“And he did rescue us from mortal danger, and he will rescue us again. We have placed our confidence in him, and he will continue to rescue us.” (2 Corinthians 1:10 NLT, 2nd edition)God is watching over you, so don’t listen to your fears. This is a choice. Trust God, and don’t give in to your fears.

God’s promise to believers is that, no matter what happens to us, he is working for our good — if we love him and follow him (Romans 8:28). If you're a believer, the Bible says all things are working together for good — not that all things are good, but working together for good.

That means we can stop listening to our fears; there is no difficulty, dilemma, defeat, or disaster in the life of a believer that God can’t ultimately get some good out of. There is no need to fear the future.

Your fears reveal where you do not trust God. Today, make a list of your fears, and ask God to help you identify why you have fear in those areas. Then, ask him to help you replace your fears with trust.

Now, this is important: expect God to start helping you learn to trust him with each fear. Then, watch to see how he helps you.

Talk About It

• What fears have you identified?
• Why do you trust God in some areas and not in others?
• When have you seen God come through when you thought he wouldn’t?

           

“We think you ought to know, dear brothers and sisters, about the trouble we went through in the province of Asia. We were crushed and overwhelmed beyond our ability to endure, and we thought we would never live through it. In fact, we expected to die. But as a result, we stopped relying on ourselves and learned to rely only on God, who raises the dead.” (2 Corinthians 1:8-9, NLT, 2nd edition) Did Jesus suffer? Was Jesus sometimes lonely? Was he tempted to be discouraged? Was he misunderstood, maligned, and criticized unjustly?

Of course! None of us are exempt from suffering, loneliness, discouragement, or unjust criticism, because God is developing within us the character of Christ, and, in order to do this, he must take us through all of the circumstances in life through which he took Christ.

Does this mean God causes tragedies? No. God is good, and he will not cause evil or do evil. But God can use dark and stressful times for good. He'll use them to teach us to trust him (2 Corinthians 1:8-9), to show us how to help others (2 Corinthians 1:4-6), and to draw us closer to other believers (2 Corinthians 1:11).

So, what should you do when you’re going through difficult times?

• Refuse to be discouraged.
• Remember God is with you.
• Rely on God’s protection and guidance.

We all go through difficult times. The difference for those who believe in Jesus is not the absence of the shadow but the presence of the Light.

 

Top Ten Reasons 2012 Is Going To Be Your Best Ministry Year Ever 

#1 – You are going to spend more time on your face before God than on facebook, blogs and twitter…and in doing so are going to hear God’s voice and do what He says!

#2 – You are going to be less critical of other people who don’t think just like you and actually see what you can learn from them.

#3 – You are going to stop listening to people who want to do nothing but attack you and tear you down but actually care nothing about you, your family or your church.

#4 – You are going to start listening to people who love Jesus, love your church and love you…and when they push back on you in love you are not going to label them as “disloyal” but rather open yourself to the possibility that Jesus may be using them to speak to you.

#5 – You are going to start loving your people rather than demanding that they love you.

#6 – You are going to take bigger steps of faith than you have ever take before…understanding that when you begin to celebrate the past more than you anticipate the future, it’s OVER!

#7 – You are going to quit looking for handouts and drop the entitlement mindset and actually pay the price both personally and as a church to grow in your understanding of leadership.

#8 – You are going to quit trying to pray away what God has directly told you to deal with.

#9 – You are going to stop complaining about all of the staff and resources that you do not have and START being grateful to God for what He has given you…and then doing your best to honor Him!

#10 – You are going to stop comparing yourself to others and actually find your identity in the fact that Jesus saved you, called you, equipped you and is using you rather than how many people showed up to your church this past Sunday!



Written by Perry Noble

"If this is to be a Happy New Year, a year of usefulness, a year in which we shall live to make this earth better, it is because God will direct our pathway. How important then, to feel our dependence upon Him!" 
- Matthew Simpson

"I guide you in the way of wisdom 
And lead you along straight paths. 
When you walk, your steps will not be hampered; 
When you run, you will not stumble. 
Hold on to instruction, do not let it go; 
Guard it well, for it is your life. 
The path of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, 
Shining ever brighter till the full light of day." 
Proverbs 4:11-13;18 (NIV)

Sometimes God brings a change or a challenge into our lives to shake up our dependence upon self and turn us back to dependence upon him. We are closest to finding his will for our lives, our happiness and usefulness, when we are completely in the dark waiting for that first gleam of dawn, depending fully on him to cause the sun to rise.

"Life has to be lived forwards but it can only be understood backwards." 
- Søren Kierkegaard

"Trust in the LORD with all your heart 
And lean not on your own understanding; 
In all your ways acknowledge him, 
And he will make your paths straight." 
Proverbs 3:5-6 (NIV)

"Is not wisdom found among the aged? Does not long life bring understanding?" Job 12:12 (NIV)

If we could walk backwards through life, so many times of doubt and questioning would be erased from our path. But sadly, we would have missed those desperate moments of trusting in the Lord, and clinging to him for guidance.

Look not back on yesterday 
So full of failure and regret; 
Look ahead and seek God's way-- 
All sin confessed you must forget. 
- Dennis DeHaan

"Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus."Philippians 3:12-14 (NIV)

"As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us." Psalm 103:12 (NIV)

As we come to the end of the year, so often we look back with regret on things we did not accomplish or resolutions long forgotten. But sin is one thing we should never need to look back on with feelings of failure. If we have confessed our sins and asked God's forgiveness, we simply need to keep a forward focus toward the goal of pleasing Christ.

"There is no improving the future without disturbing the present." - Catherine Booth

"Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 (NIV)

If our present day situation disturbs us, perhaps there's something beyond our natural sight in the works--something not yet accomplished. The trouble we face today may be achieving an eternal purpose so much better than we can imagine. Remember that what we see right now is only temporary. What is most important, though we may not yet be able to see it, is eternal.

So remember while December 
Brings the only Christmas day, 
In the year let there be Christmas 
In the things you do and say. 
- Anonymous

"May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer." Psalm 19:14 (NIV)

The words we speak are reflections of our thoughts and meditations. These God-pleasing thoughts and words become pleasing in his sight because they will motivate us to Christ-like actions--actions that are seen and not just heard. Are your thoughts and words pleasing to the Lord every day and not just at Christmas or on Sunday mornings? Do you keep the spirit of Christmas alive in your heart all throughout the year?

A Christmas candle is a lovely thing; 
It makes no noise at all, 
But softly gives itself away; 
While quite unselfish, it grows small. 
- Eva K. Logue


John the Baptist said of Jesus: "He must become greater and greater, and I must become less and less." John 3:30 (NLT)

We are like candles that hold a flame, burning strong and bright the light of Christ. We softly give ourselves away, worshiping him and serving him, that we might become less and less, and that he might become greater and brighter through us.

"There's nothing sadder in this world than to awake Christmas morning and not be a child." 
- Erma Bombeck

"He called a little child and had him stand among them. And he said: 'I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.'" Matthew 18:2-4 (NIV)

Is there anything more exciting than being a child on Christmas morning? And yet this is what God asks of us each day, to change and become like little children. Not just on Christmas, but each day approaching God the Father as a child, with excited anticipation of his goodness, humbly trusting him that every need will be met and every care will be under his control.