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Worry, feeling uneasy or troubled, seems to plague multitudes of people in our world today. It's human nature to be concerned about the bad situations in our world and in our personal lives, but if we're not careful, the devil will cause us to worry beyond what's reasonable. Worry is like a rocking chair—it's always in motion but it never gets you anywhere. So why do we struggle with it? And what good does it do? Worry is the opposite of faith, and it steals our peace, physically wears us out, and can even make us sick. When we worry, we torment ourselves—we're doing the devil's job for him! Worry is caused by not trusting God to take care of the various situations in our lives. Too often we trust our own abilities, believing that we can figure out how to take care of our own problems. Yet sometimes, after all our worry and effort to go it alone, we come up short, unable to bring about suitable solutions. At a young age, I discovered firs...

  And let us not lose heart and grow weary and faint in acting nobly and doing right, for in due time and at the appointed season we shall reap, if we do not loosen and relax our courage and faint. Galatians 6:9   “I’ve been a Christian for twenty-three years,” Cheryl said. “I’m just not getting anywhere. I’m as weak as I was when I first accepted Christ as my Savior. I still fail. I just don’t know if it’s worth it.” Tears streamed down her cheeks as she continued to talk about her failures. “By now I know all the right things to do, but I don’t do them. Sometimes I deliberately do something mean-spirited or unkind. What kind of Christian am I?” “Probably a growing Christian,” I said. A startled look appeared on Cheryl’s face. “Growing? Did you hear—?” “Yes, I heard. But if you weren’t growing, you wouldn’t lament your failures. You’d be satisfied about your spiritual level or tell yourself how good you are.” “But I’m so discouraged, and I fail God so...

BLESSED are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven . Matthew 5:3 Question: What does it mean to be poor in spirit, as Jesus said we ought to be? I don't understand this, because it seems to me that we ought to strive to be rich in spirit, not poor. Or am I missing the point? Answers: Your confusion is understandable; after all, the Bible does warn us against being empty and impoverished in our souls, and urges us to seek spiritual riches instead. Jesus said, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:21). But Jesus also said that there is another kind of spiritual poverty—one we should seek. He said, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:3). What did He mean? Simply this: We must be humble in our spirits. If you put the word “humble” in place of the word “poor,” you will understand what He meant. In other words, when we come to God, we must realize our own sin and our spir...

For many people, the current financial state has caused a great deal of difficulty. The housing market is down, some businesses have closed, and gasoline and food prices are rising. Some are struggling to stay ahead. But, what does God have to say about our finances and our future? Don’t Make Decisions Based on Fear    God’s financial system is not like the world’s system. No matter what happens around us, we don’t have to be fearful because God loves us.  First John 4:18 tells us,  There is no fear in love... Even if situations seem out of our control, the love of God isn’t ever going to crumble and remains our solid foundation in life. We can have confidence that whatever is happening, God wants to help us and will go out of His way to meet even our simple day-to-day needs. Recognize Your Source Second Corinthians 9:10  says,  And [God] Who provides seed for the sower and bread for eating will also provide and multiply your [resour...

                Finding Encouragement in Difficult Times Exit Strategies: God's Plan for Escaping Daily Frustrations We don't have to be miserable, frustrated and unhappy in difficult places. If you and I have been in the world very long, we've learned there are very few days that go exactly the way we'd like them to go. There always seem to be different things happening that can affect our plans. Until we learn that our joy can't be based on our circumstances, we're going to have nothing but what I call a “yo-yo” experience, which is up and down, up and down, up and down. We have to find a way to stay happy, even when our circumstances don't suit us or we don't get a breakthrough as quickly as we'd like–or when people around us aren't what we'd like them to be or they're frustrating us or there's disappointment.  God is never going to put us into a situation or perm...