Fresh-Hope

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After reading my devotional today, I wanted to expand on it.

It amazes me how God's Word can be read on so many different levels, and how you can get so much out of one single verse, and how every single verse in the bible is connected to every other one too. That's what amazes me the most. When I think I've finally found one that can't be connected to some other teaching, the Lord always shows me differently. That's difference between His Word and any other book we could read.

These last few years He's been showing me how His Word teaches us, grows us up to spiritual maturity, guides us through our every day life, strengthens us, encourages us, and totally replaces all the world's and Satan's programming that's been in our minds and hearts.That's how His Word "renews our minds". Furthermore, by doing that, the Lord's Word then protects us from the enemy by guarding our hearts and minds.

Over and over the Lord has shown me how dangerous and downright foolish it is for His children not to be in His Word daily like He commands us to, so that we can know His Word and apply it to our lives. It's also brought home to me yet again how His commandments are always for our good, and not just to ruin our fun or make more work for us. Lately the Lord's been showing me this about the armor He gives us to defeat the enemy with.

The armor I'm talking about is the armor spoken of in Ephesians 6. Let's take a look at it together and you'll see what I mean.

First He tells us that we need the belt of Truth, but what is that? It's God's Truth, which is of course found in His Word. We need to know His Truth, know His Word, so we won't be deceived by the enemy. Of course just knowing it isn't enough, we have to "put it on" which means we have to apply His Truth to our lives - we have to live it. For example, when His Word says we're not to lie, then we simply do not lie. We do not tell big lies, little lies or any kind of lie, for we know from God's Word that Satan is the author of lies. When His Word says we're not to worry, then we don't worry, we take control of our emotions instead of letting them control us, just as His Word teaches us to do by taking our thoughts and emotions captive and replacing them with His Truth. Again, we obviously must know His Truth, His Word, in order to be able to replace the lies our thoughts and emotions are telling us. If we know His Word, we'll also know that it's through our thoughts and emotions that most of Satan's attacks come. That's why it's so important to have on the belt of Truth.

Next we're to have the breastplate of righteousness. What is that though? The breastplate is to cover our hearts, and we know that our hearts are covered by Jesus, and that's what God sees when He looks at us. He sees the righteousness of Christ, not our sins. That's done when we're saved though, and this says we're to "put it on", so how do we do that? Again this is done by applying God's Word to our lives. Every day we must choose to live God's way instead of our own way. Sometimes we must choose that every hour or even every moment, but the choice is ours. We can't be protected if we deliberately choose to walk outside God's Will or His Ways.

The bad news for many people is that if they are not in His Word daily as we're commanded to be, then they're already walking outside His Will. It's one thing for us to be doing His Will and studyiing His Word daily and not have learned about something yet, and quite another if we're not studying His Word daily and don't know it. Those who are studying and just haven't gotten that far yet, aren't outside His Will, and will be protected, but those who aren't, won't be protected, for they are outside His Will. God is a God of love, but not the mushy so called tolerant love the world teaches. He wants what's best for us and He will discipline us and even punish us if we continue to be disobedient.

So the breastplate of righteousness is put on by choosing to live according to God's will, in His Ways every day. The good news is that we don't have to do this in our strength, in fact, we can't do it in our own strength, but instead must rely on the Lord. The part that's ours is to choose to live His Way, and apply His Word, then He will do the rest.

Next are the shoes of the gospel of peace, but how in the world to we put those on and what are they? Notice that the person is standing, in fact, standing firmly, not walking in these shoes. this isn't about spreading the good news. It's about having peace with God through the gospel. It's about having the confidence of knowing for sure that we are saved, and the only way we can do that is again, if we really know God's Word. The gospel says that through Jesus we have peace with God because we're no longer His enemy, now we are His children because we have been saved. Knowing that our salvation is guaranteed by God, we have no fear for there is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear for fear has to do with punishment - and we know that we are forever safe from God's Wrath, for we've been saved through the blood of Jesus, now forever to be His beloved child.

The peace God gives us through the confidence of our salvation, when we're living in Him by knowing and applying His Word to our lives, is a peace so great that God says it will literally guard our hearts and minds - the two areas most vulnerable to Satan's attacks. This peace which originates from the gospel, our security in Christ, affects every area of our lives, since every are is affected by our hearts and minds.
The enemy wants to steal our peace and keep us frustrated, angry, fearful, anxious, bitter, hurt, and filled with shame and guilt, so he will do all he can to prevent us from knowing God’s Word and having His peace to keep us strong, confident and standing firm.

LiveJournal Tags: armor of God,belt of truth,bible,breastplate of righteousness,devotional,emotions,Ephesians 6:13–17,god's word,heart,helmet of salvation,Jeremiah 17:9,Mark 7:21,mind,proverbs 10,Proverbs 23:7,Satan's attacks,scipture,shield of faith,shoes of gospel of peace,spiritual warfare,Sword of the Spirit,thinking,thoughts

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“Stand firm therefore … having put on the breastplate of righteousness” (Eph. 6:14).

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True righteousness begins with a right relationship with God.

A Roman soldier would often engage his enemy in hand-to-hand combat. At such times, the weapon of choice was the short sword, with which he sought to penetrate his opponent’s vital organs. For his own protection he wore a molded metal breastplate that extended from the base of his neck to the top of his thighs. It helped deflect any attacks aimed at his heart and abdomen.
The Roman breastplate has great symbolism in Paul’s analogy because to the Jewish people the heart represented man’s mind and thinking processes; the intestinal area or bowels represented the seat of feelings and emotions. Proverbs 23:7 says, “As [a man] thinketh in his heart, so is he” (KJV). Jeremiah 17:9 says, “The heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick; who can understand it?” Jesus added, “From within, out of the heart of men, proceed the evil thoughts” (Mark 7:21).

During spiritual warfare, Satan’s primary attacks target your thinking and emotions. If he can condition you to think and feel contrary to God’s Word, he has won a significant victory. That’s why he attempts to fill your mind with lies, immorality, false doctrine, and half-truths. He tries to blur the line between righteousness and sin by surrounding you with evil influences that increase your tolerance for sin. He clothes offensive sin in the blinding garment of entertainment. He puts it to music and masks it in humor to confuse you and deaden your spiritual senses. Satan wants to corrupt your emotions and draw you into sinful desires.

Putting on the breastplate of righteousness begins with a right relationship with God, who is the source of true righteousness. From that relationship flows the commitment to cultivate righteousness in your own life by learning and applying His Word. Therein lies the protection you need to safeguard your mind and emotions from Satanic deceptions.

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Suggestions for Prayer: Focus on strengthening your relationship with God today. Commune with Him in prayer. Meditate on His Word. Seek His grace in responding thoughtfully and righteously to the temptations you face.

For Further Study: Read Proverbs 10, noting Solomon’s description of righteous people.

Proverbs 10:1–32 (NIV)
Proverbs of Solomon
10 The proverbs of Solomon:
A wise son brings joy to his father,
but a foolish son grief to his mother.
2 Ill-gotten treasures are of no value,
but righteousness delivers from death.
3 The Lord does not let the righteous go hungry
but he thwarts the craving of the wicked.
4 Lazy hands make a man poor,
but diligent hands bring wealth.
5 He who gathers crops in summer is a wise son,
but he who sleeps during harvest is a disgraceful son.
6 Blessings crown the head of the righteous,
but violence overwhelms the mouth of the wicked.
7 The memory of the righteous will be a blessing,
but the name of the wicked will rot.
8 The wise in heart accept commands,
but a chattering fool comes to ruin.
9 The man of integrity walks securely,
but he who takes crooked paths will be found out.
10 He who winks maliciously causes grief,
and a chattering fool comes to ruin.
11 The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life,
but violence overwhelms the mouth of the wicked.
12 Hatred stirs up dissension,
but love covers over all wrongs.
13 Wisdom is found on the lips of the discerning,
but a rod is for the back of him who lacks judgment.
14 Wise men store up knowledge,
but the mouth of a fool invites ruin.
15 The wealth of the rich is their fortified city,
but poverty is the ruin of the poor.
16 The wages of the righteous bring them life,
but the income of the wicked brings them punishment.
17 He who heeds discipline shows the way to life,
but whoever ignores correction leads others astray.
18 He who conceals his hatred has lying lips,
and whoever spreads slander is a fool.
19 When words are many, sin is not absent,
but he who holds his tongue is wise.
20 The tongue of the righteous is choice silver,
but the heart of the wicked is of little value.
21 The lips of the righteous nourish many,
but fools die for lack of judgment.
22 The blessing of the Lord brings wealth,
and he adds no trouble to it.
23 A fool finds pleasure in evil conduct,
but a man of understanding delights in wisdom.
24 What the wicked dreads will overtake him;
what the righteous desire will be granted.
25 When the storm has swept by, the wicked are gone,
but the righteous stand firm forever.
26 As vinegar to the teeth and smoke to the eyes,
so is a sluggard to those who send him.
27 The fear of the Lord adds length to life,
but the years of the wicked are cut short.
28 The prospect of the righteous is joy,
but the hopes of the wicked come to nothing.
29 The way of the Lord is a refuge for the righteous,
but it is the ruin of those who do evil.
30 The righteous will never be uprooted,
but the wicked will not remain in the land.
31 The mouth of the righteous brings forth wisdom,
but a perverse tongue will be cut out.
32 The lips of the righteous know what is fitting,
but the mouth of the wicked only what is perverse.

MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (1993). Drawing Near—Daily Readings for a Deeper Faith

See also:

Taking Thoughts Captive

LiveJournal Tags: armor of God,belt of truth,bible,breastplate of righteousness,devotional,emotions,Ephesians 6:13–17,god's word,heart,helmet of salvation,Jeremiah 17:9,Mark 7:21,mind,proverbs 10,Proverbs 23:7,Satan's attacks,scipture,shield of faith,shoes of gospel of peace,spiritual warfare,Sword of the Spirit,thinking,thoughts

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Some time ago I was asked about doing a bible study about cleaning our houses and I thought, why not? I've always tried to clean my house for the Lord based scripture and thought I could share that with the rest of you. When I was a little girl, it was my job to set the table for dinner and I would always set an extra place for Jesus just in case He came. (It drove my mother nuts! ) That's where it really started for me though. From there I determined to keep my room clean, just in case the Lord should show up "for real".

When I was saved as an adult and began studying His Word, I discovered that I wasn't being really silly by doing those things after all. When the Lord was teaching the Jew's about how to worship Him, and giving them His laws, He also taught them quite a lot about cleanliness and how important it was. Part of what He was trying to teach them was that everything they did and said should be done with Him in mind, which is why He gave them so many rules about cleanliness. They had to think about Him no matter what they were doing at home, at work, or at play or they would wind up "unclean" and unable to worship Him. When you think about it, it's very much like what we're told in Colossians 3:17 —And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. *

The Lord wants to be part of everything in our lives, not just part of the supposed "religious portions" of our lives. He doesn't want what we do for Him to be somehow separate from the rest of our lives. For instance, He wants to be part of it every time we bake a casserole, not just when we're baking one to give to someone in need.

Another thing I learned was that if we wanted something we then needed to take good care of what we already had. I'd been told that if we didn't take care of what the Lord had already given us, why would we then expect Him to give us something more- like a bigger house or nicer car, etc? I was also reminded that the Lord expects us to be grateful for what we already have and because of our gratitude we should take good care of it. That's true in every area of our lives but for me, I applied it especially to my home.

If I didn't take care of the home the Lord had given me, then to me that was showing Him that I didn't appreciate it enough to do so and I certainly didn't want Him to think that!

I remember when I was living in the apartment the Lord had gotten me before we were able to buy our house. I'd prayed for His help to find a home for myself and the children and this was the one He'd brought me to. It was just plain horrible as far as I was concerned. To me it was like living in a slum and I hated it, but it was all I could afford. I was relieved and grateful to have found it though because otherwise we wouldn't have had any place to live. It took me quite awhile to go from hating that apartment to truly appreciating it, but I kept working on myself until I did. I really was grateful that we weren't out on the street so that was where I started. From day one I began cleaning that apartment (it was filthy) until it shone. Once it was clean it didn't look quite so bad. Next, little bit by little bit, I did whatever I could to make it more comfortable for us and make it look nicer, both inside and outside. We didn't have a driveway, all the cars just parked right in front of the building with a street running behind the parking spaces. But at least once a week I was outside sweeping those parking spaces to make it look neater and to keep the dust down inside the house. The neighbors thought I was nuts, but I didn't care. I did it for the Lord to show Him I appreciated what He'd given me. The water was unusable for drinking or bathing, but I managed to buy a water filtering system as that was really a necessity. The lord had His hand in that because the company had never allowed anyone to buy it on credit and just pay a certain amount a month...they never did till they met me anyway. I know that was the Lord's doing though. I painted inside with the help of my children (I'm not good at that but did the best I could). Little by little over the years, with the Lord's help, I turned that nasty apartment into a home.

We'd been living there for 8 years when I finally asked the Lord for a new home and He brought us to the house we have now. it was a dream come true! But all that time in the apartment, I'd kept it clean and took good care of it for Him. Now I do the same in the house He's given us as a way to say thank you to Him

There's yet another reason to keep our homes clean though. It's called self control and/or self discipline. When you study the bible, from Genesis to Revelation, the Lord talks about being self disciplined and using self control. In fact, self control is even one of the fruits of the spirit. There were many times and still are, when I don't want to clean my house, but I know that by doing so I'm exercising my muscles of self control and self discipline which the Lord requires of us. In 2 Timothy 1:7 —For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline. * we see that when we're saved, God gives us the ability to have self discipline. (depending on the translation you use, that word can be translated either as self discipline or self control and means having an orderly life.) That's a very important characteristic for us to develop for the Lord. (It must be important or He wouldn't give it to us or include it as a fruit of the spirit, right? Like any gift though, it must be used in order for it to grow and be strong. Luckily for us, we have many opportunities every day to exercise this gift. 1 Corinthians 14:40 tells us that everything should be done in an orderly way...meaning using self discipline/self control. In fact, we're warned in 2 Thessalonians 3:6 and other places to keep away from those who don't have self discipline, and are not leading orderly lives. It seems that the Lord wants us to practice self discipline and control in all areas of our lives as this is something that's spoken of in many places throughout the bible. Since we all have homes that need cleaning, that gives us all a very easy way to improve our self control and self discipline. I've always felt it was important to do that since we're told to exercise self discipline at all times.

But I have to admit, for me, I still like cleaning my house in case the Lord should pop in physically to visit...and I remind myself daily that He is here in the house He gave me every day, and I most certainly want to make sure He's comfortable and that He sees I'm taking good care of it for Him. Doing it for that reason seems to make what many consider an onerous chore into something done for love, so it's not so onerous anymore.

That brings me to one other idea I had along ago... the first Christians, like us, really believed, they knew Jesus would be returning soon and that it could be at literally any moment. They were literally looking over their shoulders to see if it might be Him they'd just heard or caught a glimpse of. That's how I try to live too... as if He could pop in at any moment. I don't want Him to find me being lazy or not taking care of what He's given me, or not doing the work He's given me to do. And more then that, I want Him to find me doing it with an attitude of thankfulness.

I'll tell you as secret too. It's something I didn't even realize until my boss pointed it out to me a number of times. It was part of my job to clean the house where my patient lived and she discovered that whenever I was cleaning, I'd be either singing or humming a praise song. I was terribly embarrassed when she pointed it out and actually tried to stop because I have a terrible voice when it comes to singing but no matter how I tried, as soon as I'd forget, I'd be singing again! I still do it. I don't know when or why I started doing it, it just seems to be part of how I clean. But I have to admit that I do like doing that when I'm cleaning...it makes it much more enjoyable.

Sometimes people use the story of Mary and Martha to excuse them from keeping their house clean, but that's not at all what Jesus was saying. Martha had her priorites mixed up, true, but that doesn't mean that we shouldn't keep our homes clean. If she's been prepared for a possible visit like this, then she wouldn't have had to be overworked and anxious would she? So if she'd shown more self discipline before His visit, things might have gone quite differently for her. Jesus was also trying to tell her another thing the Bible teaches, that there's a time and a place for everything. (do you see the "order" in that?) and that she wasn't seeing what was important for that particular time and place. If her home had been clean and the meal prepared as much as possible in advance, with everything that could be taken care of already done, then she too could have sat at His feet and learned from Him instead of trying to listen as she worked to get things done. Being prepared is something else the Lord teaches us.

I guess the last thing I tend to think about as far as keeping my house clean is that we're all ambassadors of Christ and as His ambassador what other people see when they see me or my house, is going to reflect on how they view Him. I want to make sure that their opinion of Him isn't bad because I don't keep my house clean and therefore give a bad impression.

There's probably much more that could be said about this, but for me these are the things that come to mind right away about it. Let me leave you with this scripture which is all about what we do in our homes and how we live. It too is talking about being self controlled and living an orderly life, so that others won't malign God's Word.

Titus 2:3–5 —Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. *Then they can train the younger women to love their husbands and children, *to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God. *

LiveJournal Tags: bible,cleaning,god,house cleaning,house keeping,jesus,orderly,prepared,rapture,self control,self discipline,thankful,thanksgiving

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The Lord tells us to have a special "quiet time" with Him daily, and to pray constantly throughout the day. The difference between the two is that during your special time of prayer (often done just before or after bible study time) it's just you and the Lord and your full concentration and attention is on Him, and Him alone. Generally this time is more intimate, a time when you share your heart with the Lord; your most private thoughts, your hopes and fears, wants and needs; and when He shares His heart with you. (It's because He also shares His heart with us during this time that this is often done just before our bible study time, as that's how He speaks to us.)

Then, when you pray constantly throughout the rest of the day, you're doing so as you're doing other things...be it cleaning house, caring for children/grandchildren, working in your garden, shopping, at work, at school, visiting with friends or neighbors, etc. During that time, obviously, it's not just you and the Lord, as all kinds of other stuff is going on around you that you have to pay attention to. So your attention isn't fully on Him, but instead you're simply sharing what's going on in your day with Him.

Both types are needed to develop your relationship with the Lord.

Again, you can relate it to an earthly relationship, same thing goes for that kind too. If you're in love with someone, you want to spend time alone with them, so there's no outside interference; it's just the two of you alone, enjoying each others company, sharing your hopes and fears, and getting to know each other better and better. But we can't be alone with them all the time, so the rest of the time we just chat with them when we can, and it's usually not about personal stuff, but rather about every day things, like "did you take out the trash today?" or, "do you know where the ruler is?", or "would you please shut off that TV!" lol That kind of interaction is needed too though as it helps you continue to know one another better and how you each react during a busy day, and how well you can trust each other to remember things that are important, do the things that are important, etc.

Without both kinds of communication, we're keeping part of ourselves apart from God, a part He wants to share with us and not developing or experiencing the awesome and close relationship we can have with Him. It's like a person who's afraid to have someone love them so they only allow the person to get "so close" and then begin pushing them away. That's what we do wen we don't have both kinds of communication with Him.

It's really a shame too because that's what the Lord has been desiring to have with us since the beginning. It often breaks my heart when I'm studying or reading the old testament to see how very often our Father tried to get the people to have a real relationship with Him, and they just kept refusing. Like after the Exodus when He told Moses to gather all the people together and He would speak to them; but the people said "no!" They were too scared, and not really all that interested. As far as they were concerned, it was just fine with them for God to talk to Moses and then Moses could tell them what He wanted. They weren't interested in talking to Him or hearing from Him themselves. After all, that would make them different just like Moses was! (i always cry when I read that part...I imagine the Father standing with His arms open wide, eager to embrace His children, that He just rescued from slavery, and every one of His children, turned their backs and walked away. ) That story is in Exodus 19-20; Deuteronomy 5, and Hebrews 12:18–21.

When the Lord talks about "knowing us" or "calling us by name", He's talking about the kind of relationship where everything is shared...both the intimate times of sharing what's in each others heart and the times of just sharing our day with Him. That's similar to what He's talking about when He says to "abide in Him", "live in Him" or "walk in Him." I guess you could say it's the difference between having Him as a well known acquaintance, like you might know a co-worker, and knowing Him intimately, like you would a husband or wife; or the difference between knowing all about Him and really knowing Him; the big difference is between head knowledge and heart knowledge. I think that's part of the reason He uses illustrations of marriage so often when referring to His relationship with Israel or with us; and the illustration of adultery when speaking of those who have abandoned Him for the world.

When we really stop and think about it...what an extraordinary privileged we have! The creator of the universe, the God who formed our bodies and gave us our intelligence and talents etc. is the very same God who came to this earth and gave up His life so that we might spend eternity with Him. All because He loves us - not as some impersonal "group" of homo sapiens, but as individuals! And He loved us even when we were at our very worst, drowning and wallowing in a pit of sin and evil.

Nor does He loves as as we might love a lower life form, like a cat, dog or bird or fish. No matter how much we might love them, we would never literally make them our children and leave our inheritance to them! (not if we had a sound mind anyway - what would they do with a dishwasher, microwave, dishes, vacuum, computer, TV, car, and money???) But God loves us that way! He loves us so much that besides creating us, He quite literally, and legally makes us who have His children! It always reminds me of what John said: 1 John 3:1 —How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! * That could just as easily be translated, "what an amazing, fantastic, love the Father has for us" or "what a peculiar, out of this world kind of love the Father has for us", etc. John's run out of words to describe it, just like we do!

And this God who loves us so very much, so far beyond what we can even comprehend, isn't satisfied with just knowing us intimately...He wants us to know Him intimately! That is just truly incredible! Like when He walked in the garden with Adam and Eve every day, talking to them, loving them, teaching them; that's what He wants with each and every one of us. That's why He wants us to spend both private time with Him every day as well as continue to share our day with Him throughout the day. It's incredible!

He wants to walk with us and be with us. He loves us and tells us He will never, ever leave us, and that absolutely nothing can separate us from Him anymore because He is greater and stronger by far then everything and everyone, including us. So He calls us to know His Heart, which is contained in His Word, and tells us that through these two kinds of prayer and knowing His Word, we can really know Him. It's really mind boggling, isn't it? And yet still today, people do the very same thing Israel did. They turn their backs and walk away, saying, they'll just listen to what He's said to someone else instead of hearing from Him themselves; or just walk away and completely ignore Him. It breaks my heart all over again.

As you can probably tell, I think about this alot...I can't help it...the Lord has freely given us such a fantastic, unbelievable privilege of knowing Him intimately, it makes me want to stand up and sing and shout His praises!

LiveJournal Tags: abiding,amazing,fantastic,God's heart,heart,incredible,intimate,knowing,living,love,loving,prayer,sharing,talking,walking

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I did a study on Forgiving awhile ago, but it's quite long so I thought I'd try and condense it for those who don't have time for the longer studies. However, if after reading this, you would like more information, the bible verses about it etc. please go to the above link for it's a very good study...even if all you read is the 1st post, you'll get a lot out of it.

To start with, we're to forgive others the way the Lord forgives us. That means we need to go to them and tell them how they sinned and then if they repent, tell them they are forgiven. We also need to let them know that means we won't bring up the sin to them, to others, or even to ourselves again or ever use it against them, for that's how the Lord forgives us. Just knowing this little bit bring us all kinds of questions!

Why should we go to them, shouldn't they be coming to us? Well, yes, they should, but the Lord commands us to go to them just as He commands them to go to us and confess and repent, so ideally both parties should be on their way to each other right away. It rarely works that way though, so the Lord says, we're to go to them if they haven't already come to us. It helps if we understand the Lord's reasons behind His commands. His command to us that He tried to drill into our heads over and over is to love one another, and for unity in the body of Christ, so this is all about reconciliation. For the body of Christ to work the way the Lord intended, there can't be hard feelings between the various members of it. I'm not talking here about the members of a local church, but of the whole body, which is all who've been saved.

That bring up another question...what about those who aren't saved? What do we do then? The Lord never forgives us until we repent and then we become saved. Before then we really don't understand about sin, repentance or forgiveness and what it really means. So with the unsaved, we can only offer them a shallow portion of what we give each other when we forgive. But, in so doing, we're at the same time giving them an example of what being saved is all about and it can give us a great opening too to talk to them about the real deal...about salvation in Christ. We can explain to them that we can forgive them for ourselves, but that we can't forgive their actual sin for only God can do that, and for that they need to recognize that they need a Savior, etc. We can explain that when we forgive, it also means we won't bring the sin up to them, ourselves or others ever again or use it against them in any way, just as the Lord does for us when He forgives us and saves us. This can plant many good seeds the Lord can use to bring them into His Kingdom.

But, do we have to forgive someone who's not saved? Yes, God still commands us to forgive them. His reasons for this are similar, for we're commanded to love them as well as other believers, though for a different reason. First because we don't know that they won't one day be a believer and our brother or sister in Christ. Only the Lord knows that. Therefore the Lord doesn't want things coming between us and them that might stand in our way if/when they do become a believer. Secondly, He wants us to represent Him to them, so we're literally to be Him to them, act as He would, speak as He would, forgive as He would. Of course this is to hopefully bring them into His Kingdom one day. The Lord knows that because they are unbelievers though that forgiveness and reconciliation won't always be possible. That's why He tells us regarding unbelievers, Romans 12:18 —If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. * Therefore we're to do all we can to live at peace with them.

All of this can be difficult but it seems the most difficult part is that we usually don't "feel like" forgiving them, whether they're saved or not. Yet, the Lord never tells us to do something that's not possible, so how do we deal with this? First we have to realize that our feelings have absolutely nothing to do with it. Seriously, they don't! We often do things we don't feel like. Every morning I used to have to be up no later then 6 so I could be at work by 7. When that alarm clock went off, I sure didn't feel like getting up, but I did, and I surely didn't want to go to work, or feel like it, but again, I did. Day after day. It's the same thing with forgiveness.

I never asked anyone if I'd truly gone to work that day since I hadn't felt like it that morning when I'd awakened, and yet we constantly find ourselves asking if we really forgave someone since we didn't feel like it when we did it and our feelings for them hadn't changed. The answer to that is simple. Of course we forgave them! (assuming we forgave the way the Lord forgives us anyway)

Part of the reason our feelings about the person haven't changed though is usually because we didn't really forgive them the way the Lord does us. We left out the part about not bringing the matter up to them, to others, or even to ourselves again. That's the clincher! And how in the world do we do that???? Again, the Lord tells us how. Obviously the Lord can't and doesn't really "forget" our sins. He knows everything, and if He literally forgot them, then He wouldn't know everything and that contradicts His Word. What He means is that He doesn't think of our sins; He doesn't dwell on them, He doesn't hold them against us, even when we later repeat the same sin again. And that's exactly what He requires us to do. He calls it "taking our thoughts captive and making them obedient to Christ." (2 Corinthians 10:5 ) There is a short teaching about this subject here if you need to know how to do this: Taking Thoughts Captive it does take self discipline, but it's what the Lord expects of us and it will change us to be more like Christ in more ways then I can begin to count here. Basically, what it means is that whenever we find ourselves beginning to think about (or speak about) what happened, we literally stop the thoughts/words before they go any further, reminding ourselves of our promise and that the Lord has done this many times for us. Since we have broken our promise, we then need to ask the Lord's forgiveness. Because of our sin nature, at first we'll find ourselves thinking of it quite often or wanting to think about it anyway, so we'll constantly have to take those thoughts captive and replace them with God's Truth as described in the thread I mentioned. The more we do this, the less often it will happen, until eventually we will find that our feelings will begin to reflect the feelings of our Lord instead of our old sin nature. Eventually those old feelings will be entirely replaced with those of love from our new nature that's like the Lord. This is what makes true forgiveness and reconciliation really possible.

So remember, our feelings, don't matter as far as whether or not we can forgive or have forgiven. They will eventually begin to reflect the truth though the more we keep our thoughts in line with the Lord's when the matter does come to our attention.

When we forgive someone, it's a big deal, and something major happens in the spiritual realm and for the person being forgiven as well as for us. Giving or receiving forgiveness is not something that should ever be done lightly or without prayerful thought, which it often seems to be these days. Forgiveness is something we do out of love for our Lord to be obedient to Him; so we offer the offender a gift...not because they earned it by repenting, but because we love the Lord.

It's very different from the world's way of "apology". When people apologize, they don't have to confess any sin or even admit why they're really sorry. They could simply be sorry they got caught or that their reputation might suffer or for other consequences of what they did. They don't have to recognize that God has anything at all to do with it even. They're not promising you anything at all either. That doesn't mean however that we should never say we're sorry, but we should be aware of the difference between the two.

As I said at the start, I realize this doesn't cover anywhere near all the questions concerning forgiveness and forgetting concerning both the saved and unsaved, but I hope it gives at least a glimpse of how the Lord wants us to forgive and why. And of course, I hope it helps others as it has me in my own life.

For more information see:

Understanding Forgiveness and Forgiving

Taking Thoughts Captive

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How to find God's Will When You're Experiencing a Problem, Going through a Trial, being tempted, or whatever you may be going through.

Whenever we have a problem we have to deal with, we need to ask ourselves, "how does the Lord want me to handle this?". We may have other questions too such as "why" it's happening, or what we should or shouldn't do about it.

To get your answer to those and other questions, you go to your bible to find out how God wants you to handle it. Most importantly though you pray and ask the Lord to guide you as you look through His Word to see how He wants you to respond to your current situation. Why? Because that's how the Lord speaks to us today. While He's perfectly capable of speaking to us with His voice or in other ways, He generally speaks to us through His Word, so when we need to find an answer, that's where we need to go to talk to Him. Otherwise the only answers you're libel to get are a nudging to go to His Word or silence.

I'm going to pretend that the problem is co workers harassing you at work. Another word for someone that's harassing us is persecute:

Persecute means:
To oppress or harass with ill-treatment,
To annoy persistently; bother.
to subject to harassing or cruel treatment,
to oppress, torment, frustrate, harass, etc.

If you have a "concordance" or "index" in your bible, look up the word, "persecute" If not, you can use an online bible and search for the word on it. Not every verse with that word in it is going to be what we're looking for, but it's a good place to start and it's pretty easy to weed out the ones that aren't going to be helpful.

What you'll want to do is read the ones you think may apply to your situation, but you need to read them "in context" and not just that particular verse. If you only read that verse you'd miss a lot of what God has to say to you about it..

Just to give you some good ideas of words to look up when you're having a problem, going through a trial or something like that, let me give you some common words that are always good to look up during these times. You can also use these words to look up if you don't get enough information on the word you choose to look up first:
suffer
enemy
trouble
test
discipline
trial

Or you could look up a word or words that you notice show up a lot in the verses you already found. In the ones I'll list for you, you'll notice the word "perseverance" shows up a lot, so you could look that word up and see what other verses with that word in it say.

Since we're pretending you're being persecuted, I've looked up the word "persecute" in the New Testament, and I've picked out the ones that I think are the most helpful for us.

Remember, when you're doing this on your own, you need to read them in context too so you know how God wants you to respond and why. For that reason, I'm going to include verses that either come before or follow the one with the word persecute in it for you here.

As you read each scripture, you'd ask yourself the following questions:
A. What God is saying to you about how you should handle your situation now,
B. What you should expect or why
C. What He will do for you.

Some of the scriptures won't have all three of those in it, but answer as many of those three questions as you can for each scripture.

I've chosen 7 scriptures for our pretend problem. All you have to do is choose scriptures that looked like they might have something to do with what you're going through. I'll post the ones I chose here so you can see why it's important to read them in context. Obviously when you look up the scripture, you'll first read the verse with that word in it, but then look both back before that verse and after that verse to see what's pertinent to your situation now. (Remember, you're looking for the answers to those three questions I posted above as you read the following scriptures)

1. Matthew 5:44–47
44 But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46 If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? 47 And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that?

2. John 15:20
20 Remember the words I spoke to you: ‘No servant is greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also.

3. Romans 12:12–21
12 Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. 13 Share with God’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.
14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. 16 Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited.
17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. 18 If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. 19 Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. 20 On the contrary:
“If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.
In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.”
21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

4. 1 Corinthians 4:11–13
11 To this very hour we go hungry and thirsty, we are in rags, we are brutally treated, we are homeless. 12 We work hard with our own hands. When we are cursed, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure it; 13 when we are slandered, we answer kindly. Up to this moment we have become the scum of the earth, the refuse of the world.

5. 2 Corinthians 12:7–10
7 To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. 8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. 9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 10 That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

6. 2 Thessalonians 1:4–10
4 Therefore, among God’s churches we boast about your perseverance and faith in all the persecutions and trials you are enduring.
5 All this is evidence that God’s judgment is right, and as a result you will be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are suffering. 6 God is just: He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you 7 and give relief to you who are troubled, and to us as well. This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels. 8 He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. 9 They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the majesty of his power 10 on the day he comes to be glorified in his holy people and to be marveled at among all those who have believed. This includes you, because you believed our testimony to you.

7. 2 Timothy 3:12–13
12 In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, 13 while evil men and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.

Having answered the 3 questions or as many as you could for each scripture you read, you would now do the following:
1. Make a list of steps that you can take to do what God wants you to do about this.

2. Considering everything you've learned now, write down what you think the Lord may be either trying to teach you or help you practice.

3. Ask the Lord to help you respond to this problem the way He's now shown you that He wants you to.

Now that you are all done, all your questions should be answered, and you now know exactly what the Lord wants your attitude to be and what He wants you to do. The most important part of this entire process though is that we should be talking to the Lord about it asking His guidance before we look up the verses, while we're looking them up and studying them and after we've done so. We need to remember that He's right there with us, guiding us and that most of all, He wants to talk to us through His Word and make it personal to us. This way we not only get our questions answered, and answered correctly, but we also become closer to our Lord. This is how the Lord wants us to get our answers for right after talking about trials, He tells us:

James 1:5–8 (NIV)
5 If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. 6 But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. 7 That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; 8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.

I hope this helps someone.

LiveJournal Tags: actions,applying scriptures to your life,attitude,bible,every day help,god's will,help with problems,practical help,scripture,struggling,temptations,trials