God Wants Us to be Happy

I’m reading a booked called 60 Days of Happiness, DiscoverGod’s Promise of Relentless Joy, by Randy Alcorn.

He basically shows us in the Bible that it’s Biblical to be happy and filled with joy.

He quoted Octaves Winslow who wrote: The child of God is, from necessity, a joyful man. His sins are forgiven, his soul is justified, his person is adopted, his trials are blessings, his conflicts are victories, his death is immortality, his future is a heaven of inconceivable, unthought-of, untold, and endless blessedness – with such a God, such a Savior, and such a hope, is he not, ought he not, to be a joyful man?

Alcorn says that some think God’s laws are burdensome, but that changes when they realize He intended them to secure our happiness. 

Which caused me to re-look at the 10 Commandments in that light.

 I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.  You shall have no other gods before me.

You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. ⁵ You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, ⁶ but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.

You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.

 Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. ⁹ Six days you shall labor and do all your work, ¹⁰ but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. ¹¹ For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.

 Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you.

You shall not murder.

You shall not commit adultery.

You shall not steal.

You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.

You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”

Think about it! If you steal, several things could happen. You could go to jail! You could live with the guilt. Or you might not feel guilty, so you go on keep stealing more and then eventually get caught. No happiness there!

Keeping the Sabbath. God is giving us a day off with His blessing! Time to enjoy Him and our friends and family. And rest!

Honoring your parents. Makes for harmony in your family. Also shows a great example for your own kids to get!

I could go on, but I think you get it! God’s rules are meant for our peace and happiness. So we don’t have to keep looking over our shoulder wondering if we’ll get caught, or wondering if we did the right thing, or avoid people because you don’t get along with them.

Psalm 119:127-130 Because I love your commands more than gold, more than pure gold,
¹²⁸ and because I consider all your precepts right, I hate every wrong path.
¹²⁹ Your statutes are wonderful; therefore I obey them.
¹³⁰ The unfolding of your words gives light; it gives understanding to the simple.

The Methodist’s View of the Bible

We should study the Bible to know how to do Christ’s work in the world. Our knowledge of God’s Word is not useful unless it strengthens our faith and leads us to do good.

John Wesley called himself a man of one book. We need to spend time reading it and meditating on it, trusting the Holy Spirit to bring it to life for us. Wesley wrote, “I want to know one thing; the way to Heaven. God Himself has condescended to teach me the way… He has written it down in a book. O give me that book! At any price, give me the book of God! I have it: here is knowledge enough for me. Let me be a man of one book.”

Wesley was well read of other books, but Scripture was his priority. In his complete English Dictionary Wesley defined a Methodist as “one that lives according to the method laid down in the Bible.” He believed we can never be growing disciples of Jesus Christ without disciplined study of and reflection on the written Word.

What the Bible was meant to do is answered in 2 Timothy 3:16-17 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, ¹⁷ so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

When we study the Bible we should be looking for who God is and what He’s saying to us every time.

Prayer is talking to God. Reading His Word is Him talking to us. God longs to be known. And the Bible is one of the means by which God is revealed to us.

Explaining the 3 Heavens

Dr. Jimmy DeYoung explained the 3 Heavens the last night of the Prophecy Conference.

2 Corinthians 12:2-3 gives evidence that there are 3 heavens:

I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven. Whether it was in the body or out of the body I do not know—God knows. 3 And I know that this man—whether in the body or apart from the body I do not know, but God knows

The first heaven is what we see in the daytime: the sun and clouds
The second heaven is what we see at night: the moon and the stars
And the third heaven is where God is.

Ephesians 6:12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

These principalities and evil spirits are gathered in the first two heavens and dispatched to earth to wage spiritual warfare.

2 Corinthians 11: 14- 15 And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. 15 It is not surprising, then, if his servants also masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve.

Satan has his own ministers doing things for him. That’s why we have to compare everything we hear and read with scripture.

We know that before war breaks out in heaven, that Satan has access to the third heaven by these 2 verses:

Revelation 12:7 Then war broke out in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back

Revelation 12:10 Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say:
“Now have come the salvation and the power
and the kingdom of our God,
and the authority of his Messiah.
For the accuser of our brothers and sisters,
who accuses them before our God day and night,
has been hurled down.

God is the Source of Scripture

2 Peter 1:21 for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.

In a sermon our pastor did on the Bible, or Faithbook as he likes to call it, he reminded us that the Bible is a collection of God's personal letters of help and love for us. What can be more valuable? God only opens it to the relentless searcher. We need to seek with all our heart. We've got to really dig!

Colossians – A Daily Must Read

I’ve been trying to read Colossians 3:1 – 4:6 everyday. It’s a nutshell of how a Christian should be living.

We have an obligation to live a life worthy of what God has done for us and we give a testimony by the quality of our lives.

Try reading it everyday. Give it a month and see what happens!

John and his Gospel

John of course was a Jew. He was a native of the northern province of Israel called Galilee. The Galileans were more receptive to new ideas than the Jews of Judea in the south, who were oppressed by the strict religious authority of the Jerusalem based teachers of the law and the Pharisees.

The greater period of Jesus’ ministry was spent in this area.

We know that John had a brother James who was probably older then he was because James is mentioned first in the Bible. He had a father, Zebedee and a mother, Salome. Salome also followed Jesus. Matthew 27:56 tells us she was at the cross.

It’s thought that the family was somewhat affluent because Mark 1:20 refers to Zebedee’s hired men. And there are several places in the gospels that infer Salome had resources that she used to minister to the Lord.

John had a house of his own to which he took Jesus’ mother after the crucifixion and his family had some connection with the wealthy and influential high priest, according to John 18:16.

John became one of 3 disciples who were closest to Jesus: James, Peter and John were the 3 who witnessed the transfiguration, the raising of Jairus’ daughter and were at Gethsemane.

John called himself the disciple that Jesus loved. He wasn’t bragging, he was in awe of the fact that Jesus, the Son of God, loved him! And hung out with him! Just as today we should be in awe that He loves us and hangs out with us!

John had no recognized education, but his intimate relationship with the person in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge qualified him to write one of the most philosophical and mature books in existence.

The earlier 3 gospels simply recorded what Jesus did and what He said. John gives, in addition, a special emphasis on what Jesus meant. While the first 3 gospels recorded the miracles of Jesus and the effects of those miracles upon the people, John calls the miracles signs because each miracle had a spiritual significance and was in itself an outward sign of an inward truth.

John wrote his gospel after a lifetime of meditation. For nearly 70 years John had thought and taught Jesus, the Son of God. And day after day the Holy Spirit revealed to him the meaning of the words and deeds he remembered.

Bible thoughts to reflect on

- Live your life like you are answering what Jesus asked Peter three times: “Do you love me?” and “Feed my sheep.”

- As children of God we don’t know what tomorrow holds, but we know who holds tomorrow!

- Satan got Eve to forget all that God had done for her and to focus on the one thing she couldn’t have. The next time we feel sorry for ourselves, think about all the blessings God has given us and thank Him.

- “He learned obedience from what he suffered…” Hebrews 5:8

- From the book of Job: Regardless of how much Job suffered, he clung to God and God rewarded him. Job was tested. With a life filled with prestige, possessions and people, he was suddenly assaulted on every side – devastated, stripped down to his foundation. But, his life was built on God and he endured.

- I read this in Christianity Today, “Early church leaders wrote about the distinction between virtue and innocence. Innocence is when we've faced no temptation. Virtue is when we've been tempted but stayed strong. A similar distinction can be found in faith. Innocent faith can trust God because it hasn't seen darkness and trial; virtuous faith has known hardship and still chooses to trust God.”

- You can answer a lot of ‘what should I do’ questions by remembering that Jesus said the 2 greatest commandments are: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and mind and soul” and “Love your neighbor as yourself” For example: ask yourself, “Does this honor and glorify God?” or, remembering that some of your closest neighbors are your family, “Will this make my family closer?” (Adding more activities to your already busy schedule may sacrifice family time, etc.)

From God’s Little Instruction Book for Women

I picked out some of my favorites to share with you. Half today, half tomorrow, so you can take time to really meditate on them.

“And they that know thy name will put their trust in thee: for thou Lord has not forsaken them that seek thee.” (Psalm9:10)

My job is to take care of the possible and trust God with the impossible.

When Mother Teresa received her Nobel Prize, she was asked, “What can we do to promote world peace?” She replied, “Go home and love your family.”

“Let love and faithfulness never leave you: bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart.” Proverbs 3:3

“Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.” James 4:10

Give your troubles to God: He’ll be up all night anyway!

“He will not allow your foot to slip; He who keeps you will not slumber.” Ps.121:3

“Casting the whole of your care – all your anxieties, all your worries, all your concerns, once and for all – on Him: for He cares for you affectionately, and cares for you watchfully.” 1 Peter 5:7

Worry is like a rocking chair: It gives you something to do, but it doesn’t get you anywhere.

“She opens her mouth with skillful and godly wisdom, and in her tongue is the law of kindness – giving counsel and instruction.” Proverbs 31:26

Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless.

“A man finds joy in giving an apt reply – and how good is a timely word!” Proverbs 15:23

Ninety percent of the friction of daily life is caused by the wrong tone of voice.

Snake on a stick

I love the "ah-ha" moments in the Bible when something in the New Testament really explains something in the Old Testament. There is a story in Numbers 21:4-9 about how the Israelites were grumbling about God and Moses. God sent deadly snakes among the people of Israel because of their sin. The people asked Moses to pray to God for relief and God told Moses to make an image of a poisonous serpent out of bronze and set it high on a pole so that "everyone who is bitten shall look at it and live."

In the book of John 3:14-15 Jesus uses this story to prepare Nicodemus for the revelation He was about to give Him concerning His redemptive work on a cross. He said, "as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him may have eternal life."

The Israelites would never have thought of the bronze snake as their salvation from the biting serpents. Looking at the very thing that was killing them to save them.

What the Israelites were told to do in the desert we are told to do with the cross. Sin is the serpents biting us. Jesus became sin on a cross. He told Nicodemus that He would be so identified with sin, death and punishment that He would be lifted up like a snake."

2 Corinthians 5:21 says "For our sakes He made Him who knew no sin - sin, that in Him we might become the rightousness of God."

Like the Israelites with the snake, it's something we would never have thought of ourselves.

In 1 Corinthians 1:18 Paul wrote, "For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are saved it is the power of God." God deliberately chose something people see as folly so we can know salvation is God's doing. Not ours! He has created a way for us to live with Him for eternity. Believe it.

Enter here for all Believe Christian Clothing and Gifts

Why do we study prophecy?

28% of the Bible is dedicated to prophecy. About 100 prophecies predicted Christ’s first coming and Jesus fulfilled every one of them. There are five times that many prophecies in the Bible that concern His second coming, and if Christ came back today, no prophecy of the end times necessary for His return would go unfulfilled.

Although Jesus tells us in the New Testament that we aren’t to know the day, only the Father knows that, we can know the season. And we are in the season.

Why do we study prophecy?

We study prophecy that’s already history to show us we can believe God and trust His promises.

We study the prophecy of the end times because; it challenges believers to holy living in an unholy age. Ephesians 5:17-21 tells us to walk in the spirit. We need to be in God’s will. Studying future prophecy also gives the church a greater challenge to evangelize and to fulfill Christ’s great commission, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.” (Matthew 28:19) When we share our faith with others, not only do we help others, but also our own convictions are strengthened.

And we study prophecy so we are not deceived. Jesus said the truth shall set you free. We are to know the Bible! Daily reading of the Bible is a must for Christians. Proverbs 3:6 tells us to seek God’s guidance in life and teaching. 1 John 4:1-3 tells us to ask if the message or teaching glorifies Jesus Christ.

Doing all of this keeps us in a state of readiness. In Matthew Jesus tells a parable of a servant who expects his master’s return at any minute. He doesn’t waste time running to the door, but diligently pursues his work so it’s completed to the master’s approval at His coming. We are commanded both to work and watch so we are ready.

God works in mysterious ways, His wonders to behold!

There is much that we can know in this life, knowledge upon knowledge, but unless we discover the love of God and a love for humanity and of all God’s creation, we are nothing. 1 Cor.13

What Nehemiah can teach us about prayer

Nehemiah was the cupbearer to the Persian king, Artaxerxes. This means he was the person who ensured the safety and the quality of the king’s food and drink. It was obviously a much-trusted position.

Nehemiah was a descendent of one of the numerous Jewish families who had chosen to remain in the East when the first exiles went back to Jerusalem.

But, Nehemiah loved his homeland even though he had spent his whole life in Babylon and when he heard that the walls of Jerusalem, the holy city, were in such rubble, the news upset him and he went straight to God. The story of Nehemiah is how he goes to Jerusalem to rebuild those walls and does so in a miraculous 52 days! But, it is also the story of spiritual renewal and rebuilding a people’s dependence on God. When we take our eyes off of God, our lives begin to crumble just like Jerusalem’s walls.

When Nehemiah went to God in prayer, he then looked for ways with God’s help to improve the situation. We are God’s hands and feet on earth. Too often we pray without looking for what God wants us to do. We show God we are serious when we combine prayer with thought, preparation and effort.

Nehemiah’s prayer demonstrated all the elements of effective prayer:
1. He praised God
2. He offered Thanksgiving
3. He offered repentance– not just for himself, but for the whole nation
4. He made a specific request
5. He ended with a commitment

Praying like this helps clarify the problems we are facing. It reminds us of God’s great power to help and it puts into words the job we have to do. By the end of this prayer we can figure out what we need to do. If we pray the right way, difficult decisions fall into proper perspective and then appropriate actions can follow.

Also, Nehemiah prayed not only for help, but also for success. When God’s purposes are at work, we shouldn’t hesitate to ask for success. And lastly, Nehemiah prayed constantly, even when talking to other people, because he knew God is always present and in charge. And he could confidently send up little emergency prayers throughout the day because he had established a relationship with God during times of extended prayer.

The Promised Land - Heaven

We can learn a lot from the Israelite’s journey to the Promised Land. Heaven is the Christian’s promised land. It is a wonderful place, promising rest, peace and fellowship with God. Canaan promised the same to the weary wanderers.

God separated the Israelites from the rest of the world. He wanted them to be Holy. They were given rules to live by. They learned how to worship and how to have relationships with others. Christians are called to be separate from the world. We also have rules to live by. The Ten Commandments and The Golden Rule are just as necessary today as they ever were. We are to worship, obey and trust God that someday we will get where we are going and our journey will be worth it.

What He told them in Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy is in the Bible for us to know and study. Through Moses, God brought the Israelites out of the bondage of slavery. Through Jesus, God brings us out of the bondage of sin. God told them all along what to do to become free and saved. He does the same for us. Their journey was taken in faith. So is ours. When they camped, God told them to put the Tabernacle in the center: God should be the center of our lives also.

In Deuteronomy 1:2 we see that the Israelites spent forty years on a journey that should have lasted eleven days! Christ’s return is taking longer than the early Christians expected. God was preparing the Israelites to live in the Promised Land. He is preparing us to live in Heaven. Our Promised Land is Heaven, and we’re going in!

What does the Lord require of you?

The Bible tells us that we are required to fear the Lord and to walk in all His ways, to love Him, to serve Him with all our heart and all our soul and to keep His commandments.

It tells us we should delight in the law of the Lord and meditate on it day and night. (Psalm 1:2) To do justice, love kindness and walk humbly with our God. (Micah 6:8) To put on compassion, kindness, gentleness and patience. (Col.3:12) To forgive others as God has forgiven us. (Eph.4: 32) To go to church and to encourage each other. (Hebrews 10:24-25) To speak encouragingly, not with bitterness, wrath, anger or slander. (Eph.4: 29,31)

Some people may say, “Hey, wait a minute! I thought all I had to do was accept Jesus and I had it made!?”

Well, if you’ve accepted Jesus, you DO have it made, but you also have a responsibility. That responsibility is to become more like Christ. And to do this you have to examine your heart. Ask yourself if your heart changed when Christ came into it. Ask yourself if you are doing things out of unmerited love or for selfish reasons. Jesus said people would know His disciples by the love they show. We are saved to praise the glory of God’s grace. We need to ask ourselves if we are doing that. Often!

Our faith is displayed in our actions and what we do daily has the ability to glorify God. The easiest way to check ourselves I think is to use the popular saying, “What would Jesus do? Would Jesus do this out of love? Or for some selfish reason? Would He DO anything at all?” I think we would always find that He would always be a doer of the Word and He would do everything out of love. We are required to do no less.

Take captive every thought and make it obedient to Christ. 2 Cor.10:5

Someday

Isaiah 53:11 says that Jesus will one day see the results of His pain. Or to be exact, “He shall see the fruit of the travail of His soul and be satisfied.” People will believe Christ’s message and be called righteous.

This of course is already happening. Jesus is seeing new believers all the time.

But, someday, when He comes back to reign with His church, everyone who is alive or ever lived will bow down and say He is Lord. Philippians 2:8-11 says every knee, in heaven, on earth and under the earth. This means believer or not!

Man was not created to be separate from His creator. There is a longing inside that he doesn’t even understand and tries to fill in many ways. Someday that longing will be filled with eternal fellowship with Christ.

Eternal life with God (and remember, everyone has eternal life, they just won’t all be spending it in the same place!), but eternal life WITH GOD is a promise for all believers. After Christ’s judgment on the earth He promises us a new heaven and a new earth and we will reign on this new earth with Christ and then live in this new heaven forever.

When this happens all suffering and sorrow will end. Isaiah 25:8 says, “The sovereign Lord will wipe away tears from all faces.” There will be no more death. It also says, “He will swallow up death for all time.” He will remove it. There won’t even be a trace left.

The Bible also says that someday the present system of the universe will roll up like a scroll. (Isaiah 34:4, Matthew 24:29, Isaiah 16:22 and Isaiah 65:17) Our physical selves will rise again. (1 Cor.15: 50-53) Someday nature will be returned to its intended balance and harmony. And joy, understanding, justice and peace will characterize Christ’s rule. (Isaiah 29:17-24)

Someday, all of God’s creation will be as He intended. History is in God’s hands. He is in control! Our understanding of this truth effects what we believe about suffering, the spiritual world, our faithfulness to Christ, our rewards in Heaven and the way we live.

Sacrifices

Nothing about Christ’s crucifixion happened by accident. Christ’s sacrifice was foreshadowed in every sacrifice since Genesis. God prepared His people for generations with the idea that a sacrifice could atone for their sin. Leviticus 17:11 says, “For the life of the flesh is in the blood and I have given it for your souls, for it is the blood that makes atonement, by reason of the life.” The wages of sin is death. Something had to die. Something PERFECT had to die.

The first time blood was shed in the Bible was after Adam and Eve sinned and God killed an animal to use its skins to clothe them. This was a sacrifice for individuals. The first Passover, where families killed a lamb to put its blood on their door so the angel of death would pass over, was a sacrifice for families. The burnt offerings that Israel offered for years were sacrifices for the nation, and Christ’s sacrifice of Himself was for the world. The animals used in sacrifice always had to be acceptable to God. They had to be perfect. As Christ was.

The sacrifices taught; that by using perfect animals and holy priests, that God is holy. By demanding exact obedience to how they were to perform the sacrifices, that they were to have total submission to God’s laws, and by using animals of great value, the high cost of sin and the sincerity of their commitment to God.

Sacrifices symbolically transferred our sin to the animal and then the animal died instead of us. In Hebrews we learn that the sacrifices the Israelites were offering weren’t good enough. Hebrews 9:9 says, “gifts and sacrifices are offered which cannot perfect the conscience of the worshipper.” All the cleansing the priest did was external and the sacrifices were a pale copy of the true sacrifice of Jesus Christ, which came later. Also they had to sacrifice over and over again. Jesus’ sacrifice was once and for all.

God begins to tell His people that He expects more from them then their offerings. 1 Samuel 15:22 says, “Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice.” Psalm 51:17 tells us, “The sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart.” Paul tells us in Romans 12:1 to present our bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God.

Sacrifices were important because they prepared people for Christ’s sacrifice. Jesus’ sacrifice was perfect because He perfectly lived God’s will. He was perfectly obedient. Only he could truly make us right with God and give us the power to stay that way.

EXODUS

The book of Exodus tells the story of the forming of the children of Israel into a church and a nation. We can learn much from this book.

Many Jews, Christians and Muslims believe there is only one God and that He is the source of everything that exists in the universe. We believe that God cares for people, that He helps them, that He calls them to know, serve and worship Him. Many of the roots from which our faith has grown can be found in the book of Exodus.

Whenever one group of people or a tribe or race is hated or oppressed or exploited by another, they can find in Exodus a challenge and a message of hope. The message of hope is for those who suffer. The African slaves remembered Moses in many of their songs. They knew that God wants people to be free.

The challenge and a warning are first of all for those who oppress them, but as we read this book we will find there are also warnings for those who wish to be liberated. God also wants us to trust Him wherever He has put us at that time.

This book is about going forward. About hoping what you are going to is better then what you left behind. It’s also a book about learning that the only way to be truly free is to put God first in your life and to treat other people justly.

When the book of Exodus was written there were many people who thought there were a large number of gods and goddesses. Others thought there might be one creator-god, but that he was too far away to be concerned with the everyday affairs of people’s lives. The writer of Exodus makes it clear he believes there is one God and that He is a God who comes near to people. He makes Himself known. He has a purpose for men’s lives and He makes it known to them. There are people even today who pray to saints because they think God is unapproachable.

When we read Exodus we should look for what it tells us about God and we should use what it tells us so that we trust Him and do His will.

Lord make me a vessel that serves only You, and my life a reflection of what You can do.

Christians, Trials and Jesus

Christians are not promised a trial free life. If they were, people would flock to Christianity for all the wrong reasons. Also a trial free life does not allow faith to grow. If we know for a fact that we would never get sick, or that if we did it wouldn’t be serious, or that we would live to a ripe old age and then die in our sleep, or never have financial worries, we wouldn’t lean on God to get us through however He pleases.

People find it especially hard to understand when something happens to a person who seems to be doing exactly what God wants: a missionary killed on his way to a mission trip, someone trying to save someone’s life and himself dying in the process.

This is where we can go to the Bible and find comfort and meaning.

Most people have heard the story of the three young men who were thrown into the fire for refusing to worship the king and instead only worshipping their God. Shadrack, Meshach and Abednego were doing God’s will and God could have kept them from the furnace. He could have had the king change his mind or even have all the people involved totally forget about it, but He didn’t. He let them be thrown into a furnace that was so hot it killed some of the guards close by. Later, when other guards looked in, they saw not three, but four men. What does this tell us? God didn’t keep them from the furnace, but He came down into it with them!

And when we are at our lowest and most miserable, we should look around, because that’s when God is closest and He will be with us every step of the way!

If the family worships together and trusts God for guidance, God will surely bless each member with the wisdom and courage to meet all problems that arise.

“No perfume is more costly and more aromatic to God than the faithfulness of believers who are suffering.”

Be Still and Know That I Am God

Our natural tendency when we have a problem is to rush into a quick fix. Do something right away to get rid of the problem.

God tells us clearly in the Bible to “Be still and know that I am God.” (Psalm 46:10)

That’s the first thing a Christian should do in any situation. Being still is asking for God’s direction and then listening to what He says. He may have a message for you. Jesus said, “What I tell you in the dark; speak in the daylight.” (Matthew 10:27) He may want us to learn something through our troubles that will help someone else later in their troubles. We are called to love others, comfort them and show them that God loves them.

When we are hurrying and busy, we are only thinking of ourselves. When we stop and let God order and guide our thoughts, they turn first to Him. We were created to be in a relationship with our creator. Thinking of Him first is natural and gives us peace.

Many times we rush to say things we later regret. Proverbs 10:19 says, “In the multitude of words there wanteth not sin; but he that refraineth his lips is wise.” Stop and listen before you say something. Then you will have nothing to take back.

Psalm 62:5 says, “For God alone my soul awaits in silence for my hope is from Him.” Hope is what it’s all about. Hope in God and in our faith is a sure thing for Christians. God will never forsake us. His Bible, His prophecies are real and true. Be still and listen to Him.