So watch this short devotional video on “God Never Gives Up on Us “
Isaiah 40:31
But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.
The whole New Testament from Matthew to Revelation, all 27 books has a focus and that focus is Jesus Christ. So Jesus Christ is the focus of the last book of the Bible, the book called “Revelation”.
Everyone loves a happy ending to any story, and the last book of the Bible tells a happy engine where all evil and sickness is dealt with and God is on the throne ruling over the earth. God finishes the Bible in a happy way.
So watch this short video on “Jesus as the focus of Revelation”
It is called Revelation because the book is a revelation of Jesus Christ throughout the ages till the end of the world where He comes again.
The book of Revelation is a conclusion to the whole Bible. The focus of this book is Jesus Christ. The key verse is the first verse – Rev 1:1 “The revelation of Jesus Christ…”
At the end, all evil is conquered. All evil is thrown into the eternal trash can called the lake of fire. Those who follow evil also end up in the trash.
God is on the throne in a heavenly city, the New Jerusalem. God’s people, who believe in Jesus, will live with Him in this city for eternity and be a part of the eternal happy ending. Again this book’s focus is Jesus Christ. Revelation begins with Christ and ends with Jesus as the Lamb of God on the throne, a happy ending.
Faith always encourages us and moves us forward. Fear causes us to slow down, stop and go into paralysis mode making us afraid to do anything.
So watch this short video on “Replace fear with FAITH”
When we go to pray we need to drop the fear and have faith in God.
Even when the sun goes down and the clouds come in – replace fear with Faith
Courage means to keep making forward progress while you still feel afraid.
So turn fear into FAITH and replace fear with FAITH. Don’t let fear and anxiety take over.
2 Timothy 1:7 God has not given us a spirit of fear. God has given us a spirit of power, and love and a sound mind. Fear makes our mind go into confusion.
Faith Energizes Us
Only accept a healthy relationship with the Lord, realizing He loves us and cares for us. Consider the verse in Proverbs “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom”.
Don’t let fear stop you.
Some see giants and some look at the same situation and see grasshoppers (we are well able to overcome them)
Beautiful Columbia River
Faith always encourages us and moves us forward.
1 John 4:18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.
Psalm 23:4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me
Isa 41:10Fear thou not; for I am with thee:
be not dismayed; for I am thy God:
I will strengthen thee;
yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness
Here are three key verses in the Bible showing us how God helps us pray. Even Elijah the great prophet in the Old Testament was weak like us, and many times had trouble knowing how to pray. In James 5, James describes Elijah as a man with “like passions” which means he has feelings and weaknesses like us. So don’t feel bad when you or I feel like we don’t know how to pray, or even don’t want to pray. Elijah had very similar feelings.
In this video I present three key verses in the Bible indicating how God helps us pray.
John 15:7
If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.
Romans 8:26
Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.
Hebrews 7:25
Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.
If we are honest, we all have to admit that we have a problem with anxiety. Some, obviously, are more prone to worry than others. It seems that no matter how many problems God solves for us, there is always another problem on the back burner that we can bring to the forefront of our mind and start worrying about. Paul provides a wonderful antidote to this frustrating problem in Philippians 4:6, Be anxious about nothing; but in everything, by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God (by prayer); and the peace of God, which surpasses our understanding, shall guard your hearts and your thoughts by Christ Jesus.
Here is a video in which I shared on this subject.
Paul frequently addresses this issue in the Bible because he understands how easily believers can become anxious and worried. Life is full of challenges and problems. God often allows these problems to come into our lives to humble us, to test what is in our hearts, and to encourage us to turn to Him in trusting prayer.
We have a volitional decision to make. We can choose to worry or we can choose to pray. Prayer takes us into God’s presence, and results in peace of mind as we acknowledge that not only is He able, but He will always bring about the best result for His glory, and for the development of our character. When we choose to keep our eyes on the problem instead of on God, the result is continuing anxiety, restlessness, and discouragement. Paul had to keep reminding his audience, “Let your requests be made known to God”. In other words, we should always remember to pray. Prayer should be our first resort when we face troubles of any kind. Our heavenly Father delights in our prayers, and promises to hear them. These are very encouraging truths from God’s Word.
Statue of Elijah on Mount Carmel where Elijah Prayed in Israel
ELIJAH:
Had great confidence in God, and was not intimated by enemies
Did, at times, become depressed and discouraged
Believed in the one true God of the Bible and rejected all other gods
Obeyed God
Performed miracles in God’s power
Offered prayer that brought fire down from heaven and controlled the rain
Prayed in accordance with God’s will
Was a true servant of the Lord
Did not have his own agenda
Followed God’s leadingstep-by-step
Was an example of a righteous man whose prayers God heard
It is important to remember that the power of prayer comes not from the one who prays, or from the way he or she prays. The power of prayer is in the omnipotent God to whom prayer is directed. God is the power behind prayer. Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and yet he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and it did not rain on the earth for three and a half years. He prayed again, and a faithful God gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit.
Jezreel Valley north of Mount Carmel where Elijah Prayed in Israel
Later we will discuss the parallel between the Lord’s Prayer and Elijah’s ministry, and also examine a quick history of Elijah in the Old Testament.
God sometimes seems to us to be quiet or hidden. Many of us would prefer a very visible God, but God is Spirit, and often works in wonderfully hidden ways. We can’t always see what He is doing. Occasionally we may experience a big miracle by God’s power like Elijah did, but most of the time there are no miracles, big or small.
Priest Lake, Idaho
Do you remember the Lord Jesus in the gospels? There we saw Him perform many dramatic miracles, but consider how many people were not touched by Him with miraculous healing, or how many He simply passed by. The truth is, God does not always work by means of miracles.
You might recall that Israel was very callous toward God in Elijah’s day. They ignored God’s Word and worshipped the idols of the pagan peoples among whom they lived. God jealousy desired for His people to respond to Him by faith but He occasionally did miracles through prophets like Elijah and others to prove these prophets were His spokesmen. God wanted to win the hearts of His wayward people. The miracles were God’s gracious warning of impending judgment for continued disobedience.
California Beach
Elijah performed many miracles by God’s power, but he was still very human. There were times he was fearful, and felt alone and weak. Wow, does sound like us sometimes! These human frailties, however, did not hinder Elijah from remaining faithful in ministry, nor did they keep him from following His God day-in-and-day out.
California Beach
God is God, and Elijah is Elijah! What does that mean? God knows we are human, and He mercifully reaches out to us as He did to Elijah and the people of Israel. God wants us to live by means of faith as we depend upon His strength and wisdom every day, especially when He allows trials to come our way. He has a loving purpose for these trials as He shapes our character to be more and more like our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.
