Hope for Tomorrow

We can probably all quote the familiar words in Matthew 6:34, "Do not worry about tomorrow for tomorrow will worry about itself." But how many of us actually try to live by those words? It's not easy.

It's only natural to get so caught up in the challenges of our everyday lives that we start to worry, but God never intended for us to live a life of worry. The Bible is full of examples that encourage us to place our trust in God and give us hope for tomorrow.

Let God be your guide in life. In Psalm 48:12-14, it says if we permit Him, God will be our guide. We permit Him by opening our heart to the Holy Spirit and living in obedience to His word. We don't have to fear tomorrow. Hebrews 13:5-6 says the Lord is our helper, and we shall not fear what man may do to us. In Romans 8:30-32, Paul tells us that if God be for us who can be against us.

David tells us in Psalm 31:1-5 to put our trust in the Lord for He is our rock and fortress. In Psalm 73:24-28, it says God is our guide and shelter. With God as our guide, fortress and shelter, we have nothing to worry about.

We should learn to be content in what God has provided for us. In life, it's easy to get caught up in our desires for the “things of this world,” but we should just be thankful and happy with what God provides for us.

In Luke, Jesus tells us not to worry about the basics because our heavenly Father knows our needs. He says in John 3:16-17 that God loves us so much that He gave His only son for us. If we have a God willing to give up His only son as a recompense for our sins, how can we spend time worrying over the future?

With all of these promises, we should be comfortable that our future is in God's hands which brings us hope for tomorrow.

Defend The Faith

In a time when the message of the Gospel is coming under attack more and more, it's important that we not only know what we believe, but WHY we believe it, and we must always be ready to defend our faith.

As Christians, our first responsibility is to take God's message of salvation to a lost and dying world. In Matthew 10:27, Jesus tells us to proclaim the Gospel and make disciples of all nations. However, there's another responsibility that's often overlooked and neglected by many Christians: Defending the Gospel.

Giving reasons for our faith is an important part of our Christian witness, and the Bible compels us to do so. In 2 Corinthians 10:5, it says that only by meeting honest objections with biblical answers can we reasonably contend for the faith.

Peter urges us to be prepared to give an answer for the reason of the hope that we have in Christ Jesus. In 1 Peter 3:15, he tells believers to "always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have with gentleness and respect."

The apostle Paul rigorously defended the faith whenever challenged, and he instructed Timothy to defend the faith also.

In Romans 10:14-17, Paul says in order for people to recognize the love of Christ, they need someone to tell them the good news. If we just stand by and aren't willing to defend the Gospel of Jesus Christ, how will they ever accept Jesus as Lord and savior?

This is not the time to be passive. As many in the media and political world try to attack Christianity, we must be bold and step out to defend our faith. Christ paid the price for our sins, and He prepares a place for us in heaven. As Christians, we want to see all who are made righteous through the blood of Jesus enjoy eternal life with us and the Lord!

Start Your Day Off Right

They say breakfast is the most important meal of the day. It prepares us for the day ahead Yet, many of us skip breakfast because we're too busy. Some of us skip spending time with God for the same reason. Starting each day in the presence of the Lord is key to starting each day off on the right foot.

 In our busy lives, it's easy to fall into a habit of starting the day without giving any thought to God. We hit the floor running without taking time to thank God for the day or to ask Him to direct our steps.

I was that way for years. I'd get up and jump right into my morning routine, without taking time to pray or seek the Lord. "I'll do it later," I always told myself (and told God). At the end of the day, I found I'd gone all day without spending time with the Lord. I'd lay down at night, mutter a quick prayer and drift off to sleep.

It shouldn't be that way for Christians, and it doesn't have to be that way. We can make God a priority in our lives. There are some simple things we can do each day to show God that He is first place in our lives:

Start the day in His Word. Just a few short verses or a chapter a day in the morning is a great way to open our hearts to God and get in tune with His plan for our lives.

 

Pray in the mornings. Prayer helps relieve stress and brings us closer to God. You can do this while driving to work, and you'll be amazed what a difference it will make in your day.

Stay positive. It’s easy to feel overwhelmed in the morning with the challenges of the day. So start your morning by counting your blessings. This will help you start the day in a positive way.

Leave all your worries at the foot of the bed. It’s easy to start the day dwelling on negatives of yesterday. As believers, we shouldn't dwell on our past mistakes and failures but concentrate on our future with the Lord. Cast all your cares on Him and make a fresh start each day.

Just spend time sitting in God's presence. What a great way to start the day!

Finding The Will of God

It's a question most of us ask at some time in our lives: "What is God's will for me?" I've asked this, especially during hard times or times of change in my life. We may say things like "I really don't know what God wants me to do." The Bible has a lot to say about finding God's will for our lives.

Romans 12:1 tells us to "present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God."

From this verse, we learn there are three desires that God has for each of us. He wants us to present our bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God. He wants us to reject the evil ways of the world and to be transformed to holiness, and He wants us to renew our minds and focus on what is good and perfect in the eyes of the Lord.

 

Another question we often ask is "What is God's will for my future?" We don't need to worry about the future God has for us. Certainly, we would all like to know what God wants for our future, but it's more important to know what He wants for us today.

If we trust God to direct our path day by day, He will take us where He wants us to be and will use us as He desires. By living for God each day, we are open to be molded by God into the person He wants us to be. In Ephesians, Paul tells us that we are called to serve the Lord and to be like Jesus. If we are open to His will in our lives and we ask Him to lead us, He will direct our steps.

This reminds me of one of my favorite verses in the Bible, Jeremiah 29:11: "For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

If you are uncertain about the future, look to God's Word and He will show you the way.

Holy Living

God is holy, and what is true of God must be true of his people. We should try to be like God in every way. Since God is holy, He expects us to live holy lives. In 1 Peter 1:16, it says, "be holy because I am holy."

Holiness means being separated from the ungodly ways of the world and set apart for God. It means being like Him and dedicated to Him while living to please Him. There are benefits for living a holy life. Psalm 92:12–14 says the righteous will flourish in the court of God and yield fruit in their old age.

Holiness isn't optional for believers. Hebrews 12:14 teaches that "without holiness no one will see the Lord."

We achieve holiness by faith and by the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. It is both a work of God and a work of believers. As Christians, we must take an active role in keeping our lives pure before God. Together with the Holy Spirit, we must work to get rid of all sin in our lives and purify ourselves "from everything that contaminates the body and spirit."

True holiness requires that we have an intimate relationship with Jesus Christ, devote ourselves to prayer and reading God's word, obeying God and putting sin to death in our lives.

This doesn't mean we will always be perfect, but we should try to move closer and closer to it. Jesus is able to help us. By the grace of God, we have died with Jesus and have been set free from the power of sin. Therefore, we need not and ought not to continue to sin.

In the Bible, holiness is not described as a gradual process of forsaking sin little by little. Instead, it is seen as clear act where by grace we are set free from the bondage of Satan and we make a clean break from sin in order to live for God. However, it's also a lifelong process where we must decide daily to live a holy lifestyle. We are progressively transformed into Christ's likeness.

 

Holiness should be the goal and purpose of every believer, so let us strive to be holy as He is holy.

Things That God Cannot Do

I've always liked Matthew 19:26, where Jesus said with God all things are possible. I've even quoted it many times. It's true. God IS omniscient, omnipresent and all powerful. But the Bible also tells us there are some things that God simply cannot do. Before you discount that statement, read on and you'll see what I mean:

God cannot remember our sin. If we repent and accept the atoning grace of Christ’s sacrifice, God says He will remember our sin no more.

God also cannot justify sin without the remission of sin through the shedding of blood by Jesus. Hebrews 9:22 tells us that there is no remission of sin without the shed blood of Jesus. Jesus tells us in John 14:6 that no one comes to His father except through Him.

God can never break His promises. God made an everlasting covenant with Abraham in Genesis 13. When God says “forever,” He means “forever.”

God will never allow His people to be ashamed for there faith. John tells us in 1 John 2:28 and 1 John 4:17 that we will not be ashamed when He returns, and Paul says in Romans 1:16 that he is not ashamed of the good news of Jesus Christ.

 

Isaiah tells us God cannot share His glory with another. In Malachi 3:6, it says God cannot change, and Hebrews 13:5 tells us that God will never leave us or forsake us.

 

Our God is a mighty and awesome God, but I'm glad there are some things God just can't do.

Supreme Ruling

After last week's disappointing Supreme Court ruling to strike down the Defense of Marriage Act, I've been looking for a way to offer my perspective without sounding too "preachy." In my view, the decision is wrong because it violates the teachings of the Bible — that marriage is between one man and one woman.

People say this definition of marriage is outdated. They say we must "evolve" as a society to be more tolerant. They say times have changed, and we need to get on the right side of history and support the marriage of two people of the same gender.

Times have changed. But God and His Word haven't.

We can debate the issue in our courts and the public square, but we can't deny what God has declared in His Word. The Bible clearly says homosexual relationships are wrong. This isn't a gray issue. It's a sin issue. Romans 1:27 spells it out plainly. It says, "In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed shameful acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their error."

I'm not the arbiter of "right" and "wrong." Neither is the U.S. Supreme Court. God is the ultimate judge, and He already gave us His plan for marriage. It will never change.

As I listened to all the bickering on TV about the decision, Mike Huckabee's commentary stood out as the most logical and well-reasoned. In it, he said, "I can’t defy the definition of marriage any more than I can defy the law of gravity. God created both and at the point I decided to follow Him in my Christian commitment, my life nor its rules belong to me any more."

For all true believers, there's only one position to take on the issue of marriage. We must take God's position that marriage is between a man and a woman.

Huckabee ended his commentary with this: "Courts said in 1857 that black people weren’t fully human and they were wrong. They said in 1962 that we couldn’t pray in school and they were wrong. In 1973, they said unborn children were disposable and expendable, and 56 million dead children later, they were wrong. And this week, for those of us who believe God created male and female, and who believe what Jesus said that a man shall leave his father and mother and a woman shall leave her home and the two will become one flesh, they were wrong again."

The Supreme Court had its say, but God has the final decision.