Back in 2012, when our Oldest literally went ‘viral’ in her rebellion, the heart of this Mother fell into a ‘deep depression,’ and to be honest, I do not think I have ever ‘recovered from’ it, even to this day. Just today, I found my little notebook that I would ‘feverishly write in’ that year whenever I had some free time at work. It helped so much to write scripture, quotes, and sayings that pertained to what I was going through.

This whole heartbreaking process has been more than a journey; it has been a life-altering experience to put it mildly. For those who may be going through the same or something similar, I thought I would share my notes in a series of articles to hopefully be a comfort or some type of help in a time of such emotional need. Throughout this process, I found God’s Word to be a type of a ‘healing balm’ to my soul, so here goes my friends.

(This piece is mostly scripture from the NIV that I ‘read at the time’ that I felt pertained to what I was going through, with a personal note at the end. Just ‘rewriting’ by typing this all out reminds me of those ‘rough first years’ and ministers to me all over again. Hope this can help someone in some way too.

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Father, thank You for the boundaries of life that protect us from sin and from ourselves. Give us the wisdom and grace to respond gratefully to Your Word in areas of danger and temptation. – Our Daily Bread

“I love those who love me, and those who seek me find me.”

In the midst of his plenty, distress will overtake him; the full force of misery will come upon him. When he has filled his belly, God will vent his burning anger against him and rain down his blows on him. Though he flees from an iron weapon, a bronze-tipped arrow pierces him. He pulls it out of his back, the gleaming point out of his liver. Terrors will come over him; total darkness lies in wait for his treasures. A fire unfanned will consume him and devour what is left in his tent. The heavens will expose his guilt; the earth will rise up against him. A flood will carry off his house, rushing waters on the day of God’s wrath. Such is the fate God allots the wicked, the heritage appointed for them by God” (Job 20:22-29).

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“The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still” (Exodus 14:14).

“For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all” (2 Cor. 4:17).

The father of a righteous child has great joy; a man who fathers a wise son rejoices in him. May your father and mother rejoice; may she who gave you birth be joyful!” (Proverbs 23:24-25).

“Do not gloat when your enemies fall; when they stumble, do not let your heart rejoice, or the Lord will see and disapprove and turn his wrath away from them” (Prov. 24:17-18).

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“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build, a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance, a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain, a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away, a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak, a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace” (Eccl. 3:1-8).

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I have seen something else under the sun: The race is not to the swift or the battle to the strong, nor does food come to the wise or wealth to the brilliant or favor to the learned; but time and chance happen to them all. Moreover, no one knows when their hour will come: As fish are caught in a cruel net, or birds are taken in a snare, so people are trapped by evil times that fall unexpectedly upon them” (Eccl. 9:11-12).

“For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil” (Eccl. 12:14).

“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. All who rage against you will surely be ashamed and disgraced; those who oppose you will be as nothing and perish. Though you search for your enemies, you will not find them. Those who wage war against you will be as nothing at all. 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 41:10-13).

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“Even to your old age and gray hairs I am he, I am he who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you” (Isaiah 46:4).

“See, I am against you, you arrogant one,” declares the Lord, the Lord Almighty, ‘for your day has come, the time for you to be punished. The arrogant one will stumble and fall and no one will help her up; I will kindle a fire in her towns that will consume all who are around her.’ This is what the Lord Almighty says” (Jer. 50:31-33).

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“Furthermore, just as they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, so God gave them over to a depraved mind, so that they do what ought not to be done. They have become filled w/ every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant, and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; they have no understanding, no fidelity, no love, no mercy. Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them” (Romans 1:28-32).

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“But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God’s wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed. God ‘will repay everyone according to what they have done.’ To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life. But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger. There will be trouble and distress for every human being who does evil: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile; but glory, honor, and peace for everyone who does good: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. For God does not show favoritism” (Romans 2:1-11).

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“But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Jesus Christ. God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood – to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished – he did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus” (Romans 3:21-26).

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“Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance, perseverance, character, and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us” (Romans 5:1-5). 

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Dear Candy,

I want you to know you’re a Child of God first and foremost, and God’s Holy Spirit is with you and in you. You have tried with everyone, and it’s not your fault when they make choices that cause broken relationships. Their choices are not your fault. They have free will and choose to do things that are not in line with God’s Word. You choose to honor God; and the only opinion that matters is Abba Father God’s opinion. In all things don’t be anxious but pray and know that Jesus is with you every step of the way.

With some like your parents, you will have to love them from a distance. With some like your children, you will have to pray spiritual warfare prayers for them. With some like your in-laws and relatives, you have to choose to forgive and give them over to God. Don’t listen to the lies of the enemy, the accuser of the brethren, the enemy of our souls… everything is not your fault. Jesus died to save you, and His Blood covers all your sins.

He loves you with an everlasting love. You are forgiven, dearly beloved, redeemed, justified, and soon will be glorified in Heaven with your Abba Father forever. Choose to forgive and pray for your enemies and all the loved ones that persecute you.

(I am with you every step of the way and I will never leave you nor forsake you. I love you with an everlasting love. Keep watch, pray always that you be accounted worthy to escape all the things to come and to stand before the Son of Man.)  

Maranatha!  In Jesus Name, Amen!

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Looking back on my notes, I remember this as a time when I could not bring myself to pray for my enemies; and if I did pray for them, it was as the prayers of King David asking God to bring ‘swift justice’ upon them! Now I realize this scripture to be true for me in my life (Psalm 119:71 “It is good for me that I have been afflicted; that I might learn thy statutes.”) Like I said at the beginning, this process has been more than a journey; it has been a life-altering experience in growing in Grace through immense internal suffering.

My prayer is that this may help someone in a time of emotional need like it did me. In Jesus Christ’s Name, Amen. Finally, an excerpt that spoke to me from the ‘Prince of Preachers’ notes that I read recently during our Bible Study that I would like to share as well.

KJV Charles Spurgeon Study Bible Notes

1 Samuel 30:6 “And David was greatly distressed; for the people spake of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and for his daughters: but David encouraged himself in the LORD his God.”

Study Notes Excerpt:

“If there is anything in this world for which I would bless him more than for anything else, it is for pain and affliction. I am sure that in these things the richest, most tender love has been manifested toward me. Love letters from heaven are often sent in black-edged envelopes. The cloud that is black with horror is big with mercy. – Charles Spurgeon

Until next time… Maranatha!

JESUS = THE WAY, THE TRUTH, & THE LIFE!

Jesus Will Come!

 

REMINDER

The damning sin of unbelief—Unbelief is the sin of the world from which men must repent to escape eternal damnation. God saves all those who repent (turn) from their unbelief and believe in their hearts the gospel of Jesus Christ (1Corinthians 15:3-4; Romans 10:9; Acts 16:31). When John the Baptist saw Jesus coming unto him, he announced: “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin [singular] of the world” (John 1:29). The Lord Jesus emphasized this truth when he declared: “He that believeth on him [the Son of God] is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God” (John 3:18).

Before the Lord Jesus was crucified on the cross, he told his apostles that after his crucifixion, resurrection, and return to heaven, he would send the “Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost” (John 14:26), unto them and into the world, “And when he is come, he will reprove [charge, convince, condemn] the world of sin [singular], and of righteousness, and of judgment: Of sin [singular], because they believe not on me” (John 16:8-9). The scripture says, “but now once in the end of the world hath he [Jesus Christ] appeared to put away sin [singular] by the sacrifice of himself” (Hebrews 9:26).

Jesus declared: “He that believeth on me hath everlasting life” (John 6:47). Therefore “repentance to salvation” is a once in a lifetime operation, “not to be repented of” (2Corinthians 7:10). At the time of their “Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever” (1Peter 1:23), God imputes [sets to their account] “Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe” (Romans 3:22; 4:11, 22-25; 9:30; 10:6; Philippians 3:9) “without works” (Romans 4:6).

Eternal life through faith—Justification is the ‘act of free grace by which God pardons the sinner and accepts him as righteous, on account of the atonement of Christ’ (Noah Webster, 1828). After his glorious resurrection the Lord Jesus, as our “great high priest” (Hebrews 4:14), by “his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us” (Hebrews 9:12). Therefore, the justification of believers “is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all” (Romans 4:16).

All born-again Bible believers—whom the Lord calls his sheep, can be sure that they have eternal life! The Lord Jesus said, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand” (John 10:27-28; Titus 1:2; Romans 6:23; Ephesians 2:8).

SEPARATED TO FELLOWSHIP

Walking with the Lord—The LORD asked the children of Israel, “Can two walk together, except they be agreed?” (Amos 3:3). No one can have fellowship with the Lord unless he is walking in the light of his word (Psalm 119:130).

In his first epistle to born-again believers, John the apostle declared: “This then is the message which we [believers] have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say that we [believers] have fellowship [walk together] with him [God], and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another [fellowship among brothers and sisters in Christ], and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1John 1:5-9).

Continual repentance required—After being saved by God’s grace though faith, believers are commanded to repent “of the uncleanness and fornication and lasciviousness which they have committed” (2Corinthians 12:21); of holding false doctrine (Revelation 2:16); and of “adultery” (Revelation 2:21-22). These cases involve turning from evil works to good works. In his letter to the church at Ephesus, the Lord said: “Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent” (Revelation 2:5; 3:3). In his letter to the church of the Laodiceans, the Lord said: “As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent” (Revelation 3:19).

Since being born again (1Peter 1:23), I do not remember one day in over forty-one years that I lived without committing sin either by having foolish thoughts (Proverbs 24:9), or a sinful imagination that I needed to confess to the Lord and from which I needed to repent. It is generally true that newborn Christians commit many things during the early days of their salvation: things that they will later learn from reading, studying, and meditating on the word of God, are sins against the Lord. The scripture is very clear that no man on earth today is without sin: “For there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not” (Ecclesiastes 7:20); and: “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us” (1John 1:8). Therefore, repentance for fellowship is an ongoing need in the lives of all believers.

A prison inmate who was a habitual criminal once told me that after he committed his robberies and thefts, he always confessed his sins! In ignorance this man believed that God continued to forgive him even as he continued to rob and steal. But the scripture declares that confessing sins to God without repenting of them is foolish: “He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy” (Proverbs 28:13). To forsake sin means to repent and turn away from sin.

Forgiveness springs out of God’s mercy—Forgiveness is a stem out of the root of God’s great mercy, for which cause the LORD forgives iniquity and transgression (Numbers 14:18-19; Daniel 9:9): “For thou, Lord, art good, and ready to forgive; and plenteous in mercy unto all them that call upon thee” (Psalm 86:5): “The LORD is nigh unto all them that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth” (Psalm 145:18). Therefore, when we confess our sins to God in truth, we will do so with a sorrowful and repentant heart. Only then will the Lord “forgive us our sins” and “cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1John 1:9).

TWO YOKES

Definition—A yoke is: ‘A piece of timber, hollowed or made curving near each end, and fitted with bows for receiving the necks of oxen; by which means two are connected for drawing [plows or other instruments of work]’ (Noah Webster, 1828). Therefore, being under a yoke signifies bearing a burden under bondage. The LORD referred to those who were captive servants of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon as having “their neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon” (Jeremiah 27:8). Later, the LORD promised to “break the yoke of the king of Babylon” and deliver “all the captives of Judah” (Jeremiah 28:2-4)

The unbearable yoke of the law—The law of Moses is a yoke of bondage which no natural man can keep. Only one man, the only begotten Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ who was “in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin” (Hebrews 4:15), kept the law perfectly! Any other man who trusts in the law to earn God’s justification is under a curse (Galatians 3:10-11). Because no natural man can keep every law of God (Galatians 3:10-14; 4:21-31; 5:1-4).

When some of the believing Pharisees said that the Gentile believers should be commanded to keep the law of Moses (Acts 15:1-9), the apostle Peter rose up and rehearsed to them what had happened when he preached the gospel to Cornelius and those in his house. Peter testified how that God had put no difference between the Jews and the Gentiles, “purifying their hearts by faith. Now therefore why tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear? But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as they” (Acts 15:10-11).

The Lord’s easy yoke—The Lord Jesus gives the invitation: “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:28-30). The yoke of Jesus Christ is easy, because “we are labourers together with God: ye are God’s husbandry, ye are God’s building” (1Corinthians 3:9). The Spirit of Christ, who has all power in heaven and in earth (Matthew 28:18), is in us (Romans 8:9; Colossians 1:27) working “both to will and to do of his good pleasure” (Philippians 2:13).

SUMMARY

Repentance and work—In a general sense, work means ‘to move, or to move one way and the other; to perform…to act…carry on operations…to labor; to be occupied in performing manual labor’ (Noah Webster, 1828).

Do works AFTER turning to God—During his answer before king Agrippa and others, the apostle Paul testified how the Lord Jesus told him that he was sending him to the Gentiles “To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me” (Acts 26:18). Paul continued: “Whereupon, O king Agrippa, I was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision: But shewed first unto them of Damascus, and at Jerusalem, and throughout all the coasts of Judaea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance” (Acts 26:19-20).

Saved without work—The scriptures make it abundantly clear that “repentance to salvation” (2Corinthians 7:10) is not associated with any ‘work’ on man’s part: “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9; Romans 11:6). The scripture also declares: “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost” (Titus 3:5).

Saved to work—All “the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:26) “are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10). For this reason believers are commanded, “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure” (Philippians 2:12-13).