In life, we will all encounter storms, hardships, setbacks, hurt and disappointments. There are no exceptions; nobody gets to live in this world and think that he or she will be immune to them. We should not think it strange when the storm is upon us, but we should be prepared for them. If you fail to prepare, you are preparing to fail. I am not sure who said this, but it holds true. You do not prepare for the storms of life while you are in them, you prepare before they even happen.

The Bible teaches us that we should prepare for them by doing the Word. In Matthew 7:24-27, the storms come to both of the men; the difference was that the one who did the Word of God was not consumed by the storm. The one who ignored and chose not to do the Word of God, failed and great was that failing. When we fail in life or falter during a tough time, it is not hard to see why. Yet we will blame or find fault somewhere else. However, the truth is that we just were not prepared for the storm. We know that storms are coming and will come. Most of the time in life, they just happen. Everything seems to be going well. Then out of the blue, here comes bad news. It does not mean that we won’t hurt or experience fear. What it does mean is that we won’t allow the hurt and fear to overwhelm us, especially to the point where we walk away from God. We will build our life’s foundation on the Word of God and be a doer of it. Then when the storm happens, we will be prepared to overcome.

Just A Thought,

PSS

Every one of us has a world view; Christians should have a biblical world view. A world view is how we see life. It’s what drives our decisions, actions and emotions. It is the framework from which we view reality and make sense of life and the world. According to David Noebel, a worldview is “any ideology, philosophy, theology, movement or religion that provides an overarching approach to understanding God, the world and man’s relation to God and the world.” A world view affects your response to every area of life, philosophy, science, theology, economics, law, politics, art and social order. It drives everything.

Del Tackett has explained that “Someone with a biblical world view believes his primary reason for existence is to love and serve God.” We must develop a biblical world view which is based on the infallible Word of God. When you believe the Bible is entirely true, then you allow it to be the foundation of everything you say and do. When you have a biblical world view, the Bible and its teachings govern your life. Again, a world view encompasses every area – you can’t leave any facet out. Our world view tells us how to spend and deal with our money. It will even tell us how we should vote. We can no longer sit back and continue to vote for people who oppose the Scriptures. We should vote our biblical world view, for whatever candidate believes more closely to the Bible. If a candidate believes in abortion, homosexuality, or believes that getting into debt is a good thing, we should never vote for them.

Too many people think that being a Christian is picking and choosing what part of the Bible to believe in or not to believe. A biblical world view says that every area of my life and the decisions that I make will line up with the Word of God. What is your world view? Is it worldly or do you have a biblical world view? You get to decide.

Just A Thought,

PSS

The Bible teaches in John 5:19 that if you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. Are Christians (believers) real believers? There are far too many people who are believers in word only. Their deeds would tell you another story. We must be real believers in our words and deeds. Our actions will always affect our true hearts.

As true believers, we no longer belong to the world; we now belong to God’s Kingdom. The world will hate you. The “world” refers to the world’s philosophies, its systems, and its way of acting and living. Because we believe what God’s Word teaches and purpose to act and live accordingly, it goes in direct opposition to what the world believes is right and acceptable. The Truth is confrontational and either you believe it or you don’t. There is no middle ground; you are either all in, or you are not in at all. Being a believer doesn’t mean that we are not growing, developing our faith, and trusting in God. We will make mistakes, but the flow of our lives is to God and His ways. When you take a stand for truth, you will be attacked for it, made fun of, called old fashion, a racist, a hater, or a trouble maker. This happens because the world and those who are one with it, does not want any light shed on their sin. They need to be told that they are wrong, told that they need to repent and receive Jesus as Savior and Lord, or perish.

As the day approaches, we need to continue getting ready and count it joy when we experience trials and tribulation. We need to stay focused and endure like a good soldier, never faint, and never feel like we are alone. Greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world. When you have done all you know to do, stand!

Just a Thought,

PSS

Winston Churchill once said, “You have enemies? Good. That means that you’ve stood up for something sometime in your life.” There are times in our lives when we have to stand up for something. If you never stand for something you will fall for anything. We must submit our feelings and emotions to God’s authority. If we do not, we will be moved by every philosophy that comes our way. As Christians, we have been bullied long enough by the social media. We have been bullied to be silent and to sit on the sidelines when it comes to important issues. If we dare to speak up, the media will bad mouth us and paint us to look like fools. We have to be strong and stand up for God’s Word. We cannot be so concerned about what others think of us or whether or not they like us. We can no longer hide our faith. We are called to let our light shine so that the whole world can see it.

If we are to please God with our lives, then let us be His friend. Being friends with the world is to be God’s enemy. Truth is good news every time. What is popular is not always right and what is right is not always popular.

Just a Thought,

PSS

Have you ever thought about atheism within the church? Atheism is the doctrine that there is no deity (God). A person who denies or disbelieves the existence of a supreme being is an atheist; basically, it is a person who doesn’t believe that God exists. Now think about people, maybe even ourselves, who come to church. They might even give some of their time to serving others, but they compartmentalize the rest of their lives. To really believe in God means to believe in His Word (the Bible) and to purpose to act on it. I have heard of this term “sexual atheist”; now think about the 63% of people who attend church and will either plan on or will have sex outside of marriage and believe that it’s ok when God’s Word says that it’s absolutely wrong. What does that say for people who claim that they believe in God, come to church, but think it is ok to indulge in sex before marriage? How about the people who attend church and profess to believe God but yet year after year they don’t give their tithe or give offerings? I think the term “financial atheist” would be appropriate. You believe in God until you either want to do something or don’t want to do something.

Nobody is perfect, but to knowingly go against God and His Word is a very dangerous place to be. To compartmentalize our lives, to separate them based on our own desires, to ignore God, and to categorize my life in such a way that permits me to live a double life, is not what God wants or desires. It’s dangerous ground. Let’s be people who believe in God in every area of our lives. Luke 6:46-49

Just a Thought,

PSS