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Re: Bulletin Board [message #12516 is a reply to message #12502]

Wed, 04 July 2018 13:23

james
Messages: 2137
Registered: April 2008
Location: Birmingham, AL

Senior Member

Encouragement for Our Faith in His Faithfulness...

"The fight of faith often involves discerning the difference between our feelings and the Truth."

Matt Mason, senior pastor, The Church at Brook Hills

How true is this for a Christian! We were taught this truth many years ago by HEF. Yet, the battle continues throughout our Christian walk. The battle is often in the mind and thoughts; "I feel so alone and worthless..." one might think: God tells us in His Word that He is always with us, that nothing can separate us from the love of God, that we've been purchased by the Blood of Jesus, that because of His great love for us He suffered and died in our place to redeem us unto Himself. "I feel guilty and condemned over sins of the past and present day struggles..." God's Word says that there is no condemnation to those in Christ, that He has removed our sins as far as the east is from the west from us and He remembers them no more. God says that Satan is a liar and for us to resist him and overcome him by the Blood of The Lamb and the word of our testimony. We're told to put on and keep on, the armour of God; to draw near to God in faith...that in all things through prayer and supplications, with Thanksgiving, to make our request made known unto God and He will give us peace through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Sometimes the battle is in the flesh involving physical pain and suffering, our body is aging and presenting symptoms that are real and become a daily battle to overcome. Yet even in these afflictions God promises to be with us. He doesn't allow us to be given more than we can deal with providing we are looking to Him in and through it. He teaches us patience, and gives us experience in His faithfulness to deliver us, resulting in a hope in Him that is unshakable. Chronic pain can lead to depression and anxiety, the enemy tries to influence our attitudes with thoughts of hopelessness...but God says He is our strength (The joy of The Lord is my strength) He over and over reminds us to REMEMBER His faithfulness in the past and draw strength from it (I like to reflect on David and how God delivered him from a bear and a lion as a young boy and how he remembered that when he went up against Goliath...I also use David as a example of God's love and mercy when it comes to forgiveness of sins when the enemy is accusing me of past sin and trying to bring condemnation, that even though David killed a man and committed adultery with his wife God still forgave and restored him...very encouraging.)

Discerning, that is the key word in the above quote; we must be able to know the difference between the truth and a lie, our 'feeling' will not discern correctly, they will mislead us; but God's Word is The Truth and with that Word hidden within our hearts and His Holy Spirit to remind us of those truths we can stand on them in the midst of whatever comes against us and have confidence/faith that He who made the promises is faithful to keep them...forever, until we see Him in all His Glory...Praise The Lord, Praise The Lord.

“But God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us,”

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