Tag Archives: I know Whom I have Believed

It’s Not About Feelings??? A Word from THE WORD!!! #43

19 Wednesday Oct 2022

Posted by in Abiding IN Jesus or the World?, Confidence, Consider Your ways, Deceivers, Encouragement, For Such A Time As This, Forever, Forgiveness, God's Faithfulness, God's got you and me!, Good News, Gospel, Grace, Hearing God, HOPE, I Know Whom I Have Beleived, I Will Never Leave You, Listening To God

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It’s Not About Feelings??? A Word from THE WORD!!! #43

 

Maybe you can relate to this idea of “feelings” and how they have come to rule in our culture:  I don’t ‘feel’ like going to work; I don’t’ ‘feel’ like taking care of my family; I don’t ‘feel’ like getting out of bed’; I don’t ‘feel’ loved, or appreciated, or cared for, or able to cope….and the list could go on!  But God has given us clear truth in HIS Word that I pray will encourage you today that no matter how you “feel” right this moment, God Has not given up HIS sovereign control, or HIS love for you and me.

I understand that sometimes we become so overwhelmed with the circumstances that we find ourselves in, that we feel like throwing in the towel, so to speak—to let the lies of the enemy take our joy, our hope, our confidence in our God.  So, I felt that we all needed reminding that “the Lord God omnipotent reigneth”!  (See Revelation 19:6)

Peter gave some great instruction to believers who were facing persecution and difficulty; and we can count on this same truth.  I pray that it will lift you up today.

“Humble yourselves therefore

under the mighty hand of God,

that he may exalt you

in due time:

7 Casting all your care

upon him;

for he careth for you.

8 Be sober,

be vigilant;

because your adversary the devil,

as a roaring lion,

walketh about,

seeking whom he may devour:

9 Whom resist

stedfast in the faith,

knowing that the same afflictions

are accomplished

in your brethren that are in the world.”  1 Peter 5:6-9

The enemy of our souls is ever vigilant, whether we recognize it or not, to devour those who aren’t aware or prepared to “stand fast in the evil day”!  May we truly come to stand on what we know about our Lord, not our feelings that are flighty and change like the wind (especially the Oklahoma winds which never blow the same direction two days in a row, and Satan is always coming in new and surprising ways when we don’t know what God says!)!  We must stand fast in confidence of the sovereign control of God Almighty—who sent Jesus “right on time”!

“Ye men of Israel, hear these words;

Jesus of Nazareth,

a man approved of God

among you

by miracles

and wonders

and signs,

which God did by him

in the midst of you,

as ye yourselves also know:

23 Him,

being delivered

by the determinate counsel

and foreknowledge of God,

ye have taken,

and by wicked hands

have crucified

and slain:” Acts 2:22-23

“But when the fulness of the time was come,

God sent forth his Son,

made of a woman,

made under the law,

5 To redeem them that were under the law,

that we might receive the adoption of sons.

6 And because ye are sons,

God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son

into your hearts,

crying, Abba, Father.

7 Wherefore thou art no more a servant,

but a son;

and if a son,

then an heir of God

through Christ.”  Galatians 4:4-7

We are sons and daughters of God, by the love and grace of God, through the blood that Jesus came to shed for sin, yours and mine!  We don’t have to let the enemy steal our joy, our confidence, or our assurance that God hasn’t gone to sleep and forgotten about us!  HE hasn’t!  He never will!  I must simply choose to believe truth NOT lies!

“Being confident of this very thing,

that he which hath begun a good work

in you

will perform it

until the day of Jesus Christ:” Philippians 1:6

We can stand in what we KNOW!  But we must dig into HIS WORD and find out what God says about us, not what our feelings may say on any given day!

“Whereunto I am appointed a preacher,

and an apostle,

and a teacher of the Gentiles.

12 For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless

I am not ashamed:

for I know whom I have believed,

and am persuaded

that he is able

to keep that

which I have committed

unto him

against that day.

13 Hold fast the form of sound words,

which thou hast heard of me,

in faith

and love

which is in Christ Jesus.”  2 Timothy 1:11-13

And two passages in closing, which are a great comfort and encouragement to me, and I pray that they will help you today as well!

“I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills,

from whence cometh my help.

2 My help cometh from the LORD,

which made heaven and earth.

3 He will not suffer thy foot to be moved:

he that keepeth thee will not slumber.

4 Behold, he that keepeth Israel

shall neither slumber nor sleep.

5 The LORD is thy keeper:

the LORD is thy shade upon thy right hand.

6 The sun shall not smite thee by day,

nor the moon by night.

7 The LORD shall preserve thee

from all evil:

he shall preserve

thy soul.

8 The LORD shall preserve thy going out

and thy coming in

from this time forth,

and even for evermore.”  Psalm 121:1-8

And Paul’s admonition to Timothy is just as necessary for us today!  May God’s blessings of hope, joy and encouragement abound in your heart today.  My heart has been lifted even as I write these words!

“For God hath not given us the spirit of fear;

but of power,

and of love,

and of a sound mind.”  2 Timothy 1:7

 Amen and Amen!!!  Today and every day!!!

Because He IS Able??? Bible Ballistics: Vol. 13 No. 08

07 Sunday Apr 2019

Posted by in A Father's Love, Choices And Consequences, Choose You This Day!, Comfort, Confidence, Encouragement, Every Knee Shall Bow, Faithful is He that has Promised!

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Bible Ballistics: Vol. 13 No.08. Because He IS Able???

 

I started this article on a different vein but felt that I needed to share something that is on my heart.  There are times when we just “feel” discouraged, defeated, confused, or distraught over things that are out of our control.  There are the times that we must rise above our “feelings” and stand on what we know!  And what we know has to be grounded in God and His Word!

“For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless

I am not ashamed:

for I know

whom I have believed,

and am persuaded

that he is able

to keep that

which I have committed

unto him

against that day.

13 Hold fast the form of sound words,

which thou hast heard of me,

in faith

and love

which is in Christ Jesus.”    2 Timothy 1:12-13

Paul told his son-in-the-ministry, Timothy, that his confidence was in Jesus—regardless of his personal suffering for the Gospel or his circumstances; and we can learn a lot from this truth!  I love the old hymn that reiterates this truth as well—because I do “know whom I have believed” and that’s why and how we can “press on”!

Job understood this principle in the midst of the tragedies that overtook him.  He understood it and proclaimed it to his misguided, if well-meaning, friends who insisted that he must have sinned, or these things wouldn’t have happened to him.  While this seems to have been the first of the “prosperity” teaching, Job knew that his relationship with God was sure; even though he came to understand with even more confidence that God has plans that are far beyond what we can comprehend—HE IS God, not us!

“Seek ye the LORD

while he may be found,

call ye upon him

while he is near:

7 Let the wicked

forsake his way,

and the unrighteous man

his thoughts:

and let him return

unto the LORD,

and he will have mercy upon him;

and to our God,

for he will abundantly pardon.

8 For my thoughts

are not your thoughts,

neither are your ways

my ways,

saith the LORD.

9 For as the heavens

are higher than the earth,

so are my ways

higher than your ways,

and my thoughts

than your thoughts.

10 For as the rain cometh down, and the snow

from heaven,

and returneth not thither,

but watereth the earth,

and maketh it bring forth and bud,

that it may give seed

to the sower,

and bread

to the eater:

11 So shall my word be

that goeth forth

out of my mouth:

it shall not return unto me void,

but it shall accomplish

that which I please,

and it shall prosper

in the thing whereto

I sent it.”  Isaiah 55:6-11

As Job so succinctly declared:

“Though he slay me,

yet will I trust in him:

but I will

maintain mine own ways

before him.”  Job 13:15

Job knew that his confidence was in God Almighty, yet he also knew that his responsibility was to live with integrity before the God to whom he would answer. His answer didn’t have to impress his friends, for he would answer to his God!  And so will we—every man, woman, boy and girl, will give an account to the God who created us, and has offered us the salvation that Jesus bought at Calvary! James talked about our need to draw near to Him when we have the opportunity; for that opportunity will not always be available.

“And the LORD said,

My spirit shall not always strive

with man,”  Genesis 6:3a

“Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain,

The spirit that dwelleth in us

lusteth to envy?

6 But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith,

God resisteth the proud,

but giveth grace unto the humble.

7 Submit yourselves therefore

to God.

Resist the devil,

and he will flee from you.

8 Draw nigh to God,

and he will draw nigh to you.

Cleanse your hands,

ye sinners;

and purify your hearts,

ye double minded.”    James 4:6-8

God loves us and has given us His Son, Jesus, who paid for our sin, if we will but come to God through Him (See John 14:6).  And God is ever at work growing us into the image of Jesus (See Romans 8:28-29).  He hasn’t gone to sleep, or forgotten where you are, nor has He taken time off—but He is ever working in our hearts and lives through every circumstance!  And I trust Him!  He has ever proven Himself faithful, especially in those times when I simply had to cling to what I know to be true, and march through my house repeating to myself, “I’m not giving up!  I’m not giving up!  I’m not giving up!”  For just like Paul, I cling to the fact (not the fairytale) that God is God, and I belong to Him!

“Being confident

of this very thing,

that he which hath begun a good work

in you

 will perform it

until the day of Jesus Christ:”    Philippians 1:6

He has me/you in His hand—we who have come to Jesus in repentance and faith in HIS substitutionary (in my place), atoning (Paying the debt I owed), sacrifice for sin (because I owed a debt I could never pay!)!  God is ever at work on our behalf!  Always!

“When thou passest through the waters,

I will be with thee;

and through the rivers,

they shall not overflow thee:

when thou walkest through the fire,

thou shalt not be burned;

neither shall the flame kindle upon thee.

3 For I am the LORD thy God,”  Isaiah 43:2-3a

You can trust in HIS care!  I know that some of you are walking through the fire today; yet God Almighty has never lost sight of where you are!  He has you in His hand.  Just look up, walk forward and press on with Jesus!

“But thanks be to God,

which giveth us the victory

through our Lord Jesus Christ.

58 Therefore, my beloved brethren,

be ye stedfast,

unmoveable,

always abounding

in the work of the Lord,

forasmuch as ye know

that your labour

is not in vain

in the Lord.”   1 Corinthians 15:57-58

In other words—We Win!!!  So, tie a knot in that rope you’re holding onto, look up to the One who has the other end of that rope, and walk forward in confidence in HIM—not your feelings, or your circumstances!

And I’d simply like to close today with one of my favorite Psalms!

“I will lift up mine eyes

unto the hills,

from whence cometh my help.

2 My help cometh

from the LORD,

which made heaven

and earth.

3 He will not suffer thy foot

to be moved:

he that keepeth thee

will not slumber.

4 Behold, he that keepeth Israel

shall neither slumber

nor sleep.

5 The LORD is thy keeper:

the LORD is thy shade

upon thy right hand.

6 The sun shall not smite thee

by day,

nor the moon

by night.

7 The LORD shall preserve thee

from all evil:

he shall preserve

thy soul.

8 The LORD shall preserve

thy going out

and thy coming in

from this time forth,

and even for evermore.”   Psalm 121:1-8 

God’s got this—remember that you/I can “know whom I have believed” because we are “persuaded that he is able”, for HE IS always able!  Look up at The Lord—not around at the ‘lions’ nipping at your heels!

Amen and Amen!!!