Category: self-doubt

Posted on

God Isn’t Dead. I just Talked to Him This Morning

 Thanks to those of you who have started signing up for the RSS feed to this site. It is helping us move up in the Google Search Rankings. If you haven’t already, please sign-up today, by clicking on the icon right after today’s title.

_______________________________________________________

We have the book, “Signs of Hope: Ways to Survive in an Unfriendly World,” in our bookstore. This book reaches out to those who may be suffering from anxiety, fear, depression, addictions, self-doubt, hopelessness, and the many other usual suspects.

You can check it out by clicking on the “Bookstore,” tab at the top of this page. There is a special sale going on right now. A savings of over $6.00 if you order from this site.

_________________________________________________________

Today’s excerpt is letting us know that God is alive and doing well. It is people who have walked away. God  has always been there.

___________________________________________________________

Chapter 40

 

God Isn’t Dead. I Just Talked to Him This Morning

 

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die.”

John 11:25–26

 

In winter I used to look out the window at our old house and see the tree out front. “That tree looks dead! We need to cut it down!” I’d announce.Charlottealways asked me to leave it.

The freezing rains, all too common inOregon, attacked the tree and made it look even worse. Limbs would break off during the storms, and it had burns from the ice! I couldn’t see how that tree was going to make it.

Of course, every spring, the tree sprang back to life (maybe that’s why it’s called spring!) and it looked like the tree would make it another year. Leaves budded and covered up the wounds. That tree seemed to look at me through my office window and say, “Don’t give up on me! I’ll show you beauty in the summer!”

Spring always brings back the flowers and the trees in their beautiful riot of color. It is my favorite time of the year. Everything is starting over and has a fresh look to it. In a very real sense, it is being born again.

Jesus also did this in the spring when He was crucified, died and rose again. He did this for each of us so we will always have a way to be with Him in heaven. There is only one way to get to heaven—through the Lord Jesus Christ. God so loved the world that He sent His only Son to have close encounters with His people, and to be crucified on earth so that we may have eternal life. What a sacrifice the Lord made for us. His blood cleansed us and made us as clean and pure as newly bloomed flowers. HHe knows that we will be in His garden some day.

Like that tree in my yard, many of us in this world seem to be dead or dying. We look like we have been attacked by freezing rain. We have wounds of hunger, illness, sin and anxiety.

Do you feel like you’re always walking against the wind, with freezing rain pelting your face? Do you think God has no time for you? Do you wonder if anyone cares? Do you win some battles, but feel like you’re losing the war?

You may feel like a tiny speck of sand on the beach. How can God worry about you when there are billions of people on this earth?

You must have missed the class, “God Is Everywhere 101.” We all need to know that God has something good planned—even though the situation is seemingly disastrous.

 

Pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

1 Thessalonians 5:17–18

 

He is only a prayer away. We can think of Him as being right next to us at all times, because He is. We can talk to Him right now, and share our burdens with Him. I do this often, and the peace I always feel melts away all that freezing rain and lets me flourish again like that tree in the springtime.

God is not dead. I talk to Him every day. Anyone can. He wants to hear from us and soothe our hurts and fears.

 

Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.

John 1:12–13

 

In reply Jesus declared, “I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.”

John 3:3

 

Further Adventures

Read Matthew16:21through Matthew 28:20 with your family so that everyone hears what Jesus went through for us. This may take several days, but read it slowly and discuss it as you go. This will let your children hear the words and ask questions you can discuss as a family.

 

Something to Ponder

Isn’t it funny that though we live in the world, we as Christians do not wage war as the world does?

Posted on

Love People and Use Things-Not Love Things and Use People

 Please sign-up for the RSS feed to this site, if you haven’t already. It helps us move up in the Google Search Rankings. Just click on the icon right after the title of this post to do that.

___________________________________________________________

The book, “Signs of Hope: Ways to survive in an Unfriendly World,” Is now available in the bookstore on this site. This books reaches out to those who may be suffering from anxiety, fear, depression, addictions, self-doubt, hopelessness, and the many other usual suspects. You probably know of someone in that boat, and this book can help them a great deal.

________________________________________________________

Today there is another excerpt from the book, Signs of Hope Ways to Survive in an Unfriendly World.” It talks about what our priorities should be. We should put people first, and not things first.

_________________________________________________________________

Chapter 39

 

                 Love People and Use Things—Not Love Things and Use People

 

Fear the Lord your God, serve him only and take your oaths in his name. Do not follow other gods, the gods of people around you; for the Lord, your God, who is among you, is a jealous God and his anger will burn against you, and he will destroy you from the face of the land.

Deuteronomy 6:13–15

 

People have idols they worship or hold in such high regard that the idol consumes them and nothing else matters. An example of this is the Beatlemania we went through in the 1960s or the rabid fans of Elvis Presley who unabashedly consider him their idol—even in the 21st century.

Every idol has his “groupies,” those who follow the idol everywhere, screaming, crying and fainting just because they’re in the same vicinity as their idol. Many times groupies wait for hours to see their idol come out of a hotel just to get a look at him—and maybe even get an autograph.

What makes a person get into such a frenzy over someone like the Beatles or Elvis is hard to comprehend, but it happens all the time with famous people. I think the Beatles were great. I loved many of their songs, but I wouldn’t go out and chase after them. Elvis Presley, too, had a tremendous following, and fans still make pilgrimages toGraceland. Never been there myself.

Having a false idol or god—whether it’s a person, a pastime or a possession—does not make the Lord very happy. It could be cars, gambling, money, a romance, or any number of things. In fact, it could be a legitimate interest, but it has taken over your life and has become more important to you than anything else, including your relationship to God.

When we fall into something that takes over our lives—something we know isn’t right for us—we need to get back to the basics of reading the Bible and having God be the only one we worship! It’s never too late to get back to God while we’re alive and breathing. We can’t until it’s too late.

We need to talk to God about our priorities and make sure they fall into this order:

God first

Family second

Our jobs third

It may seem hard to keep things in this order sometimes, but the rewards of doing so are much greater than we understand.

Putting God first may take some sacrifice on your part, but sacrifice is nothing to be ashamed of. God loves those who sacrifice for Him: “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise” (Psalm 51:17).

There is a huge difference between being religious and being a Christian. There are few things quite as boring as being religious (just going through the motions—“talking the talk”), but there is nothing quite as exciting as being a Christian (“walking the talk”). In fact, Christians should “talk the talk,” “walk the talk,” “walk the walk,” and “talk the walk.” Think about it.

You don’t need to try to live up to some idol like the Beatles or Elvis. Don’t compare yourself to them. Compare yourself to God. That should be your goal.

Do you need to hear this in surround sound? YOU DO NOT NEED TOTRYTO BE LIKE ANYONEELSE!

God knew you before you were born. He already had plans for you before He formed you in your mother’s womb.

You are as important to Him as Moses, Abraham or David. He had plans for them, and they helped change the world. Think about it: If you don’t become the person God planned for you to be, who will?

 

Death and Destruction are never satisfied, and neither are the eyes of man.

Proverbs: 27:20

 

Further Adventures

Read 1 Corinthians 10:1–22 (all the verses so you get the total meaning—no shortcuts!).

Take a good look at your own life and write down each thing that is important to you. Use a separate line for each item (your car, your job, your baseball card collection, etc.), leaving space between entries. Now cut the items into separate strips. Place them on a second sheet of paper in the order of their importance to you.

How much rearranging would you have to do if I now told you to put them in the order God desires? Go ahead and then tape each item down. You can use this visual reminder about your priorities and how to pray when they get out of whack.

 

Something to Ponder

Isn’t it funny that idols have many followers, but many of them have nowhere to go?

 

Posted on

I will do Anything to Move up the Ladder of Success

I want to thank those who have been signing up for the RSS feed to this site. It helps us grow according to the Google Search Rankings.  If you haven’t already signed up, please do so now. Just click on the icon right after the title.

__________________________________________________________

I will be sharing another excerpt from the book, “Signs of Hope: Ways to Survive in an Unfriendly world,” in a minute. But first I want to let you know that the book is on sale right now on this site. In the retail stores, this book is $19.99, but on this site only it is $15.99. The shipping has been cut in half as well. A total savings of over $6.00. Just click on the “Bookstore,” tab at the top of this page to check it out.

This book reaches out to those who may be suffering from anxiety, fear, depression, addictions, self-doubt, hopelessness, and the many other usual suspects.

__________________________________________________________

Today’s excerpt talks about how some of us will do anything to move ahead in the world, even if it means stepping on someone’s toe along the way to do it.

__________________________________________________________

Chapter 37

 

For Sale by Owner

 

The man of integrity walks securely, but he who takes crooked paths will be found out.

Proverbs 10:9

 

As some people go through their lives they often plow through their days acting as if they are the king or queen. Have you sometimes wanted to let others know how important you are? Have you looked down on those who may not live up to your standards? Do you get depressed when things don’t go exactly as you want them to? (Come on! Be honest now.)

This thinking often leads to doing things that may be very unethical. What can I do to better myself—no matter what the cost? How can I move ahead in the world?

These thoughts may lead to a “tiny little sin”—maybe just telling a fib about someone, hoping it will spread to others. Soon the little fib has grown into a full-blown lie and the person you lied about suffers because of what you said.

After you have done this and gotten away with it, you decide to take another giant step and plant some damaging information about another employee where everyone can see it. Again the person is given a hard time by the rest of his or her coworkers, and the person you maligned leaves.

Now you’re on a roll! There are only a couple more people in your way, and then you are at the top.

This is probably about someone else, or is it? Have you done something similar to this? Is your climbing the ladder so important that you find ways to advance?

This is playing on Satan’s team—the Hell-Bound Desperados! The prince of darkness is whispering in your ear. He is telling you that hurting others to advance yourself is done by everyone else. Why shouldn’t you do it too?

Here are some other thoughts Satan may be whispering in your ear:

“Go get success at any price.”  However God says, “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well” (Matthew6:33).

“Seek riches at any cost!” God says, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth … But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven” (Matthew 6:19–20).

“If it feels so good, do it.” But God says, “Not my will, but yours be done” (Luke 2:42). 1

Doing the evil it takes to advance yourself is like having a big sign on your chest that says, “For sale by owner.” (And the fine print will read: “Sold to the highest bidder.”) This is saying you’re willing to give up your soul to get the prize. You are letting Satan know that your soul can be used by him. You may get ahead in life, but your behind will be sitting in a very hot climate in death.

This all sounds pretty harsh for just telling a few lies so you can step over your fellow workers and advance. But if you feel your life is so important that no one can stand in your way, I have some “Death Valley” property in mind for you that has plenty of heat year-round. There aren’t any lemonade stands to cool you down either.

Are you thirsty for fame, power and material things? You will die of thirst. Those things are like water from the ocean. They don’t quench your thirst; they kill.

You need to hang a new sign on your chest that says, “Under construction.” God is never through letting us grow. We will always be tested. We are always faced with trials. The sign that is selling your soul to get ahead does not need to control your life. Get a scissors and cut that sign off your chest right now!

 

Like a club or a sword or a sharp arrow is the man who gives

false testimony against his neighbor.

Proverbs 25:18

 

Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord, and that he may send the Christ,

who has been appointed for you—even Jesus.

Acts 3:19–20 (emphasis mine)

 

(I had to end this with something positive to quench your thirst from all the heat you just read about!)

 

Further Adventures

Everything I said in this chapter probably will never happen in your life. You know what is right and wrong. You know that stepping on others is not the way to try to get ahead. Rising up the ladder of success, no matter what you have to do, is not part of your thinking. Right?????

 

Something to Ponder