Tag: slave to sin

By Pastor Andrew Farland

If you are fighting with God, you are fighting a losing battle. Even if you win . . . you lose.

Many people will say, “I don’t need God to prosper, all I need is:

. . . more money.”
. . . more fame.”
. . . more self-will and determination.”
But scripture is clear: you are waging a losing battle. You will have no true and lasting prosperity without God.

Sure, money, fame, and determination will give you a quick high, but it won’t stay. It’s like producing counterfeit joy with a hangover.

So today, if you find yourself tired of trying to find joy and peace without God, humble yourself and soften your heart. Stop using up all your strength in a battle of wills that you won’t win.

He is able and willing to lift you up and love you back to full strength!

Job 9:4b
“Who has hardened himself against God and prospered?”

Be encouraged today because God is with you.

By Pastor Andrew Farland

Many people preach that if you give your life to God, things will become easy for you. You won’t have any problems, and you’ll never get sick. Your life will be a bed of beautiful red roses.

This couldn’t be further from the truth!
Why?
Because we live in a broken world.

The Bible says, God:
“…sends rains on the just and unjust alike.” [Matthew 5:45]

God doesn’t ever promise that you will be without problems, in fact, this is what the Bible says:
“…don’t be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange was happening to you.” [1 Peter 4:12]

Knowing that there will be problems helps us not to be as surprised when they happen. And even though God never promises we will be without struggles, He promises to be with us and to see us through those troubles.

“Even though I walk THROUGH the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil for you are with me. Your rod and Your staff they comfort me.” [Psalm 23:4]

We aren’t immune from trouble, but with God, we have a helper in times of trouble.

Nothing happens to you unless God allows it. And if God allows something to happen to you, it means there is a reason or a purpose behind it, so it’s actually happening for you.

We must learn to place our complete trust in God and be fully committed to Him. Right now in your life, it might not make sense why you are going through such a difficult time, but you can learn to commit it back to Him and trust Him for the strength to get through today!

God is at work in your life. He loves you and has a great plan for you!

Proverbs 3: 5-6
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.”

Be encouraged today because God is with you.

By Pastor Andrew Farland

I find the story of Job in the Bible a great comfort. Here was a man described by God as righteous and upstanding, yet Job is the one who suffered greater than anyone in the Bible apart from Jesus Christ!

In just the first couple of chapters, we find that Job loses his wealth, his health, and his sons . . . a devastating loss. In looking back, we are able to see the entirety of Job’s story. We are given a backstage view of why he suffered. This was something Job wasn’t even able to see at the time, just like we aren’t able to see it when we go through hard times.

What price would Job have paid to know the reason behind his calamity? Would he have wanted to know that God was proving the integrity of his beloved servant? I bet Job would have loved to know the redemptive ending.

You see, God never took His eyes off of Job. He knew in advance how the story would end and how the devil, Job’s accuser, would be put to shame.

I’m thankful that Job’s life happened so early in history, allowing so many to be comforted by it! This helps me to courageously believe that God is working in my life, even when it would appear He has forsaken me. Job is the example that helps me maintain my integrity and my trust in God, even when I don’t understand what’s happening around me.

During my suffering, it’s important to know God loves me, even though I can’t see it. Trust goes beyond our limited understanding. And because God is love, we can trust that He is working out everything for our good and for His glory!

Job 42:12
“Now the Lord blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning.”

Be encouraged today because God is with you.

By Pastor Andrew Farland

Many people think that living a Christian life means not doing anything wrong, but it means so much more than that. Living a victorious Christian life is about turning towards what’s right and good!

When John the Baptist was preaching in the wilderness as a forerunner to the coming of Jesus he proclaimed, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

The first thing out of John the Baptist’s mouth as written in scripture was him “preaching and saying, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.’” Repentance was such an important message that Jesus himself, not too long after, started echoing those very words:

“Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
[Matthew 4:17]

How important that we take note of the first words declared by John, and the words repeated by Jesus Christ himself.

So what is Repentance?
Repentance isn’t a one-time action; it’s something we do continually.

Repentance also happens in two steps:

First, we turn away from evil. Then, we turn to God and pursue what’s good!

Repentance, in simple terms, is letting go of evil and reaching for Jesus (grabbing onto what’s good).

So I have two questions for you:

What, in your life do you need to let go of today?

What do you need to grab onto instead?

When you can answer these two questions, you can begin living a repentant Christian life.
Repentance isn’t a word we should be scared of. It’s an open invitation into a new level of freedom, a level of the freedom Christ died to give us.

Matthew 4:17
“From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, “Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

Be encouraged today because God is with you.