Jesus sets us free

by Darlene | Feb 11, 2021 | Devotional

Jesus set us free from the power of sin and gives us a brand new nature here and now!

So there is now no condemnation awaiting those who belong to Christ Jesus.²For the power of the life-giving Spirit—and this power is mine through Christ Jesus—has set me free from the vicious circle of sin and death.³We aren’t saved from sin’s grasp by knowing the commandments of God because we can’t and don’t keep them, but God put into effect a different plan to save us.

He sent his own Son in a human body like ours—except that ours are sinful—and destroyed sin’s control over us by giving himself as a sacrifice for our sins. ⁴So now we can obey God’s laws if we follow after the Holy Spirit and no longer obey the old evil nature within us.

I don’t know about you, but being raised in a Christian home, I’ve read these scriptures a million times, but somehow, today, a new truth became clear to me – something I’ve never realised before.

Jesus sets us free from sin’s control over us! He actually gives us a brand new nature here and now on earth.

He also gives us a helper (the Holy Spirit) to prompt and lead and guide us step by step throughout each day of our lives, to draw us away from sin and towards God.

I knew that Jesus died for my sins. I knew that if I sinned, I just needed to tell say ‘I’m sorry, please forgive me’.

What I didn’t realise is that right now, here on earth, when we give our heart to Jesus and His Spirit comes to live inside of us, God actually 1) changes our nature and 2) sets us free from the control of sin.

Our deepest desire now is to know God; to come close to Him and to obey Him.

Before we give our heart to Jesus, our heart is selfish, self-seeking, and our natural nature is towards sin. We just couldn’t help it.

But now, with the Holy Spirit living in us, He leads us step by step along the road to healing and wholeness and away from our life of sin.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that once you give your life to Jesus you will never sin again. Unfortunately, we still sin.

The difference is that we don’t want to sin. We are not just trapped in our sinful nature. We have a new, God-filled nature, here and now, while we are still living on earth.

We have a helper on the inside of us, leading us, prompting us, away from sin and towards God.

Praise God who sets us free through Jesus!

Romans 8 – in easy to understand language

by Darlene | Feb 5, 2021 | Bible Paraphrased, Bible Simply Understood, Devotional, Faith Blog, Romans, Shop

Romans 8

Before Jesus came to the earth, we didn’t have any hope. We were lost in our sins. When we give our life to Jesus, our sins are forgiven. God does not condemn us. He loves us.

Ever since God gave His law to Moses, we have been trying to obey that law – trying and failing.

Our sinful, human bodies kept doing what was wrong.

This is why we could never be saved by following the law – we simply could not follow it. Our fleshly impulses and desires always got in the way.

But when Jesus came to the earth, He was tempted to sin just like we are, but He overcame temptation and did not sin – not even once. And because He did not sin, Jesus fulfilled the law on our behalf and this set us free from it.

Instead of having a written law, God wrote the law on our hearts.

When we give our life to Jesus, God fills us with the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit reminds us of the law that God has put in our hearts and He also gives us the strength to withstand temptation.

While we live on this earth, we still struggle against sin, but now we have help, because the Spirit of Jesus has come into our hearts and he leads and guides us.

But we are not perfect. We will not be made perfect until Jesus comes and takes us to Heaven.

At that time, He will take away our old, sinful bodies and give us brand new bodies and a brand new nature – one that will never sin again. We will be free at last. We patiently wait for that time.

In the mean time, we still live in a sinful body and this means that we still do sin.

But now, all we have to do is ask God to forgive our sin in the Name of Jesus, and we are instantly and completely forgiven. In God’s eyes, it is as if we never sinned.

As we walk with Jesus every day and follow the leading of the Spirit, we become more like Him.

When we love God, we will still experience hard times because we live on this sinful earth, but God promises to take every hard situation and bring good out of it. What a comfort this is.

When you have God on your side, no-one can successfully come against you. They might try, but they won’t succeed.

God does not condemn us. He loves us and He sent Jesus to save us. Now Jesus is in Heaven, working continually on our behalf.

There is nothing at all – not any amount of trouble or hardship – that can separate us from God’s love.

There is no need to worry

by Darlene | Jan 31, 2021 | Devotional

Bible Text

Matthew 6:34 “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.
Each day has enough trouble of its own.”

2 Corinthians 12:9 “My Grace is sufficient for you.”

Life Application

Sometimes, it can be really hard not to worry about the future, especially in these uncertain times, but in Matthew 6:34 Jesus says to us “Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.”

Why does Jesus say this?

Because He gives us His Grace (his help, his strength, his wisdom) just at the time we need it, not before.

When we spend our time worrying about the future, it is like we are experiencing a future negative event over and over, when God hasn’t given us His Grace to go through it yet.

We may even be worrying about something that doesn’t even happen. So all that worry, stress and emotional pain has been for nothing.

I’m sure many of you have heard the acronym for FEAR.

F            FALSE
E            EVIDENCE
A            APPEARING
R            REAL

Personal Story

When our son was born with a condition called Achondroplasia (also known as Dwarfism or Short-statured), it was an absolute shock. Not only would he only be significantly shorter than everyone else, but there was a myriad of medical issues that we may have to deal with.

We were worried sick about his health, the possibility of him being teased at school and about what his future may hold.

My sister said the most helpful thing at the time.

She said to me “try not to look too far ahead and worry about the future. Just ask yourself, ‘can I handle him today?’ The answer was always ‘yes, of course I can’.
He was a beautiful, peaceful baby – an absolute delight. I could handle him today.

After that, whenever I started to worry about his future or our ability to cope in the future, I would ask myself ‘can I handle him today?’ And every time without fail, the answer was ‘yes, definitely’.

This brought my thoughts back to the present time. It helped me to stop worrying about the unknown future.

God gives us His Grace today for today.

Another example about God giving me His Grace just at the moment I needed it, was when we were going to a lunch for ‘Short-statured’ people and their families.

I knew it would be the first time we would meet adults with Dwarfism. On the car ride over there, we were so nervous about meeting them. We would be face to face with the reality of our son’s future.

But as soon as I knocked on the front door of the house, God gave me His Grace!!

He miraculously took the fear and worry away instantly. I was fully at peace, happy to meet these special people. And we had a wonderful day together. They were amazing people.

A couple of weeks ago, we celebrated our son’s 21st birthday. At the party, it was obvious that he is so LOVED!!! He has so many true friends who love him just the way it is.

And he has turned out to be a wonderful young man. We are so proud of him. He is completely comfortable in who he is. He is a mature, fun-loving, responsible young man with so many close friends. There has been some pretty serious medical issues along the way, but God has given us His Grace to deal with each one as they came along.

Looking back now, we realise that we worried for nothing!!!

This is why Jesus says not to ‘worry about tomorrow’.

Conclusion

God is faithful. He will always give us the Grace we need for any situation at just the right time, not before.

Trust God today. Rest in His Grace today. His Grace will be there for you tomorrow.

Prayer

Dear Loving God,

I’m sorry for worrying instead of trusting You. Today, I choose to trust You completely, no matter how impossible things look. Please give me your Grace for this one day.

In Jesus Name, Amen

God specializes in doing the impossible

by Darlene | Dec 21, 2020 | Bible Study, Faith Blog

Are you facing something that looks impossible?

Have you looked at all the possible angles and you can’t see a way through?

Are you depressed or anxious about your circumstances?

For most of us, 2020 has been one of the most challenging years of our lives.

Many of us have lost loved ones. We have lost jobs and businesses. We may have come to the brink of divorce.

Whatever you are facing, it looks impossible.

Yet Jesus specializes in doing the impossible.

In the Bible in the book of John chapter 11, we read the story about where Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead.

There is a link to the podcast at the end of this blog post.

On the surface, it might just look like a good story, but if you look deeply into what happened, we can gain great encouragement and hope for our own lives.

Even when life looks impossible, we can trust Jesus to come through.

John 11 verse 1 “Now a man names Lazarus was sick.”

Verse 3 “So the sisters sent word to Jesus, ‘Lord, the one you love is sick’.”

In verse 4 Jesus says to his followers “This sickness will not end in death”.

Great! God has given us a promise that everything will be OK.

Verse 5 – 7 says “Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days, and then he said to his disciples, “Let us go back to Judea.”

WHAT? Jesus loved them so He stayed where he was 2 more days?!!

Have you ever been in a desperate situation and although you believe God has spoken a word of promise to you, it seems like He is not doing anything?!!!

We cry out ‘Where are you God?’ You promise in your Word that you will look after us. We are desperate for your help.

And you hear nothing! Just silence! You don’t even feel like your prayers get any higher than the ceiling. Where is God when you need Him most?

But if you keep reading the story, you can see that Jesus delayed coming on purpose.

He was planning a much greater miracle than the sisters could ever had imagined.

After 2 days, Jesus starts the journey to where Lazarus and his sisters live.

By the time he gets there, Lazarus is dead!!!!!

The situation couldn’t get any more impossible could it?

How do you continue to have faith when the situation looks this bad?

This is the time when our faith has to kick in to an even higher gear.

Remember in the book of Hebrews, chapter 11, verse 1, it says “Faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see”.

Faith is confidence in what we hope for an assurance about what we do not see. Hebrews 11.1

Faith is for those times where it doesn’t make sense; where there seems no physical way out; when it feels like the situation is beyond help. We are at the end of our strength. Hope has almost been extinguished.

TRUST GOD ANYWAY!

Back to John 11.

Verse 11 – 13 “After Jesus had said this, he went on to tell them, ‘Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I am going there to wake him up.’ His disciples replied, ‘Lord, if he sleeps, he will get better. Jesus had been speaking of his death, but his disciples thought he meant natural sleep.

Verse 14 – 15 “So Jesus told them plainly, ‘Lazarus is dead, and for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.’”

What?

Jesus is glad that He was NOT THERE!!

How can a loving God be glad that He was not there, just when you needed Him the most.

The truth is that God always has a greater plan; but we often don’t know what that higher plan is.

From a human perspective, it looks like God has failed you, but from God’s perspective, it is all part of His perfect plan.

It is often not until later on, that we are able to look back and see that God was there all the time.

My thoughts are not your thoughts and your ways are not my ways. Isaiah 55.8-9

Have you ever heard the analogy that life is like a tapestry? We are underneath the tapestry and God is on top of the tapestry. From our perspective, all we can see is a big mess, with lots of knots and loose threads.

But from God’s perspective, it is a perfect pattern, coming together in just the right way.

He is still firmly in control.

Trust Him, no matter what.

In John chapter 11 verse 21 and 22, it says “’Lord, Martha said to Jesus, if you had been there, my brother would not have died. But I know that even now, God will give you whatever you ask’.”

Even though, in the natural, Martha is heart-broken because she knows that Jesus could have saved her brother, but didn’t. Yet she still shows that she has faith by saying ‘But I know that even now, God will give you whatever the ask’.

In verse 32, it says ‘When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.’

And verse 33 to 34, ‘When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, He was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. “Where have you laid him?” He asked.

“Come and see, Lord,” they replied.

And in verse 35, it says ‘Jesus wept’.

Remember that Jesus was both fully human and fully God. When he saw the tears and the heart ache of this friends, he was moved with compassion and wept with them.

Verse 36 to 37 “Then the Jews said, “See how he loved him!” But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?”

Have you ever been in a difficult situation and you are holding onto your faith in God with the last shreds of your strength and someone comes along and says something that almost completely shatters your faith?

Perhaps someone who doesn’t believe in God, or someone who only has a shallow faith and they encourage you to give up on God.

This is just what happened in the book of Job, where he was in such terrible suffering and his wife says to Job in Job 2:9 ‘are you still holding onto your faith? Curse God and die’.

But Jesus knew what He was going to do.

In John 11 verse 9, Jesus said “Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?”

In other words, DON’T GIVE UP NOW! HOLD ONTO YOUR FAITH IN GOD!

Then in John 11: 41 and 42 Jesus prays out loud to His Heavenly Father and says ‘Father I thank You that You have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me’.

Then in John 11 verse 43 and 44, Jesus says “Lazarus, come out!!!” and with those words, Lazarus is brought back to life again!!!

Jesus knew that by waiting until after Lazarus was dead and then raising him to life, it was a much greater manifestation of God’s power than if he had simply healed him from being sick.

Remember back in John 11 verse 4, Jesus said ‘this sickness will not end in death’.

He knew that although Lazarus was actually going to die, the story would not end with his death. Jesus would raise him to life again.

All things work together for good to them that love God. Romans 8.28

In Romans 8 verse 28 it says “we know that in all things, God works for the good of those who love Him.”

In other words, so matter what hard things we go through, God promises to bring good out of even the worst circumstances. Trust Him.

7 Life Lessons we can learn from this Bible story

God doesn’t always do things the way we expect Him to.
No matter how bad our situation looks, God is in control.
God feels your pain and looks on you with compassion.
No matter what things look like, keep trusting God.
When others try to discourage your faith and trust, do not listen to them.
You may not understand now, but you will understand later.
For people who love God, He promises to take bad situations and bring good out of them.

A beginners guide to studying the Bible

by Darlene | Dec 11, 2020 | Bible Paraphrased, Bible Study, Faith Blog

The first thing I do to begin my Bible study is to open up my computer and go to the Bible Gateway website. I also prefer the ‘classic’ version of Bible Gateway, but you can choose which style you like that most.

The reason I like Bible Gateway so much is because it has so many different versions of the Bible to choose from. It also has Bible Commentaries and other helpful resources, all the one handy place.

You can also highlight Bible verses that you like in a variety of colors and it will save this for future reference. It also allows you to type notes about the Bible verse and it save your notes for future reference.

I particularly like to read Bible verses in different versions and it really helps you to understand the meaning of what you are reading, from several different angles. Each version of the Bible uses a slightly different interpretation of the original text.

My three favorite versions of the Bible are:

International Children’s Bible (ICB)
New International Reader’s Version (NIRV)
New International Version (NIV)

You can have more than one version open at the same time.

First, in the search field at the top, type in whatever you want to study.

This search field is really flexible.

You can type in a book of the Bible eg. ‘Romans’ or you could type in a specific chapter of the Bible eg. ‘Romans 1’.

You can also be very specific, for example you could type in ‘Romans 8:28-29’.

You can also just type in a word or a name.

For example, if you find yourself feeling anxious or afraid at the moment, you can type in the word ‘fear’, ‘afraid’, or ‘anxious’ or ‘worry’ and Bible Gateway will show you all the Bible verses that contain that word.

It’s so much easier than the olden days when you had to manually look up a Bible Concordance to find all the Bible verses for a particular word.

In this case, where I have typed in the word ‘anxious’ and clicked on ‘Search’, the first Bible text that came up was:

Philippians 4:6 “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God”.

I’ve only found the first verse and already I’m feeling encouraged!

You might like to read more about this verse, by clicking on ‘In Context’, ‘Full Chapter’ or
‘Other Translations’.

‘In Context’ will usually show you the verse that is before and the verse that is after the verse you have looked up. For example, if you click in context on this Bible verse, is says:

Philippians 4:5-7 “Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God, and the peace of God which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

This is even better than just reading the one verse!

Not only is God telling us not to be anxious and to bring our problems to Him in prayer, but He also promises that when we do this, He will give us
His peace.

If we really apply this to our personal situation, we know that we can relax. God will look after the situation for us and give us His peace while He does it.

What a wonderful promise!

‘Full Chapter’ will show you the whole chapter that this verse comes from.

‘Other Translations’ will show you the same verse in many different translations. Each translation will have a slightly different interpretation and will help you to understand what is being said.

Another thing to note is that when you type in something in the search field, it defaults to showing
25 results per page, but you can change this to be 25, 50, 100, 250 or 500 results per page.

It’s totally up to you whether you use an online Bible or read a regular Bible.

Personally, I find I really enjoy using an online Bible because I like copying and pasting Bible verses that are meaningful to me into a Word document. Then I write notes underneath about what I have learned from that Scripture and how it applies to my life at that time.

You don’t have to do that, it’s just what works for me.

Try a few different things and see what works best for you.

The Desires of your Heart

by Darlene | Oct 29, 2020 | Faith Blog

‘Take delight in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.’ (Psalm 37:4 The Bible)

This has been one of the hardest years I’ve ever had and yet, as the year draws to a close, I realise that God has indeed given me the ‘desires of my heart’.

It always amazes me that no matter what hard things come, good things often follow. We grow stronger, we increase our empathy towards others, we deepen friendships, or increase in faith.
Out of hard things, amazing things can come.

In January of this year, we lost a 12 month battle to save our Aunt from the ‘Elder Abuse’ she was suffering at the hands of the other side of her family. We had fought so hard for her rights and her independence, but lost in the end.

We were devastated.

Six months later, she was dead. The stress of it was all too much for her. It had shortened her life by years. So not only did we lose the fight for her rights but now we also lost the beautiful and special Aunt that we loved so much. She was our only family in Melbourne and we loved her dearly.

Then April of this year, I had the hardest day of work I have had in 30 years in the workforce, followed by being bullied out of a job I loved.

I went to my boss’s office for what I thought was just our regular monthly meeting, but instead, without any warning, my boss stood over me and started yelling at me, telling me that she was very angry with me. I started crying, very shocked at the sudden outburst from her.

Through tears, I tried to get her to calm down and talk rationally about whatever the issues were. She wouldn’t have a bar of it.

She was out of control.

In 30 years of working – I had never experienced anything like it.

Over the next two months, I tried everything I could to rebuild our relationship, to no avail. I loved my job. It was one of the most challenging, yet rewarding jobs I’d ever had.

For the first two years we worked together, my boss and I had a very positive relationship.

I don’t know what went wrong, but it soon became obvious that our working relationship could not be rescued.

Every day, I came to work, shaking like a leaf, terrified of running in to her; terrified of the terrible anger she was capable of. In the end, I had to leave the job I loved.

I suffered post-traumatic stress as a result of the experience and it has taken 4 months to get back my confidence in myself and to move forward with my life.

Yet, I look back now, and I realised that God has indeed given me
‘the desires of my heart’.

When I left that job, I decided to work part-time (3 days per week). I went from a pretty good salary to a fairly small one and went from full-time hours down to just 20 hours per week.

This meant I lost two thirds of my income, but I couldn’t be happier.

A couple of years ago, I read a great book called the 4 Hour Work Week by Tim Ferris. It was so inspiring. He shows that living the life we desire isn’t just reserved for the rich.

He puts the potential for an amazing life in the reach of the ordinary person – people like me and you.

The concept I loved most in the book, having ‘freedom of time and place’. In other words, being able to live anywhere in the world, for the same (or similar) cost to where you live now. From the new place you choose to live, you can either get a job there or you can try your hand at building an online business that you can do from anywhere.

Now, my part-time job covers my basic bills and the rest of the week is my own. While I have to be very careful with money (lucky I love Op Shopping), the freedom of having 4 free days a week to do whatever I want is wonderful.

I’m free!

I have so much I want to do in those four spare days, it’s hard to know how to fit it all in.

I never would have experienced this freedom and
joy if I hadn’t been bullied out my job.

Although that was a very painful experience, four months later, I have fully recovered from the stress of it and I am creating the life that I choose.

I really recommend reading the 4 Hour Work Week and thinking creatively about how your life could be different.

Think back to the dreams of your youth. Think about the things that make you really happy.

It could be singing. Can you join a local choir? Is it writing? Could you start your own blog or start writing that book you’ve always said you would write. Is it cooking? Plan some dinner parties for friends. Is it bike riding? Find some favourite bike trails and ride them often. Is it photography? Can you join a Camera Club?

Think back and remember what makes your heart sing.

What is your heart’s desire?

What first step could you take to begin the journey towards it?

How to problem solve with God

by Darlene | Oct 15, 2020 | Bible Study, Faith Blog

It’s been a tumultuous 24 hours and this morning my husband has resigned from his job – the second job he has resigned from in as many weeks.

When I woke up this morning, I found myself full heart full of anxiety. I started reading the promises of God because I know that always calms me down and gives me a sense of God’s peace.

After reading several Bible promises, and still feeling my heart in knots of anxiety, I came to this Bible verse in Exodus 14:13, one of my all-time favourite Bible Promises.

By the time I finished reading this Bible text, I was at peace once again.

The story is about when God miraculously parts the Red Sea and the Israelites are able to walk through on dry land. Then when the enemy (the Egyptians) follow, God brings the water back down over them and destroys them.

As I considered this wonderful story, of God’s miraculous provision, God showed me a principle that I’d like to share here – the five P’s of solving life’s problems with God.

1. Problem

We have a problem and we need God’s help.

2. Prayer

We bring our need to God in prayer. We exercise our faith and praise and thank God in advance, confident that He will meet our needs.

3. Promise

We read the promises of God from His Word and stand on those promises while we wait for God to help us.

4. Provision

God provides the help we need.

5. Praise

We praise God again for providing for our needs.

And I was reminded in my Ladies Bible group this morning, we need to start praising God as soon as we have a problem, rather than waiting until after He has delivered us.

We praise God before He answers our prayers. We believe that, by faith, God has already answered us. He has already provided for our needs. He will reveal it to us in His perfect timing.

Let’s look at the story of the Red Sea a little closer, in light of the 5 P’s principle.

1. Problem – they are trapped at the Red Sea

The Israelites were trapped with the Red Sea in front of them and the Egyptians behind them. They could see no way out of their problem.

Exodus 14 New International Version (NIV)

Verse 1-3 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Tell the Israelites to turn back and encamp near Pi Hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea. They are to encamp by the sea, directly opposite Baal Zephon. Pharaoh will think, ‘The Israelites are wandering around the land in confusion, hemmed in by the desert.’

It’s interesting to note that God guides the Israelites directly into the challenging situation!!!

He tells them to go towards the Red Sea.

We need to remember that sometimes, when we follow God’s leading, it may not always turn out the way we expect, but God is still firmly in control.

We might start to question ourselves and question God “but I thought You were leading me Lord”.

God was leading them because He knew He was going to miraculously deliver them.

Verse 4 And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and he will pursue them. But I will gain glory for myself through Pharaoh and all his army, and the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord.” So the Israelites did this.

Notice that the first promise God gives them is before they even have a problem.

God tells Moses that He is about to do something amazing. He tells him in advance that the Egyptians will follow them and that God will miraculously deliver them so that God is glorified.

Verse 5 – 12 When the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled, Pharaoh and his officials changed their minds about them and said, “What have we done? We have let the Israelites go and have lost their services!” So he had his chariot made ready and took his army with him. He took six hundred of the best chariots, along with all the other chariots of Egypt, with officers over all of them. The Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, so that he pursued the Israelites, who were marching out boldly. The Egyptians—all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots, horsemen and troops—pursued the Israelites and overtook them as they camped by the sea near Pi Hahiroth, opposite Baal Zephon.

2. Prayer – bring your need before God

I wouldn’t exactly call this a prayer, but it does say “they were terrified and cried out to the Lord”.

As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up, and there were the Egyptians, marching after them. They were terrified and cried out to the Lord. They said to Moses, “Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? Didn’t we say to you in Egypt, ‘Leave us alone; let us serve the Egyptians’? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!”

The Israelites were understandably terrified by the situation they are facing. Sometimes the situations we face are so scary, that the only prayer we can offer is HELP ME GOD !!!

When it looks like there is no way out of a problem, we need to trust God and praise Him in advance that He will make a way where there appears to be no way.

3. Promise – God promises to deliver them

Verse 13 – 14 Moses answered the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again.
The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.”

This is God’s second promise to them. He tells them not to be afraid. They don’t even have to do anything. They just need to stand back and watch God work. He fights ‘for them’.

In whatever situation we are facing, the best thing we can do is to look up God’s promises in His Word, read them and write them out so we can re-read them as we go about our day.

As we claim these promises as our very own, they help to keep our faith strong and our fear and anxiety under control while we wait for God’s deliverance.

4. Provision – God solves the problem

Verse 15 – 18 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to move on. Raise your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea to divide the water so that the Israelites can go through the sea on dry ground. I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they will go in after them. And I will gain glory through Pharaoh and all his army, through his chariots and his horsemen. The Egyptians will know that I am the Lord when I gain glory through Pharaoh, his chariots and his horsemen.”

Verse 19 – 20 Then the angel of God, who had been traveling in front of Israel’s army, withdrew and went behind them. The pillar of cloud also moved from in front and stood behind them, coming between the armies of Egypt and Israel. Throughout the night the cloud brought darkness to the one side and light to the other side; so neither went near the other all night long.

Verse 21 – 22 Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and all that night the Lord drove the sea back with a strong east wind and turned it into dry land. The waters were divided, and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left.

Verse 23 – 25 The Egyptians pursued them, and all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots and horsemen followed them into the sea. During the last watch of the night the Lord looked down from the pillar of fire and cloud at the Egyptian army and threw it into confusion. He jammed the wheels of their chariots so that they had difficulty driving. And the Egyptians said, “Let’s get away from the Israelites! The Lord is fighting for them against Egypt.”

Verse 26 – 28 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea so that the waters may flow back over the Egyptians and their chariots and horsemen.” Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and at daybreak the sea went back to its place. The Egyptians were fleeing toward it, and the Lord swept them into the sea. The water flowed back and covered the chariots and horsemen—the entire army of Pharaoh that had followed the Israelites into the sea. Not one of them survived.

Verse 29 – 30 But the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left. That day the Lord saved Israel from the hands of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians lying dead on the shore.

5. Praise

The Israelites rejoice in the miracle God has provided.

Verse 31 And when the Israelites saw the mighty hand of the Lord displayed against the Egyptians, the people feared the Lord and put their trust in him and in Moses his servant.

Then the whole of Exodus 15 is about the songs of praise and thanks that the Israelites sing to God for his deliverance.

Next time you face a problem, try using the 5 P’s: 1) Problem 2) Prayer 3) Promise 4) Provision
5) Praise. Watch God work on your behalf!

22 Bible verses about Anxiety

by Darlene | Oct 9, 2020 | Faith Blog

I don’t know about you, but I struggle with fear and anxiety on a regular basis.

Fear can come in many forms – anxiety, nervousness, uneasiness, worry and even outright terror.

When we allow fear to take over our mind and our thoughts, life can feel overwhelming and we feel unable to move forward – whether just to get through this one day, or to move forward with the next stage of our life.

*** Click on the image at the end of the post to watch the You Tube video: 56 Bible verses about fear

Fear can also lead to disorders such as Generalised Anxiety Disorder, OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder) and panic attacks.

I have suffered with anxiety and OCD since I was a nine year old child, but through reading the promises of God day by day, I have gained significant healing (more about that verse 10 below).

When I draw near to God and read His promises to us in the Bible, I feel at peace again and able to take the next step in life’s journey.

I hope these Bible promises about fear will speak to you as much as they have to me. Each promise has a link to the Bible, so you can read the promises in God’s Word for yourself.

God is for you. He will never leave you or forsake you. He is trustworthy. He is in control of the future and He loves you deeply.

Enjoy these 21 Bible promises that help us not to be afraid.

1. God hears us when we call out to Him and He takes away our fears.

“I sought the Lord and He answered me; He delivered me from all my fears.” Psalm 34:4

When we are afraid and we call out to God, He promises that He will answer us and take away our fears. Fear is the opposite of faith and trust. When we remember God’s promises and choose to put our faith and trust back in God, our fear is lessened or taken away completely.

2. When are are afraid and we call out to God, He comes close to us and whispers ‘Don’t be afraid. I am with you’.

“You came near when I called you, and you said ‘Do not fear'”. Lamentations 3:57

3. God sends His angels to take care of us

“The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him and He delivers him”. Psalm 34:7

God gives each one of us a guardian angel to watch over and protect us. We are not often aware that angels are surrounding us because we cannot see them.

In the Bible, in 2 Kings 6, it tells us about a story where an army was sent to capture and kill the prophet Elisha. His servant got up in the morning and opened the door and there was a huge army surrounding them. Understandably, he was terrified.

But Elisha was not afraid. He knew that God’s guardian angels were surrounding them in much greater numbers and power than any human army. Elisha asks God to ‘open his servant’s eyes’ so that he can see the angels. God opened the servant’s eyes and he could see the hills ‘full of chariots and fire’.

Elisha said ‘those who are with us are more than those who are with them’. 2 Kings 6: 15 – 17.

So next time you feel afraid, ask God to send his angels to protect you and remember this story – even if you can’t see them with your natural eyes, God’s angels are there, in far greater numbers than any army or any problem you might face.

2 Kings 6
Verse 15 When the servant of the man of God got up and went out early the next morning, an army with horses and chariots had surrounded the city. “Oh no, my lord! What shall we do?” the servant asked.

Verse 16 “Don’t be afraid,” the prophet answered. “Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.”

Verse 17 And Elisha prayed, “Open his eyes, Lord, so that he may see.” Then the Lord opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.

4. Choose not to fear rule your life. Choose to trust God instead.

“Don’t give in to fear.” 1 Peter 3:6

While this may look like a simplistic Bibe text, it is actually very powerful. It says ‘don’t give in to fear’. This means that we actually have a choice about whether we ‘give in’ to the feeling of fear or whether we resist the feeling.

We have a choice about how we respond to every situation.

Are you allowing yourself to be afraid when you could choose to trust God instead?

5. When we are trusting God, we don’t need to be afraid of bad news.

“They will have no fear of bad news; their hearts are steadfast, trusting in the Lord.” Psalm 112:7

At the time of writing, the world is in the grip of Coronavirus. When you read a newspaper, watch TV or go on social media, it is full of bad news. God tells us that we don’t need to be afraid of bad news. We know what’s going on in the world around us, but we put our trust fully in God and rest in His promises to take care of us.

Canva-They will have no fear of bad news-resized

6. God is always with us to help when we have trouble

“God is our refuge and strength; an ever-present help in trouble; therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea; though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.” Psalm 46: 1-3

7. God calms our nerves

“Do not tremble with fear; do not be afraid.” Isaiah 44:8

8. God holds our hand and says ‘Do not fear, I will help you’

“For I am the Lord your God who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, ‘Do not fear, I will help you.'” Isaiah 41:13

9. God is a personal God – He will help us himself

“Do not be afraid…do not fear…for I, myself will help you, declares the Lord.” Isaiah 41.14

God’s love and protection for us is personal. He promises that He, Himself, will help us. He will take us by the hand and walk by our side, no matter what we are going through.

He will “never leave us nor forsake us“. Deuteronomy 31:6

Although He is Almighty God, He is also our Heavenly Father, who loves us deeply. His love drives away all fear.

10. God has not designed us to be anxious. He has given us a ‘sound mind’

“For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but a spirit of power, of love and a sound mind.”
2 Timothy 1:7

As I said above, I have had Generalised Anxiety Disorder and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) since I was a nine year old child. I was a very frightened child and the OCD caused me to do many repetitive behaviors.

I knew they were ‘crazy’, but my anxiety was so high, I did not ‘dare’ not to do the behaviors in case something bad happened.

The amazing thing is that when I was fifteen years old, after six years of these debilitating repetitive behaviors, I walked out into my back year on a beautiful sunny day and looked up to heaven and said to God ‘You are in control. All this ‘good luck’ ‘bad luck’ stuff isn’t real – You are in control of everything. I literally gave control of my life over to God and STOPPED DOING THE BEHAVIORS!

Years later, when I was seeing a Psychiatrist who didn’t believe in God and I told him about this, he was shocked – he couldn’t believe it and had never heard of anyone doing this before.

This is the power of putting our faith and trust completely in God. It restores the ‘sound mind’ that He created us to have.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying that mental health issues can all be magically cured by trusting in God, but it certainly helps. It alleviates anxiety and fear and gives us back a sense of peace.

I wasn’t 100% cured when I was 15, but I was 90% healed. I was 90% well, 90% of the time, which was much more manageable.

11. God created us uniquely ourselves and He calls us by name as His very own

“But now this is what the Lord says, He who created you, He who formed you, ‘Do not fear for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine.” Isaiah 43:1

12. God is with us and he strengthens us

“So do not fear for I am with you; do not be dismayed for I am your God; I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” Isaiah 41:10

13. God will not disappoint us

“Do not be afraid or discouraged. You won’t be disappointed.” Isaiah 54:4

14. God will provide for us and our families

“Don’t be afraid. I will provide for you and your children.” Genesis 50:21

15. God comforts us

“Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff they comfort me.” Psalm 23:4

16. God will keep us safe and give us a long, full life

“The Lord says ‘I will save the one who loves me. I will keep him safe because He trusts in me. He will call out to me and I will answer him. I will be with him in times of trouble. I will save him and honor him. I will give him a long and full life. I will save him’.” Psalm 91: 14 – 16

17. God will help us sleep

“When you lie down you will not be afraid; when you lie down your sleep will be sweet.”
Proverbs 3:24

18. God will keep us safe and give us hope

“So do not be afraid, declares the Lord. Don’t lose hope. I will deliver you. My people will again be safe and sound.” Jeremiah 30:10

19. We don’t need to be afraid of anyone

“The Lord is my light and my salvation – who shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life, of whom shall I be afraid.” Psalm 27:1

20. We don’t need to be afraid of disasters

“Have no fear of sudden disaster, or of the ruin that overtakes the wicked, for the Lord will be at your side and will keep your foot from being snared.” Proverbs 3: 25-26

21. You will have no fear and no worries

“No-one will trouble you, abuse you or oppress you. You have know no fear and have no worries.” Isaiah 54:14

21 Bible verses about fear

by Darlene | Oct 5, 2020 | Faith Blog