by Carol Roberts | Mar 27, 2018 | Encouragement
Doing the right thing is as easy as taking the initiative to act. God never requires of us anything that He does not first equip us to do. He speaks to us with a gentle tugging in our heart.
The simplicity of picking up the phone to speak to an elderly person or to hold the door open for a person whose hands are full are acts of kindness that please God.
Obeying the law is as simple is coming to a full stop at a four way stop or slowing down to let another person onto the road. Exercising the right to vote requires marking a ballot. Shaking bad habits are made easier by replacing them with good habits.
However there are people who know the right thing to do and choose not to do so. These things inconvenience others but the ultimate harm comes to them. They have given up the opportunity to be looked upon favorably by God. They are not getting by with anything as it may seem.
A humble spirit of obedience to the simple callings in life are treasures stored up in heaven. While we have our authorities here on earth, we always have our biggest Person of authority in heaven. He is just and He notices all things.
James 4:17 New American Standard Bible
Therefore, to one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, to him it is sin.
by Carol Roberts | Mar 21, 2018 | Hope
Have you ever prayed for something and instead of things improving they got worse? You pray for a part in the school play and you get a different role than what you expect. You trust God for a high paying job in a large corporation and you get a low paying job at another company. You believe God for an individual to know Christ and this individual’s behavior becomes worse instead of better.
Does this mean that God is saying no? Not necessarily. Many times He prepares you and/or the people involved to receive the answer you have asked of God. He answers prayers according to His will and purpose and it takes time to prepare you emotionally, intellectually and spiritually to see His big picture. Therefore He has answered you but the manifestation of the way you dreamed of is not what you get. As time progresses and you continue to believe it’s very likely your viewpoint and desires will change. Your relationship with Jesus Christ grows and you have a better understanding of the things involved in when and how God’s answers are brought to you.
The important thing is to allow your endurance and patience to grow during the waiting and learning process so you will be ready when His divine answer is brought to you.
1 John 5:14 New American Standard Bible
This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.
by Carol Roberts | Mar 19, 2018 | Encouragement
Guilt is like a weight that holds us back in life. In order to deal with these feelings many times we will keep busy or play a radio. We want this feeling to go away because it effects everything we do. All we can think about is the discomfort it causes and we want a way out.
Getting rid of guilt is easy when we know what we have done wrong. We told someone no when our heart was telling us to say yes. A phone call should have been made days ago and we keep putting it off. We turn on a friend or secretly cheat and at the moment it got us through what we thought was a tough situation. These moments of a wrong decision can cause long periods of guilt.
If we confess our sins He is faithful and just to forgive us. The secret of overcoming guilt is to honestly confront it. Once we are truthful to God we may feel a tugging in our heart to approach the person we wronged or we may get our peace immediately. The healing comes with confrontation to the wrong itself and follow the leading of God afterwards.
What if we have a guilty feeling and cannot think of anything we said or did wrong? Many times it’s nothing we have done to create the guilt but a tugging from God to seek His face. God wants to speak to us and possibly move us into a ministry or closer to Him.
Whether the guilty feeling comes from a wrong we committed or the feeling that comes from nowhere, we are to approach God. Once we approach God in sincere prayer we can expect to be shown things within our hearts that hinder us from moving forward toward a closer walk with God.
Hebrews 4:15-16 New American Standard Bible
For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
by Carol Roberts | Mar 15, 2018 | Grief
There is an old saying that states “When things get tough the tough get going.” While there is some truth in this statement the word tough can mean a lot of things. People trained for military purposes go through harsh rituals learning to endure all types of hardships without showing any emotions. As a result, these men and women can assist others during a crisis.
Nature has its own way of showing us benefits. Grapes and olives are brutally crushed but they provide juices, wine and oil that we cannot live without. Wheat is ground up to make flower. Taffy is pulled to make soft candy.
There are spiritual hardships creating a need to cry out to God. The loss of a parent or child leaving a shocking void is a crisis too hard to bear. There are no words that can take away that emptiness. There is such a shock even prayer seems to bounce off the ceiling. It’s times like this the spotlight is on us. Our family, friends, coworkers and even strangers watch and wonder what we will do. Our tears show that we love that person. Our thankfulness toward those who pray for us show that we appreciate. Our attention to God for comfort and answers show that we place our trust in Him.
People watch our reactions to these hardships that come our way. Do our responses represent Christ? Sometimes our greatest witness comes from how we represent Christ during the hardest of circumstances. Our Lord will comfort and He will reward all we do for Him.
Galatians 5:22-25 New American Standard Bible
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.
by Carol Roberts | Mar 13, 2018 | Hope
It is very peaceful to sit beside a stream or in a cozy den with no sounds other than that which nature brings. God will meet us at any place we choose and at any time. Some choose to have a designated place to go and pray while others will pray at different places.
Where we physically meet God is a choice He leaves to us. However faith is the spiritual meeting place that never changes. Faith is the cross roads where our trust and hopes meet God in prayer. Faith is honored by God. Faith is the avenue that brings about answered prayer and closeness to God. Faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen.
Hebrews 11:6 New American Standard Bible
And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.