Weed it and Reap

Written by Ann-Margret Hovsepian

Someone has said: “It is not enough for a gardener to love flowers; he must also hate weeds.”

Tell me about it. Boy, do I hate those weeds in my garden. I see my poor, little flowers being choked and smothered and I just want to yank out those nasty weeds and shake them and . . . and . . . well, some of them are too hard so I just leave them there. It’s just too much effort. I guess I’ll have to settle for a less-than-perfect garden. Maybe if my flowers turn out really nice, people won’t notice my weeds.

Okay, I’m just joking. But sometimes it is easier to ignore the weeds. Because I’m new at gardening and not strong enough to pull out those deep roots, I actually have to break the soil and sort of dig out the weed (or ask my dad to pull it out!)

No Furnace Is Too Hot

"No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able..." - 1 Corinthians 10:13 NIV

There's a wonderful question about which most of us wonder from time to time. It became the title of Rabbi Harold Kushner best-selling book, Why Bad Things Happen to Good People. Although his book painted a much smaller God than we know, it still was helpful to many people.

But, taking into account the scripture verse for today (this would be a good time to read it, if you haven't!), there is also a great Bible story in the book of Daniel, Chapter 3, of three Hebrew boys who refused to worship the idols of the Babylonian king, Nebuchadnezzar. Even though they were threatened with being thrown in a furnace, they held fast in their devotion to God. Their response: "God can spare us from the fiery furnace; He has that power. But, even if He does not, we'll never serve your gods or bow down to your statue." Were they afraid? Yes. Was it a little warm in the furnace? You bet. But, they chose to trust God even when it made no earthly sense to do so. And, much to the amazement of their captors, God repaid their faith and they were not harmed by the fires in that furnace.

What Do YOU Pray for During Trials?

My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing. — If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. – James 1:2-5

Last night I was at my church’s weekly prayer meeting, and God brought this scripture passage back to my heart. Well, let’s back up…

Yesterday morning I had to go to the doctor to have some testing done. Long story short, he did not give me the report that I was hoping for. In fact, he said the issue was worse than he originally thought. He told me I’ll have to have minor surgery for testing and treatment before we would even know the severity of the issue, or if it could be reversed.

Why Our Walk With Jesus Seems So Hard Some Days

Written by Rev. Daniel Forster

“If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.” (John 15:19)
Somehow upon receiving the freedom that comes when we accept Christ into our lives, we come up with a false notion that following Jesus is going to be easy. Because of this false notion, many folks who decide to give their lives to Christ end up returning to the life they were saved from. The enemy plants lies in their heads – that God is not with them or that the freedom they briefly experienced was not meant for them.

All we have to do is look at what Jesus faced and come to terms with the fact that we will face these things too. It is not that God is not with us, nor is His grace is unobtainable. These lies are tools used by the enemy to deceive us. There are four things I want to share with you today, that Jesus experienced and we will too.

The Way to Live with the Mind of Christ

by Joyce Meyer

One of the greatest revelations of my life is: I can choose my thoughts and think things on purpose. In other words, I don’t have to just think about whatever falls into my mind. This was a life-changing revelation for me because as Proverbs 23:7 (AMP) says, “As [a man] thinks in his heart, so is he.” I like to say it like this: Where the mind goes, the man follows.

Now God is concerned about the hidden man of the heart, which is our inner life. Our inner life is what we think about. And like the scripture above says, the way we think determines how we live and who we are. That’s why we need to think about what we’re thinking about.
It’s so important for us to understand this because if we don’t learn how to take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ (see 2 Corinthians 10:4-5), we won’t live the life Jesus died to give us – a life of peace with God, peace with ourselves, great relationships, real joy and the ability to become all God has created us to be. It comes down to choosing to believe what God says (the truth) more than we believe our feelings, what other people say or our circumstances.

The New Face of Infidelity

Dr. Peggy Drexler


Research shows women may be cheating now almost as much as men. What are the tolls of new temptations?

Some 60 years ago, Alfred Kinsey delivered a shock to mid century sexual sensibilities when he reported that at some point in their marriages, half of the men and a quarter of the women in the U.S. had an extramarital affair. No one puts much stock in Dr. Kinsey's high numbers any more -- his sampling methods suffered from a raging case of selection bias -- but his results fit the long-standing assumption that men are much more likely to cheat than women.

Transparency or Wisdom in Marriage?

I go back and forth between thinking that my spouse and I need to communicate and be completely transparent with each other so that our trust level and relationship can grow vs. thinking that I need to be wise and hide some things from him because if he really knew all about me then he would feel too safe, would get bored and will go find his adventure somewhere else. I’m still not sure which one is the right answer, but I do know that when you hide things, it gives Satan a foothold. It allows him to come in and whisper lies in your ear like, “he doesn’t really love you and he never did” or “you are completely worthless and your husband knows it, so you need to pretend”. I’ve always went with transparency in the past and it hasn’t served me too well, but with this different way I find myself wanting to sin more and slowly wanting to distance myself from him, I don’t think it is good either. Maybe I’ll just go with transparency and hope that he chooses me despite his boredom….or is that stupid? Still don’t know.

In His Presence

SUSANNA WESLEY AND CHARLES WALLACE JR. (ED.)

 

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Endeavor to keep a due guard over your words, that you may habitually speak nothing but what is true on all occasions. Consider what a high offence it is against the God of truth to speak falsely, either through design or inadvertence.

In telling any story or relating past actions be careful to speak deliberately and calmly, ever remembering you are in the presence of the great and holy God. Every sin is a contradiction and offence to some divine attribute. Lying is opposite and offensive to the truth of God.

Whenever you find any extraordinary assistance from the Spirit of God, either by illuminating the mind, strengthening the soul or raising the affections, be sure for some time after to keep a stronger guard upon yourself. I have often observed that after the greatest enlargements in prayer and the greatest professions of devotedness to God, we are permitted to fall into great temptations.

I humbly conceive this to be commonly for one of these reasons: (1) to try the sincerity of the mind, to show us whether or not we are in our outward conversation the same we profess to be in our retirements; (2) to humble the mind, which upon such occasions is too apt to be elated.

Signs of The Times

Written by Rev. Daniel Forster

Do you know how to share your faith? Take the 35 Day Challenge and know for sure.

“Thus says the LORD: “Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart turns away from the LORD. He is like a shrub in the desert, and shall not see any good come. He shall dwell in the parched places of the wilderness, in an uninhabited salt land.”  (Jeremiah 17:5-6, ESV)

In our over stimulating world it is very easy to dismiss and put off “signs” as they are identified in the Bible. It is easy to dismiss these things when so many around us mock them, or we see an overzealous TV preacher tying to shove it down our throats. Yet, if we live our lives by what others say, how others act, how others feel, or even by the majority, we are living our lives for man, and not for our God. We need to seek answers to our doubts, troubles, temptations in His living and true word.

FAITHFUL PERSEVERANCE

“But my righteous one will live by faith. And I take no pleasure in the one who shrinks back.” But we do not belong to those who shrink back and are destroyed, but to those who have faith and are saved." Hebrews 10:38-39

Alice Yuan continues her testimony we began yesterday:

“The second trial came from the Communist party. Every day for nineteen years, I had to report to the police station, where for six hours, they put pressure on me. They said that I would never see my husband again, that I should divorce him and that I should give up my faith. With God’s help I kept going. Praying with my eyes closed, I endured the interrogations every day.

“The third trial consisted of the hard work. After I had been pressured by the security police for six hours, I still had to work for eight hours to earn a living. I had to push handcarts filled with building materials. The carts were much too heavy. I was completely exhausted and was already tired before I started. In the winter, it was even worse. Sometimes I had to shovel cement up onto a floor above my head. The work was dirty, hard and cold, but I achieved my quota. The others were surprised and wondered where I got the energy from.

What Can We Learn from the Prayer in the Garden?

Charles Spurgeon

Let us notice Christ's prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane. It was a lonely prayer. He withdrew even from His three best friends about a stone’s throw. 

Believer, especially in temptation, be much in solitary prayer. As private prayer is the key to open Heaven, so is it the key to shut the gates of Hell. As it is a shield to prevent, so is it the sword with which to fight against temptation.

Further, it was Son's prayer. Matthew describes Him as saying, “O My Father.” Mark puts it, “Abba, Father.” You will find this always a stronghold in the day of trial to plead your adoption. Hence that prayer, in which it is written, “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil,” begins with, “Our Father which are in Heaven.” 

Plead as a child. You have no rights as a subject. You have forfeited them by your treason, but nothing can forfeit a child’s right to a father’s protection. Be not, then, ashamed to say, “My Father, hear my cry.” 

If Jesus Couldn’t Sin, Why Was He Tested?

J. Vernon McGee

It was impossible for Jesus to sin. In Luke 1:35, Mary was told “that holy thing” that will be conceived by the Holy Spirit is the Son of God. He was “holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners” (Hebrews 7:26). 


It is rank heresy to say that Jesus Christ could sin or that He had any sin in Him. He was in all points like we are, except for one: He was not contaminated with sin.

Jesus was not tempted to see if He would fall. He was tempted to show that He could not fall: "The prince of this world comes, and has nothing in me" (John 14:30). 


After He had lived a life down here for thirty-three years, Satan came with this temptation, a temptation that appealed to man's total personality—the physical side, the mental side, and the spiritual side of man.

The Lord Jesus could not fall, and the testing was given to demonstrate that He could not fall. If He could have fallen, then any moment your salvation and mine is in doubt. 

Don't Listen to Job's Wife - Joni Eareckson Tada

Joni shares that instead of cursing God because of her accident, she chose to praise God and live. 

Hi, this is Joni Eareckson Tada and welcome to Joni and Friends.

You know, when I was first injured and only just beginning to realize that my paralysis was permanent, I remember identifying – and I mean really identifying – with Job. As far as I was concerned, mine were the trials of Job. I could not face living life as a quadriplegic. It was so overwhelming, it was so scary. Actually, the idea terrified me. Somewhere in those early days, I came across Job 2:9 where it says that, “Job’s wife said to him ‘...Curse God and die!’” And I’m going to tell you what, that sounded very tempting.

Protecting Your Son From Aggressive Girls

We're seeing a surge in girls taking the initiative with guys at younger and younger ages, and aggressively attempting to lure them into sexual activity.

by Dennis Rainey   

One of my primary responsibilities as the father of four daughters was to help protect them from losing their innocence, especially as they approached the adolescent years. As part of this effort, I met and talked with nearly every young man who wanted to go out with my girls. I asked specific questions and challenged these young men to a high standard of purity.

These experiences led to my book, Interviewing Your Daughter's Date, which was published in 2007. I received a lot of positive feedback from appreciative dads, but I also got something that I didn’t expect. Quite a few parents contacted me to say, “I really appreciate the helpful advice for raising daughters, but we really need something to help our sons deal with aggressive girls in this sexually-saturated culture.”

What Do You Tell Yourself?

by Pastor Colin S. Smith 

 “Formerly, when you did not know God, you were slaves to those who by nature are not gods.” Galatians 4:8(NIV)

Notice the past tense—this is what you were. Many Christians live their lives in fear, as though they are still slaves. Are you more aware of what God still needs to do in your life, or of what God has already done?

What does Paul mean when he tells Christians they were slaves? A slave has no freedom. He does what he’s commanded to do. The tragedy of the slave’s position is his work never moves him to a better place. It cannot bring him freedom. That was your position.

You had not fulfilled the demands of the law, and you were unable to fulfill them. So, you owed God a debt you could not pay. That put you in the position of a slave, and you couldn’t change your position by your work—no matter how hard you tried.

The Gospel sets you free

“You are no longer a slave, but a son;” Galatians 4:7. This is in the present tense: This is what you are! The good news of the Gospel is that God has acted to win your freedom. This remarkable change has already happened in your life, if you are a Christian believer. You were a slave: You are a son!

God has embraced you in Christ, who died to redeem you. He has made you a new creation in Christ by the Spirit who lives within you (2 Corinthians 5;17). Grasping the Gospel means believing that these things are true for me in Christ.

Many people who believe they’re Christians are constantly telling themselves that they’re slaves: “I have this sin I can’t get over. It’s the way I was made.” When you think or talk like that, you’re saying you’re a slave, and you’re denying the Gospel. You’re not living by faith in the Son of God, who loved you and gave Himself for you.

Where victory over sin begins…

There’s only one way to live the Christian life and that is by believing the Gospel, by believing that what God promises in Christ is true for me. When you do that you will be transformed by the renewing of your mind (Romans 12:2). You will know the truth and the truth will set you free (John 8:31-32).

If you’re a Christian don’t say, “I have this sin that I can’t get over.” Say instead, “This is a sin I have fallen into many times, but those past failures are forgiven, and today I stand before God, not as sin’s slave, but as a child of God in whom His Spirit now lives. So, I can endure this trial, I can stand against this temptation, and by the grace of God I will prevail.” That’s what it means to live this life in the body by faith in the Son of God.


This LifeKey is based on the message “The Gospel Sets You Free,” by Pastor Colin S. Smith on December 3, 2006, from the series “Grasping the Gospel.”


gotquestions  http://www.lightsource.com/ministry/unlocking-the-bible/articles/what-do-you-tell-yourself-13254.html

What Is Jesus Doing Now?

Pastor Colin Smith

  

He is able to save completely those who come to God through Him, because... Hebrews 7:25

Many Christians have a good understanding of what Christ has done for us in the past through His death on the cross, and of what He will do for us in the future when He comes again in power and in glory. They are clear about what Christ has done for us yesterday, confident about what He will do for us tomorrow, but confused about what He is doing for us today.

Christ died to save you, but He also lives to keep you. It is through Christ's continuing work of intercession that we are sustained through every pressure, kept through every temptation and eventually brought into glory.

Christ prays for you

He always lives to intercede... Hebrews 7:25

This means that Jesus speaks to the Father on your behalf. He represents you and brings the specific needs that you have, and the particular situations that you are facing, before the Father.

There is a beautiful illustration of this in the Gospels. Jesus knew that Peter was going to come under great pressure after He was arrested. He had already told Peter, "Before the cock crows, you will deny me three times." But Peter was sure that he was up to the challenge, confident that he could rise above that kind of failure.

Then Jesus said to Peter, "Satan has asked to sift you as wheat, but I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail" (Luke 22:31). Notice Jesus didn't say He had prayed that Peter would not fail, but that Peter's faith would not fail. God can use our failures as well as our triumphs. Jesus was saying, "Peter, you are going to come under great pressure. The enemy is going to attack you. But I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail."

That's exactly what happened. Jesus was arrested, and Peter was afraid and embarrassed. Satan really worked him over, and he failed big time. That might have been the end of Peter's story, but it wasn't. The reason? Christ had prayed for him, and His prayers always get answered.

That's why when Peter hit his lowest point and blew his testimony, his failure becomes an opportunity to discover the mercy of God. On the third day, Peter was among those who came to the tomb and discovered the risen Lord. A few days later, his faith renewed, the Lord restored Peter and commissioned him for ministry.

Seated on the throne

Such a high priest meets our need-one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens. Hebrews 7:26

Now we are not to think of Jesus on His knees in heaven, agonizing in prayer on our behalf, as He did in the Garden of Gethsemane. He is seated on the throne in the position of authority, and His word is the angels' command.

Jesus Christ, your great High Priest, is aware of every circumstance of your life. Nothing escapes His attention. He speaks with authority in the presence of the Father, and His word releases the resources of heaven for the pressures and temptations you face today.

I wonder what Jesus is praying for you right now... That your faith may not fail? That you will be sustained under a great burden? That you will face up to an issue of sin and deal with it? It is marvelous to know that Christ intercedes for you. He will bring you through every circumstance of life. He lives for that very purpose.

That's this week's LifeKEY!

Colin S. Smith

This LifeKey is based on the message "Intercession," from the series, "Unlocking the Bible in Hebrews & James," preached on November 18, 2001.  

gotquestions  lifekeys@unlockingthebible.org