Two ways to reduce anxiety, experience peace and grow in your walk with God

When anxiety hits turn it into an opportunity to grow in two different areas of your Christian walk. With the proper mindset, anxiety can stimulate you to grow in obedience and in  prayer.

One solution to restoring peace is to increase your obedience. Lets look at that in Psalm 119:165

  165 Those who love Your law have great peace,

         And nothing causes them to stumble. 

 In this Psalm there is a direct connection between obedience and great peace.  Feeling anxious? Want to have peace restored.  Then part of your plan should be to set your mind to obey God all the more. Obedience brings peace

Another solution to restoring peace is choose to pray. Lets take a look at that in Philippians 4:6-7

  6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Feeling anxious? Want to have peace restored.  Then part of your plan should be to spend time in prayer. Prayer also brings peace.

So use prayer and obedience as two powerful solutions to quiet your soul.( note: This is not a comprehensive teaching and  it is not intended to be a substitute for Christian counseling or Doctor directed medicines )

Scripture quotations taken from the "NASB" (www.lockman.org)

Some spiritual dangers of seeking after wealth

Some of us would love to be rich and not be in any need for the rest of our lives. But can riches, or even the longing for riches, hurt your relationship with God. The answer is clearly yes. The first passage we will look at is in Proverbs 30:7-9

 ⁷Two things I asked of You,
         Do not refuse me before I die: 
    ⁸Keep deception and lies far from me,
         Give me neither poverty nor riches;
         Feed me with the food that is my portion, 
    ⁹That I not be full and deny You and say, "Who is the LORD?"
         Or that I not be in want and steal,
         And profane the name of my God.

In verse 8 Agur actually prays that God would not give him riches. Why? Agur was concerned about how he would react if he was no longer dependent on God to have his needs met.  In verse 9 he foresees the possibility of  becoming full and denying God.

Even if we don't have riches, just longing after wealth can stunt our Christian growth. One passage that warns us about our growth being stunted is "The Parable of the Sower"  This parable is found in more than one Gospel but today we will look at a portion found in Mark chapter 4. There is no getting around it. Notice that  ".... the deceitfulness of riches..." is listed among things that will keep the Word of God from bearing fruit in your life.

 ¹⁹but the worries of the world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.

Also when our priority is to get wealthy we are setting up an idol in our heart. It can consume us and steal away our love for God. In fact our love for God can be replaced with despising Him or even hating Him.

Matthew 6:24

²⁴"No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other You cannot serve God and wealth.

Scripture quotations taken from the "NASB" (www.lockman.org)

The deceitful lure of riches - Part 3

As we continue to look at the topic about how riches can be deceitful we find several good points in Luke 12:13-21. Lets read it first and then I'll comment. 

Luke 12

¹³ Someone in the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me.” ¹⁴ But He said to him, “Man, who appointed Me a judge or arbitrator over you?” ¹⁵ Then He said to them, “Beware, and be on your guard against every form of greed; for not even when one has an abundance does his life consist of his possessions.” ¹⁶ And He told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man was very productive. ¹⁷ And he began reasoning to himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no place to store my crops?’ ¹⁸ Then he said, ‘This is what I will do: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. ¹⁹ And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years to come; take your ease, eat, drink and be merry.”’ ²⁰ But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your soul is required of you; and now who will own what you have prepared?’ ²¹ So is the man who stores up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”

In verse 13-14 we see that the coveting money can produce such strong quarrels that an arbitrator is needed to settle the dispute.

In verse 15 we see that abundance does not produce life. In verse 16-18 we see that managing an abundance can produce stress. Can you see that this man is struggling about what he will do with it. He needs to figure out how to keep it and not lose it. Today he might say if I invest it in the market here this bad thing might happen and I could suffer loss. But if I try to invest it over there this other bad thing might happen and again I might suffer loss. So abundance can bring a burden. It can be stressful to come up with a wise way to manage it in order to keep it and / or increase it.

Verses 18-19 show that there can be a danger in having too much. A person can develop a mindset that all of his needs are met and that he doesn't need to seek God. I will talk more about that later in this series. 

And last we see that this man is suddenly taken from this life.  He did not make a relationship with God his priority and as a result is judged by God. His money provides him no protection from hell. 

The next post in the series is called "Some spiritual dangers of seeking after wealth." 

Scripture quotations taken from the "NASB" (www.lockman.org)

The deceitful lure of riches - Part 2

In part 2 of this devotion we will talk about the following: riches add deceitful friendships, riches won't make a bad relationship happy and coveting money produces fighting.


The following Bible verse gives us insight into man's selfishness. It shows us that people will acquire and reject friendships based on what they can get out of them. They try and rub shoulders with the rich in hopes that they will receive some benefit from them. They separate themselves from those who are truly in need because they may need to give of themselves and gain  nothing in return.  So riches can create a false sense that everyone loves you and wants to be with you. But it is a lie. Many of those that want to be with the rich just want something from them.

Proverbs 19:4

⁴ Wealth adds many friends,
But a poor man is separated from his friend.

Next we need to recognize that wealth can't make a bad relationship happy. This Bible verse shows that it is better to have little where there is peace than to have and abundance with quarreling. Wealth can't be enjoyed when there is strife in the home. Relationship tensions erode our ability to enjoy life. Knowing this, it makes sense for each person to make growing in love a high priority. Because when there is love and peace we take joy in our relationships whether we have little or much.

Proverbs 17:1
 ¹ Better is a dry morsel and quietness with it
Than a house full of feasting with strife.

We talked about how wealth can't make a bad relationship happy. Now lets consider how a desire for wealth can actually generate fighting. James 4:1-3 can be applied to any lust. In this case consider these verses in terms of coveting riches.

James 4:1-3
¹ What is the source of quarrels and conflicts among you? Is not the source your pleasures that wage war in your members? ² You lust and do not have; so you commit murder. You are envious and cannot obtain; so you fight and quarrel. You do not have because you do not ask. ³ You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures.


In part 3 of this series we will continue sharing about how coveting money can produce intense quarrels. Also we will discuss the following: managing abundance can produce anxiety, riches can cause us to forget God and riches do not provide protection when we stand before God. 


Scripture quotations taken from the "NASB" (www.lockman.org)

The deceitful lure of riches - Part 1

In this devotion I would like to share some of the reasons why the pursuit of riches are deceitful. We will briefly look at the following ideas: seeking riches  robs one of rest, it won't satisfy, it adds fake friends, it doesn't provide peace in relationships, it won't protect from death.

First lets look at how the pursuit of riches can rob one of rest. In the scripture below we see the way three different people approach work. Two take extreme opposite positions and one has a balanced approach. The first person (v.5) is lazy doesn't want to do any work. As a result he brings ruin / poverty upon himself. The second (v.6)  has a healthy balance between work and rest. And the third (v.6) is not content with having his needs met. His greedy desire for riches drive him to be a workaholic. His pursuit of riches rob him of rest. (note: the concept of sin driving you and not letting you rest can be applied to other areas. Ask God to reveal to you if any sin is driving you and depriving you of rest)

Ecclesiastes 4:5

⁵ The fool folds his hands and consumes his own flesh. ⁶ One hand full of rest is better than two fists full of labor and striving after wind.

In addition to being robbed of rest during the day, we find that those who actually obtain riches, but have neglected a relationship with God, can be robbed of sleep at night. 

Ecclesiastes 5:12

¹² The sleep of the working man is pleasant, whether he eats little or much; but the full stomach of the rich man does not allow him to sleep.

Also we find the those with greedy desires never reach a state of happy contentment. Even if they have an abundance it just isn't enough. They are dissatisfied and always want more. Sadly these people can be driven by trying to keep up with, or even outdo, the wealth that others have obtained. People that are driven by rivalry with their fellow man can never be content with their current possessions. As a result they will never obtain the happiness that they think wealth will bring. 

Ecclesiastes 5:10

¹⁰ He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves abundance with its income.

Since I want these devotions to be short I will break this topic into more than one part. Look for part 2 soon. God bless

Scripture quotations taken from the "NASB" (www.lockman.org)

One key to having your enemies subdued

Today I want write briefly about growing in obedience as a direct result of having an enemy in our lives. There may be practical things we may need to do in order to protect ourselves from an enemy. Also we may need to make things right with that person if we have wronged them. But in addition to those things we also need to also concentrate on our obedience to the Lord so His hand will be against our foes. Lets look at Psalm 81:13-15

13"Oh that My people would listen to Me, That Israel would walk in My ways!
14"I would quickly subdue their enemies  And turn My hand against their adversaries.
15"Those who hate the LORD would pretend obedience to Him, And their time of punishment would be forever.

What an awful feeling to have an enemy. It can just make you miserable and tie your stomach in knots. We want the problem to go away and go away right now. Well here in this Psalm God was willing to fight against their enemies and subdue them if they would walk in His ways. But notice He said "...quickly subdue their enemies..." It seems to me that one way to speed up the resolution timetable is to focus on obedience. Set your heart to obedience in order to have God work on your behalf. By adding this approach, in addition to any other practical actions, you will end up growing spiritually and you'll have an increased confidence that God will help you.


Scripture quotations taken from the "NASB" (www.lockman.org)

Freed from the power of sin - But are you trapped in your mind?

Freed from the power of sin - But are you trapped in your mind?

When anyone receives Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior God immediately does two things concerning sin. First, God forgives all of their sins. Second, God frees them from the power of sin.

Today we will focus on the fact that God has freed us from the power of sin. Romans chapter six talks about this freedom more than once. Here is one verse from Romans 6:14

14 For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace.

We as believers, don't always comprehend that we are really free from the power of sin. But, instead our minds are still conditioned from past failure. Our mind still acts like we are slaves of sin when in reality we are free. To illustrate this point, and also a solution, I am going tell a short story.

There was a dog who for 12 years had worn an electric collar in a yard with an electric fence. He learned repeatedly that he could not go past a fixed point in the yard. Each day when the mailman came he would angrily run up to just short of where his collar would shock him. He would tell the mailman what he really thought about him. But he always stayed back a few feet from where his collar activated.

One day the owner put the dog out without his collar. Then the mailman came. But, the mailman didn't get bit. Why? The dog stopped at the boundary he thought was still there. He was actually free but didn't act on his freedom because he thought he was still limited by the same boundaries.

Do we ever think like this dog in our Christian walk? Are we thinking that we are trapped when in reality we are free? We need to reprogram our mind to agree with the truth. We don't have a sin collar anymore. We are not stuck within sins boundaries. We are free. What we couldn't do before we came to Christ we can do now. We can defeat sin because it no longer has power over us. 

Scripture quotations taken from the "NASB" (www.lockman.org)