We live in a world that is filled with despair. It’s deep-seated and it’s everywhere—even within the body of Christ. The devil will scream in our ears, “You’re no good” or “Your situation is hopeless.” It’s hard to live in victory when we believe the lies.
There is a shocking reality regarding despair and suicide that we cannot ignore. There are over 35,000 suicides in America every year, and the suicide rate is the same among Christians and non-Christians. This is alarming. But it doesn’t have to be this way.
We overcome despair and are transformed by changing how we think and by the renewing of our mind. We need to know what God is like, who we are in Christ (Romans 5), and what we believe.
We are called to enjoy our relationship with Jesus fully. Learn to say no to Satan’s lies. Don’t agree with him – because he is the father of lies (John 8:44). Meditate on Psalm 139 and pray it out loud to the Lord.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Pastor Del Casale
The apostle Paul lists here some of the spiritual gifts of the Lord, and in Ephesians 4:12-16, he lays out the purposes of those gifts. We are all probably very familiar with the purpose of “edifying [or building up] of the body of Christ.” We attend church in order to worship God with the expectation that God will speak to us through His word and edify us as He works on our hearts. We are a work in process and God is continually working on us (Philippians 1:6).
However, we may not all be aware that another of God’s purposes is that we all are to be equipped for the work of the ministry. God not only calls the pastors to do the work of the church, He calls all of us to work alongside of them. We each have a calling (Ephesians 4:1), and if you are not yet serving in a ministry, pray that the Lord would reveal to you where He would have you serve, then step out in faith and see the Lord work through you. Lord, may we each have a walk worthy of the calling to which we were called.
Jeff Mericle
It is almost impossible for us to comprehend what it is like to be outside of time in an eternal present, where a day is as a thousand years and a thousand years is as a day. But although we cannot understand, we can stand in awe of Him who chose us before we chose Him and loved us before we loved Him. Undeserving as we are, He chose us before time began for a destiny so wonderful we can scarcely grasp it in this fallen world.
Before He created the world He saw you, knew you, and loved you. And He chose you for a reason: that you should be holy and blameless before Him: set apart, forgiven, and in His presence. When David saw how the Lord had blessed Him, and gave him an inheritance vastly beyond what he deserved, he responded, “Therefore my heart is glad and my glory rejoices… In your presence is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” That is how the Spirit revealed to David what it would be like to be “before Him.”
If we would but have a glimpse of what the joy of His presence will be like—fullness of joy, pleasures forevermore—the things of this world that so beguile and enamor us would instead be almost meaningless. To be holy and without any blame or guilt before Him, nothing on earth can compare.
What resolve this should inspire within us to pursue Him in this life! His presence is what our hearts are actually longing for the most. He fills the void in my heart and satisfies the longing of my soul.
Tom Day
God, through the prophet Isaiah, is rebuking His people for constantly planning and making decisions without seeking Him. Let this rebuke to Israel be a rebuke to us as well when we devise plans and seek counsel from others yet do not seek counsel from God’s Word and spend serious time in prayer seeking the will of God.
When we don’t seek God and we move forward in whatever brilliant plan we came up with, odds are, it’s wasn’t God’s plan and that brilliant plan of ours leads down a path that leads to further bad choices. It thereby causes a snowball effect of painful consequences that take us further from God’s will. There is an easy to solution to prevent this… seek counsel from our God first and foremost. That doesn’t mean we can’t consult others, but at the end of the day, we must let God direct us and our plans.
Pastor Jason Witt
From verses 2:14-26, James is saying faith without works is dead. He gives an example of living out our faith in the above verses. If you have a brother or sister around you and you say be filled and be warmed but you do nothing about it, what profit is there? In other words, actions speak louder than words.
I’ve been reading and seeing all over Facebook and Instagram and Twitter the words “They need Jesus!” or “The answer is found in Jesus.” Yes, those statements are true but, my question to you is “So what are you doing about it?” Are you simply praying that someone else could come along and feed them? Or are you putting action to your faith? I know I have the tendency of standing around praying but now its time for the next step — go out and do. Go out and invest in the lives of those who need it the most.
Josh Navarro
Humility is a character trait that our natural selves resist. In this “me-first” world, humility is seen as a weakness, but in the Kingdom of Heaven, it represents the mighty strength of God’s love.
Jesus, the One who created all things and is above all things, chose to suspend His rights and lay down the outward attributes of His deity in order to become an earth-bound servant. Jesus paid the ultimate sacrifice on the cross to gain that which He loves; you and me.
Christian, we understand that true humility has a purpose for greater good, but I think we can all testify that it is impossible to grasp on our own. Today, let’s look to our Lord as more than our example; let’s seek His face with a renewed desire to love Him, and by His love to empty ourselves a bit so that He has more room to work in our lives for the benefit of others.
Jeff Deal
The salvation that gives us the hope of heaven has been given to us by grace alone along with the life we live today. However, too many times we try to maintain our relationship with God by our works. If you’re going to move away from God’s grace to walk in works, know that it’s your doing not God’s will. God’s desire is to tear down the works-oriented attitude in us, so why would we want to build that wall up again now as we seek to live in Him? We were saved by grace, so we should now live by it as well, dead to the law and works-based religion and alive to God through grace.
If you could get to heaven any other way then why would God have sent His only Son to die in vain? Live your life out loud in the grace of God knowing that Jesus has done it all for you!
Pastor Doug Hardin
There is no one that cares and loves every person more than God. My hope and prayer is that you would come to know how thirsty you are for God’s Word, believer or unbeliever. So much so that God uses a baby longing for milk as our example, and I’m sure you have all heard a hungry baby.
Your soul is crying out for true spiritual food. Feed it with God’s Word. That is the only place you will find peace, fulfillment, joy, and, best of all, the salvation of your souls through Jesus Christ. Grow in the Lord, follow Jesus, and you will find completeness to your whole life, no matter who you are.
Resting in Him,
Pastor Sean Boehm
When my son was younger and still in elementary school, he confessed to me he had used a very profane word among his friends at recess time. I asked him how it made him feel and he said, “It felt powerful, but then that feeling went away and I felt horrible.” Which is why he felt the need to confess to me.
My young son had felt the pull and deception of the enemy’s temptations and giving in had broken his little spirit. I encouraged him that the horrible feeling afterward was a good thing because he was experiencing the conviction of the Holy Spirit to turn him away from the perverseness and fill his mind and his life with the words of God’s truth.
Lessons from the playground,
Pastor Gerard Deleeuw
This verse is a great promise to those who follow Jesus, but I wonder sometimes if people really believe it. When we have burdens, those difficulties in life that tend to weigh us down, we should give them to the Lord. We do that through prayer and through meditation on God’s word.
Yet you might feel you’re already giving the Lord your burdens and still feel like you can be moved, like your faith can be shaken. We should realize the writer of this Psalm, David, went through many difficulties himself to the point where he must have wondered if God was on his side and yet he kept praying and kept relying on the Lord.
There’s no doubt the enemy wants to shake up your life and shake your faith, so rely on this promise from God and give your troubles to Him. He can handle them better than us.
Standing on the Rock,
Pastor Ron Kitchell
