Do you fear God?

Do you fear God?
“The fear of the LORD is to hate evil; Pride and arrogance and the evil way And the perverse mouth I hate.” Proverbs 8:13 “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.” Proverbs 9:10 “The fear of the LORD prolongs days, But the years of the wicked will be shortened.” Proverbs 10:27 “He who walks in his uprightness fears the LORD, But he who is perverse in his ways despises Him.” Proverbs 14:2 “Then a voice came from the throne, saying, “Praise our God, all you His servants and those who fear Him, both small and great!” Revelation 19:5
The only way to live a life of significance is to serve God, and the only way to properly serve Him is to fear Him the way you should.
Go through the concordance in your Bible or use the internet and do a study on fearing God. See how fearing Him brings you to salvation, brings you knowledge and wisdom and brings you peace.

Growing in Christ

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“According to the grace of God which was given to me, as a wise master builder I have laid the foundation, and another builds on it. But let each one take heed how he builds on it.” 1 Corinthians 3:10
If we are to serve God effectively we need to be growing; in our knowledge of Him, in how much we act like Him, in our love for Him.
If you have been saved and are one of God’s chosen few, His redeemed, then you have the foundation laid. Now you must begin to build on it by growing in Jesus Christ.
“Where there is no revelation the people cast off restraint; 
but happy is he who keeps the law.” Proverbs 28:19
By studying God’s Word we can grow and begin to act more like Him.
We have the revelation of God’s Word to keep us close to Him. The people that don’t study Him are those who “cast off restraint”. They may even claim to be Christians, but if they don’t read His Word and follow it how can they make this claim?
“For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.” 1 John 5:4
We can have victory over the world through our faith in Christ; and when we have overcome the world we can impact the world for Jesus!

Anxious for Nothing

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“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:6
Are you worried about something today? Did you know that you can cast “all your care upon Him, for he cares for you.” 1 Peter 5:7
If you’re worried about something, pray about it. If you’re anxious, tell Him. Do you need wisdom for a problem in your life? Ask God, He has promised to give you it!
“Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit,” Ephesians 6:18
You see, we aren’t supposed to use prayer as a last resort tool. We should be praying constantly so as to keep in walk with the Lord, to stay close by His side.
More than this, we can and should encourage others through praying for them. They don’t even have to know that we are. If you know a fellow Christian who has a need you should be praying for them, and if they aren’t a believer you should be praying for them all the more!

The Helper - The Holy Spirit

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“Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you.” John 16:7 so says Jesus to His disciples.
Jesus sends us the Holy Spirit to work through us. He is the Helper, the one who convicts us of our sins, gives us the faith to believe and gives us the words to say when we need them.
Jesus saves us, to use us; that’s why He left us, so He could send us the Holy Spirit so He could work through us!
“Then they returned to Jerusalem… And when they had entered, they went up into the upper room… all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication,” Acts 1:12-14
The disciples spent days in that room praying to receive the Holy Spirit that Jesus had promised to send and when He came they added 3,000 people to this new Christian faith! Couldn’t we set aside a short time to pray every day if we really want the Spirit of God to work in and through us?
God doesn’t ever break His promises; Jesus said the Helper would come and when the disciples prayed He did come.
“Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.” Hebrews 10:23

A Living Sacrifice

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“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be 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.” Romans 12:1-2
There is a reason God doesn’t pull us out of the world once we get saved. He means for us to serve Him with our lives. Witnessing to others and encouraging fellow believers.
Are you living a life of consequence? Nothing you do outside of Christ will last, so why not do more for Him?
God will use us to do powerful things for His kingdom if “we walk by faith, not by sight”. He wants us to trust fully in Him to do His work, not in ourselves.
When we live in this way we will be able to pray more effectively. We will ask God to reveal His perfect plan to us, rather than asking Him to bless our plans instead. When we pray like this, we pray like Jesus prayed.
So we should pray for God to reveal His plan to us because that is the only way for us to labor effectively for Christ.
“For to this end we both labor and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of those who believe.” 1 Timothy 4:10

Commit to Christ

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Are you committed to Christ? “No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.” Luke 9:62. Just as Jesus “steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem,” in Luke 9:51 we should steadfastly set our faces to follow Him. If you have made a commitment for Jesus Christ than do your best to study His will so you can serve Him, than go out and tell others the things that Christ has done for you.
Commit yourself to Christ for His honor and glory, not for your own. “And do you seek great things for yourself? Do not seek them; for behold, I will bring adversity on all flesh,” says the LORD. “But I will give your life to you as a prize in all places, wherever you go.”’” Jeremiah 45:5. If you are a Christian than God has already given you the greatest gift you will ever receive in the way of salvation. You should want to serve Him in gratitude for that gift!
Psalm 2:8 says, “Ask of Me, and I will give You The nations for Your inheritance, And the ends of the earth for Your possession.” If you can’t go out yourself to serve you can still serve in prayer. Missionaries need your support and especially your prayers if they are to succeed in winning souls to Christ!

Unspotted for Christ

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What does it mean to, “keep oneself unspotted from the world”? James 1:27

To follow Christ with your whole life, using all the gifts and abilities you’ve been given to serve and honor Jesus. In your relationships with others, to treat them in the same way Christ would. To “love the Lord you God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind… and love your neighbor as yourself.” Matthew 22:37-39

After this we can pray to be used by God, and can expect to be used in greater ways than we could ever accomplish ourselves. “Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us.” Ephesians 3:20 God can use us in ways we never dreamed for His glory if we ask Him to and sincerely want to be used.

Do you want to be used by God? Do you pray asking Him to use you? All you have to do is ask Him and He will use you.

If we desire to be used by God, Satan will do everything in his power to destroy us. But God gives us a shield, a shield called faith. “Above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one.” Ephesians 6:16

Using Restored Years for God's Glory

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“I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten.” Joel 2:25
Sin makes us ugly. It starts inside the moment we leave God’s will; it continues in our attitudes and behavior and will affect our looks and health once we enter into physical sins. This isn’t God’s will for our lives; He wants us to live long, happy, healthy, beautiful lives serving Him. He even promises to restore the years we wasted living in sin! If you confess those sins to Him, repent of them and turn to Him.
All won’t be restored here on earth, but we can then start living our lives anew in a right relationship with God.
After our relationship to God is restored through Jesus we can, “Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching.” 2 Timothy 4:2 this is the will of God for a Christian’s life.
When we go out to “Preach the word” in this new right standing we have with God, we should always keep in contact with the Lord through prayer to stay in His will.
Don’t think that doing these good works are what puts you in good standing with God. Read Galatians 3:2-3 and remember that the good works we do are in gratitude to God for saving us by our faith in Christ.

Raising Children as Disciples

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Hear, my children, the instruction of a father, and give attention to know understanding. Proverbs 4:1
If we want to instruct our children in good understanding, then we must be working to know that understanding ourselves. Proverbs 2:6 says, “For the Lord giveth wisdom: out of His mouth cometh knowledge and understanding.” Only by reading God’s Word can we come to know Him better.
We would do well to remember that it is God’s sovereign grace that saves our children, not us. So we should work to disciple them to give their lives wholly to Christ if God chooses to save them.
As disciples of Jesus Christ, we are called to “go into all the world and preach the Gospel” so as to make more disciples.
Matthew 11:28-30 tells us that we should take Jesus’ yoke upon us. That means we need to be in step with Him, by reading His Word and praying we can remain in step with God. So before you decide on doing that work that you planned for Him, take time to pray. By walking in step with Jesus you take the burden off of you and He will give you His rest while He completes His work through you.

Prayer And Work

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Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
It is a great idea to have specific times during the day to sit down, away from everything that might distract you, and pray. But scripture tells us to “pray without ceasing”. We can talk to God throughout the day, while driving, at work, while falling asleep. We don’t need to be on our knees with our eyes closed. As long as our hearts are bowed before God we can talk to Him anywhere, in any work we do.
As we should, “For we are God’s fellow workers;” 1 Corinthians 3:9 We work with God to do His work, so we need to be talking to Him constantly to make sure the work we are doing is in His will.
When we walk with God in prayer He give us work to do because by walking with Him in prayer we will be ready to do the work that God gives us. When we are doing God’s work it will grow beyond anything we could accomplish ourselves, as long as we pray. Prayer and work are a package deal.
Our real power in the work we do comes from God alone. Matthew 17:20 tells us that if we have faith in Him the size mustard seed, He will give us whatever we need to accomplish His tasks.

A New Creation

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When we are saved we become “a new creation”, we are given new life. No matter what you did before, no matter what sin, Jesus saved you for a purpose. He will use you to further His kingdom if you are ready.
Do you read the Bible daily? In not, how can He use you if you aren’t trying to know Him better? Do you pray? If not, how can He use you if you don’t talk to Him? Do you attend Church? If not, how will He use you if you won’t work with the rest of His servants? Do you tell others about Him? No? Than what more is there to say? If you loved Jesus you would tell others about Him.
For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us. 2 Corinthians 1:20. Our ability to be used by God is limited by how much we diligently seek Him. God wants to use us in great and powerful ways, but we need to be ready. Another thing though is this; Matthew 7:7 promises “Ask, and it will be given to you;” it doesn’t promise that if you choose not to ask it will be given to you anyways. Prayer is a powerful tool given to Christians by God, use it.
Please remember that God saved us from Hell by His Son Jesus Christ so that we may know we have eternal life. 1 John 5:13 Shouldn’t we tell others so that they may know too?

Being strong in the big and the little things

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God loves us; more than we could ever believe. But He does tell us that we reap what we sow, “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.” Galatians 6:7 If we live in sin we can be sure there will be consequences for us. In God’s law of reaping and sowing there is no such thing as a failed crop. But God’s love for us extends deep; “if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9
We need to be careful not to turn from major sins in our lives, continue to be strong in those areas and then fall to some “little” sin because we aren’t walking close to the Lord. Think of Joab in 1 Kings 2:28, he didn’t follow after Absalom even though it seemed as if he would prevail. Then after that he follows after Adonijah when it looked like he had remained faithful. For that he was executed. We need to be faithful in the big things and the little ones.
This is where our prayer lives come into play. We need to have God as our constant companion, walking with Him and talking to Him always. We should seek Him daily so as to not fall to the little or the big things.
When we come to God asking for anything, including forgiveness, His grace to give us what we ask for is only limited by our belief in Him. Jesus said to him, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.” Mark 9:23

Here I am

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Sin is an ugly thing; it creates only pain and suffering in our lives. But there is one beautiful thing that can come from our sin. When we bring our sins before God and confess them, He will forgive us of them all. This will create a love for God in us just like it did for the woman who anointed Jesus in Luke 7, “Her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much.” God will use this love for Him in us, to use us.
We need to be ready to serve God when He calls. Think of Moses when God called to him in Exodus 3:4, he was ready; he said “Here I am”. When God calls to us, we must be ready to tell Him, “Here I am”, so we can serve Him.
When we pray for others, we need to remember that we should be like the friend that was called on for food at midnight in Luke 11:5-10, although he didn’t have any food he knew where he could get some and he didn’t stop knocking until he got what his friend needed. We don’t have any power to help anyone, but we can go to the One who can help and we shouldn’t stop praying for them until the answer is given.
We can help others in their times of need, but only through Jesus, “the author and finisher of our faith."

Die to yourself, live for God

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Philippians 3:7-8 says, "But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. Yet indeed I have counted all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ." We shouldn't take the credit for anything "good" we do in our lives. We should just study and pray as much as possible; and when God uses us to do good, we should make sure He gets all the praise and honor.
Because when you are following Christ with all your heart on the inside, you will give up everything around you just to be with Him. Your first thoughts are about Jesus, like Peter jumping out of the boat in John 21:7
If we are to be productive Christians we need to "pray without ceasing", so that we can be constantly filled with the Holy Spirit. John 15:4 tells us that we can't do anything without being connected to Jesus.
So remember, the only way we can live lives with eternal consequence is to die and let Christ live through us. Just as Paul said he did in Galations 2:20, "I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me;"