ArtistInChrist.com

Where It's All About God

No matter what we are going through there is Always Hope in Christ. He is always there for us and feels our hurt and pain. He understands and reaches out to help us and give us hope if we trust Him. Christ promised that in life there would be trials and tribulation even persecution for following Him. In Christ though we have the Victory and an Everlasting Hope, because He has Overcome the world and is in Control of Everything.

John 15:18-21
“If the world hates you, remember that it hated me first. The world would love you as one of its own if you belonged to it, but you are no longer part of the world. I chose you to come out of the world, so it hates you. Do you remember what I told you? ‘A slave is not greater than the master.’ Since they persecuted me, naturally they will persecute you. And if they had listened to me, they would listen to you. They will do all this to you because of me, for they have rejected the One who sent me.”

John 16:33
“I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.”

Hope when you don’t understand
God’s ways are always what is best for us. He knows what He is doing. He knows the past and the future and even though we may not understand and in some cases may never understand we must trust Him. Keep following where God leads. Pray and give everything over to God. Lay it at His cross. Trust Him and be still and know He is God and will work everything out. [Romans 8:28 - And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.] Right now you may not understand or see a way out, but with Christ there is Always a way out and Hope. We can only see a part of the picture, but He can see the whole picture. He knows everything and our trials will end when they are supposed to. Rest in His arms. He is always there with His arms open wide calling you to rest in Him. One day you will be able to look back and see that it was for your good and how you grew from it.

Hope when things don’t go the way you planned
Life is unpredictable. It doesn’t always go the way we would like it to, but if our hope is in Christ we know that there is nothing that can happen that we can’t handle with Him. We plan things one way and then plans get changed. Remember that if our life is in Gods Hands He is the one that plans our steps. [Proverbs 16:9 - We can make our plans, but the LORD determines our steps.] He guides us in the right direction and the best way to do things, even if that requires us to go through trials. They are there for us to grow.

Hope when tragedy happen
When bad things happen it is easy to loose hope. You can’t see how it could be good in any way. If we give it to God though, He can work a miracle and make something good come from it. [As Joseph said: Genesis 50:20 - You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good...] Sometimes bad things happen in life. We can’t control them, but God gives us hope. Hope to get through them and hope to move on. We live in a world full of sin and slowly slipping away from Christ, but if you put your hope and trust in Christ he will help you through.

Hope when you sin
We were born as sinners and therefore apart from God. God is Holy and can’t look upon sin. He hates sin, but He also loves us that is why He sent His son to die in our place for our sins. When we sin especially when we sin intentionally we can easily fall into shame and guilt over it. Yes we should be remorseful over our sin, but not to the point that it keeps us from returning to God. The devil likes to make us feel so guilty and shameful over our sin so it keeps us from God. God sent His son to take our place. He took our sin on himself. [As Paul said: 1 Timothy 1:15 - This is a true saying, and everyone should believe it: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners--and I was the worst of them all.] [Psalm 103:12 - He has removed our rebellious acts as far away from us as the east is from the west.] So when we sin and His spirit convicts us we need to turn to God and ask for His forgiveness. He will forgive us and help us to resist temptation. He will restore our relationship with Him and continue to guide us. He loves you and won’t hesitate to forgive you if you ask. Return to Him and let Him help you. He is good at taking our messes and making beauty out of them. Give Everything over to Him and watch Him work miracles. No matter what He can make beauty out of Anything.

Hope when you just want to give up
When we go through testing times it is easy to feel like giving up. Giving up can seem very appealing at times. It may seem like the easy way out to not fight anymore. If we give up though God can’t work through us and help us. Christ is Always there reaching out to you. [Matthew 11:28 - Then Jesus said, "Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest."] He came to us and then died for us. He was tortured and mocked for us. He went through the pain of the cross for us and left His spirit here for us to guide us and help us through life. He doesn’t and will Never give up on us so we shouldn’t give up. Trust Him and hold on to Him. Lay it in His hands and look to the cross. He is there for you. Let Him hold you. He will listen and help you. Just trust Him, simply trust Christ. That is all he asks, is for us to trust Him.

Hope when you are afraid
Being afraid is a natural human response to fear. We instantly want to run when we see something that might cause us harm or take us out of our comfort zone. But in Christ we need not fear anything. [Mark 5:36 - But Jesus ignored their comments and said to Jairus, "Don't be afraid. Just trust me."] Christ has overcome this world. He overcame death. He created the world and everything in it. He is the beginning and the end. He is in Control. Nothing is out of His hands. Next time you are afraid, trust Christ, look to Him for Hope and let Him give you the strength and peace to overcome your fear. [John 14:27 - "I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid."]

We can also look to His Word for Hope. Throughout the Bible there are lots of stories of hope. That is why we have it, to give us hope, encouragement, and help us grow in Christ. [Romans 15:4 - Such things were written in the Scriptures long ago to teach us. They give us hope and encouragement as we wait patiently for God's promises.]

God is always with us and offers us true Hope. We should rejoice when we go through trials and tribulations because He allows us to go through them so we can grow and mature in Him and learn to trust Him more and more. They are part of the process of becoming like Him. It is when we go through trials and testing times that we grow the most. He also uses them to test our faith, obedience, and reliance on Him. Stay true to Christ and let God give you strength and courage. Pray and pour your feelings out to God and praise Him for He is producing growth in you. Stay faithful to God and run the race of life with perseverance, always keeping focused on Christ and following Him to the end. [Hebrews 12:1-4 - Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne. Think of all the hostility he endured from sinful people; then you won’t become weary and give up. After all, you have not yet given your lives in your struggle against sin.]

Through them He teaches us new things so we can help others. We also learn more about who God is as He reveals Himself more to us through the tough times. Trials also show us how much we need God and to lean on Him. We truly do need Him in Everything. Without Him we can do Nothing. We were made to lean on God and if we trust Him we will find true Peace and Hope. In Him Everything we need is found. Through them we learn to trust Him more. Because He knows all things and knows what is best for us, He knows the best path. It may not be the easiest path, but it is the best. Remember God will never give you or allow you to go through something that is more than you can handle. And God is Always with you even through the trials of life. He will walk with you through them. He will never leave you and will help you through. He walks with us always, even when we don’t feel Him with us, He is there. Pray when you go through tough times and Trust Christ. God hears the cries of His children and will rescue you in His Timing. [Ecclesiastes 3:1 - For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven.] He hears our prayers and understands our hurt. He will deliver us for through God all things our possible. [Mathew 19:26 - Jesus looked at them intently and said, “Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But with God everything is possible.”] Look to Him, to His cross. He will raise you up again. He can turn your trials into joy and growth in Him if you trust Him.

Everyday we encounter challenges and we should rely on God to help us overcome them and also thank Him for them. [James 1:2-4 - Dear brothers and sisters, whenever trouble comes your way, let it be an opportunity for joy. For when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be strong in character and ready for anything.] [1 Peter 1:6-7 - So be truly glad! There is wonderful joy ahead, even though it is necessary for you to endure many trials for a while. These trials are only to test your faith, to show that it is strong and pure. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold--and your faith is far more precious to God than mere gold. So if your faith remains strong after being tried by fiery trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world.] When you find yourself in tough times, pray, rejoice, and trust Christ. Remember we have the Victory in Him.

Psalm 13:
O LORD, how long will you forget me? Forever?
How long will you look the other way?
How long must I struggle with anguish in my soul,
with sorrow in my heart every day?
How long will my enemy have the upper hand?
Turn and answer me, O LORD my God!
Restore the light to my eyes, or I will die.
Don’t let my enemies gloat, saying, “We have defeated him!”
Don’t let them rejoice at my downfall.
But I trust in your unfailing love.
I will rejoice because you have rescued me.
I will sing to the LORD
because he has been so good to me.

Psalm 121:1-3
I look up to the mountains–
does my help come from there?
My help comes from the LORD,
who made the heavens and the earth!
He will not let you stumble and fall;
the one who watches over you will not sleep.

Philippians 4:13
For I can do everything with the help of Christ who gives me the strength I need.

Hebrews 6:18-19
So God has given us both his promise and his oath. These two things are unchangeable because it is impossible for God to lie. Therefore, we who have fled to him for refuge can take new courage, for we can hold on to his promise with confidence. This confidence is like a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls. It leads us through the curtain of heaven into God’s inner sanctuary.

Hebrews 10:23
Without wavering, let us hold tightly to the hope we say we have, for God can be trusted to keep his promise.

1 Peter 1:21
Through Christ you have come to trust in God. And because God raised Christ from the dead and gave him great glory, your faith and hope can be placed confidently in God.

James 1:2-4
Dear brothers and sisters, whenever trouble comes your way, let it be an opportunity for joy. For when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be strong in character and ready for anything.

There is ALWAYS HOPE in Christ!!

GOD BLESS!

Are you letting God Use you, Move you, Mold you, Change you, Inspire you, Touch you, Teach you, Do His Will in your life, Shine His Light through you, and Draw you Closer to Him Everyday? If not, Why Not?

Deuteronomy 5:1
Moses called all the people of Israel together and said, “Listen carefully to all the laws and regulations I am giving you today. Learn them and be sure to obey them!”

Listen, Learn, and Obey. That is what Moses told the Israelites as they prepared to enter the Promised Land the second time. Moses was telling them how to grow in the Lord and follow God all of their days. As children of God through Christ we need to Listen, Learn, and Obey. They are the keys to a growing relationship with Christ.

Listen
God speaks in many ways and we need to learn to recognize His voice and listen to it. His voice can be quite, loud, or in between. He can speak directly to us or through someone or something else. Through the Bible, His Word, He speaks. He also speaks softly in the quiet stillness. We can miss His voice if we are only listening for Him to speak loudly through something. We should not just listen for the times when He speaks loudly, but also for when He speaks softly. Honestly seek His voice. Sit quietly and listen for God. Set aside time everyday to pray and listen for His guidance. Always be listening for Him. Sometimes He speaks when we least expect it. He always speaks with love and if we listen He will teach us to walk in His ways and guide us in everything.

1 Kings 19:11-13
The LORD said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by.”

Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave.

Then a voice said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

Proverbs 2:1
The Benefits of Wisdom
My child, listen to me and treasure my instructions.

Hebrews 2:1
Warning to Pay Attention
We must pay more careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away.

Luke 8:18
“So be sure to pay attention to what you hear. To those who are open to my teaching, more understanding will be given. But to those who are not listening, even what they think they have will be taken away from them.”

John 10:27
“My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.”

Learn
When we listen to God, we will begin to learn and understand the reasons behind His words. In order to grow we need to understand His words. We may not always understand God when He speaks but we need to pray and be open to learning about Him. We also have His Word, the Bible, which is His word to all of us. Through reading it we can begin to learn and understand Him. We need to have humility to learn from God’s words, realizing that we need His guidance. Learn humility by learning to fear God. Fearing God means showing Him the highest respect for who He is and all that He has done, realizing you need Him and surrendering to Him Fully. Without Him we will fail. Only then when we are humble we can listen and learn from God. When God speaks learn from it and if you don’t understand pray for the wisdom to understand.

Proverbs 2:2-9
The Benefits of Wisdom
Tune your ears to wisdom, and concentrate on understanding. Cry out for insight and understanding. Search for them as you would for lost money or hidden treasure. Then you will understand what it means to fear the LORD, and you will gain knowledge of God. For the LORD grants wisdom! From his mouth come knowledge and understanding. He grants a treasure of good sense to the godly. He is their shield, protecting those who walk with integrity. He guards the paths of justice and protects those who are faithful to him.

Then you will understand what is right, just, and fair, and you will know how to find the right course of action every time.

Proverbs 1:7
Fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge. Only fools despise wisdom and discipline.

Proverbs 2:10
For wisdom will enter your heart, and knowledge will fill you with joy.

Obey
Most important we need to obey, put into action, what we have heard and learned from God. He knows best and therefore we need to obey Him. He loves us and desires to keep us from sin, which there is always a consequence to. That is why He gave us His Word. The Bible is His teachings to all of us to learn His ways and grow in Him. If we obey Him we can keep from sin and it’s consequences. If we grow in God by listening and learning we will grow in Love for Him and therefore want to Obey Him. Obedience to Christ comes from love for Him. Even when we don’t understand we need to Obey. His wisdom is greater than ours. Pray for the faith and strength to obey Him. The greatest example of obedience is Christ. He humbled Himself, taking on human form, serving others. He was obedient till death, even death on a cross. He did this to save us from our sin. After all that Christ has done for us how can we not obey? His words, His teaching come out of His love for us. They are not to harm us, but to help us. He loves us So Much and wants the Best for us, shouldn’t we love and Obey Him? If we obey Him we will find true Joy and Peace.

Psalm 119:2
Happy are those who obey his decrees and search for him with all their hearts.

Luke 11:28
He replied, “But even more blessed are all who hear the word of God and put it into practice.”

1 John 2:3-5
And how can we be sure that we belong to him? By obeying his commandments. If someone says, “I belong to God,” but doesn’t obey God’s commandments, that person is a liar and does not live in the truth. But those who obey God’s word really do love him. That is the way to know whether or not we live in him.

John 14:15-21
Jesus Promises the Holy Spirit
“If you love me, obey my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor, who will never leave you. He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. The world at large cannot receive him, because it isn’t looking for him and doesn’t recognize him. But you do, because he lives with you now and later will be in you. No, I will not abandon you as orphans–I will come to you. In just a little while the world will not see me again, but you will. For I will live again, and you will, too. When I am raised to life again, you will know that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. Those who obey my commandments are the ones who love me. And because they love me, my Father will love them, and I will love them. And I will reveal myself to each one of them.”

Philippians 2:7-8
He made himself nothing; he took the humble position of a slave and appeared in human form. And in human form he obediently humbled himself even further by dying a criminal’s death on a cross.

Hebrews 11:8
It was by faith that Abraham obeyed when God called him to leave home and go to another land that God would give him as his inheritance. He went without knowing where he was going.

Philippians 2:5-13
Christs Humility and Exaltation
Your attitude should be the same that Christ Jesus had. Though he was God, he did not demand and cling to his rights as God. He made himself nothing; he took the humble position of a slave and appeared in human form. And in human form he obediently humbled himself even further by dying a criminal’s death on a cross. Because of this, God raised him up to the heights of heaven and gave him a name that is above every other name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Shine Brightly for Christ
Dearest friends, you were always so careful to follow my instructions when I was with you. And now that I am away you must be even more careful to put into action God’s saving work in your lives, obeying God with deep reverence and fear. For God is working in you, giving you the desire to obey him and the power to do what pleases him.

Listen, Learn, and Obey Him. Let Him Mold you so you become more like Him. Let Him Use your life to build up the Kingdom of God, to reach out to this lost and dieing world. If you are in Christ, but not growing in Him, something is wrong. Are you truly committed to God? That is what God wants, people completely devoted to Him. Honestly seek Him in Everything. He loves us so much, that He gave His Only son for us, to pardon our sins, so that we could know Him personally. He knows Everything about us. He knows our thoughts, our deepest ones, our heart, and everything in it. If we are Truly in Him, we should Live for Him because of All He has done for us. God wants us to grow in Him, not just stay at one point. He wants to mold, use, teach, inspire, and change you. Listen for God, Learn from Him, and Obey what He has taught you. If we listen, learn, and obey God we will find true Joy, Hope, and Peace.

GOD BLESS!