There are times when life on this earth is hard and uncomfortable...and even downright painful. When those times come, you deeply need the comfort that only the Holy Spirit can bring.
How do you receive that kind of comfort?
By doing just what the believers in Acts did. By “walking in the fear of the Lord.”
Not only does God intend for His people to be involved in government, but He instituted a form of government in Exodus 18:21 and Romans 13.
God has called pastors to shepherd people through biblical teaching and counsel. When the full Word of God is taught in church, you’ll find the Bible has plenty to say about political issues (e.g., God’s definition of marriage, the value of unborn lives, proper handling of finances, and other moral standards).
Not always, but it can be. The good news is that it’s not hard to recognize the difference.
First, let’s establish this: It is always appropriate for a child of God to communicate openly with the Father. We don’t have to completely stop praying about something once we have taken a stand in faith. When we have taken a specific stand in faith, we can expect that God will continue to speak to us about that situation and He will give us the wisdom and insight we need.
No. The Word of God does not teach that we should give God praise for things that He is not the source of. For instance, God doesn’t create confusion, sickness, strife, death, disaster and destruction. Nowhere does the Bible teach us to thank God for what Satan has done.
Although we don’t praise God for all things, we are to give Him praise in all things. First Thessalonians 5:18 says, “Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”
God’s will for you is healing and wholeness. The price has already been paid (Isaiah 53:5). The path to receiving your healing is outlined in the Word of God.
Praise God. Praise Him in the morning. Praise Him at noon. Praise Him at night. If you've never praised God in your life, then get started right now. Praise Him for freedom. Praise Him for healing and Calvary. Praise Him for the Name of Jesus.
You ought to be shouting your way to work and shouting your way back home! If there's anything the devil can't stand, it's praise.
One night after a worship service a friend of mine and I stepped outside and were suddenly awed by the beauty around us. It was one of those crisp, clear winter nights when the brilliance of the moon and stars nearly takes your breath away. I said to my friend, "Tommy, will you look at that!" Then he looked up with one of those Holy Ghost whole-face smiles and with a voice full of tenderness said, "My Daddy made that!"
"My Daddy...." I'll never forget the way he said that.
Christmas is a very important time of year. It's a time of year when the whole world is hearing the message of the birth of Jesus. It's a time when people are tenderhearted...the perfect time to plant seeds of love in the lives of those you meet.
Sometimes those seeds may just take the form of a kind word in the middle of rush-hour shopping. Other times, you may get the opportunity to pray and minister to someone. But whatever the situation, keep a sharp eye out for even the smallest chance to assist people.
Established in the faith and abounding with thanksgiving. These days it seems that's a rare combination.
A lot of people have been taught faith over the last several years, and a lot of people have been taught to abound with thanksgiving. But it's been hard to set the two together. Faith folks want to confess the Word all the time, but they don't praise God very much. And those who like to praise God just want to jump and shout and dance and have a good time in the Lord. You can't get them to get very serious about the Word.
Success comes from combining the two.
Years ago I was in Detroit, and I met a woman who was raised in a communist-bloc country. While I was visiting with her, a news broadcast came on. And as we sat there listening to it, suddenly tears came to her eyes.
"What's the matter?" I asked.
Although I hadn't noticed it, the news commentator had said something derogatory about the president. "I don't like to hear anyone talk about this country like that," she said. "I don't care whether it's true or not. I don't want to hear it."
God is faithful. He's full of compassion. His mercies are new every morning. As a believer, you know all that. But simply knowing it is not enough.
For it to do you any good, you have to recall it. You have to remember it again and again in order to rekindle your hope and stir your faith.
So, make it a point to remind yourself of God's faithfulness every morning. Remind yourself of the benefits that are yours in Jesus.
What are those benefits? Psalm 103 spells them out:
1. He forgives all your sins.
2. He heals all your diseases.
I'll never forget the time Gloria discovered that scripture. We didn't have any money at the time, and the walls in our house were as bare as they could be. But she was ready to decorate. So she took that promise, "Wealth and riches shall be in his house" and laid claim to it by faith.
Suddenly, everywhere we went, someone was giving us a painting or some other little treasure for our house.
Remember when you went to school and learned your ABCs? You learned them by using your five senses and your logical abilities to gather information and sort it out. That kind of knowledge is called natural knowledge and it's the only kind most people know anything about.
But in the kingdom of God, there's another kind of knowing. One that works its way from the inside out instead of from the outside in. It's called revelation knowledge.
Victors! More than conquerors! That's what the Bible says we are. I know you've heard that many times before, but today I want you to let the reality of it really sink in. I want you to spend some time meditating about what those terms actually mean.
The dictionary says that victory means "final and complete supremacy or superiority in battle or war, success in any contest or struggling involving the defeat of an opponent or the overcoming of obstacles."
Did you catch that? He said all who live godly lives are going to suffer persecution. Not just the super-saints, not just the missionaries in hostile lands—but all.
If you're going to live for God, you're going to run into persecution somewhere along the line. The devil's going to make sure of it!
Now I'm not saying that to frighten you or to depress you. I'm saying it because I want you to be prepared.
When you're wise to the strategies of the devil, it's harder for him to use them successfully on you to confuse you and get you off track.
Do you know what God wants you to do more than anything else today? He wants you to fellowship with Him.
He wants you to walk with Him and talk with Him. To discuss the things of life with Him. He wants you to draw near to Him and partake of His very nature.
So many of us get so caught up in striving to please God in the things we do that we forget our first and highest calling is just to be in fellowship with Him.
That's right. God longs for us just to want to be with Him.
Great things happen when you continually confess the mercy of God. Faith rises up on the inside of you. The reality that God loves you begins to sing through your spirit.
What's more, it brings honor to your Father when you believe His Word and magnify His love and mercy. You honor Him when you speak of His goodness and lovingkindness, when you talk about Him as your Father of love who does only good. It blesses Him when you praise Him as the great God of the universe who is eager to bless and who even gave His own Son because He so loved the world.
If you’re going to live in divine health, there are going to be times when you’ll have to be downright extreme about the Word of God. Times when you may be facing a sickness so severe that you need more than just a few moments in the Word and a quick prayer to receive your healing.
I want to tell you, in very practical terms, what I would do in a situation like that.
Man is something really special. He is made in the image of God. He is made to have fellowship with God.
Some people get the idea that God made man so He’d have someone to dominate. But God is not a dominator. God is love and love needs to have someone to give to. That’s why God made man. He made him, so He could give him His love.
God could have given His love to the angels, and He did that. But giving to angels didn’t provide total fulfillment. Why? Because angels aren’t made in His image.