Tag Archives: Advent

God cares for you

Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. 1 Peter 5:7

 

When your feeling worried or stressed out do you hold it in or cast your care upon God? When we hold things in can often make your anxiety worse than when you release it. Not only is it important to let God know how your feeling but also others in your life such as your spouse, family, friends ,ect.

I found this out the other day, I was feeling upset over something and it was noticeably ruining my day. My wife noticed and asked me what was wrong, at first I just tried to blow it off but saying  I was fine but then a few minutes later I decided to tell her and I felt renewed. That problem that was weghing me down seemed to instantly disappear just by “casting my anxiety” to her

(Philippians 4:6) “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.”

 

God wants us to have this same relationship with him, tell him your fears and doubts. You might ask “How  do I do this?” Simply thru prayer. Praying is not about going thru the motions, it’s about having an intimate conversation with your Creator. Now you might say “Doesn’t God already know my problems?” and the answer is Yes but he still wants to hear your address them.

If you’re a parent think about your children, sometimes you know they did something wrong or upset over something but you still want them to confess or initiate the conversation of what they did or feeling. This is the same with God, he wants you to confess yourself to him. Like it says in the scriptures “You have not because you ask not” (James 4:3)

(Matthew 6:34) “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”

 

When we look to far ahead in our life, in can be overwhelming. We need to learn to savor the moments we are in now and let God take care of the rest. When we keep focusing on tomorrow we never really enjoy today.  As it also says in Matthew 6 “ Can worry add one moment to your life? (Matthew 6:27)” Of course not worrying not only shortens our lives but makes it unenjoyable.

(Psalms 55:22) “Cast your cares on the LORD and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous be shaken.”

 

When we cast our cares or anxiety to God he will sustain us. What does it mean to sustain us? Means he will give us peace and strength to endure the trouble we are facing. That’s why it’s important we cast or confess ourselves to God, because when we call upon him he listens.  Often you can tell how much faith somebody has by the amount of peace they have, especially during difficult times.

Remember next time your worried or stressed out, call out to God and cast all your anxiety to him. He will then sustain you and give you peace in the storm. In Jesus name Amen

Acknowledge Jesus

“Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. Matthew 10:32
Are you a “Closet Christian” or a “Light of this world”? If you told your peers that you were a Christian would they have even known? It’s important that we share our faith with others, if you’re a Christian Jesus is living thru you. Share the good news of the Gospel, show love and kindness to others. Most importantly if you’re not willing to acknowledge Jesus why should he acknowledge you?
(Matthew 5:14)” “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden.”
The love of Christ is contagious, when people see your inner strength and compassion they become drawn to you. This will also draw enemies also, you won’t be able to avoid this. Many people will mock and discriminate against you. But this is to be expected as Jesus told us this would happen.
(Matthew 10:22) “You will be hated by everyone because of me, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.”
The world hates Jesus because he has conquered the world thru the resurrection. Satan knows his time is limited and will try to tempt you thru the sins of this world. He will also try to blasphemy the name of Jesus, creating false religions and doctrine. But we know the truth and endure till the end because we know we have victory thru Jesus Christ.
(Mark 8:38) “”For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.”
Don’t be ashamed of being a Christian, the world will tell you it’s foolishness. But the cross is only foolishness to those who will perish (1 Corinthians 1:18) Where are your other Gods? There are dead in the grave, Jesus Christ is the true Messiah the only one who can save us from death.
(John 3:17)” For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.”
We are saved through the blood of Jesus Christ, why wouldn’t you want that? Why wouldn’t you want eternal life with love and peace? Is the pleasures of sin worth your life? Give your life to Christ, follow him, and don’t be ashamed in Jesus name Amen

Can’t Buy Faith

Then Peter said, “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.” Acts 3:6

I love this story in the Bible, as it shows you Peter healed the man by their faith in Christ and not by money.  Isn’t this the approach and attitude our Christian Churches and Ministries should be using? You can’t go to a church service or watch a service on TV without being begged for money. What faith do these Christians really have?  Well they’ll bring up we must tithe. Let’s examine tithing from the Bible.

(Deuteronomy  14:22)” Be sure to set aside a tenth of all that your fields produce each year”

There are a couple of Old Testament scriptures about tithing; here Moses gives the command to give 10% of all that you have to God. Problem is this is part of the Old Covenant. If you truly a Christian your part of the New Covenant. Let’s see what Jesus said about money.

(Matthew 19:21) “Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.””

When a man asked Jesus about following the commandments, Jesus told him to sell everything and give to the poor. How many Christian churches follow this practice? My point is Jesus never asked for or required money to spread his Gospel. If you have money and want to praise God help someone in need with it.

(Matthew 6:24) “”No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”

I know that it takes money to operate a church or ministry, but in the pursuit of fulfilling the budget needs I think a lot of Christians have lost their real purpose and reason for the Gospel. You don’t need an elaborate Church to worship God, Jesus would spread the Gospel anywhere and everywhere.  This is why I believe Jesus said to just give it all away. He knows once you make money a priority you cannot serve two masters.

(Matthew 7:15,16) “Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not ant-Church or ministry. My point is don’t lose your focus on Jesus. Instead of putting financial burdens on your members, put your faith in God. He will make a way if you truly have faith in him. And beware there are a lot of false prophets and ministries out there that are will cash in on your faith and generosity.  As Jesus said you will know the false prophets by the fruit there producing. Are they leading people to Christ or leading money to their bank accounts?

I pray for all the churches and ministry’s that they remember the real reason they started was to bring people to Jesus Christ. Please help us seek and see the truth in Jesus name Amen