Don’t be a phony

This is the day that the Lord has made, I will rejoice and be glad in it! I hope you are as well. Many of you are aware that one of my favorite books is Rick Renner's "Sparkling Gems from the Greek" After I read from my Bible, I read from this book. It ministers to me every day. That is why I often share thoughts with you from this book. I would like to do the same today.

Romans 12:9 Let love be without dissimulation.

Have you ever heard the words "I love you" from someone you really believed to be your friend, only to find out later that this same person talked behind your back, gossiped about you, and didn't treat you the way a real friend would? If you confronted that person about his actions, did he admit what he did and apologize for it? Or did he lie and try to cover up his deeds, even though you already knew the facts? Did it deeply disturb you to see him put on a fake face and pretend that he was your best friend and that none of the allegations were true, even though you knew he was lying?

If you have ever experienced a situation like this, you know how very hurtful it is when a "so-called" friend behaves this way. It shows a level of hypocrisy that is deeply disturbing. This type of behavior should never occur among believers, but unfortunately it does from time to time. To make sure you never fall into this kind of hypocrisy, the apostle Paul wrote and told you, "Let love be without dissimulation."

Before we get to the word "dissimulation," which is our primary theme today, we must first look at the word "love." It is the Greek word agape, a word that describes the highest, finest, and most noble kind of love. In the New Testament, it is the single word that is used to describe the love of God. The word agape is so filled with deep emotion and meaning that it is one of the most difficult words to translate in the New Testament.

Agape occurs when an individual sees, recognizes, understands, or appreciates the value of an object or a person, causing the viewer to behold this object or person in great esteem, awe, admiration, wonder, and sincere appreciation. Such great respect is awakened in the heart of the observer for the object or person he is beholding that he is compelled to love it. In fact, his love for that person or object is so strong that it is irresistible.

In the New Testament, perhaps the best example of agape is found in John 3:16:
"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." In the phrase, "For God so loved the world," the word "love" is the word agape.

The human race was so precious to God and He loved man so deeply that His heart was stirred to reach out and do something to save him. In other words, God's love drove Him to action. You see, agape loves so profoundly that it knows no limits or boundaries in how far, wide, high, and deep it will go to show that love to its recipient. If necessary, agape love will even sacrifice itself for the sake of that object or person it so deeply cherishes. You can see from this description why agape is the highest, finest, and most noble form of love.

This is precisely the kind of love that should exist between believers. For instance, the apostle John wrote, "My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth" (1 John 3:18). The word "love" in this verse is the word agape. The apostle John makes it very clear that real agape love is not merely a matter of speaking easy and empty words; rather, agape is accompanied by actions that are truthful. It is simply hypocritical to claim to possess such love while at the same time engaging in unfaithful behavior such as backbiting and gossiping. Agape would never behave in such a manner; rather, it is forgiving and helpful, willing even to sacrifice itself for the sake of someone else.

This is why Paul wrote, "Let love be without dissimulation." The King James Version uses the old word "dissimulation," but the Greek word is anupokritos, and it describes something that is pretended, simulated, faked, feigned, or phony. It pictures a person who deliberately gives a certain impression, even though he knows the impression he is giving is untrue. In other words, this person is a phony.

So when the apostle Paul tells us to walk in love that is without dissimulation, he means this:

"If you are going to say you love someone, then make sure you really love them. Don't give an impression that isn't true. Don't say one thing and then do another. Your love should be without hypocrisy, so don't be phony when it comes to the subject of love."

Now let me ask you this question: Have you ever been two-faced with people who thought you were their friend? Did you say one thing to them but later talk behind their backs? Did you do exactly the same thing that someone else is doing to you right now? Is it possible that you are reaping what you have sown?

Instead of getting bitter and hardhearted toward someone who has acted hypocritically in his friendship with you, learn from this experience. Make a decision that you will not be phony or hypocritical in your relationships the way this person was to you.

Meanwhile, make sure you forgive those who have wronged you. Let it go, and do your best to overlook their inconsistencies. The Lord will probably deal with them about their actions, so if they come to you in repentance, let them know they are forgiven. But most importantly, let this be a time when you decide that you will not be guilty of giving a false impression to a friend. Let your love be real. Don't be a phony.
Blessings!

Pastor Rusty

The Voice of Truth

This is the day that the Lord has made, I will rejoice and be glad in it. Enjoy this day and fulfill all of the potential that God has put within in it.
I woke up this morning with "The Voice of Truth" song going through my mind. I began to hum it, and then sing it. As I began to type this blog, I couldn't get away from it. Let me share with you the lyrics to this anointed song:

Oh what I would do to have, The kind of faith it takes, To climb out of this boat I'm in. Onto the crashing waves

To step out of my comfort zone, Into the realm of the unknown where Jesus is. And He's holding out His hand

But the waves are calling out my name, And they laugh at me. Reminding me of all the times I've tried before and failed. The waves they keep on telling me Time and time again. "Boy, you'll never win!" "You'll never win!"

Chorus:
But the voice of truth tells me a different story
The voice of truth says, "Do not be afraid!"
The voice of truth says, "This is for My glory"
Out of all the voices calling out to me
I will choose to listen and believe the voice of truth

Oh what I would do to have The kind of strength it takes to stand before a giant With just a sling and a stone. Surrounded by the sound of a thousand warriors Shaking in their armor Wishing they'd have had the strength to stand

But the giant's calling out my name And he laughs at me. Reminding me of all the times I've tried before and failed. The giant keeps on telling me Time and time again. "Boy you'll never win!"
"You'll never win!"

Chorus:
But the voice of truth tells me a different story
The voice of truth says, "Do not be afraid!"
The voice of truth says, "This is for My glory"
Out of all the voices calling out to me
I will choose to listen and believe the voice of truth

But the stone was just the right size To put the giant on the ground. And the waves they don't seem so high From on top of them lookin' down. I will soar with the wings of eagles When I stop and listen to the sound of Jesus Singing over me.

I will choose to listen and believe the voice of truth. The enemy will make sure that we hear LIES, that attempts to breed FEAR, DOUBT, WORRY, ANGER, FRUSTRATION, etc. In the midst of those lies, God is speaking to us, and His voice is the VOICE OF TRUTH.

You see, we really do have a choice who we will listen to. Several weeks ago I posted a blog entitled, "Casting down imaginations." I want to borrow from that blog and share a couple of thoughts again.

What are these lies and where do they come from? They are thoughts contrary to the truth. About this concept Paul writes "Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ" (2 Corinthians 10:5 KJV). This is one of my favorite verses in the Bible. Let's notice a couple of things about it.

First, what is an imagination? An imagination is something that seems to be real but has no substance to it. Imaginations are in our mind and they are incorrect reasoning's or thoughts. They are against the knowledge of God. Not the knowledge about God but the knowledge that comes from God. Imaginations are the opposite of truth.

This passage goes on to say that these imaginations "exalt itself against the knowledge of God." This means that these lies attempt to become greater than God's Word in our minds. They pretend to be bigger or more powerful than our God. They are lies that are more real to us than the truth.

Let's take a moment and examine what that looks like? Remember when Satan came to tempt Eve. "And the serpent said to the woman, "You surely shall not die! "For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil" (Genesis 3:4-5 NAS).
The lie became more real to Eve than the truth and so she sinned. The same can be true for you and me. Where are we believing a lie that is directly contrary to God' truth? "Casting all your anxiety upon Him, because He cares for you" (I Peter 5:7 NAS). The truth is that God cares for us. The result of believing the truth is we are not anxious.

A companion verse is found in Philippians.
"Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God" (Philippians 4:6 NAS). The truth is that we can go to God about all our concerns. The result of believing this truth is that we are not anxious. What is anxiety? It is the result of not believing the truth. It is what believing the lie looks like. It is the evidence of the lie being bigger or more powerful than God.

Where do these lies come from? "The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds" (2 Corinthians 10:4 NIV). These lies are called "strongholds" They are strongholds in our mind, lies that are more real than the truth. The terminology here is that of spiritual warfare. We are fighting and there are weapons involved.

Concerning this battle Paul wrote, "Finally, be strong in the Lord, and in the strength of His might. Put on the full armor of God, that you may be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil" (Ephesians 6:10-11 NAS). We are fighting the schemes of the devil. To do this we must remember that Satan is a liar. He lied to himself, convincing himself that he was bigger and greater than God. He lied to Adam and Eve, that they could be gods. And he lies to you and me. Satan doesn't tempt us to commit sins. He tempts us to not believe God, and then the sins automatically follow.

When God says we can trust Him, Satan will tell us we can't. When God tells us to humble ourselves and He will exalt us in due time, Satan says no he won't, we have to promote ourselves now. When God says to forgive, Satan says no, he or she doesn't deserve it.

Where is the battle? The primary battlefield is the mind. "Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ" (2 Corinthians 10:5 KJV). Look at the words "imaginations, knowledge, and thoughts." These all speak of our mind. Our mind is a battlefield. The challenge for believers is to take back our thought life and take it captive to Christ instead. The way to influence behavior is to influence thinking. Who or what controls your mind controls your life.

Satan is so effective in his lies that after a while he has built in us "strongholds" or fortresses of lies that we believe strongly. Think of it as a wall around a city. The wall is built one brick at a time until the wall is thick and high. These are lies that have been reinforced time and time again. The goal of spiritual warfare is to tear down these walls, fortresses of lies. The first step is to DAILY listen to the VOICE OF TRUTH by reading and meditating upon God's Word. You will have a very difficult time discerning the Voice of Truth if you don't habitually spend time in God's Word. Why not start right now! Blessings!

Pastor Rusty

Peace be STILL…AND THE WIND CEASED

God laid the following verse upon my heart when I first woke up this morning. I believe that God wants to calm some storms today in your life.

And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full. And He [Jesus] arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. Mark 4:37,39

I would like to share something that I read from Rick Renner's "Sparkling Gems from the Greek" concerning this verse.

Anytime you are on the front lines of battle doing something significant for the Kingdom of God, the enemy's attacks against your life will escalate. I'm not telling you this to scare you, but to mentally equip you. That way when the attacks come, you won't be taken by surprise!

Being mentally prepared for a spiritual attack is very important. If you are familiar with the devil's tactics, his assaults won't take you off guard or by surprise when they intensify against you. You'll be able to recognize and resist every demonic attack, rejoicing in the Lord because you know what's happening.

Jesus came under this kind of intense attack when He was crossing the Sea of Galilee with His disciples on His way to cast a legion of demons out of the demoniac of Gadara. This demon-possessed man was an important weapon in Satan's arsenal. Through the actions of the demoniac of Gadara, the devil had held the countryside hostage with fear for a very long time. The demoniac was so legendary that people throughout the entire coastland region knew of him.

The devil knew that if Jesus crossed the Sea of Galilee that night and reached the other side, He would cast the demons out of that man. When that happened, Satan would lose the weapon he had long used to terrorize the whole countryside.

So as Jesus and His disciples crossed the Sea of Galilee that night, violent and destructive winds seemed to come from out of nowhere to capsize Jesus' boat and drown Him and His disciples in the middle of the sea. Mark 4:37 says, "And there arose a great storm of wind."

The phrase "there arose" is taken from the Greek word ginomai, which in this case describes something that happens unexpectedly or something that catches one off-guard. This plainly tells us that Jesus and His disciples did not expect bad weather that night. The Greek word ginomai emphatically means that this event completely took the disciples by surprise.

To let us know the size of this storm, Mark uses the Greek word mega, which denotes something of massive proportions. It is where we get the idea of mega-bills, mega-work, and megaphone. Because Mark uses the word mega, it alerts us to the fact that this was a mega-storm with mega-winds!

The word "wind" is the Greek word lalaipsi, which means this was a turbulent or terribly violent wind. This word can also be translated hurricane, cyclone, tempest, gale, windstorm, a furious tempest, or a fierce squall. Therefore, we know the storm that came against Jesus that night was no small breeze. It was a formidable, crushing, overpowering type of storm.

One very important fact must be pointed out: This was a windstorm. There is no mention of rain at all because this was a storm of wind. Jesus and His disciples could feel its effects as the wind blew against them and their boat. They could see the raging waves that were tossed to and fro by this violent wind. However, the windstorm that had come to overturn their boat in the middle of Sea of Galilee and to kill them before they reached the other side was invisible.

The Greek words in Mark 4:37 gives this idea: "And suddenly and unexpectantly — as if it came from out of nowhere — there arose a gale of wind. It was a ferocious tempest with winds that were terribly violent, turbulent, and overpowering."

Here was Jesus — on the brink of one of the greatest miracles of His ministry. At the same time, there was the devil, fearing that he was about to lose one of his most highly prized weapons of terrorism. It was at this exact moment that this violent, destructive turbulence came down upon Jesus and His disciples.

The occurrence of the storm at this exact moment was no accident. The devil didn't want Jesus to reclaim one of his most prized captives. This was a preemptive strike of the devil to undo the work of God.

But that night in the midst of the storm, Jesus arose and took authority over the situation. The Bible says that when He exercised His authority over this unseen turbulence, ".the wind ceased, and there was a great calm" (Mark 4:39). In doing this, Jesus demonstrated that He was the Lord of the wind and the waves. This potentially deadly situation provided a great opportunity for the disciples to learn that Jesus Christ is truly Lord over all!

Rest assured — Satan will certainly try to attack you with unexpected turbulence from time to time. His attacks against you will probably escalate whenever you're right on the edge of a breakthrough, as was the case with Jesus that night. But just as that event provided an opportunity for Jesus to demonstrate His power and authority, you need to see each demonic attack against you as an opportunity to rise up, take authority, and demonstrate who you are in Jesus Christ!

Mentally and spiritually prepare yourself to deal with the devil's attacks. Put on the whole armor of God. Rise up and take authority in Jesus' name over the wind and the waves that come against you and your family. Never forget that this is your golden opportunity to see a demonstration of God's power in your life! Blessings!

Pastor Rusty

A Sound Mind

What Does It Mean To Have a 'Sound Mind'? I would like to share something with you that I read today in Rick Renner's "Sparkling Gems from the Greek".

2 Timothy 1:7 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

In moments of stress, pressure, or fear or when you're so exhausted you can't think straight, have you ever been tempted to say, "Dear God, what is wrong with me? I feel like I'm losing my mind"?

If you've ever felt this way before or if you're tempted to think like this right now, let me assure you: You're not going crazy! God's Word declares that you have been given a sound mind that works even in the craziest and most difficult situations!

Let me give you an example from the Bible. When Paul wrote the book of Second Timothy, it was a very difficult time for the Early Church. Due to Nero's insanity, he was persecuting believers everywhere — and his methods of persecution were gruesome and cruel. At that time, Timothy was the pastor of the church of Ephesus. He knew that Nero's secret police would take special pleasure in killing him in some barbaric way if they ever got their hands on him.

As Timothy considered the threat against his life, a spirit of fear tried to grab hold of him. That's why Paul told Timothy in Second Timothy 1:7, "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind."

I want to especially point your focus to the words "sound mind." This phrase is taken from the Greek word sophroneo, which is a compound word combining sodzo and phroneo. The Greek word sodzo means to be saved or delivered. It suggests something that is delivered, rescued, revived, salvaged, and protected and now safe and secure. One expositor suggests that the word sodzo could actually depict a person who was on the verge of death but then was revived and resuscitated because new life was breathed into him.

The second part of the phrase "sound mind" comes from the Greek word phroneo, which carries the idea of a person's intelligence or total frame of thinking — including his rationale, logic, and emotions. The word phroneo refers to every part of the human mind, including all the processes that are engaged in making the mind function and come to conclusions.

When the words sodzo and phroneo are compounded into one word, they form the word sophroneo, which pictures a mind that has been delivered, rescued, revived, salvaged, and protected and is now safe and secure. Thus, even if your mind is tempted to succumb to fear, as was the case with Timothy, you can allow God's Word and the Holy Spirit to work in you to deliver, rescue, revive, and salvage your mind. This means your rationale, logic, and emotions can be shielded from the illogically absurd, ridiculous, unfounded, and crazy thoughts that have tried to grip your mind in the past. All you have to do is grab hold of God's Word and His Spirit.

The word sophroneo in Second Timothy 1:7 could be translated:

"God has not given you a spirit of fear, but of power and of love — He has given you a mind that has been delivered, rescued, revived, salvaged, protected, and brought into a place of safety and security so that it is no longer affected by illogical, unfounded, and absurd thoughts."

You see, when your mind is guarded by the Word of God, you think differently. When the Word of God is allowed to work in your mind, it safeguards your emotions; it defends your mind from demonic assault; and it shields you from arrows the enemy may try to shoot in your direction in order to arouse a spirit of fear inside you.

Why is it important for you to understand this? Because when you begin to live a life of faith — when you reach out to do the impossible — the enemy will try to assault you mentally and emotionally in an attempt to stop your progress. For instance, he may speak to your mind, saying things like, You can't do this! This doesn't make sense! Are you crazy?

So what do you do when the devil tries to convince you that you're losing your mind? What do you do if you're confused due to stressful situations and so tempted to fear that you can't think straight? Go get alone with the Lord and give Him your concerns. As you focus on Jesus and release all those burdens, you'll find that your mind is working fine! Second Timothy 1:7 promises you a sound mind; therefore, you have the right and privilege to tell the devil to shut up and then to declare by faith that your mind is sound, safe, and secure!

Pastor Rusty

"As the heavens are higher than the earth"

This is THE day that the Lord has made, I will rejoice and be glad in it. I hope you woke up this morning thinking about how blessed you really are. The ability to see, hear, walk, feel, breathe, talk are just a few of the many things that I take for granted daily. I was reading this morning about MILLIONS of Chinese people that are homeless after the earthquake. Many are living in make shift shelters...yes, I take much for granted. I don't thank God DAILY for my home.

Even when there are times that I can't understand WHY I am going through a difficult trial or battle, I need to have an attitude of gratitude because that God hasn't forgotten about me, and is really working on my behalf. I may not be able to figure out what He is doing, but when I realize that He is God and I am not, it helps me to trust Him more. Another thing that I need to do is remember God's nature and character...He is LOVE, and He really is a GOOD God, even when I can't understand. I heard someone say recently, "when you can't trace His hands, TRUST His heart." How true! Please read the following verse slowly, and let it get down into your Spirit:

Isaiah 55:8-9 “My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are my ways your ways, “ declares the Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”

Astronomers have spied galaxies 12.3 billion light-years from earth. To put that distance into perspective, consider the fact that light traveling 186,000 miles per second only takes eight minutes to travel the 93 million miles between the sun and planet earth. Sunlight is only eight minutes old. But light from the furthest galaxy takes 12.3 billion years to get here. That distance is virtually incomprehensible! And God says that is about the distance between His thoughts and our thoughts. Your best thought about God on your best day falls 12.3 billion light years short of how great and how good God really is. We underestimate God’s goodness and greatness by at least 12.3 billion light-years.

You know what the greatest tragedy in life is? It is someone whose god gets smaller and smaller with each passing day. I never want that to happen in my life. To keep that from happening, I take inventory of my life every morning, and then take the first few moments to thank God and give Him praise, regardless what I may be facing at this very moment. I remind myself, "This truly is the day that the Lord has made, NOW I WILL rejoice and be glad in it."

You really CAN trust God's ways, because you can trust His heart! He is a GOOD God and He is LOVE, so go ahead and give Him thanks and praise, in spite of what you are experiencing or feeling. REMEMBER...you are underestimating God's thoughts and ways by at least 12.3 billion light-years. Blessings!

Pastor Rusty

“Daddy, I found you!”

This is the day that the Lord has made, I will rejoice and be glad in it! I hope you are as well. I apologize for taking a four day break from my blog. I didn't really intend to, but it just happened. Thanks for those who sent me an email, text, or phone call to let me know that you missed by blog. We had a great service this past weekend as Tonya Reeves shared her testimony of God's grace and mercy. She shared how she woke up one day and a light came on in her spirit. She just knew that she was going to make it, that she had turned the corner. That reminded me of a story I read recently, please allow me to share it with you.

In his book Jesus Among Other Gods, Ravi Zacharias tells a story about a girl who became hopelessly lost in a dark and dense forest. She called and screamed, but to no avail. Her alarmed parents and a group of volunteers searched frantically for her. When darkness fell, they had to give up for the night.

Early the next morning the girl's father reentered the forest to search for her and spied her fast asleep on a rock. He called her name and ran toward her. Startled awake, she threw her arms out to him. As he picked her up and hugged her, she repeated over and over, "Daddy, I found you!"

Applying this story to Mary Magdalene's search for Jesus in John 20, Zacharias comments: "Mary discovered the most startling truth of all when she came looking for the body of Jesus. She did not realize that the person she had found was the One who was risen, and that He had come looking for her."

We who believe on Jesus sometimes speak of "finding" Him. But why did we seek Him in the first place? Because, like the shepherd who went out into the darkness to find one lost sheep, God seeks us. He is waiting for us to realize our lostness and reach out to Him. He will pick us up, embrace us, and give us His peace. Aren't you glad that Jesus came looking for you? Please notice a few things from the following verse:

Matthew 14:22-27 (22) As soon as the meal was finished, he insisted that the disciples get in the boat and go on ahead to the other side while he dismissed the people. With the crowd dispersed, he climbed the mountain so he could be by himself and pray. He stayed there alone, late into the night. (24) Meanwhile, the boat was far out to sea when the wind came up against them and they were battered by the waves. (25) At about four o'clock in the morning, Jesus came toward them walking on the water. (26) They were scared out of their wits. "A ghost!" they said, crying out in terror. (27) But Jesus was quick to comfort them. "Courage, it's me. Don't be afraid."

• The Disciples were in the storm because Jesus INSISTED that they get into a boat (v.22) As soon as the meal was finished, he insisted that the disciples get in the boat and go on ahead to the other side while he dismissed the people.
  

Since He was Jesus, the Son of God, didn't He know that He was sending them into a storm? Why did He go into the mountain to pray, and send them away from Him? I am certain these are some of the questions that these men had. They are also some questions that some of you have. "Couldn't Jesus have kept me from this storm? Why do I have to face this situation?" Why the Disciples didn't know, that Jesus did…He was going to come TO THEM in a miraculous way…WALKING ON THE WATER. He will do the same for you as you continue to put your trust in Him.

• The Disciples were in a storm that seemingly took them a long way from where Jesus was. (24) Meanwhile, the boat was far out to sea…
  

Jesus was back on shore and they kept drifting farther and farther from shore. With every gust of wind, they found themselves further into the chaos and fear of the storm. I'm certain they felt like Jesus was miles and miles away and couldn't do anything to help them in this storm. Just a few days earlier He had been on the boat with them during the storm. He had calmed the storm…but now what were they going to do? There are some reading this blog today and you feel with each passing moment you are drifting farther and farther from God's miraculous provision. "Why God? Why?" is the prevailing question in your mind and heart. I want you to know that God understands your frustrations, fears and questions.

• They had gotten to the point where they were BATTERED by the storm. This word means that they were facing a HOSTILE situation, a very real adversary had come against them.
  

In the midst of your storm, maybe you are feeling battered today, maybe you even feel like giving up. You are tired emotionally, physically and spiritually, and just don't want to go on. You feel all alone and wonder if anyone cares for you. My friend, I have good news for you…JESUS CAME TO THEM and He will come TO YOU as well. The enemy wants you to quit, because he someone senses that you are on the brink of your breakthrough. I believe that the birth of a miracle is surrounded by spiritual warfare. Yes, the enemy will fight with everything that he has to keep you from victory, but you must determine to push on, to keep your faith in Jesus Christ! Notice the rest of the story…

• Jesus came to them around 4 am in the morning, WALKING ON THE WATER.

The storm was in full force, they truly thought they were about to die, and just before they give up, they see what they believe is a GHOST coming towards them. Fishermen were very superstitious and had been taught that if you see a ghost while you were fishing, it was a sign that you were going to have a shipwreck. So, of course, their old way of thinking and living tried to surface because of fear. That is exactly what happens to so many of God's children in the midst of a storm. The enemy tries to get you to respond like you "used to" before you gave your life to Christ. "Why don't you try drugs, alcohol, sex, money, etc to bring you some hope and encouragement for this storm." The devil is a liar and destroyer. You rebuke his lies and continue to trust that Jesus is coming to you!

In our story, Simon Peter got out of the boat, at Jesus' command and went to Jesus. Peter began to sink, and Jesus came TO HIM and lifted him up and walked with him back to the boat. As soon as Jesus arrived at the boat, the wind ceased and the storm was over. My friends, TODAY realize that Jesus is coming TO YOU even if you don't feel like He is. The enemy will try to distort your view of Jesus, maybe even trying to get you to go back to your old way of life, but you rebuke the enemy and PRESS ON by faith knowing that Jesus PROMISED to NEVER leave you or forsake you.

I love you and want you to know that you are not alone in your storm! Blessings.

Pastor Rusty

Congratulations Pastor Clayton and Mrs. Laurie

This is the day that the Lord has made, I will rejoice and be glad in it. I hope that you will pause and truly rejoice in God's faithfulness and goodness to you this morning.

We have been at our Arkansas District Council this week, and have had a blast. District Council is an annual business meeting for the ministers of the Arkansas Assemblies of God. What an awesome opportunity that we have had to spend time with our daughter, son-in-law and two grandaughters. Here is a picture of my M&M's kissing their "big-daddy". You can tell that I was soaking it up. Great times!

The highlight of the Council for me was watching our Associate Pastor, Clayton Adams, and his wife Laurie receive their Ordination. I had tears in my eyes as I watched Clayton walk across the front of the church. We are so blessed to have the Adams' family on our staff. What a blessing they are to our church. They serve tirelessly, and with great integrity and character.

Pastor Clayton is an example of someone that perseveres and works hard to achieve a dream. He moved to Arkansas several years ago with a truck company and God called him into full time ministry, and he has dilgently strived to follow God wholeheartedly. Last night was the culmination and reward for his faithfulness.

Pastor Clayton and Mrs. Laurie, we love you and are very proud of you and thankful that you are a part of our family at West Memphis First Assembly. We are blessed, and I personally am so thankful that you guys are on our pastoral team!


Pastor Rusty

Fullness

Good morning!
This is the day the Lord has made and I will rejoice and be glad in it!
I pray you are rejoicing in this wonderful day!

I wanted to share a scripture with you very quickly this morning. I am at a minister's meeting and my time is limited.

John 10:10 says "I have come that they may have life and have it to the full." Niv - KJV says "more abundantly".

God desires that our life be full of happiness, joy and abundance of the goodness of God. So many times we live beneath the joys and privileges that God has for us. So many times we make decisions that do not allow God to pour His fullness into us.

I pray you meditate on this Word today. If you do not feel you are living life in the abundance of the goodness of God or in the abundance of the joy of His fellowship, it is not because that is God's will. His will is that you are living life abundantly.

Search your heart and your life. See if there are decisions you have made that have taken you out of His abundance. Seek Him and get back on the track He has for you!

He desires to satisfy you with overflowing of happiness. Your circumstances do not (or should not) determine your joy or your happiness. Set your heart and mind on Him and allow His peace to flood your soul.

It is my prayer that each of you discover the joy of living in the "more abundantly" side of life.

Pastor Rusty

Five Steps in Handling Common Frustrations

Yesterday we discussed common frustrations that we all face. Today, let's find out what we can do about them!


Step #1: Ask yourself, "Did I cause it?"

Galatians 6:7 (GNB) Do not deceive yourselves; no one makes a fool of God. You will reap exactly what you plant.
When you've got an irritation, when you've got a frustration, ask yourself, "Did I bring this on myself? Why am I frustrated? Did I cause it?" Many things in life we are frustrated by we brought on ourselves. We don't have anybody else to blame. We're reaping what we've sown. You have to be honest. I'm pressured by an interruption because I've got a deadline to meet. Probably the reasons you're pressured is because you procrastinated and didn't start soon enough and tried to do it in a little amount of time instead of doing it in what it took. You run out of gas on a trip and that's frustrating. But who's to blame? You simply didn't prepare. You didn't stop to get gas. So don't blame anybody else, you're reaping what you've sown.

A key that the book of Proverbs teaches through those 31 chapters is this principle: the Principle of Learning to Live on a Margin. In other words, the reason why we get under a lot of stress is because... if it cost $15, we allocate exactly $15 instead of $18; and if it's going to take us 21 minutes to get to a meeting, we allocate exactly 21 minutes instead of 25 or 30. And we all know that most of the time it is going to take longer than you thought it would, and it's going to cost more than you thought it would. Part of the reason we're under constant stress and frustrated by little things is we allocate just the amount of time instead of allocating a little extra and then enjoying the peace that comes with that when you get there five minutes early or have a little left over. Learn to live on a margin.

Step #2: You ask yourself, "What can I learn from it?

Romans 8:28 (GNB) We know that in all things God works for good with those who love him, those whom he has called according to his purpose.

Use the irritation as an opportunity to grow in character. Use the irritation as an opportunity to be more like Christ. Use it, don't just endure it. How does God produce the fruit of the Spirit in our lives? He allows you in the opposite situation. If God wants to teach you love, He will put you around unlovely people. It's easy to love people who are lovely. If God wants to teach you joy, He will allow you to go through difficult times where you can learn inner joy which is different from happiness. If God wants to teach you peace, He will allow you in a situation which is total chaos so you can have inner peace. If God wants to teach you patience, He'll allow you to be in lines or put you in rush hour traffic. We learn the fruit of the Spirit by being placed in the opposite situation.

That's what Romans 8:28-29 is all about, "All things work together for good." He does not say, all things are good, because there are many bad things in the world, but all things work together and even the negative God can turn into a positive if we will let Him.

The oyster takes an irritation, a grain of sand, and turns it into a pearl. You can turn the irritations in your life into pearls if you respond in the right way.

Step #3: Thank God in the situation

Philippians 4:6 (GNB) Don't worry about anything, but in all your prayers ask God for what you need, always asking him with a thankful heart.

1Thessalonians 5:18 (GNB) be thankful in all circumstances. This is what God wants from you in your life in union with Christ Jesus.

You say, "But you don't know my problems!" Two of the hardest verses in the Bible to obey are Philippians 4:6 "Worry about nothing" and 1 Thessalonians 5:18 "In everything give thanks"

You thank God in the situation because that frustration, that irritation, that inconvenience, that interruption, may be a blessing in disguise. It may be an opportunity. Opportunities love to come to us disguised as irritations or inconveniences. They don't wear a sign that says, "I am a blessing. Notice me. I am a tremendous opportunity. Take advantage of me." No, half the time we never realize they were opportunities until later. In retrospect you say, "Now I see what God was trying to do!"

In Chinese, the symbol for the word "crisis" is made up of two words -- "danger" and "opportunity". You put them together and you get "crisis". In every crisis there is both danger and there is opportunity. In every frustration, there is irritation and opportunity.

Winston Churchill failed sixth grade. He was subsequently defeated in every election for public office until he became Prime Minister at the age of 62. He later wrote, "Never give in, never give in, never, never, never, never - in nothing, great or small, large or petty - never give in except to convictions of honor and good sense. Never, Never, Never, Never give up." (his capitals, mind you)

Thomas Edison's teachers said he was "too stupid to learn anything." He was fired from his first two jobs for being "non-productive." As an inventor, Edison made 1,000 unsuccessful attempts at inventing the light bulb. When a reporter asked, "How did it feel to fail 1,000 times?" Edison replied, "I didn't fail 1,000 times. The light bulb was an invention with 1,000 steps."

Albert Einstein did not speak until he was 4-years-old and did not read until he was 7. His parents thought he was "sub-normal," and one of his teachers described him as "mentally slow, unsociable, and adrift forever in foolish dreams." He was expelled from school and was refused admittance to the Zurich Polytechnic School. He did eventually learn to speak and read. Even to do a little math.

Walt Disney was fired by a newspaper editor because "he lacked imagination and had no good ideas." He went bankrupt several times before he built Disneyland. In fact, the proposed park was rejected by the city of Anaheim on the grounds that it would only attract riffraff.

Charles Schultz had every cartoon he submitted rejected by his high school yearbook staff. Oh, and Walt Disney wouldn't hire him.

When Lucille Ball began studying to be an actress in 1927, she was told by the head instructor of the John Murray Anderson Drama School, "Try any other profession."

You can look at Paul and see how he wanted to go to Rome to preach, but God took Paul to Rome to be in prison and write the letters which formed the New Testament. I'm certain that Paul was frustrated but God saw it as an opportunity to make him sit still long enough to write the Bible.

Step #4: Turn the frustration into a funny, a humorous event.

Pro 17:22 (GNB) Being cheerful keeps you healthy. It is slow death to be gloomy all the time.

The Bible says that we are to "Rejoice in the Lord always." Laughter is the shock absorber of life. It lightens the load, it makes things more palatable. A sense of humor is God's antidote for anger and frustration. You cannot laugh at a frustration and blow up at the same time. You inject a sense of humor and see life as a gift and humor as a tool to be used in handling the knocks and the bumps and the little things that are killing us. Learn to laugh at them.

Inject humor into situations and it makes it so much easier. What told me that Ronald Reagan was a good man, regardless of what you think about him politically, was what he said after the attempted assassination upon his life: "I forgot to duck!" That is classic. That indicates a man of real balance, real emotional stability who can inject humor into a situation. He was almost assassinated yet he had this perspective that kept everything in balance.

If you want strength for the frustrations, the irritations, the interruptions, the inconveniences of life, inject humor into it. Don't sweat the small stuff and realize it's all small stuff from God's viewpoint.

Step #5: Ask God to fill you with His love.

1 Corinthians 13:4-8 Love never gives up. Love cares more for others than for self. Love doesn't want what it doesn't have. Love doesn't strut, Doesn't have a swelled head, 5 Doesn't force itself on others, Isn't always "me first," Doesn't fly off the handle, Doesn't keep score of the sins of others, 6 Doesn't revel when others grovel, Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth, 7 Puts up with anything, Trusts God always, Always looks for the best, Never looks back, But keeps going to the end. 8 Love never dies.

Love is self-giving, not self-serving. We get irritated, frustrated, mad, and uptight because we think everyone and everything has to revolve around us. When it doesn't, we get irritated. It's an ego problem. My problem, your problem -- every one of us has it. We think everyone else's schedule, everyone else's time, everyone else's energy revolve around our schedule. So when someone interrupts it, we're offended -- "How dare you interrupt my life!"

Love concentrates on the other person. A loving person would realize that the clerk has probably had a tough day and already had fifteen people griping at her. She has a right to be a little edgy. The reason we get uptight is we want to be the center and we think everything has to revolve around us, so we resent it or resist it or we resign to it in self-pity.

Jesus was constantly interrupted in His life. The problem that He faced with everybody wanting part of His time was immense; yet, He always made time for people. People were a priority in His life.

When you have an interruption, it is often an indication or a reminder from God that says, "Where are your priorities?" We get so preoccupied with our own time, our own schedule, our own things; we forget that people are the priority in life.

Jesus told a whole parable to illustrate it. It's called the Good Samaritan. A guy got hurt by the side of the road one day, hit by some robbers who mugged him, beat him up, and took his clothes and money. Three people walked by. The first two totally ignored him, and they were religious people, priests. They said, "I don't have time for that guy." They saw that person in need as an inconvenience, an interruption, an irritation. They walked on by. The third guy, the Samaritan, came by and said, "I will make his problems, my problems. I will take the time. I will pay the cost because people are a priority." He made time, even though it was a major inconvenience. I want to do the same thing! How about you? Blessings!

Pastor Rusty

This weekend's "THROUGH THE BIBLE IN A YEAR" Bible reading:

Friday, May 9-Psalm 52:1 – Psalm 54:1
Saturday, May 10-Psalm 54:1 – Psalm 56:13
Sunday, May 11- Psalm 57:1 – Psalm 59:17

Common Frustrations in life

This is the day that the Lord has made, I will rejoice and be glad in it! I hope you are as well.

I deal almost daily with some type of frustration. I'm certain that you do as well. I become frustrated by watching the Memphis news and hear about how casual people deal with the human life. I become frustrated when I fill up my car with gas and it takes just about all of a hundred dollar bill to do it. Frustration is a part of life. However, it is very important to examine how we deal with frustrations. I would like to spend today and tomorrow discussing this topic.

I was reading an article some time ago on miners, coal miners -- and how they have two big fears. One is the fear of a cave in. There could be an explosion and they could be trapped down in a cave. The greatest fear that miners experience is the fear of black lung, which is the fear that they inhale carbons and coal dust into their lungs and finally the stuff accumulates so much that it suffocates them. The miners said, "What we fear the most and what kills us is the small stuff."

Most of us would agree that part of our biggest problems is the little things in life that get us down. Have you ever had "One of Those Days"? Fifteen minor problems equal one bad attitude. They just all add up. It gets to you. How do you handle the little, insignificant irritations and frustrations of life? That will tell you a lot about your current walk with Christ.

The Bible says in Philippians 2 that one of the things that make a Christian different from anybody else is his attitude, his attitude toward the little things in life.

Philippians 2:14, "Do everything without complaining or arguing so that you may become blameless and pure children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation in which you shine like stars in the universe."

Life is made up of little things. Your faithfulness is not so much determined on how you act on Sunday at the communion table, but how you act on Monday morning at the breakfast table. It's the real issues of life and your attitude that make the difference. Today I would like to share with you Three Common Types of Frustrations.

• The first thing that comes at you are Interruptions.

Interruptions are usually people. It seems like when you've got a million things to do, that's when they become the worst, or you finally sit down to dinner and the telephone rings, or you finally get everybody to bed for a nap, get into a warm bath, and a salesman knocks at the door. Or you're getting ready to leave on vacation and all of a sudden somebody calls you up who's a long, lost friend and they're just down at the corner and they're coming to see you.

It seems that even our best plans are often interrupted. Irritations are a source of frustration.

• Inconveniences are a source of frustration. (John 11:6)

Luke 9:52-54 He (Jesus) sent messengers on ahead. They came to a Samaritan village to make arrangements for his hospitality. 53 But when the Samaritans learned that his destination was Jerusalem, they refused hospitality. 54 When the disciples James and John learned of it, they said, "Master, do you want us to call a bolt of lightning down out of the sky and incinerate them?" 55 Jesus turned on them: "Of course not!"

Inconveniences are usually things. They are things that inconvenience us. The part that you need for your automobile you go down to the store to get it and it's out of stock and it has to be back-ordered. That's an inconvenience. You get a flat tire on the way to a funeral. You're in the grocery line and you get to the very front and she rings it all up and you open your checkbook and realize you've forgotten to put in new checks.

• Irritations are a part of life.

They can be either things or people. Everybody's trying to get into the bathroom at the same time, you have an obnoxious bank teller, the baby is crying, or you have a neighborhood rock group. These things can be irritations in your life.

Physical pain can be an irritation. Paul said he had a thorn in the flesh. If you don't feel good, that's an irritation -- a backache, a headache, the heartbreak of psoriasis, dandruff, whatever. All of these things in life cause us to be irritated or frustrated.

Some of them are unavoidable. Some of them you can control, but many of them aren't avoidable. How do you deal with those kinds of things? That's what I want to talk with you about. How do you deal with the daily things, the little things? Not the big crises of life, it's the small stuff that kills us.

There are four typical reactions when you are facing an irritation.

• Some people resist it. They fight it. They blow up. They lose their cool.
  

Somebody said, "A small pot boils the quickest." You can tell a lot about a person by what it takes to irritate them, get them mad. Some people resist, they overreact.

It's always amazed me at how little it takes to make some drivers mad on the freeway. They're honking their horn, blaring. It's like the guy who said, "I've hit four cars today! What's wrong with everybody?" Some people resist it.

• Some people don't let it out. Instead of blowing up, they clam up. They resent it.
  

They hold it in. They internalize it. They blame everybody else for their unhappiness. They take it out on the clerk at the store. It's not really her fault. She's not really trying to sabotage your day. She's just doing her job. You take it out on the other people and blame other people then you rehearse it over and over in your mind and say, "This is such a lousy day!" and then you start complaining to God, "It's not fair!" Some people resist it, some people resent frustrations.

• Some people just give into it. They resign to it. Grin and bear it.

"I don't like what's going on, but I'll put up with it. It's just my luck. What will be will be." It's a stoic approach. Take it like a man. Many people go through life giving in to frustration. You say, "How you doing?" and they say, "So far so good, under the circumstances." What are you doing under them? You get on top, you rest easy. You get underneath, you suffocate. It's like a mattress. They give in, self pity, a pity party, "It's just our luck, there it is again!"

The problem with that kind of attitude is that resignation robs you of joy. That's no way to live. That's not the way to happiness. How do you handle it? You don't resist it -- get mad and blow off. You don't resent it -- hold it in and blame everybody else. You don't resign to it -- whatever will be will be. What do you do?

What does the Bible say that we're to do with frustrations? You don't resist them, you don't resent them, you don't resign to them ...

• You reduce it. You bring it into focus.

You treat it for what it is, simply a minor irritation. It's no big deal. It's not worth getting mad about. Bring it into perspective. Treat it as insignificant. Don't let it get you down. See it as it really is. It's not the end of the world, it's simply a temporary setback. So you reduce it down to size.

Time magazine a few years ago had a cover article on the stress epidemic in the United States. It was saying that stress is probably now the world's fastest spreading disease. We are in a stressful environment. As you know, a lot of heart attacks are related to stress.

The key is this: The only way you can treat all stuff as small stuff is to see it from God's point of view.

f I look at it, it may seem like a major crisis, everything's falling apart. But when you see it from God's point of view, His perspective, then it comes into focus. Wisdom is seeing life from God's point of view. Proverbs is the book of wisdom and it teaches us how to see life from God's point of view. Understanding is responding to life from God's point of view. The Bible says, "In all of your getting, get wisdom and understanding." See it from God's point of view, then react to it, respond to it from God's point of view.

When I get irritable, it's simply a warning signal that I'm not in tune with God like I should be. When I'm in tune with God, then I remember God is sovereign and God has everything that's important under control. Therefore, I shall not sweat it! I realize I'm in His hands. Philippians 1:6 says "Being confident of this very thing that He who began a good work in you will perform it unto the day of Christ Jesus."

He'll bring it to completion. God who starts you will sustain you and see you to completion no matter what the barriers are. That's a promise you can claim.

You don't resist it, you don't resent it, and you don't resign to it. You reduce it. You see it from God's viewpoint.

Tomorrow we will look at Five Practical Steps on how to handle the frustrations of life. Blessings!

Pastor Rusty

Today's "THROUGH THE BIBLE IN A YEAR" Bible reading: (May 8, 2008) Thursday: Psalm 47:1 – Psalm 52:1

Victory over the Spirit of FEAR

I am troubled in my spirit this morning. As I sit here attempting to pray, God keeps stirring my heart to blog on FEAR, not that I am battling fear at this time, but I feel someone that reads this blog today is in a major struggle with FEAR. I want to speak to you today. First of all, let's look at 2 Timothy 1:6-7:

2 Timothy 1:6-7 wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands.

Our translation of "stir up the gift of God" loses the vivid metaphor of the word that Paul used, anazōpureō. This word is used only here in the New Testament. The main part of the word, zōpureō, refers to embers in which the flame has subsided. Putting the ana on the front of the word literally means "to kindle anew the flames of the fire." I love Clarence Jordon's translation, "I'm reminding you to shake the ashes off the God-given fire that's in you".

There's no reason to believe that Timothy's fire had gone out completely—you can't rekindle that. But every fire needs repeated stirring and rearranging to keep it burning brightly. Here is a powerful insight into a reason why so many Christians are more like smoldering ashes than dancing fires.

How do you rekindle the fire? Make some changes. Do some rearranging. If your devotional life is dull, try some different approaches. If your joy in Christ has cooled, try getting closer to someone else to renew the flame. I believe small groups that meet regularly are the most helpful in shaking off the ashes of lethargy and self-pity. Don't be surprised or alarmed when the flames go down—just shake off some ashes and get some new kindling!

(7) For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

Timothy was experiencing great opposition to his message and to himself as a leader. His youth, his association with Paul, and his leadership had come under fire from believers and nonbelievers alike. Paul urged him to be bold. When we allow people to intimidate us, we neutralize our effectiveness for God. The power of the Holy Spirit can help us overcome our fear of what some might say or do to us so that we can continue to do God's work. However, the enemy will fight daily to bring fear back into our life. We must stand against him.

The Discovery Channel recently did a story on the Top Ten Phobias that people have. Phobia comes from the Greek word for fear, but refers to a panic that is completely out of proportion to the perceived threat behind it. Here are six of the top fear factors.

#10: Necrophobia. The fear of death causes some people to worry so much about dying that they have little quality of life.

#9: Brontophobia is not the fear of brontosauruses; it's the terror of thunderstorms.

#5: Claustrophobia is the fear of being trapped in a small confined space.

#4: Agoraphobia is the fear of open places.

#3: Aerophobia is the fear of flying.

#1: Arachnophobia, or the fear of spiders, is the number #1 fear of people, affecting half of all women (it's actually 100% in my household), and one out of 10 men.

Here are two other phobias.

Ecclesiophobia Fear of church

Homilophobia Fear of sermons

God's answer for FEAR is His PEACE. The New Testament describes at least three spheres of peace:

• Peace with God – that's the vertical dimension.
  Romans 5:1: "Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." The word PEACE in this verse can also mean, "to set at one again."
  


• Peace of God – this takes place internally. Philippians 4:6-7:
  "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."
  


• Peace with others – when we have peace with God and we experience the peace of God, we can then extend peace horizontally. Matthew 5:9: "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called the sons of God." We've learned before that Jesus didn't tell us to be "peacekeepers," but instead "peacemakers." This could be translated as "peace workers." It takes effort to bring conflict to an end. When we work at giving grace and solving strife we are doing what God does.
  

Isaiah 9:6 states that Christ would be the "prince of peace." When Jesus was born, the angels proclaimed words of praise in Luke 2:14: "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."

Jesus offers you peace today but it's different than the peace the world offers. Our culture communicates that peace is the absence of something. That's probably what the disciples were thinking as they tried to lock out their worries and concerns. Jesus provides peace as the presence of someone, even when we're in the middle of a mess: "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world"
(John 16:33).
And this peace extends into three dimensions.

• I can be at peace with my past. Some of us really need to hear this truth because getting past the past is easier said than done. Friend, whatever is lurking in your past is forgiven if you've asked for forgiveness. Allow His peace to bring wholeness as you claim the promise of Psalm 103:12: "As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us."
  


• I can be at peace with my present. What are you worried about right now? Your marriage? Your finances? A health issue? Jesus came to "bind up the wounds of the broken" (Isaiah 61:1).
  


• I can be at peace with my future. Some of you are fretting about the future and you don't have to. Ask Jesus to give you His peace so you can stop worrying. Someone shared this verse with me recently from Psalm 30:5: "Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning."
  

What are you afraid of right now? What causes your heart to race and keeps you awake at night? I'd like to share some verses with you. After you read each one, would you please close your eyes and allow God's Word to minister His peace in the midst of your fears. Meditate on His Word, it will drive FEAR from your spirit, and deposit His PEACE in its place:

Genesis 15:1: "Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward."

Exodus 14:13: "Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the LORD will bring you today."

Exodus 20:20: "Do not be afraid. God has come to test you, so that the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning."

Deuteronomy 1:21: "Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged."

Psalm 3:6: "I will not fear the tens of thousands drawn up against me on every side."

Psalm 55:5-7, 16-17, 22: "Fear and trembling have beset me; horror has overwhelmed me. I said, 'Oh, that I had the wings of a dove! I would fly away and be at rest — I would flee far away and stay in the desert…But I call to God, and the LORD saves me. Evening, morning and noon I cry out in distress, and he hears my voice…Cast your cares on the LORD and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous fall."

Psalm 56:3-4: "When I am afraid, I will trust in you. In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I will not be afraid. What can mortal man do to me?"

Psalm 91:4-5: "He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart. You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day."

John 14:27: "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."

I would like to pray for you now:

"Lord Jesus, I don't know who all will come across this blog today, but you do. I know that You stirred my spirit this morning to pray for those who are battling the "spirit of fear". I am asking you to minister Your peace to those who are consumed with fear today. I thank you that Your Word is anointed, and I plead the Blood of Jesus over each person reading this prayer right now, and believe that the fearful, timid spirit that is tormenting will be driven from them and in its place will be YOUR peace, the peace of God that surpasses all understanding. Your Word will speak peace into their marriage, their minds, their relationships, their financial situations, the turmoil of their family crisis', and their situations at work. I ask this in the precious, and powerful name of Jesus! Amen"

I believe that you are going to experience God's peace…even right now! Blessings!

Pastor Rusty

Today's "THROUGH THE BIBLE IN A YEAR" reading: Wednesday (May 7, 2008): Psalm 42:1 – Psalm 46:11

Casting down IMAGINATIONS

I would like to continue where we left off on our blog from yesterday. We looked at a question that Jesus asked his disciples. "Why don't you have faith?" Jesus had just calmed the sea in response to their question, "Don't you care?" I believe the answer to the question of, "Why don't you have faith?" is "we believe the lie instead of the truth." Today I want us to look a little deeper into this subject.

What are these lies and where do they come from? They are thoughts contrary to the truth. About this concept Paul writes "Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ" (2 Corinthians 10:5 KJV). This is one of my favorite verses in the Bible. Let's notice a couple of things about it.

• First, what is an imagination? An imagination is something that seems to be real but has no substance to it. Imaginations are in our mind and they are incorrect reasoning's or thoughts. They are against the knowledge of God. Not the knowledge about God but the knowledge that comes from God. Imaginations are the opposite of truth.
  
• This passage goes on to say that these imaginations "exalt itself against the knowledge of God." They pretend to be bigger or more powerful than our God. They are lies that are more real to us than the truth.
  

Lets take a moment and examine what that look like? Remember when Satan came to tempt Eve. "And the serpent said to the woman, "You surely shall not die! "For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil" (Genesis 3:4-5 NAS). The lie became more real to Eve than the truth and so she sinned. The same can be true for you and me. Where are we believing a lie that is directly contrary to God' truth? "Casting all your anxiety upon Him, because He cares for you" (I Peter 5:7 NAS). The truth is that God cares for us. The result of believing the truth is we are not anxious.

A companion verse is found in Philippians. "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God" (Philippians 4:6 NAS). The truth is that we can go to God about all our concerns. The result of believing this truth is that we are not anxious. What is anxiety? It is the result of not believing the truth. It is what believing the lie looks like. It is the evidence of the lie being bigger or more powerful than God.

Where do these lies come from? "The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds" (2 Corinthians 10:4 NIV). These lies are called "strongholds" They are strongholds in our mind, lies that are more real than the truth. The terminology here is that of spiritual warfare. We are fighting and there are weapons involved.

Concerning this battle Paul wrote, "Finally, be strong in the Lord, and in the strength of His might. Put on the full armor of God, that you may be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil" (Ephesians 6:10-11 NAS). We are fighting the schemes of the devil. To do this we must remember that Satan is a liar. He lied to himself, convincing himself that he was bigger and greater than God. He lied to Adam and Eve, that they could be gods. And he lies to you and me. Satan doesn't tempt us to commit sins. He tempts us to not believe God, and then the sins automatically follow.

When God says we can trust Him, Satan will tell us we can't.
When God tells us to humble ourselves and He will exalt us in due time, Satan says no he won't, we have to promote ourselves now. When God says to forgive, Satan says no, he or she doesn't deserve it.

Where is the battle? The primary battlefield is the mind. "Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ" (2 Corinthians 10:5 KJV). Look at the words "imaginations, knowledge, and thoughts."
These all speak of our mind. Our mind is a battlefield. The challenge for believers is to take back our thought life and take it captive to Christ instead. The way to influence behavior is to influence thinking. Who or what controls your mind controls your life.

Satan is so effective in his lies that after a while he has built in us "strongholds" or fortresses of lies that we believe strongly. Think of it as a wall around a city. The wall is built one brick at a time until the wall is thick and high. These are lies that have been reinforced time and time again. The goal of spiritual warfare is to tear down these walls, fortresses of lies.

What are our weapons? "For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses" (2 Corinthians 10:3-4 NAS). They are not the weapons of the world. They are weapons that have divine power. Remember the purpose is to take back our thought life and make it captive to Christ, to real truth, instead of the lies we have believed.

To do that we have the whole armor of God. "Therefore, take up the full armor of God, that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. Stand firm therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming missiles of the evil one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God" (Ephesians 6:13-17 NAS).

There is only one weapon listed in this passage. It is "the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God." How do we fight against a lie? By believing the truth of God's Word. There is nothing bigger or more powerful than the Word of God.

"For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart" (Hebrews 4:12 NKJ). It is powerful because it is living. Some translations have the word "active" for powerful. The Word of God is powerful because it is active. It does something.

Be careful. It does not say that just knowing the word of God is powerful. Warning us to not be like the Israelites were, the writer of Hebrews wrote, "For we also have had the gospel preached to us, just as they did; but the message they heard was of no value to them, because those who heard did not combine it with faith" (Hebrews 4:2 NIV). Hearing the Word of God alone, doesn't make this weapon as powerful as it can be. It is believing the Word of God that is powerful. Faith is the catalyst that unleashes the power of the Holy Spirit. Believing the truth (the Word of God) is the power of God over Satan's lies.

But wait, we have a second weapon. "For the weapons (plural) of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses" (2 Corinthians 10:4 NAS).

What other weapon do we have? There are several, but the other one I would like for us to look at today is in the very next verse in Ephesians 6 after a list of the armor we read, "With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints" (Ephesians 6:18 NAS).

• Our second weapon is praying at all times with all prayer. Most Christians have heard of the expression, "Prayer Warriors." These are people who do spiritual warfare in prayer. Obviously prayer is a weapon against Satan.
  

It also says to pray "in the Spirit." Praying in the spirit is to pray under control of the Holy Spirit. Spirit led, Spirit controlled prayer is "Spiritual Warfare." There is one man in the New Testament who is known for his prayer life. "Epaphras, who is one of your number, a bondslave of Jesus Christ, sends you his greetings, always laboring earnestly for you in his prayers, that you may stand perfect and fully assured in all the will of God" (Colossians 4:12 NAS). The word "laboring" means wrestling. It is the same as in Eph. 6 "We wrestle not against flesh and blood." We wrestle the enemy when we pray.

But not all prayers are effective. "You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures" (James 4:3 NKJ). God will not give us what we pray for when our motives are wrong.

Now, when we put both of these weapons together we have overcoming power.

There is nothing more formidable than a stronghold. Strongholds can't be swept away with a spiritual broom. We can't fuss at them and make the run away. We can't ignore them until the disappear. Stronghold are broken one way only. They have to be demolished. I have found that there is nothing more powerful in my life than praying the Word of God. When Satan comes with his lies, to pray the truth that contradicts the lie and affirm to God, in prayer, the truths that will defeat the lie.

What does that look like? Let's say I am worrying about something. What is the lie? It could be "God doesn't care about me." Or it could be that I think I am supposed to be in control. Also it could be that I have believed the lie that nothing bad should happen to me. There are many lies of Satan that lead to us worrying.

Once I have identified the lie, now I need the truth and the truth is in God's Word. Now I pray the truth with faith back to God. "God, I believe you care for me because your Word says so." Lord, I believe that since you are for me that no one can be against me and therefore I don't need to be in control." The Word of God, expressed in prayer by faith utilizes all of the elements of Spiritual warfare. The Holy Spirit is free to do His work within us. This is what demolishes strongholds of Satan in our minds.

Jesus asked his disciples why they had no faith. The answer is they believed the lie instead of the truth. We need to believe the truth. We need to pray the truth. We need to use both of our offensive weapons against Satan. Blessings!

Pastor Rusty

Today's "THROUGH THE BIBLE IN A YEAR" Bible reading: (Tuesday) May 6, 2008: Psalm 37:1 – Psalm 41:13

Moving from the KNOWN to the UNKNOWN

I would like to share some thoughts that I read from Pastor Calvin Bodeutsch. It really spoke into my heart today. I believe it will yours as well.

In Mark 3, things are going well for Jesus. He is rapidly becoming a huge "success." "When they heard all he was doing, many people came to him from Judea, Jerusalem, Idumea, and the regions across the Jordan and around Tyre and Sidon. Because of the crowd he told his disciples to have a small boat ready for him, to keep the people from crowding him" (Mark 3:8-9 NIV). Some people came from as far away as over by the Mediterranean Sea.

Jesus has also just selected the 12 disciples. "And He went up to the mountain and summoned those whom He Himself wanted, and they came to Him. And He appointed twelve, that they might be with Him, and that He might send them out to preach" (Mark 3:13-14 NAS). This is early in Christ's earthly ministry and the twelve disciples did not yet know Him very well. But all twelve of them were willing to leave their occupations to follow this man who seemed to be going places.

Jesus was preaching from a boat because of the size of the crowd. "And He began to teach again by the sea. And such a very great multitude gathered to Him that He got into a boat in the sea and sat down; and the whole multitude was by the sea on the land" (Mark 4:1 NAS). There Jesus teaches the three parables found in chapter four. Again note the size of the crowd. Jesus has a large following. I am sure the disciples were excited about how things were going. Now it was just a matter of building on their success. They were on Jesus' team. They thought they knew what to expect.

But Jesus does something unexpected. "And on that day, when evening had come, He said to them, 'Let us go over to the other side'" (Mark 4:35 NAS). He wanted them to get in a boat and go to the other side of the Sea of Galilee. They were to leave the crowd behind.
That meant they were to leave the success and the known behind. On the other side was the country of the Gerasenes. They were Gentiles and raised pigs. They were not a part of the covenants and promises to Israel.

Jesus and the disciples were moving from the known to the unknown. They were leaving the momentum behind. They would have to start new all over again. I think Peter scratched his head. This made no sense. Maybe he ought to try to show Jesus the folly of his actions. Things were going well in Galilee, why rock the boat?

Has God ever asked you to get in the boat and go to the other side with Him? Maybe things in your life were going very well and smoothly. Your life mirrored success, as the world looks at success. Maybe you were involved in a successful ministry. Conventional wisdom said, "Stay where you are, doing what you are doing." But God said, "I've got something more for you. Come on; let's go to the other side."

The disciples followed Jesus and right away they were severely tried. "And leaving the multitude, they took Him along with them, just as He was, in the boat; and other boats were with Him. And there arose a fierce gale of wind, and the waves were breaking over the boat so much that the boat was already filling up" (Mark 4:36-37 NAS). They never would have gone through the trial of the storm if they had just stayed where they were.

You may have recently made a decision to follow Christ and right away a major trial came your way. It may have left you confused or even angry. But remember, Jesus knew there would be a storm. He also knew that the storm would give them the opportunity to grow significantly in their relationship with Him. If our goal is to avoid the storms of life then we will want to play it safe. But if we want to be obedient to God we have to get in the boat and go to other side with Him. Now there is the potential for storms but the storms are ways God teaches us and molds us into the people he has called us to be.

Where is Jesus? He is sleeping in the stern of the ship.
"But He was in the stern, asleep on a pillow" (Mark 4:38a NKJ). He is not just dozing off, he is sound asleep. I think he went to sleep on purpose. He is going to give the disciples time to experience the storm. Why? Because he wants to give them the opportunity to process in their minds what they know about Him (God), with what the circumstances tell them. He wants to put their theology to the test. He wants to make their faith practical.

If there is a storm in your life today, it is there to make your faith practical. Maybe there is a storm in your life because of your service to God. You may be saying, "God, why did you let this happen when all I was trying to do was serve you?" Again we must remember there is something more important than successful ministry. It is "going to the other side with Jesus." It is following him in our day-by-day walk. People worship success today. God wants us to be full of faith. If it seems like God is asleep and not noticing your problem it is because God is wanting you to "flesh out" your faith.

In the rest of the story we have unanswered questions. The first is, "Don't you care?" "And they awoke Him and said to Him, "Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?" (Mark 4:38b NAS). Have you ever been there? I have! "Don't you care about me?" "Why don't you do something?" "I thought you loved me." When we question if God cares, what we are really questioning is God's love. "God if you really loved me you would do something." "If you loved me you wouldn't have allowed this to happen." "If you loved me I wouldn't have any problems."

What the disciples didn't understand was that it was God's love that allowed them to be in this trial. In love God wanted them to see His power. In love God wanted them to increase their faith. In love God wanted them to his faithfulness to them. So, does God care about you? We know He does! "Casting all your anxiety upon Him, because He cares for you" (1 Peter 5:7 NAS). God wants us to know that He cares. Now we can answer the first unanswered question. Does God care about me? Yes, He cares for me because He loves me!

The second unanswered questions is, "Why are you afraid?" This time it is Jesus asking the question. "He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, "Quiet! Be still!" Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. He said to his disciples, 'Why are you so afraid?'" (Mark 4:39-40a NIV). The disciples asked Jesus a question and now he asks them a question. Jesus often answers questions with questions. Let's ask ourselves this question. Why are we afraid?

There are three basic fear reactions.

1.Anxiety over our helplessness
The disciples weren't able to do anything about the storm. I'm sure they tried bailing out the boat before waking Jesus. They were helpless to do anything. When we are helpless to do any thing (not in control) then we become anxious and that produces fear.

2. Anxiety over failure
We have failed before and therefore we fearful of failing again. The next failure might be terminal. When we fail we think of ourselves as failures. We don't understand that God's plan for our lives involves some failures. We have to come to the end of ourselves before we can begin to trust him. For the Christian failure doesn't have to be terminal.

2. Anxiety over the future
This is the fear of the unknown. Like, fearful of getting older. Fearful of leaving the predictable life behind for the unpredictability of following God. These things bring us fear. But most of all we are fearful because we forget God. God tells us, "Do not fear, for I am with you; do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand" (Isaiah 41:10 NAS).

There are five promises found in this verse.
I am with you.
I am your God.
I will strengthen you.
I will help you.
I will uphold you.

"Many are the woes of the wicked, but the LORD's unfailing love surrounds the man who trusts in him" (Psalm 32:10 NIV).

"The LORD loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of his unfailing love" (Psalm 33:5 NIV).

"But the eyes of the LORD are on those who fear him, on those whose hope is in his unfailing love" (Psalm 33:18 NIV).

"May your unfailing love rest upon us, O LORD, even as we put our hope in you" (Psalm 33:22 NIV).

A righteous man may have many troubles, but the LORD delivers him from them all" (Psalm 34:19)

I pray that you will mediate on this Word from God today. Blessings!

Pastor Rusty

Today's "THROUGH THE BIBLE IN A YEAR" Bible Reading: Monday, May 5, 2008-Psalm 33:1 – Psalm 36:12