Pastor Stephen Dedman

Category: Encouragement

No Doubt

Encouragement, Faith, Trust

No Doubt

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

Casting out all fear and doubt

Satan uses tools of fear and doubt to keep us from doing extraordinary things.  God gives us power, love and a sound mind to do things that glorify Him.  But sometimes we limit God because of the fear and doubt we possess in our minds.

In Matthew 17:14-21 a man came to Jesus and begged for his son to be healed from demonic convulsions associated with epilepsy. Previously the man brought his son before the disciples but they couldn’t heal him. Immediately Jesus cast the demon out and the boy was healed. The disciples asked why they couldn’t cast it out and Jesus replied, “Because of your unbelief.”  He said if they had mustard seed-sized faith they could move mountains and nothing would be impossible for them. The problem wasn’t with their faith.  They had faith.  The problem was with their unbelief or doubt.  He gave them a solution: “this kind (of unbelief) does not go out except by prayer and fasting.” 

The devil plants seeds of doubt into our minds subconsciously and sometimes we are not aware of it.  We must protect our minds and be sure of what we are hearing and seeing is full of truth and not lies of Satan. Jesus said to fast and pray.  Fasting and praying starves the flesh of self desires and feeds our souls with the Spirit of God.

Is there anything ungodly that you should eliminate by fasting and praying?

Prayer

Pray in the Name of Jesus to have all fear, unbelief and doubt removed from your mind and replaced with God’s power, love and truth.

No Comparison

Encouragement, Trust

No Comparison

For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.
‭‭Romans‬ ‭8:18‬

Suffering Vs. Glory

Every Christian lives in the hope of glory to come.  The Holy Spirit fills our hearts with hope and the reality that one day we will be in the presence of Almighty God.  Because we all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, Jesus Christ restores us unto God with blessed assurance.  One day we will be made perfect and live eternally in Heaven with all the saints of God.  We shall see Jesus face-to-face.  That alone is enough to motivate us to anticipate the coming day of the Lord. Hallelujah!

But what about here and now, as we live on this earth?  We are not promised a life of luxury just because we are followers of Christ.  To say that a person is free from suffering and anguish because they trust Jesus is a false theology.  Perhaps when we do come to Christ in faith the sufferings and trials we face are more because the devil is trying hard to get us to stumble.  And the battle rages between good and evil.  That is why we are persecuted, mocked, and scorned for our faith in Christ.

Do you know that sufferings we face today will all fade away.  When we get to Heaven the glory we will receive outweighs the pain and suffering we endure here and now.  But here is the thing, we must keep the big picture in mind.  We are only here on this earth for a very short amount of time compared to eternity in Heaven.  James 4:14 says, “yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring.  What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.”

Prayer

Pray and ask God to give you a heaven bound mind.

God’s Compassion

Encouragement, Salvation

God’s Compassion

When Jesus saw him lying there and knew the he had already been there a long time, he said to him, Do you want to be healed?
John 5:6

Healed by Jesus

While in Jerusalem, Jesus walked by a man who had been paralyzed for 38 years.  Every day he would sit next to the Pool of Bethesda waiting for someone to pick him up and place him into the pool when it began to stir.  Foolishly, there was a well known superstition that supposedly an angel would stir the water and the first person to step into the pool would be healed of their disease.  For 38 years this man anticipated the day that he would be healed.  On this certain day Jesus walked up to him and asked if he wanted to be healed.  Instead of a yes or no answer the man gave an excuse that no one would help him into the water.  Jesus then told him to get up and pack up his bed and walk.  Instantly the man was healed and he walked away.

This miracle was the result of God’s great compassion.  The first thing to notice is the fact that this man could not save himself.  He had good intentions but he couldn’t do it on his own. He needed help and he needed a Savior.  Second, this man was chosen by Jesus.  In John 15:16 Jesus says, “You did not choose me, but I chose you…”  Thirdly, Jesus gave him new life.  For 38 years this man was stuck in unfavorable circumstances until Jesus came into his life and gave him hope.

Are you thankful for God’s compassion and saving grace in your life?

Prayer

Pray and thank God for sending His Son, Jesus, into this world to save you for giving you eternal life and hope.