Tag: mindful study

Does God want us to worry about the future?

Consequently, He lovingly cares for His people and their future. God tells us not to fear throughout the entire Bible. … He knew fear would be common to us and he doesn’t want us wasting time worrying. He has better plans for our time and it is not His will that our joy and peace be diminished by fear.

We often worry about many different activities of daily life, such as home, work, finances, family, health, and the future.

Philippians 4:6-7 “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

Isaiah 35
God Will Comfort His People

The dry desert will rejoice. The desert will be glad and blossom. It will be covered with flowers and dance with joy. It will be as beautiful as the forest of Lebanon, the hill of Carmel, and the Sharon Valley. This will happen because all people will see the Glory of the Lord. They will see the beauty of our God.
Make the weak arms strong again. Strengthen the weak knees. People are afraid and confused. Say to them, “Be strong! Don’t be afraid!” Look, your God will come and punish your enemies. He will come and give you your reward. He will save you. Then the eyes of the blind will be opened so that they can see, and the ears of the deaf will be opened so that they can hear. Crippled people will dance like deer, and those who cannot speak now will use their voices to sing happy songs. This will happen when springs of water begin to flow in the dry desert. Now people see mirages[a] that look like water, but then there will be real pools of water. There will be wells in the dry land where water flows from the ground. Tall water plants will grow where wild animals once ruled.
There will be a road there. This highway will be called “The Holy Road.” Evil people will not be allowed to walk on that road. No fools will walk on it. Only good people will walk there. There will be no dangers on that road. There will be no lions there to hurt people or any dangerous animals on it. That road will be for the people God saves.
The Lord will make his people free, and they will come back to him. They will come into Zion rejoicing. They will be happy forever. Their happiness will be like a crown on their heads. Gladness and joy will fill them completely. Sorrow and sadness will be far, far away.

Isaiah 60
God Is Coming

“Jerusalem, get up and shine! Your Light is coming The Glory of the Lord will shine on you. Darkness now covers the earth, and the people are in darkness. But the Lord will shine on you, and his glory will appear over you. Then the nations will come to your light. Kings will come to your bright sunrise. Look around you! See all the people gathering around. Those are your sons coming from far away, and your daughters are there beside them. “At that time you will see your people, and your faces will shine with happiness.
First, you will be afraid, but then you will be excited All the riches from across the seas will be set before you.
The riches of the nations will come to you. Herds of camels from Midian and Ephah will cross your land.
Long lines of camels will come from Sheba. They will bring gold and incense People will sing praises to the Lord.
7 People will collect all the sheep from Kedar and give them to you. They will bring you rams from Nebaioth.
You will offer those animals on my altar, and I will accept them.
I will make my wonderful Temple even more beautiful. Look at the people. They are rushing toward you like clouds quickly crossing the sky. They are like doves flying to their nests. The faraway lands are waiting for me. The great cargo ships are ready to sail. They are ready to bring your children from faraway lands. They will bring silver and gold with them to honor the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel. He has done wonderful things for you. Children from other lands will rebuild your walls. Their kings will serve you. “When I was angry, I hurt you, but now I want to be kind to you. So I will comfort you. Your gates will always be open. They will not be closed, day or night. Nations and kings will bring their wealth to you. Any nation or kingdom that does not serve you will be destroyed. All the great things of Lebanon will be given to you. People will bring pine trees, fir trees, and cypress trees to you.
These trees will be used for lumber to make my Holy Place[b] more beautiful.
This place is like a stool in front of my throne, and I will honor it. In the past, people hurt you, but they will bow down before you. In the past, people hated you, but they will bow down at your feet.
They will call you ‘The City of the Lord’s,’ ‘Zion of the Holy One of Israel.’ “People hated you. You were left all alone with no one passing through.
But I will make you great from now on. You will be happy forever and ever. Nations will give you what you need like a child drinking milk from its mother. But you will ‘drink’ riches from kings. Then you will know that it is I, the Lord, who saves you. You will know that I, the Great God of Jacob, protect you. “You now have copper, but I will bring you gold. You now have iron, but I will bring you silver.
I will change your wood into copper and your rocks into iron.
I will change your punishment into peace. And those who punished you will be replaced with those who are kind to you. There will never again be news of violence in your country. People will never again attack your country and steal from you. You will name your walls, ‘Salvation and your gates, ‘Praise.’

“The sun will no longer be your light during the day. The light from the moon will no longer be your light at night. The Lord will be your light forever. Your God will be your glory. Your sun will never go down again. Your moon will never again be dark. That’s because the Lord will be your light forever, and the dark days of mourning will end. “All your people will be good. They will get the land forever. They are the young plant in my garden that will grow to be wonderful trees. I made them with my own hands. The smallest family will become a large family group. The smallest tribe will become a powerful nation.
When the time is right,
I, the Lord, will come quickly.
I will make these things happen.”

Jeremiah 29:10-14
This is what the Lord says: “Babylon will be powerful for 70 years. After that time, I will come to you people who are living in Babylon. I will keep my good promise to bring you back to Jerusalem. I say this because I know the plans that I have for you.” This message is from the Lord. “I have good plans for you. I don’t plan to hurt you. I plan to give you hope and a good future. Then you will call my name. You will come to me and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will search for me, and when you search for me with all your heart, you will find me. I will let you find me.” This message is from the Lord. “And I will bring you back from your captivity. I forced you to leave this place. But I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have sent you,” says the Lord, “and I will bring you back to this place.”

1 Peter 1:3-5
A Living Hope

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God has great mercy, and because of his mercy, he gave us a new life. This new life brings us a living hope through Jesus Christ’s resurrection from death. Now we wait to receive the blessings God has for his children. These blessings are kept for you in heaven. They cannot be ruined or be destroyed or lose their beauty. God’s power protects you through your faith, and it keeps you safe until your salvation comes. That salvation is ready to be given to you at the end of time.

See, the home of God is among mortals. He will dwell with them; they will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them; he will wipe every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; mourning and crying and pain will be no more; for the first things have passed away.

Revelation 21:1-8
The New Jerusalem

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth. The first heaven and the first earth had disappeared. Now there was no sea. And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God. It was prepared like a bride dressed for her husband. I heard a loud voice from the throne. It said, “Now God’s home is with people. He will live with them. They will be his people. God himself will be with them and will be their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death, sadness, crying, or pain. All the old ways are gone.”
The one who was sitting on the throne said, “Look, I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this because these words are true and can be trusted.” The one on the throne said to me, “It is finished! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give free water from the spring of the water of life to anyone who is thirsty. All those who win the victory will receive all this. And I will be their God, and they will be my children. But those who are cowards, those who refuse to believe, those who do terrible things, those who kill, those who sin sexually, those who do evil magic, those who worship idols, and those who tell lies—they will all have a place in the lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.”

And without faith, it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” Jesus says “Don’t worry” because pleasing God and worrying are mutually exclusive. He is worthy of our trust.

So let’s rejoice every moment by following Christ Jesus’ teachings and Commandments.

God Bless All. Amen

DO YOU KNOW THAT, CHRIST JESUS IS OUR BEST FRIEND

Being a friend

(Proverbs 17:17, Luke 10:25-37, John 15:11-17, Romans 16:1-2)

A friend loves at all times. The Bible has much to say about friendship. The Psalms mention friends, friendship, and friendliness often. The Book of Proverbs also speaks of friends. We can read about a friendship in the Old Testament and the New Testament.

Think of Proverbs 18:24: A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother. This is the friend, the kind of friend, mentioned in Proverbs 17:17 – A friend loves you in the midst of deepest troubles. A friend stands by you in difficult times. Friendship is a covenant. It is a relationship bound up in promises and obligations. It is a relationship of both commitment and action. Friendship is shown in this: undying loyalty, faithfulness to death. It is embodied in steadfast faithfulness and abiding love.

Jesus has performed many miracles, one of the miracles that relate to this topic is the parable of the Good Samaritan is told by Jesus in the Gospel of Luke 10:25-37. The compassion and actions of the Samaritan in the parable are surprising. He reflects the lengths to which love will go. He treats the injured man not as an enemy but as a neighbor, as one of his own. You will understand the genuine love from the example of a person he would regard as his enemy. Jesus indicates that a person truly acts as a neighbor through love. Jesus shows how authentic love will seek out, even in the unlikeliest of places, neighbors to receive compassion and care. So, when we get help from a stranger when we are in need, is a real and a true friend to us.

God’s love towards Jesus is so amazing that Jesus had followed all the commands given by God and always remained in his Love. Jesus has shared the same love with us, so by following his commands, we remain in him (John 15:9-13). Jesus says ‘By doing what he commands is an indication that we love him’ in John 15:14-15. Servants obey because they have to. Friends obey because they want to. (If you go to work at a shoe store, you are taught how to fit shoes to people’s feet. But if you are the owner’s son, then you are taught every aspect of the shoe business. And, dear friends, Jesus’ family business is the Kingdom of God). Jesus always treats us as his friend and not servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. But Jesus as a friend to us has shared everything that he had learned from his Father have made known to us.

Jesus’ friends have the privilege of sitting down with the Master and understanding his Kingdom we can see it in John 15:16-17. Yes, he is King, but he is inviting them to share in his Kingdom, to be part of his administration, to “rule and reign with Christ” (2 Timothy 2:12; Revelation 5:10; 20:4). Jesus chose 12 disciples as his friends to bear fruit by sharing the word of God to “Accept” Christ “Receive” him and be “Born Again.” The Twelve became the foundation for the Church that mushroomed in the first century and beyond. Jesus showed his ultimate love by laying down his life for those loves. Amazingly, Paul reminds us, “While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). Jesus loved us so much that he died for us; we should also show our Love to one other and follow his teachings to become Jesus’ friend.

Apostle Paul in his Epistle to the Romans, verses 16:1-2 speaks about Sister Phoebe, a notable woman in the church of Cenchreae, she was trusted by Paul to deliver his letter to the Romans. Paul refers to her both as a “servant” or “deacon” (Greek diakonos) and as a helper or patron of many (Greek prostatis) as well as Paul in sharing Jesus’ teachings.

We are all Jesus’ friends, so we get to share in his joy and plans for the future. We get to be a participant in advancing his kingdom. What a wonderful privilege. Please value it!

Thank God for giving us, good friends, let’s introduce them to Jesus Christ.