Holy Spirit I need You

Holy Spirit, I need you!

 

“If you love me, keep my commands.  And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you (John 14: 15-17, NIV)

 Oh, the Holy Spirit, I need you! The Holy Spirit is with me all the time, even when I don’t listen to him.  It’s kind of comical for me that when I don’t listen to the Holy Spirit, he’ll kick me in the butt later and seemingly say to me “see, I told you to listen to me, dummy.” That’s my interpretation of what the Holy Spirit says to me at least.

If I listen to the Holy Spirit, as given to me through Jesus, I actually do pretty well. I make good decisions, I’m led to the right path, and I’m overall happy. When I don’t listen to the Holy Spirit, I usually make poor decisions, start going down the wrong path, and am overall not very happy. It is a being stubborn thing for me. I like to listen to myself a lot because I think I know better for myself or I forget to lean on the Holy Spirit and try to do things my way: always fail. I’m a slow learner I guess.

When I shut up and listen, I can hear the Holy Spirit pretty well, but there is a lot of noise in my life and in the world I live in that blocks me from shutting up and listening to the Holy Spirit.  The Holy Spirit is my teacher and I’m the student, but like I was in school, I wasn’t very good at listening.  I do a lot better now than I used to though, and I’m not embarrassed to say that I still sometimes, or a lot of times, don’t let the Holy Spirit lead me as I should let him.

 I really need the Holy Spirit though. I recognize that I need the Holy Spirit all the time, it’s just that my stubbornness of thinking I know better gets in the way of my listening to his teachings and guidance.  I’m doing better than I used to (I hope). In my early walk with Jesus and having the Holy Spirit, I had a hard time listening to that voice in my head and in my heart lead me to what I needed to do, to listen to, and needed to be obedient to.

The Holy Spirit will never guide me down the wrong path or toy with me. The Holy Spirit is there to guide me in my walk with Jesus and to impart to me the knowledge I need to make it in this fallen world.  I think that’s my problem, it this fallen world that I’m stuck in that blinds me at times to what the Holy Spirit is trying to covey to me.

 In our society, and how I was raised, I was to expected to rely on no one else except myself to make it in this world. I learned to not rely on other people to help me out because I was the only one who knew what is best for me and my future.  I knew what was best for me and relied on myself for support and motivation.  This was, of course, before I knew Jesus, but old habits die hard. 

In my [slow] growing walk with Jesus over the last few years, I have been getting better at relying on the Holy Spirit, but I’ll admit, I fall back into my old habit of relying on myself for guidance and growth. I have this battle daily with myself and when I rely on myself, I don’t do so well. I’d give myself a grade of “C” for my reliance on the Holy Spirit. I’m working myself up to a “B” and hope that as my walk with Jesus continues throughout my life, my grade will rise to an “A+.” I have faith I can do that, I just have to get over myself first.

Before I knew and accepted Christ in my life, I never knew the Spirit. My life was going pretty well. I was making good money, had the house, a wife, the kids, the whole nine yards, in a worldly kind of way. Only when I accepted Christ and began walking with him was I introduced to the Holy Spirit. It was quite an eye opener to have him in my life.

I can look back now and see how much the Holy Spirit tried to move me in my early walk. I can also see the patience the Holy Spirit has had with me as I look back in my walk with Jesus.  The Holy Spirit was trying to nudge me a little closer to Jesus each day.  As I was growing in my relationship with Christ, the Spirit was right there with me, a little nudge here, a big nudge there, and powerful insights when I listened.

Like I said, I give myself a “C” for my listening to the Holy Spirit. I used to be a miserable “F” student but I’m still growing and learning and expect to keep moving up that grading scale until it is time for me to leave this horrible world.

I find that when I focus on listening to the Holy Spirit, I am greatly blessed. When I read the Word and ask for the Holy Spirit to help me study and understand the Word, the Bible’s teachings seem so much more enriching than when I just sit down and read it on my own without asking the Holy Spirit to help me understand the words as I read them.

When I write these commentaries, I find that when I just try to write something on my own, I end up not writing very good commentaries and you never see them because I delete them. But when I ask for the Holy Spirit to give me words or direction, words seem to flow from my fingers and I sometimes don’t realize what I’m even writing or where those thoughts are coming from. 

I guess I can say when I focus on the Holy Spirit and I am good at listening when it comes to the “big” things in life that relate to the Word or Jesus. I find I struggle with listening to the Holy Spirit in the little things of life. I know this is an area where I need some work.

Am I saying I need to ask the Holy Spirit what I should eat for breakfast: eggs or oatmeal? No, but I do need to rely on the Holy Spirit for everyday decisions that have future consequences. For me, as an example being Bipolar and when I’m in a mood cycle I’m prone to make frequent financial mistakes. I think I know best and I hastily purchase things I don’t need or make financial commitments that I come to regret. I always find myself thinking afterwards (buyers regret) that I should have prayed for guidance from the Holy Spirit.  Yet, when I look back, I knew the Holy Spirit was there, but my messed up thinking interfered with what I was doing in the moment and I was deaf to the Holy Spirit talking to me.  

I’ve recently been making a conscience decision to ask for the Holy Spirit’s guidance more than I have done in the past. It is very comforting that when I do ask for guidance, my heart and mind are led to decisions that I would have otherwise not made based on my own thoughts and desires.  I find this relieving in a way I really can’t explain.  When I put decisions for guidance through prayer, I find the burden of the decision is lifted off my mind because I know the answer (sometime I don’t like the answer) will be correct and will be true and right.

I find that when I pray and wait and listen for the Holy Spirit’s guidance for decisions I need to make, I’m not as stressed or worried about what to do, because I know that the Holy Spirit is working things out for me for the best and in a direction to take me to the right decision or guidance. I have also learned to be patient.

I used to want the answer right now! Yet I have learned to be patient on waiting for the Holy Spirit’s direction for me. Instead of demanding an answer right away, I can trust that the answer or guidance will come to me at the time that it is needed.  I can feel in my heart and mind when the guidance is provided because I feel an overwhelming feeling of absoluteness when I ask for direction on finances, work related issues, or family and church concerns. It is quite refreshing actually. Again, though, this is an area where I am still growing and need the Holy Spirit to work on me with.  Waiting for the Holy Spirit’s guidance occurs when I’m cognizant of what I’m doing and when I don’t forget to rely on myself for answers.

I’m sure there are more Christians out there that do better than me at utilizing the Holy Spirit and his guidance. I’m surer there are Christians who are the same as me or worse.  To me, this is part of the walk with Christ and people are at different stages in their walk with Jesus and being attuned to the voice of the Holy Spirit.

To the unbeliever, the Holy Spirit is a big mystery. Those of us new in the walk with Jesus can understand that the Holy Spirit was a mystery before being saved.  If you want that guidance, if you want the Holy Spirit to guide you, you need Jesus. Once you accept Christ in your life, or maybe you need to renew your walk with Christ, the Holy Spirit will come to you to guide you to Jesus and in your studies in the Word.

Accept Christ and the Holy Spirit will guide you to discern right from wrong, what Jesus wants for you, and how you should walk in your journey with Christ. The Holy Spirit is the amazing gift from Christ that enables us to walk on the straight and narrow path to righteousness. If you pass on accepting Christ and receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit, you may think you are doing right and living right, but you really aren’t.

Jesus is the way to eternal life and the Holy Spirit is your own personal guide to lead you to saving grace. The moment you accept Christ as your Lord and Savior, you can open that gift from Christ: the Holy Spirit. You can trust in the Holy Spirit to lead you to always live for Christ and to walk with Christ in a personal relationship with Him. Accept this gift from Christ today.

If you are like me, don’t lose faith in listening for the Holy Spirit. I find that shutting up and listening is a great tool in listening for the Holy Spirit’s guidance and teachings.  This is something that takes effort and practice to hear his voice in your heart and mind. Don’t give up.

Be patient and listen to your heart when you seek the Holy Spirit for guidance when you are studying the Bible, asking for guidance on life decisions, or looking for answers to questions you have. The Holy Spirit is real and will guide you to the right direction Christ has for you. 

 

God Bless,

 

Filth and Evil

Filth and Evil

By

John Lysaught

 

“Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you” (James 1:21, NIV).

There sure is a lot of filth in the world we live in. Just turn on your television or open the front page on a Web search engine and there is filth right in your face. Shoot, we’re surrounded by filth and it grows every day it seems.

Is it only me, or do filth and evil seem so prevalent in our society that we sometimes don't even recognize it as such? I rarely watch television anymore because the filth on it is pervasive in just about every show. Seems like the documentary channels are the only television escapes from the filth on primetime television. Even those channels are starting to air shows that are of moral question and filth, because, well, evil and filth pays and brings in an audience.

I wonder why people are drawn to it? I guess it is just part of our sinful nature that draws us to watch sin and moral decay on television or on the Internet. To me though, the more I learn of the Lord, the more filth and evil I see all around me─like being surrounded by the enemy. It’s everywhere. Commercials, billboards and posters in the mall: filth and evil surrounding us on all sides.

Now that I’m in Christ, I can recognize filth and evil like I can spot the sun rising. It is quite amazing to me that before I knew Christ, the moral decay and evil in the world was seemingly normal and acceptable to me: I didn’t notice it or pay attention. Now I find most things reprehensible. Maybe I’m being overly sensitive, but I can’t stand being surrounded by filth and evil.

Just recently, my sixth-grade daughter went to her middle school prom. She dressed very conservatively in a nice dress. She was very presentable in my eyes. Not immorally dressed to say the least. When we went to pick her up, I was appalled at the outfits that most of the girls were wearing. I mean, what parents would let an eighth-grader dress in; skimpy clothes with six-inch stiletto heels in a skirt that I would expect to see a 21year old wearing at a meat-market dance club.

This type of dress was not isolated to just one girl, it was evident that my daughter was in the minority of conservative dress because most were wearing clothes, or should I say a lack of clothes, which I found embarrassing to look at. My daughter then told me that some kids were “grinding” at the dance and doing other disgusting dance moves with each other. Not just boys to girls, but girls to girls. I asked if the chaperons stopped them and she said, “No.”

Come on people!

This makes me think of the acceptable filth that society says is normal for people now.

My kids were watching TV the other day, on a kid’s network channel. I thought I would sit for a moment and spend some quality time with them and watched some dumb teen show on this kid’s network channel. All of a sudden, two girls were making out! I was dumbfounded. My daughter said they do it all the time on the show. I asked her what she thought of it and she said it was disgusting, but otherwise she liked the show.

It wasn’t even isolated to that show. She said most of the teen shows that she watches have gays and lesbians and other inappropriate relationships (student and teachers) that portray that type of behavior as “normal” in society, which, for unbelievers is normal. To me, it seems that every show on now has some type of immoral theme to it. That’s why I don’t watch much TV anymore. I’m about ready to cancel cable.

Let me say that I’m glad my wife and I are saved and that my younger children know about Jesus and hopefully will follow our example. We didn’t raise our older kids as Christians since their birth, because my wife and I have been saved for only a few years. But we try to be good examples of God’s love and talk to them about Jesus. (Can you see their eyes rolling now?)

The two youngest recognize the filth of society and are more receptive when we talk about God. The two almost-adult teenagers, well, they are pretty worldly since we missed the opportunity to have Christ in their lives when they were younger. All we can do is set the example, surround our house with reminders of Christ, and most important, we pray for them a lot.

For the unbeliever, the filth and evil of society is normal and an acceptable part of their daily lives. But it is not normal. Once one becomes a follower of Jesus Christ, they will begin to notice how worldly the world outside of Christianity is. Those things that once seemed normal will seem disgusting. Those things that society is saying is moral will be noticed as immoral (gay marriage, abortion, etc.).

Adversity is always against us. The filth and evil is so pervasive in the world that I sometimes feel like I’m drowning in it. The world makes it so easy to sin because society has made sinful living a facet of society, part of our every day lives. Accepting what society has offered in filth and evil is an attempt by Satan to separate us from Jesus and our walk with Him.

Watching a TV show with gays and lesbians or the push for gay marriage is a way that Satan uses to try to separate us from Christ, convincing us that gay living is normal and acceptable. You know what? There are a lot of Christians who believe this is okay, even though the Bible is clearly against this type of behavior. Lust, as portrayed in advertisements and TV shows, is yet another way Satan works to separate us from Jesus and our walk with Him.

By inundating us with lustful visual scenes, seeds are planted to make us accept this unwholesome behavior. I could go on and on, but the gist is that Satan uses his power to introduce filth and evil into the world and also try to persuade Christians to stop our walk with Jesus.

Remember, Satan’s mission is to kill, steal, and destroy. He wants us to stray from Christ. And even more so, he wants unbelievers to never consider a relationship with Jesus by convincing them that what Christ stands for is “not fun” and is against what society deems as “normal.” Satan tries to make believers a bazaar fringe-group of society.

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (John 16:33, NIV).

Even though the world is trouble and we are faced with these troubles of filth and evil so prevalent in society, we can be assured that Christ has overcome the world and if we are with Christ─true followers─of Jesus, we will still face trouble but will overcome the temptations of the world just as Christ did. When He lives in your heart and the Holy Spirit leads you in your walk with Christ, we can be assured that even though we live in a world of evil and filth, we will be okay.

Unbelievers, take heed of where you stand with Jesus. Jesus saves and sets-us-apart from the world. Accept Christ as your Savior and His words will be a saving grace for you. You will look at the world so much more differently than you do now as an unbeliever. What society says is moral and okay is completely opposite of how Jesus wants you to live and exist. He wants you to live in His love and peace, free from the ills of this world and the fall of society and its morals.

God loves you so much. He loves each and every one of us so much that He gave his only Son, Jesus Christ, as a sacrifice for sin, for your sins. To have eternity with Christ in heaven you must choose to believe and live for Jesus. Just knowing who Jesus is and what He stands for is not enough, for even demons know who Jesus is.

You must embrace Him fully and be willing to give-up the world to follow Him. You must give-up your worldly ways and actions, turn from what society is saying is moral and normal and hold tight to the teachings and guidance put forth in the Bible.

Once you accept Christ and delve into His Word and read articles, books, and such about Jesus, you will realize how depraved the society we live in really is and how far it is from what Jesus wants for us. Don’t choose Jesus and you will continue to participate in a world full of depravity and lies and moral decay with an ultimate destination of, hell. It’s a choice: Heaven through Jesus, or hell through continual living in the world without Christ as your Savior.

Living for Jesus will not make you a perfect person in this world at this time. We all make mistakes and will sin, but we ask for forgiveness and it is granted by grace. By accepting Jesus, your sins will be forgiven and your name will be written in the book of life and in heaven you will be perfect. You will live forever in eternal bliss with our Lord Jesus. By accepting Christ as your savior you will also be given the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit will be your guide while here on earth, guiding you to stay on that straight and narrow path that leads to heaven.

Once the Holy Spirit begins to work in your life, you will see the world differently. You will see the filth and moral decay as it really is: Evil at work. The Holy Spirit will guide you to Jesus always and will impress upon you the things not of this world but on things of Christ and heaven.

The Holy Spirit will also change your heart. You will be filled with an unspeakable amount of love and compassion not only for Jesus but also for those you care for and love. You will want to do the things that Jesus has planned for you as His child and follower: To live for Him and become His disciple to bring others to Him in ways that He has planned for you.

Your life will change when you accept Jesus. Your eyes will be opened up to the depravity of the world and you will discover as you walk with Jesus, that you previous life before Him was full or worldly ways and evil. You will be amazed at the new life you have that is full of love and life that world could never fulfill in you and your heart.
God Bless

John Lysaught

I am a Sinner

“If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us” (1 John 1:8-10).

I’m a miserable failure when it comes to not committing sin. I’ll be the first one to jump up and say, “Yup, I’m a sinner!” I fail every day. I’m disappointed in myself, like the apostle Paul who said:

“For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I. If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good. Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.

For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not. For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do .Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me” (Romans 7:15-20).

I sometimes forget that I’m not perfect. The enemy tries to use the idea of perfection as a weapon against me, sneaking thoughts into my head that if I’m not perfect, then I’m not loved by Jesus and I am not saved unto Glory. It’s a slippery slope of thought if I get sucked into that error of thinking. I must remember that being sinless is impossible for us mere humans. Only Christ is perfect and sinless. All we can do is strive to be like Him, even though we will miss the mark.

When I do what I don’t want to do, I always feel so guilty. I knew I shouldn’t have done what I did but I did it anyway. After I beat myself up I remember and I tell myself that I am of flesh thanks to Adam, and I am by nature a sinful creature. All I can do is repent and pray for strength not to give into that fleshly desire again; seems like I do this a lot though.

Being a follower of Christ is not to expect perfection in our selves or our brothers and sisters in this world. Nor are we to judge people because they aren’t perfect. I’m reminded of the story in John chapter eight about the adulteress that was about to be stoned. Jesus admonished the crowd that whoever was without sin should cast the first stone. No one did and they all left. Jesus told the adulteress to leave and leave her life of sin (adultery). I certainly will never throw a stone at someone who has committed a sin, for I am just as guilty as every other human.

Knowing we are human and therefore destined to sin, we should not continue to sin? No. As Paul says in Romans 6:1-2: “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that Grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?”

We should strive to live a sinless life, but also knowing we will slip and fall along the way. Does this make us any less of a follower of Christ? Does this mean if we slip up we will go to hell? No. We won't be perfect in this life and only by grace through our belief in Christ will we spend eternity with Him as perfect creatures.

I’m trying to make a point here. I think that non-believers and some believers get the idea that Christians have to be perfect to be saved. I also believe that some Christians portend to be perfect and are judgmental to others and therefore turn non-believers off to investigating Christ. I’m not saying every Christian believes they are perfect, but we all know of one or two in church who think and act like they are without sin and are judgmental towards everyone else based on their false belief of their perceived self-perfection.

I want both unbelievers and believers to know that you don’t have to be perfect to be a Christian. In fact it is impossible. You can never be perfectly sinless. Only one Person is perfect─Jesus. You will never measure up to the perfect standard expected from God. That is why we have Jesus. Jesus is the mediator between us, and God the Father. Jesus was the ultimate sacrifice for our sins, past, present, and future. Through faith in Jesus we are assured that He was our sin offering to God so that by grace we may be seen as righteous in the eyes of God.

“Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in His sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin. But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference:

For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; Being justified freely by His Grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in His blood, to declare His righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; To declare, I say, at this time His righteousness: that He might be just, and the justifier of Him which believeth in Jesus” (Romans 3:20-26).

I want people who are still reading -- to become believers in the promise of eternity in heaven through Jesus. I want you to know that God is real, that Jesus is real, and that the eternity of heaven and hell is real. Where you go, heaven or hell is ultimately your choice. The choice is pretty simple. You get eternal life in heaven if you believe and have faith that Jesus died for your sins and ascended to heaven after being resurrected. If you don't have faith in Jesus, you still have eternal life, but it will be in hell, separated from the love and peace of God.

I hope you are a little uncomfortable with what I just stated. I hope that you are thinking of your two choices. That is good. What you should do now is pray. It doesn’t have to be an eloquent prayer; it is just you talking to God, your Creator. Pray to the Lord to reveal to you the truth about Jesus. Do this and your heart will speak to you regarding this. Also, get a Bible, or find an on-line one, and read at least one of the four gospels books of the Bible: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and/or John to learn about Jesus for yourself. Don’t take my word for it, read the Scriptures.

As you read, pray to receive Jesus into your heart and to help you understand Him and His message. Do this and I believe you will no longer be an unbeliever, but a believer in: Jesus. Reading one of the gospel books won’t take long to read and praying is easy. Try it and see what happens to you. I’m sure you won't be disappointed.

Once Christ is in your life, the Holy Spirit will work on your heart and you will begin to see changes in the way you think, act, and look at the world around you. The worldly ways you once lived won’t seem as important and your heart will change to want to please Christ. This is a good thing. After you begin to grow with Jesus and the Holy Spirit, your old self will be put aside and you will think of the things of Christ and salvation more and more. If you allow the Holy Spirit to work in your heart and mind, you will be a new creation with a firm confirmation of your salvation in Christ leading to heaven.

If you think you are too full of sin to be forgiven, push those thoughts out of your mind. Satan will want you to think you are too sinful to be accepted by Christ. Know that Satan is wrong. He wants to destroy your relationship with Christ. He wants you to believe in lies about Christ and Christianity that are floating around in society and throughout the world. Don’t entertain those thoughts. Keep your mind focused on Christ and your heart to the peace and rest Jesus offers to His people─that includes you.

Know that the world will be against you as well. This is a daily challenge that all followers of Christ face. The world hates Christ and when you accept Christ you will begin to hate the things of the world. You will see the world through the eyes of Christ and will be dumbfounded at how you used to live in your old life before you knew Christ. You may not believe me now, but you will see what I mean as your grow with the help of the Holy Spirit in your walk with Jesus.

If you are sitting on the fence with the world on one side and Christ on the other, I urge you, no, I plead with you to look at Jesus more in-depth. Seek Him and you will find Him. Ask for His guidance and strength to believe in Him and His saving grace. God gave His only Son as a living sacrifice for you and me to have a way to heaven. Christ was sacrificed on a cross so that our sins are paid for, so we are blameless before God─if only you believe in Him and His grace offer of eternity through Him. Take this new journey for your salvation. Accept Christ. Study His Word─the Bible, and pray continuously.

God Bless.

All Scripture cited is from the King James Version of the Bible.

 

Do Not Be Afraid

Do Not Be Afraid

 

 

“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid” (John 14:27).

I get scared a lot regarding my walk with Jesus: that I’m not doing all that He wants me to do. It troubles my heart. I feel that I'm still missing something with my walk with Jesus. Maybe it is doing something more for Him instead of hiding behind a computer screen and writing as I am doing now. I think that maybe, I need to witness more to people.

This is a challenge to me because I am generally a shy person and find writing much easier than talking. Plus it is easier for me to write than talk because I can think through my thoughts and organize them better than I can when I speak to someone. By writing, I have the luxury of taking my time utilizing the Internet to find that perfect verse that is applicable to what I am trying to convey to people. When I speak to people regarding Christ, I get lost and begin to ramble, for I don’t know the Bible well enough to be able to turn to the right verse or recite a verse that is applicable to the discussion I’m having.

Don’t get me wrong, I do speak about Jesus and give my testimony when people ask me about my faith. At my desk I have my Bible, a couple of books about Christ and I have a verse (Galatians 2:20) printed out and sitting in front of my keyboard. I use these as an opening for someone to ask me a question about what these things are and it opens up a conversation I can have about Christ. When I do speak, I speak from the heart of how I feel and what I know about Christ and His message of Salvation. I’ve never approached a stranger to talk to them about Christ except when I help pray for people at the end of a church service for the altar call. I just pray that what I’m doing is enough. I want to be a better disciple for Christ.

I work for the Army as a civilian employee. And with the recent news about the Army banning discussing faith and labeling Christianity as dangerous, I fear I my “props” to get conversations started─will be taken away─or at least diminished. The Bible study we have here at work on Thursday’s during lunch may even be taken away from us. Regardless of what happens, I plan on keeping my props and will not give in to the dictates of the Army leadership to hide my faith. I will keep my “props” out and visible so when someone asks me about my faith, I can have a conversation about Jesus. I don’t answer to the world, I answer to God. I have to remember this verse in John:

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).

I foresee trouble at work with talking to unbelievers about Christ. But I hope to overcome my fear of getting in trouble, of reprisals from my leadership about having my faith props out to remind me of my walk with Jesus or to discuss Jesus when someone initiates the conversation.

I foresee in the near future things will get harder for Christians who truly follow Christ. I feel that we are being demonized be people in power in our government and society in general. I know I will not bend to outside forces regarding my faith, but I do fear the oppression that will come. I worry that it will affect my employment and will affect my family. I know that God will take care of me, but I still have that fear, nonetheless.

I’m assuming my fear is an indication of a lack of faith in that area. This is a stumbling block I need to work on and need prayer for. I will never deny my faith in Jesus. I need to pray for strength and courage and boldness in Jesus though. I will never compromise my faith for the dictates of my employer, which I feel is coming down the pipe to not only soldiers but to civilian employees as well.

When it gets to the point of having to choose my faith or my employment, I will make the easy choice: I will choose Jesus. I will quit my job and walk in faith that I will be taken care of. I feel in my heart this is coming and even though I know what I will do, I fear the moment of truth and hold fear of the unknown. When I feel the fear as I do now, I get pretty anxious. Yet I feel better when I delve into the Word:

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls” (Matthew 11:28-29).

This verse calms me down a lot when I start stressing myself out being the worrywart that I am. I seek the rest the Lord offers and it helps me put things in perspective that no matter what happens, God is in control. I need not worry as much as I do about the adversity that is coming against the followers of Jesus. I can take my worries to Christ and He will give me rest and will walk with me as I face the adversity that I feel is coming down at work and in the world in general.

As for my anxiety, I think Paul says it best in Philippians: “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6-7).

Though I believe and trust this verse, I still feel very anxious about those who will be coming against Christians─ now─and in the future. As we are set-apart from society as evil and nonconforming to what society and the government is pushing down our throats regarding sin (gay marriage as an example), and taking God out of every nook and cranny of our society and government. That we will be considered a fringe group, outcasts from society in general, listed as extremists, as the Army is working toward, still does cause me concern.

My request, my petition to Christ is that I overcome my anxiety and fear of the adversity that we as followers of Jesus will face. I pray that we all stand strong in the face of adversity and that we are not weakened by that adversity but are given renewed and powerful strength to stand-up to the evil powers that be, that are trying to isolate and destroy Christianity in this country and throughout the world.

I apologize to those that are reading this and believe I’m faithless. It isn’t my intention to bare my lack of faith regarding fear and anxiety, but I believe a great number Christians feel the same fear and anxiety that I do regarding what this country is turning into and how Christians are being treated and will be treated in the future. I want to assure you (including myself) that God is in control and all these things must happen and come to pass, as we get closer to the Rapture of the church.

“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go” (Joshua 1:9).

‘“For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future’” (Jeremiah 29:11 NIV).

We can be assured that we need not fear the future. What will happen to Christians, how we are treated and viewed by the world is of no consequence, for we answer to and are taken care of by the God of the universe. He is our strength and our rock. We need not fear the world because I can foresee things getting much worse for us, as we near the time of our being taken up with the Lord during the Rapture.

After writing this essay, putting into words how I feel, I feel better about my fear and anxiety, about what is going on in the world toward Christianity. I feel more confident in my relationship with Christ. My fear and anxiety is lessened. But many that feel as I do and we must pray for one another.

If you are not a Christian, you will not notice what is going on in the world and the attitudes toward Christians are changing for the worse. Yet if you are reading this, I’m going to assume that you are curious about Christianity. At the end of the day, you have a choice to make: To be with Jesus or not. To me this was an easy decision, but for you, it may not be because you are too deep into the world. If you are ready to seek the Lord, now is the time to do so, for the time in short for you to decide your eternal destination of heaven or hell.

Accepting Christ is a monumental decision you have to make. Accept Christ as your Lord and Savior and be part of His family, to live with Him in heaven for the rest of eternity. Deny Christ and spend your eternity away from Him in hell. To accept Christ, you will have to give up your life for Him and turn from the way you are living now in the world.

The world hates Christ and so to live for Christ means you have to hate the world, even though you have to live in it. To accept Christ is to die to yourself and give up your personal ambitions and desires in the world and turn your desires, your heart, to Christ and what He wants from you. He wants all of you, not 99% of you, but 100% of you. You must be willing to leave the world behind and move forward in Christ, to be his follower, not a bystander. Christ demands obedience to Him in His desires for you.

You will mess up, for we all do, but Christ is forgiving and will help you grow with Him and do His will for Him. We are all of sin and Christ died for your sins, all of them. Don’t be afraid to accept Christ as your Savior. Embrace Him with your heart, soul, and mind. Be willing to follow Him in what He has planned for your life in your walk with Him, even if it costs you your former way of life and your own ambitions for your future. Take that step in faith and seek Jesus.

“But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord” (Joshua 24:15).

All Scripture quotations are taken from the NIV version of the Bible.

 

By Faith

By Faith

 

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“I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:20, KJV).

I love that verse from Galatians (I love a lot of verses). It sums it all up for me: I live by faith in Jesus. Jesus is an intricate part of my life now and I have no regrets of leaving the worldly ways behind me. In everything I do, I do with Jesus on my mind and in my heart. I have a strong desire to please Jesus and hope that the things I do for Him are of His will and pleasing to Him.

I feel inadequate at times about pleasing, Jesus. There is something missing in my heart regarding doing the works Christ wants me to do. I just can’t seem to put my finger on it. Maybe I should witness more, and maybe that is what I am lacking. Or maybe it’s getting more involved in church activities. I don’t know. But I do have faith the Holy Spirit will guide me to that “thing” in my heart that feels inadequate. I have to remember that Christ sacrificed Himself for me and He will guide me to the path I need to be on.

Nonetheless I am confident in my salvation, even though I feel I’m missing something. I am confident in Jesus running my life and leading me to where I need to be and to do what I need to do for Him. I just have to get over my own fears and stumbling blocks. But again, I’m confident that my salvation is sealed, I just have to work on what God wants of me as a disciple of Christ. I also know that today is another day to renew that relationship with Christ and continue to grow in the love, peace, and rest that is only found in Jesus.

“Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened” (Matthew 7:7-8, KJV).

If you’re not sure of your salvation, or you are ready to move forward in your relationship with Christ, that verse from Matthew makes it clear that if you honestly and truly want to improve and move forward in your relationship with Christ, all you have to do is knock, ask Him, and hold on for the ride of your life (heaven bound).

If your heart isn’t ready, then ask that your heart be opened to Christ and the guidance of the Holy Spirit within you for a renewed and better relationship with, Jesus. Jesus is always ready to welcome a new follower into His kingdom. He is of love, peace, and rest.

I find the peace and rest the best part of my relationship with Christ, when I ask for it. I sometimes forget to do this and try to work things out on my own─always a failure. When I reach my wits end and can’t find a resolution to my problems, I lay my burdens on Him and through the Holy Spirit, things always seem to get better and things work themselves out better than if I tried it on my own. I always ask myself why I didn’t go to God in the first place, but I guess that is just my being human. I know that whenever I knock on the door for guidance or direction, He is always there as an Advocate for me and to place my heart and mind at peace and gives me rest for my problems.

“That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

For the scripture saith, whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Romans 10:9-13, KJV).

You read that first part of the verse from Romans 9:13? “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.” This is so awesome and yet so simple. I sometimes forget the simplicity of my salvation. I sometimes get caught-up in trying to be perfect, or when I stumble I feel I am not deserving of his grace.

We all fall down and what is great is that if you allow Him to, Jesus is always there with His arm stretched out to help us back up to fellowship, with Him again. This isn’t a onetime thing, this is for every time we fall, or fail to live to the standards that we should when working on our relationship with Christ. It is the gift of God that we need to embrace in our daily walk with Jesus. No matter how bad things are, remember, that Christ is there for your salvation, to give you guidance, strength, peace, and the will to follow Him to the end, every day.

“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God” (Ephesians 2:8, KJV).

It is by grace that I daily have Christ in my heart and that I am a saved sinner. What is grace? Grace is God doing good for us that we do not deserve. Grace is God giving His Son, Jesus as a sacrifice for us sinners─who do not deserve forgiveness─so that we may have a way to salvation, to live with Christ forever in heaven by faith in Him. I know I don’t deserve it, but grace was given for me, and you. It is by grace that if we accept Christ as our Savior and do his will, we will spend our eternity with Him because Christ Jesus died for the sins of the world so that all who accept Him as their Savior will not taste death but drink the eternal water with Him in love and fellowship with others that are saved.

“But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you” (John 14:26, KJV).

The Holy Spirit works in me every moment of my life. Without Him I would be lost and would be like a leaf in the wind, going to and fro without any direction. The Holy Spirit is my compass that points me always to Jesus, His ways and wants for me, my salvation as well as what works He wants me to do. The Holy Spirit is there to guide me and to help me understand the gospel as I read and study. The Holy Spirit is in us believers so that we have a guide that keeps us on the straight and narrow path to heaven and helps us to do the will of Christ. The Holy Spirit helps us renew our relationship with Christ daily and puts on our hearts the desires that Christ has and wants from and for us.

Being led by the Holy Spirit took me some time to figure out. In my Christian infancy, I didn’t hone in on the Holy Spirit speaking to me and as a result I made a lot of mistakes in my beginning walk with Christ. Yet, as I delved into the Word and prayed, and as my understanding of the Bible grew, I could hear the voice of the Holy Spirit in me all the time. The Holy Spirit works in me by putting strong desires in my heart and speaks to my mind with ideas and inspirations. I now can discern the voice of the Holy Spirit and when I listen and follow, blessings come forth for me and I am led to act in ways I would have never had done before I honed in to the Holy Spirit’s impressions on me.

An example of the Holy Spirit working in me was with my tax return. I was fantasizing in January of what I could do with my tax return, assuming I got one this year. I could pay off that credit card, buy some things the family wanted like another computer or television to go into my bedroom. Suddenly, I felt in my heart very clearly that I needed to give my tax refund to the church’s compassion ministry that helps feed people through a food bank or helps needy people with their utility bills so they won’t freeze in the winter. At the time, I didn’t even do my taxes and didn’t know what I would get back. Once I finished my taxes, my refund was just under $6000.00.

I gladly gave my refund to the church because that was what the Holy Spirit directed me to do. I challenged all in the congregation to give up their tax refund to help with various ministries within the church. I don’t know if anyone else followed my example, but I testified to the congregation what the Holy Spirit had put on my heart and how it was important to listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit. I told them it wasn’t the amount that was important but the obedience to what God wanted me to do that was important.

“And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful” (Colossians 3:15, KJV).

I am so very thankful for Jesus and the Holy Spirit. Without either I would be a lost soul. I look back on my life before I had Jesus and the Holy Spirit and wonder how I ever survived. I am thankful that I survived long enough to be where I am now: with Jesus in my heart. I’m so thankful for the sacrifice God made by giving his only Son for us sinners, that we can have a way to heaven through the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. I thank God everyday for the opportunity to be alive, to speak to others about the Lord, and to write as I am now, that I may touch just one person to turn to or back to Jesus.

I’m also very grateful that the peace of Christ rules my heart. Sometimes people look at me weird at work when things get crazy and chaotic. I have peace and most of the unsaved I work with just don’t get it. They get all stressed out for the large and smallest things that go wrong. Me, I don’t, because I have the peace of Christ in my heart. I have that peace because I know God is in control. No matter what happens in the world at large, or in my small realm of my life, my heart is at peace because I have Christ in my life and the Holy Spirit leads me, as I need to be led.

If you don’t have Christ in your life, I’m not going to miss the opportunity to let you know that God loves you, and He wants you to accept Christ as your Lord and Savior. God gave his only Son so that you can choose eternity with Christ. Christ died as atonement for your sins, no matter how small or big those sins are or will occur. Think of the most unimaginable sin that you can commit or have committed. Guess what; if you accept Christ as your Savior, then those sins are washed clean. You will begin to live a life of love and peace as led by the Holy Spirit and will work to live a sin free life. Know that you will fail to be sin free but it is not the end for you. Repent daily and do the Lord’s will for you.

Think you are too bad? You aren’t. Think you are undeserving? You are, but Christ died to make a way for you to spend eternity with him. Don’t miss this chance for eternity with Christ. Take a moment to reflect on Jesus and pray for understanding and confirmation that he is real. Accept that Christ died for all your sins and was raised from the dead and ascended to heaven to return one day (soon). This is an important decision to accept Christ. If you accept Christ as your Savior then you are saved and will spend eternity with Him. If you deny Christ in your life, then eternity is not with Jesus, but in hell, separated from the love and peace offered by Jesus. Choose eternal life with Christ.