When You Feel Down

'...We will stand in Your presence...cry out to You...and You will hear us and save us.' 2 Chronicles 20:9 NIV

A parishioner asked his pastor, 'Do you ever feel down?' 'Sure,' he responded. 'What do you do about it?' the parishioner said. 'I get up again. Being down isn't my problem - staying down is. I'm either up, or I'm getting up. I've learned not to park in between.' Although feeling down is universal, sociologists warn us to guard against its two most common causes: fear and fatigue. Let's look at them:

Fear: When Edomite armies marched against Israel's king, fear gripped him and his nation. Feeling powerless, they feared losing their God-given land and possessions. If the stress of the last few years has left you feeling fearful, do what Judah's king did. He turned to God and prayed: 'Whenever we are faced with any calamity...we can...stand in Your presence...We can cry out to You...and You will hear us and rescue us.' (2 Chronicles 20:9 NLT) Don't let fear cause you to abandon your hope and your vision. Instead, stand in God's presence, cry out to Him, and watch Him rescue you. Throughout the Old Testament, God reminded His people of His track record of goodness. He wanted them to remember it and take courage. But sometimes fear would cloud their memory and they'd begin to doubt. Sound familiar? So He told them, 'Do not be...discouraged...the battle is not yours, but [Mine].' (2 Chronicles 20:15 NIV) In other words, 'You don't have to defeat the foe, that's My job. I'm in charge; trust Me to work it out.' So remember Who's in control of your circumstances today. Stand in His presence, believe His promise! Bill & Debby Gass

An Angel Encampment

The angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them. (Psalm 34:7)

We cannot see the angels, but it is enough that they can see us. There is one great Angel of the Covenant, whom not having seen we love, and His eye is always upon us both day and night. He has a host of holy ones under Him, and He causes these to be watchers over His saints and to guard them from all ill. If devils do us mischief, shining ones do us service.

Note that the Lord of angels does not come and go and pay us transient visits, but He and His armies encamp around us. The headquarters of the army of salvation is where those live whose trust is in the living God. This camp surrounds the faithful so that they cannot be attacked from any quarter unless the adversary can break through the entrenchments of the Lord of angels. We have a fixed protection, a permanent watch. Sentineled by the messengers of God, we shall not be surprised by sudden assaults nor swallowed up by overwhelming forces. Deliverance is promised in this verse--deliverance by the great Captain of our salvation, and that deliverance we shall obtain again and again until our warfare is accomplished and we exchange the field of conflict for the home of rest. C.H. Spurgeon

EVICT YOUR WORRIES

'...the Lord is my Helper, I will not be afraid...' Hebrews 13:6 NIV

Worry is a squatter; you must evict it. In certain situations if a house lies empty long enough, anyone can move in and occupy it. Worry does that too. It roams around looking for an empty mind, and then moves in. Has worry taken up residence in your mind today? Is it there when you wake in the morning and go to bed at night? As a follower of Christ you have the authority to serve worry an eviction notice and it must leave. The only thing that enables it to stay is your ignorance of that truth. When your mind is occupied with God's Word, worry sees a 'no vacancy' sign and moves on. Paul writes: 'For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.' (2 Corinthians 10:3-5 NKJV) The weapons God has given you to fight with are greater than the fears you face. But you must know your weapons, keep them in good repair, and be able to use them. 'Therefore thus says the Lord God of hosts: "Because you speak this word, behold, I will make My words in your mouth fire, and [your worries] wood, and it shall devour them."' (Jeremiah 5:14 NKJV) When you believe God's Word with all your heart and begin to speak it in the face of your worries, 'It shall devour them.' C.H. Spurgeon

IMPLICIT TRUST

For I will surely deliver thee, and thou shalt not fall by the sword, but thy life shall be for a prey unto thee: because thou hast put thy trust in me, saith the Lord. (Jeremiah 39:18)

Behold the protecting power of trust in God. The great men of Jerusalem fell by the sword, but poor Ebed-melech was secure, for his confidence was in Jehovah. Where else should a man trust but in his Maker? We are foolish when we prefer the creature to the Creator. Oh, that we could in all things live by faith, then should we be delivered in all time of danger! No one ever did trust in the Lord in vain, and no one ever shall.

The Lord saith, "I will surely deliver thee," Mark the divine "surely." Whatever else may be uncertain, God's care of believers is sure. God Himself is the guardian of the gracious, Under His sacred wing there is safety even when every danger is abroad. Can we accept this promise as sure? Then in our present emergency we shall find that it stands fast. We hope to be delivered because we have friends, or because we are prudent, or because we can see hopeful signs; but none of these things are one-half so good as God's simple "because thou hast put thy trust in me." Dear reader, try this way, and, trying it, you will keep to it all your life. It is as sweet as it is sure. C.H. Spurgeon

http://www.minotdailynews.com/page/content.detail/id/576828/New-Marketplace-Foods-open-for-business.html?nav=5010

The above link is from my hometown in North Dakota, The Minot Daily News. My brother, Donny, and his wife, Mary's picture was snapped as they were leaving the store! He is quite proud of it.

Click on the link to see the article and then click on the picture itself to enlarge it.

Whom, When, How to Deliver

The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished. (2 Peter 2:9)

The godly are tempted and tried. That is not true faith which is never put to the test. But the godly are delivered out of their trials, and that not by chance, nor by secondary agencies, but by the Lord Himself. He personally undertakes the office of delivering those who trust Him. God loves the godly or godlike, and He makes a point of knowing where they are and how they fare.

Sometimes their way seems to be a labyrinth, and they cannot imagine how they are to escape from threatening danger. What they do not know, their Lord knows. He knows whom to deliver, and when to deliver, and how to deliver. He delivers in the way which is most beneficial to the godly, most crushing to the tempter, and most glorifying to Himself. We may leave the "how" with the Lord and be content to rejoice in the fact that He will, in some way or other, bring His own people through all the dangers, trials, and temptations for this mortal life to His own right hand in glory.

This day it is not for me to pry into my Lord's secrets but patiently to wait His time, knowing this, that though I know nothing, my heavenly Father knows. C.H. Spurgeon

 If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.  John 15:7

Christ’s Words in Us

by R.A. Torrey

If we are to receive from God all we ask from Him, Christ’s words must abide in us. We must study His words and let them sink into our thoughts and heart. We must keep them in our memory, obey them constantly in our life, and let them shape and mold our daily life and our every act.

This is really the method of abiding in Christ. It is through His words that Jesus imparts Himself to us. The words He speaks unto us, they are spirit and they are life (John 6:63). It is vain to expect power in prayer unless we meditate upon the words of Christ and let them sink deep and find a permanent abode in our hearts; His words do not abide in them. It is not by moments of mystical meditation and rapturous experiences that we learn to abide in Christ. It is by feeding upon His Word, His written Word in the Bible, and looking to the Spirit to implant these words in our heart—to make them a living thing in our heart. If we thus let the words of Christ abide in us, they will stir us up to prayer.

The Word of God is the instrument through which the Holy Spirit works. It is the sword of the Spirit in more senses than one. The person who wants to know the work of the Holy Spirit in any direction must feed upon the Word. The person who desires to pray in the Spirit must meditate on the Word, so that the Holy Spirit may have something through which He can work. The Holy Spirit words His prayers in us through the Word. If we seek to feed the fire of our prayers with the fuel of God’s Word, all our difficulties in prayer will disappear.

THE BLAME GAME

'The woman you put here...gave me some...and I ate it. Genesis 3:121 NIV

Blaming came naturally to Adam and Eve, the father and mother of the human race. After all, who could fault them? God did! Their blame was a result of how sin had changed them. Their relationship to themselves, each other, their environment, and even God, was radically changed by their irresponsibility. And since God can do nothing with people who won't take responsibility for their decisions, He dismissed them from Paradise. What a price to pay!

Here are two good reasons for giving up the blame game: (1) It makes you a victim. When you make someone else responsible for your circumstances, you put the power to change things in their hands. That means nothing will change unless they decide to change it. You make them master of your fate. Only by accepting personal responsibility can you retain the power to change your circumstances. (2) It makes you miserable. You say, 'But they hurt me.' Yes, and by harbouring resentment you are hurting yourself over and over. The Bible says, 'See to it...that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many.' (Hebrews 12:15 NIV) Before you know it, your entire outlook gets distorted. 'See that no one...is godless like Esau, who for a single meal sold his inheritance rights... Afterward...when he wanted to inherit this blessing, he...could bring about no change of mind, though he sought the blessing with tears.' (Hebrews 12:16-17 NIV) Forgive, take back your life, and get out of the blame game! Bill & Debby Gass

 Google had a nice surprise for me tonight. When I went to login, I saw these pretty cakes at the top and wondered who they were celebrating now, so I placed my cursor on them and it said, "Happy birthday, Carolyn" ... Yes ... Me! How cute. Well, anyway, in a little more than an hour, I'll be 68 years old. It just doesn't sound real. I always tell me kids (37 and 35) that they're the ones getting older, not me.

Children are a gift from the Lord;

 they are a reward from him.

Psalm 127:3 

Going to an Indian baby shower for our niece

and nephew today. It is called a Godh Bharai.

Here is a link you can click on to learn more about it:

  http://wishgoodluck.com/india-good-luck-symbols/godh-bharai/

Personally, I don't believe in 'good luck' ... I believe in blessings.