Emotional and Mental Health - Christ Triumphs over Evil

Rather than to allow our mental and emotional health to gain its influence from the world, the flesh or the devil, we can glean as we read from God's Word and adopt its Biblical principles and concepts as our own.

Writing verses on 3x5 cards and carrying them around with us enables us to focus on scripture while waiting at traffic lights, retail lines at the check-out, doctor's offices, school pick-up lanes to retrieve our children, etc.

Rather than to fume about wasted time, we constructively focus on the Word of God, which is life to our spirit and soul. As we set our mind on things above, we grow in our faith, hope and love, and we increase our intimacy with our Lord.

Our trials in life give us the perfect opportunity for God to prove His love and sustaining power to us, it draws us together as a couple, a family and as the Body of Christ, if we pray together for our needs.

We are all falsely accused, misunderstood, and people make incorrect assumptions about us and our motives. Yet, evil will not triumph over us, because Christ in us is greater than Satan and the people in this world (Ecclesiastes 3:17, 12:14).

God will right all the wrongs when our righteous King takes His throne to rule and reign for eternity. There will be no more tears or sorrow; no more emotional of mental distress; only peace and joy for eternity.

Prayer:
Father God, You give us respect in our city, when we support one another as Your Body, and when we walk in Your ways (Proverbs 31:23). Yet, at other times, people around us hate You, and then hate us because we love You (Psalm 31:11-13).

We do not need to please people or lead people to You; we simply need to share Your gospel with whomever will listen; allow Your Spirit to do a work in their heart; and then, let our light shine in such a way that our family, friends, associates and neighbors will see our good works and glorify You (Galatians 1:10; 1 Peter 2:12; Matthew 5:16).


Thought for the Day:
When we choose to walk in God's rest and peace, we are paving the way for difficult, evil people to encounter the Prince of Peace Himself, because He abides within us; so we can choose peace over worry and walk in serenity instead or unrest and anxiety.

Feasting on God's Word

 

I have spent the last few months gardening in containers, which are spaced throughout my tiny outside flower garden. Some plants did better than the others. My tomatoes flourished and are still producing juicy, rich tomatoes. The peppers did well and are still sparsely bearing fruit. However, the okra, squash, green beans, celery and onions all failed to generate any usable fruit.

This reminds me of Jesus’ parable concerning the four types of soil: some seed fell upon the path, others among the thorns, many within the rocks and then just a few on the good soil. If the ground is hard, thorny or rocky, there is no room for the roots. It is only in a garden of prepared soil that a plant can take hold and grow to full maturity.

Similarly, our spiritual food is found in the rich depths of the Word of God. The only way to withstand the winds of adversity or the scorching trials and temptation we encounter in this life is to have our roots sunk deeply into a spiritually fertile environment. Jesus said that we will know His disciples by their fruit.

If His disciples are to produce fruit, they need good, rich, tilled, spiritually fertilized soil. As we receive God’s Word with conviction and repentance, we are ready to receive the proper nourishment. We feast on God’s Word, reading it every day to prepare the soil, so that we will bloom where God plants us.

Many of today’s churches are barren wastelands with nothing spiritually nutritious to offer the Believer. They focus on providing glitz and glitter to attract people, and then they supply only spiritual junk food, rather than wholesome nourishment. However, God is still raising up an army of teachers with every generation - those people who faithfully sow the seeds of the truth of God’s Word.

Prayer:

Father God, remind us to feast on Your Word throughout the day. We eat three physical meals a day, and we need at least that many spiritual meals in order to have a healthy spirit and an intimate relationship with You. Provide us with teachers who seek You in prayer before they share Your Word. Lead us to a caring and loving fellowship of Believers. Even in these end times, please keep a remnant of spiritual teachers, preaching Your truth on which we can feast, Biblical principles, which enable us to bear much fruit.

Thought for the Day:
A lifetime commitment to feast on God’s Word gives us the spiritual strength to minister for Him in every area in which He calls us.
– Ephesians 2:10

 

It Really is Your Choice

Jesus Christ provided for a way for us to enjoy the glories of Heaven (John 6:44; Acts 4:12, 16:30-31). He is the only way for us to receive redemption. That is why Christians are always sharing the good news of the Gospel of Christ. We may get on someone's nerves, but we share God's Truth for their benefit, not our own. We are already Born Again and our place in Heaven is already reserved.

What about your place in Heaven? Have you repented of your sins and asked Jesus to be your personal Savior (John 3:16)? Have you surrendered your life to His redeeming grace and realized the benefits of living in His family now and forever? There are multiple ways to enter eternity, but only one leads to Heaven; all the rest lead to hell (John 3:18).

Satan is very cunning. He appears as an angel of light and he perverts God's truth to his own advantage. He wants to take Jesus' place as King of the universe. He already rebelled against God and lost his place in heaven (Isaiah 14:12-14). Now he is the "god" of this world and he wants to stay that way (2 Corinthians 4:4). He fills the world with his lies in order to take as many people to hell with him as he can (John 8:44; Romans 1:25).

If you reject Jesus as your Savior and remain as an unbeliever, living in unbelief and sinful pursuits, you will never see God (Revelation 21:7-8). If you admit that you are a sinner, regret your sinful lifestyle, choose to live according to Biblical principles, ask Jesus to cover you with His precious blood, and place your faith in God's faithfulness, you will enjoy the blessings as a co-heir with Jesus of God's Kingdom (Romans 8:17).

Prayer:

Father God, I come to You in Jesus' name to acknowledge that I am a sinner. I am as grieved over my past lifestyle as You are. I want to turn from a life of sin and self-reliance, and live according to Your Biblical principles.

Thank You for sending Jesus to die for me and to pay the penalty of my sin debt to You. I believe that You raised Jesus from the dead and that He now sits at Your right hand. I want to take advantage of Your grace and to live a life of purity and truth.

I will serve You in gratitude for the many blessings You provide for me throughout my lifetime. In Jesus' name and for His glory. Amen.

Thought for the Day:

Once we place our full trust in Him and His promises, God keeps us in His hands and never forsakes us. - John 6:37, 10:28-29; Hebrews 13:5