Friday, February 26, 2016

Temptation... It's a killer!!!!!

Good morning! We are doing a study of the book of James in our Sunday school class and it is deal with some real life stuff! Are you dealing with trials rights now? If your mature, then you are patient during them. Yeah, I struggle with that one. I struggle with being patient! Sometimes the trials are testing on the outside and other times they are temptation on the inside. Trials can be tests from God or temptations from the devil. Let's dig into the good stuff and see what it can show us.......

Bible Verse: James 1:13-15 Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death. 

Ok, when satan sends temptation our way, it can be fueled by our fallen nature. It also matters where are heart is at the time. What state our heart is in. We must remember, what we take in our minds goes into our hearts. And eventually comes our our mouths or in our actions. So, the condition of our hearts is so very important in dealing with trials and temptations! Think on that today and think about what we are taking in our minds. We must be smart and realize we are battling an enemy that seeks to destroy us. Dig into the Word this week! God bless!

Tuesday, February 23, 2016

Fear what???????

Good morning! We are learning about temptation in our Sunday school class right now and how to deal with it. We have trials throughout our lives and those trials can turn into temptation rather quickly! One of the main points that we have stated numerous times in this study was that God will always give us a way out. We should fear the trials, nor the temptation. We should realize that they will come and be ready for them. Be prayed up and armored up. Let's dig into the good stuff and see what we can find.......

Bible Verse: Exodus 14:13 "And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which He will show to you to day: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to day, ye shall see them again no more for ever." 

Three hundred and sixty-five times in the Bible-once for every day of the year-it says, "Fear thou not," or its equivalent, "The Lord is my helper, I will not fear what man shall do." Sometimes we come to a place where things are out of our hands. There is nothing we can do. Oh, we hurry around, we're so busy manipulating, trying, conniving, and scheming. Yeah, I am a fixer! I can fix this! I'm the man! I can do it! But finally we come to a place where God hems us in, and there is no way out but up. God places us where there is nothing we can do. There is no one to help us. God just says, "Fear not, stand still ... and see the salvation of the LORD." I promise He will help you when you lean on Him and not on yourself!

Read those words again: "ye shall see them again no more forever." When you come to the place of desperation, what does God want you to do? Number one, "Fear not." God wants you to come to this place of dependence that you may learn there is nothing to fear and He may say to you, "Fear not" and "Stand still." Just stand still. "Be still and know that I am God." I know this is super hard for most! Heck, I am probably the worst at trying to fix things on my own and falling flat on my face! I know I have to learn to be still and allow God to take over! Have a great day and God bless!

Tuesday, February 9, 2016

Let's not be a Chicken Little!

Good morning! Are you swimming laps in a bowl of skittles while looking up at a rainbow right now in your life? Huh, me either! Seems like everywhere I turn there is another car wreck. I listen to folks in my Sunday school class and hear that it is the same for them as well. Why is it that we pray for God to take our problems and trials away from us? Why don't we pray that God would show us a way around them or over them? What will we learn if He just takes them away? We are each going through the trials that we are for a specific reason. Let's look at some of the good stuff and see if it can shed some light on our situation.......

Bible verse: Acts 12:2-3 And he [Herod] killed James the brother of John with the sword. And because he saw it pleased the Jews, he proceeded further to take Peter also." Bible Verse: 8:28 "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, who are the called according to His purpose."

Ok, so what do you do in times of crisis? One thing we all must do, before we panic or sin against God, is respect the mystery of God's plan. Throughout the pages of His Word, we can see the hidden hand of God...working in mysterious ways, in inexplicable ways. Heck, ways that don't even make sense sometimes! God is in the shadows arranging things, moving things people cannot see. That may be true in your life right now. God is working, but you cannot see Him working. What trial are you going through right now that God can use in a mighty way in the future? Bet you haven't even thought of it that way have you? 

You may be in the middle of chaos right now. Nothing seems to be making sense. Everything you thought you had nailed down is coming loose, and the devil is pulling nails. You feel like chicken little and the sky is falling. Just because it doesn't make sense to you doesn't mean it doesn't make sense. Many of us have questions. As we look at Acts chapter 12, we say, "Well, how could God let a rascal like Herod be the king anyway? Isn't God, God? If I were God, I'd turn him into a frog. And why should James be killed and Peter released? Does God have favorites? Has God lost control?"

We do not live by explanations. Life is not a problem to be solved, it is a mystery to be lived. Sometimes we must back off and simply see what I call the hidden hand of God. Just because today you cannot see the hand of God working doesn't mean God is not working. Hunker down and pray for God to show you what His plan is. Then wait for it, while continuing to pray. The faith of a mustard seed.