The scripture talks about how the truth makes us free. Just before this was mentioned in scripture, Jesus said if we abide in his word; we will be his disciples. What does this tell us? God’s word and abiding, meditating on, and believing it is the truth that makes us free.
Because there are many lies that believers often face, it is essential to ready ourselves to abide in freedom through abiding in God’s word. Below are 10 scriptures that will help us to continue to trust in the Lord during times where our situations would appear to present a different picture.
So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” – John 8:31-32 (ESV)Ten Scriptures showing God’s trustworthiness through his promises
1. As for God, his way is perfect: the word of the LORD is tried: he is a buckler to all those that trust in him. – Psalms 18:30
2. With the faithful, God shows himself faithful. – Psalms 18:25
3. He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all–how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? – Romans 8:32
4. And he said unto his servant: quick get me my robe and place it on him. This showing inheritance despite our goodness. We inherit the goodness of God; we do not earn it. – Luke 15:22
5. He enlargeth our feet under us so that our feet do not slip. We don’t have to worry about falling because he holds us up. – Psalms 18:36
6. Syrophoenician woman: Woman, I have not seen such great faith in Israel. God does not limit his goodness to his people but spreads it abroad to all. He is faithful and trustworthy to respond to our faith. If he did it for someone who did not have an inheritance with him through covenant, how much more will he do it for someone who is in covenant with him through birth into the kingdom of Christ through his son Jesus. – Mark 7:24-29
7. Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him, and he will act. – Psalms 37:5 (ESV)
8. Trust in the Lord and he will strengthen your heart. God understands that it gets hard to trust in him sometimes. That is why he has strength specially reserved for his children who trust him. – Psalms 31:24
9. Trust in the Lord and do good. – Psalms 37:3 God understands that sometimes it appears that those who do good get the rough end of the stick; while those who choose to do evil get a break, but God still requires us to trust him. He is so confident in his faithfulness, trustworthiness, and also what he has invested in us that he expects us to still do good in the face of opposition. Besides, if we fall, he has already prepared a way for us to stand back up. Trust him.
10. Trust in the Lord with all of your heart. Lean not to your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him and he will direct your path. God is so confident in his faithfulness and trustworthiness that he wants us to give up all of our trust to him, and not just some of it. – Proverbs 3:5-6
11. Bonus: None that place their hope in the Lord will be made ashamed. This means that the end result will be one that shows in victory and in our favor. Amen. – Psalms 25:3
When You Cannot See Me Just Walk by Faith:
We all grow up looking up to our parents. As we get older, they prepare us to be more mature than we were before by saying things like, “I’m not going to be with you always, and you are going to have to know how to handle yourself.” They taught us. They trained us because they loved us.
Just like our parents train us and wean us off of depending on their every move, so does the Lord train us, but the difference is that the Lord never leaves. He is always present just at times silent. He patiently waits for us to make the choice that we’ve been taught so that we can go on to the next level of maturity, learning, growing, and advancing in the kingdom of God.
As a child, it can seem scary, when our parents share that they won’t always be around, yet they are preparing us. However, our parents have such confidence in what has been taught that they proceed despite the hesitance of the child. Our heavenly father does the same with us.
It feels scary when God is silent as if he is distant, yet he is right there encouraging us like the parents who encourage their child to come on along to maturity. One of the best things that a parent can give their child is exposure to who Jesus is.
Although, my parents aren’t perfect in any form, I am so thankful for the inheritance that they gave me to know who Jesus is. As a child, we were made to watch Christian television. In particularly, my brothers and I were made to watch Frederick K.C. Price. Price is a faith teacher who at the end of every show had a theme song that he sang just after he said, “and we walk by faith not by sight.”
I had awakened one morning years ago while going through something; I heard the theme song and afterward the saying, “and we walk by faith and not by sight.” Afterward, I heard the Lord say when you don’t see me or feel me; walk by faith in those moments.
That bought about so much peace. God was in that moment training me with something that I would need to remember for the rest of my life.
In those moments where I don’t see God, feel God, or know how he is moving, I will need to walk by faith. Interesting that God used a fond memory Pastor Price’s broadcast to forever in grain that into me. It reminds me of my parents, and how they would make sure we paid attention while watching Price and other preachers. If we fell asleep while the teaching was on; we had to stand up until the broadcast was over.
Of course that was uncomfortable at the time, but it was much needed training for what I would face later. God is so good in that he doesn’t allow us to get too comfortable and remain in the same place, but he prepares us for our next level of maturity so that we can conquer everything that he has to set before us. Let’s continue to boldly walk by faith when we don’t see how, when, what, or feel how God will move knowing that we are in preparation by God for our next level of glory and maturity. Through faith in him; we pass every test.
A New Level of Consecration For A New Season:
There are some things that are not wrong, nor sinful, but they can be a distraction from setting our focus on the Lord. There are some promises that come with setting our focus on the Lord such as peace.
Isaiah 26:3 says that those who keep their minds stayed on the Lord will be kept in perfect peace.I am a firm believer in protecting my peace. Peace is a free gift that Jesus has given to those who have believed on him
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. – John 14:27There are many things that will act as distractions in our lives robbing us of our peace and causing us to take our eyes off of Jesus Christ. This can be very dangerous because if we have no peace, and we allow ourselves to be distracted; we can open the door to confusion, anxiety, and simply walking after the flesh. Thus, there is a need to be cautious about when God calls us to a new level of consecration during walking into a new season in our lives.
We don’t altogether know what that season will hold, but God does and he promises to supply our needs. Supplying our needs also include preparation for what’s ahead. Some things I’ve done to increase my consecration in this season is limiting the time on social media. Of course, I just completed a social media fast. Now, that I am back on social media I have set boundaries on how often I will go on. I simply do not want to lose the peace and sensitivity gained during the fast.
I am also going a period of time without listening to any secular music, and finally I’ve dedicated one day per week to fasting from food 6 a.m. – 6 p.m. All of these things will help me to intentionally look at the Lord. This will in turn cause me to become more sensitive to the Lord and help me to maintain my peace as well. When we maintain our peace; we can hear God a lot more easily and clearly. These are all small steps that will lead to a big outcome.
Feel free to join me in this new level of consecration for a new season of my life. I don’t altogether know what this new season holds, but I am excited that God would inspire me to began preparing for it in seeking him more.
Why Dating a Person With a Religious Spirit is Just as Bad as Dating a Worldy Person
The religious person has the appearance of being in Christ. However, instead of abiding in Christ which means to be so submitted to Christ that a person commits to the process of being a true believer. This process includes a willingness to be led by the Spirit of God and the word of God.
Also, it means allowing refinement and growth to take place through submitting to the word of God continually. The religious person still operates according to the standards of the world. He picks and chooses what he will submit to in God’s word making his own standard of righteousness. Here is the worst part. This man is so prideful in his religious spirit that he sees no need to change.
Consequently, the person who operates in the above manner is not fit for marriage because marriage is all about growth for both the man and woman. Humility is also very much so required for the married couple to grow. Without it, the marriage will become stunted and die.
The person who chooses to walk in a religious spirit instead of allowing God’s process of sanctification, preparation, refinement, and freedom through submission to Christ has also stunted his own growth. He thinks he is the bomb, but he is really spiritually dead and nothing will be able to properly grow from him even a healthy and stable marriage until he truly hooks himself into the giver of life—Jesus Christ. Anything outside of the true vine dies.I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.
If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. John 15:5-6The person who builds from a religious spirit becomes responsible for the success of what he builds, but the thing is, a religious person is not equipped to bring success to a marriage, relationship or any such thing.
The foundation cannot be stable because the foundation should always be Jesus Christ and nothing else. We build upon the foundation that Christ has already laid in his word. Any other structure has to come down.Unless the LORD builds a house, its builders labor over it in vain; unless the LORD watches over a city, the watchman stays alert in vain. – Psalms 127:1This religious person is like the one in the below scripture.
Having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people. – 2 Tim 3:5Run from him. Cut him off. Cut him loose. Flee into another direction. For your own sake, leave him alone.
Have You Been Proven?
For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith. Romans 1:17 (KJV)
The righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith. Revealed means to be shown as in to be proven, or placed clearly out into the open. Our character of whether we are walking this Christian thing out by God’s righteousness or our own is revealed through the circumstances that test our faith.
Are we going from faith to faith? When circumstances happen outside of our control that test whether we trust in God or not; are we found trusting in him? Are we growing in faith or faltering in faith. If we are going from faith to faith; we are showing that we have been proven. We are showing that we are truly believers that depend on Christ.
Job was a believer who had been proven. During going through his trial, he remained resolved to continue in faith trusting in God. He made famous the line, “Though he slay me, yet will I trust him. I will defend my cause before God, and this will end in his deliverance for indeed no godless man would be so bold as to plead their cause before God. (Job 13:15-16)”
Job declared with boldness that he was fed up with his friends judging him. He was no longer going to put up with being judged in the courts of men and their limited understanding. He made up his mind that he would plead his cause before God who would judge righteously. He knew that it would turn out that the Lord would deliver him because the Lord is faithful.
Men were judging him according to how things looked. It looked like Job had done something wrong. Why would God allow a man of God to suffer so much? This is often the case in the body of Christ today when believers go through uncommon circumstances that causes them to suffer.
They are often accused of doing something wrong. If we aren’t careful, these accusations can make us want to do wrong. However, Job in the King James Version says in the same scripture that he would maintain his ways before God (Job 13:14). In other words, he has been righteous, and will continue to be righteous, and because of that he isn’t afraid to approach God. He had been proven.
His friends did not note that the Lord was proving Job in the fact that Job was consistent through suffering. You see, when we continue to walk by faith through suffering, it shows that we have been proven. We have been proven that what is inside of us that is causing us to hold on is not of the flesh, but of the Lord. It is the righteousness that springs from God’s work in us himself.
If you are in a proving process or have been in a proving process; don’t be discouraged. Be bold and continue to walk by faith like Job knowing that the end of this thing will result in your deliverance, vindication, and double the blessing of the Lord.
How to Deal With Those Who Devalue Us:
I thank God that the Bible acknowledges the challenges that women of God face with being valued as women of God. Below are just a couple of scriptures in the Bible referencing a woman’s worth.
Who can find a virtuous woman? Her price is far above rubies. – Proverbs 31:10
Whoso finds a wife finds a good thing, and obtains favor of the Lord. – Proverbs 18:22
Despite the mantras clearly stated in the Word of God; many women struggle to hold on to the fact that their rarity and wifely characteristics are something to be celebrated when they consistently meet men who do not see them as such.
Similarly, many upstanding men get the brush off from women because they are not the mean hardcore type. What are we to do in such instances? One of the first things that we can do is to expect it. We can expect the fact that not everyone will love us, nor honor us for who we are and that is okay because God has those that will.
We can conclude within ourselves that no matter what obstacles we face, we will keep going without modifying our standard given to us by God. We can leave up to God those who treat us wrongly knowing that he is the righteous judge and he will deal with them while we forgive. Jesus, the Christ who was tempted in all points yet without sin experienced similar devaluing of himself. Some people will never value who we are no matter how good we become. Let’s look at an account of Jesus being devalued in Matthew 11.
Jesus had done many miracles in the towns of Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum yet many in those towns did not believe in Jesus. Jesus began to correct the people of those towns saying that if he had done the miracles in other towns they would have believed. He shared that on the day of judgment, more mercy will be shown to those who did not see his many miracles and take him for granted as the other towns did.
Jesus was clearly taken for granted. How could they take Jesus for granted? He was the Son of God. He raised people from the dead and healed many that were sick. There were many who heard of the fame of Jesus and would have loved to have had him in their towns up close and personal during that period, but the above towns took Jesus for granted.
Jesus’ Response
He chucked the experience up for what it was, corrected the people and moved on. Where did Jesus move on to? He moved on to those who would value him. He is found just after this experience saying to anyone who will hear to come to him if they need rest.
“Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” – Matthew 11:28-30
I made bold the part about being meek and lowly in the heart because it is a natural temptation to allow life circumstances to allow us to become hardened. After being bluntly disrespected as Jesus was, he could have become hardened and closed himself off from all people. He could have become prideful and very selfish in saving his gifts for only himself, but he instead maintained his humility and invited others in who would value him and what he had to offer.
This is an excellent example of how we are to handle those who dishonor us. Instead of allowing it to cause us to become hardened, locking up who we are, or devaluing ourselves into a woman or man of a lower standard; We learn to move on like Jesus entrusting those who devalue us to the judgment of God.
In doing so, we will keep our hearts soft and pliable toward the Lord, and those that he has assigned to our lives who will value us for who we really are.
An Invitation to Wholeness Through Submission to Christ:
Is God requiring you to submit a particular area of your life over to him? Last week, I was reminded of the familiar story of when Jacob wrestled with God. I had always been curious about this story and how it could apply to my life. Well, last week is when the Lord would give me revelation on this story that directly applies to my personal life.
Just before Jacob settles into a place where he wrestles with God; he is confronted with his past. This past of his brings about anxieties within him that cause him to fear for his very life. In his past, he had tricked his brother, Essau, out of his birthright. The last encounter that he had with his brother was that of an angry Essau, who desired to kill his brother.
Years had gone by since Jacob and Essau had talked. Seeing how he did not leave his brother on peaceful terms, his lack of knowing what to expect from this meeting with his brother only produced much fear and anxiety. He devised ways to keep the situation under control by sending his servants to the front of his entourage to offer gifts, and splitting his entourage into two companies saying if one is attacked perhaps the other can get away. After, Jacob did everything within his power to pacify his brother in preparation to meet him, he prayed to the Lord.
Full of anxiety, he began to remind the Lord of his promise mentioning what God had promised to his father Abraham that he would make his seed as the sands of the earth. Later, that night, he began to wrestle with the Lord. The Bible says that when God knew he was not going to prevail against him; he grabbed his hip and caused it to be out of place. From then on, Jacob walked with a limp.
This has always intrigued me. Why would God not be able to overcome a mere man in a wrestling match? I believe that the wrestling was symbolic of not a physical wrestling match, but a wrestling match of wills and a wrestling match of trust in God. Jacob was so upset about the fear of meeting with his brother that I believe it was hard for him to completely entrust the ordeal completely over to God, How many of us have wrestled with something that we tried to figure out, control, and cope with on our own only to find that our answer is just as simple as submitting that area over to God, and letting him have it.
I believe God wrestling with Jacob was symbolic of God asking him to submit this fear and anxiety to him–To submit his trust in the Lord in this particular area. When God saw that Jacob was bent more on the fear than trusting in him; God had to allow him to be broken to make him dependent on him. I believe that God will allow brokenness in our lives to re-center us back to submitting our trust to him in the area where we are most broken. I believe God wrestling with him was sharing with him that he wanted that broken place not for Jacob to remain broken, but through Christ that God could use brokenness to make him whole.
Wholeness in some areas of our lives will only be realized when we learn to depend on God in those areas. We see that Jacob was preparing to run from the confrontation with his brother. He had separated his entourage into two companies saying to himself, “If Essau attacks one company, the other will have a chance to run and get away.” He was still strategizing on his own to fix the situation that had already been fixed. God had already changed Essau’s heart causing him to desire to reconcile with his brother in forgiveness.
What areas of our lives are we still striving to overcome in? Areas that Jesus has already invited us to walk in freedom in if we only submit those areas over to him. Submitting the areas that we struggle with over to God result in trust in God. When we aren’t so willing to do this, and when we continue to wrestle with God on these issues, he will sometimes cause brokenness or allow brokenness in order to cause us to depend on him.
The sacrifices of God are a broken and contrite spirit and those who give God this offering will see that it isn’t despised (Psalms 51:17). In the place of being broken, we find that God is near to us (Psalms 34:18). This is why brokenness is so important. There are times when all of us as believers must be broken to be whole.
The end result of Jacob’s encounter with God was that his name was changed to Israel. Israel was the name of the nation that was promised to Abraham. God’s response was not only to confirm his promise, but to better upgrade Jacob’s identity into one who had become ready for the promise. He reconciled with his brother. They both fell on one another’s neck and kissed one another. What was once a question of fear, anxiety, and possible death in the end began a story of triumph, restoration, and trust in God. This is what God desires to do in us when we give him our broken places.
Let’s invite God into the personal broken places in our lives. The ugly ones, as well as those that aren’t so ugly and see what he does with it.
Growing Our Intimacy With God through Fasting & Prayer – Pt. IV (Need to Seek the Lord)
In his pride the wicked man does not seek him; in all his thoughts there is no room for God. Psalms 10:4
Not Seeking the Lord is a sign of pride and that we have forgotten him
We all can be prone to forgetting the Lord because of the human nature to forget God while things are going well. God talks about how he chose Israel as a child when she was abandoned in her blood. He took care of her, and when she got old enough, he married her making her a queen and dressing her in the finest garments. She began to take it for granted and to lose all of the fear, thankfulness, and reverence that she had for the Lord in the beginning (Ezekiel 16:6-32.)
This is also figurative of the church. We can easily lose our zeal, fear, adoration, and will toward the Lord when we fail to guard our closeness with God through fasting and prayer. Fasting and prayer helps to prepare our hearts in position toward the Lord our God.
In closing, if we want our hearts to be after God, we have to be intentional about placing our value on God. The below scripture tell us what not to place so much value on because God has already taken care of it.
And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it.For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them. But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well. Luke 12:29-31
Finally, verse 34 in the same passage says, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” In other words, what you treasure or place value on is where your heart will be. Where your heart is will eventually show up in your actions.
This is why the Word of God says, “A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him (Matthew 12:35.) What is in our hearts is so important, and coming to God allows for our heart’s desires to be changed to that which pleases God.
Let’s be like Esther and place value on drawing closer to our king through humility, reverence, fasting, and prayer.
Check out the videos below that recaps this whole mini-series as well as provides additional information on ways to go about seeking the Lord.
Growing Our Intimacy With God Through Fasting and Prayer – Part III (In Faith)
Seeking the Lord with boldness requires faith and a knowing of how God feels about us:
We have been discussing Queen Esther and her relationship with King Ahaseraus when Esther approached him concerning her people. She took a risk in pursuing or approaching the king, but found favor because she was in covenant with the King as his favored and adored wife. He wanted to be with her as much or more than she wanted to be with him, and he was delighted that she had approached him.
When she entered his courts, the golden scepter was extended welcoming her in. He asked her what he could do for her stating that what she wanted he would do up to half of the kingdom. He was clear on how he felt about her, and his love for her specifically to her and all on lookers.
Similarly, God feels the same about us. God is in covenant with us. We are God’s bride through Christ. Biblically speaking, we the church, are considered the bride of Christ. God longs to be with us and for us to seek him. Finally, God also offers to share his kingdom with us just as King Ahasuerus did with Esther.And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. Hebrews 11:6
Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. Luke 12:32Thus, coming to God through fasting and prayer requires us to somewhat know our worth to God, and to like Esther step out on faith. Even though Ahasuerus was the king and had the power to show favor or wrath to Esther, he wanted to reassure her and remind her that she was his choice. Thus, he asked queen Esther a second time during the second banquet what her request was and he would do it up to half of his kingdom.
Just like King Ahasuerus desired his wife to boldly approach him in saying what concerned her; God wants us to do the same.
Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. Hebrews 4:16
Just like King Ahasuerus chose Esther as his wife, and desired to reassure her, God also has chosen us.You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you
so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. John 15:16
Growing Our Intimacy With God Through Fasting & Prayer – Part II (Some Fruit of Fasting)
Last week, we began looking at kings in general for similiarities to God’s character and how to approach God. We have been studying in particularly the story of Esther and King Ahasarus, and we left off discussion how kings are expected to rule in righteousness. Below are a few scriptures to support. Next, we discuss some fruits of fasting and prayer, which is a way to reverence our approach to God eliminating distractions from our life.
Ruling in Righteousness
Below are some scriptures regarding the expectation for kings to rule in righteousness
- Worship the Lord with reverence and rejoice with trembling. – Psalms 2:11
- Loyalty and truth preserve the king , and he upholds his throne by righteousness. – Proverbs 20:28
- It is abomination for kings to commit wicked acts; for a throne is established in righteousness. – Proverbs 16:12
Because of the expectation of righteousness that we have toward God and that we should be able to have toward kings or authority; we should be able to fear with a trust that both God and the kingdom or authority that we are under is for us. Thus, in the story of King Ahasuerus and Esther, we see Esther preparing herself to go before the king. Like Esther prepared herself to go before the king through the humility of fasting and prayer; we ought also to prepare ourselves to go before God.
Fasting is a way to humble ourselves
Esther chose to consecrate herself to the Lord through fasting and prayer before approaching the king. She also asked her people to do the same. Esther knew that she could not approach the king just any kind of a way. It had to be done in reverence. Therefore, she humbled herself. Fasting is a willing way for us to humble ourselves. We willingly make ourselves weak through fasting, and find our strength through intentionally leaning on, and seeking the presence of our King, Our God.
When I fast and pray, I look forward to God’s presence because it literally gives me strength. God’s presence is needed. God himself is needed. Fasting gives proper perspective to our need for God.
Fasting produces clarity
There is a chapter of scripture in Isaiah 58 that deals with fasting. It talks about the purpose in the type of a fast that God calls to humble ourselves, and such. One of the things that the scripture mentions that will happen is that clarity will come.
Then your light will break forth like the dawn,
and your healing will quickly appear; Isaiah 58:8
Light breaking forth is significant of clarity. At first Esther did not know what she was going to do when approached by her Uncle Mordecai to intercede for the Jewish people who’s lives were being threatened. In the beginning, she seemed a bit resolved about whether she could or even should do something about the situation until Mordecai told her if she did not do something, God would raise up deliverance from elsewhere. It was after she fasted she gained clarity on what to do. Now, she had a full plan in place. Her plan was to approach the king, and invite him to a banquet. She was careful in how she bought the very serious matter of her people to the king. She did not just spring it on him.