From Fear to Joy

Have you ever been afraid of the future? Have you worried about what will happen next? Did you wonder if you would survive a major change in your life? Did it nearly paralyze you? Did you overcome it? How did you overcome it? Did you depend on God to get you through it?

Major changes can be scary. I can remember a few scary changes in my life. Perhaps the first major life change was when I went to boot camp. Nothing can prepare you for it. The best you can do is simply take the next step. The second was going to Drill Instructor School. A second boot camp.

It doesn’t matter who we are, where we come from, or who our parents are. We will face a fearful situation. Something will hit us with fear. It may come out of the blue, whether a bad medical diagnosis, being fired, or an unexpected family death. It may be a major decision we make to change jobs, get married, or move to a foreign country. All of them can be scary.

When we are filled with fear, there is only one place to turn—God. Abram (Abraham) was afraid, and God knew he was. So, God came to Abram to tell him not to be afraid. God was going to be with Abram and be his shield or protector. He told Abram he would receive a very great reward.

God is also our protector. He is with us always. We, too, have a very great reward promised to us—eternal life with God. Yet, we can live a great life now. The closer we get to God, the more we follow Jesus, the better our life will be. We will have peace. We will have joy. We will allow the light of Jesus shine through us.

I pray we all know that God is our protector. I pray we lean on God when we are facing fear. I pray each one of us know we have a very great reward waiting for us. God is your protector. Lean on God. Get closer to God. Follow Jesus. Be at peace. Experience true joy.

Genesis 15:1 After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, “Do not be afraid, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.”

At Our Weakest

Have you ever been weakened to the point of not being sure you can even get out of bed? Have you had to continue to work when you felt as though you would fall down? Have you been attacked when you were at your weakest point?

We all have times of weakness, whether it be from sickness or shear exhaustion. There may be times when we are not merely physically worn out but are mentally drained as well. It is in those times that we are most vulnerable to the attacks of others.

It is when we are weak that Satan attacks us. He did the same to Jesus. When Jesus had been in the wilderness for forty days and having eaten nothing that Satan attacked. His intent was to catch Jesus while he was in a weakened state and coerce Him into giving up His glory to serve Satan. Jesus, however, was stronger than that. He knew His mission and from where He had come.

We can be strong in our time of weakness as well. How? We must remember who we belong to and where we are promised to spend eternity. Jesus has paid the price for each one of us and we stand in His power. Though we may be physically weak or mentally drained, we can stand up to Satan’s attacks in the power of Christ. To do so, we must allow His Spirit to live within us and to empower us.

I pray we all know we can stand up to Satan’s attacks. I pray we allow Christ’s Spirit to empower and strengthen us in our time of weakness. I pray each one of us will continually ask the Holy Spirit to take charge of our lives and guide in the path of righteousness. Be prepared for Satan’s attacks. Be empowered by Christ’s Spirit. Live by the Holy Spirit.

Luke 4:1-2 Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, where for forty days he was tested by the devil. He ate nothing at all during those days, and when they were over he was famished.

Worship God With Action

What do you worship? Who do you worship? As Christians, our immediate answer is that we worship God. But do we? Is worshiping God truly our top priority? If so, why are there so many hungry? Why are there so many homeless? Why do some not feel comfortable in a church?

We cannot worship God and not do the same work Jesus did when He walked this earth. Jesus’ only altercations came against the religious elite. He fed the hungry. He healed the sick. He cared for the marginalized. He forgave the sinners. He encouraged the downtrodden.

We have the same mission. Sure, we can point to Jesus’ great commission as our mission, but making disciples means doing what Jesus did. He had followers because of how He treated people. He had followers because He loved everyone He met, even the religious elite He tangled with. His love showed through in everything He did.

We must show Jesus’ love to everyone we meet. That means stopping the petty squabbling and working together to share His love with one another. Loving one another is not about words but about actions. It is about attitude. It is about forgiveness—true forgiveness and not lip service.

To worship God is more than singing a few hymns, hearing Scripture read, and hearing a sermon given. It is more than an hour on Sunday morning. True worship occurs every moment of every day. It infiltrates our soul. It exudes from our being. True worship fills our hearts and minds with God at all times.

I pray we all choose to worship God. I pray we choose to love like Jesus loves. I pray each one of us will show the love of Jesus through our actions and to everyone we encounter. Worship God. Love like Jesus loves. Show Jesus’ love to everyone. Ask God to fill your heart and mind with his Spirit.

Luke 4:8 Jesus answered him, “It is written, 

‘Worship the Lord your God, 

and serve only him.’ ”

He Won’t Give Up

Have you ever faced an unrelenting foe? Has there been someone who would not stop attacking you? Is there someone in your life right now who does everything they possibly can to trip you up? Would you believe there is someone who has always been seeking your failure.

We all encounter someone during our lives who desires to see us fail. They may be an archnemesis. They may be hounding you right now. You may have overcome them or moved on, so they are no longer in your life. Yet, there is an enemy we all have in common.

Satan continually seeks our downfall. He tempts us at every opportune time. He may leave us alone for a short period of time, but he hasn’t given up. His goal is to cause us to fail. But what is failure? Failure is turning against God. Denying God exists. Being angry enough to curse God. Being disobedient to God. All of them at any time.

How do we know Satan will return to tempt us? Take the lesson from his encounter with Jesus. When Jesus had been in the wilderness for forty days without eating, Satan came after Him. When Jesus was able to withstand Satan’s attacks, Satan left Him. Yet, Satan would return when there was an opportune time. We can reasonably assume Satan was whispering in Jesus’ ear when He was praying in the Garden of Gethsemane.

If Satan returns when there is an opportunity, we can be confident he will return when we least expect it. He will return when we are weak. He will return when he can catch us off guard, when we are most vulnerable. We must be prepared for those attacks. The only way to be prepared is to have God’s Word in our hearts and minds to ward him off.

I pray we all know that Satan will seek to cause us to fail. I pray we learn the lesson from Jesus’ encounter with Satan. I pray each one of us will prepare ourselves for Satan’s attacks by having God’s Word in our hearts and minds. Know Satan will attack. Be prepared for Satan’s attacks.

Luke 4:13 When the devil had finished every test, he departed from him until an opportune time.

Combating Satan

Do you like to be fooled? Do you do your best to avoid being made a fool? If you are going to a job interview, do you research the company and position to prepare yourself to answer questions? Are you applying that process to other aspects of your life?

May I be so bold as to say we do not like being made a fool? We don’t like looking foolish in front of others. If we are seeking a job promotion, we will not only work hard but will seek to learn the position we are striving to achieve. Yet, we do not always do that in all aspects of our lives.

Satan likes to make fools of us. He even tried to make a fool of Jesus. Notice there are three sentences in today’s passage. In Luke chapter 4, Jesus has been in the wilderness for forty days fasting. He is physically weak. Satan comes to tempt Him. In Satan’s final temptation, he quotes Scripture—specifically Psalm 91:11-12. However, he doesn’t quote verse 13.

Jesus knows Scripture. He knows verse 13. Yet, Jesus doesn’t quote verse 13. Instead, Jesus quotes Deuteronomy 6:16. Both Jesus and Satan know that verse 13 is the promise that that God’s people will overcome Satan because God will deliver them out of Satan’s hands. But so many of us fall for Satan’s schemes. Why? We don’t know Scripture as thoroughly as we should.

There are many in this world who will search the Scriptures to find a passage they can twist to mean what they want it to mean. They will use it to trip us up. How do we combat their approach? We must know Scripture more thoroughly. We must understand the context of passages. We need to understand God’s larger plan and see the larger picture to properly interpret Scripture and respond to those who attempt to make fools of us.

I pray we all know that Satan seeks to trip us up. I pray we spend time studying Scripture. I pray each one of us see the larger picture and interpret Scripture properly to combat Satan’s schemes. Study Scripture. Understand God’s plan. See the larger Scripture. Combat Satan’s schemes.

Psalm 91:11-13

For he will command his angels concerning you 

to guard you in all your ways. 

On their hands they will bear you up, 

so that you will not dash your foot against a stone. 

You will tread on the lion and the adder; 

the young lion and the serpent you will trample under foot.

Give Jesus the Credit

Do you like to have others recognize your good deeds? Do you tell others about the good things you do so they will praise you? Have you considered others may grow tired of hearing you brag about yourself? Do you have a “holier than thou” attitude? Should you rid yourself of it?

Most of us like to get a pat on the back for doing something well from time-to-time. Yet, we should not brag about everything we do. We likely know someone who brags a lot and grow weary of hearing them do so. We tire of their attitude of thinking they are above others.

Jesus tells us not to have a “holier than thou” attitude. He tells us not to look down our noses at others. He tells us not to think higher of ourselves than others. He tells us not judge others. All of this is wrapped in His statement in today’s passage. He doesn’t tell us not to be righteous or strive for righteousness. We simply are not to believe it is our doing, rather be humble and know that our righteousness comes from Him.

In no way is Jesus saying we should not speak to others about Him nor what He has done in our lives. We simply are not to do so by bragging about ourselves. We are to tell our story of redemption and change while giving all the credit to Jesus. We can be excited and should be. We can be joyous, celebratory, and grateful, all while being humble. It is an attitude of the heart that comes by recognizing our hope and salvation comes from Jesus, rather than anything we have done. So, praise Jesus and give Him the credit, thanking Him for His wondrous grace and mercy.

I pray we all give up our “holier than thou” attitudes. I pray we praise Jesus for His amazing grace and mercy. I pray each one of us joyously and humbly give Jesus the credit for our hope and salvation. Have a humble attitude. Praise Jesus for His grace and mercy. Celebrate your hope and salvation that comes from Jesus.

Matthew 6:1 “Beware of practicing your righteousness before others in order to be seen by them, for then you have no reward from your Father in heaven.”

Repent Like David

Have you ever done something so bad you thought you could never be forgiven? Do you wonder if forgiveness is real? Is it hard for you to believe that God can and will forgive you? Have you asked God to forgive you? Have you poured out your broken heart to him?

Forgiveness can be hard to believe. After all, we see grudges being held in our culture and vengeance being meted out. If we have done something wrong in our jobs, it can be held against us for a long time and may keep us from receiving a promotion.

Psalm 51 was written by King David after the prophet Nathan had revealed his sin to him. He had wrongly slept with Bathsheba, gotten her pregnant, plotted to cover it up by having her husband come back from battle to sleep with her, and had him killed when we refused. Nathan came to David and revealed his sin to him at God’s behest.

David’s world came crashing down around him. Because of his selfishness and deceitfulness, God punished him by taking his youngest son from him. David broke. He pleaded with God not to take his son. He mourned over his sin. He wrote Psalm 51 to express his brokenness and need for God to forgive him. We know God forgave him for David is called a man after God’s own heart. Not because of his sin, but because he turned his heart to God.

We, too, can turn our heart to God. In our brokenness, we can turn away from our sin and ask God to forgive us. If we are giving our heart to God, we can trust that he will forgive us, just as he did David. It is unfortunate that we often must hit rock bottom to turn to God. We would be much better off if we would learn lessons from others who have had experiences we would rather avoid. So, learn the lesson of David and turn your heart to God.

I pray we all turn from our sin and ask God for forgiveness. I pray we learn the lesson of David. I pray each one of us will trust in God’s grace and mercy, trusting him to forgive us of our sin. Turn your heart to God. Confess your sin. Ask God to forgive you. Trust in God’s mercy. Know he will forgive you.

Psalm 51:1-2

Have mercy on me, O God, 

according to your steadfast love; 

according to your abundant mercy, 

blot out my transgressions. 

Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, 

and cleanse me from my sin.

Turn It Over to God

Are there things you know you need to turn away from? Are there things you are doing that you need to stop? Do you need to turn your brokenness over to God? Do you know how you can do that? Have you found it difficult to do? Are you willing to give it another try?

At some point during our lives, we do things we know we shouldn’t. Perhaps there is something you are wrestling with right now. Maybe there is some form of addition that has a hold on you. Or it may be a specific behavior that you know is not pleasing to God.

God is always calling out to us to repent of anything that is displeasing to him. We can demonstrate our commitment by fasting and mourning over our addiction or behavior. We can turn to God and ask him to remove from us. But it is not easy to do. It may require us to go to him multiple times. Our heart may need to break over it to cause us to truly turn it over to God.

When we return to God, he is gracious. He sheds his grace on us. He blesses us with what we need. He also shows us mercy. He grants us forgiveness. And through his mercy, he blesses us by cleaning our hearts. He shows us his amazing love by caring for us. He wraps his arms around us and pulls us in. He will withdraw any punishment we may deserve when we turn our hearts back to him.

I pray we all turn our hearts over to God. I pray we give him the heavy load we are carrying. I pray each one of us will accept God’s grace, mercy, and love and allow him to wrap us in his arms. Turn your heart over to God. Give your cares to God. Accept God’s grace. Accept God’s mercy. Accept God’s love.

Joel 2:12-13

Yet even now, says the Lord, 

return to me with all your heart, 

with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; 

rend your hearts and not your clothing. 

Return to the Lord your God, 

for he is gracious and merciful, 

slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love, 

and relenting from punishment.

Pray In the Spirit

How often do you pray? How do you pray? Are you praying in the Spirit? Do you wonder what that means? Are you praying in accordance with God’s will? Do you wonder what his will is? Are you alert? Are you persevering?

We all pray some. Some of us pray a lot. Often our prayers are for people we know or ourselves. We ask for healing. We ask for guidance. We ask for relief. We ask for strength. We ask for courage. We ask for wisdom. We ask for discernment. But are those God’s will?

A lesson that’s taken me many years to learn is that sometimes I need to say, “God, I don’t know what to ask for, do what furthers your plan.” Then I am quiet. I listen. I wait for God. Sometimes God provides a thought right away. Other times, he doesn’t provide it for quite some time—days or weeks.

I believe telling God we don’t know what to pray for, ask for his will, and be quiet is one way to pray in the Spirit. But there will be times when we can feel the Holy Spirit moving us and guiding our prayer, which is praying in the Spirit as well. We much prefer the latter rather than the former.

Our culture doesn’t like quiet. We are always busy. If we are not busy in conversation with someone, we are busy doing something. Our phones seem to be an extension of our hands. Our minds are constantly occupied. It makes it near impossible to be still and that God is with us.

I pray we all seek to pray in the Spirit. I pray we cherish quiet time. I pray each one of us will set aside our busyness, stop, and be still, waiting for God. Pran in the Spirit. Listen for God to speak. Ask for God’s will to be revealed. Sit quietly with God. Be still and know that he is God.

Ephesians 6:18 Pray in the Spirit at all times in every prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert and always persevere in supplication for all the saints.

Confirmed By God

Have you been in the presence of greatness? Have you been with someone who is always positive? Do you know anyone who has an aura about them, as though nothing could stand in their way? Are there times it is scary or at least uncomfortable to be with them?

Being around greatness can be both amazing and uncomfortable. It can be fun and scary. It doesn’t matter if the person’s greatness is in athletics, academia, leadership, or anything else. Often there is an aura about the person, a confidence that borders on cockiness.

Being around a person with those qualities can be exhilarating and intimidating. Jesus was such a person. His disciples who travelled with Him witnessed amazing things—miracles of healing, raising the dead, feeding thousands with very little, casting out demons, and amazing teaching. Perhaps one of the most amazing things they saw was Moses and Elijah meeting with Jesus as He was transfigured, becoming as bright as the sun.

The apostles Peter, John, and James went with Jesus up the mountain. They witnessed the meeting and the transfiguration. Then they heard the voice of God speak. They were told in plain words that Jesus was the Son of God and God’s Chosen. They were told to listen to Him. They were so shook by the experience, likely trying to process what had just happened, that they didn’t speak of it until after Jesus had died and been risen.

Today, we don’t often speak of it. We like to speak of Jesus being our brother or how He has changed our lives. But we rarely speak of God confirming Jesus as his Son. When was the last time you told someone about Jesus’ meeting with Moses and Elijah? We should learn about and tell others of Jesus’ amazing feats, including God’s confirmation of who He is.

I pray we all learn more about Jesus’ amazing feats. I pray we remember that God confirmed Jesus’ identity. I pray each one of us tell others about God’s confirmation of Him and His amazing feats. Know Jesus’ amazing feats. Imagine His aura. Know God confirmed Jesus. Tell others about Jesus’ feats and identity.

Luke 9:35-36 Then from the cloud came a voice that said, “This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!” When the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. And they kept silent and in those days told no one any of the things they had seen.