Are You Prepared?
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Evil
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Compassion
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The Role of the Church
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Are We Useless
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Turn it over
First we have to truly do our best. Peter said that we have a role when he tells us to be alert and have our mind under control. That means calm down and do the right thing according to God’s direction. That leads us to the second thing. We have to be students of God’s Word. There are some many promises in there that can and will bring comfort. Claim those promises by believing that God keeps His promises. Next we have to realize that at a certain point we have done all we can do. We are limited in many ways, and controlling people’s thoughts and actions is certainly one of those ways. Only when we recognize that can we begin to rely on God. Please understand, realizing that we can do nothing else isn’t giving up; quite the opposite. It is the necessary part of finally being able to turn it over to God. And we can do that when we take to heart one more promise: “the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.” (1 John 4:4) Go ahead. Turn it over to God. Experience some of that peace that Jesus gives. Bro. Tony
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Jesus is the Main Thing
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Your Past
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The Devil is a Liar
I heard an evangelist say of Christians: “We preach a dynamite gospel and live firecracker lives”. Unfortunately, if we honestly assess our lives we would probably come to the same conclusion. We read in the Bible where God worked His will regardless of the weakness of human spirit, the objections of heathen government, or the power of His adversary, the devil. Do we not think He can do the same today? Of course He can. Then why haven’t we accomplished great things in our church and in our own personal lives? I believe it is because we actually believe the devil more than we believe the Lord. One of the most effective tools of the devil is his lies. Listen to how John described Satan in John 8:44 “He (the devil) was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.” Satan lies to you constantly and you don’t realize that it is he. He lies to you about the past and tells you that it defines you. He lies to you about the present, telling you that you are worthless and cannot succeed. He lies to you about the future as he tells you nothing will change; there is no hope. All lies. Jesus tells you the truth because He is the truth. When Jesus tell you “with God all things are possible”, believe that. It is the truth. When God says that you “can do all things through Christ who strengthens you”, believe that. It is the truth. The Word of God tells us again and again that we are to live a life victorious because it is God who is in control. It basically comes down to this when it comes to a powerful, victorious, fruitful life: Will you believe the devil or will you believe God? Bro. Tony
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Take a Breath
I’ve had difficulty writing my column this week. In fact, I’m currently writing my third draft. There is so much going on in our nation politically that will affect the world my grandchildren will inherit. There are stories in the news of riots, protests, and un-civil behavior. Families are being separated at the border, transsexuals are being invited to read to our children at public libraries, schools seem more interested in changing ideology than in teaching children to read and write. I could go on and on. As we are apt to say in the south, It’s a mess ain’t it? Here’s what I need to do (by “I”, I mean “we”): take a deep breath and remember whose we are. “I lift up my eyes to the mountains— where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth”. (Psalm 121:1-2 NIV) 1 John 4:4 says “You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world”. Yes, things look pretty bad when we look at them; this certainly isn’t the world we once knew. Bad is called good and good is called bad. But that is nothing new, really. Such was the situation when Jesus walked the earth in bodily form. All of His teachings were given under the heavy hand of a perverse and un-Godly government. In that poisonous atmosphere of debauchery He told His disciples that He would give them a peace that the world didn’t understand. He told them that the world would hate them but that He loved them and would never forsake them. I take those promises seriously and hang onto them for dear life. Remember, though, His commission to His disciples then and His disciples now: “go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you”. He never spoke of changing government, He spoke of changing people. Ideally, when enough people are changed and become a new creature through Christ, government changes. But even if that doesn’t happen, our task remains the same. So even in a nation becoming hostile to Christianity and seemingly doing everything it can to distance itself from God, I am encouraged. God is on His throne. We can not only survive, we can flourish. The gospel can and will continue to change people. It can change their hearts from anger, despair, and hopelessness and give them hope and joy and an assurance of eternal life. My help…my hope…my joy…my purpose…comes from the mountains: the Lord who made the heavens and the earth. Bro. Tony
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