Empower and Strengthen
your mind with God’s Word
My
soul is weary with sorrow; strengthen me according to your word.
Psalm 119:28
How
do we handle depression? Much of our advertising and media bombard us
with images of happy people. This can become the unspoken "ideal
life". So when we encounter emotions that may contradict this
imagery we find ourselves unprepared. But the Scripture sees sorrow
as a part of the human condition. Many of the Psalms deal with
feelings of overwhelming depression. And as the Bible addresses these
feelings we find that it gives us the guide to navigate through
sorrow - the promises of Scripture itself. God's word assures us in
our sorrow and gives us lighthouses of hope to help us navigate
through the dark moments of our soul.
Every
good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of
the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. -
James 1:17
James
is contrasting God's nature with our nature in previous verses.
Whereas we are fickle, God never changes. He gives good (earthly) and
perfect (heavenly) gifts to us. Sometimes we see God giving only
heavenly gifts - salvation, guidance, peace. But he also gives
earthly gifts - prosperity, success, favor. James balances the
earthly and the heavenly when He refers to God as the Father of the
heavenly lights, which were seen as trustworthy navigation tools. We
may want to exploit the earthly gifts, or only emphasize the heavenly
gifts, but our heavenly guide will use all of these gifts to
transform us. The God who does not change uses good and perfect gifts
to mold us into the children that will change the earth.
There
are two separated words to describe God’s giving. The first word
mean “ the act of giving” and it accompanied by the adjective for
good, while the second denotes the actual
gift received and is preceded by the adjective for perfect. The
expression emphasize goodness of receiving something from God, while
the second, the perfect quality of whatever God gives. God’s giving
is continuously good, and His gifts are always perfect..
God only give heavenly gifts like salvation, peace and guidance. His earthly gifts gives - prosperity, success, favor. balances the earthly and the heavenly when He refers to God as the Father of the heavenly lights, which were seen as trustworthy navigation tools. We may want to exploit the earthly gifts, or only emphasize the heavenly gifts, but our heavenly guide will use all of these gifts to transform us. God who does not change, but uses good and perfect gifts to mold us into the children that will change the earth
iron
sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another. – Proverbs 27:17
It
takes iron to sharpen iron. Sharpening a knife requires iron at least
as hard as the knife. Once sharpened, a knife is bright, sharp, and
ready for much more productive service.
That
is why we can't live in isolation. God wants to use others to refine
us.
Mental
sharpness comes from being around good people. And a meeting of minds
can help people see their ideas with new clarity, refine them, and
shape them into brilliant insights. This requires partners who can
challenge one another and simulate thought--people who focus on the
idea without involving their egos in the discussion, people who know.
We
need to surround ourselves with other Christians, to help us through
out our daily walks. However, I also believe we have to share God's
word with non-believers, just as Jesus did with us. Had Jesus not
done so, then we all would not be here sharing God's word with each
other. Not only do we sharper each other, but, also the non
-.believers.believers
help us, just as we are here to help them and plant that seed of
hope. Iron is strong, therefore we are strong. Strong in sharing our
Faith, having open discussions to see others point of view, causing
us to think and research. The wise love to sharpen their Iron.
because, we see things in a different prospective, bringing peace
understanding and knowledge to our heart, soul and mind, how
to attack the the thought and not the thinker. Two friends who bring
their ideas together can help each other become sharper
Therefore
do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.
Each day has enough trouble of its own. - Matthew 6:34
If
there were any time marked by worry, it's now. Between the economy
and the war overseas, many Americans are coping with a low level
sense of dread. Once again, God's word gives us tremendous insight.
Earlier in this passage Jesus assures his disciples that God knows
their every need. If He feeds the birds of the air, will he not feed
us? Then Jesus brings us the shocking truth: our anxiety is connected
to doubt and unbelief! To worry about tomorrow is a sign that we
don't trust our heavenly Father to take care of us. We are called to
deal with the things of today and trust that the God who knows our
name has our tomorrows in His hands. So anxiety or worry is a symptom
of an unbelieving heart. How do we get rid of worry? Our answer comes
with repentance, then realigning our heart with God's promise to meet
our needs. The promises in Matthew 6 alone have enough bread from
heaven to sustain us in the midst of this troubled time.
Planning
for tomorrow is time well spent; worrying about tomorrow is time
wasted. Sometimes its difficult to tell the difference. Careful
planning is thinking ahead about goals, steps and schedules, and
trusting in God's guidance. When done well, planning can help
alleviate worry. The worrier, by contrast, is consumed by fear and
finds it difficult to trust God. Don't let worries about tomorrow
affect your relationship with God today
I am honestly convinced that worrying is directly connected to the fact
that we Christians ignore or do not fully understand the meaning of
Psalm 24:1. when the bible declares that : " Everything that
exists is owned by God, the earth and all that dwell on the earth..."
. We worry because of fear of losing someone or something that we
wrongly think
we own, our lives, our children, our spouses, our homes, our money,
our jobs, etc. God entrusted all these things to us in stewardship,
not as owners. And that’s where the difference lies. God owns our
lives, He can take it back anytime, anyway He chooses, We don’t own
our lives. God does consider our rebellious son and daughter belong
to God. What do you do? Do you worry or do you ask God what to do? As
soon as you can be convinced that you are the steward and God is the
owner, your worries, fear, and anxiety has no basis, think about it…
Those
who are trap in Fear, doubt, worry, and anxiety. Release the burden
that has captured
you. Go to our Lord in prayer today. This stronghold is nothing but
the devil work. Ask God to bind to the devil. That’s held you
prisoner. Received God as you shield and protector against all enemy.
those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary ,they will walk and not be faint. - Isaiah 40:31
It
has been said that as we get older the years get shorter and the days
get longer! Life can often feel like a race that we are running and
can't quite keep up. Placing our hope in the Lord and the new life
that he offers us in Christ is compared here to soaring on wings like
eagles-like flying. Imagine it, no longer are we destined to place
our hope in ourselves, our jobs, the economy, our friends or a
spouse. We now have a hope that cannot be shaken. When our hope is in
the Lord our strength is renewed. Whatever you are facing today you
have a choice. Where will you put your hope?
The
verse actually says "those that WAIT UPON the lord".
considering the translation being used here was probably derived from
another english translation, they assumed that "wait" meant
literally to be patient and have faith. which there's nothing wrong
with that. but it actually means to wait, like a waiter, and SERVE
the lord. after all, "faith by itself, if it is not accompanied
by action, is dead" James 2:17.
To
wait entails confidents expectation and active hope in the Lord.
Never passive resignation, mount up, run, or walk depicts the
spiritual transformation that faith bring to a person. The Lord give
power to those who trust in Him. depict the eagles strength come from
the Lord and the people who are nourished by God is compared to the
strength of an eagle.. God bless!
No comments:
Post a Comment