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Author Topic: Present Faith in Jesus Frees Us from Worry  (Read 3747 times)
Janet Easson Martin
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« on: April 25, 2021, 04:09:59 pm »

Present Faith in Jesus Frees us from Worry



Now may the Lord of peace Himself grant you His peace (the peace of His kingdom) at all times and in all ways [under all circumstances and conditions, whatever comes]. The Lord [be] with you all.

Thessalonians 3:16   AMPC


Below is the link to an uplifting video on the mental descent of worrying; and the mental ascent of trusting, bringing peace and joy that are ours in Christ.  I remember quite vividly the transcending peace and joy of trusting Jesus for life’s problems when I was a young believer.  Oh the bliss...  I have experienced this level of trust various times and on various occasions, but I often get distracted and take my eyes off of Jesus.  Before long I might be overly concerned with the details of events that most wouldn’t even notice.  I believe Our Father desires his children to instead enjoy longer sustained periods of childlike trust - enjoying the moment.  It seems trusting Jesus lets us enjoy the day from an elevated view that he is in such wonderful control, rather than from the view of our own ability which rarely is enough.  Worry takes over.  Thoughts of not being enough, not pleasing others, saying the wrong thing, becoming impatient with the timing of all kinds of things.  So many things we cannot possibly control that we begin to loose the enjoyment of other people, places, and events.  Life even sometimes becomes a grind.  Let’s pray that we can have a point of view more like Jesus, who trusts the up and down issues of life to God rather than worry.

Jesus is THERE.  He can orchestrate, he can time - perfectly, he can give the spirit-led words, he knows exactly what is pleasing - to the Father.  HE IS ENOUGH.  R E S T.  In Him.


Video Link: Take It to God from GraceForPurpose is about 8 minute video.  It was followed by a long commercial at the end.  There is no continuance of the motivational message once the commercial starts.  (When I watched it the ad discussed a “breakthrough” chemical concoction that significantly increased mental capacity especially in old age.  I might actually want to look into that for myself - LOL.)  Anyhow, here’s the link:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=2faoBQ8JzSQ



Peace I leave with you; My [own] peace I now give and bequeath to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. [Stop allowing yourselves to be agitated and disturbed; and do not permit yourselves to be fearful and intimidated and cowardly and unsettled.]

John 14:27   AMPC



« Last Edit: May 26, 2021, 08:31:01 am by Janet Easson Martin » Logged

For grace is given not because we have done good works, but in order that we may be able to do them.        - Saint Augustine
Janet Easson Martin
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« Reply #1 on: May 18, 2021, 09:21:30 pm »

Present Faith Can Produce the Impossible


This morning I was reading in Matthew 21 and this phrase struck me: “but even if you should say to this mountain, ‘Be you taken away and be you cast into the sea,’ it will come to pass.” Jesus did teach in parables so I think an application of the “mountain” could be something that is impossible in human strength; but one believes would be in God’s will and bring glory to him and encourage men. Of course, I thought of a particular mountain to be removed.

Faith can accomplish far more than we can even imagine, and that is sometimes exactly what we should pray. There are so many hurts to be healed. Truth to be learned and better understood. Ruins to be restored. Jesus was emphatically motivating those disciples to truly believe God for the impossible activities that are desperately needed, not to show off “spiritual greatness” to gain praise from men. Next, he again implored them to have present Faith by promising, “And all things, as many as you might ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.”

I have pointed out this 1-1/2 minute video a few times before, but it doesn’t seem to get old. It is one of the most inspiring ones I have ever seen on faith and prayer.  Here is the link to “The Mustard Tree”:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=DSB_At4H8kA



He put before them another parable, saying:
“The kingdom of the heavens is like a grain of mustard seed,
which a man having taken, sowed in his field,
which indeed is smallest of all the seeds; but when it is grown,
it is greater than the garden plants, and becomes a tree...

Matthew 13:31,32


“...For truly I say to you, if you have faith as of a mustard seed,
you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move.
And nothing will be impossible for you.”

Matthew 17:20




« Last Edit: May 19, 2021, 06:54:42 am by Janet Easson Martin » Logged

For grace is given not because we have done good works, but in order that we may be able to do them.        - Saint Augustine
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« Reply #2 on: July 03, 2021, 10:05:22 pm »


Relax and Enjoy!



As I asked God to please instruct me in his path one morning this past week I said to Him, “I love you, too, Lord”. My heart was warmed and touched by rightly recalling his love for me “first”. I asked Him sincerely to guide my mind and heart toward his His loving and right ways (especially since they weren’t in that frame). After requesting this I read my short devotion for that day, and then ended up reading Proverbs 25. What I read in the little book, “Jesus Calling” prepared my heart for the loving and faithful instruction and correction that I sensed God was explaining to me through various verses in the Bible. Afterward, I felt the Holy Spirit almost “injected me” with meekness and a genuine desire to learn so that God could make me more like Christ.

I really wanted to share a couple very short portions of what I read because it met a deep need that often gets distracted in us. It is something we all desire and something Jesus so ardently desires for us. These truths are what Jesus thinks of us and cares about us based on scripture. Sarah Young has paraphrased in her own words in her devotional Jesus Calling as if Jesus were telling us Himself. These short portions below are taken from her July 1 entry:


“Let me show you my way for this day. I guide you continually so you can relax and enjoy My Presence in the present. ... Take a deep breath and dive into the depths of absolute trust in Me. Underneath are the everlasting arms!”


- Sarah Young, “Jesus Calling”




« Last Edit: July 03, 2021, 10:13:26 pm by Janet Easson Martin » Logged

For grace is given not because we have done good works, but in order that we may be able to do them.        - Saint Augustine
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« Reply #3 on: September 09, 2021, 08:20:42 pm »



Trusting in the Truth



https://images.app.goo.gl/PwDBCEPYEbrsz7hq9



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For grace is given not because we have done good works, but in order that we may be able to do them.        - Saint Augustine
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« Reply #4 on: February 04, 2022, 07:06:48 pm »


Carry Us Through



There are challenging things in life that we aren’t expecting. Unexpected enough that we definitely can’t navigate them on our own. They come out of left field as we sometimes say. We can’t even invent a plan to work out what seems to be trouble ahead. We start to worry. We start to play out the future. It doesn’t look promising.

When talking to God about these startling things, it seems he helps us come to the best solution —that He HAS to carry us through. We have no road map. We have no prior experience. Even if we have an inkling of wisdom, we don’t in ourselves possess the power to proceed. It must ALL be supplied to us. We must rest in Jesus’ arms to carry us through.

It seems so disappointing to have to face the challenge. We would’ve planned it differently. But, we forget how many times we ask Jesus to help us be closer to him. To help us to follow him better. To see him work his divine intervention. Here we stand at the entrance to the gate of those answers, but hesitate to enter in. Jesus so desires us to enter into his arms to embrace us. We fall onto his chest...and he...holds...us...and...carries...us...one step...at a time. We experience the closeness of his arms and the depth of his heart.


You, Lord, never fail to have pity on me;
your love and faithfulness always keeps me secure.

Psalm 40:11    CEV


The book below tells of the journey of Joseph and others and how God carried them through. Just the “Look Inside” pages on Amazon are uplifting if that is all you read of it. I plan to read this book to grasp more of this reoccurring theme throughout the Bible, and the real personal compassion and faithfulness of God to carry us through our unexpected situations.



Max Lucado Website, Book Description, God Will Carry You Through
 
https://maxlucado.com/products/god-will-carry-you-through/


Book on Amazon: “God Will Carry You Through” by Max Lucado

https://www.amazon.com/God-Will-Carry-You-Through/dp/1400323118/ref=sr_1_1?crid=WEZSAUOCV0QN&keywords=god+will+carry+you+through+max+lucado&qid=1644022985&s=books&sprefix=God+will+carry+you+through%2Cstripbooks%2C141&sr=1-1


Look Inside “God Will Carry You Through”

https://www.amazon.com/God-Will-Carry-You-Through/dp/1400323118/ref=sr_1_1?crid=WEZSAUOCV0QN&keywords=god+will+carry+you+through+max+lucado&qid=1644022985&s=books&sprefix=God+will+carry+you+through%2Cstripbooks%2C141&sr=1-1&asin=1400323118&revisionId=&format=4&depth=1


« Last Edit: February 04, 2022, 07:50:49 pm by Janet Easson Martin » Logged

For grace is given not because we have done good works, but in order that we may be able to do them.        - Saint Augustine
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« Reply #5 on: March 15, 2022, 10:13:23 am »


Abundant Life


I heard second hand from a former professor at Westminster Theological Seminary who had Sarah Young as a student that she is quite brilliant. He in no way agrees with some Pharisee-types who accuse her of biblical error. She and her husband are missionaries in Australia with the Presbyterian Church in America. Some of her intimacy with God comes out of chronic suffering and an ongoing battle with ill health. Her devotional books contain writings from her own journals as she drew close in utter dependence on Jesus in the midst of pain and suffering. Her uplifting words of encouragement are not mere “spiritual” platitudes, but from a deeper experience with Christ. She follows up her daily entries with pertinent scripture. She has lived what she writes.

Her writings invite us into a continual and more intimate dependence upon Jesus which is abundant life itself. Below is a brief excerpt from one of her daily devotionals in “Jesus Calling.”


... Abundant life...is living in continual dependence on Me. Instead of trying to fit this day into a preconceived mold, relax and be on the lookout for what I am doing. This mind-set will Free you to enjoy Me and to find what I have planned for you to do. This is far better than trying to make things go according to your own plan.

... Lighten up and laugh with Me. You have Me on your side, so what are you worried about? I can equip you to do anything, as long as it is My will. ...

- Sarah Young, “Jesus Calling”


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For grace is given not because we have done good works, but in order that we may be able to do them.        - Saint Augustine
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« Reply #6 on: April 21, 2022, 08:20:26 pm »

This Psalm was so personal and encouraging for those I dearly love going through extremely painful trials. God really does offer the most caring and protective shelter from pure terror. O, praise Him.


Psalm 91


1 Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High
    will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.[a]
2 I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress,
    my God, in whom I trust.”
3 Surely he will save you
    from the fowler’s snare
    and from the deadly pestilence.

4 He will cover you with his feathers,
    and under his wings you will find refuge;
    his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.
5 You will not fear the terror of night,
    nor the arrow that flies by day,
6 nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness,
    nor the plague that destroys at midday.

7 A thousand may fall at your side,
    ten thousand at your right hand,
    but it will not come near you.
8 You will only observe with your eyes
    and see the punishment of the wicked.

9 If you say, “The Lord is my refuge,”
    and you make the Most High your dwelling,
10 no harm will overtake you,
    no disaster will come near your tent.

11 For he will command his angels concerning you
    to guard you in all your ways;
12 they will lift you up in their hands,
    so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.
13 You will tread on the lion and the cobra;
    you will trample the great lion and the serpent.

14 “Because he loves me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue him;
    I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.
15 He will call on me, and I will answer him;
    I will be with him in trouble,
    I will deliver him and honor him.
16 With long life I will satisfy him
    and show him my salvation.”


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For grace is given not because we have done good works, but in order that we may be able to do them.        - Saint Augustine
Janet Easson Martin
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« Reply #7 on: December 24, 2023, 09:11:16 pm »


RELIANCE upon Jesus leads to REJOICING


As you go into the late hours of Christmas Eve and your preparations of trying to make a joyous celebration, remember the one who originated the season has much joy prepared for you. It is available through reliance upon his strength and his power —NOT our own. Cast yourself upon his care for you and all the concerns you have for your loved ones tomorrow. Praise him ahead of time for the wonders he will do (in his timing). Trust wholly in his promises and don’t rely on your own understanding.


God bless your Christmas this year!


‘Oh, Lord, the king rejoices as he relies upon your strength.

How great is his joy as he relies upon you
to give him victory’

Psalm 21


« Last Edit: December 24, 2023, 09:19:18 pm by Janet Easson Martin » Logged

For grace is given not because we have done good works, but in order that we may be able to do them.        - Saint Augustine
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