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Are you in some sort of bad mood? Sad? Depressed? Mad? Bitter?

Here’s the remedy: Get your eyes off yourself and focus on God. (This is not saying just to “take it.” If your problem can be improved or is solvable, work on it with the Lord’s guidance.)

But, often, we focus on how we feel to the exclusion of God.

The Prescription

The Psalmist (maybe David) gave us the prescription in Psalms 42 and 43.

Ask yourself why.

But the answer is not in your circumstances. The answer is in God.

The Palmist had to go through several cycles. Despair. Look to God. Despair. Look to God. Despair. Look to God.

Don’t bemoan your circumstances. Rejoice in your God.

What should we look at?

Remember God’s promise that nothing, NOTHING, can separate you from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:38-39)

God:

1. Began a good work in you by saving you,
2. is continuing His good work in you, by making you more and more into the image of His Son,
3. and will bring you to heaven where you will be glorified, holy, and blameless!

For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus. (Philippians 1:6)

These whom He predestined, He also called; and these who He called, He also justified, and these whom He justified, He also glorified. (Romans 8:30)

He has now reconciled you in His fleshly body through death, in order to present you before Him holy and blameless and beyond reproach. (Colossians 1:22)

Whatever troubles you have now, God brings to good, making you more and more into the image of His Son.

And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. (Romans 8:28)

Hard Work

This takes effort. The worse your mood, the harder the task.

Getting your mind off yourself may be a struggle. Like the Psalmist, keep at it.

If you rejoice in the lord, but then fall back into a bad mood, start again.

God is at work in you. Your circumstances are God’s tool.

Press On!

As we assess the world, as we assess our own situations, we must deliberately recognize who God is, and what He plans.

The entire Bible is a story of God’s redemption and sanctification of His people, and His wrath on the wicked.

His plan is in progress, and we can see Him working to redeem and purify. And we can see His judgment on wickedness.

The final chapter is still to come. (See Revelation 20-22.)

God, in His word, warned us. We are told that:

In the last days, difficult times will come. For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power. (2 Timothy 3:1-5)

Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil. (Isaiah 5:20)

Don’t be surprised, rather praise

Don’t be surprised that times are hard. Praise Him for warning us. Praise Him for your redemption.* Praise Him that He is making you more like Christ. Praise Him that His plan is working out exactly as He wills.

Pray

Pray for the unsaved. Pray that people repent. Pray for increased trust in almighty God. Pray for your own discernment.

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*Please, if you aren’t saved, or aren’t sure, turn to God, believe in Jesus Christ. See Becoming a Child of God.

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I am stunned at the effort made by cross-country skiers. Many (most?) of the top finishers collapse after they pass the finish line, gasping for air, unable to stand. They gave it all.

I’m stunned and I’m convicted. Do I work that hard at anything?

At the 2018 Olympics, the USA ladies cross-county team spring won the gold, and the final skier said what kept her going was knowing who was waiting at the finish line. (See Who is Waiting at Your Finish Line?)

Among our goals as Christians should be to finish well. And we have Christ waiting at our finish line.

Each of us has a race set before us (Hebrews 12:1), and we are called to run faithfully and with endurance.

Paul knew he had: “I have found the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith.” (2 Timothy 4:7)

In order to finish well, we must faithfully keep going day by day. We must keep our focus, striving to grow spiritually. Faith is not static. It is either growing or deteriorating.

Our Lord tells us it won’t be easy but promises to help, is with us always, and delivered help. He send the Holy Spirit to dwells in us, and we are in Christ.

The view of the end, where Christ is waiting with rewards, helps us in the effort now.

Press on!

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Mission Impossible

Did you ever watch that TV show, Mission Impossible? Yeah, yeah, I’m dating myself. The theme was a covert group fighting evil governments, dictators, etc., etc., etc. The recorded instructions self-destructed after playing the tape. And the covert group were told if they were captured or killed, the Secretary would deny any knowledge of them. And, of course, they succeeding in their impossible mission.

Sometimes we may feel we have an impossible mission. How can we live godly lives, pleasing God, in the difficult situations we are in? How can we keep going? How can we stand up when we are confronted/ assaulted for believing in Jesus Christ?

We’re Not Alone

That covert group in Mission Impossible had to rely on themselves. Our situation is different. We have the Triune God on our side. The Holy Spirit dwells in us. The Father dwells in Christ. Christ is in us and we in Him.

The Spirit of God dwells in you. (1 Corinthians 3:16)

You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us. (John 17:21)

I [Jesus] in them and You [Father] in Me… (John 17:23)

Nothing is Impossible for God

And, of course, for God, nothing is impossible.

And looking at them Jesus said to them, “With people this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” (Matthew 19:26)

And, for us, when we are in God’s will, it is possible:

And Jesus said to him, “If you can? All things are possible to him who believes.” (Mark 9:23)

I can do all things through Him who strengthens me. (Philippians 4:13)

God Promises!

Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy, to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen. (Jude 24-25)

We CAN Through Him Who Loves Us

We CAN live lives pleasing to God. We CAN keep going in our difficult circumstances. We CAN keep from stumbling. All through Him who loves us.

But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. (Romans 8:37)

Press On!

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Believers in Christ are told about their future.

In this world, we will be sanctified, becoming more and more like Christ. (1 Peter 1:2)

We are blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ. (Ephesians 1:3)

We’ll be glorified in heaven, presented by Christ to the Father holy and blameless and beyond reproach. (Colossians 1:22)

Day by day, we must remember our future.

Jerusalem did not remember her future, and was destroyed and exiled to Babylon for her iniquities. (Lamentations 1:9)

Christ spoke to us so we would not stumble. (John 16:1)

Our future in this world

In this world we are promised:

Trouble. (John 16:33)

Persecution. (Matthew 5:11)

Discipline. (Hebrews 12:4-13) (But never condemned (Romans 8:1))

We are promised even more:

To be made more and more into the image of Christ. (Romans 8:29)

To have the Lord with us always. (Matthew 28:20)

Never to be separated from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:38-39)

Get Ready

Since we know our future, we can get ready. Trouble shouldn’t surprise us. Persecution shouldn’t be a shock. Sin must be shunned.

Remember the future and get ready now.

And, also, remember bliss to come.

Praise God!

Onomea falls. Hawaii Tropical Bioreserve and Garden on Onomea bay. Harry Durgin

The love of God for His adopted children (Ephesians 1:5) is incomprehensible.

He is holy and we are not. Yet He chose to save us, declaring us righteous, and now working to make us into the image of Christ. (Romans 8:29-30)

In this world, we continue to sin, although less and less as we grow in grace.

But our sins, the sins of those who have come to saving faith, do not result in condemnation (Romans 8:1).

Instead, out of love, He disciplines us, leading us to more steadfastly follow our Lord God.

And He promises to glorify us (Romans 8:30).

He promised we will be holy and blameless before Him! (Ephesians 1:4)

Us! Holy and blameless!

And for eternity He will show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness towards us in Christ Jesus! (Ephesians 2:7)

Holy and blameless! That is going to be us who believe in Christ Jesus, who have received Him as Lord and Savior.

Amazing grace!

Praise Him!

Landscape Arch Utah

Christians’ goal, our goal, is to press on towards Christ-likeness.

In order to press on, we must forget what lies behind. We must not rest on past successes or let past sins haunt us. We thank God what whatever successes we’ve had. We must confess and repent of our past sins.

We must get with it.

Forgetting what lies behind can be harder than it sounds.

In Philippians, Paul enumerates the reasons he had to put confidence in the flesh, but then said that he was found in Christ because of Christ’s righteousness which is through faith in Him. He counted the past as loss, as rubbish. (Philippians 3)

I am much more apt to have trouble forgetting my sins.

I have to remind myself of two things.

One, when I came to saving faith, my sins were forgiven. And not only that, God put them behind His back, forgetting them, and doesn’t act on them. (See God Forgets Our* Sins.)

Two, I remind myself of God’s promise: If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9)

We must forget what lies behind. We must not let anything in the past (good or bad) interfere with doing the good works God has for us to do (Ephesians 2:10)

Press on!

God forgives

God forgives our* sins when we come to saving faith; when we repent and believe in Jesus Christ.

When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions, having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and he has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. (Colossians 2:13-14)

Christ took the wrath we deserved.

And then God forgets

You have cast all my sins behind Your back. (Isaiah 38:17)

As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us. (Psalm 103:12)

God doesn’t remember

Of course, God doesn’t forget in the human sense, but He choses not to remember, not to act on our forgiven sins.

And their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more. (Hebrews 10:17)

God sets us free

So if the Son makes you free ,you will be free indeed. (John 8:36)

Rejoice!

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*See Becoming a Child of God.

AJewish lady and I talked about spiritual matters when we shared a physician’s waiting room. Just as she was standing to respond to the nurse’s call, she said: “I know there is no forgiveness.”

Alas.

I did not see her again, and I pray someone will talk to her about forgiveness in Christ.

It is ONLY through Jesus Christ that we can be saved

There is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved. (Acts 4:12)

There is no other way. The Day of Atonement, with God’s prescribed temple sacrifices, does not exist. We cannot live perfect lives to “earn” eternal life. It is only through God’s mercy that some are saved.

But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved) … For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. (Ephesians 2:4-5, 8-9)

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Father, help us tell others about You, about salvation through Your Son, Jesus Christ. Help us live lives that demonstrate Your holiness. Please help us make the most of the opportunities You give us.

Fog! The Gulf of Mexico is out there beyond the buildings! And the Laguna Madre in the foreground.

The Book of Judges contains one awful story after another. But they started well.

Israel served the LORD all the days of Joshua and all the days of the elders who survived Joshua, and had known all the deeds of the LORD which He had done for Israel. (Joshua 24:31)

But then, there arose another generation after them who did not know the LORD, nor yet the work which He had done for Israel. (Judges 2:10)

The fact that there arose a generation who did not know Yahweh nor the work He had done for them was sin. Israel was commanded to keep Yahweh’s words on their hearts, and to teach about Him and His mighty deeds.

These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up. (Deuteronomy 6:6-7)

But they didn’t obey, and the sons of Israel forsook Yahweh and did evil in His sight. (Judges 2:11; 10:13-14)

In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes. (Judges 21:25)

We are guilty too

Do our children know Yahweh and what He has done? Does our nation? Do we?

New Year’s Resolution

I propose we resolve to know Yahweh and what He has done. To meditate on Him. To teach others. Let us determine to seek Him with our whole hearts. Let us steadfastly study His word this year.

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Father, forgive us for not knowing You as we should Forgive us for not seeking after You as we should. Forgive us for not talking about You to others as we should. Help us deeply and consistently study Your word. Help us speak as You would lead us.