Content

"Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, 'Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.' So we say with confidence, 'The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me'” (Hebrews 13: 5-6, NIV)

I'm very blessed with having a good paying job and collecting a monthly disability check from the Veteran's Administration. As a federal worker, I am affected by the furlough which cuts 20% of my pay for the rest of the year and possibly into the next fiscal year.

Even though each check will be $436.00 less each month, I have faith in my Lord that I will be okay.  My family lives well below our means and though this cut is painful (my car payment), I know the Lord is with me and my family and I will be taken care of, provided for, and still be able to give to the Church each pay period.

This verse is a promise of God and I believe in his promises. I know He will be my Helper when I need him and if for some reason the blessings of a good job and pay go away, I know He will help provide for me and my family.  Compared to most people, I live relatively well, all things considered because God has put on my heart and has given my family the will to save money for the rainy days like the furlough.

I'm content with what I have and have accepted the fact that my paycheck will be short over $400 each month. I'm content because God promises that I will be taken care of, me and my family. I'm content with the pay cut and will keep moving forward. I don't blame God for my circumstance, but praise him for allowing me the blessing of having a secure job, with good pay, a house, and car, and a family that loves me and the Lord.  I'm content with my worldly material means and possessions. What other blessings do I need in that aspect of my life? None. I'm content.

I do seek blessings for other aspects of my life, namely my walk with Jesus. I pray that I'm blessed to have a better relationship with Him and I pray for the blessing of a loving heart, mind, and soul towards the One who created me and the One I will be with in eternity. I also seek the blessing of being able to speak to those who are unsaved and have faith Jesus will have them cross my path so I can touch them and impart to them the love of Jesus and what the future can hold for them

My worldly possessions are nothing as compared to what I want: heaven with Jesus. I know I don't love worldly possessions but love the Lord and Savior of my soul and that heaven will be so much better than what I have here on this earth. I can't wait to get there, though I know my journey is still on path and moving forward with the Lord: he is not done with me yet. 

Jesus is my focus, not what I have in my house. Jesus is so much more than material things and money.  I live in the confidence of His love for me and my family, that no matter what, I'm his child, and noting in this world will separate me from Him. I would rather loose everything I had if I can still have His love. My heart is full of love for the Lord and I have confidence in his promise of being taken care of. 

Hard Pressed

Hard Pressed

By

John Lysaught

 

“We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body” (2 Corinthians 4:8-10).

You ever feel pressed, perplexed, persecuted, or struck down by people? I have.  It’s hard. It seems like some days are just too hard, too much working against us in our walk with Jesus.  Satan attacks us from every possible angle you can imagine. He is always there waiting to pounce on us, to tear us away from Jesus. He is always there to keep people away from Jesus using every trick he has in his handbag to keep people from coming to Christ and being part of the plan of Salvation. 

We are pressed on all sides. We must be strong in these end times. The enemy is working harder than ever to keep people from Christ. The world is pressing on us in every possible way. Satan is using the world and worldly people against us to keep us from our calling; to be with Jesus. Satan uses the world to entice us away through media, through unsaved people, and anti-Christ’s that twist the word of the Lord to try to make us think that the Word is irrelevant and useless in today’s world. 

We are pressed but not crushed. We can overcome the wiles of Satan by being strong in Lord Jesus. Through our faith we can overcome the pressing of evil that is upon us. We can overcome anything that Satan throws in our path. To do this we need to pray always, seek the Lord daily, and renew our relationship with Jesus every day, every hour, every minute of our lives.  By doing this, keeping Jesus and his commands in the forefront of our minds, we can overcome and not be swayed by the tricks and turns that Satan throws at us. Jesus is stronger than Satan and His promises of overcoming the world and Satan are true. We need to just put our trust in Christ and hold on to our faith.

We face persecution. It may be subtle, or it may be obvious, but we are all facing persecution of the Church today. We are being marginalized by the world as a fringe group of fanatics that won’t conform to what the world is saying is now normal: gay marriage, abortion, worshiping other god’s (entertainment industry, hobbies, etc.).  When things are happening in our country, in our communities, in our churches that are contrary to what the Lord has written in His Word; that is subtle persecution of us true believers and followers of Jesus Christ. When the government says that gay marriage is now the law of the land, we are being persecuted. When late term abortions are part of the norm, we are being persecuted. This is because when we disagree with these types of government policies and law, we are considered in a negative way and are told we are bigots or hateful.

Then there are the obvious persecutions we face. When we are treated differently (negatively) because of our faith, such as when we proclaim to others what we believe and are put down because of what we believe, we are being persecuted. It isn’t so bad in this country because we are not being killed or sent to prison for our faith, yet.  Nonetheless, when we are being treated negatively or marginalized for our faith, we are still being persecuted, just not to the level that some face in other countries. How long will it be until us true believers are marginalized in this country to the extent that we face imprisonment or bodily harm. Just look at the military and how they now say us Christians are a threat to the military’s good order and discipline and expressing our beliefs to others can lead to prosecution in the military. How long until that spreads to mainstream America? I hope the rapture come before it gets that bad here.

Know though that we are not abandoned. Christ is with us always, even in the face of persecution, whether subtle or obvious. Christ is our rock that we can stand on to be assured that we are saved with Salvation through Grace to eternity.  Christ in you works with you to help you through the persecutions you face. Regardless of if it is a bigoted attitude towards Christians, or being killed or imprisoned for our faith, Christ is with us and we are assured of our Salvation. There is nothing to fear then because He is with us always and will be the blanket wrapped around us to protect and be with us in times of trouble. We will face trouble, but be assured Christ is with us during those times.

Being struck down is tough. I think we have all had a situation where, because of our faith, we have been knocked down emotionally and spiritually. This is especially true when we try to share our faith with an unbeliever. It is not our job to change their hearts, but we are called to introduce Jesus to the unsaved. The vileness of some people can be very hurtful and disheartening.  Most people not interested in Jesus are nice about it to me, but I have heard the vileness of some people that curse the name of Jesus because of their cold hearts. We are human and we hurt when we are turned away or shunned because of our faith.  God is with us though even in these situations.

Don’t lose heart because even if you feel you are struck down, beat down, or set apart because of your faith, we cannot be destroyed if we are in Christ. People cannot destroy us, nor can Satan working through the world and unbelievers destroy us. They may hurt our feelings but they cannot destroy our faith and hope in Christ Jesus.  Jesus is stronger and more powerful than any evil force in the universe. We should not lose heart because we are struck down at times by others, but we should be made stronger in our faith when we face adversity.

Adversity is part of being a Christian. This is something we should embrace, for it will make us stronger in Christ Jesus. For the unbeliever, if you are not for Christ then you are against us. If you are against us, then you are of the world and support the works of Satan. You can switch teams, so to speak, and be on the side of Jesus and eternity with Him in heaven.

To be with Jesus is not easy in the world we live in, but the troubles we face are minimal as compared to the trouble you will have if you choose the world (and Satan) and spend eternity in hell instead of heaven with Jesus.

Jesus is the promise of Salvation through Grace. Believe in Him, commit yourself to Him, and follow Him, and your eternity will be heaven, not hell.  What you, as an unbeliever, may not know is that God sent His only Son, Jesus, into the world to be the sacrifice for all humanity’s sins. That means He was sacrificed to cover my sins, your sins, and everyone else’s sin for those that believe He is the Son of God that died on a cross for us.  This may be hard to grasp, but it is truth and can be counted on as truth. If you believe in Jesus and put your trust in Him (heart, soul, mind) then when judgment comes, you can be assured that your sins are already forgiven and heaven awaits your soul.

If you choose not to believe in Jesus, you will die, just like everyone else, but the difference is that you will be accountable for your sins and will not have an advocate for you when you face the judgment seat of God. You will go to hell. This may sound harsh to you, but it is truth: Jesus equals eternal life in heaven, and no Jesus means eternal damnation in hell.

Choose Jesus my friends. If you are playing church and don’t really believe in Jesus, it is time to choose. If you don’t go to church but want eternal life in heaven, now is the time to accept Christ as your Lord and Savior. You cannot earn heaven, for it is a gift of God that was given by Grace through the sacrifice of Christ if you believe on His name, His life, His death, and His resurrection.

Find a church that teaches the foundations found in the bible. Study the bible and seek the Lord for yourself. More importantly, pray to God for revelation and assurance that Jesus is the real deal. Cry out to the Lord that you want eternity with Him in heaven and pray for Jesus to be part of your life, the main part of your being and life.

Being part of the world (and Satan) is easy. With Jesus, you will face trouble in the world, but eternity with Him is worth it. I pray that those reading this that are not saved are touched by the Holy Spirit and gain a desire to seek the Lord and to learn about and accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior.

Choosing Jesus is a journey worth the trip. You will be changed and will see the world differently as you do now.   You will see the world with Satan for what he is: a deceiver. With Jesus you will feel a love that is indescribable. Choose wisely, for your eternity is at stake.

God Bless

John Lysaught

John_lysaught@yahoo.com

 

 

 

Persevere

Persevere
By
John Lysaught

 

"Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us" (Romans 5: 1-5, NIV).

The walk with Jesus is a life time journey. We will suffer for Him in our own ways, some more than others, but the troubles we face will create for us perseverance for our walk with Jesus.

God knows each and every one of us. He knows our thoughts, our desires, but most importantly, He knows our heart. Because He knows each one of us, He therefore loves each one of us. He loves us so much, that He wants us to be with Him in heaven.

God is sinless and because we are sinful creatures, he had to make a way for us to be with Him. To do this, He sent his Son, His only Son, into the world to be a sacrifice for our sins and His name is Jesus Christ. Christ died for our sins so that we could be God's children. The blood of Jesus washed away our sin so that we may be with the Lord in heaven for all eternity.

This sacrifice is a gift. This gift is not earned but was freely given by Christ to make a way for us to be sinless in the sight of God so we can spend eternity with Him. All you have to do is to accept Him into your heart and believe that He is the risen Son of God.

The walk with Jesus is a life time journey. As you walk with Jesus, learn about Him and His teachings and commandments, your life will change for the better. The journey may seem hard at times because the world will do it's best to make you stray from your walk with Jesus. The journey is worth the trouble you will find in your walk with Jesus. This is the greatest adventure you can have. Nothing in the world is more fulfilling and satisfying than being one with Jesus and following His ways.

If you know Jesus, you understand what I'm saying. The journey is filled with troubles from the world that will do its best make us stray from our walk with Jesus. The world is filled with all sorts of trouble, sin to be more exact, that if tricked into following, will take you off the path you are walking with Jesus. Do we all fail in this? Yes, but we can ask for forgiveness when we stray and can be led back to the path of righteousness everyday be renewing our relationship with Christ by confessing our sins and following his ways.

For me, this is a daily occurrence. I sin every day, not necessarily in action, but in thoughts and desires of worldly temptations. I must do my best to resist these temptations and if I fail, Jesus is there to help me get back on my feet and lead me back to the narrow path towards eternity.

The world is full of sinful temptations that we are faced with everyday, the troubles we face in our walk with Jesus. We must resist those sinful actions and allow Jesus and the Holy Spirit to lead us throughout each day as we navigate this sin filled world we are surrounded by. This can be difficult because our culture is centered now on sinful actions and ungodly ways that Satan uses to try to get us to get off course in our walk with Jesus.

We need to persevere. Each day is a new day that God has blessed us with. Each day is another opportunity to get closer to the Lord and to learn and practice His ways and commands for us as Christians. We must persevere to the end, to finish our walk with Jesus until it is time for us to meet Him face to face in heaven. The walk may be hard at times, but in the grand scheme of eternity, our walk is short.

Perseverance is always looking forward and looking up. Put each day behind you and don't reflect on the sins you have committed and have been forgiven for. Always look forward and look up for the Lord. Pray hard and study hard, everyday.

In trials and troubles, persevere in Jesus. Persevere in your walk with Jesus and rebuke those temptations Satan throws your way. Satan knows your weakness and will try to capitalize on those weaknesses to drive a wedge between you and your Savior. He will use every trick he has to make you think you are unworthy and to steer you to a path of destruction. Maybe your weakness is alcohol, or pornography, or drugs, lust, or whatever is contrary to the commands of Christ. It is your duty as a Christian to resist those temptations and persevere in your walk with Christ.

Will you mess up and slip at times? Yes, of course you will because we are all sinful creatures by nature. It's what you do after you slip up that matters. Do you continue down the path of destruction or do you pray for forgiveness and strength to not slip again? Persevere and ask for forgiveness and renew your mind and heart in Christ Jesus.

For unbelievers reading this, this may seem foreign to you. You think you are doing fine living in the world without Jesus and His free gift of salvation. What you don't realize is that without Jesus as the center of your existence and daily going-abouts, you are on the path to destruction, meaning you are destined to spend eternity in hell and not in heaven. Sounds pretty harsh, right? It's true. Eternal life in heaven is found through Christ Jesus.

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him" (John 3:16-17, NIV).

You see my unbelieving brothers and sisters, God loved you enough that he sacrificed His Son to take on all of the sins of mankind from all time so you can make the choice to spend eternity with Jesus in heaven or deny Him and spend eternity in hell. It is that simple.

If you don't know Jesus, this verse from the Book of John makes no sense. It means nothing to you but words of zealous Christians. I hope though that your interest in finding out about Jesus has tickled your mind a little bit so that you will desire to seek out more information about Jesus.

Know this: you are full of sin, just like Christians. The difference between Christians and nonbelievers is that we Christians have accepted Jesus and the sacrifice He made for us on the cross when He died for our sins. We believe in His teachings, His life, and most importantly, His resurrection. By believing in Jesus, our sins- past, present, and future- have been forgiven by our faith in His sacrifice for us. His blood was the sacrifice for our sins so we are made clean and blameless at the judgment.

All you have to do to attain eternity is to believe in the name of Jesus, that He died for your sins, was resurrected from the dead and is your advocate to God. Through Jesus, your sins are forgiven. You can't earn heaven by doing good deeds, or leading a moral life, or being a good person. You need Jesus to enter into eternity with Him and that is grace. By grace, you don't have to do anything to earn heaven, but by grace through Jesus, you have that access to heaven.

After you accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior, you will become part of the family of God, one of His beloved children. You will change. Your heart will begin to soften and you will be filled with love and compassion and a desire to want to know Jesus more and to walk with Him on the path to eternity.

You will be filled with the Holy Spirit that will be there as your guide and teacher to the things of Jesus. You will want to do the will of Jesus, to participate in his plan of salvation with you. You will be given gifts of the Holy Spirit and you will want to use those gifts for the furtherance of the kingdom of God through works and deeds inspired to you from the Holy Spirit. All you have to do is accept the gift of salvation..

Ask Jesus right now to come into your heart. You won't be disappointed. If you have been walking with Jesus but have strayed off His path for you, now is the time to renew your relationship with him and ask for strength to get back on the path of righteousness and ask for the strength to persevere to the end.

^"But you, dear friends, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life" Jude 1:20-21, NIV).

God bless.

 

slow to speak

"My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires. 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: 19-21, NIV).

We are all guilty of becoming quick to anger. Different things get people angry very quick. Driving for example, I am quick to anger when I'm cut off by another driver or when someone accuses me of something I did not do: I get angry real fast. When this happens, I am also quick to speak my mind, as controlled by the emotional anger I feel at the moment. I may cuss at the other driver, or snap at my coworkers or supervisor if I feel cornered.  But this is not what God wants from us.

Jesus wants us to be slow to speak and slow to be angry, and quick to listen. When I'm angry, it takes effort to slow my anger down and bite my lip so that I don't say something that I know I will regret. This is because when you are angry and are quick to speak in your anger, the words you end up using are usually hurtful or hateful and don't reflect the love the Jesus wants you to project to others.

Anger is an avenue in which the devil can sneak into your heart and try to take control of you. Don't hold on to anger because of this. Let your anger go and you are released from the grip of satan. If you don't he can get a foothold in your heart and will lead you away from Jesus.  I find that holding on to anger takes a lot of energy and separates me from my relationship with the Lord. If you hold on to anger, your relationship with Jesus can be compromised and you will begin to slip in your walk with him. 

This leads to the second part of the quoted verse above. With anger and holding on to anger, you become susceptible to the world's moral filth and evil that is as prevalent today as it was when this verse was written.  Instead of being angry and opening yourself to evil thoughts, which lead to evil desires, let that anger go. Be humble in Christ and your anger will dissipate and will turn to understanding and love. You will be able to let that anger go and approach the person or situation that you were angry with in a different manner (love) that will reflect that which the Lord wants: Love towards one another. Hold on to anger and you can't emulate love to others.

Be aware when you feel anger percolating up inside of you and quickly pray and ask for that anger to be turned into understanding and love. With love, you can overcome anything. With anger you are caught in the snare of satan.  The Lord, once saved, has planted His word in your heart and you need to hold on to that seed of love and compassion to overcome your anger.

Don't let anger rule you life. Let Jesus and His Word rule your heart, mind, and sole. How do you wrap yourself in Jesus and His Word? You do this by daily speaking to Jesus, studying His Word, and keeping him in the forefront of your mind at all times. Do this and anger will subside or dissipate completely from you when a situation arises when you can be angry. 

Be slow to speak. Especially if you are caught up in anger. You can't take words back and when you speak out of anger, the words coming out of your mouth are usually not of love or compassion or understanding. By biting your lip if you are angry, you will avoid saying those things that you will regret the moment you say them. Before you speak, let the anger go and when you speak, you will be speaking in a way that emulates the love and compassion of our Lord Jesus Christ.  If you speak before you overcome your anger, you are speaking words pushed out by satan and will end up hurting others and not portraying yourself as a child of the Lord, but as a worker of the devil. 

Be the bigger person and avoid being angry and speaking in anger. This is pleasing to the Lord and will bring you closer to the Lord by having self control over your emotions and your tongue.

Being Humble

Romans, Chapter 12: 3-8 (NIV)
For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. ⁴ For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, ⁵ so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. ⁶ We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; ⁷ if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; ⁸ if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.

I find that being humble makes me more receptive to the word of God and His guidance for me. I have also been at a point when I was snobbish in my walk with Jesus, thinking I was better than others and higher in my knowledge than others about the word of God and what he has given me as gifts.  When my pride is high, God will always present to me a word or a though, or us others to put me in my place and bring me back to being humble in my spirit, mind, and heart.  

To me, the devil wants me to be prideful, because he uses my pride to distance myself away from Christ and His teachings. He wants me to think that I'm good at what I do and the knowledge I have so that I don't pray or study the Word in the Bible.  I'm human, and I've fallen into this trap of thinking before. Yet God in His Grace finds ways to remind me that I need to be humble in my ways and my walk with Jesus.  I'm reminded by Christ that I am lowly and sinful and that I can't rely on myself to walk with the Lord but must rely on His Grace. This includes the gifts the Lord has bestowed on me.

As far as I can determine, as proclaimed to me by other brothers and sisters in the Lord and my pastor, I have the gifts of discernment and hospitality. 

My house is always open to others and we hold church activities at my house. I've been told on many occassions that my home feels like a home and people feel real comfortable with us in our home and the hospitality we show to others is very clear. To me and my wife (one of her gifts also), this is just a natural thing to do: have our hosue open to others and always welcoming to our brothers and sisters in Christ. 

My other gift is discernment. I can usually look at someone and/or after a short converstation can feel in my heart things about them that others cannot. This helps me greatly in praying for others and helping them work through issues and concerns they have about life in general or with their spiritual standing.  I find that the more I learn about people, the more discerning I am based on my initial insights. I feel Jesus uses me in this way to help people and to bring them closer to Him.

I feel very humbled that God has given me these gifts. I'm humbled that people feel comfortable in my home and I feel humbled that I can discern aspects of peoples lives and needs with little digging and questions to them to help them in their walk with Christ and can give them advice and directions to help them.

Thank you for my gifts Jesus. Without You and the Holy Spirit, I am nothing. With You and the Holy Spirit, I am able to work for your kingdom and I pray that I am always humble in my walk with you and that I am humble in my gifts of hospitality and discernment and that you use me and my gifts to introduce others to You and your plan of Salvation. I also pray that my gifts help bring those sitting on the fence of salvation over to you. I pray that my gifts help those that are saved to be stronger in their walk with you and they become stronger in faith as You use me through my gifts. All praise and glory to my Lord Jesus.