MEETING REAL LIFE ISSUES
Cares!
Casting all your care upon Him; for he cares for you.
(I Peter 5:7)
Those who have feelings of anxiety often feel like there is no hope and no one understands — and there is no one to help them come out of what they are experiencing in that moment. People with anxiety can often feel overwhelmed with thoughts of what other people’s opinions are about them. Those with anxiety may even be worried about the future or something else that is unfolding in their lives.
GOD IS THE ANSWER TO ANXIETY! David had feelings of anxiety, but he learned how to overcome his fears. He said in Psalms 61:2-3, “From the most remote place of the earth, I will call to you, when my heart is overwhelmed. Lead me to the rock that is higher than I. For you have been a refuge for me, a strong tower from the enemy” (NHEB). The enemy is expert at trapping unsuspecting souls, but it is written: “Our soul is escaped as a bird out of the snare of the fowlers: the snare is broken, and we are escaped. Our help is in the name of the LORD, who made heaven and earth” (Ps. 124:7-8).
There are solutions to life that we don’t have and questions about life that we can’t answer. God is there to give solutions and to answer questions. He will amaze you with His problem-solving and answers! He has the ability to take the most complex situation in our lives and turn it around for our good! What a mighty God we serve! He will never leave or forsake us; He proves Himself time and time again!
Can’t you hear Jesus’ words to Martha: “But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things” (Luke 10:41 – ESV). Like Martha’s sister, Mary, there are times when we are to put away the details and come sit at Jesus’ feet! We are to cast all our cares on Him. He cares for us! This day has enough to deal with, so don’t give undue thought about tomorrow, but seek God’s kingdom (Matt. 6:33-34). We are not to be anxious about anything, but our cares should be given over to Jesus as we pray (Phil. 4:6-7).
He that has ears to hear, let him hear!
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Living In The Moment!
ICEA – “Church at Study”
At the heart of this article are the words: “Living In The Moment.” The author defines this statement as: “God…who suddenly makes Himself real in a moment…despite what conditions consume our thoughts — whether it concerns our past, or our uncertain future.” Nothing else matters at that time but the MOMENT when we are experiencing the “realness” of God!
Many of us have experienced times when God has been so real. These are brief moments when we are impressed through revelation, meditation, prayer, or some other means when the Spirit of God overwhelms our spirit. During these times God has helped us to regain confidence and renew our faith in Him. We need moments with God — times to reflect on what He has done for us in the past and to be assured of a successful future in Him.
In Genesis 32, Jacob experienced “a moment” with God that forever changed his life. But — before his life-changing experience, he had lived many years as a deceiver and con. It’s hard to understand how, even as an infant at birth, Jacob seemed to have wanted to position himself for mastery over his twin brother Esau (Gen. 25:22) :
Gen. 25:24 And when her days to be delivered were fulfilled, behold, [there were] twins in her womb. 25 And the first came out red, all over like an hairy garment; and they called his name Esau. 26 And after that came his brother out, and his hand took hold on Esau’s heel; and his name was called Jacob: and Isaac [was] threescore years old when she bare them.
Jacob was named after this experience. His name means “holder of the heel” or “supplanter.” Supplanter means “one who wrongfully or illegally seizes and holds the place of another.”
Then — there is the account were Jacob and Esau were young men in the field. Jacob, with his cunning ways, tricked Esau out of his birthright:
29 And Jacob sod pottage: and Esau came from the field, and he [was] faint:
30 And Esau said to Jacob, Feed me, I pray thee, with that same red [pottage]; for I [am] faint: therefore was his name called Edom.
31 And Jacob said, Sell me this day thy birthright.
32 And Esau said, Behold, I [am] at the point to die: and what profit shall this birthright do to me?
33 And Jacob said, Swear to me this day; and he sware unto him: and he sold his birthright unto Jacob.
34 Then Jacob gave Esau bread and pottage of lentiles; and he did eat and drink, and rose up, and went his way: thus Esau despised [his] birthright.
There are other biblical accounts when Jacob tricked his uncle Laban, even though God was orchestrating these events to Jacob’s advantage.
Prior to his experience with his uncle Laban, Jacob (with his mother’s help) tricked his father, Isaac (Gen. 27). They fooled the old and dim-sighted father into thinking Jacob was Esau, thereby stealing the blessing Isaac would have given to Esau:
21 And Isaac said unto Jacob, Come near, I pray thee, that I may feel thee, my son, whether thou [be] my very son Esau or not.
22 And Jacob went near unto Isaac his father; and he felt him, and said, The voice [is] Jacob’s voice, but the hands [are] the hands of Esau.
23 And he discerned him not, because his hands were hairy, as his brother Esau’s hands: so he blessed him.
This experience made Esau furious, and he sought to kill Jacob. Jacob’s past had finally caught up with him, so he escaped and ran for his life some 400 miles away, residing with his uncle Laban. He lived with Laban over 14 years, until Laban also sought to do him harm. Even though God told Jacob to return to his homeland, he felt Esau would certainly be waiting to take his life. Nevertheless, Jacob took all his belongings and fled from Laban to returned to meet his fate. Jacob was now on the run with no established past and his future seemed uncertain. Somewhere between where he had left and where he was going, he met “a man”. This man was shrouded in mystery, but it’s safe to say from the scriptures, the “man” had power with God! Maybe he was an angel, veiled in the form of a man. Or…maybe…this was a rare occasion when God was in the person of Jesus Christ! Without any further speculation — the real thrust of this article is JACOB EXPERIENCED THE PRESENCE OF GOD SUDDENLY, or IN A MOMENT. He knew this experience would change his life forever! Similar to Jacob’s experience…there are times we have to live in the moment: without regret for our past and no regard for an uncertain future. THIS IS THAT MOMENT WHEN YOU SENSE THE REALNESS OF GOD’S PRESENCE. This is the moment, despite conditions, God thunders in our spirit that everything will be alright! With this assurance, we get up from where we are to go forward in faith to meet a destiny led by God. And if God is for you, no one has the power to stand against you? Also…times will change our circumstances and conditions, but God will always be waiting for us to find His comforting presence and assurance when we truly reach Him “in the moment!”
Fighting Our Enemies!
ICEA – “Church At Study”
For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but
against principalities, against powers against the
rulers of the darkness of this world, against
spiritual wickedness in high places
Would you like to offer a seminar, training, group discussion, or panel discussion on spiritual warfare? Use our template to just fill in presenters’ names; everything else has been supplied with this simple handout.
Here are the topics:
Presenter #1 – Fighting to be Faithful
Presenter #2 – Fighting in Stressful Times
Presenter #3 – Fighting in Senior Years
Presenter #4 – Fighting the Enemy of Fear
Presenter #5 – Fighting for Our Children
Presenter #6 – Fighting the Enemy of Our Past
Presenter #7 – Fighting as a Man
Presenter #8 – Fighting as a Woman
Presenter #9 – Fighting and Knowing Your Enemy
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Fighting Our Enemies (blank form)
Fear, Anxiety, Death, and an Open Grave!
And the angel of the Lord suddenly stood
before them, and the glory of the Lord shone
around them; and they were terribly frightened.
Luke 2:9 (NASB)
ICEA – “Church at Study”
Luke 2:9 is part of an account of foretelling our Lord’s birth. It explains the fearful nature of men who came in contact with the supernatural and the unknown. Two other Bible translations state: “fear came on them” and; “they were filled with great fear”. A third translation seems to stand out: stating they were simply “terrified”. Likewise, as humans, we often can be fearful of coming in contact with the supernatural. We are earthy…but we also have the capacity to be influenced by spirit, because God has given us a spirit (Job 32:8). God is a Spirit (Jn. 4:24). Angels are spirits (Heb. 1:13-14) and demons are spirits, also. There are spirit powers in realms around us. These “messengers” (whether good or bad) have the ability to influence our thinking. When coming in contact with satanic powers, the struggle in our spirits and minds can be so intense! The Bible compares the struggle to…wrestling…not with flesh, but wrestling with spiritual foes. We read where Jesus wrestled with satanic power, as He was led by the Spirit to be tempted by the devil. We also see Jesus… (Heb. 2.9) who was made “a little lower than the angels” for the suffering of death…that He by the grace of God should experience death for every man. He not only experienced death, but (vs 14) destroyed him that had the power over death, that is the devil. And this is GOOD NEWS, because in time past (vs 15), many under the law were terrified at the thought and consequences of death but He has come and given us an understanding that death has no sting and the grave has no victory over those whose lives are preserved in Christ Jesus! So, we don’t have to live daily lives of fear. He was born, died, and rose from the grave to save us from the consequences of sin and adverse spiritual powers! Praise God that we live a life through the Spirit — springing up to eternal life!
The popular gospel artist, Cece Winans sung “but there is still a war that rages….” So…while we wait for eternal life, there are two main areas our Lord wants to preserve during every struggle: our hearts and our minds (Phil. 4:6-7). These are two main areas mankind’s enemy often attempts to attack and defeat with terror. God doesn’t want us terrified by our adversary because there is One who ever lives and we can live victorious lives through Him!
PCAFI Christian Ed. Aux. (ICEA) Articles 