January 2010

Dear friend in Christ,

"Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say, Rejoice!" Philippians 4:4

A few days ago the Spirit of the Lord began to speak to my heart very clearly about the goodness of God, even in the midst of tribulation and trouble. He is always there, and you can trust Him with your life. We're living in an hour that the Bible describes as "perilous times". 2Timothy 3:1, "But know this, that in the last days, perilous times will come..." The Strong's concordance describes "perilous" as: harsh, savage, difficult, dangerous, painful, fierce, grievous, and hard to deal with. And I believe that most of us can agree that this certainly describes the economy and the moral status of the entire world. We hear about wars and rumors of wars, and nations rising up against nations, and about great famines, pestilence and earthquakes happening all over the world.

Matthew 24:6-7 tells us, "And you shall hear of wars and rumors of wars; see that you NOT be troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there shall be famines and pestilence, and earthquakes in divers places." Just look at how the earthquake in Haiti has caused such a tremendous crisis and time of grief in the lives of all those precious people.

So many people are facing times of trouble in their personal lives. But God is still on His Throne and He has promised that He will never leave you nor forsake you. He told us in the Book of Matthew "not to worry about tomorrow... sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

Time after time, the Bible talks about God's goodness, and Psalm 145:9 sums it up this way: "The Lord is GOOD to all." Now, you might think, "I've always heard this." Many people believe that God is good, but head knowledge alone doesn't affect their daily lives. It takes more than just knowing His Word to change the circumstances in your life. It takes a revelation from the Word of God. Revelation is a truth that becomes so real to you as the Holy Spirit shines light on His Word, that it becomes a part of your personal life. It's not something you hear and forget. It's something that you act on, and it's that knowledge that is acted on that brings results.

Jesus Himself told us in Matthew 6 NOT to worry. One of Satan's greatest weapons is to bring worry to our minds. Both real and imagined worries attack our minds daily as the pressures and the stresses of these end times press in from every side in an attempt to discourage and defeat us. But Jesus commands us to put aside worry. He pleads with us to see that our Father has faithfully provided for all of our needs. And He assures us that our Heavenly Father KNOWS what we need even before we ask, so there is no reason for us to worry.

2 Corinthians 10:5 tells us: "Cast down imaginations and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, and bring into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ." That means we are to take those thoughts that come into our heads and line them up with the Word of God. Do those thoughts agree with what God has to say about whatever it is you are dealing with? If not, cast them down! I'd like to tell you that this is easy, but it's not. In this busy world it's easier to get our priorities out of order. We can become so caught up in the cares of daily life that we don't make time for God and His Kingdom. And as a result, the Word gets choked out by the cares and the distractions, and what Jesus called "thorns".

In Mark chapter 4:18-19, Jesus talks about the thorns choking out the Word. And among other things, "the cares and anxieties of the world...creep in and choke and suffocate the Word, and it becomes fruitless."

It's easy to yield to worry. And that spirit of worry and fear can literally take over your life and stop the Word of God from producing any fruit. So don't feed on it. Worry is just meditating on the lies of the devil, or on the circumstances that you are facing in your own life.

So, how do you stop? You replace worry with faith in what the Word of God tells you. Run to the Word and feed on it day and night. Find scriptures that apply to you situation and keep them in front of your eyes; keep them going into your ear and your mouth until that truth gets into your heart. In other words, meditate on the Word of God. That's exactly what God told Joshua to do in Joshua 1:8, "...but you shall meditate therein day and night that you may observe to do according to ALL that is written therein; for THEN you shall make your way prosperous, and THEN you shall have good success."

Meditating on His Word is fixing your mind on what God has to say, and you will gain revelation and insight into His ways and the Holy Spirit will make it a reality in your heart. Carefully ponder how the Word of God applies to your own life and change your situation. You are placing yourself in agreement with what God has to say about you; seeing yourself as He sees you, and most importantly, you will then be seeking His Kingdom, instead of giving way to worry.

The revelation of God's goodness will help you receive from Him whatever you need. Perhaps you have not yet taken the first step of your journey of faith because you've never received Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior. Maybe you've heard about Him, an you might even believe the things that you've heard as truth. If so, you are not alone. Many people, even good churchgoing people are in the same condition right now. They know ABOUT Him, but they don't have a living relationship with Him.

If you don't know the Lord as your personal Savior, or you would like to have a deeper relationship with the Father, you can contact me through this blog and I will write you back and pray with you.

love,

Paula