Becoming A Christian Is Not Fire Insurance

                                                      When The Door Slams

The curse of the LORD is on the house of the wicked, But He blesses the home of the just and righteous.                           Proverbs 3:33

        Each time something replaces the love for Christ within us, inner conflict is the consequences desired. Christians can't have habitual, willful sin and experience serenity. Sin is much like a splinter in our unconscious mind. Unless sin is removed through confession and repentance, it will fester just as a splinter festers. 

        It will lead to feelings of inadequacy and inferiority. It is not as easy for a Christian to stand tall and tell ourselves we are okay when we know we have violated God's standard. Inner conflict rages. Still, we ignore it and the sin continues to fester. 

        There is a loss of creativity and perhaps even lowered efficiency. If we continue to ignore sin, we will experience a sense of failure. After all, we have been unfaithful to ourselves and to Jesus. Even ill health or death can be the consequences if we refuse to acknowledge the presence of sin in our lives. 

        The fourth step of the Twelve Step program is to make a searching and fearless moral inventory of our selves. Have you done that yet? 

        Think about this: Becoming a Christian is not fire insurance. It is a relationship with a loving God that affects every area of our lives. This relationship transforms our values, our lifestyles, our will, and even our sexuality. It involves obedience; unconditional love compels us to obey. Habitual, willful sin result in failure. Obedience and confession frees me. Truth serenity and health are the result. 

Affirmation: God's divine power has given me all things pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called me by His own glory and virtue. Through these He has given me His very great and precious promises, so that through them I may be a partaker of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust (2 Peter 1:3-4). 

Ask the Holy Spirit to search your heart and reveal any areas of unconfessed sin. Acknowledge these to the LORD and thank Him for. His forgiveness. 

                                                                                               

God Allows You To Experience Difficulties

                                                     When The Door Slams

You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you; I thirst for you, My whole being longs for you, in a dry and parched land where there is no water. I have seen you in the sanctuary and beheld your power and your glory.                 Psalm 63:1-2

        Though it may be difficult to believe at the time, there are benefits to experiencing a difficult life with numerous setbacks and problems. For one thing, it forces you to draw close to God because you are painfully aware that you are unable to resolve your own problems. So you cry out to The Lord God for help. That is, in fact, one of the reasons God allows you to experience difficulties . 

        As you grow older, God have designed for you to gain a more spiritual focus on matters. Jesus said it all: "Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you" (Matthew 6:33). However, when you are young and full of the world and its plans, you often push ahead on your own understanding. But a lifetime of difficulties has a way of looking at material things different.

        Many men make little time for prayer, apart from a quick cry-out to God in the morning or during emergencies. But we don't need to wait till we are old to get a deeper perspective. We can pray even while we are young, "Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom" (Psalm 90:12).   

        Think about this: The world is like a dry and thirsty land without water. The sooner you realize that the things of earth don't truly satisfy, the sooner you will focus on the Lord God. 

Affirmation: Apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made know, being witnessed by the law and the prophets, even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. For there no difference, for all have sinned and fall  short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.(Romans 3:21-24).

Ask the Spirit to search your heart and reveal any areas of unconfessed sin. Acknowledge these to the LORD and thank Him for His forgiveness. 

                                                    Never Rest Ministries                                     

Can A Christians Be Superstitious

                                                      When The Door Slams 

"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

        Number thirteen puts many superstition religious people on edge. They're constantly looking over their shoulders, expecting "bad luck " to strike. They worry that on the thirteenth of the month, there is a greater chance of accidents, misfortune, and loss. While that is nothing more than a delusion-misconception, the fact is that "man is born to trouble as surely as sparks fly upward" (Job 5:7 NIV). 

        In fact, Jesus Himself promised that "in this world you will have trouble" (John 1633 NIV). Jesus literally guaranteed it. And it's just as likely to happen on one day as the next, regardless of whether it is Friday the thirteenth or some other day of the month or not, you will have trouble.

        Many serious problems are caused by the unrelenting attacks of our spiritual enemy. In this hymn "A Mighty Fortress Is Our God," Martin Luther wrote that" but God is our helper "in the middle of the flood of mortal ills." He ends with this triumphant declaration: "And though this world, with devils filled, should threaten to undo us, we will not fear, for God have willed His truth to triumph through us."

        So despite all your troubles, take heart! Jesus has overcome the world, and despite every problem that Satan throws your way, God will eventually cause you to triumph. You may end up with a few scratches and dents, but God will come through. God won't abandon you.  

         Renewal: May I act in the fear of the Lord, faithfully and with a loyal heart                             (2 Chronicles 19:9). Teach me Your way, O Lord; I will walk in Your truth; Unite my heart to fear Your name (Psalm 86:11). The foremost commandment is this: "Hear, O Israel; the Lord our God, the Lord is one; and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and all your strength." The second is this: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." There is no commandment greater than these. To love God with all the heart and with all the understanding and with all the strength, and to love one's neighbor as himself are more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices (Mark 12:29-31, 33). 

        Petition: May I be strong and courageous, and act. May I not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord God is with me. He will not fail me or forsake me (1 Chronicles 28:20).  

Ask the Holy Spirit to search your heart and reveal any areas of unconfessed sin. Acknowledge these to the LORD and thank Him for His forgiveness.  

                                                    Never Rest Ministries                

Temptation Is Not Sin

                                                   When The Door Slams 

Let no one say when he is tempted, "I am being tempted by God" [for temptation does not originate from God, but from our own flaws]; for God cannot be tempted by [what is] evil, and He Himself tempts no one. But each one is tempted when he is dragged away, enticed and baited [to commit sin] by his own[worldly] desire (lust, passion). Then when the illicit desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin has run its course, it gives birth to death.                                                                            James 1:13-15 

        Now that you have become a Christian you are much more sensitive to the struggle with temptation. Part of this battle is misunderstanding what temptation actually is. Through prayer and study of God's Word you will recognize scriptural insights that will help you to live an overcoming life. 

        Temptation is in one way an enticement, an appeal to the old way of living. In another sense it is a solicitation to do evil and a testing of your commitment to the Lord Jesus Christ. It can appear in the form of an influence, bribe, inducement, attraction, seduction, persuasion or allurement. Temptation is many things, but it is not sin. These two are often confused and consequently difficulties show itself. 

        Think about this: Temptation is like a "sales pitch," while sin is the actual purchase. The product does not have to be bought no matter how tempting it may appear. With God's help your attention can be given to only those things which will draw us closer to Jesus Christ the Son of the living God.  

Affirmation: Blessed is the man who finds wisdom, And the man who gains understanding, For its profit is greater than that of silver, And its gain than fine gold. She is more precious than jewels, And nothing I desire compare with her. Long life is in her right hand; In her left hand are riches and honor. Her ways are pleasant ways, And all her paths are peace. She is a tree of life to those who embrace her, And happy are those who hold her fast.                  (Proverbs 3:13-18)   

Wisdom is foremost; therefore I will get wisdom, and though it coats all I have, I will get understanding. I will esteem her, and she will exalt me; I will embrace her, and she will honor me (Proverbs 4:7-8).

Ask the Holy Spirit to search your heart and reveal any areas of unconfessed sin. Acknowledge these to the LORD and thank Him for His forgiveness.          

                                                        Never Rest Ministries   

          

Whose Opinion Matters Most To You

                                       When The Door Slams

              

For it is not he who commends and praises himself who is approved [by God], but it is the one whom the Lord commends and praises.                                2 Corinthians 10:18 

        It is common for all of us to seek approval for our actions. As children, we longed for the affirmation of our parents. As we grew older, we also valued the opinions of our friends, colleagues, and employers. At times, the esteem of others can claim such importance part that it becomes our way to measure our worth as a person. 

        Paul said that he was not striving to obtain the approval of people. Some of his critics thought their criticisms could determine what he did. Yet these same people were praising themselves for their own opinions and behavior. They were seeking the approval of others, and they were receiving it.

        Jesus said that those who seek to gain the approval of others "have their own reward"   (Matt. 6: 2-5). Paul, too, realized that achieving the praise of others is not difficult, but God's approval is a far greater accomplishment. The affirmation "Well done!" that Jesus received from the Father became Paul's goal as well (2 Tim. 2:3-5). 

        Paul know that self-approval is not hard to attain. Paul himself had once been pleased with his own life, until he came to realize that the righteousness he was so proud of was mere rubbish in the kingdom of God (Phil. 3:8). after his conversion, Paul understood that God's evaluation of his actions was what mattered, not his own opinion of himself.

       Think about this: Whose opinion matters most to you? Have you become complacent, enjoying the approval of those around you? Have you become satisfied with your religion, the way you understand it. The praiseworthy that matters most is the one that comes from God. The pleasure that your life gives to God should be your motivation to live righteously.   

Affirmation: The love of Christ compels me, because I am convinced that One died for all, and therefore all died. And He died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but fir Him who died for them and was raised again (2 Corinthians 5:14-15). Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: "Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree" (Galatians 3:13).

Whom have I in heaven but You? And there is nothing on earth I desire besides You. My flesh and my heart may fail, But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. Those who are far from You will perish; You have cut off all who are unfaithful to You. But as for me, the nearness of God is my good. I have made the Lord God my refuge, That I may tell of all Your works (Psalm 73:25-28). 

Ask the Holy Spirit to search your heart and reveal any areas of unconfessed sin. Acknowledge these to the LORD and thank Him for His forgiveness. 

                                                        Never Rest Ministries