Be Still, My Soul

Are you anxious? Anxiety wears many disguises.  It can show up as worry or fear.  It can turn a person into a defensive and difficult individual trying desperately to reassert control over the perceived chaos of life. It can bring on a sense of being worthless or become a dark cloud of doom. Anxiety is not just a issue of emotions! It can bring on physical symptoms including stomach cramps, profuse perspiration, and headaches.  When there is a real threat that fear that underlies anxiety makes us able to react, making us alert, increasing our strength. But, when it becomes chronic, anxiety is a curse; life-controlling, turning each day into a battle. 

You are not a bad or defective person, if you are experiencing anxiety. Do you wonder “Why can’t I just be stronger?” or, “Why can’t I let it go?” Have you been told to, “Just snap out of it, it’s not that bad” only to feel worse than before? You may wonder if your faith is faulty or if you have done something that has caused God to turn His back on you. Maybe, you have tried to cope with your emotions with food, work, or some other distraction – finding none of those things offer more than temporary relief.

Peter offers us the inspired wisdom of God about anxious fears. I think he had learned these things because of his own feelings of anxiety. He failed Jesus terribly and publicly. He was familiar with the ache of regret. Most notably, at the critical moment of Jesus’ trial, he fell into the grip of fear and swore that he did not even know his Lord and Master. The Bible gives a glimpse of his despair, so deep that he wept bitterly and, even after the Resurrection, went back to his old occupation as a fisherman in Galilee.  But, he was healed and became a powerful leader of the Church. 

So, what did Peter learn from the Lord that he can teach us? 

"Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings." (1 Peter 5:6-9, NIV) 

First, fill your mind with the truth that God loves you and holds you in His hand.

Oh, yes, things happen in our lives that are hard to understand. We do not know why He allows suffering, sickness, or disappointment. But, IF we trust Him to love us and to care for us, we can come to a place of acceptance.  That is not resignation, giving up, or quitting. It is the choice of humility that says “You are God. I am not!”  Even though we may that intellectually, many of us still try desperately to master our situations, to control all outcomes, to eliminate all uncertainty and we grow anxious. So Peter was inspired to urge us to “humble yourselves.”   That means we choose to set aside pride, to act in an unassuming manner. Please note that this humility is not a crushed spirit, a conclusion that we are worthless. True humility leans heavily on the unfailing loving care of the Father who is filled with majesty and power.

Second, make the choice to cast your anxiety on Him.

That is an active phrase that means what it appears to say – take those things and throw them on God’s shoulders! “Lord, it’s too heavy for me. Take it.” He does not resent your asking. He loves you and offers His hand to you, He knows where you are, what you feel. He knows what is real and what is the result of exaggerated fear. Yet, He cares! He will not give up on you or become frustrated by you. Jesus says “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30, NLT) 

Third, we make Spirit-empowered choices: self-control and self-awareness! 

Anxiety can make a person feel such desperation, he will do almost anything in the pursuit of relief. The person who kneels in the Presence of God, who waits in faith, who invites the Lord to help him carry the weight –  will find the ability to recognize the temptations for what they are and to reject them. It’s not always an easy choice, but with God in you, it is possible. Peter learned the hard way that when fear is raging the Evil One looks for opportunities to exploit it. But, God’s people are not victims, prey to be devoured! They are equipped to stand.  If emotions are swirling, the storm of fear raging, one of the most difficult things to do is to step back, to be still and know that He is God. (Psalm 46.10)  Find a praying friend who is willing to sit with you in silence, waiting on God’s Spirit to settle on you with that peace that is His gift to us.

And so, Peter counsels us to remain in faith and to remember our trials are not unique or unusual.  It has been said that God’s Church is not a museum of saints but rather a hospital for sinners.  We are a fellowship that are to carry one another’s burdens, to be available to one another with love, gentle support, and powerful prayer. 

Feeling anxiety? Be it just a touch of worry or a terrible storm, the wisdom of the Word is true. Ask for faith to be strengthened to receive it, to live it, today.

The word from the Word is a restatement of what we read a moment ago.  Let this inspired truth find root in your mind today. "Be humble in the presence of God’s mighty power, and he will honor you when the time comes. God cares for you, so turn all your worries over to him. Be on your guard and stay awake. Your enemy, the devil, is like a roaring lion, sneaking around to find someone to attack. But you must resist the devil and stay strong in your faith. You know that all over the world the Lord’s followers are suffering just as you are." (1 Peter 5:6-9, CEV) 

(Video of this blog at this link)

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Be Still My Soul
(Listen and let the Spirit bring you peace) 

Be still my soul the Lord is on thy side

With patience bear the cross of grief or pain

Leave to thy God to order and provide

In ev’ry change He faithful will remain

Be still my soul thy best thy heav’nly Friend

Through thorny ways leads to a joyful end

 

Be still my soul thy God doth undertake

To guide the future as He has the past

Thy hope thy confidence let nothing shake

All now mysterious shall be bright at last

Be still my soul the waves and winds still know

His voice who ruled them while He dwelt below

 

Be still my soul the hour is hast'ning on

When we shall be forever with the Lord

When disappointment grief and fear are gone

Sorrow forgot love's purest joys restored

Be still my soul when change and tears are past

All safe and blessed we shall meet at last

 

© Words: Public Domain

Knowing YOU, Jesus

 

He could tell you about the first flight of the Wright Brothers in Kitty Hawk, NC. He could talk at length about aerodynamics. He knew details about prop driven planes, jets, small aircraft, and military planes. He described airports around the world, those with the best features, those that were challenging for pilots. But, he had never been on an airplane.

No, I don’t know this person. He is a creation of my imagination who illustrates a kind of individual that does exist. There are those who lay claim to being “Christian” who are able to talk about church history, Bible stories and doctrines, theology, and church architecture in great detail. Yet, they do not live the Christian life nor apparently do they know the Savior, Jesus Christ.

A phrase in Paul’s 2^nd letter to Timothy captured my thoughts today.  He speaks of those who  have "a form of godliness” while “denying its power.” (2 Timothy 3:5, NIV)  Another translation says it this way: “They will act as if they are religious, but they will reject the power that could make them godly.”   Let that sink in and before you project the words onto someone else, take an inward look!

One pastor wonders “if the celebrities who advertise foods and beverages actually consume what they are selling. … This is a pressing issue for those of us who speak for Christ.  Are we, perhaps not eating what we are selling … or is what we are ‘selling’ completely irrelevant to our actual existence without power or influence in our daily life?”  (The Divine Conspiracy)

When we trust Christ Jesus, when we receive His grace and goodness, when we surrender the core of our being to Him,  He gives us the life of the Spirit Who begins a process of change and healing.  One of my favorite passages in the Old Testament is rich with promise.  The LORD says that He will "provide for those who grieve in Zion— to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor." (Isaiah 61:3, NIV)  How beautiful is the person who lives this life. They are not perfect, but they are at peace, loving and forgiving, spilling over with the refreshing ‘living water’ of which Jesus spoke.

Isaiah goes on in the same chapter to speak in the voice of those who are God’s own. "I delight greatly in the Lord; my soul rejoices in my God. For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. For as the soil makes the sprout come up and a garden causes seeds to grow, so the Sovereign Lord will make righteousness and praise spring up before all nations." (Isaiah 61:10-11, NIV)

My friend, would you join me in a prayer that seeks the Savior, that desires the Spirit’s life above all else?  This makes a new kind of life possible, on where the “beauty of His holiness” is evident.  

This is not the ‘religious, self-focused, rule-bound holiness’ that some demand of others.  That is not true holiness. It is a built around rigid regulations of human behavior. Jesus spoke to some religious leaders of His day who specialized in external forms of ‘holiness’  in scathing terms.  He told them that they were “whitewashed tombs!”   

He went on to condemn every part of their supposed devotion. "Their lives are perpetual fashion shows, embroidered prayer shawls one day and flowery prayers the next. They love to sit at the head table at church dinners, basking in the most prominent positions, … You’re hopeless, you religion scholars and Pharisees! Frauds! You keep meticulous account books, tithing on every nickel and dime you get, but on the meat of God’s Law, things like fairness and compassion and commitment—the absolute basics!—you carelessly take it or leave it. Careful bookkeeping is commendable, but the basics are required." (Matthew 23:5-6, 23, The Message)

Are you tired of religion? Are you worn out by endless attempts to be better than you are inside?  The answer is Jesus!  He says  “I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep. All who ever came before me were thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." (John 10:7-10, NIV) 

Trust Him. Lean on Him. He is our Salvation!  I pray your faith will be made rich by this word from the Word. "Because Jesus lives forever, he has a permanent priesthood. Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them. Such a high priest meets our need—one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens." (Hebrews 7:24-26, NIV)  Let’s not just talk about Jesus, let’s know Him and live the life He gives.

(Video of this blog at this link)

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Jireh

(the word is a Name for God given by Abraham when God provided (Jireh) the lamb needed for sacrifice)

I'll never be more loved than I am right now
Wasn't holding You up
So there's nothing I can do to let You down
It doesn't take a trophy to make You proud
I'll never be more loved than I am right now

Going through a storm but I won't go down
I hear Your voice carried in the rhythm of the wind
To call me out
You would cross an ocean so I wouldn't drown
You've never been closer than You are right now

 Jireh You are enough
Jireh You are enough
I will be content in every circumstance
Jireh You are enough

Forever enough
Always enough
More than enough

I don't wanna forget how I feel right now
On the mountaintop
I can see so clear what it's all about
Stay by my side when the sun goes down
Don't wanna forget how I feel right now

 I'm already loved
I'm already chosen
I know who I am
I know what You've spoken
I'm already loved
More than I could imagine
And that is enough

If He dresses the lilies with beauty and splendor
How much more will He clothe you
How much more will He clothe you
If He watches over every sparrow
How much more does He love you
How much more does He love you

How much more does He love you 

More than you ask think or imagine
According to His power working in us
It's more than enough

It's more than enough

 

Chandler Moore | Chris Brown | Naomi Raine | Steven Furtick

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The Open Secret

People are intrigued with ‘inside information!’  Who doesn’t like to have access to a secret?  Knowing what others do not, mastering some skill or gaining some level of expertise helps us to find value in our world.  So, let me ask you this. Is there a compelling quality to your Christianity, a kind of joy, an authenticity, a discipleship that others desire? Are you capable of living in love, dealing with hardship, and consistently influencing the world in which you live for good?Mature Christianity, true discipleship, is for all people, not just for a spiritual elite nor a few religious professionals! So what is the secret of a rich, deep, satisfying life in God?  Read on.

Yesterday the Church marked Pentecost Sunday.  It is a remembrance of a day that is recorded in the book of Acts on which a remarkable change was made in the lives of those first Believers.  Reading the stories in the Gospels we find immature, fumbling, spiritual powerless men who are often at a loss for spiritual understanding.  They confront evil and are defeated by it.  50 days after Passover, when Jesus was crucified, they were gathered in the Upper Room, waiting… yes, just waiting.  The Resurrected Jesus told them that they would become world-changers, but that there was  a gift prepared for them by God.  "In one of these meetings as he was eating a meal with them, he told them, “Do not leave Jerusalem until the Father sends you what he promised. Remember, I have told you about this before. John baptized with water, but in just a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”" (Acts 1:4-5, NLT)  "But when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, you will receive power and will tell people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”" (Acts 1:8, NLT)

So after His ascension to Heaven, they waited  – and then it happened! “On the day of Pentecost all the believers were meeting together in one place. Suddenly, there was a sound from heaven like the roaring of a mighty windstorm, and it filled the house where they were sitting. Then, what looked like flames or tongues of fire appeared and settled on each of them. And everyone present was filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in other languages, as the Holy Spirit gave them this ability." (Acts 2:1-4, NLT)    When God, the Holy Spirit, came into their hearts and minds, there was a complete transformation.

The Spirit IN us – this is the open secret of our faith. 

We make a mistake if we think that being “Christian” is intellectually knowing doctrines of faith though study is important!.  We are sidetracked into dead religion if we believe that Christ came to ask us to chafe under heavy weight of rules of morality or to keep on going through the motions of religious rituals. We are invited to become the people of the Spirit, owned by the Lord, overflowing with a Life that is eternal and rich. Jesus promised that when He, the 2nd person of the Trinity, left this earth, God would remain, known to us through the 3rd Person – the Spirit. "When the Father sends the Advocate as my representative—that is, the Holy Spirit—he will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you. “I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid." (John 14:26-27, NLT)

The Spirit-filled life is described throughout the New Testament. He is the open Secret of the Christian life, the power that enabled those people to do God’s work, to endure; yes, to thrive!  And, He is ours, today. 

How do we live this life? I hesitate to write of that only because some will try to make it a formula. 

There is no universal formula for the Spirit-filled life because we are unique and God’s thoughts are infinitely greater than ours but, there are principles that guide us to know Him.

First – the Spirit-filled life is one of FAITH.

The Holy Spirit does not ‘possess’ us without our cooperation, nor will He knock down the door to take up residence. We come to God in faith and accept His promise. One of my daily prayers is “Come, Holy Spirit.”  He is, of course, God and therefore always present, but with that invitation, I make myself present to Him.

Second – the Spirit-filled life is one of SEEKING.

Jesus spoke of “hungering and thirsting” for God. The LORD told Jeremiah that "You will find me when you seek me with all your heart." (Jeremiah 29:13, NIV) Are you a seeker?

Third – the Spirit-filled life is one of WORSHIP.

Worship is a way of life centered on God, learning to think His thoughts, to revere Him in ways big and small. What happens when we live as worshippers? The Spirit’s Presence grows brighter in us and we become “witnesses”  people whose lives are statements of His worthiness. This was said of the disciples who were Spirit-filled.  In Jerusalem it was said of them that ‘they had been with Jesus.’  He rubbed off on them.  Worshipful Christians will become known primarily for the Presence that lives in them.

Fourth – the Spirit is a GIFT to us.  

We cannot work ourselves into a place where we are worthy of being baptized in the Spirit! We can no more earn His fullness than we can earn a place in God’s holy family. He is God’s gift, coming to those who are hungry to know God. If we ready to settle for satisfaction with food, fun, money, and sex – we are not likely to seek or know the Spirit’s fullness. But, when we have come to the end of those things, we are ready to look higher and say, “Come, Holy Spirit!”

Ready to thrive?
Ready to be fully alive?

Pray for a Pentecost, for God, the Holy Spirit to come and overflow in you.

Here is a word from the Word.

"So, dear brothers and sisters, you have no obligation whatsoever to do what your sinful nature urges you to do. For if you keep on following it, you will perish. But if through the power of the Holy Spirit you turn from it and its evil deeds, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. So you should not be like cowering, fearful slaves. You should behave instead like God’s very own children, adopted into his family—calling him “Father, dear Father.” For his Holy Spirit speaks to us deep in our hearts and tells us that we are God’s children. And since we are his children, we will share his treasures—for everything God gives to his Son, Christ, is ours, too. But if we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering." (Romans 8:12-17, NLT)

Oh, Lord, make us fully alive in the Spirit.

(Video of this blog at this link)

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Spirit Song 

Oh let the Son of God enfold you
With His Spirit and His love
Let Him fill your heart and satisfy your soul
Oh let Him have those things that hold you
And His Spirit like a dove
Will descend upon your life and make you whole

Jesus oh Jesus
Come and fill Your lambs
Jesus oh Jesus
Come and fill Your lambs

Oh come and sing this song with gladness
As your hearts are filled with joy
Lift your hands in sweet surrender to His name
Oh give Him all your tears and sadness
Give Him all your years of pain
And you'll enter into life in Jesus' name

John Wimber

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