“Lord, take notice of the threats they have made, and allow us, your servants, to speak your message with all boldness.”
Acts 4:29 (GNT) We all have fears. Too often, though, we let them rule over our lives; we let them stop us from taking a stand for what we know God wants us to do. Like Daniel standing in the lion’s den, we face people and situations that threaten to destroy us and our witness for Christ. But we have a choice: Will we succumb to our fears, or will we stand up for God in spite of those fears? If you want to overcome the fears that are dragging you down, you need to clearly understand the benefits of choosing to stand up for what God wants. Most importantly, you need to see that doing what God wants you to do is a clear victory over the fear in your life. Because fear grows. Every time you give in to a fear, it becomes more intense. Fear grows every time you refuse to do what God wants you to do. Eventually, you’ll feel cornered. So what do you do? Follow the lead of early Christians. We’re certainly not the first generation of Christians to face fear. Early believers faced all kinds of persecution. The book of Acts shows us a bit about how they stood up to fear. As Peter and John proclaimed Jesus boldly in Acts 4, they came up against fierce opposition. So they prayed, “Lord, take notice of the threats they have made, and allow us, your servants, to speak your message with all boldness” (Acts 4:29 GNT). The answer to your fear isn’t to give in to it. It’s to move forward boldly in spite of it. You stand up to the fear. Fear doesn’t respond to logic, so your only chance to get rid of a fear is to trust God and face the fear. Never, ever forget this: God won’t part the water in front of you until you take your first step (see how God did this for Elijah and Elisha in 2 Kings 2:8). You take a step of faith, and then God shows you the path. That won’t happen if you stand wrapped up in your fear. Take a step in faith today, and watch fear crumble in the process as God guides your steps.
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“If you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive the wrongs you have done.”
Matthew 6:15 (GNT) If you are unwilling to forgive someone and you don’t want God to forgive them either, that reveals bitterness and resentment in your life. If you want someone else to be punished but you expect forgiveness for the bad things you’ve done, you’ll just make yourself miserable. You’re not hurting them; you’re only hurting yourself. Jesus said, “If you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive the wrongs you have done” (Matthew 6:15 GNT). Forgiveness involves your past, present, and future:
Consider Jonah. After he warned the people of Nineveh about God’s judgment, they repented, so God forgave them and didn’t punish them. This disappointed Jonah and made him bitter. But remember how Jonah originally turned away from God? He wanted God’s forgiveness for his own sin of disobeying. Yet he didn’t want God to forgive the Ninevites. So Jonah prayed, “I knew that you are a loving and merciful God, always patient, always kind, and always ready to change your mind and not punish. Now then, LORD, let me die. I am better off dead than alive” (Jonah 4:2-3 GNT). Jonah’s resentment was only hurting himself. The Ninevites were enjoying the grace of God while Jonah was wallowing in self-pity. It’s critical that you forgive anyone from your past who has hurt you—and that you forgive anyone who wrongs you today. Why? Because God has forgiven you for your past sins, and he has promised to forgive you in the future. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9 NIV). “Since we are God’s coworkers, we urge you not to let God’s kindness be wasted on you.”
2 Corinthians 6:1 (GW) When God gives you another chance to fulfill your mission in life, seize it. Don’t waste it. It’s the time to focus on God’s unique calling for your life. Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 6:1, “Since we are God’s coworkers, we urge you not to let God’s kindness be wasted on you” (GW). God’s done so much for you. He’s forgiven your sins. He’s given you more than one second chance. He will give you another opportunity to serve him. Take a look at Paul. He was killing Christians because he thought they were heretics who were following a dead and disgraced leader. But then Jesus confronted Paul on the road to Damascus—and offered him a second chance to fulfill his real mission on earth. Paul accepted his assignment and did a 180-degree turn—and he never forgot the second chance God gave him. Later in his ministry, Paul said: “I don’t care about my own life. The most important thing is that I complete my mission, the work that the Lord Jesus gave me—to tell people the Good News about God’s grace” (Acts 20:24 NCV). Because Paul was so grateful God was using him, nothing else mattered to him. No matter how badly you’ve messed up, God hasn’t changed your mission. Maybe you’ve started to drift just a little bit. God still hasn’t changed your mission. So get back to it. Get started today. When God gives you another chance, don’t delay—obey. God’s second chances reflect his grace and his love for you. “It is wonderful to be grateful and to sing your praises, LORD Most High! It is wonderful each morning to tell about your love and at night to announce how faithful you are.”
Psalm 92:1-2 (CEV) God loves to give second chances. Consider Jonah. God gave him a mission to tell the people of Nineveh to repent. But Jonah didn’t like Nineveh and wanted the people to experience God’s judgment. So Jonah ran away from God and ended up in the belly of a fish. Still, God gave him a second chance! He’ll give you one too. What do you do when he does? Live gratefully. That’s how Jonah responded, at least at first. In fact, he thanked God before he had even been rescued: “As for me, I will sacrifice to you with a voice of thanksgiving” (Jonah 2:9 CSB). When God gives you a second chance, do what Jonah did. Wake up every day with profound gratitude for the opportunity God has given you. The Bible says, “It is wonderful to be grateful and to sing your praises, LORD Most High! It is wonderful each morning to tell about your love and at night to announce how faithful you are” (Psalm 92:1-2 CEV). It’s not just a one-time prayer. It’s a lifestyle of gratitude. The psalmist sang God’s praises every morning and every night. If you’re alive and have blood flowing through your veins, your mission is still in front of you. No matter what has happened in the past, you can thank God for a second chance to fulfill his plan for your life. It’s worth singing about! “When I had lost all hope, I turned my thoughts once more to the Lord.”
Jonah 2:7 (TLB) When you feel hopeless, choose to think about the one thing you know will lift your spirit: the goodness of God. How did Jonah do it? Here’s what he said: “When I had lost all hope, I turned my thoughts once more to the Lord” (Jonah 2:7 TLB). That’s the answer to hopelessness! You turn your thoughts to God. You think about his goodness, his greatness, his love, his fairness, and his kindness. In the New Testament, the Greek word for this is metanoia or “repentance.” Repentance doesn’t just mean you stop doing bad stuff. It means you change your mind and look at life from God’s viewpoint instead of your own. Corrie ten Boom, a survivor of the Nazi death camps, once said, “If you look at the world, you’ll be distressed. If you look within, you’ll be depressed. If you look at God, you’ll be at rest.” Everything depends on where you’re looking. As you focus your attention on God’s goodness, look to his Word. One of the verses one can lean on during some of the darkest times of one's life is Psalm 27:13, which says, “I know that I will live to see the LORD’s goodness in this present life” (GNT). It’s a great reminder that God’s purpose in your life is greater than whatever problem you’re facing. Even though it may be difficult, instead of focusing on your worries, choose to look up and turn your “thoughts once more to the Lord.” “Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me.”
Jonah 1:2 (NIV) When God first gave Jonah his mission, it required a huge step of faith. In fact, the step was so big that Jonah initially ran from it. At the time, Nineveh was the biggest and most important city in the world. It was the capital of Assyria, the strongest empire of the day. Nineveh was a beautiful city with wide boulevards, parks, canals, great architecture, palaces, and temples. But it was also a very cruel and wicked city. The Assyrians destroyed everything in their path and treated everyone else with racial prejudice. For Jonah to preach to them, it would take a step of faith. Why? First, Jonah had grown up in a small village. Yet God was calling him to reach the biggest city in the world. Plus, it was more than 550 miles away. It wouldn’t be easy to get there. Most importantly, Assyria had captured, dominated, and enslaved the Jews multiple times. The Assyrians hated Israel, and Israel hated the Assyrians. They were mortal enemies. They were political enemies. They were religious enemies. They were racial enemies. But God wanted to save these people too, so he sent Jonah on a mission to them. However, instead of obeying, Jonah ran from God’s plan. He wouldn’t take the step of faith necessary to start his mission, let alone complete it. Like Jonah’s mission, your God-given mission will test your faith. It may challenge your comfort zones. It may challenge your prejudices. It may challenge your politics. But you can’t accomplish God’s mission for your life without faith. “Without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him” (Hebrews 11:6 NIV). What Jonah eventually learned is that God will be with us every step along our mission, guiding and providing for us. Jesus promised this when he gave the Great Commission: “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matthew 28:19-20 NIV). “Jonah immediately tried to run away from the LORD by going to Tarshish.”
Jonah 1:3 (GW) God gives every one of us a unique mission—and he gives us a choice as to whether or not we fulfill that mission. God gave Jonah a mission: to warn the people of Nineveh that judgment was coming. But “Jonah immediately tried to run away from the LORD by going to Tarshish” (Jonah 1:3 GW). Jonah faced consequences for his decision, the same kind of consequences you may encounter if you run away from God’s mission for your life. The Bible says that when Jonah boarded a ship to get away from his mission, God sent a powerful wind to push the boat back (Jonah 1:4). Why did God do that? Because he loved Jonah and wanted him to make a good decision that would give him a life of purpose and fulfillment. God sends opposition our way to encourage us to make better decisions. Jonah’s disobedience also threatened the lives of everyone on the boat to Tarshish. When you run away from God, innocent people—including those you care about—can get hurt. Maybe it’s your spouse, your kids, your grandkids, or your friends. Sometimes it’s people you don’t even know. People can get hurt because of your disobedience. Jonah shows that when you run from God, your life starts a downward trajectory. Your disobedience will cost you financially, physically, and relationally. Nineveh was more than 550 miles away, but Jonah tried running to Tarshish, which was 2,500 miles in the opposite direction. The truth is, you can’t run from God for the rest of your life. He’s everywhere and he knows everything. But he gives you choices because he wants you to love him and follow him voluntarily. Since God has your best interest at heart, why run from him? “God has made us what we are. In Christ Jesus, God made us to do good works, which God planned in advance for us to live our lives doing.”
Ephesians 2:10 (NCV) You weren’t put on earth to live for yourself. You were made for a greater purpose than simply to make money, retire, and die. You were made for a mission, and that mission gives your life meaning. The Bible says, “God has made us what we are. In Christ Jesus, God made us to do good works, which God planned in advance for us to live our lives doing” (Ephesians 2:10 NCV) In other words, you’re unique. No one else in the whole world—past, present, or future—is like you. God has made you so unique that there are certain things only you can contribute to the world. Those things make up your life mission. Until you know your life mission, you’re just existing. Life may seem good, but you won’t experience the fulfillment you would if you were living out God’s intentions for you. Jesus says in Mark 8:35, “If you insist on saving your life, you will lose it. Only those who throw away their lives for my sake and for the sake of the Good News will ever know what it means to really live” (TLB). God is giving you the opportunity to build your life around his mission for you. The only way to do that is by starting with a firm foundation: Jesus Christ. “And no one can ever lay any other real foundation than that one we already have—Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 3:11 TLB). You can choose to build your life on Jesus, the only foundation that will last. Or you can choose to spend your life chasing things that ultimately will fail you. What’s certain is that one day you will stand before God and he’ll ask you: “Did you fulfill the mission that I gave you on this earth?” On that day, it will be clear whether you spent your life fulfilling God’s mission for you—or you chose to chase lesser things. It’s never too late to start living the life God has planned for you. Start building your foundation on Jesus and pursuing God’s mission for your life today. “I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.”
Psalm 23:6 (NIV) Of all the benefits of God’s goodness, only one lasts beyond your life on earth. The final verse of Psalm 23 expresses the ultimate example of God’s goodness: “I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever” (Psalm 23:6 NIV). That means you don’t have to fear death—because death is not the end. God saves the best for last. Even if you have a tough life here on earth, if you have asked Jesus Christ to save you, you will dwell forever in the house of the Lord, where there’s no more sorrow, no more suffering, no more sin, no more sickness, no more sadness, no more problems, no more pain, and no more pressure. Heaven is unbelievable. God’s glory is waiting there for you. The Bible teaches, “It is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 2:5-7). Everything you’ve seen in movies about heaven is probably wrong. First, heaven is not nirvana, a dream, or a metaphorical attitude. Heaven is a physical place, not a state of being. It’s a permanent place that will last forever. And it is reserved only for God’s family. Heaven is also not boring! We see a glimpse of heaven in Revelation 21, where we learn that we won’t just kick back and do nothing for eternity. A lot of the stuff you do here on earth is what you’ll be able to do in heaven. You’ll be able to eat in heaven, you’ll be able to sleep in heaven, you’ll party in heaven, talk, fellowship, pray, and sing—just to name a few. Heaven was created for you. There are only two things that you do on earth that you won’t do in heaven. First, in heaven you can’t sin; second, you can’t witness to a nonbeliever about Christ’s love and forgiveness because only God’s children are there. That’s why, once you become a believer, God does not take you instantly to heaven. He wants you to pass on the Good News of salvation and grace. The only reason you’re going to heaven is because somebody told you about the Gospel. Now it’s your turn to tell others. There is so much to look forward to in heaven. We will worship God forever. We will be reunited with those who love Jesus. We will be rewarded for our faith, hope, and love. We will be assigned work that we enjoy doing. What an awesome promise. What a good God! “So Potiphar gave Joseph complete administrative responsibility over everything he owned. With Joseph there, he didn’t worry about a thing—except what kind of food to eat!”
Genesis 39:6 (NLT) The greatest compliment a boss can pay you is, “I’m not worried,” because it says that you are reliable, trustworthy, and steady. They can count on you. Genesis 39:6 says, “So Potiphar gave Joseph complete administrative responsibility over everything he owned. With Joseph there, he didn’t worry about a thing—except what kind of food to eat!” (NLT). How would you like to have the kind of job where all you had to worry about was what to eat? Potiphar trusted Joseph and gave the former slave complete decision-making power because he knew he could rely on him. That’s why Joseph kept getting promoted—because all of his bosses could say, “I trust this guy with my life.” When he was in prison, Joseph had favor with the warden, who put the entire prison under Joseph’s care. That’s how much the warden trusted Joseph. Joseph was reliable—so the warden didn’t have to worry about anything with Joseph in charge. Reliability is earning the trust of others by always keeping your promises and fulfilling your responsibilities, even if it requires sacrifice. Joseph knew how to be reliable. He got promoted because he fulfilled his responsibilities. He kept his word even if it meant personal hurt, loss, and sacrifice. Can the same be said of you? |
AuthorTaken from Daily Hope by Rick Warren. Categories
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