1^st Timothy 5:24 and what does it means to all people?

          This is an essay that has a whole lot to do with 1^st Timothy 5:24: and what does it means to all people? 1^st Timothy 5:24 says: Some men’s sins are open beforehand, going before to judgment; and some men they follow later.  This means that for some men, their sins are clearly apparent, and in another case, there are men who sins will be revealed to them later.  To be honest, God watches all things from heaven.  I will admit that I still have a very long way to go in my Christian walk. 

          Next, I will also admit that I have been clean and sober for a total of 29 years right now.  It is God that is doing for me more than I am doing for myself.  I have not been in trouble in a total of 7 years now.  I remember being probated for a crime that I did not commit.  I was remanded to the Dayton, Ohio Montgomery County Common Pleas Court for committing two counts of communications of threats.  I did not commit these crimes whatsoever.  I was requesting for prayer from Turner Road Baptist Church in my hometown of Dayton, Ohio.  I was subsequently placed on probation for three years.  The dates are as follows from February 28, 2012 to March 28, 2015.  I had to report to court every year for three years.

          Proverbs 17:9 says: He that covereth a transgression seeketh love; but he that repeateth a matter separates very friends.  I am willing to renounce all of my transgressions to the Lord.  The Lord will always forgive me as long as I am faithful and just in all of my causes.  We all have personal sins in our lives that only God can only forgive us.  For instance, I have made a lot of mistakes in my personal life.  I have not used vulgarity in over a month right now.  I asked God to forgive me for using vulgarity; when I get angry.

          Further, Galatians 6:1 says: Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such a one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.  This means if a member of the church helps me resolve my transgressions in a peaceful manner; lest he himself be tempted.  My brother and I had to resolve our problem, particularly when he called me out of my name without cause.  I have forgiven my brother for calling me out of my name.  We apologized to each other because God intervened between the two of us.  A member of my church had to mediate between a friend of mine and me; whenever there was a disagreement about the Bible.

          Psalms 32:1 Says: Blessed is he whose transgressions is forgiven, who sin is covered.  Only God forgives transgressions and sins.  I am capable of forgiving others; whenever they have wronged me personally.  I have forgiven my brother recently for calling me out of my name.  I also forgiven my own cousin for beating me with a bicycle pole back on May 5, 1981.  I am the type of person who do not like to harbor resentments and aggression towards other people.  During the past five years, my life has changed for the better.

          For Example, I do not curse people out anymore.  I do not use social media as a means to severely criticize others, as I did in the past.  I have changed behaviorally as well.  I have given my life over to the care of God.  I feel a lot better because I have the Holy Spirit inside of me right now.

          Psalms 32:5 Says: I acknowledge my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid.  I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. Selah. As long as I acknowledge all of my sins to God and His son Jesus Christ, He will forgive me of all of my sins.  1^st Timothy 5:24 means to me that all of our sins are obvious to God.  Even though man’s sins are hidden from other men, but with God.Touching Liveswith James Merritt

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Above and Beyond

June 25, 2020

“But the angel said to him: ‘Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to call him John. He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth, for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even before he is born. He will bring back many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God. And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the parents to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.’” (Luke 1:13-17)

Zechariah and his wife Elizabeth had been praying for a son for nearly seven decades. They had been waiting longer than most people would for an answer to a prayer, but their waiting proved to be worth it when God appeared to Zechariah and promised him that Elizabeth was going to have a son. But this wasn’t just any child. This child was going to grow up to be someone who would be forever remembered because of the influence he had on history.

God more than answered their prayer. He didn’t just give them what they asked for. He gave them something even better than what they had asked for. He said their son would be filled with the Holy Spirit in his mother’s womb. He would never know a day when he did not have the Spirit of God. He would lead many in Israel to turn back to the Lord.

God does not always do what we want Him to do, when we want Him to do it, but when He does what He wants to do, when He wants to do it, it is what we would have wanted all along. So whenever we’re praying for something, let’s not put God in a box. Instead, let’s pray that God would not just give us what we want, but that He would give us His best, which always seems to be above and beyond anything we could have asked for or imagined.

Dear God, how grateful I am that you hear my prayers and that you always answer. Even when the answer isn’t exactly what I want, I know that I can trust you to give me your best. Help me to want your will over my will, and give me the eyes to see the blessings you give me that are so far beyond what I could ever ask for. Amen.

Topics: Prayer

Bible Reference

Luke 1:13-17

But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John.And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth,for he will be great before the Lord. And he must not drink wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb.And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God,and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.”

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everything is revealed to Him to whom we will have to give an account of everything inside of the body to God.

Spirituality as a Coping Skill for Mental Illness

                                        By

                        Anthony Joseph Hopkins

Mental illness alone is very challenging for more than 40 million people living in the United States. People who struggle with the diagnosis of a mental illness find themselves struggling to make it. Frankly, there are people, who turn to their faith in God just to make it. Personally, I suffer from schizoid affective disorder. I have been suffering from a mental illness for almost 23 years now. Why having a serious mental illness would is so difficult? For me, I hear voices that are not the Holy Spirit. In my report, I have found that spirituality is an often overlooked resource in mental illness recovery. My assessment of religious or spiritual beliefs are under researched, and in most cases, it is laughed at by the Mental Health Community. Honestly, most psychiatrist refuse to actually listen to their patients. Many psychiatrist and therapist that I have consulted with during the past 22 years, feel that my spirituality is pointless.I will admit that I have benefitted from pastoral counseling more than consulting with a psychiatrist and therapist. There are three main reasons how people with a mental illness cope with their problem. First, through spirituality, as well as relying on a power that is greater than the person themselves. As for me, I attend Fort McKinley United Methodist Church. The address to the church is 3721 West Siebenthaler Avenue Dayton, Ohio 45406. I have attended Fort McKinley Church for 7 years now.
 It helps me to cope much better with a mental illness by attending church as well as Bible study during the week. I feel a whole lot better when I am at church. Second, there are over 50 million people who have been diagnosed with a mental illness and a substance abuse problem. This statistic comes from the National Institute of Mental Health. People who suffer from a mental illness, at least some of them drink alcohol or self-medicate themselves just to cope with their problem. Third, another coping mechanism that some people have used is suicide. I remember on February 13, 2010; I tried to kill myself because I was responding to internal stimuli.The voices that I was hearing told me to kill myself. Smolak, Gearing, Alonzo, Baldwin, Harmon, and McHugh (2013) reflected and reviewed 43 original research studies over the past 30 years. These people have discovered that patterns that were related or pertaining to religious beliefs and a patient’s recovery from a serious mental illness such as schizophrenia.
 This observation found that religion and spirituality have a mostly positive association with mental illness recovery. However, the intensive observation indicated that spiritual perceptions of family, caregivers, the community at large, and professionals affiliated to the mental illness saw tremendous progress.
 The results pointed out that religious themes were often evident in the perception of disease etiology, that family members and caregivers used religion as well as religious based professionals over mental health professionals. I would admit that working with a Pastor each week is much more feasible than dealing with a psychiatrist on a monthly basis. However, this report has better reflections of the patient. It also has a better understanding of a patient’s spiritual and religious beliefs as it assists in improving coping with a mental illness better than relying on medication. Religion and spirituality in conjunction with mental illness recovery remained historically under emphasized and minimized by mental health professionals. This means that spirituality will have to be emphasized by the patient themselves as a means to better cope with their mental illness.The report finished with the idea of how enhancing the treatment provider’s awareness of a patient’s religious and spiritual interaction may improve treatment outcomes. I would like to say that religion and spirituality is not emphasized during an average consultation or therapy session. The majority of professionals prefer the use of medication to eradicate mental illness. Corrigan, McCorkle, Schell, and Kidder (2003) studied a total of 1,824 patients living with serious mental illness, who also had significant functional disability, but did not engage in substance abuse.
The information pointed out that the self-reporting of spirituality and religion as well as measured outcomes in psychological well-being, psychiatric symptoms, and life goal achievement such as employment and housing. This study determined whether religion and spirituality yielded similar benefits in the lives of people challenged and suffering from a serious mental illness, but also determined if those same people benefitted differently from religion. The patient’s themselves participated in community activities and common ways of worshipping versus spirituality defined as thinking about one’s self as part of a larger spiritual force. (P. 488). This study found that patients who self-identified as religious or spiritual has a much greater sense of well-being, better coping skills, and diminished psychiatric symptoms.  There was also no difference in quality of life as far as employment and/or housing.People who suffer from a serious mental illness usually advocate and assert that religion and spirituality serve essential recovery roles in that they may provide useful coping skills to help with stressors.  Also, as previously noted, mental health professionals tend not to be very religious; therefore, the differences between professionals and patients may lead to a gap in treatment as professionals fail to ask about beliefs.

This could lead to a failure to explore religion or spirituality as a means towards a therapeutic end.  There are conclusions from this study.  The raw facts suggests there may be a need for faith based programs to be integrated into recovery programs for people with serious mental illness.  In the future, more research is needed to determine the role of faith based programs and to more thoroughly examine the causes and effects of spirituality in the lives of people who suffer from mental illness.In all cases, this study and examination serves to remind mental health professionals of the central role religion or spirituality often play in the lives of patients and to the fact that sensitivity to the patient’s needs in this area lead professionals to helping the patient find appropriate services and resources.Women and minorities struggles with mental illness are much more intense than other races.  These patients were more likely to be religious and more likely to turn to their faith as a means of coping, getting better, and staying healthy.  These patients length of stay in a psychiatric ward was significantly shorter for patients who attend worship services or used religious thoughts and activities as one of the most important strategies to deal with their mental illness.

An initial spiritual assessment should focus on determining how patient’s spiritual beliefs and practices influences their functioning and recovery.  By doing so, mental health professionals will likely uncover strengths and resources that can be utilized to foster recovery.  Mental Health Professionals can also help patients focus on their capabilities and resilience as well as accessing and using other positive recovery oriented narratives drawn from the patient’s spiritual worldview in order to address their problems more efficiently.Spiritual Assessment within the mental health area is under researched and given that spirituality and/or religion is identifiably a magnificent and positive part of serious mental illness recovery.  This needs to be a more widely researched and utilized avenues of social science.  In a society where mental illness can be isolating and stigmatizing label; spirituality can be a core identity to which almost everyone can find a community or ways to help make life with serious mental illness worth living.

References
1.  Corrigan, P., McCorkle, B., & Kidder, K. (2003). Religion and Spirituality in the lives of people with serious mental illness.  Community Mental Health Journal, 39(6) 487-99
2.  Smolak, A., Gearing, R. E., Alonzo, D., Baldwin, S., Harmon, S., & McHugh, K. (2013). Social Support and Religion: Mental health service use and treatment of schizophrenia. Community Mental Health Journal 49(4) 444-50

Love is a universal feeling.  Love is kind. Love will blow your mind.  Love is sweet.  Love is an excellent feeling. God is love. 

What does it mean to have a Relationship with God?

Good Day Everyone!! I would like to start this essay off by asking a very important question. What does it mean to have a personal relationship with God? The answer is very simple. I would like to say that my relationship with God has improved this year. I would like to say that I do not use any vulgarity anymore and look at pornography. I know that my relationship has improved. I am very happy that my family members are doing very well. I am very happy that my family members are very successful in the community.
Moreover, I would like to say that I read the Bible every single day of the week. I pray every single day and thank God for waking me up in the morning and thank Him for being with me today. This is the very first time in over 28 years that I am using Microsoft Publisher. This is very different. In Matthew 11:28 says Come to me all who are burden and heavy laden, and I will give you rest. It is like a child trying to get acquainted with its parents. My relationship with God has improved because I am more humble and meek right now. I am a whole lot optimistic about things than I was in the past.
In Addition, I want to say that I also feel much better compared to the year 2009. During the year 2009, it was a very bad year for me. I lost my job as a Clerk at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. I will admit that I was in the world according to Romans 12:2. This Bible verse says do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. 
Finally, I want to say that my Personal Savior Jesus Christ has been doing for me; more than I have been doing for myself. I also thank the Lord for keeping me clean and sober for 28 years. I want to thank all of you as well for keeping me in your prayers. I know that I am a Work in Progress. I am a very unique person. I am a person who has a lot of common sense. I am a person who do not like to argue with anyone else. I am a person who loves to make peace with everyone. I am more at peace than I have ever been in my entire life. The only thing that I really want right now is to make peace with everyone that I know as well as those that I do not know. 
In Conclusion, I want to say that I am a brand new creation when it comes to Jesus Christ. I am very happy because I had a chance to repent of all of my sins, transgressions, and iniquities. I have asked God to remove the desire for me to drink alcohol, smoke marijuana, and help others. I am a very nice person. I will admit that I lost a total of $16,977 dollars by giving money to people that I do not know. I have been through a lot of adversity in my personal life. I have broken my hand by playing basketball on July 6, 1984 at 3:45PM. I also almost cut my index finger off with a chisel on March 20,1985.

How Can We Become Doers of The Word?

By: Anthony Joseph Hopkins

        Praise The Lord Saints!!  Praise The Lord!!  How are you doing today?  Fine, I hope.  I want to ask everyone a very important question.  The question is: How can we become doers of the word?

 The answer to this question is simple.  We have to have both a behavioral change as well as a spiritual change within ourselves.  I know for me personally, I have changed a whole lot behaviorally and spiritually right now.  For example, I do not use any vulgarity anymore.  An example of this is in Proverbs 15:1 says: A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up strife.  This is my model Bible verse because it enables me to actually think before I act on all things.

        Next, I want to ask how we can become doers of the word.  First, we need to establish a relationship with Jesus Christ.  I have to accept Jesus Christ as my Personal Savior.  How can we all do this; is by confessing our sins to Jesus Christ.  I know that I am only a Work in Progress. 

What is a Work in Progress?  A work in progress is an unfinished project that is still being added to or developed. “The book itself is still a work in progress” (in accounting) the total value of the materials and labor for unfinished projects. “The board had estimated the value of its work in progress”. What does it mean to be a work in progress?

Work in Progress. Being a work in progress is a wonderful thing. It means you are never “finished” which means that you always have the chance to improve yourself and become something and someone better than who you are already.

        Further, I want to inform all of you that my life has changed for the better because it enables me to imitate Jesus Christ.  I also have to read His Word and share the Gospel of Peace with everyone.  I also help others as well.  I have always helped others by sharing with them the things that Jesus Christ has done for me.

 I also give things away that I do not need.  I humble myself each day of the week by being honest as a person.  I demonstrate how to become a doer of the word by my actions.  I feel at this time that listening to worship music and church sermons have enabled me to be a doer of the word.  I know that it is a whole lot more to it than that in order to become a doer of the word. 

       

Moreover, a doer of the word is a person who lives according to the Word of God.  I have come so far in my life by improving my relationships with other people.  I know that my life has changed because I wanted to make some positive changes in my life. God likes it when we can keep a very good attitude about life, our relationship with Jesus Christ, and connecting with others in a positive manner. 

 “Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.  For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror;  for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.”
–James 1:21-25

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1. Prepare your heart and be open.

It’s so easy to get into the daily Bible grind and never, once, truly pounce on what we’re learning or reading: get up, pour a cappuccino (or three), personal devotional of  fifteen minutes, write down some thoughts, put Bible on shelf, carry on with the morning . . . is this really what we limit ourselves and God to? Are we missing out on multiple opportunities because we haven’t prepared our hearts to be open and receptive? Shy away from a daily spiritual grind, seek God for opportunities to become a doer and invest in the lives of those around you.

2. Be willing and available.

Part of extending your hands in compassion and love is actually having a willing heart. Unfortunately, having a heart willing for love and sharing the Gospel isn’t just an “on/off” switch. It has to be transformed and cultivated by the same Gospel. If you are serious about becoming a doer and an action man/woman, pray for a willing heart.

We all know that person, or perhaps we are that person, who has great intentions of ministering to others, but is far too busy with a complex schedule to be available.  There could be any number of reasons for a lack of availability, but I think we’re all thankful that Jesus didn’t turn away the paralyzed or the ill because of a conflicting schedule or a lack of availability.

 

Such an attitude might have caused trauma to His ministry—so if you’re serious about Christ and your serious about acting upon your faith—make yourself available. Reach out and mean it—don’t just say it. If you offer to meet a struggling peer for coffee to talk, do it. If you see someone in need, address the problem or find the right person to address the problem (i.e. pastor, carpenter, doctor).

3. Prepare to be uncomfortable.

Just know that being a doer can be difficult, confusing, unpleasant, and uncomfortable. It can mean getting messy, seeing the side of people that is unpleasant, experiencing sadness, seeing the dirt  and the sins of humanity, and become all too aware of our personal shortcomings. I’ll never forget the first time I went to Haiti on a missions trip, I was never more aware of my ever growing list of shortcomings. Often, while doing Kingdom work our capacity of comfort, faith, and humility are tested—it’s like a game of Survivor with an eternal focus. We have to become prepared to be uncomfortable in some shape or form, but not allow it to deter us from carrying on in faith. However, there are great joys and luminous revelations while being a doer, but we must be prepared to hold out for those moments while in the midst of being uncomfortable.

 

 

4. Don’t wait.

Being doers can mean traveling across the globe to extend compassion and the love of Jesus or it can mean traveling to your backyard to the neighbor who is battling cancer. It’s not about the distance, it’s about the Message. Location isn’t relative, the issue at hand is that we are demonstrating compassion and spreading the Gospel. We’re called to share Christ’s love and we’re called to glorify Him (Matthew 28:19). We’re called to care. We’re called to protect, defend, and care for the defenseless, the poor, and the abandoned. It doesn’t matter where.

Demonstrating love and compassion can be done right now—the opportunities are limitless. We live in a world of darkness, just take a look around and be stunned by the abundant opportunities that await you.

Being a doer starts in the home. It starts in the work place. It starts in the Church. It starts with relationships. It starts with the grumpy neighbor, disgruntled cashier, or the unpleasant individual who just stole my parking spot (while I had my blinker on, I might add!). It starts here. Compassion starts now. If we think that we have to travel overseas to extend compassion or love, I’m afraid that we’re missing out multiple opportunities that are staring us right smack in the face.

 

People are people. We all need the same thing, we all need Jesus desperately. You can make a difference here, and you can make a difference there. It’s not really relative to where you are geographically, God’s love and compassion needs to be spread just as much in Baltimore City as it does in India. His love needs to be spread in a nursing home just as much as it does in an orphanage. Don’t wait for an opportunity, just because you don’t think it’s the opportunity you would choose. Don’t become discouraged when you feel like your impact isn’t as great as you would hope—it’s not about us. It’s about Him. Don’t waste an opportunity to become a doer out of pride—take a leap of faith.

5. Listen and love.

Be a hearer and a doer. It’s far easier said than done, but it’s a goal worth aiming for. Many of the people I know have come to Christ from visually seeing the works of Christians in action. We can talk all day long using Christianese and spiritual terms, but until there is evidence in our lives that we mean what we say, we might find we have trouble connecting with others in an effective manner. Become amazed at how God can work in your life when you give Him a heart ready for action.

What does it mean to have a log or a speck inside of your eyes?

          This is an essay that has a whole lot of importance in our daily lives.  The question is what does it mean to have a log or a speck inside of your eyes? First, I would like to say that having a log or speck inside of your eyes, means we have sins in our lives.  For instance, in my case, I used to look at pornography each day for the past 43 years.  I also used to use vulgarity since I was 5 years old.  The reason why I have done these things because I was angry and my parents used vulgarity toward each other.

          Further, my mother and stepfather used to cuss each other out all of the time. I guess for the past 21 years of their marriage, my mother and stepfather has problems communicating with each other. As far as pornography is concerned, I started looking at it when I was a child.  I asked God to stop me from using vulgarity and looking at porn. God has changed me from the inside out.

I feel a whole lot better because I am a new creation according to 2 Corinthians 5:17. I had problems from my past that tend to affect me through this very day.  According to Matthew 7:3-5 says: And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but you do not consider the plank in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, let me remove the speck from your eye; Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.

          Moreover, I must repent of all of my sins; first and foremost, before I am able to help another person.  The reason why I am saying these things because it is not easy dealing with my own sins without God’s help.  I want to inform everyone that I have to be very careful about the things that we do because God is watching us.  If you do not believe me read Proverbs 15:3.  This Bible verse say the eyes of the Lord are in every place, keeping watch on the evil and the good.  This is true because I asked Him too.  I am not saying that I am a very weak person.  However, I still have to be very careful because Satan is busy.  Satan is the master deceiver. 

In Addition, I want to inform all of you that the devil will hurt you.  According to John 8:44; it states that you are of your father, the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do.  He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources; for he is a liar and the father of it.  This is the truth because the devil, all he wants to do is steal, kill, and destroy.  This is a verse from John 10:10. The Lord says that He has come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.  The Lord God is blessing me every single day.  For example, He is keeping me clean and sober from alcohol and drugs.

          Also, I have been clean and sober for 28 years as of this year in 2018.  I admit to using vulgarity for the past 47 years.  I also admit to looking at pornography for the past 43 years. I also admit to having a mental illness called schizoid affective disorder and bipolar1.  I also admit that I come from a dysfunctional family.  I will admit to writing a 350 page manifesto about my personal life during the time I was a patient at Summit Hospital in Cincinnati, Ohio. For 4 consecutive months, I wrote down everything that the voices were saying to me; whether or not it was good or bad.

          According to 2^nd Timothy 1:7 says that God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and of a sound mind. God does not want me to be scared of demonic spirits.  We are supposed to fear God and not demonic spirits. I also want to say that God is doing for me, what I cannot do for myself. I write every single day, read the Bible out loud, and pray out loud because it helps me to cope with having a mental illness. I also attend AA and NA meetings as well as attend church on a regular basis.  When it comes to people who had a plank inside of their eyes. The first one was Cain, who killed his brother Abel because the Lord favored Abel over Cain.

          Eventually, when it comes to the Bible, King David, killed the husband of Bathsheba in secret.  2^nd Samuel 12:9-10 says why have you despised the commandments of the Lord, to do evil in His sight? You have killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword; you have taken his wife to be your wife, and have killed him with the sword of the people of Ammon. Now therefore, the sword shall never depart from your house because you have despised me and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife. The Lord punished David for what he has done to the Lord.  These are examples of what it mean to have a plank and a speck inside of your eyes. It is the sins that we commit each day that makes the Lord very displeased with us. The Lord will forgive us of our sins as long as we repent honestly of our sins.

Finally, there is no turning back. David’s first child by Bathsheba died and he was in great distress.  David did wrong in the eyes of God.  We all must repent of our sins and be honest about it.  I repent of my sins on a daily basis.  I will admit that I feel ashamed and embarrassed about everything that I have done wrong. Do you know that everything we do in our life is being recorded by God? Matthew 12:36-37 says but I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgement. For by your words, you will be justified, and by your words, you will be condemned.  Please repent of your sins because it is the only way; we are going to heaven.  We must believe that Jesus Christ died and rose from the dead. We must also believe that God is the Creator of all things. Thank you very much for reading my essay.

My name is Anthony Joseph Hopkins and I am a Blogger.  I have been writing for the past 12 years.

We Shall Love The Lord Our God!

          This is an essay that consists of Bible verses from the Book of Deuteronomy.  The first Bible verse that I would like to talk about is in Deuteronomy 6:5: It says you shall love the Lord your God with all of your heart, with all of your soul, and with all of your strength.  I love the Lord God so much that I have dedicated my life to Him; by not listening to rap music.  I have dedicated my life to Him by sharing with others about what the Lord has done for me.

          Next, when you love the Lord your God; you are putting to an end the physical, mental, and social self by submitting to His will.  Deuteronomy 8:6 says: Therefore you shall keep the commandments of the Lord your God, to walk in His ways and fear Him.  Second, we do this by obeying His word, and placing our hearts, mind, and soul to Him.

 We have to submit to God by hearing His voice through prayer and reading His word.  We also have to submit to His will in our lives by giving up the things that we have done in our life.  Deuteronomy 11:13 says: And it shall be that if you earnestly obey my commandments which I command you today, to love the Lord your God and serve Him with all of your heart, and with all of your soul.

          Third, we do this by loving Him in the same way He loved us.  We also demonstrate this same love for God to other people in our lives.  According to Deuteronomy 11:22: For if you carefully keep all these commandments which I command you to do- to love the Lord your God, to walk in all of His ways, and to hold fast to Him. Fourth, we serve Him; is we love Him.  We do this by walking after the Lord your God and fear Him, and keep His commandments, and obey His voice; you shall serve Him and hold fast to Him. Deuteronomy 13:4. 

This means that we have to fear the Lord God, our Creator, and His son Jesus Christ.  We are not supposed to fear mortal man because man was created from the dust of the ground according to Genesis 2:7.  In order to live in the spirit, we have to be born again.

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Exhausted: Why Pleasing God Can’t Be Our First Motivation

Have you ever felt exhausted by the Christian life?

Have you felt burnt out, like you keep running and not getting anywhere? Have you ever wondered why you don’t feel the joy and freedom Jesus talks about in the Bible? Have you ever felt like you needed to pretend like you have your life together, especially to other Christians? Do you feel like you’re showing up to church or Bible study just to check a box, but no one there really knows you?

You aren’t alone.

So many of us are exhausted but unwilling to admit it. We’re surrounded but feel so isolated. Why? What are we missing? What’s wrong?

There are a lot of answers to this question, but we think one of the foundational ones is this: we have made pleasing God our primary motive, rather than trusting God. Let’s unpack that a bit.

 

Pleasing God: Striving hard to be all God wants me to be

“At some point all of us find ourselves at a fork in the road in our spiritual lives. Suddenly you find yourself staring down two paths, two distinctly different paths. One says ‘Pleasing God.’ The other says ‘Trusting God.’” –The Two Roads Video

Of the two, pleasing God sure sounds more appealing than trusting God—pleasing God implies that we have something to do, some way to contribute to the relationship. It’s active. It sounds like we care, like we’re motivated, like we aren’t lazing around. We try to perform for God, try to keep Him pleased with us, while feeling like He’s getting farther and farther away as we continue to struggle and sin. Pleasing God sounds like a good primary motivation, so why does it lead to hiding, isolation, and pretending?

When we think that we gain and lose God’s favor by our behavior, we begin to hide from others. We can’t let them know that we’re struggling, or we might lose our place—we might lose their favor, too. So we hide and pretend, running as hard as we can to please God and, by extension, others. Even if we occasionally feel like we’ve pleased God, we know we’re on a razor’s edge of losing it again. Some of us are built for running and performing. We might last longer in the hamster wheel. But, eventually, many of us run ourselves into the ground. We’re exhausted from trying to please a God we feel is more and more disappointed with us. We’re exhausted from faking it to others, even those closest to us.

Pleasing God is a good desire. You won’t hear us say otherwise. It just can’t be our primary motivation, or it’ll imprison our hearts. We can never do enough good deeds or sin little enough to please God. It’s why we need a Savior. What we mean here by “primary motive” has to do with that which is the driving force of our very hearts. If our desire is primarily to please God, we will be the initiators. We will end up manufacturing all sorts of ways to do this, without trusting in the God we’re trying to please. We do this despite the clear teaching that nothing we do apart from trust pleases Him. Indeed, Paul observes that “whatever is not of faith [trust] is sin.”

 

Trusting God: Living out of who God says I am

There’s an incredible phrase in Hebrews 11:6: “Without faith it is impossible to please God.” The word “faith” is the noun form of the word “believe” or “trust.” Thus, the issue of pleasing God is inextricably bound to trusting Him. What the author of Hebrews is saying is that pleasing God is the result of trusting Him. There is nothing that we can “conjure up” to please Him that is not based upon who He is and what He has already done in and for us. 

When our primary motive becomes trusting God, we discover there is nothing in the world that pleases Him more! We please God by choosing to trust Him. When our main drive becomes growing in trust, a whole new world opens to us. We get to exhale, trusting that He has already transformed us from a sinner to a saint as our primary identity. We can begin opening up and trusting others with our hard areas, because we know that who we are has already been settled by God. We can finally rest, knowing that we are fully loved and accepted. Incredibly, when trusting God becomes our primary motive, it allows us to run like we couldn’t before. This is no hamster wheel. This is the joyful race talked about in Hebrews 12:1-3. Fixing our eyes on what Jesus has already accomplished, we are free to run hard, not because it changes our identity or the Father’s love for us, but because we get to participate with Him in His work. The difference is that the first race exhausts us, because we’re running to try to gain something we’re afraid we don’t have. This second kind of race fuels us and fills us, because it’s rooted in joy, peace, and trust in what Jesus has accomplished.

 

But Won’t People Get Lazy?

We hear this a lot. We get worried that “trusting” is too passive and lazy (although any of us that have actually tried to walk the path of trusting God know that it is an incredibly active, difficult, adventurous journey!). This passage of The Cure addresses this fear:

The word “grace” appears 122 times in the New Testament. The Judaizers in the apostle Paul’s day hated it. They feared what it would do if it got loose. “Paul, you can’t tell them this!” they said. “These people are immature, lazy and have little religious background. They’ll abuse it as soon as they can. They’ll live Christianity-lite. These people are weak and want to do whatever they want. And believe me, what they want is not good.” Paul responds, in essence, this way: “You’d have a great point, if it wasn’t for two truths. First, these people have a new nature.  They have Christ in them. They’re not who they were. They don’t want to get away with anything. They want to enjoy Him, and can’t find a way to do that within your ugly system.

Second, they have the Holy Spirit, who is able to correct, encourage, rebuke, and challenge. They have God, you know.”

Yes, if we don’t believe 2 Corinthians 5:7 that “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come,” then we might be concerned. But if we believe that Christ has actually transformed us, and therefore has actually transformed others, then we can trust that “he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion” (Philippians 1:6).

 

How can I apply this today?

• Identify one specific thing you want to grow in trusting God with. Your identity? His faithfulness? His provision? Your destiny?
• Commit to bringing this to God in prayer over the next week. You don’t need to conjure up a different feeling about it. Just keep telling Him that you struggle with trust in that area, and ask Him to help you.
• Tell one trusted person in your life about the area you want to grow in.

 

Watch The Two Roads, where we dig into this even more, or read The Cure.https://www.youtube.com/embed/mOJ1wUcP804?wmode=opaque&enablejsapi=1

FEBRUARY 25, 2020FACEBOOK0LINKEDIN0TUMBLRPINTEREST03 LIKES

COMMENTS (3)

Newest First           Oldest First           Newest First                      Most Liked           Least Liked                    Preview POST COMMENT…

eric bauman4 months ago · 0 Likes  

Good stuff thanks for writing this. I included an article with my own take on the matter
https://www.salvationblogger.com/post/a-life-pleasing-to-god

Ashley7 months ago · 0 Likes  

yeah this was the most honest and clear piece i could find about my problem ty

CarolynA year ago · 0 Likes  

Thank you for this article. It’s what I needed. God bless you.PREVIOUSWhat To Do (and Not Do) When You’re Feeling Spiritually Numb NEXTDoes Anyone See Me? Grace for Weary Daughters

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The Gospel Coalition

“What do you mean by ‘have faith’?”

MAY 7, 2014  | Erik Raymond

What does it mean to have faith? I have gotten this question numerous times as a pastor. Faith is a term that is vitally important but often also loosely defined or applied.

People speak of faith as if it is a “leap of faith.” In this way it sounds like an acceptable embracing of something that is irrational. The Bible does not present faith as irrational.

Others speak of faith as simply intellectual ascent. I believe the facts about God much like someone believes the facts about the life of George Washington. While facts are important there is more.

Still others will speak of the way they feel. God makes them happy when they should be sad. Emotion corresponds with faith but is not all that faith is.

Some even speak of faith in a reflexive way. They talk of “my faith” terms that don’t seem to get very far from themselves. It is a mantra to keep on believing–but in who? or what?

Biblical faith is outward, fixed upon God, due to who he is, what he has done, and his infinite value. Hebrews 11.6 famously says,

 ”And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.” (Hebrews 11:6, ESV)

At Emmaus we often speak of faith in terms of “trusting and treasuring” God. We believe that God is who he said he is and as a result we believe (trust) him to do everything that he has promised. Further, because he is infinitely glorious, we treasure him above any and everything.

Trusting Christ
In order to be saved, to be in Christ, we must trust him. That is, we must come to the point where we see the futility of our works before God. We must see that we are altogether unclean, devoid of righteousness, and in fact unrighteous altogether before the unflinching bar of eternal justice (Is. 64.6; Rom. 3.10-19). In this pride smashing, somewhat painful self-awareness we realize that we need righteousness (Rom. 3.19).

Jesus is the one who comes as God in the flesh (John 1.14) to save his people from their sins (Matt. 1.21). He lives the perfect life that I could and would not. He obeys the Law perfectly (Gal. 4.4), loving his Father and neighbor perfectly (John 8.29) and ultimately gives his life as the payment for sinners like me and you (2 Cor 5.21; Gal. 3.13; Phil. 2.3-11).

In Christ, God extends the perfect blood and righteousness of Jesus as the only suitable payment for our sin and standing place before him. So our believing is present tense (John 3.16). It is a whole-souled trust in the person and work of Jesus Christ alone  for us and our salvation.

Treasuring Christ
When God in Christ does this for a wretch like me how can I but praise him? How can he not be my heart’s chief treasure?!

To believe in Christ is to see him as our only hope in this life or the next, our soul’s chief delight, point of living, hope in dying, goal in everything! (Col. 3.1-4; Col. 3.15-17). To believe upon Christ is to have our soul’s satisfied in him (John 6.35). To treasure Christ is to hear the Father say of his Son, “This is my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased” (Mark 1.11) and then repeat it back to him, “This is my beloved Savior, with him I am well-pleased!”

To combine trusting and treasuring I think we have the incorporation of our head, heart and will (or as the Puritans would say, “affections”). We see our brokenness, deficiency, and hopelessness without a mediator….then God graciously shows us Jesus. He is our life! By his dying and doing we are made alive, declared righteous, adopted, sanctified, kept, and will ultimately be presented as holy, blameless and beyond reproach before God almighty the righteous judge (Col. 1.21; Jude 24-25).

We can see both of these come together in many places in the Bible but let me take the 28th Psalm for example.

“The Lord is my strength and my shield; in him my heart trusts, and I am helped; my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to him.” (Psalm 28:7)

Notice the Psalmist trusts in God and then he treasures him (exults). This exulting is worshipping, rejoicing, delighting, and being moved by the supremacy of God. This is why he continues on to brag upon the work of God in the life of his people:

 ”The Lord is the strength of his people; he is the saving refuge of his anointed. Oh, save your people and bless your heritage! Be their shepherd and carry them forever.” (Psalm 28:8-9)

Biblical faith has always looked the same. We look away from ourselves and unto the God who has revealed himself, made promises, acted powerfully, showcased his supremacy, and won our loyalty. So we believe—we trust and treasure God!

(Lighthouse photo from Shutterstock.)