Don't Look Around; Look At Christ!

"Men's hearts failing them for fear,

and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth..."

- Luke 21:26 -

I was so struck when I read this verse yesterday morning.  It immediately took my mind to the following passage.

"But the ship was now in the midst of the sea, tossed with waves: for the wind was contrary.  And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea.  And when the disciples saw him, they were troubled; and they cried out for fear.  But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid.  And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water.  And he said, Come.  And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water to go to Jesus.  But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sin, he cried, saying, Lord, save me.  And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?  And when they were come into the ship, the wind ceased."

- taken from Matthew 14:22-32 -

When we keep our eyes on the Lord we can walk with strength and confidence through places we could never walk otherwise.  It is when we start looking around at the waves, at all that is happening around us, that our strength fails, we are overcome with fear and our hearts fail and we faint.  It is our lack of faith that causes us to doubt.  Our lack of confidence causes us to waver.  Yes, sometimes the waves are big and we feel the force of the wind around us.  We feel like we are walking only fictitiously on water, but in reality our feet are set solidly on the Rock of our Salvation, Jesus Christ.  Let us keep our eyes steadfastly set on Him!  We don't need to look around.  All we need to see is Him.

"In thy light shall we see light."

- Psalm 36:9b -

"Men ought always to pray, and not to faint.

Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?"

- Luke 18:1b,8b -

~Brittany

How to Find Courage When All You Feel is Fear (Real Life with Lisa)

Last week we posted a video by Lisa Jacobson from Club 31 Women speaking about hope in the new series she is doing called "Real Life with Lisa".  Her topic this week is

How to Find Courage When All You Feel is Fear

 What a blessing and encouragement this video was to me!  I don't know why fear is something we as human's tend to struggle so much with, but I am so thankful that in Christ we can have peace, confidence and courage in the Lord!  I hope you will also be blessed and encouraged to be courageous!

~Breanna

 http://club31women.com/how-to-find-courage-when-all-you-feel-is-fear-real-life-with-lisa/

Faith, Love, and Perfect Gifts

The Lord is so faithful to provide encouragement through His Word for every aspect of His children's lives.  As I have felt very needy of His presence and aid, He has blessed me with precious passages to meditate on, promises to hold on to, and verses to give me strength and courage.  I hope that these passages will be a blessing to some of you as well, in whatever the Lord is placing before you.

~Brittany

“My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations;  Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.  But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.  If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.  But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering.  For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.  For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord.  A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.  Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.”

James 1:2-8,12

“Be not faithless, but believing.”

John 20:27

All Things for Good

“We know that all things work together for good to them that love God.”

- Romans 8:28 -

Upon some points a believer is absolutely sure. He knows, for instance, that God sits in the stern-sheets of the vessel when it rocks most. He believes that an invisible hand is always on the world’s tiller, and that wherever providence may drift, Jehovah steers it. That re-assuring knowledge prepares him for everything. He looks over the raging waters and sees the spirit of Jesus treading the billows, and he hears a voice saying, “It is I, be not afraid.” He knows too that God is always wise, and, knowing this, he is confident that there can be no accidents, no mistakes; that nothing can occur which ought not to arise. He can say, “If I should lose all I have, it is better that I should lose than have, if God so wills: the worst calamity is the wisest and the kindest thing that could befall to me if God ordains it.” “We know that all things work together for good to them that love God.” The Christian does not merely hold this as a theory, but he knows it as a matter of fact. Everything has worked for good as yet; the poisonous drugs mixed in fit proportions have worked the cure; the sharp cuts of the lancet have cleansed out the proud flesh and facilitated the healing. Every event as yet has worked out the most divinely blessed results; and so, believing that God rules all, that he governs wisely, that he brings good out of evil, the believer’s heart is assured, and he is enabled calmly to meet each trial as it comes. The believer can in the spirit of true resignation pray, “Send me what thou wilt, my God, so long as it comes from thee; never came there an ill portion from thy table to any of thy children.”

“Say not my soul, ‘From whence can God relieve my care?’

Remember that Omnipotence has servants everywhere.

His method is sublime, his heart profoundly kind,

God never is before his time, and never is behind.”

-Charles Spurgeon's Morning Meditation for August 5th

~Brittany 

~Brittany

Learning to Trust the Father's Love

When my brother Dave was very small, we spent a week at the seaside in Belmar, New Jersey.  In vain my father tried to persuade the little boy to come into the waves with him and jump, promising to hold him safely and not allow the waves to sweep over his head.  He took me (only a year older) into the ocean and showed Dave how much fun it would be.  Nothing doing.  The ocean was terrifying.  Dave was sure it would mean certain disaster, and he could not trust his father.  On the last day of our vacation he gave in.  He was not swept away, his father held him as promised, and he had far more fun than he could have imagined, whereupon he burst into tears and wailed, "Why didn't you make me go in?"
An early lesson in prayer often comes through an ordeal of fear.  We face impending adversity and we doubt the love, wisdom and power of our Father in heaven.
When the people of Israel were encamped in Pi-hahiroth and saw the Egyptians coming after them, they felt they were looking death in the face and it was all Moses' fault - "as if there weren't enough graves in Egypt that you brought us out here to die!"
"Don't be afaid," said Moses.  "Stand by.  The Lord will fight for you if you'll just be quiet."
You know the story of deliverance.  The song of victory Moses and Israel sang reveals their recognition not only of the strength, majesty and wonder-working of the Lord, but of His loving-kindness, immeasurably  beyond anything they had dared to hope.
Poor Dave!  His father could have forced him to come into the water, but he could not have forced him to relax and enjoy it.  As long as the child insisted on protecting himself, saving the life he was sure he would lose, he could not trust the strong love of his father.  He refused to surrender.  In this simple story we hear echoes of the most ancient story, of the two who, distrusting the word of their Father, fearing that obedience to Him would ultimately bar them from happiness, chose to repudiate their dependence on Him.  Sin, death, destruction for the whole race were the result.
Learning to pray is learning to trust the wisdom, the power, and the love of our Heavenly Father, always so far beyond our dreams.  He knows our need and knows ways to meet it that have never entered our heads.  Things we feel sure we need for happiness may often lead to our ruin.  Things we think will ruin us (the chariots of Egypt, the waters of the sea, or the little waves in Belmar!), if we believe what the Father tells us and surrender ourselves into His strong arms, bring us deliverance and joy.
The only escape from self-love is self-surrender.  "Whoever loses his life for Me will find it" (Matthew 16:25, NIV).  "Dwell in my love.  If you heed my commands, you will dwell in my love, as I have heeded my Father's commands and dwell in His love.  I have spoken thus to you, so that my joy may be in you, and your joy complete" (John 15:9-11, NEB).  My father knew far better than his small, fearful, stubborn son what would give him joy.  So does our Heavenly Father.  Whenever I have resisted Him, I have cheated myself, as my little brother did.  Whenever I have yielded, I have found joy.
- taken from Elisabeth Elliot's book, Keep a Quiet Heart
~Brittany

“What do you think especially gives me comfort at this time?

The creation!

I ask myself, “Did Jehovah create the world or did I?”

He did!

Now if He made the world and all the rolling spheres of the universe,

He certainly can take care of me.

Into Jesus’ hands I can safely commit my spirit!”

-- Charles Simeon --

"Holy fear looks not only before it leaps, but even before it moves.

It is afraid of error, afraid of neglecting duty, afraid of committing sin.

It fears ill company, loose talk, and questionable policy.
Fear of the very appearance of evil is a purifying principle,

which enables a man, through the power of the Holy Spirit,

to keep his garments unspotted from the world."
- Charles Spurgeon, Faith's Checkbook for September 9th -

~Brittany

Courage

"Courage is not the absence of fear

but the willingness to do the thing we fear.

There's a big difference between fearing and willing."

~Elisabeth Elliot, Keep A Quiet Heart~

~Brittany

Overcoming Fear, Worry and Anxiety

What a wonderful series of messages for ladies on overcoming fear, worry and anxiety by one of our all time favorite pastor's wife, Becky Morecraft. 

Click Title below to go to Sermon Audio and hear the series.

Overcoming Fear, Worry, and Anxiety by Mrs. Becky Morecraft

Unstaggering Trustfulness

I was so blessed by this this evening.  I hope it will be a blessing to some of you as well. :-)

He shall not be afraid of evil tidings; his heart is fixed, trusting in the Lord. (Psalm 112:7)

Suspense is dreadful. When we have no news from home, we are apt to grow anxious, and we cannot be persuaded that "no news is good news." Faith is the cure for this condition of sadness; the Lord by His Spirit settles the mind in holy serenity, and all fear is gone as to the future as well as the present.

The fixedness of heart spoken of by the psalmist is to be diligently sought after. It is not believing this or that promise of the Lord, but the general condition of unstaggering trustfulness in our God, the confidence which we have in Him that He will neither do us ill Himself nor suffer anyone else to harm us. This constant confidence meets the unknown as well as the known of life. Let the morrow be what it may, our God is the God of tomorrow. Whatever events may have happened, which to us are unknown, our Jehovah is God of the unknown as well as of the known. We are determined to trust the Lord, come what may. If the very worst should happen, our God is still the greatest and best. Therefore will we not fear though the postman's knock should startle us or a telegram wake us at midnight. The Lord liveth, and what can His children fear?

-Charles Spurgeon, Faith's Checkbook for February 27th

~Brittany

"God is with the true, the just, the holy, to deliver them; and He will deliver you. Remember how Daniel came out of the lions' den and the three holy children out of the furnace. Yours is not so desperate a case as theirs; but if it were, the Lord would bear you through and make you more than a conqueror. Fear to fear. Be afraid to be afraid. Your worst enemy is within your own bosom. Get to your knees and cry for help, and then rise up saying, "I will trust, and not be afraid.""

~Charles Spurgeon~

B.A.A.

Is it wrong to ask for the impossible and desire to see the power of Christ?

This morning Mom, Britt and I were talking about prayer...when is it presumptuous and wrong to ask the Lord for something specific, especially when it seems like you're asking for something that's impossible?  We know that He is able to do all things; nothing is beyond His power.  But would it be presumptuous to ask the Lord to do specific things, even though the heart of your prayer is that God's power would be shown and His name magnified and glorified?  What if He doesn't answer how or when we asked Him to?  What then?  Earlier this morning as I was on my knees in prayer, the Lord reminded me of Peter.  The Lord made the passage in Matthew 14 come alive to me this morning in a new way.  I will attempt to share it below.

Peter was afraid...the storm was terrible, they were being tossed about on the sea, and here comes what they believe to be a spirit walking on the water.  Jesus speaks to them and tells them not to be afraid because it is Him.  Peter then does something that we would say was pretty presumptuous- he calls out and in essence says, "Lord, if it's really You, show me Your power so that I know it's truly You.  Tell me to come walking to You on this raging water."  Jesus says, "Come".  Christ is always ready to show us His power and the reality of who He is!  So Peter gets out of the boat and in faith and the power of Christ comes, walking on the water.  Peter took that leap of faith to believe Jesus- with Him all things are possible.  But then as Peter is walking, he gets scared when he sees the boisterous wind, the waves that look like they're going to pull him under and destroy him.  He starts to sink.   Because of his lack of faith, he deserves to sink, right?  No, never; we serve a merciful and compassionate Savior!  Peter cries out as he's sinking in fear, "Lord, save me!"  And Jesus is mighty to save...He is only an arm length away and He stretches out His hand and caught Peter, saving him from the watery grave that was about to destroy him because of his unbelief.  Christ asks him, "Why did you doubt?".   It was like, "Peter, you started this whole thing out desiring to see my power, the reality of who I am...why then did you doubt Me?  Why did you take your eyes off of Me and stop believing?"  They get back to the ship and they all worship Christ..."Of a truth, thou art the Son of God."  Jesus Christ was glorified and magnified as He revealed His amazing and limitless power!  They were in awe of who He was! 

I find so much comfort in this whole picture!  Here's Peter, desiring to see the power of the Lord in his life in reality.  He asks God for the impossible. He believes Christ and takes the leap of faith to get out of the boat and come walking to Him on the water.  He gets scared, stops believing, lacks faith, and begins to drown.  He cries out to Christ, who he knows is the only One who can save him, and Christ catches him and pulls him up.  Christ rebukes Peter's lack of faith.  And in the end Christ is magnified for His power and the reality of His strength and all things being possible to the one who believes.  Peter didn't have perfect faith, in fact, his faith was pretty weak.  Peter didn't believe God perfectly, in fact, he stopped believing when he was so close to Christ that Jesus could reach out His arm and pull Peter back up.  But Peter had good desires.  He had a heart that desired more of a reality of Christ in his life and desired to believe Christ to the fullest and walk by faith. Peter desired to see the power of Christ at work in his life.

Oh what comfort is in that!  I'm not perfect and neither are you...but as we take the leap of faith, believing in the name of Jesus, no matter how weak and small that faith is, Christ will be faithful to answer us and show us His awesome and limitless power!  Believe Him with me, and let us not be afraid to ask of Christ the impossible that His power would be shown and His name glorified.  Christ will honor that request and show us His limitless power and unending faithfulness!  Oh He is so worthy of all of our trust!  Trust Him, just trust Him and ask for the impossible that you might see and believe His power! And then stand still and watch Him work!

And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear. But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid. And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water. And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus. But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me. And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt? And when they were come into the ship, the wind ceased. Then they that were in the ship came and worshiped him, saying, Of a truth thou art the Son of God.

(Matthew 14:26-33)

~Posted By Breanna

Quote by Stonewall Jackson

"Never take counsel of your fears."

-Stonewall Jackson

Do you struggle with Fear and Worry?

Image courtesy of Tom Curtis at http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/

What a blessing the body of Christ is!  This mornings message by Brother Lederman was very piercing and encouraging.  His main text was in Philippians 4:4-8.

Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice. Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand. Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.
(Php 4:4-8)

Fear
- paralyses us spiritually, emotionally, physically
- God did not give us a spirit of fear
- If we are looking to anything other than Christ we should be afraid!
- Fear and worry are first cousins.

We need to rejoice. - This can only be done if we have a correct focus.
It is not about me! It is ALL about CHRIST!

Worry
- the things we think about tend to consume us
- God said not to worry; therefore worry is a sin.
- When we are anxious and worried be assured trouble is coming. 

We overcome fear and worry by . . .  PRAYER!
Not being anxious means that we have prayed and are praying. 
Courage is fear that has said it's prayers.
Prayer= addressing God
Focus on the truths of who God is and what He has said.

Replace worry with . . . CHRIST!
You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.
(Isa 26:3)

There once was a man who wanted to come to America.  He saved and saved until he had enough money to buy his ticket to board the ship.  Only problem was he had no money for food.  After three days someone said to him that he needed to go get something to eat or he would never make it to America.  The man then proceeded to say that he did not have money for food.  The person with whom he was talking then shared with him that the ticket he had bought included three meals a day. 

What do we have in Christ?

Has He not provided our meals too?!

So why is it that we are worrying?