Christ Will Rescue You: January 2022

Monday, January 31, 2022

Don’t Be Upset with God

Proverbs 3:11-12(NLT)
“My child, don’t reject the Lord’s discipline, and don’t be upset when he corrects you. 12; For the Lord corrects those he loves, just as a father corrects a child in whom he delights.”

“I’ve buried my face in the sand and let my fears run my life.”

A woman I’ve known for years is a single mother battling cancer. She’s unemployed now and struggling to figure out how to pay her mortgage. She’s trying to be strong for her twelve-year old daughter but tells me that, understandably, she’s exhausted. Her husband abandoned them a few years ago. He said he couldn’t handle the pressure of marriage and wanted out of the relationship, but she knew it was an excuse to go back to his ex-girlfriend. Before they married, she had a gut feeling that he still had feelings for his ex, but she loved him and thought he would change. He didn’t. Her situation, like so many others, demonstrate that making important life decisions without God’s wisdom can cause a domino effect of many other problems in your life.

This single mother is not alone. Many of us have made important decisions like marriage without receiving that all important greenlight from Heavenly Father. We convince ourselves that our significant relationships represent an area of life that we can navigate alone. Well, the times aren’t what they used to be. Dysfunctional habit patterns and behaviors in others can lead us down a very horrific path. And the thing is, we don’t often see this darkness and dysfunction in the person until it is too late. They hide the worse parts of themselves, and to get us hooked, they only show us what they want us to see.

Proverbs 3:11-12 encourages us to have a humbled attitude and not reject the Lord’s discipline. We shouldn’t be upset when He corrects us, and we must have confidence that it is for our good. God doesn’t want us to choose a person that would make us unhappy and would leave us in a very difficult position. You and I don’t know the future, but our Heavenly Father sees and knows everything. He knows the person that is right for us, and He knows when someone is trouble. You might think, “Well, why doesn’t He prevent us from letting this person into our hearts?” God always warns us, so we can’t be upset with Him. We are so blinded by our desires to be with someone that we neither see or hear His warnings.

Often, we fail to look to Him or read His Word for guidance and direction. We want what we want, when we want it. Some women are so fearful of having to endure more loneliness that they want a man at all costs. This is desperation, and desperation is the opposite of faith, so it will almost always lead to trouble. Once this man is in their grasp, they can’t imagine pumping the breaks. Even if God speaks to them audibly, they will not turn to Him with greater commitment, faith, and humility.

Heavenly Father created us out of His love, and He knows that we want to be loved by a good man, but this desire shouldn’t cause us to disobey God’s command of seeking His wisdom. Deuteronomy 8:5(NLT) says, “Think about it: Just as a parent disciplines a child, the Lord your God disciplines you for your own good.” When we’re hardhearted and hardheaded, and we have refused to listen, sometimes this discipline comes in the form of facing the consequences of not seeking Him. God doesn’t punish us. He loves us, and a loving parent always corrects their children.

How should we respond to God’s correction and discipline? We must respond as Jesus Christ instructs in Revelation 3:19(NIV). He tells us, “Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent.” To repent is to have a change of heart and a change of mind. It means that we are committed to change our ways to such a degree that we always lead our lives with God’s wisdom. We are to seek Him first as Jesus Christ instructs in Matthew 6:33. When we do this, Heavenly Father will cover and strengthen us in every area of our lives so that we don’t make poor choices and bad decisions. ■

Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.

Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Tuesday, January 25, 2022

Save Your Relationship with God First

“Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.” Matthew 6:33(NLT)

“I’m desperately trying to save our relationship, but he acts like he doesn’t love me anymore.”

When we’re facing a crisis, such as being abandoned by the person we love most, our tendency may be to try to hold on to them for dear life. The emotional pain of losing that person is more than we think we can bear, and we become desperate. Many of us will do just about anything to save the relationship. We’ll do things we never thought we would, because losing this person’s love is more than rejection; it feels like we’re losing a piece of ourselves.

Betrayal is an ugly monster. And do you know what takes the hardest hit? Your self-esteem. To realize that the person you love no longer loves you or wants to be with you anymore, it cuts deep. There aren’t too many things in life that are more disappointing and hurtful, but as hurtful as these feelings are, when we can’t seem to shake them loose, they are revealing some key information that is vital to our healing. The first thing our pain reveals is how much we loved the person that hurt us.

1John 4:16(NLT) says, “We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love. God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them.” Love is God and God is love. He is our Creator, and Genesis 1:27 tells us that He made us in His image. We are made from God’s love, and it is a very wonderful thing to know that we can love others deeply. Our pain tells us that we made a lot of space in our hearts for another person. We cared about them, and even though they decided not to appreciate our love in the way we wanted, our hearts were open to give love, and not everyone can say this.

The second thing our heartache reveals is how much we love ourselves. Heartache is supposed to hurt, but this hurt shouldn’t consume us or keep us from bouncing back with greater faith and wisdom. If we are pining away for weeks on end, it reveals that more strength and love at the foundation of who we are is needed. In order for us to become better and wiser, the strength that we need at our cores must come from our love of Jesus Christ. His love builds us up in our weak places, so that we love ourselves and others in a way that is in line with God’s Will and purpose for our lives.

Philippians 4:13(NLT) informs us, “For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.” This is not a myth. It is the truth, and it should be our reality. We are empowered by God through the Spirit of Christ that lives within us. Our responsibility is to grow in this strength. When it becomes apparent to us that a situation exceeds our ability to weather storms and bounce back with resiliency, we must take action. We need the strength, wisdom, and healing that can only come from our Lord and Savior.

When we are injured emotionally, we must not sink into an abyss of pain. Instead, we must increase our time with God through prayer, fasting, and studying His Word. This is how we prepare for greater blessings, and it signals the heavens and everything beneath them that we will not make the same mistakes twice. So, the bottom line is that our commitment to keep ourselves thriving spiritually through Christ is the true measure of the love we have for ourselves and others.

The third and most important piece of information that devastating pain can reveal is the degree to which we’ve prioritized a relationship with a person over our relationship with God. Jesus Christ commands us in Mark 12:30(NLT), “And you must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.” Loving God with all that we are is God’s requirement. It isn’t negotiable. Jesus Christ also commands us in Matthew 6:33 to seek God and His righteousness above all else. So, the standard is very clear. God must forever and always be our priority. When He is, we can be confident that no matter what we face, we will always have victory in Christ.

Ephesians 3:19(NLT) expresses God’s desire for all of us. It states, “May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.” Our Heavenly Father wants us to walk powerfully in Christ every moment of each day, and He has made this possible through Jesus Christ. Trying to save a relationship that isn’t in God’s destiny for us conveys to heaven and everything beneath it that we don’t believe in the power of our Father’s love. Let’s not do that. Instead, our first concern should be to do everything we possibly can to save our relationship with God. We should show Him that we believe in His promises and that we trust the wonderful future He has in store for our lives. ■

“Save Your Relationship with God First”, written by Kim for https://rescuefromdomesticviolence.blogspot.com© 2022. All rights reserved. All praise and honor to God through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior

Tuesday, January 18, 2022

A New Way Has Opened!

Isaiah 43:16-19(NLT)

16 I am the LORD, who opened a way through the waters, making a dry path through the sea. 17 I called forth the mighty army of Egypt with all its chariots and horses. I drew them beneath the waves, and they drowned, their lives snuffed out like a smoldering candlewick. 18 “But forget all that—it is nothing compared to what I am going to do. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it?

“I want a new apartment, a new job, a new car… right down to the clothes on my back. I want everything brand-new in my life.”

Many of God’s children are looking for a drastic change in their personal lives. God’s Word tells us in Lamentations 3:22-23(ESV), “The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; 23 they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” Heavenly Father has separated night from day, and each morning, we receive new mercies from Him, which means we have the opportunity to start fresh. God never changes, but as we can see from His Word, He loves newness! 2Corinthians 5:17(ESV) declares, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” Through the new birth experience that Jesus Christ made available to each of us, we become united with Christ, and God makes us new creations. Because of what God accomplished through the sacrifice of His only begotten Son, if we accept Christ into our hearts, our sins can be forgiven. When this happens, we can receive the gift of His Holy Spirit, which is God's seed. His Spirit empowers us with God's strength, and we have victory in life because of our union with Jesus Christ! This is incredibly good news!

From these wonderful verses in Lamentations 3:22-23 and 2Corinthians 5:17, we can be confident that our Heavenly Father celebrates newness, and we should as well. Every day presents a new opportunity to bask in the Father’s blessings, and this should excite us to no end. We don’t always see what our Heavenly Father is up to, and we don't realize how many times He has kept us from being destroyed by the tricks of the enemy. Often, He works behind the scenes, and many of His wonderful blessings are taken for granted. However, we must realize that if we're above ground this very moment, we are blessed beyond measure. Philippians 4:4 tells us that our responsibility as God’s sons and daughters is to rejoice in the Lord! He is worthy of all praise, glory, and honor! Ephesians 1:3 declares that He has blessed us with all spiritual blessings in the heavenly realms because of our union with Jesus Christ, and we must be careful to keep our eyes open and focused on this extraordinary reality.

The end of a year marks an end to the "old" for many people, and it provides an opportunity to embrace newness with a mind-set that is poised to go higher. We should seize this chance to elevate every aspect of our lives, to be better and do better than we did the year before. This is especially the case when it comes to our spiritual growth and maturity in Jesus Christ. Far too many of us are suffering in silence because we think that’s our only option. Someone very sad about his life said to me, “I want a new apartment, a new job, a new car… right down to the clothes on my back. I want everything brand-new in my life.” Many of us are feeling this way.

Sadness will always point to our need to surrender to God through Jesus Christ. Sadness and heartache should prompt us to release our burdens over to the Lord. We have made a habit pattern of thinking the way we do, and we have made a habit of handling issues and situations the way we always have. Increasing our faith in God demands that we break some of these patterns, because they are not serving us well.

God told His people in Jeremiah 29:11(NKJV), “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.” God didn’t need our help to come up with His plan. He has a good plan for each of us, and we must ask Him what it is, and have the humility to follow where He leads. He is God all by Himself. He is the Leader, and we are the followers, so we shouldn't try to take the lead, only the Father can lead us to higher heights and greater blessings. We must decrease and allow the Christ in us to increase through our faith in God.

Our Heavenly Father is Alpha and Omega, He’s the Beginning and the End. He knows the end at the beginning, and He knows the beginning at the end. He has all power in His hand, and everything He does, from the smallest to the greatest detail, has a purpose. He isn’t redundant in any way, and He knows exactly what He’s doing. There’s no wavering with God. He never has to do a do-over, backtrack, or a take back. He does things perfectly from the very beginning. God is sovereign, and when we make a commitment to give Him our lives through Jesus Christ, giving him all that we are is what He expects. He tells us in Romans 12:1(The Message), "So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him.that’s what He expects we will do."

Through accepting Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, we relinquish lordship of our existences to God through Christ. Heavenly Father commands us in Romans 12:1 to present our whole lives to Him, and to let them be a living sacrifice—not a dead sacrifice, but a living one—that is holy and pleasing to God. We’re to do this because it is the very least we can do for all He has done for us. This means that we’re presenting God with all that we are and allowing Him to transform us into the men and women He predestined us to be. We should allow Him to lead, guide, and direct us every step of the way.

Through Jesus Christ, God has opened the door to a new way of living life, and it is glorious! It is doing as God instructs us in Proverbs 3:5-6(NLT), “5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. 6 Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.” For most of us, this is a new way of operating, and although it takes time to learn, trusting God with every aspect of our existences will build the intimacy in our relationship with Him. It will guarantee that the newness Christ offers us will open the door to infinite blessings and possibilities. ■

Wednesday, January 12, 2022

Victory Using God’s Wisdom and Weapons

“Christ has set us free to live a free life. So take your stand! Never again let anyone put a harness of slavery on you.” Galatians 5:1(MSG)

"I know my husband is crazy, but I’m trying to hang in there
for the kids because I don’t want to raise them alone!”

A person that doesn’t think the devil is real would probably have a difficult time convincing an individual that is going through domestic violence and abuse of this. I’ve heard stories from friends, family, and other individuals who found themselves being treated horribly, and at one time felt they had no one to turn to and nowhere to go. They felt like prisoners in their own homes, but it didn’t start out that way.

They fell in love with men they had dated for a year or so, and for them, it was a foregone conclusion that their relationship with one another was a safe place to land. You would think that a year or two is long enough to see everything you need to see about someone. Surely, you’d have an idea of the highs and lows of their behavior. You might have even checked off those little temper tantrums as disappointing, but not enough to make you throw in the towel. His upsets after you didn’t answer his several attempts at reaching you felt like assurances of his love. You just didn’t think these things were enough to signal a red flag.

Proverbs 2:6(NLT) tells us, “For the LORD grants wisdom! From his mouth come knowledge and understanding.” Our Heavenly Father created us to be intelligent, respectful, loving, and kind human beings that are full of His wisdom. He wants us to be ‘woke’ to the tricks of the enemy so that we are no longer blinded by darkness and evil. If we’re blinded, we can’t see the light of God’s truth, and this is precisely what the devil wants. 2Corinthians 4:4(NLT) tells us, “Satan, who is the god of this world, has blinded the minds of those who don't believe. They are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News. They don't understand this message about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God.”

The problem with our intelligence is that sometimes we place it above God’s wisdom. We think we know better than He does, and most believe there’s no real danger if we ignore God’s warnings. The environment we’re currently living in is proof positive of what happens when we ignore our Creator’s love and wisdom. Heavenly Father doesn’t want us to be afraid of evil and darkness, but He’s made absolutely sure we know that He has an enemy. And His enemy is our enemy. There are some that will say, “Oh, that’s just the way things were written back then. The Bible isn’t talking about a real devil.” This is wishful thinking. It’s hiding behind what most people have refused to see.

Countless numbers of God’s children have suffered domestic violence and abuse for many years, and they want it to stop, but they don’t see a way out. I met someone recently that is really struggling to hold it together. She’s desperately trying to find ways to deal with her husband’s outburst and abusive behavior towards her and sometimes the kids. She said, “I know my husband is crazy, but I’m trying to hang in there for the kids, because I don’t want to raise them alone!” What do you tell someone that may have a support system that is willing to help, but feels they simply can’t leave the abuser?

As believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, we know the power of prayer, and this must be our encouragement. It’s the spiritual tool we use to help ourselves and others, and it’s the spiritual weapon that when used effectively, helps to strengthen us through life’s battles. God’s Word tells us that it is impossible to pray to Him earnestly and not receive His help. In Philippians 4:6(NLT), Heavenly Father instructs, “Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.” Our hearts are to be open to God in such a way that our prayers are wrapped in gratitude. It’s being thankful not only for what He’s done in the past, but what He is doing in the present and what He will do in the future. This is where our faith must be.

It’s very important to understand that the battles in life are spiritual. Heavenly Father tells us in Ephesians 6:12(NLT), “For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.” Most of us don’t begin to wake up to this until we’ve tried many things unsuccessfully and suffered many years. God’s wisdom teaches us that we need spiritual weapons for spiritual battle, and the ones that Heavenly Father provides will guarantee that we fight strong and smart.

He goes on to tell us in Ephesians 6:13(NLT), “Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm.” God has all power, knowledge, wisdom, and grace. He is a loving God who wants us to come to Him with every detail of our lives, from the smallest to the greatest. It’s important that we know that He’s equipped us with spiritual weapons that are perfect in every way, and if we submit to Him, He’ll teach us how to employ them. God’s spiritual weapons are fail-proof. He commands us to put on the weaponry He’s provided through Jesus Christ so that we learn to stand on the Lord’s solid and sure foundation. It is unshakable when we place our faith in Him alone.

Our Heavenly Father wants us to not only experience His light, He wants us to live and bask in it every day of our lives. Galatians 5:1 affirms our freedom through our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave his life as a sacrifice for our sins. I’ve witnessed people buckle under the pressures of life because they think they have no other choice, but that’s not the truth. Because of what Jesus Christ has done for us, we can have victory in life. Through the wisdom and weapons that God’s provides, we can triumph over the challenges and struggles of domestic violence and abuse, and begin to help others do it to.■

“Victory Using God’s Wisdom and Weapons”, written by Kim for https://rescuefromdomesticviolence.blogspot.com© 2022. All rights reserved. All praise and honor to God through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.

Tuesday, January 4, 2022

Jesus Christ Is Our Peace

John 16:33 (NLT)
"I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world."

“If she curses me out one more time, I don’t know if I can move forward.
Her words are so hurtful!”

Humans are not perfect. We make a ton of mistakes and some of them are real doozies. This is never more true than in the love department. In our significant relationships, we’re not going to get everything right, and we’re not always going to end up on the winning side. Some of us will experience the most hurtful disappointment we’ve ever endured. The targets of our affection don’t always appreciate the love we’re giving, and when it’s apparent that this person isn’t capable of reciprocating quality love, but instead they are causing us more pain, we need to open our eyes to what is being revealed. This person wasn’t sent by God and they’re not going to be the blessing we desire for our lives.

I ran into an old acquaintance, and we talked for a while. He began telling me about the difficulty he’s now having with his fiancé. They’d gotten engaged a year-ago and have called off the wedding twice in six-months. He loves her very much, but he said, “If she curses me out one more time, I don’t know if I can move forward. Her words are so hurtful!” This isn’t the way anyone should be treated. God isn’t pleased with this kind of behavior. He commands us in Ephesians 4:32(NLT), “Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.” Heavenly Father commands us to be kind to one another because this is the way He is with us. His mercy and grace endure forever, and He has shown us how much He loves us by giving His only begotten Son as a offering for our sins. God’s kindness towards us is our example, and He expects us to treat everyone this way, but we are to be especially kind to the person that will walk with us through life.

The world we live in can be extremely harsh, mean, and cold. The person we love should be creating a space that is a warm place for us to land. We should feel safe in their company and not have to keep our guard up the way we do in the world. Most people understand this, and when they can’t bring themselves to model God’s tenderness and love, we need to beware. There could be a darkness internally that they are refusing to acknowledge or confront. If the love you’ve given them hasn’t yet motivated them to change their behavior, it’s time to have a serious conversation with God about your life and the decisions you need to make.

Many times, growing up, I’d hear my elders say, “When you’ve done all you can do, trust in the Lord, and He will carry you through.” This is now deeply imbedded in me, and it’s how I’ve learned to address problematic situations. For years I tried to carry the weight of troublesome issues on my back. In relationships, I took it upon myself to solder the inner turmoil of the men I loved. I offered myself up for the brunt of their self-punishing behavior, but this was not God’s Will for my life. He gave His Son to die so that we can all be free. Galatians 5:1 (The Message) declares, “Christ has set us free to live a free life. So take your stand! Never again let anyone put a harness of slavery on you.”

Jesus Christ tells us in Matthew 11:28-30(NLT), “28 Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.” Our Lord and Savior instructs us to give our burdens to him and let him bear the heaviness of them. When we do this, we shouldn’t take them back. We are incapable of carrying our burdens, they are too heavy. Giving them to Jesus is all we can do, and once we’ve given him our burdens, we must have faith that he will take care of the rest.

He also tells us to take his yoke upon us. This means that we should be focusing on learning more about Jesus Christ so that we can put on more of his example. It means that we should never try to wear his yoke and someone else’s too. Jesus Christ is humble and gentle; he is our everything, and he is medicine for whatever ails us. He is our peace, and we need to let him heal our hearts, so that we love from the place of his strength and reject anything and anyone that doesn’t love us from that place as well.■