Psalm 37: 39-40: “But the salvation of the righteous is from the Lord. He is their strength in the time of trouble, and the Lord shall help them and deliver them. He shall deliver them from the wicked, and save them, because they trust in Him.”
Who are the righteous? Most of my life I understood that the righteous are those who do right; who live up to God’s standards of behavior; people who don’t “drink or cuss or dance or chew, or ever run with them that do.” Continue reading
Philippians 4: 6-7: Tex’s paraphrase: “Don’t worry about anything, but with an attitude of gratitude, tell God what you need, and leave it in His hands. Then His peace, the peace that gives you comfort and rest, the peace that passes all understanding, will guard and protect your hearts and your thoughts through Christ Jesus.”
“Don’t worry about anything.” In Matthew 6:34, KJV Jesus says, “Take no thought for the morrow.” Liberally translated that’d be “Don’t worry”, but Tex’s paraphrase would be “Don’t even think about tomorrow AT ALL.” That’s what Phil 4:6-7, starts out saying as well, “Don’t worry about anything, don’t even think about it.” God wants us to turn all our problems over to Him, not even think about them anymore, just let Him take care of them. Continue reading
In Matthew 21: 28-32, Jesus tells the story of the man who had two sons. He went to the first and said, “Go to the vineyard.” And the son said, “I will not.” But afterward, he regretted it and went. Then the father went to the second son and said the same. That son said, “I’ll go.” But he didn’t. Then Jesus said, “Which one of the sons did the will of his father?” [the Pharisees] said, “The first.”
Then Jesus tells the Pharisees that the sinners will get into heaven before them because the sinners BELIEVED what John the Baptist preached and were changed; while the Pharisees didn’t believe even after they saw it. Jesus compared them to the second son, who said the right thing, but didn’t do it. Continue reading
“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18: NKJV
The kind of prayer I’m talking about; the kind of prayer I think this passage is talking about is substantially different from regular praying, where you ask for things and intercede for others. It’s not an activity where you’re focusing your conscious mind on God, and talking to Him about specific issues, or events, or material things in your life. It’s more like an attitude, an awareness of God’s presence; Continue reading
You know, every day with Jesus really IS sweeter than the day before; but sometimes the cares of this world just get you down. There is too much to do and not enough time to do it all in. The bills are more than the income and lots of people standing in line waiting for their part. You’re tired, exhausted, and you get depressed from all the toxins in your system caused by the fatigue. There’s nothing you’d like better than to have one whole day just to sleep, and maybe another day to get organized, but all this stuff is still there demanding attention. What do we do? Continue reading
In Philippians 4:6-8, Paul says, “Be anxious for nothing, (don’t worry) but in everything by prayer . . with thanksgiving, . . [ask for what you need]; and the peace of God, which passes all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. . . ., whatever things are true, noble, just, pure, lovely, . . [worth knowing], whatever is virtuous and worthy of being praised—meditate on these things.” (Tex’s paraphrase)
So what is this passage about, really? Continue reading
My Momma used to say, “Tribulation builds character.” Turns out it says something like that in the Bible. In Romans 5:3-5 it says, “. . tribulation produces perseverance, and perseverance character, and character, hope. Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.”
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