Understanding Redemption (Part 1)

To fully understand redemption it is necessary to begin at the place where spiritual and physical death began and that is in the garden of Eden.  In Genesis, Adam was given specific instructions concerning which trees he could eat the fruit of and which one he couldn't (Genesis 2:15-17). Although Eve was deceived in the transgression, Adam was the real transgressor because God had spoken directly to Adam concerning which trees they could and couldn't eat from.  Had Adam not disobeyed God and eaten of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, he never would have experienced death (spiritual or physical).  When God made Adam and Eve He breathed into them life and when they sinned they passed from life to death and then Satan became their father and lord. So because of his disobedience, sin and death became his fate as well as the fate of the entire human race (Romans 5:12) and therefore God's redemptive plan was put into effect to save humanity.  When Adam sinned the spirit side of Adam died immediately although he lived on physically for 930 more years. I want to share with you what spiritual death will do and how God brought about redemption.

What Spiritual Death Will Do

Once Adam and Eve disobeyed God, fear came upon them and they hid themselves from God (Genesis 3:7-10). This was the first sign of their spiritual death.   A person who is spiritually dead will naturally hide from God.  They will not desire spiritual things nor will they desire to be with God's spiritual people of light because they are in darkness.  If a man says that he is a Christian yet walks in the darkness and loves not God the Bible tells us that man is a liar and the truth is not in him (1 John 1:6).  After Adam sinned he no longer was in fellowship with God and he wanted to hide from God. God's plan from the sin of Adam and Eve was not to just forgive man, but  to work out a way to where the spirit of man could be made alive again!

How God Brought Redemption

To bring redemption, God's plan was to bring a human being into the world; One that was divine and human yet had no spiritual death in him.  This was accomplished through the miraculous power of God through the seed of a woman.

John the Baptist recognized who Jesus was when he declared "Behold the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world."  Jesus knew who He was because when he was baptized the Father declared "this is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased." Jesus was the first human to walk the face of the earth since Adam and Eve who had no spiritual death in his spirit.

If you are saved you have no spiritual death in your spirit either.  You are a new creature and you are to rule and reign in this life by Jesus Christ.  You are to walk as Jesus walked, with authority, power, and dominion.  This is part of the redemption process God has brought to humankind.  It is in Jesus that we live, and have life!

If you haven't been "born again" and entered into spiritual life with Christ then your spirit man is dead.  Yet when you accept Jesus Christ as your Savior you are not only forgiven but you receive what Adam lost, your spirit is made alive with eternal life.  My associate Keith Fife wrote a post you might want to check out called "Changing Clothes."  It talks about putting off the old and putting on the new Christ life.

What about you?  Are you ready to enter into the spiritual life of Christ?  It will change your future forever!  Leave a comment and let me know what you think.

-- Pastor Temple

Why Discouragement (Part 3)

This is the final post on "Why Discouragement."  In my first post I explained the difference between disappointment and discouragement.  In Part 2 I covered what discouragement is and listed fifteen causes of discouragement (the list could be endless).  In this post I want to identify some of the consequences of discouragement and how to avoid it.

Consequences of Discouragement

There is no reason you and I have to live a life of discouragement.  God has made it possible for us to live free of discouragement.  There are times I'm sure you might not think so, but nothing is impossible with God (this is a link to Bethel's Praise and Worship Band singing "Healer" and it's a free download if you like).   Even though God desires for us to live free of discouragement there are still many people who are discouraged.  And because of that we have to understand that there will be negative consequences when we live a discouraged life.  I want to list nine consequences followed by four strategies that will help you avoid discouragement.

1. Unhappiness.  This is the opposite of where God wants you.  God's people should be the happiest people in the world, but because of discouragement we often are not.  You need to make a choice to be happy.  Living in unhappiness will never bring happiness!
2. You look for someone else to blame for your discouragement. The blame game can be a very popular yet unhealthy game among people, especially couples.  It's time we stop blaming others for our situation. 
3. You become angry at your circumstances. Sometimes we get upset with the circumstances we ourselves have created! Be careful not to create circumstances you will have to live with.
4. You become estranged from people.  Discouragement will cause you to become a loner to the point where you disassociate yourself from everyone.  
5. You have a poor self-image and your self-esteem gets lower and lower. A lot of people have low self-esteem.  The only remedy for that is to begin to see yourself as God sees you.
6. You begin to make unwise decisions.  Discouragement will take you to the place that you can't make any good clear decision and as a result you begin to get into a bigger mess than you were already in.
7. You become self-centered.  Usually discouragement will cause people to think more about themselves rather than other people.
8. You have a critical attitude.  You begin to be critical of your spouse, your children, your job, your church, etc.  
9. You begin to drift spiritually.  This is one of the most devastating consequences of discouragement.  You will begin to drift and not attend church.  You stop reading your Bible, and fellowshiping with others.  Be careful of this else you will remain in your discouragement.

How To Avoid Discouragement

Here are four strategies you can employ to ensure you avoid discouragement.

1. Have a growing relationship with the Lord.  Being close to God will make all the difference in the world.  When your trust and faith is in Him first, all the things you need will be there.
2. Stay in the Word.  The Word is food for our soul.  You should be reading your Bible every day. Not just read it, but study it.  Allow God's Word to speak to your spirit.  God's Word isn't just another book.  It is unique in that it is a "spiritual" book and should be understood with the mind of the Spirit.  It is alive and life changing.  Allow God's Word to change your life.
3. Stay prayed up.  Prayer is two way communication.  Once you have prayed, then it's important for you to listen and allow God to speak to you and reveal to you what He wants for you.
4. Stay in church.  Fellowship with other believers is vital for you to stay encouraged.  When we don't have the communion with our fellow believers it will lead us to discouragement.

God really desires for you to live discouragement free.  Allow Him to rule and direct your life today and you will find the strength to live an encouraged life!

-- Pastor Temple

Why Discouragement (Part 2)

This will be a relatively short post but nonetheless a very important one.  I think it is vital that people understand what causes their discouragement.  There is no way I could list every situation you  may encounter that could bring discouragement over your lifetime.  But I think there are some common causes that we all should be aware of and I want to list fifteen of them here.

Some Causes Of Discouragement

1. Unresolved disappointment.  If you have had disappointment in your life, which we all have, then it is critical to your mental and emotional health and well being that you come to a resolution regarding the disappointment.
2. Constant criticism.  Too many people have come under the onslaught of constant negative
   
   criticism.  They may have been raised in a dysfunctional family where they never received any type of positive reinforcement.  If that's the case, then this constant criticism can be a cause for discouragement later in their life.
3. Unanswered prayer.  All of us have had unanswered prayers.  We can be confident that God will answer the prayers of our needs, but too often we pray for things we want and not for things we need.  Don't allow and unanswered prayer to discourage you in your life.
4. Feel like you can't please God.  There are many people who are Christians and for whatever reason they feel like they can't please God. But you need to know that God loves you and accepts you no matter what your feelings!  
5. Habits or addictions you can't conquer.  Here is what you need to know about this, "God is bigger than your addiction."  God wants you to get beyond that and He stands ready to deliver you!
6. You live with someone you can't please.  Unfortunately there are a lot of couples who live together but they are not "one" together in the spirit.  When your mate makes constant demands and you can never live up to them, that will definitely discourage you.  If that's the case you need to seek some help through counseling to resolve this issue.
7. Verbal and physical abuse.  Verbal abuse can be just as devastating as physical abuse.  The constant putting down of others will bring about discouragement in their life.
8. You are considered a failure.  Many people grow up feeling like they are a failure.  This low self esteem will lead people to think they can never be a success.  God doesn't see you as a failure and you should learn to look at yourself the way God does.
9. Financial pressures because of bad decisions.  I'm not talking about financial problems because of layoff or sickness, I'm talking about financial pressures because of spending money carelessly.  Often we buy something we know we shouldn't then have "buyers remorse" and get discouraged because we have put a strain on our finances.
10. Lack of opportunity at work.  Sometimes we have to make our own opportunity and a lot of that depends on our work ethic.  If you want to succeed at work, be sure to develop a good work ethic and opportunities will come.
11. You do not feel like anybody loves you.  Everyone has felt this way at sometime or other. Whether or not anyone else loves you, you must remember, that God loves you!  To feel love, you must give love.
12. A bad health problem.  Sickness is a major cause of discouragement.  When the doctors give you a bad report, it is easy to get discouraged.  But it is important that you remain positive and believe that God has a better report.  Put the situation in God's hands and allow him to bring about the resolution.
13. News that you don't have long to live.  This is definitely a cause of discouragement.  But even in the face of this type of news, you can be encouraged because God has a bigger plan for your life.  Paul said for me to "live is Christ, and to die is gain."
14. A negative work situation.  Since so much of your time is spent with your career, it is easy to become discouraged when your work environment is negative.
15. Unrealistic expectations of oneself.  There are often things we require of ourselves that realistically we can't do.  So be realistic with what you can do.

Next time I will cover the consequences of discouragement and how to avoid discouragement.

Leave a comment and let me know if there are any other cause of discouragement that you have experienced in your life.

-- Pastor Temple

Why Discouragement (Part 1)

With everything that is going on in our world, the odds of you being discouraged are pretty high. Between the things that are beyond our control like the economy, politics, healthcare, terrorism, world problems, etc. and the ones that are a little closer to home like family issues, sickness, bills, etc. there is a good chance you will find yourself on the receiving end of some "discouraging" news. We often associate discouragement with disappointment, but disappointment and discouragement are not the same thing.  Disappointment is an emotional response to a failed expectation whereas discouragement is becoming fainthearted to the point of wanting to give up and quit. Discouragement develops when we allow disappointments to continue "unresolved."  In this post I want to share with you how disappointment and discouragement differ and in the following post what are the causes and how to avoid discouragement.

Disappointment

There are two characteristics that are always a part of disappointment.  The first is, disappointments are "inevitable."  As you live your life, you will encounter disappointments.  I don't care if it's the disappointment of not getting a raise, or being disappointed because you didn't make an "A" on your test.  Life is full of disappointments because they are inevitable.  The second characteristic of disappointments is that they are "unpredictable." You never know when a disappointment will occur. Everything could be going just great in your life and then you find out your son got a speeding ticket on his way to school. Disappointments are inevitable and unpredictable and can lead to discouragement when left "unresolved."

Discouragement

There are five characteristics that help distinguish between disappointment and discouragement.

• Discouragement is a "choice."  You make the choice whether or not you will embrace discouragement.  Don't live in self pity, but rather live in the life of fulfillment that God has given you.
• Discouragement is "reoccurring."  You have to know that there will always be events that will threaten you with discouragement.  That is just the nature of life in this world.  Jesus said: "...In this world you will have tribulation.  But be of good cheer, I have overcome the world." (John 16:33)  
• Discouragement is "contagious."  Not only do you have to be careful what you say because you can spread discouragement to others, you have to be careful what you listen to because others can spread discouragement to you!
• Discouragement is very "destructive."  Discouragement can put you into a deep depression. It will cloud your thinking and your ability to make clear decisions.  
• Discouragement is "conquerable."  It's conquerable if you want to.  If you don't have a desire to overcome and conquer discouragement you will remain in your self pity and depression.  But praise God, there is hope when we put our trust and dependence in the Lord!  (More on this in my next post.)

Next week I will cover the causes of discouragement, the consequences of discouragement and how to avoid it.  Until then, you can begin today on the road to victory over discouragement by recognizing the difference between disappointment and discouragement and ask God to help you overcome.

-- Pastor Temple

Facing Your Anxiety

No matter how hard we may try to avoid worry and anxiety it's just not possible to always be worry free!  But there is a difference between anxiety over an upcoming final exam or business presentation and living a life that is fraught with constant worry and fretting over everything.  The Lord doesn't want us to live in a constant state of dread due to life's uncertainties.  It is important for us to know what anxiety is, what we should do with it and why we can't let it control us.  In this post I want to address these issues as well as show you the correct manner in which to deal with anxiety and worry.

1.  What Is Anxiety?

The word anxiety means "to be distracted or pulled apart."  By definition it is the opposite of peace, which means "to be bound together."  Anxiety can also be defined as "dread, apprehension, and uncertainty" and can be caused by past, present, or future events.  Sometimes, anxiety can be caused by a fear of not being in control or of feeling vulnerable.

2.  What Are The Sources Of Anxiety?

It is important to note that God is not the source of anxiety or worry.  These two emotions do not fit our identity as followers of Christ.  Instead, God is the "cure" for anxiety.  Jesus told His disciples that they need not worry about what they were going to eat or drink or wear.  He said if the Father takes care of the birds in air, that how much more would He take care of His children. It's important to understand that there are three sources for our anxieties.

• Legitimate Causes:  There are times that we will be anxious about something that is legitimate.  For example, if you are making a big presentation to your boss it is natural that you would be a little nervous maybe even somewhat anxious.  But it is only temporary and shouldn't be something that totally paralyzes you.
• Inappropriate Reasons:  Some reasons for anxiety that aren't legitimate and we would call
  
  inappropriate are things like not getting what you want.  For instance suppose you desire to have a relationship with someone, but you know it isn't right because they are married or they are in another state and there is no way you can be together.  Worrying over things that you can't control is inappropriate.
• Unacknowledged Issues:  When we don't take the time and energy to deal with the cause of our anxiety, it takes up long-term residence within us, causing all sorts of emotional and even physical problems.  God doesn't want His children to live this way.

3.  Why Should We Avoid Anxiety?

There are many reasons we should avoid anxiety but the most important one is that it isn't scriptural.  In Matthew 6:25-34 Jesus admonishes His disciples three times with the words "do not be anxious."  The reason for us to not be anxious is because of the negative effect it has in our lives.  Anxiety will:

• Divide our minds.  Apprehension pulls us in two different directions making it hard to focus on important matters.  It divides and clouds our mind.
• Slow down our productivity.  Because we are distracted with worry, we can't give anything else our best efforts.  It causes indecision.
• Affect our personal relationships with others.  It's hard to keep our anxieties to ourselves. When we're filled with fear, we burden those around us.
• Lead to unwise decisions.  Those who are overly concerned about the future are prone to make hasty decisions to stop feeling uncertain.
• Steal our joy and peace.  You become irritable and angry.  It's impossible for us to be fretful and peaceful at the same time.
• Proves to be a terrible waste of time and energy.  Uncertainty, frustration, and worry are exhausting and achieve nothing and can even have a devastating effect on our health and causes us to anticipate problems. It can be mental cruelty and torment.

4.  What Is The Correct Way To Deal With Anxiety?

With so much at stake, it's foolish to give in to anxiety or seek a quick, easy fix and temporary relief.  If your days and weeks and months are filled with continual anxiety and worry here are six strategies to help you.

• Bring your worries to God.  Whatever is troubling you is a matter for prayer.  The first step to freedom is confessing your fears to the Lord rather than let them rule you.  1 Peter 5:7 tells us to "cast all our cares on him, because he cares for us."
• Come to the Lord with an attitude of thanksgiving.  In the midst of your apprehension, you may not feel grateful, but when you think about God's loving involvement in your life, you can't help but praise him.  "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God;" Philippians 4:6
• Come with an expectation.  Remember the Lord loves you unconditionally and wants the best for you.  Also, He has the desire and power to help, so you can expect Him to do just that.
• Recognize that anxiety is a faith battle.  We must believe that God will set us free from our anxieties.  If we surrender our concerns into His hands, we can have His amazing peace, no matter what we face in life.
• Equip yourself with the Word.  Confess the Word over every situation.
• Refuse to worry.  Learn to trust God and not your feelings.

Don't be guilty of giving your cares to the Lord when you pray and then pick them back up minutes later.  God wants to take all of your cares away.  He is fully capable of handling them when they become too great of a burden for you to bear.  You don't have to live with anxiety.  God will give you grace to overcome.

What are you worried about today, that God is ready to handle for you? Give it to Him so you can be free from the cares of the world.

Resting In The Faithfulness Of God

Everyone, at some time in their life, will have feelings of frustration.  This is especially true when you have prayed and asked God to meet some need and that prayer goes unanswered.  Some times when that happens there are people who give up and claim God is not who He says He is.  This happens because we tend to judge our situations based on how we feel and as a result we question God's faithfulness.  To show God's absolute reliability and faithfulness I want to share with you four truths about God and His faithfulness.

1.  The Attributes Of God

God has many attributes that we could discuss but there five that speak directly to His faithfulness to humanity.

• Omniscient -- To be omniscient means to be "all knowing."  God can be faithful because He knows everything!  Everything in the past, present, and future.  He knows our needs, wants, and desire as well as our weaknesses and frailties.  Speaking to His disciples and others, Jesus said that "...your Father knows what you have need of before you ask Him" (Matthew 6:8b). 
• Omnipotent -- This simply means God is "all powerful."  Because God is omnipotent He can accomplish anything He needs to accomplish to help us work through our circumstances
  
  and provide for us what is needed.
• Omnipresent -- God is everywhere and available at all times.  We will never find ourselves in a situation where He's not present and able to come to our aid when we cry out to Him in prayer. 
• Truthful -- God's character of truthfulness is essential to His faithfulness.  Titus 1:2 tells us that God will never lie or misguide us.  He also cannot deny Himself and will always remain true to His own nature.
• Immutable -- God never changes.  His character is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. If God changed who He was, then everything would be uncertain. This immutable attribute of God should be a great source of assurance for believers.

2.  God Makes Two Kinds Of Promises

• Unconditional -- Many of the promises of God are unconditional and nothing we can do will change them.  Examples would be the rainbow as a symbol of God's promise to never destroy the earth again with a flood; another is God's promise is that the dead in Christ will rise and we which are alive will be caught up with them.  And there are many others.
• Conditional -- Conditional promises of God depend upon the choices we make.  An example would be "Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness (condition) and all these other things will be added to you" (promise) Matthew 6:33.

3. Promises We Can Rely On

Below is a list of just a few of wonderful promises of God that speak to His faithfulness that we can rest in.

• His compassion never fails (Lamentations 3:22-23)
• He is faithful to a thousand generations (Deuteronomy 7:9)
• He will hasten His Word to perform it (Jeremiah 1:12)
• He will keep us from evil (2 Thessalonians 3:3)
• Rescue the godly from temptation (2 Peter 2:9)
• He will empower us to do whatever He has called us to accomplish (Philippians 4:13)
• If we confess our sins, He's faithful to forgive us (1 John 1:9)
• God will never allow us to be tempted beyond what we can bear (1 Corinthians 10:13)
• God will meet our needs (Philippians 4:19)
• All things work together for good for those who love God (Romans 8:28)
• All who believe in Jesus Christ have eternal life (John 3:36)

4.  God Is Also Faithful To The Unbeliever

Those who only pretend to be Christians or who deny the truth of Jesus Christ are also promised punishment because of their unbelief or their false witness (Matthew 7:13; Revelation 20:11-15). God loves us unconditionally, but He is a God of truthfulness.  He keeps His promises as well as His warnings.

We aren't promised trial free lives when we accept Jesus Christ as our Savior, but we have a faithful God who will always help us through our difficulties.  Our Father will never fail to keep His promises, and this is why we can be strong and confident in Him.

What are you facing today that you need to give over to Him so that you can begin to "rest in the faithfulness of God?"

-- Pastor Temple

The Courage To Keep Going

If you have ever faced a difficult and painful situation in your life, you can identify with many people who, when faced with what seems to be overwhelming circumstances, just don't know what to do so they give up.  All of us have faced situations where we just have reached our human limits and are tired of fighting and we think giving up is the only answer.  The encouraging hope for every Christian is that God has given us a wonderful example in Christ and the Apostle Paul, of those who endured great hardship, yet had the courage to keep going.  I have eight observations from the life of Paul that should help you to have the courage to keep going in the face of adversity.

1.  He Had An Awareness That God Was With Him

In 2 Corinthians 11:22-28, Paul describes some of the adversities he faced.  Yet through them all, he knew the Lord was with him.  It's easy to believe God is with us when everything's fine, but when times are tough, we must cling to this truth so we won't become discouraged and give up.

2.  He Had The Experience Of The Lord's Strength Within Him

It was Paul who recognized that his strength did not come from himself.  In Philippians 4:13 he said "I can do all things through Him (Christ) who strengthens me."  If we are depending upon our own strength to overcome these difficult situations in our life, we will be disappointed.  There are times you will face situations you simply cannot handle and you have to give God the opportunity to show you how faithful and powerful He is and how adequate you can be when you trust Him.

3.  He Had The Assurance Of Being In God's Will

Knowing that he was accomplishing what the Lord had called him to do gave Paul the determination to keep going despite the hardship, rejection, and persecution.  Doing what we know God wants us to do will keep us going.

4.  He Had The Overflowing Joy Of Christ

Paul's joy was obvious.  He viewed all the things that had happened to him as an opportunity for the gospel to be spread.  It's easy to praise God and have joy when things are going well.  The test of who we believe our Lord to be, comes when we face the hardship.  Do we still have our confidence and joy in God or is it dependent on our circumstances?

5.  He Had An Appreciation For Life-Changing Lessons

Paul understood God's Word, that's why he could respond to trials with joy and perseverance.  Each situation was a chance to learn valuable lessons and grow in maturity.  God is always working for our good even during the hard times.  God hasn't forgotten us.

6.  He Had The Fruit God Produced Through Him

Paul traveled throughout the Roman Empire telling people about Christ and establishing churches in various cities.  After leaving those churches there were false teachers who led those churches astray.  Paul could have become discouraged and walked away from his ministry, but he didn't. Knowing that God is producing fruit through you, especially during the hardships, should give you the courage to keep going.

7.  He Had The Vision Of The Cross Before Him

Paul's only boast was in the cross of Christ because he knew it was the reason he could survive and keep going.  When Jesus willingly sacrificed Himself on our behalf, He set the ultimate example of perseverance.  Keep your eyes set on the cross!

8.  He Had A Love And Devotion To Jesus Christ

If we truly love Jesus, our loyalty will not be reserved only for the good times, but we'll remain faithful and obedient even when we experience the bad times.  Paul's devotion is described in these words to the Philippians "for to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain."

Are you tempted to give up today?  If so, take some encouragement from the life of the Apostle Paul and see how you too can have the courage to keep going.

-- Pastor Temple