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Shake Off Your Doubts

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“And Jesus, replying, said to them, Have faith in God [constantly]. Truly I tell you, whoever says to this mountain, Be lifted up and thrown into the sea! and does not doubt at all in his heart but believes that what he says will take place, it will be done for him.” —Mark 11:22-23 (AMPC)

There’s a poster in my office that reads:

Shake off your doubts and then go for it. Check out your options and act.

Find an approach to the future, and turn today’s dreams into fact.

Take a first step to tomorrow. Start on the course of your choice.

Look at what life has to offer, listen to your inner voice.

Don’t live a life of regretting, stifled by negative force.

Think of what you can accomplish. Steer an affirmative course.

Build on activities positive. Work with abundance of heart.

By making the best of the present, change is the process you start.

Even though problems may surface, problems don’t have to prevail.

As long as you are one who is trying, and never just waiting to fail.

—Bruce B. Wilmer

We’ve divided our lives into one-year segments. They begin at a certain time and end at another. The problem is we tend to categorize our successes and defeats within these one-year slots and weigh them at the beginning of each New Year, usually focusing on what we DID NOT accomplish.

Each year, I see the same people go up for prayer again, determined to make that year’s resolutions work. What they don’t realize is that their new set of rules, basically the same set of rules as the previous year, are just done differently, and will give them the same results.

What they need is A CHANGE OF HEART.

We need to learn to live each day as a gift. The Bible says the Lord’s mercies and loving kindness are new EVERY morning. Every morning He is willing to give me better than I deserve and love me regardless. This thought alone should make me a glad person. Each day has a new silver lining. One quote I read says: We miss the silver linings of each day because we are too busy looking for the gold ones.

Proverbs 15:15(AMPC) says: All the days of the desponding and afflicted are made evil [by anxious thoughts and forebodings], but he who has a glad heart has a continual feast [regardless of circumstances].

When we look back on our mistakes, our days become evil because we become despondent by anxious thoughts and forebodings. We need to learn to have a glad heart.

Here are a few points from the above poem to help you be glad—regardless of your circumstances.

SHAKE OFF YOUR DOUBTS – The Oxford Dictionary defines doubt as an uncertainty about something or being undecided. James says a double-minded person cannot receive anything from the Lord. Make up your mind what you want to do and then go for it with God. Remember, YOU must decide to move on.

LISTEN TO YOUR INNER VOICE – You cannot decide what you want without listening to your heart. Define your greatest heart’s desire, not what anyone else wants. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you. He is your friend.

DON’T LIVE A LIFE OF REGRET – Regrets always bring negative forces into play. They make you dwell on the past and forget there’s a future that you can change. Put regrets behind you. You cannot change history, but you can mold the future.

MAKE THE BEST OF THE PRESENT – Consider the blessings and abilities you already have (no matter how small) that can benefit you and others, and build on them.

PROBLEMS DON’T HAVE TO PREVAIL – Problems are part of life. Without them, we don’t grow, but they don’t have to prevail. Use them to help you keep trying. Jesus said we will have trouble in this world, but He has overcome it. There’s always help.

Don’t worry about tomorrow. Tomorrow will have enough trouble of its own (Matt. 6:34).

I don’t believe Jesus was telling us to bury our heads in the sand like an ostrich but was saying that worrying and being anxious will mess up our hearts and minds.

If we spend our time thinking on His kingdom and righteousness and what He achieved, then we will be able to see the opportunities of each day, knowing He is with and for us no matter what.

Trust that each new day will be filled with joy and peace because of the finished work of Jesus. Live each moment fully aware of your blessings!

Blessings,

Arthur

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Living in the Fullness of God

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As believers, the promise of sharing in the abundant (Zoe) life of God and living in His fullness is a great privilege. It’s not some future goal. It’s reality because we are seated together with Christ in heavenly places.

Jesus said,

“… the person whose ears are open to My words who listens to My message and BELIEVES and trusts in and clings to and relies on Him Who sent Me has POSSESSES NOW eternal life….” —John 5:24 (AMP)

“And this is the RECORD that God hath given to us ETERNAL LIFE, and this LIFE is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath LIFE; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have ETERNAL LIFE, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.” —John 5:11-13

John assures us that we already have the very life of God.

Peter said,

“According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue” (2 Pet. 1:3).

Few things are more frustrating than knowing the promise of abundant life, but experiencing little or none of it daily. To experience it, we must interpret the gospel correctly.

Filled with All the Fullness of God

Paul’s prayer gives us insight in Ehesians 3:14-20

“…to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man” (v. 16).

He emphasizes being empowered from the inside out. The Kingdom of God is inward, and everything God does is through our hearts from the inside out.

The Indwelling of Christ

Then Paul tells us how God empowers us from the inside out. Paul says,

“…that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith” (v. 17).

When we receive Christ, He comes and dwells in our hearts, but I also believe he’s saying we should consciously focus our hearts on Christ and Him crucified—to allow Christ to dwell in the deepest, most intimate recesses of our hearts (our belief systems). Paul then says,

“…that ye, being rooted and grounded in love” (v.17).

When we focus on Christ, we discover that we’ve always been the focus of God’s love—an unending, unconditional love. The Kingdom of God is inward, and everything God does is through our hearts from the inside out.

Able to Comprehend

Verse 18 says, “… to comprehend … what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge.”
Comprehend means to lay hold of so as to make one’s own. When we focus our attention on Christ, we are able to lay hold of God’s fullness.

Paul says,

“…that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God” (v. 19).

This happens effortlessly when we focus on Christ and become established in God’s unconditional love. It doesn’t come through effort—only through right believing.

God Is Able

God is the One who is able.

“Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us” (v. 20).

Able means to have the ability and power to do. It’s the exhaustive power to perform, carry out, fulfill, bring to pass, and produce. It’s not only God’s intention for us to live in His fullness; He will make it happen!

Exceeding abundantly means superior in quantity or excessive. This term is a super superlative— something that is beyond expression.

The idea behind “above all that we ask or think” is to ask for a bucket full, but there’s still an ocean left over. God is able to do what we think, and then over and above! According to the power—miracle working power (ability, energy, and might) of influence, and enablement—that works IN US.

Living the abundant life is the influence of God’s unconditional love working in our hearts. Receive what He did by grace, and realize that His finished work is active in you, right now!

– Arthur

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