Showing posts with label GOD'S WORD. Show all posts
Showing posts with label GOD'S WORD. Show all posts

Wednesday, 20 December 2017

GOD CAN STABILISE YOUR LIFE

Instability, constantly changing scenarios, a kaleidoscope of experiences - this is what life is like for many people. There is nothing they can be sure of. Good things are here one moment, gone the next. A seemingly perfect marriage ends in bitter separation and court battles, a business that was about picking up sinks due to unforeseen factors, one health challenge is replaced by another with tiny reprieves in between.

This is the life that sin in the Garden of Eden plunged humanity into. It wasn't meant to be so at first. But we can have some assurance in life when we come to the One who created all things and they were certified good.

"And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good ..." - Genesis 1:31.

We call Him the Rock of Ages because nothing can move Him and the Bible says the same of the world we live in.

"Tremble before him, all the earth! The world is firmly established; it cannot be moved." - 1 Chronicles 16:30 (NIV)

He can bring the same stability to our lives and give us an immutable testimony. We have clear promises in His word on this:

"They that trust in the Lord shall be as mount Zion, which cannot be removed, but abideth for ever." - Psalm 125:1

Contemporary English translations say they shall not be "moved" or "shaken". 

"The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms ..." - Deuteronomy 33:27

The arms referred to above are God's. Visualise Him holding you and tell me what can toss you about. 

"1. Praise ye the Lord. Blessed is the man that feareth the Lord, that delighteth greatly in his commandments.
6. Surely he shall not be moved for ever: the righteous shall be in everlasting remembrance. 
7. He shall not be afraid of evil tidings: his heart is fixed, trusting in the Lord." - Psalm 112:1, 6-7 

Faith in God is a source of confidence in life. Like Job, we have a hedge about our lives and are not open to every vicissitude.

"Hast not thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land." - Job 1:10 

I want to add this scripture from the most popular psalm in the Bible:

"Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever." - Psalm 23:6 (KJV) [emphasis mine]

Some people say Old Testament scriptures don't apply to us today. I say they do because God has not changed and His word abides forever. Our circumstances are not different from those of the Israelites. When we accept God through Jesus, we become Abraham's children entitled to the same promises and blessings.

"89. For ever, O Lord, thy word is settled in heaven. 90. Thy faithfulness is unto all generations: thou hast established the earth, and it abideth. 91. They continue this day according to thine ordinances: for all are thy servants." - Psalm 119:89-91

"26. For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. 27. For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. 28. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. 29. And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise." - Galatians 3:26-29  

We need not live our lives like yo-yos. We can enjoy stability: stability in our faith, in our health, in material blessings, in fruitfulness and success. As Isaiah 37:31 says, God's people whom He has delivered (in this context you and I that are saved) shall "take root downward, and bear fruit upward", not for a season but all through the rest of our days. 


Let us appropriate this in prayer by refusing the contrary and agreeing with God's word in every circumstance. God shall uphold His word in our lives to the glory of His name. But this does not mean that trials shall not come. If indeed they are trials sent by God, He will grant us the grace to endure. Otherwise, everything in our lives that opposes the will and good purpose of God should be made to bow to the name of Jesus. 

We need a stable life, especially in our faith. We can't keep moving from sin to sin with little or no fruit of the Spirit in our lives when we have been saved. We should agree with God on this and He will make it happen, not only with respect to our spiritual walk but in every other area of our lives as well. 

Amen in Jesus' name.

If you have not accepted Jesus as your Lord and Saviour, pray this short prayer:

PRAYER FOR SALVATION
Almighty God, I repent of my sins and ask you to forgive me. I receive the work Jesus did for me by shedding His blood for my sins. Write my name in the Lamb's Book of Life and send your Spirit to live in my heart and teach me your word. I receive the grace to live a life that honours you henceforth in Jesus' name. Amen.

Now, you are born again. Join a Bible-bleleving group of believers to help you learn, through studying the word of God and prayer, how to live and practise your faith. You are blessed in Jesus' name. 

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Thursday, 14 December 2017

TROUBLE DOES NOT LAST FOREVER, BUT GOD DOES

When difficulties surround one, they have a way of getting worse and seeming insurmountable. A sickness may bring complications, low wages may translate to unemployment and a bad marriage may lead to separation or divorce. It is at such times that one is tempted to ask, "Where is God?"

If you're going through any such negative cycle, I want you to remember this: Trouble does not last forever, but God does. When the enemy starts an evil project, he boasts and may seem to be very successful. Don't be dismayed because eventually, God will step in and crush him. 

Remember how ISIL overran territories in different nations just lately claiming it would build the ultimate Islamic State. It meted out brutality and was so sure nothing could stop it. Now, it barely exists in one or two pockets, surrounded and bombarded. 

In your personal life, hold on to God and put your confidence in His word. Don't lose courage because of the threatenings of the enemy. This was what the prophet Isaiah told Ahaz, king of Judah, who was panicking because of his desperate situation. Pekah son of Remaliah (the king of Israel) and Rezin (the king of Aram) were planning to conquer Judah and install a puppet in his place.

"3. Then said the Lord unto Isaiah, Go forth now to meet Ahaz, ...
4. And say unto him, Take heed, and be quiet; fear not, neither be fainthearted for the two tails of these smoking firebrands, for the fierce anger of Rezin with Syria, and of the son of Remaliah.
5. Because Syria, Ephraim, and the son of Remaliah, have taken evil counsel against thee, saying,
6. Let us go up against Judah, and vex it, and let us make a breach therein for us, and set a king in the midst of it, even the son of Tabeal:
7. Thus saith the Lord God, It shall not stand, neither shall it come to pass." - Isaiah 7:3-7 

When the Lord brings you relief, it shall be like what Isaiah prophesied to the children of Israel. 

"18. In your heart, you will ponder the former terror: 'Where is that chief officer? Where is the one who took the revenue? Where is the officer in charge of the towers?'
19. You will see those arrogant people no more, those people of an obscure speech, with their strange incomprehensible tongue." - Isaiah 33:18-19 (NIV)

Many of us have no idea how terrifying it is to live under a foreign power. The taxes are crippling, rights trampled on. The Israelites knew this firsthand but Isaiah was telling them they will look for their oppressors and not find them. Moses had said the same thing to the Israelites when they left Egypt and were hotly pursued by Pharaoh and his army.

"And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will shew to you to day: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to day, ye shall see them again no more for ever." - Exodus 14:13 

God has won the victory for us in our Lord Jesus. We should, therefore, stand firm no matter what we see. Every power and situation on earth is subject to the name of Jesus. And although they may strut about for a while, they will finally bow to Him.

"He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him." - Colossians 2:15

"These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world." - John 16:33 

"9. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: 10. That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; 11. And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." - Philippians 2:9-11 

Continue to speak to that situation in the name of Jesus and you might just find yourself asking shortly:

"Where is the pain? Where are my debts? Where is the shame? Where did the sleeplessness and fear go?"

I pray that it won't be long before this happens in your life in Jesus' name. Amen.


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The scriptures used in this post are from the King James Version of the Holy Bible except where otherwise stated.