whole world has faced. Undoubtedly you have experienced some measure of uncertainty as well. We simply didn’t know what to expect next.

Yes, this year was different in very many ways; however, our expectations of the future are often based on nothing more than a feeling. And feelings may or may not be informed by reality.

But what if you could have CONFIDENT EXPECTATION that no matter what happens, it will work out for your good? That may mean that when bad things happen, there will be something good that comes from it. It may mean that you will be blessed far above what you could ask or imagine. It may mean that when you face the most difficult trial of your life, you will be given whatever you need to cope.

Confident expectation is the definition of “hope” and there is only one Source of hope.

Jesus.

Are you open to learning why nearly 2.4 billion people follow Jesus today?

Here’s an introduction: https://wowwnlbi.wordpress.com/what-it-means-to-follow-jesus-how-to-become-a-christian/

Here’s a more in-depth look: https://jesusfreedom.wordpress.com/who-is-jesus/

3 things that will make your heart lighter and your spirit brighter today

If there were three simple things you could do to ease your mind and heart, grow closer to God, and increase your joy, how fast would you run toward them?

How would our lives change if we were to practice this Scripture —

“Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” I Thessalonians 5:16-18 New International Version

Rejoice always

Certainly the circumstances of life don’t always lend themselves to rejoicing but we always have a choice about which perspective we will take. Up or down. Joy or sadness. It is a choice.

To rejoice means to recognize God’s favor and be glad about it.

Consider how your life would be different if you were to make it a practice to stop at different times throughout the day and consider how God has blessed you then say to Him, “Lord, this blessing is favor from you and I’m glad. I rejoice in you!”

What’s the first step for you in making a habit of rejoicing?

Pray continually

A minister made this easier for me to grasp when he paraphrased it this way — “Stay in touch with God.”

We are bombarded with messages. How much time do we spend in conversation on the phone or in-person? How many times a day do we check social media, emails, texts? What if we were to spend this much effort staying in touch with God?

Imagine how much peace we could have if we were to take our cares to the Father instead of pondering them over and over and over. How much more focused we would be if we were to seek His wisdom by praying over decisions instead of reacting to life’s challenges immediately? What if praying continually would help us grasp more fully the concept that our God is a loving Father?

One of my challenges of praying throughout the day is remembering to do so. It takes practice!

What’s the first step for you in making a habit of staying in touch with God?

Give thanks in all circumstances

We are not told to give thanks FOR all circumstances. Jesus specifically said we would have trouble in this world. But is there anything for which we can choose to be thankful — even in the midst of trouble? And like the discussion about joy, let’s realize that most days are not full of trouble and begin by practicing the discipline of giving thanks on most days.

Psychologists say that focusing on the things for which we are thankful provides multiple benefits. Amy Morin, a psychotherapist and author of 13 Things Mentally Strong People Don’t Do, identifies 7 benefits.

When I focus on the spiritual blessings, people, situations, and things for which I am thankful, my mind and heart are happy. Why not choose to focus on these things instead of negative, hurtful or even painful thoughts?

What’s your first step in creating a habit of giving thanks?

When we rejoice, pray, and give thanks, our spirit has an opportunity to rise above the hurtful and ugly things in this life. Our minds and hearts are more at ease, we grow closer to God, and our joy is increased. Will you or I allow anything to keep us from running toward God in these ways?

Thank you, Lord Jesus, that your Word gives life!

Is there a way to achieve unity amidst all this division?

How would our lives be different if all of us were to make “every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (Ephesians 4: 3 NSRV)?

Divisions within nations and between nations, within churches and between churches, within families and between families all increase anxiety and reduce peace. What we need is unity.

But how do we even approach the subject?

I don’t purport to have the answer to this most challenging of problems.  What I know is that the only person I can control is myself. And I am compelled to begin with my attitudes and behavior to do what I can do to contribute toward unity, which leads to peace.

The Holy Spirit outlines a plan in Ephesians 4: 1-3, 25-32.

• Be completely humble and gentle (v. 2 NIV)
• Be patient
• Bear with each one
• Make every effort to maintain the Unity of the Spirit (v. 3 NSRV)
• Put away falsehood
• Speak the truth
• Do not sin when angry
• “Do not make room for the devil” (v. 27 NSRV)
• Don’t use evil talk
• Speak what is useful for building up
• Do not grieve the Spirit
• Put away these things — bitterness, wrath, anger, wrangling, slander, all malice (v. 30-31 NSRV)
• Be kind and tenderhearted
• Forgive as God forgave you through Jesus

This will require consistent effort and a conscious reminder.

Is the result worth it to us individually? Collectively?

He will provide the help if we ask. Will I? Will you?

 

 

 

 

Do you need an updated tool to share your faith more effectively with others?

In the quest to share your faith, is there a missing tool?

God has given us the written Word and there are many studies available to be used.

What would make it easier to share God’s Word with a friend, family member, co-worker, or neighbor in your society in today’s world?

Would you join me on a journey to assess the type of tool we need to share God’s Word with people living in this world today? Choose one or more of these questions below to answer and let’s do this as a community! (Please note the country in which you live.)

1. Share what you say to interest people in reading or studying the Word with you.
2. Do you have a particular Bible study curriculum that helps people learn about Jesus and then give their lives to Him?
3. What do you say to people to get the conversation started?

Please log your comments below so we can have a community discussion.

The desired outcome is to learn what is working and/or to create a process that will help more people in today’s society to open their hearts to Jesus.

 

Is there anything you need freedom from?

Sometimes we are shackled and don’t even know it. A person who grew up in a home where there was verbal abuse, for example, may be angry and may even imitate the behaviors witnessed during childhood. The same is true for any type of negative behavior that was modeled during one’s formative years.

To make matters more complicated, some of the things we feel compelled to do make the body feel good temporarily. Sometimes we are motivated to engage in destructive activities so we can feel accepted by the crowd, even if there is a massive price to pay financially, emotionally, physically, and spiritually.

Whether the things we struggle with are addictive to the point of destroying our bodies, minds, families, homes, or finances or whether we simply don’t stick to good boundaries with those who are unkind, many of us are hurting. And those hurts hold us back from what our most hearts strongly desire, beginning with love, inner peace and confident expectation for the future.

So how do we find these seemingly illusive things in a world where we can feel imprisoned regardless of the amount of money, education or status we have? How do we find peace whether we are literally living behind bars or feel bound because our religion is a rule book rather than a relationship?

We obviously have to look for a new resource or a new perspective.

During a time of fear, Jesus offers peace.

“When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you.’”  John 20:19 from the Holy Bible, New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

When the winds and the waves of life surround us, Jesus can quiet the storm if we will trust and follow Him.

“Immediately he made his disciples get into the boat and go on ahead to the other side, to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd. After saying farewell to them, he went up on the mountain to pray. When evening came, the boat was out on the sea, and he was alone on the land. When he saw that they were straining at the oars against an adverse wind, he came towards them early in the morning, walking on the sea. He intended to pass them by. But when they saw him walking on the sea, they thought it was a ghost and cried out; for they all saw him and were terrified. But immediately he spoke to them and said, “Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid.” Then he got into the boat with them and the wind ceased. And they were utterly astounded,” Mark 6:45-51 NSRV

Jesus gives us reason to have hope for the future.

“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.” John 3:16 NSRV

Would Jesus accept and love you? If so, how could His love give you love, true freedom and a confident expectation for the future?

Learn for yourself. Click and scroll down to Learn for yourself.

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“I don’t know who God is.”

Have you ever wondered if there really is a God? The one who created everything?

In the Spring of 2015, I had an opportunity to read a few verses of the Bible with 3 young adults who said they did not know who God is. When I asked one who God is, the response was, “Buddha? Mohammed?”

“No. Buddha was a teacher. Mohammed was a teacher. But God is the one true God, the creator of heaven and earth.”

We then proceeded to read the first chapter of Genesis.

When another expressed a lack of knowledge of who God is, I explained that some people who don’t want to follow the one true God will create an idol, like the wooden chair sitting in front of us. “They pray to the chair. They worship the chair. But the chair can’t love them or help them or save them.”

Ah ha. A glimmer of understanding.

“The one true God loves you and wants you to know Him and become His follower.”

The response from this beautiful young person, “Yes.”

Hear the beautiful expression of the one true God written by one of the writers of Psalms . . .

“For the Lord is the great God,
    the great King above all gods.
In his hand are the depths of the earth,
    and the mountain peaks belong to him.
The sea is his, for he made it,
    and his hands formed the dry land.”

Psalm 95:3-5 NIV

Here’s a prayer that we may have a heart like these young adults. “Oh, Lord, may we give up all the things we have put before you — our own will, our disobedience, our way that is different from your good and perfect way. May we serve only you, the one true God, creator of heaven and earth.”

 

Wandering or firmly planted?

Most people don’t like pain. We want it all to go smoothly.

But that’s not real life. Not in this Age.

So how do we gain spiritual and emotional peace when we feel as though we cannot go on? When pain is surging? When fear is in our face?

In the midst of the pain of Jeremiah’s message bursts forth a truth about trust, a truth about our God and Savior that washes away pain and fear.

“But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.” Jeremiah 17:7-8 (New International Version)

When we trust in and have confidence in the Lord, we are blessed. When we place our trust in the Lord God and place our confidence in him, we are firmly planted.

Heat may come. But we trust in God.

We never have to worry about a Recession, job loss, or of death. Will those things come? Maybe. Either way, He is trustworthy and we place our confidence in Him.

And He will make us fruitful!

Be encouraged by the sweet words of our Lord and ask Him to bless us with trust and confidence that pleases Him.

 

 

 

 

 

Can I be free from worry?

There was a time in my life when I thought I would scream if one more person said to me, “Just don’t worry about it.” “Just,” I thought. “Apparently you think refraining from worry is a simple proposition!”

Honestly, I had no idea how to stop worrying. “But what if we don’t have enough money? Or one of us is in a car crash? What if things don’t work out like we need them to work out?”

The roots of this kind of negative anticipatory thinking can be many. As for me, worry was a way of dealing with unpleasant circumstances that were outside my control.

Its twisted but here it is. Somewhere along the way I bought into the lie that analyzing the problem over and again . . . to the point of sometimes making myself ill . . . would solve the problem. That’s a big, fat, lie!

Worry is actually meditating on the negative.

Take a deep breath. Let it out slowly. Trust me. Deep breath . . .

Ready?

What will it take for you to control your thoughts?

Yes, there is personal responsibility in this matter. My job and your job is to take control of what we think.

Here are two very important strategies for controlling your thoughts, which means you will then choose the thoughts on which you will meditate. Bottom line: then you can control worry rather than allowing it to control you.

1. Study the Bible to know the Son of God and to learn the truth of God. If we truly believe (mentally accept and act on) these and other truths, we can use the truth of God as a weapon to combat the lies that Satan plants in our minds.

“Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform 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.” Romans 12:1-2 New International Version (Emphasis mine)

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” John 3:16-17 (NIV – Emphasis mine)

“See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!” I John 3:1a (NIV – Emphasis mine)

“I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.” I John 5:13 (NIV – Emphasis mine)

2. When lies from Satan and negative thoughts (such as worry) come into our minds, we must take them captive.

 “For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 (NIV – Emphasis mine)

When the thought enters your mind, “catch it.” Be aware of what you are thinking!

Question the thought. “Is this based on the truth of God or is it a lie from Satan? Will I continue to think about this, meditate on it, and think about all possibilities?”

If the thought is not based on truth, take charge! Replace what you are thinking with another thought. Memorize this verse so you will be ready for this spiritual warfare:

“Finally, brothers and sisters, 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. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.” Philippians 4:8-9 (NIV – Emphasis mine)

Memorize this list of good thoughts to dwell on.

• True
• Noble
• Right
• Pure
• Lovely
• Admirable
• Excellent
• Praiseworthy

This is one tool you can use to break a bad habit of dwelling on the negative and on thoughts that Satan plants in your mind.

“For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one (Jesus) who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” Hebrews 4:15-16 (NIV – parenthetical phrase and emphasis mine)

Sin does not occur at the moment Satan plants the thought into the mind, otherwise Jesus would be guilty of sin because he was tempted in every way. Sin occurs when we pick up the thought and act on it, which includes letting it simmer in our minds.

Jesus offers freedom from worry. We must believe him — mentally accept His truth and act on it!

 

 

Who’s by your side?

You are going about your day. Doing. Solving. Thinking. Some more doing.

The telephone rings. You think, “How many times does that phone ring a day anyway?” Wait. What’s being said doesn’t make sense. Who wants your help? Again the thought races through your mind, “Who is this on the phone?”

The President of the Corporation personally has called to ask you to join the inner circle of advisors.

The President is calling you to his side. He wants you. He wants you by his side. He wants your talents, your cultivated abilities, your mind. He’s calling you to give your best to the Company. (I think we all know the Pres could be a female.)

Surreal.

Okay, that was a little exercise in fantasizing (at least for most of us!).

As a sidebar, let’s just stop and acknowledge that there can be others in our lives who want all that and more from us, too.

But what if the Creator of the universe were to call you to His side? Not for His good, not for what He will get out of the deal, not for his benefit

. . . but for your benefit?

Jesus HAS called you to His side (Philippians 2:1). The New International Version says you receive “encouragement from being united with Christ”. The King James Version uses the word “consolation”. These are translations of the word that was used in the Greek language, the original language in which the New Testament was written. That Greek word is paraklesis, which means “a calling to one’s side”.¹ This word is translated into English as “exhortation, or consolation, comfort” or “encouragement”¹. Jesus has called you to His side.

You’ve been called to His side for your benefit because He loves you so much. He wants to “encourage, console, comfort, exhort” you. So much so He died so you wouldn’t have to (Romans 5:6-8). So much so that He gives His Spirit to dwell inside the Christian (Acts 2:38). So much so that He is preparing a place for the Christian to live with Him when we pass from earthly life into eternal life (John 14:1-3).

Jesus’ freedom is personal.

It’s for you.

¹Vine, W.E., Merrill F. Unger, William White, Jr. Vine’s Exposiitory Dictionary of Biblecal Words. Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1985, 110.

 

 

 

Freedom is not all about Independence

Jesus offers freedom from these and many other human conditions.

deep need to control others
trying to control outcomes or circumstances over which you have no control
compulsions
mental pain
overworking or over exertion
anxious thinking and resulting anxiety
emotional weakness
unhealthy reliance on others
deep need for approval from humans
dependence on money for comfort
considering money as the solution rather than God’s provision
unhealthy independence
poverty-mindedness
continual food or drink for comfort
lack of motivation to take care of yourself or your family
lingering, debilitating sadness
negative thinking

Please feel free to Comment and add more to the list so we can grow from one another’s understanding.

What do you need freedom from?