Sometimes You Have to Encourage Yourself

Having been preaching for almost 30 years, twelve of which I have been a church pastor, I know a little about churchgoing folks. One thing is that they can be really hard to figure out. For instance, it’s not uncommon for a person to attend a very uplifting church service, clapping his hands in worshiping God, and then go home only to fall back into the dumps.

Or, sometimes, the worship experience goes quite differently. Maybe the preacher didn’t preach today, or so you say. He wasn’t prepared, and you feel as though you were not fed spiritually. You could have stayed home, and listened to one of the world renowned preachers on TV or watch them on the Internet. OK, so you were all excited about going to church, fought the terrible traffic to get there, gave a tithe and an offering, all for a big letdown. And on and on and on. You get my drift.

Before I proceed further, let me say that I am talking primarily to the Christian community, though the gist of what I am saying will benefit all. The reason that point is relevant is because whenever a person becomes a Christian, the Lord changes him on the inside, giving him a new spirit, which enables him to do the things I suggest at the end.

Now back to what I was initially talking about. The truth is that all of us have our moments that we sometimes allow to get the best of us. And I believe that during such times we become too dependent on others to help us feel better or to move forward. If that always works for you, then by all means continue on. But I submit that sometimes, you have to encourage yourself. “Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God,” the psalmist said (Psalm 42:5, NIV). He was speaking to himself, encouraging his troubled soul to hope in God.

This is not the only time when the writer had to encourage himself. The Bible talks about how King “David was greatly distressed: for the people spake of stoning him….but David encouraged himself in the Lord his God” (1 Samuel 30:6). Those men of the Bible who resorted to self-encouragement during times of distress or discouragement were holy men of God whom He used to pen portions of the Bible. If they had their moments, surely we do, too.

We tend to become discouraged when we feel overwhelmed by a challenge, or when the doctor gives us a bad report, or we got our hopes up for a big letdown, or sometimes for reasons we can’t put our hands on. Amid these afflictions, we must learn to encourage ourselves in the Lord. We do this by looking beyond these things, and focusing our attention on and our hope in our God. We can do this because the Spirit who lives on the inside of us is full of faith, and joy, and peace.

One of the ways you can encourage yourself is by putting yourself in remembrance of His promises that speak to the problem at hand. You must encourage yourself to believe that God will do what He promised—regardless of how overwhelmingly your cirmcumstances suggest otherwise. Also, you can praise Him before the breakthrough, confident of His faithfulness. And you can speak to your troubled soul: Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God.”

Thanksgiving is More Than a Holiday

Thanksgiving Day, as the name implies, is a national holiday in America during which we ought to give thanks for our many blessings. Millions are doing that around the country today, but mostly they will be eating way more than they should. The fact that food is so plenteous that we can so overindulge ourselves is proof that we have been blessed. Just think of the millions around the world to whom starvation is a way of life.

I think it’s great that we have a day set aside to emphasize the giving of thanks, and I love this holiday in all respects. I have so much to be thankful for. It is important, however, for those of us who belong to the Christian faith to remember that thanksgiving is more than a holiday; rather, it is a way of life. “In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you,” the Bible says (1 Thessalonians 5:18).

I know that for some people reading this post, these are not the best of times. But notice that this verse says “in every thing,” we should give thanks. Important--not for every thing, but in every thing. The crystal clear message in this verse is that God never intended for our giving of thanks to Him to be based on our circumstances. No matter where life finds us today, we don’t have to look far for reasons to render thanksgiving to God. You see, when we have God on our side, our life is loaded with possibilities. Through Him, we are more than conquerors. As people of faith, we don’t walk by sight but by our faith in our awesome God. So even in the darkest of times, we can offer Him genuine thanksgiving for the bright tomorrow before us. So let us live each day filled with the spirit of thanksgiving. Remember, this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning us.

I truly appreciate those of you who occasionally or regularly read my blog posts. I thank God for allowing me to be a part of your life in this way. My prayer for you is that you will have an awesome Thanksgiving holiday, and that heaven’s best will be yours. 'Til next time.

Marriage Becoming Obsolete?

According to a study released by the Pew Research Center earlier this week, 39 percent of Americans say marriage is becoming obsolete, up from 28 percent in 1978. Though, according to the study, the majority of Americans still have a positive view of marriage, the idea of marriage becoming obsolete is what made the news this week.

What interests me in the study is the word obsolete. This is a strong word. It denotes something that’s no longer practical or usable. So, in effect, about 40 percent of Americans see marriage as irrelevant, something that we can write off, according to the study. Through what kind of lens would a person be looking to view marriage this way? Since God came up with the idea of marriage, and He never does the irrelevant, obviously those who regard marriage as becoming obsolete do not have a perspective consistent with God’s on the subject.

Take, for example, our society’s concept of morality versus God’s laws that define morality. He regards sex before marriage and sex outside of marriage as sin. Remember adultery and fornication? So to Him marriage will always be essential to society because it is the legitimate means through which a man and a woman through their union can bring forth children and replenish the earth. In our society, on the other hand, it is totally acceptable for unmarried couples to live together and to bear children. Looking at things that way, one can see how many Americans might conclude that marriage is obsolete.

The thirty-nine percent referred to in the study is a high number of Americans who see marriage as becoming obsolete. That’s approximately 2 out of every 5 persons. The survey has a total margin of error of plus or minus 2.6 percentage points. Even on the low side, we are talking tens of millions of adults. But the trend regarding marriage that was highlighted in the report is consistent with something the Bible says about what people’s attitude toward marriage will be in the last days. It says that as the end nears that there will be those who “forbid people to marry” (1 Timothy 4:3).

Forbidding others from marrying is much stronger than simply regarding marriage as obsolete. Forbidding marriage is tantamount to seeing marriage as the enemy. My point? It is that with time, society’s view toward marriage will become less and less favorable. This suggests a continuously increasing departure from God’s perspective on the significance of marriage. This study by the Pew Research Center is simply a microcosm of our society’s continual drift from God on all fronts, and it will continue with time.

I am persuaded that God knows more about what’s best for our society than people do. He created man and woman. He created the earth and everything that is in it. Marriage was His idea. In the Bible, He gives us priceless guidance on how to have a rewarding and lasting marriage. This in turn is a fundamental building block to our society. For stable marriages promote stable families. And stable families promote stable neighborhoods, and stable neighborhoods promote stable cities and a stable nation. That’s not obsolete. That’s essential. I’m sticking with God’s plan. What about you?

Praise for Your Heaviness

Our natural tendency is to allow our circumstances to define our attitude. So most of the time, you can tell when a person is going through a difficult test by his change of attitude. I am actually impressed when I am with someone whom I know, and the person reveals a difficult ordeal he has been going through, and I never picked up on it because he genuinely seemed to be among the most joyous people on earth. How about you? Is there like a beast raging in your spirit every time the going gets tough? Can you genuinely praise God during difficult times as you do during good times?

This post is not a call to denial. I know that no matter how much you love God, if the test that you are going through is tough enough, you will have your moments. That’s true about all of us. The question is, however, can and will we praise God in the midst of such times?

In the book of Isaiah, there is a profound Messianic prophecy given, which says that the Lord will give us “the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness” (Isaiah 61:3). Note that this garment of praise is specifically for the spirit of heaviness—or the spirit of despair, as the NIV puts it. Also, this verse clearly is saying that Christians experience despairing moments. If that were not the case, then the provision of the prophecy would be pointless.

We don’t need this special anointing to offer to God the sacrifice of praise when life is good. Even many non-Christians tend to praise God when life is beautiful. But it’s much more of a challenge to tell Him how good He is, to serve Him with gladness, and to exalt His name and person when everything seems to be going terrible in your life. Yea, it’s more of a challenge when you feel that everything good is passing you by, and all that’s bad seems to find you. But that is exactly where the stark contrast should exist between Christians and those who have not been provided this “garment of praise” that we have been anointed to wear when our spirit is down.

Christians go through many of the same things non-Christians go through. Let me break it down for you: Christians can get sick, they can fall on financially hard times, their marriage can become a living hell, etc. The difference should be seen in how Christians handle those difficulties. Others should see in us the difference that Christ makes. They should want the inner peace and the prevailing joy that we have.

Are you that kind of person? Or do the circumstances that you encounter define your attitude toward God? Are you currently walking in bitterness toward God because of your circumstances?

Let me close by quickly giving you at least three reasons why we should learn to put on the garment of praise when a depressive spirit tries to dominate us. One is because a merry heart does good like medicine (Proverbs 17:22). Secondly, when we praise God, He inhabits our praises (Psalm 22:3). Thirdly, the verse that we started out with from the book of Isaiah ends this way: “that he might be glorified.” That’s it! When we can genuinely praise God in the midst of circumstances that those who don’t know Christ would expect to overwhelm us, we glorify God. And is that not what we are called to do?

Discovering the Ways of God

To make any system work for you, you must first understand how that system works. Similarly, in order for Kingdom principles to work for us, we must first understand how Kingdom principles work. Too often, Christians interact with God based on their ill-conceived notions about Him, and they are disheartened with the results they get. The problem is that when we deal with God we must deal with Him in a manner that is consistent with His ways.

The Bible says, “How unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!” (Romans 11:33). This means that we don’t intuitively know the ways of God. Since His ways are past finding out, you and I can’t go on an expedition to discover His ways, as NASA does space explorations to learn about space and the universe. The truth is that the only things we know about the ways of God are those which He reveals to us in His Word. We have no other means of discovering His ways.

Note, I did not say that we cannot discover some of God’s works, such as through archeology. Scientists have found many relics that confirm certain accounts in the Bible. But what I am talking about are the ways of God; His modus operandi.

Because our sole source of understanding the ways of God, to the extent that He reveals them, is the Bible, we should never seek to learn His ways through books outside the Bible, unless they are based on expounding on the Scriptures. Sometimes, when I listen to someone sharing his testimony about some experience he has had with God, some of the salient points of the experience are not consistent with the ways of God as revealed in Scripture. When that happens, I tend to shut down on the person. Listen, God always operates consistent with His ways as revealed in Scripture. Imagine how impossible it would be for us in our dealings with Him, if that were not the case.

It should be clear that in order for us to properly interact with God, we must learn His ways by studying the Bible. As we study the four accounts of the gospel, for example, Jesus often introduces His teachings by saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like….” When He does that, He is revealing to us a Kingdom principle and how it operates. Why are these teachings important? Because, again, in order for us to make Kingdom principles work for us, we must first understand how those principles work. The more we study the Bible, the more we learn about the ways of God and how the principles of His Kingdom work, and the better we learn them, the more we can make them work for us.

A new convert's dilemma is that whenever a person accepts the Lord Jesus Christ, he knows little if anything about the ways of God. Because he does not know how to interact with God, he simply does what he knows. Some tend to reduce God to a man because human relationships are all they have known. But God is not a man. What works for us in dealing with our neighbor or a colleague will not work with God. That’s why we must study our Bible. It is God’s gift to us. He inspired holy men to write it so that we would have it. It is our only means to discover His ways. This is important because God always deals with us in a manner that is consistent with His ways.

Copyright ©2010 by Frank King. All rights reserved.

God's Saving Power

In order for God to save us, He has to work an awesome miracle in our life. If you don’t believe that, just read some of the things the Bible says about our state before we get saved. For instance, the Bible says we were dead in trespasses and sins (Ephesians 2:1). But when God saved us we became new creations, and all things became new (2 Corinthians 5:17).

Another amazing thing about the Lord’s salvation is the moment at which He can save us. He can save us at any moment in any place. This is a good thing because, let’s face it, some people will never come inside a place of worship. But that doesn’t mean God can’t reach them. He can save sinners in bars, upon a hospital bed, in prisons, you name it.

In this post, I will use Paul the apostle as an example of God’s saving power. Before Paul became a Christian, he was one of the most evil men on earth. He persecuted the church. As recorded in the book of Acts, chapter 9; one day Paul, who then was known as Saul of Tarsus, was headed for Damascus to persecute the Christians. Then a light from heaven shined upon Saul, and he heard the Lord call his name from heaven: “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” (Acts 9:4b, NIV). It is interesting that when we persecute the Lord’s people, He takes it personally.

As most of you know the story, Saul of Tarsus was never the same after he met the Lord that day while going to Damascus. He was not seeking the Lord. He was up to no good, but God apprehended him for the kingdom! He was no longer the mean religious man who went about hating Christians. He became a new creation. He became known as Apostle Paul, and was the greatest of the Lord’s servants recorded in the New Testament.

In Paul’s letter to Timothy, he reveals a powerful truth about his salvation experience: “For this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might show forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him” (1 Timothy 1:16). So Paul’s salvation experience is recorded in the Scriptures as an example of God’s saving power that other sinners can experience. You see, if he can easily save a deceived and blasphemous man like Saul, it is but a light thing for Him to save any sinner who comes to Him. It is important that this becomes our conviction, regarding God’s saving power.

Why is this so important? Because what we believe drives what we do. So if we believe that a person can become so wicked and lost that even God can’t save the person, our tendency will be to write the person off. The truth is, some individuals believe that about themselves; that is, that they are so lost that even God can’t deliver their hell bound soul. Again, it is but a light thing for God to save them.

Because of the persecution the church at Jerusalem experienced at the hand of Saul, I am sure the people were crying out to God. And on Saul’s way to Damascus, God remembered their prayers and apprehended Saul. Maybe there is a lost person in your life whom you have given up on. I say, continue to pray and believe God. One day He will remember your prayers, and it is but a light thing for God to save your loved one(s).