I'm anxious, I'm anxious not, I'm anxious, I'm anxious not... I'm anxious...

This morning's message was an eye opener. It came from the book of Philippians, where Paul was talking about being encouraging, not arguing, and what have you. He's encouraging us to be like minded. This doesn't mean we're clones of each other, but rather, have all come to understand the Gospel from God's P.O.V, not our own. Therefore, we'll be like minded in our understanding. Towards the end of chpt 2, he's telling the folks that he really needs to send Epaphroditus back to them, so they'd be blessed, and he himself would be less anxious. Now, how does that compare to Philippians 4, where it tells us to be anxious for nothing, but in prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, we're to make our requests known to God. So, on one hand, Paul is saying "....by doing this I hope to be less anxious"... and then a few paragraphs later, he's saying, "Be not anxious for anything". I suspect that Paul knew good and well what it's like to be anxious. Don't we all? Is it something weird to be anxious? No..perfectly normal. Perfectly NOT desirable, but normal. There are going to come times when we're going to 'wonder' about what the future holds--our jobs...families...finances; and even not in a big picture but 'little' things like, "Will I get to the phone company before it closes to pay the bill?" "Am I going to run out of gas before I find a gas station?" little ordinary things that beset us. Those are the things Paul is helping us through. 

Paul wasn't preaching only to 'us' in that verse--he was also giving himself some encouragement. When we turn our eyes upon Jesus, then the things of this world, will grow strangely dim--in the light of his glory and grace!

Anxious? Welcome to humanity. Want to NOT be anxious? With prayer and thanksgiving, let it be known to God. 

Have a great week!

Lisa

Let it go...

There's a verse in Matthew that states: Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me. for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. (Matthew 11:28-29). 

You know..I remember reading this so many times, trying to conjure up the rest spoken about. It didn't quite make sense to me back then--I mean, who's got time to rest? Shouldn't we be busy about the Lord's work? Shouldn't we feed the hungry, nurse the sick, comfort the broken hearted... etc. The list never seemed to end. Of course, in order to be a 'good Christian" one would desire to do all the above, right? After all, they are a noble thing indeed!

I finally decided that what that meant was---come to him now and He'd give me rest later like when I died and went to heaven. Surely that was it... if everyone was 'resting', nothing would ever get done!

It was a great relief, when eventually, God taught me that no, it wasn't that we were going to be sitting around eating bon-bons all day. What it means, is, that WEno longer have to conjure up the desire to do, or worry about the consequences if we don't. You see, as a child of God, we have the joy of not stressing out over things. Let's think about this--if God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son, does it make sense that He would leave the fate of someone ready to receive His offer of life in the hands of me? No way! I don't have to do anything. However---I do make myself available. If he cho

True Dependency on God

What does it mean to be truly dependent on the Lord? We understand depending on God in a spiritual sense, but are we to also depend on him in our physical life. I like the well-known scripture in 3 John 1:2 “Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers.”
I believe this letter to Gaius shows the direct correlation between our body and our soul. In Matthew 6:33 “Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His Righteousness and all things will be added unto you.” Again you see God is addressing our body and our soul, He will add spiritual blessings as well as physical blessings. Our soul is blessed in the act of seeking God’s Kingdom, our body is blessed when God adds all things unto us.
The question is: are we constantly separating the two and not know it? When God had Moses with his followers in the wilderness for 40 years, He provided manna from heaven everyday except Passover. This was the blessing for the body. What was the blessing for their soul? Could it be the blessing for the soul is the dependency on the Lord.
Does God desire for us to depend on him for every little thing in our life? I believe the answer is best summed up in Proverbs 30:8,9 “give me neither poverty nor riches-feed me with the food allotted to me; lest I be full and deny, and say, 'Who is the Lord?' Or lest I be poor and steal, and profane the name of my God." And also in Matthew 6:11 “Father give us this day our daily bread.” What are we to learn from these two verses? Is it possible that God wants to give us something new everyday, He desires for us to draw from him daily. So what Proverbs is saying is if we were rich, we would not be able to see the need for the lord. And if we were poor we would take it into our own hands to provide for ourselves.
If we put God first in all of our life's plans, we can truly say He is the Author and Finisher of our faith (Heb 12:2)
Be conscious of where your mind is at in all situations. Is your mind 80% on a problem and only 20% on God, or are you giving is all to Jesus and dwelling in his peace. God begins His work when we finally let go 100%. It’s funny that it takes more work NOT to think of life’s issues and troubles and just trust the Lord!
If God was a famous Chef and he was cookin' up your life, and the kitchen smells great. But you feel the need to go over God’s shoulder and put a little of your own spices in the pot, because you know just what your life needs and you are just helping God out a little. How do you think your life will taste by you adding to God’s perfect work. I think a little too salty. But what if we got out of the kitchen and let God truly go to work on our life, (without our input) it will be a perfect dish with flavors you didn’t even know you had.
Could you imagine a life where every single one of our needs are met just because I stopped trying to do it on my own. This is true faith! A life of not having to worry about tomorrow, because you are too busy thanking the Lord for today! Praise God! All things are summed up in Christ Jesus, I love you Brothers and Sisters with the true love of Jesus Christ our Lord!

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Romans 14:23

for whatsoever is not of faith is sin.