Tag Archive | Faith

Are you on shaky ground?

Question: As a Believer, I want to spend more time reading and applying God’s Word in my life. But when I try, something usually happens to get me distracted or discouraged from my goals. Why?

Answer: Simple. Satan doesn’t want you to study and grow in God’s Word. He knows that as Psalm 119:100 says of God’s word, “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” (NKJV) Satan wants you to live to please him, so he does not want you on a path that pleases God instead. You must pray to God for the strength to be faithful in reading and living out His Word.

Reading and studying the Bible helps us understand how God wants us to live our lives to please Him. As Believers, we already know that God first wants us to accept His only Son, Jesus Christ, as our Lord and Savior (John 3:16). As we grow in the Lord, we learn that if we don’t live our lives in accordance with His will, we are building our lives on very shaky ground. For example, we won’t be able to stand as strongly when the troubles of life come our way. And, troubles will come!

Remember the parable Jesus told of the two builders found in Matthew 7:24-27. In this parable, Jesus said: “…whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken Him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came , and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.”

Jesus went on to say, “Now everyone who hears these sayings of Mine and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.”

So, make sure you don’t let Satan use his tricks to distract and discourage you away from God’s Word. Don’t let him lead you into building your life on shaky ground. Pray for God to give you the strength and wisdom you need to please Him.

Make sure you’re building your life on the strong foundation of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!

Who are you letting run your life?

Mar11

Question: My best friend since high school is very sweet but also very bossy. She keeps insisting that I join her book club even though I’ve repeatedly told her I don’t want to join. As a Christian, how do I let her down without making her mad at me?

Answer: Just be honest with her and stand firm in your decision. Be kind and gentle as you speak and pray for God to give you the right words to say. Reassure her that you appreciate her friendship and thank her for wanting to include you in her group. It’s normal to not want to be confrontational with those we care about but sometimes certain situations call for us to say and defend positions which might not make others happy. If she really is a friend, she should understand and not get mad.

Many times in life, we may encounter people who try to pressure us to do things we don’t want to do. This pressure can come from a variety of different places. For example, your religion professor tells you that you must believe that there are many ways to heaven. Don’t succumb to this pressure! If you are a Believer – having accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior – you know that God’s Word tells us that there is only one way to Heaven. You know that Jesus says in John 14:6, “…I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” (NKJV) Stand firm in the truth!

Or, another example of others trying to pressure you to live your life their way might come from famous people you admire. These celebrities might tell you that you should live any lifestyle you want. They basically tell you that if it feels good, do it! But, as a Christian, you know that this is not the truth. The Bible instructs us as to how God wants us to live our lives. He tells us that we are to live our lives to please Him. In John 14:15, Jesus says, ” If you love Me, keep My commandments.” God has provided us with His Holy Word – the Bible – to let us know the type of life He wants us to live. He wants us to repent of our sins and live holy lives… lives that honor Him!

The bottom line is this: each one of us must decide who we are going to let run our lives. We can choose to just live to our lives to please people, or we can choose to live our lives to please God. Remember in Luke 4:8, Jesus says, “You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.”

So, who are you letting run your life? If you’re a Christian, the only answer should be God!

Follow me on Twitter: @valclarksplace

Did Jesus really say that?

Dec15

QUESTION: Did Jesus say that we should keep our religious beliefs private?

ANSWER: No. As Christians, we can’t keep silent about our faith if we are to follow the Great Commission of Jesus. Matthew 28:19-20 quotes Jesus giving this final message to His disciples.

Jesus said, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen. (NKJV)

Since Jesus did say this, then indeed, we are to tell others of the “Good News” of God’s Word. But, we also must remember to pray for God’s Holy Spirit to help us to know the right times to speak about our faith to others and the right times to stay quiet and just pray for them.

God wants everyone to understand that our sin separates us from Him, because He is holy, and the wages of sin is death. But because of God’s great love for us, He sent His Son to die on the Cross to take the punishment we all deserve for our sins.

Jesus rose from death on the third day and lives in heaven. If we accept Jesus as our Savior, ask Him to forgive our sins and repent, and live our lives for Him, we too, will go to heaven one day. See John 3:16.

This salvation is available to all who choose to believe it as the only way to heaven. Thank God for His grace and mercy! We must tell others of God’s great love for them. Pray that they accept His Son, Jesus as their Savior.

Good News like this must be told, not hidden! Jesus said so! Therefore go. Spread His Good News!

Follow me on Twitter: @valclarksplace

Being thankful for NOT getting what you wanted!

Nov5

Question: Should we give thanks for unanswered prayers?

Answer: Yes, give thanks to God because He always answers our prayers. Remember, His answer may be yes, no, or not yet, but He always answers. We are reminded of this in 1 John 5:14-15, ” Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.” (NKJV) Note that what we pray for must still go along with God’s will for our lives. God’s will and our desires may not match. That said, God very much wants us to continue to pray to Him for the things we feel we want or need. We usually enthusiastically give God thanks when He answers our prayers with a “yes.” Of course, when we do this, we are doing the right thing. However, it’s very important to remind ourselves to give thanks even when God’s answer is “no.” Believers know that while we may think we know what is best for us, God truly knows what’s best for us in every situation of our lives. We must also know that our ways are not necessarily His ways, and our preferred timing for things to happen, is not always His timing for things to happen.
Here are two examples of God knowing what’s best for us better than we do. Consider the twenty-something young lady who has a strong desire to get married and even has her eyes set on the exact young man she considers her perfect match. He’s handsome, successful in his career, and regularly attends church. She prays to God to bless her to get married to this fine young man. After the two have dated for a while, the young man seems to lose interest in her and goes off to eventually marry someone else. Our young lady is crushed, and she doesn’t understand why God didn’t answer her prayer with a “yes.” Twenty years later, we find our young lady happily married to a wonderful man she first met in her thirties. She is surprised to learn that the young man she prayed to marry decades earlier is now on his third divorce. According to his ex-wives, he had been a terrible husband. Our lady is now very happy God answered “no” to her earlier prayer.
A different example: a middle-aged man prays to God to get a new career position that he thinks is just right for him. He’d be working for a great company and making a much larger salary than he’s making in his current position — something especially important as he starts to get closer to retirement age. However, this man watches in disbelief as someone else gets that prized position. He can’t understand what he had done so wrong that God would not reward him with the job of his heart’s desire. Later, it turns out the person taking his dream job lasts less than a year. The company down-sizes and that position gets eliminated. That person is now unemployed. Our middle-aged man is happy he still had his job. He’s also very happy that God answered his earlier prayer with a “no.”
If we are being really honest with ourselves, most of us can probably recall times in our lives when we were very upset when God said “no” to us. Likewise, as in these two examples, we can look back at one or more of these “no’s” and be thankful. We now shudder at the thought of how things would be if God’s answer had been “yes.” As believers, we know that we will never understand in this lifetime, why God answers us in the ways He does. Also, God knows, understands, and cares when we are hurt and disappointed when He doesn’t answer all of our prayers with a “yes.” He wants us to trust that He knows what is best and take comfort in this knowledge. We must pray to have stronger faith and trust in God. Then, we will be spiritually equipped for those times when we need to be thankful for NOT getting what we wanted!

(Reposted from my November 21, 2013 Blog Post)

Follow me on Twitter: @ValClarksPlace

Helpful Links:
Focus on the Family    http://www.focusonthefamily.com
Crown Financial Ministries   http://www.crown.org
The Christian Broadcasting Network   http://www.cbn.com
World Magazine        http://www.worldmag.com

Are you letting fear control your life?

Oct6

Question: After hearing about so many scary events happening in the world, I’m almost afraid to leave my house. Help!

Answer: From natural disasters like hurricanes and earthquakes destroying cities to increasing local crime and terrorist attacks, there’s plenty of news to cause fear. But dangerous events and crimes, while seeming to be on the rise, are actually nothing new. Jesus told His disciples to expect various types of troubling events. In Matthew 24: 6-7, Jesus says, “And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places.” ( NKJV )

Our God IS an awesome God! He wants us to remember that He knows that Satan spreads evil in the world. God knows there are many things that make us fearful. But, as the Apostle Paul tells us in 2 Timothy 1:7, “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” As Christians, we are to put our faith and trust in God. We are to pray to God to protect us wherever we go. And, pray for wisdom to know when we should stay where we are and not go in order to avoid danger.

If you have accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, asked Him to forgive your sins, and repented of your sins, you know your life is now in the hands of Jesus. He has empowered you with His Holy Spirit to guide and protect you. He will keep you in His loving care until He decides to call you home to heaven. Until that time comes, God wants us to continue to live our lives and to live our lives in the ways that please Him.

Therefore, you should continue to enjoy life with your family and friends. Enjoy being the hands and feet of Jesus by helping those in need. Enjoy doing all you can to show God’s love to others…especially to those who are not yet Believers! Pray for wisdom to know when and how to avoid dangerous situations. But do not make yourself a slave to the fears caused by that “thief,” the devil. Remember the words of Jesus found in John 10:10, “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” Amen!

So, go out and enjoy that abundant life God has planned for you!

Follow me on Twitter: @valclarksplace

The re-education of the Christian

Sep10

Question: How can I help my child maintain Christian values when challenged at school?

Answer: Those who want to change long-standing moral beliefs in our society know that the easiest place to start is with those easiest to influence. The old saying, “the hand that rocks the cradle is the hand that rules the world,” can be true. Any parent, teacher, or child care worker will tell you that children are like little sponges ready to “soak up” whatever they are exposed to. That’s why children can be quicker than some adults to learn the latest dance craze or technology device. So whoever becomes the first ones to teach them what to believe will possess a great deal of influence in these young lives. As Christian parents, we are the ones who should make sure our children know what they are to believe. We cannot afford to leave this teaching to others who may not share our faith.

Unlike in decades past, American schools no longer reinforce traditional Judeo-Christian values. Today, they teach such things as sex outside of marriage is fine as long as you use birth control. At some schools, they’ll even tell you how to get the birth control or actually provide it for you. Also, they might teach students that if they believe the biblical values taught them by their parents, they are being naive and old-fashioned. Since most young people spend a great deal of their lives in school, the values these “institutions of learning” teach really do matter. Christian parents must stay aware of what values their children are being taught in school and discuss these issues at home.

There are many examples of schools trying to force Christian students to hide or change their beliefs. For example, a Christian student at the University of Wisconsin was told by her professor to remove all religious references from her class project. (See the story: http://www.christianheadlines.com/blog/college-student-told-to-remove-religious-references-from-project.html) Legal Counsel representing this student had to remind school officials that students still have their First Amendment right to religious freedom even while they are attending public schools and universities.

High school Christian class valedictorians have also faced instances of push back when they wanted to include their faith in their speeches. Several have been threatened with having their microphones cut off and worse if they gave credit to God in their speeches. Jeremy G. Dys writes about this in his article titled, “When ‘God’ is a bad word at graduation.” (Read it here: http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2015/06/11/when-god-is-bad-word-at-graduation.html?intcmp=obinsite.)

Of course, plenty of Christian students make it through school with little or no real problems expressing their beliefs in school. For example, students are still allowed to have student-led Bible Clubs alongside other clubs at school. A school in California even welcomed Bible clubs held at their school, attracting even some gang members who attended and wanted to accept Jesus Christ as their Savior. They no longer wanted to be in the gangs. (Read: http://www.christianheadlines.com/blog/gang-members-being-converted-through-california-schools-bible-classes.html.)

Christian students should be taught to not be surprised or feel defeated when faced with opposition to their faith in school. Jesus warned in Luke 21:17, “And you will be hated by all for My name’s sake.” (NKJV) And, when challenged concerning your faith, pray to God for wisdom to know what to do. For Jesus promised in Luke 21:15 that He “will give you a mouth and wisdom which all your adversaries will not be able to contradict or resist.” Amen!

Updated and reposted from my 9/30/15 blog

Follow me on Twitter: @valclarksplace

Are you doing His will or your will?

May11

Question: I’ve been praying to get a job at a certain company for years. I keep applying, but I still haven’t gotten the job. Why won’t the Lord answer my prayers?

Answer: Maybe He already has! Just because you haven’t gotten the answer you want doesn’t mean God hasn’t answered. There could be many reasons you haven’t gotten that job. One reason being that you may not be ready for it due to your lack of having the necessary skills needed. Or, maybe God knows that you need to work at a different company for some reason. The bottom line is that if God wants you to have a certain job, He will make sure you get it. Our God is all-powerful! Also, since He is all-knowing, He knows what company is best for you. Still another possibility is that God does plan to give you a job at that company… just, not yet!

Too often, we think we already know, on our own, what is the best path to take in our life. But we fail to pray for the Lord to guide our thoughts, plans, and decision-making. We must always pray to follow God’s will for our lives even when we find this to be difficult. Hebrews 13:20-21 says, “Now may the God of peace who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead…. make you complete in every good work to do His will, working in you what is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.” ( NKJV )

Therefore, we must not put our trust in ourselves to plan what is best for us. We must seek Jesus, through prayer, to give us wisdom and direct our paths. Jeremiah 29:11 reminds us why we need to do this. Here God says, “‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.'” (NIV)

Thankfully, we can always trust that our Heavenly Father knows what is best for us. He knows what paths we need to take. He knows the desires of our heart, and He wants what is best for us. So, as we make these important decisions in our lives, remember Matthew 6:33. In that verse Jesus says, “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” (KJV )

Remember: God knows what’s best. Stay in His will for your life!

Follow me on Twitter: @ValClarksPlace

Will God get thrown under the bus this election?

Oct6

Question: Does God care how we vote?

Answer: God cares about everything we do including how we vote. When we vote for someone who has made clear the agenda they plan to implement, we help them carry out that agenda. If that agenda goes against the teachings of God, then we are helping them work against God’s plan. One day, we will answer to God for what we have done. Our loyalty to a political party or candidate should not be stronger than our loyalty to God.

As Christians, we know from studying God’s Word, the Bible, that it is God who determines what is right and what is wrong and not political poll results. Believers understand that even when a majority of the people vote to endorse anything that God calls sin, it’s still sin, and God’s people should not help support it.

For example, one of the biggest social issues being debated in our time is the definition of marriage. However, if you know God’s Word, then you know that there is nothing to debate. God created marriage to be a union between one man and one woman, period. In fact, Jesus said this in Matthew 19:4-6, “Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning ‘made them male and female’ and said ‘For this reason a man should leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore, what God has joined together, let no man separate.” (NKJV)

God has defined marriage. He created it. Are you planning to vote for a candidate who defines marriage opposite to how God defines it? If you vote for this person, you will be helping him or her push an agenda that goes against the Word of God.

Another major issue of our time is the legalization of abortion. We know that abortion is the ending of a baby’s life. As Believers, we must remember who it was that gave that baby life to begin with. It is almighty God who, alone, gives life. Psalm 139:13-14, says it beautifully: “For You have formed my inward parts. You have covered me in my mother’s womb. I will praise You for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Marvelous are Your works, and that my soul knows very well.” (NKJV)

Plus, we know that children are a gift from God, no matter how good or how bad their parents are. In Psalm 127:3, the Bible says, ” Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb is His reward.” (NKJV) Are you planning to vote for a candidate who is pro-life, someone who sees the baby in their mother’s womb as a gift from God? Or, does your candidate support abortion?

More than 60 million babies have been aborted since the 1973 legalization of abortion. More than 96% of these abortions have not been done to save the mother’s life. By voting for a pro-abortion candidate, one who will have the power to put more pro-abortion judges on the Supreme Court and keep abortion legal, you will be helping more babies’ lives to end. Will you be proud to defend voting for pro-abortion candidates before God?

Many professed Christians explain their support for anti-traditional marriage and pro-abortion candidates by saying that these candidates will help the poor and minorities. While there may be some good programs your candidate supports that help those in need, other programs — even though of good intentions — tend to encourage the needy to stay needy. Evidence of this can be seen by visiting poor communities in cities across the country, Many of these communities have remained poor under leadership of both political parties, even after several decades.

Christians know that the best way out of poverty is by living God’s way, putting your trust in Him, and making decisions about how you live that please God. No matter who wins the political race, Christians will always be able to help the poor by leading them out of poverty God’s way.

The bottom line is that no candidate will be perfect. As Christians, we are to pray for all of our leaders. We want them all to accept Jesus Christ as their Savior and repent of their sins. Yet still, voting for a candidate who has openly promised to support things that God clearly calls sin is to support an agenda that goes against the Word of God. Since the Lord will hold us accountable for whom we support, pray that you make the right choices. Let’s not throw God under the bus this election or anytime!

(Updated from my November 2, 2012 blog post)

Follow me on Twitter: @valclarksplace

Stop letting the devil steal your joy!

Jun4

Question: Once again, just before my husband and I tried to go out for a “date” night, we got into an argument over something minor and it ruined the whole evening. How do we stop this depressing pattern?

Answer: First you and your husband should discuss the fact that this pattern of behavior happens. Then, pray together that God would guide your conversations with each other and bless you to communicate with each other in a way that would be pleasing to Him. Seek out good Christian resources to help you with this like the ones found on the Focus on the Family web site, www.focusonthefamily.com. Bottom line: you’ve got to stop letting the devil steal your joy!

You see, having the devil interfere in your life trying to cause trouble is nothing new. Satan works to cause us trouble. He even tried to cause trouble for Jesus Christ, Himself. Matthew 4:10 tells of the time when Satan tried to tempt Jesus to serve him instead of serving God. Satan took Jesus up on a high mountain to show Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. Satan promised to give Jesus all the kingdoms if Jesus would worship him. But Jesus said, “Away with you, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve.'” ( NKJV) Like Jesus, we too should be ready to speak the power of the Holy Word against the devil when we see he is trying to disrupt our lives.

There will be other times when we believe we are following God’s plan for our lives and Satan will try to get us off track. He may even do this by using someone in our lives we trust to try to derail us. He attempted this against Jesus. When the time came for Jesus to be crucified — to take the punishment in our place that we deserved for our sins — He began to explain to His disciples what was going to happen. That’s when His disciple Peter, “took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, ‘Far be it from You, Lord; this shall not happen to you!'” But Jesus recognized these words of the devil speaking through Peter. So Jesus pushed back by saying to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but of the things of men.” (Matthew 16:23) Again, like Jesus, we must be on guard against sinful advice even from those we consider friends. We must understand that it is the devil who is trying to use them to pull us away from God.

Therefore, when you can sense, for example, that an unhealthy argument is coming on between you and that other person — be it a spouse, child, parent, friend, or even a stranger — be on guard. Recognize this for what it really is, the work of the devil trying to destroy the joy of your relationship. Stop and pray to God to give you the right words to say. And, remember Ephesians 4:26-27, “‘Be angry, and do not sin,’ do not let the sun go down on your wrath, nor give place to the devil.” Remember, Satan wants to destroy our positive relationships and cause all kinds of trouble in our lives because he is evil. He wants us to be miserable and defeated just like him.

Above all, Satan wants to stop you from accepting Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, from joyfully living your life to please God, and from having everlasting life in Heaven. Don’t let him do it! Accept Jesus Christ as your one and only Savior and ask Him to forgive you of your sins. Turn away from your life of sin and start enjoying the blessed life God wants for you.

Jesus wants us to take comfort in His Words from John 10:10. “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” Take comfort in His words and stop letting the devil steal your joy!

Follow me on Twitter: @ValClarksPlace

Have you read the end of the Book? God and His people win!

May1

Question: Are Christians wasting their time in continuing to fight against our society’s downhill slide into moral decay?

Answer: Absolutely not! Remember that nothing going on in the world today comes as a surprise to God. God is all-knowing, so He already knows what’s going to happen. And, despite what we see happening in our world now, God is still in control! We as Believers are to stay faithful to His Holy Word. “And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.” (Galatians 6:9 NKJV )

God did not promise that life for the Believer was going to be easy. In fact, Jesus reminds us in John 15:18 that, “If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you.” So, we should not be surprised when the world mocks our commitment to standing for the truths of God’s Word. In fact, it’s gotten to the point where unbelievers are going beyond just mocking our beliefs as being intolerant and unintelligent. Now, they want to force Believers to support sinful behavior.

Disregarding our Constitutional First Amendment right to Religious Freedom, they are creating new laws that will punish Christians if we do not go along with behaviors God calls sin. They see Believers as being wrong in standing for the traditional moral teachings of God’s Word, especially on two of the most “hot button” subjects of today: abortion and homosexuality. Instead of agreeing with God’s Word in calling these things sin, they say these things are just fine. But, Isaiah 5:20 says “Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil…” Verse 21 goes on to say, “Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes.” Only God Almighty says what things are right and what things are sin, not man!

Know that the Word says in Galatians 6:7, “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows that he will also reap.” So, whether or not people accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior, the Bible assures us of what is going to happen. Philippians 2:9-11 says, “Therefore God has also highly exalted Him (Jesus) and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

By reading the Bible through to its final Book of Revelation, you will see how the Word says things will be in the end. For example, in Revelation 21:6-8 the Lord says, “…It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts. He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son. But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”

Therefore, by reading the end of the Book, you know that God and His people win! Praise the Lord! You should also recognize that we need to continue to pray for those who are unbelievers. It’s not God’s desire that anyone be lost “but that all should come to repentance.” (2 Peter 3:9) So, let’s be evermore steadfast in following the Great Commission given by Jesus in Matthew 28: 19-20. He said to “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations…” For as long as there is life, there is hope! Amen!

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