Tag: old testament

By Pastor Andrew Farland

Have you noticed how many people like to share their thoughts before you even ask for them?

In today’s world, it seems like everyone has an opinion about politics, a neighbor who never cuts his grass, parenting, money, and everything in between.

I don’t know about you, but I’m tired of hearing opinions from people. What I want more of is God’s Truth!

Before our egos get too big, let’s take a moment and admit that we are all guilty of caring too much about our own thoughts and the thoughts of others. As tough as it is, though, God wants us to base our lives on what His word says and not on people’s opinions.

How do we find out what God says? It’s simple. We go back to God’s Word, the Bible. There are two good ways to study the Bible that you can start putting into practice this week:

Search the internet using the phrase “What does the Bible say about…” Look up whatever topic you’re interested in, read all of the different verses that are listed, and try to identify big ideas. As you read through the hundreds of different verses, you will start to uncover main themes, significant pieces of Truth that God wants you to hear.
Read each verse in its context. After you’ve found a list of verses, choose one from the New Testament and read the paragraph that comes before and after. To fully hear the Truth that God wants to tell you, sometimes it is helpful to understand how the verse fits into the bigger story of the Bible.

Today, focus your attention on what God says instead of the opinions of other people. Use technology to find His Truth and then read it in context. That’s how you find out what God says.

Romans 12:2
Do not conform to the pattern of this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

Be encouraged today because God is with you.

By Pastor Andrew Farland

The Drongo is one of the cleverest birds on earth.

It can mimic the sound of over 40 animals and does so to confuse, scare, and steal food.

The Drongo will stand next to a family of Meerkats and sound a false alarm that a predator is near. The Meerkats, thinking that there is danger approaching, drop their food and run away. The Drongo then has free lunch! What if the Meerkats catch on to the bird’s ruse? It changes its warning signal to sound like another animal – the animal kingdom’s version of “throwing your voice.”

What does a Drongo bird have to do with your spiritual life?! The Bible says that the enemy comes to steal, kill, and destroy (John 10:10). Just like the African bird, the devil is a master manipulator and an expert at deception.

He knows where you are weak and where your insecurities are.

He knows how to make you feel discouraged and how to lead you away from God.

When Jesus started his ministry, the evil one met Him in the desert where He had been fasting for 40 days. The devil found Jesus at one of his weakest moments – hungry and tired – and attempted to seize the opportunity. You can read about it in Matthew 4:1-11. Spoiler alert!

I’m going to tell you about the incredible way Jesus fought off the enemy. He didn’t use force and he didn’t’ try to beat him at his own game. Instead, Jesus spoke Scripture, words from the Bible, every time he was tempted to sin.

If Jesus used Scripture to protect himself against the evil one, we should do the same.

Today, be on guard. Pray consistently for God to protect you and give you the wisdom to decipher between the voice of the enemy and the voice of God. Keep reading the Bible daily so that, when you begin to hear lies, you can put them in their place.

2 Timothy 3:16-17
All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

Be encouraged today because God is with you.

By Pastor Andrew Farland

The words that little kids use can be hilarious and not because they are inherently funny.

The reason kids are so comical is that they use words that are out of place such as “booger” instead of “burger” or “monkey” instead of “mommy.” Words mean what they are supposed to mean when we use them the right way.

Doing things God’s way is no different. Sometimes, He can give us big dreams and call us to serve Him with everything we have. The problem is that because we are humans, we tend to use the methods of the world to achieve God’s goals. For example, think of a leader who bullies people into following a vision. Or think of someone who promotes himself under the guise of preaching Jesus. The point is that the ends never justify the means.

Doing things in God’s way also means that we should have the right priorities.
The world around us constantly tells us that success means accumulating wealth.
God tells us that the most important part of life is seeking first the kingdom of God.
The world tells us that we should value ourselves over others.
God says that the first will be last and the last will be first.

If we climb up the mountain and don’t find God, we’ve climbed up the wrong mountain.

Doing things the right way, which is God’s way, means our end goal is always obedience. Even when we know that God has given us an amazing vision, He wants us to accomplish His goals by seeking Him first and trusting that whatever earthly rewards He wants us to have will be given to us at the right time.

So, today, if God is calling you to serve Him, check your motives or you may end up a the top of the wrong mountain.

Psalm 86:11
Teach me your way, Lord, that I may rely on your faithfulness; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name.

Be encouraged today because God is with you.

By Pastor Andrew Farland

Have you ever seen a house that is halfway built?

There are wires poking out of walls, wooden frames without drywall, and missing floors.

Homeowners get frustrated with the amount of time it takes to finish the construction while the builders do their best to provide quality work. In other words, the whole process is a mess. But, because the end product is always better than what the house looks like during construction, let’s call it a beautiful mess.

The truth is that we are each like a house under construction. We have rough edges, areas of our lives that need to be cleaned up, and there is probably a missing floor or two. If that’s true, let’s not get discouraged. God is an expert at building people into the men and women He created them to be.

Similar to homeowners, though, we can start to think that God has given us. We can begin to believe that He has left us stranded on an island to find for ourselves. When we find ourselves feeling like the construction project is taking too long, be reminded that God’s timing is different than our timing.

Philippians 1:6 says that
“He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”

As long as you are alive, God is still working. Until the day you see Heaven, you can trust that the story God began writing when you were born, is the same story that God is still writing, even if it feels like it is taking too long.

Trust that God won’t let those floors remain unfinished!

1 Corinthians 15:58
Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you.”

Be encouraged today because God is with you.