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Glory to God in the highest, in the name of our precious Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Sundie Morning Sistas Magazine

Turning Sadness into Joy! Copyright ©2023. All rights reserved. No part or portion of this publication may be reproduced without the express, written permission of Sundie Morning Sistas. Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked (KJV) are taken from The Authorized Version or King James Version (KJV), 1611, 1769. Outside of the United Kingdom, the KJV is in the public domain. Within the United Kingdom, the rights to the KJV are vested in the Crown. Scripture quotations marked "NKJV™" are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Sundie Morning Sistas Magazine, Copyright © 2023 Web sites: www.sundiemorningsistas.org www.smsmemberservices.com www.sundiemorningsistas.com

CONTENTS Encouragement and Inspiration for Today's Christian Woman Letter from the Editor

For Your Spirit FEATURE: Turning Sadness into Joy!

Love God and Be Committed to His Purpose

Introduced to the Light

For Your Soul Strength in Times of Uncertainty

Intentional Behavior Towards God’s Blessing

For Your Heart Your Heart’s Treasure

Scripture Focus

About SMS Membership

Rev. Fran Mack, Editor in Chief Kim Times, PM Brown, Editors The publisher does not assume responsibility for errors, omissions, and changes in advertising or editorial material. Entire contents are copyrighted and no portion may be reproduced in whole or in part by any means without specific written permission of the publisher. Sundie Morning Sistas Copyright ©2023 All rights reserved.

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ur Heavenly Father is brilliant beyond brilliance, magnificent beyond magnificence, and perfect beyond perfection. Everything He does is good and perfect, and this is the truth of His being and nature! If we begin every endeavor and look at every problem from the perspective of God’s omnipotence, majesty, holiness, and tremendous love for us all, we will see that victory in Christ is woven throughout all that He has created. We will see ourselves in the image of Christ and lay hold of God’s promises, no matter the obstacle. Jesus Christ tells us in John 10:10(NKJV), "The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” This more than abundant life that Jesus Christ has provided is available to all who will believe in him and accept it. This is Good News indeed! In John 10:10, our blessed Lord did not keep it a secret that we have an enemy, the devil, and he has an objective which is to kill, steal, and destroy. We should never be afraid and live in fear over the tricks and plots of the enemy. 2Timothy 1:7(NKJV) declares, “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” Fear does not come from God, and He doesn’t want us quaking in our boots for any reason, because He is our strength and refuge, and we should never be afraid. In John 10:10, our Master Jesus is teaching us about the two realms that exist, the one that belongs to his Heavenly Father and the other that is under satan. Life is continually presenting us with situations that position us to choose between the two. When we are confused about our victory in Christ and about the more than abundant life that God has made available through our powerful Savior, sadness can take root and form in our hearts. We can become overwhelmed by life and resist the faith necessary to reach out and grab what God has in store. Having faith in God is not a burden. Having faith in Him is the antidote for all our sadness, anxieties, and fears. Faith is what sustains our victory, and it deepens intimacy in our relationship with God. This issue of the Sundie Morning Sistas Magazine is titled, “Turning Sadness into Joy!” The reality that God has made a way for us to do just that—to turn sadness into joy—should be celebrated every day! Because of what He has accomplished through the sacrifice and resurrection of Jesus Christ, we can accept the Lord into our hearts and have joy anchored deep within. We pray that “Turning Sadness into Joy!” will help you renew your mind to the goodness of our Great Big Wonderful God, so that your life is transformed and full of His light, peace, love, and joy! Lovingly In Christ,

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Reverend Fran Mack, President and Founder, SMS

PS: Thank you for your continued prayers and support! "Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us." Romans 8:37(NKJV)

“Turning Sadness into Joy!” Continued

“It is important for us to understand that before Adam and his wife,

Eve, ate from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, they only had knowledge of good. They had fellowship and communion with God who is only good and good all the time.”

n the tenth grade, Meela fell in love for the first time, and fell hard. She was obsessed with Charles. The problem was that he didn’t feel the same way. Her obsession was so intense that she was failing almost all her classes, and her mother had to try and rein her in. With his band practices and class schedule memorized, Meela was a fixture on the wall outside all his comings and goings. Charles sang in church and had a voice like an angel. Musically gifted and self-taught on several instruments, he was one of the greatest musical talents his school had ever seen, and he was no stranger to the swooning of teenage girls. A grade above her, Charles was kindhearted and flattered by Meela’s attention. He was fine with it at first, but she didn’t stop. He thought purposely being attentive to his new girlfriend in front of Meela would end it, but she continued to follow him everywhere. Even the teasing and mean comments from her classmates didn’t deter her obsession. The school became concerned about Meela’s mental state, and when her mother transferred her to another school as a last resort, she spiraled into deep sadness.

Is sadness a choice, or is it an automatic response? Is it lying deep within, waiting for the right set of circumstances to make an appearance and stop the show, or is it the easiest go-to emotion when things in our lives go wrong? To answer those questions and obtain a greater understanding of sadness, we must examine how it got its start. In the Old Testament, in the first few chapters of the Book of Genesis, God provides us with a record of His incomparable and magnificent creative power. He first created a marvelous place for humans to inhabit, and then He created the first human being, Adam. He gave Adam specific instructions that would keep him in fellowship with our Heavenly Father and thereby optimize his existence on earth. He also commanded Adam regarding what not to do. God told him not to eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. 7

“Turning Sadness into Joy!” Continued

Genesis 2:16-17(NLT) tells us, “16 But the LORD God warned him, "You may freely eat the fruit of every tree in the garden-- 17 except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If you eat its fruit, you are sure to die." It is important for us to understand that before Adam and his wife, Eve, ate from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, they only had knowledge of good. They had fellowship and communion with God who is only good and is good all the time. The first couple made a colossal mistake when they bowed to the devil. They believed his lies over God’s instruction and warning and this caused them to lose everything. Romans 5:12(NLT) says, “When Adam sinned, sin entered the world. Adam's sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned.” Our Heavenly Father gave Adam and Eve everything, and again, they only had knowledge of all things good. Because of their disobedience, they entered satan’s realm of all things bad. They entered the realm of sin and darkness and took everyone born after them along for this tragic ride. So, sadness came in the door when sin did, and it is a product of not trusting and believing God’s Word.

were undone and all the blessings that were given to us as a result of what God accomplished through Christ. Our Redeemer and Savior opened the door and invited us to the Father’s everlasting feast, and it will take us an eternity to enjoy all of it. Jesus Christ said in John 10:10(NKJV), “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” Our Heavenly Father doesn’t want us waiting on eternity to live the more than abundant life, He wants us to live it right now! It’s not something that has to wait until the great by and by. We can enjoy the fullness of all that Christ accomplished this very moment! The question we have to ask ourselves is why don’t we? Sadness is commonly described as unhappiness due to the loss of a valued person, failure to achieve a goal, or a loss of control or sense of empowerment. Some of us are not currently experiencing any of those situations. Nothing is threatening us, yet we still feel quite sad. We’re continually in the aftermath of something that is no longer a part of our current reality. This means that our minds are running a program of sadness as a way of responding to life, and we need to do all we can to stop that program and run the one that God gave us through Christ.

ecause of their sin, Adam and Eve lost their connection to God; they lost the holiness He had given them. When sin entered the picture, so did shame, sadness, sickness, and all the other conditions that can undermine our faith. If we allow them, these can weigh us down and keep us separated from the blessings of God. This isn’t what He wants for anyone. Our Heavenly Father sent His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to the earth to take care of our sin issue. 1Timothy 2:6(NLT) says, “He gave his life to purchase freedom for everyone. This is the message God gave to the world at just the right time.” Jesus gave his life on the cross as a sacrifice for our sins, and his perfect blood cleansed our sin for all eternity. This was God’s plan to redeem us! It was His way to purchase us back from the slavery of sin, darkness, and death. Because of His infinite mercy and grace, our Heavenly Father made a way through Jesus Christ to restore our relationship with Him. Because of this, we can have joy continually! Romans 5:6(NLT) tells us, “When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners.” Through Christ, our Heavenly Father has saved us! He has made salvation available! It is impossible to state all the evils that 8

“Turning Sadness into Joy!” Continued

“We are not powerless when it comes to changing the program of sadness to one of joy.” We should also know that there are varying degrees of sadness, ranging from simply having a bad day to feeling like there’s a dark cloud continually looming over our heads, following us everywhere we go. There are also other off-shoot feelings and emotions that might come along with sadness as well. So, staying in a sad place for too long can invite some cousins we don’t want to see. We need to know and be confident that we can refuse to let them in. We are not powerless when it comes to changing the program of sadness to one of joy. Philippians 4:13 tells us that we can do all things through Christ who gives us strength, and this

applies to every aspect of our existences, including taking authority over our emotions and thoughts. A multitude of theories and psychological studies on sadness are out there, and there are also millions of opinions on the subject, but the reality is that whether it’s involuntary, evoked, chosen, or hidden deep within, sadness has become habitual for many of us. We must ask ourselves if our actions, conversations, feelings, and attitudes make it worse. Because her first love experience with Charles ended in rejection and devastating heartbreak, Meela attached sadness to love. This led to all kinds of misses and issues in her relationship with men as an adult. Most of her relationships have ended in sadness, and she feels she’s in a vicious negative cycle that she can’t get out of. God’s Word tells us the truth about this negative cycle. It tells us that we can rejoice because it was broken by our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, when he gave his life on the cross to save us! We must trust this with all that we are. He said in John 14:1(NLT), “Don't let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me.” This is a dose of joy directly into our sadness. If we will take it, lean on God, and be willing to change a few things, He promises to turn our sadness into joy!

“Turning Sadness into Joy!” Continued

e have the promise of God! Why is that not enough for us? Numbers 23:19 (NLT) reminds us that “God is not a man, so he does not lie. He is not human, so he does not change his mind. Has he ever spoken and failed to act? Has he ever promised and not carried it through?” Human beings lie, but God never does. When He says something, there is no greater truth to be spoken on the subject. He is one hundred and fifty trillion percent faithful to the infinite degree, and He never goes back on His promises. We must believe this more than we believe our sadness. Meela’s response to hearing this was, “I want to believe it, but it’s hard for me. I just feel so bad all the time.” Sadness is an emotion, and emotions are a bit different than feelings. Feelings come and go, and they are more of a conscious choice to respond

in a certain way. Emotions can be a conscious choice and they can also come out of nowhere, seemingly out of our control. God made emotions a part of our makeup, and He created us with the capacity to express feelings, but He never intended for emotions and feelings to sit in the government seat of our lives. It’s not His Will for emotions and feelings to dictate who or how we will be from one minute to the next. It is important that we understand the gifts of God and how we are to behave towards them. We have received the authority and power of Jesus Christ, and we were given these treasures to employ and operate within the earth. This means that we can take authority over our emotions according to the truth that God has spoken in His Word. 2Timothy 1:7 (NIV) tells us, “For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love 10

and self-discipline.” These are the goodies that God has given us; power, love, and self-control, and they are delivered to us by the Holy Spirit that dwells within. The Holy Spirit empowers us! He does not make us shy or by Rev. Fran Mack ashamed. He floods us with God’s love and helps us to live successfully through God’s Word. Jesus Christ said in John 16:13 (NLT), “When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own but will tell you what he has heard. He will tell you about the future.” Do you believe this? Do you believe that God will only lead you to the truth and that the truth of your identity is glorious because you are in Christ? Do you believe that the Holy Spirit will continually guide you to new revelation and help you go higher and higher in the things of God? He will if you will allow him.

“Turning Sadness into Joy!” Continued

esus Christ told the Jewish leader, Nicodemus, in John 3:3,5(NLT), “3 I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God. 5 I assure you, no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit. 6 Humans can reproduce only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives birth to spiritual life.” As adorable as we may have been, we are spiritually dead to God when we come out of our mother’s wombs. We don’t get to skip the process of becoming born again of God’s Spirit just because we’re cute little cuddly things. When children are old enough to comprehend who God is, they need to be taught His Word so they can accept Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior. They need to be saved, so that the Spirit can recreate

their human spirits and they can then become God’s children and be spiritually alive to Him. We are born into a sinful world with sin in our bodies. 1John 1:8(NIV) says, “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.” So, we arrive on the scene with some baggage. We’ve got some junk in our trunks and sometimes we don’t discover it until an event like meeting a boy who sets our souls on fire happens. Taking a closer look at Meela’s relationship with Charles, we must ask ourselves why Charles was the one that did it for Meela? She’d seen him before during school and walked by him without a thought, so why all of a sudden did he sparkle in her eyes? Why did she suddenly focus all her attention on Charles and obsess about him constantly? What triggered all this? 11

“Turning Sadness into Joy!” Continued

with faith and the love of God. The Spirit will lead us in this direction, but our old way of thinking and being will want us to remain the same. Our free will must kick in to override the gravitational pull for sameness. We’ve taught ourselves to think and feel a certain way, and we are set in our ways. We stamp a thing ‘reality’ because our eyes and ears tell us that it is real. This is the way we approach sadness and everything else. Because we say it’s a thing, we close off all else and believe what we want to believe. We know what we know, and we refuse to know differently. As believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, he commands us to walk by faith and not by sight. This means that just because our eyes see it, that doesn’t make it our reality. The mind-and-heart-set of faith requires us to call those things which are not as though they were. So, we can look at a situation, know it’s not optimum, and speak to it by faith and cause it to change so that it becomes what God says it is. As believers, we have been empowered by Him to do this, but it will require that our thoughts, feelings, and words line up with the promises of God’s Word. Some of us are so set in our ways that we just will not pull ourselves out of doubt and pessimism to see what God sees. In Philippians 4:13, He tells us that we can do all things through Christ who gives us strength, and in Philippians 2:13, He tells us that He is working in us, giving us the desire and power to do what pleases Him. These are extraordinary promises that He’s made and kept, but our minds and emotions may tell us something different, and we have to decide who we are going to believe.

No doubt that in her sixteen years of being on this planet, Meela saw some things. Her eyes and ears were exposed to images, movies, other media or situations that made obsessing over another human being more than just an idea. Without the gatekeeper of the Holy Spirit and without renewing her mind to the Word of God, she allowed the wrong thoughts to take root. That caught the attention of the one whose dark realm uses obsessive thoughts as strongholds to entrap and imprison. We are all flawed individuals, and it is sometimes a real fight to change our thoughts so that our mind is renewed, but we must do it, and it can be done because God said so. For most of us, the current posture is that we know what we know, and we don’t need or want to know more. We have refused to read and study the Word of God to the point where it consumes our thoughts and we wear it like a second skin. Because we reject the truth in this way, we might use sadness as a way of fighting against the Will of God for our spiritual growth. We fight against the momentum and stamina to move to the place where He desires to take us because we do not want to apply the energy and focus required to renew our minds. Quite simply, we do not want to change. God commands us in Romans 12:2(NLT), “Don't copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God's will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.” To renew is to make new again, and this requires that we change mentally and emotionally. The mind must take on new and greater revelation so that our hearts are increased

“Turning Sadness into Joy!” Continued

and we perceive a vacuum when there’s nothing entertaining us and taking our attention away. We don’t want to be alone with our thoughts, because we haven’t yet trained them according to Philippians 4:8, and many of us haven’t wanted to do so. For some, it is an unthinkable reality that we can renew our minds to handle sadness, and that we can turn it to joy, faith, and peace in Christ. God’s Word tells us we can and must. In the Old Testament, when Moses died, the children of Israel greatly mourned for him. For everything there is a season, and God gave them time to mourn, but He didn’t allow them to camp out there for too long. They had a call to fulfill and a mission to complete. He told their new leader, Joshua, in Joshua 1:2 (NLT), “Moses my servant is dead. Therefore, the time has come for you to lead these people, the Israelites, across the Jordan River into the land I am giving them.” Our Heavenly Father wasn’t unsympathetic, but He knows that many of us get stuck in emotional heaviness and refuse to move forward. We see ourselves as weak, but God will continually remind us that through Christ, we are strong!

od has given us the gift of free-will choice, and He will never do a take-back. He will not overstep it or violate the gift of free-will that He’s given us in any way. He’s not going to come into our minds and hearts and start throwing all the bad stuff out and putting all His good stuff in. He has told us to do this. In Romans 12:2, He tells us to let Him transform us from the inside out, and changing the way we think, getting rid of old thoughts and attitudes that do not represent Christ, is the “YES!” that opens the door for His transformative power. We must think new thoughts; the same kind of thoughts that come from the mind of Christ. We have to think the Word! God tells us in Philippians 4:8(NLT), “Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.” The first step to healing, change, and growth is always going to begin with the mind. Our attention spans have been harmed by our need to be stimulated and entertained continually. We feel the need to be constantly involved or invested in something that is outside of ourselves, 13

“Turning Sadness into Joy!” Continued

and find that we missed much of it because we were always ruminating and preparing for the worst. We can have good jobs, money in the bank, a roof over our heads, reasonably good health, people who love us, and food on the table, yet none of these extremely wonderful blessings resonates with joy within us. Our level of gratitude and thankfulness to God never exceeds our fear of impending disappointment or failure. We must remove the blinders and see that our doubt in God’s ability and power to help us reach a place of true joy steals from us. All of us are sometimes shocked by the mistakes we’ve made in the past, and we’re even more so over what those mistakes have cost us. We keep thinking about them, repeatedly playing them in our heads because we can’t get over the reality that we betrayed our higher good for something or someone that simply wasn’t worth the price we paid. We were supposed to be grown-ups who do all the right things and say all the right words. The truth is that we can be as old as Methuselah, and we will still be children who make mistakes. We will always need God because our minds and emotions are more fragile than we’d like to admit. The solution isn’t to fake joy, but to take our sadness to the One who fathers us through all our pain. In Jeremiah 29:11(NIV), God sheds light on His incomparable, unlimited and absolute sovereignty, control, and intelligence. He said, ““For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”” If you and I miss this, our fear of disappointment might continue to trick us. God is the One with the plan for our lives. Acts 17:28 tells us that He alone has appointed the times and places of our births, and His desire is that we continually seek Him in all things with full confidence that He will show us the way.

or Meela, the thought that she would not have Charles, that he would not love her and fill up the empty space she felt within was too much. She convinced herself of a world where people can be everything for other people, and this kind of thinking will always lead to disappointment. Within all of us, there is an inexplicable yearning. Some of us can be well into our adult years before we recognize it’s cry, but others of us sense it at a very young age. We have an acute awareness that something is missing. We are convinced that this something will make us whole. Whether it is a goal, a relationship, a person, a job, a house, more money, or car, we tell ourselves that if we can just have it, we will be fulfilled, and our worlds will be set right. This is an illusion, and when the bubble bursts, the disappointment is often devastating. God is our Creator—our Everything. The hunger in our souls is one for Him, but we look everywhere else to find what can only be found in our Heavenly Father. We set ourselves up for disappointment in this way, and once we’ve experienced a deep disappointment, the heartbreak of it is imprinted on our consciousness as something we never want to experience again. We sometimes get stuck because we don’t know how to walk in faith in this area. First, the thoughts of what we’ve been through still stings. Secondly, we’re trying to work through this while also wrestling with the reality that God didn’t rescue us from our own feelings the first time. He allowed us to go through that pain, and we’re wondering if that will be the case yet again. How can we have confidence in our choices and decisions if we can’t figure out how to grab hold of the safety net? Some of us have gotten to a place where we just flat out refuse to embrace joy for fear of another disappointment and heartbreak. We might look back over our lives the past ten or twelve years 14

“Turning Sadness into Joy!” Conclusion

God tells us in Philippians 4:6-7(NLT), “6 Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. 7 Then you will experience God's peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.” He’s giving us a strategy here to deal with any anxiety, disappointment, struggle, or sadness we encounter in life. God is the ultimate authority on everything. He is sovereign and can never hold a position of second place. So, we can’t place our emotions and feelings above our obedience and faith in His Word. Adam and Eve did that, and things didn’t go well. Our responsibility is to take everything that burdens us to God and have faith that He will help and heal us in a way that no other can. In Proverbs 3:5-6(NLT), He commands us to, “5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. 6 Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.” Our hearts are the places of our hurt. They are also the places where we can worship God in spirit and truth and be filled with His glory. The heart is the place where God is commanding us to put Him—His power, love, joy, peace, and goodness—above our pain, above the sting of disappointment. We might think to ourselves, “Well, how do I do that?” Trusting God is spiritual, this means that it must be done spiritually. When we attempt to do anything spiritual in Christ, it must be done through God’s Holy Spirit who lives within us. We cannot do anything towards, for, by, with, or through God’s Kingdom without His Holy Spirit. Jesus Christ said in John 14:26(ESV), “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.” The Holy Spirit is our Helper, Teacher, and Guide. He is within us, and rest assured, within us is where we desperately need the Spirit’s help. Our souls are entangled, fragmented, and spiritually malnourished because we have not allowed them to adequately feast on the truth of God’s Word, but the Spirit knows exactly what we need. He knows what we need to hear, see, and experience so that we are strengthened in God’s wisdom, and will not make the same mistakes repeatedly. Continued on Page 25 15

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“4 Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me. Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me. 5 You prepare a feast for me in the presence of my enemies. You honor me by anointing my head with oil. My cup overflows with blessings.” Psalm 23:4-5(NLT)

od tells us in His Word to be wise and have spiritual discernment, and to achieve these by reading and studying His Word. In Hebrews 4:12, He tells us that His Word is alive! It’s sharper than a surgeon’s scalpel, or any two-edged sword. It’s so sharp, exact, and precise that it pierces through, dividing the soul and spirit, and joints and morrow. This verse goes on to tell us that God’s living Word judges the thoughts and intentions of our hearts. It lays us wide open before God, so that at any and all times, we are completely bare before Him. This is the piercing level of wisdom and knowledge that God has placed at our fingertips through His Word. He’s done this so that we will know Him in all His magnificent glory, power, and love. He’s also done this so we will comprehend and expect that He will use His power to achieve His purpose and do so profoundly in our individual lives. 17 17

“Strength in Times of Uncertainty” Conclusion

Genesis 1:26 tells us that our Heavenly Father made us in His very own image. We are intelligent beings with a mind and heart that cannot be touched with human hands or seen with human eyes. We are His created spiritual beings, specifically tailored to experience an abundant life on earth. We are blessed beyond measure, because at one point in human history, people thought it was impossible to know God or to understand His thoughts. Even with all their philosophies, they missed out on Him because they had no way to know Him. All praise to our glorious Heavenly Father that this isn’t the case with those of us living today. We have His Word, and because we do, we have the keys to His Kingdom! Our issue is that life can throw some serious curve balls our way, and sometimes it does this when we’re at our most vulnerable. God tells us in Hosea 4:6(ESV), “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge; because you have rejected knowledge.” Because we haven’t sharpened our discernment and wisdom by reading and studying God’s Word, the enemy uses tricks and plots to deceive us. Many of us have chosen the wrong partner because of this. We connect with a person that is responding to our fears rather than choosing a person that responds to our faith. Although it may not seem like it, through Christ, we can turn our worst decision into a steppingstone for our success. We can do this through the power of the Holy Spirit. When we give our lives to Jesus Christ and became born-again, the Holy Spirit comes to live inside us. He is a part of the Godhead. He is the Spirit of God, and God has given him to each of us as a gift. Philippians 2:13 tells us that the Spirit is working on the inside of us, giving us the desire and the effort for God’s good pleasure. However, we must know that the Holy Spirit never forces or pushes. He works only to the degree that we allow him. Because of the finished work of Jesus Christ through his sacrifice and resurrection, the Holy Spirit is here with us, and if we allow him, he will work in, with, and through us. So, the greatest thing that we can do for ourselves is to let him be at work. Jesus Christ said in John 16:13(ESV), “When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.” The Spirit guides us into the truth, where liberty in Christ is found. Jesus Christ told us in John 8:32 (NLT), “And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” We cannot be free by believing a

lie. We must know the truth of God’s Word to be free. If we don’t know God’s Word, and we are not allowing God’s Spirit to guide us, we might walk into a trap. When this happens, our lives can send us into a dark valley very quickly. We begin to feel as though nothing can help us, but this is not the truth. Rather, it is the lie that the enemy wants us to believe so that he can continue tricking us. We have a choice. We can continue in fear and doubt, or we can trust that God is with us, that He has not left us alone, nor will He. God’s desire is that our cup, our lives, overflow with blessings, and He has given us the gift of the Holy Spirit to help us live abundantly, but we have a part to play as well. The situations and circumstances of life can leave us feeling uncertain and afraid, but we have a friend who has all the wisdom, power, and strength we will ever need. Jesus Christ told the disciples in Acts 1:8(ESV), “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” The Holy Spirit is our friend, and he lives within us. He will help, comfort, teach, and guide us, but we must partner with him by reading and studying God’s Word. We are not weak, as some would have us to believe. In Exodus 15:2(ESV), Moses and the children of Israel sang, “The LORD is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation;” Romans 8:31(ESV) reassures us of God’s great love and declares, “If God is for us, who can be against us?” And Philippians 4:13 tells us that we can do all things through Jesus Christ because he gives us strength. So, lets get on board with God’s Holy Spirit who dwells within us. Let him guide you out of the valley and into the truth where you can walk in God’s wisdom and have strength and confidence in times of uncertainty. ■

Kim Times, Minister, Writer, and Editor

Renew Your Mind to Your… STRENGTH

1CHRONICLES 16:11(NLT) Search for the LORD and for his strength; continually seek him. DEUTERONOMY 31:6(NLT) So be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid and do not panic before them. For the LORD your God will personally go ahead of you. He will neither fail you nor abandon you. PHILIPPIANS 4:13(NLT) For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength. ISAIAH 41:10(NLT) Don't be afraid, for I am with you. Don't be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.

PEACE

ISAIAH 26:3(NLT) You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you! JOHN 16:33 (NLT) I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world. COLOSSIANS 3:15(NLT) And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live in peace. And always be thankful.

JOY

PSALM 16:11(NLT) You will show me the way of life, granting me the joy of your presence and the pleasures of living with you forever. ROMANS 14:17(NLT) For the Kingdom of God is not a matter of what we eat or drink, but of living a life of goodness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. PSALM 118:24(NLT) This is the day the LORD has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it. ROMANS 12:12(NLT) Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying.

FAITH

PROVERBS 3:5-6(NLT) Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take. HEBREWS 11:6(NLT) And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him. MARK 9:23(NLT) "What do you mean, 'If I can'?" Jesus asked. "Anything is possible if a person believes." 19

is what God wanted me to do. As a kid, I had my heart set on being a construction worker, but God made it clear that my purpose was to be a doctor.” As they talked a little bit more, he told Briana that when your heart is to please God, He will make His desires your desires, and He will open doors that you couldn’t imagine. His response sparked something within her, and Briana knew this was the path God wanted her to take.

riana was thirteen when she realized that she wanted to become a doctor. Her pediatrician jumpstarted her desire and passion to pursue healthcare. He had a great bedside manner and awesome hospitality. During one of her appointments with him, she asked what made him want to become a pediatrician. He said, “I knew this 20

“Love God and Be Committed to His Purpose” Conclusion

Although her parents were Christians, Briana didn’t have a strong desire to know God intimately before that day, but after the appointment with her doctor, she was never the same. She promised God that she would follow and love Him for the rest of her life. 1Corinthians 12:6 (NLT) tells us, “God works in different ways, but it is the same God who does the work in all of us.” This is a truth we must believe with our whole hearts. God doesn’t move us around like puppets. He doesn’t orchestrate every detail of our lives, but He has as many ways to get our attention as there are people. He anoints and appoints each of us for His purpose, and following it is the greatest blessing of life. Romans 8:28(NLT) says, “And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.” Many of us have misunderstood this verse. We’ve made the mistake of removing the conditions of His promise here, and therefore, we have diminished the truth of what God is revealing. Every action, behavior, event, and occurrence that happens in our lives and in the world doesn’t carry the approval and favor of our Heavenly Father. There are things that happen on a daily basis that God doesn’t like, and there are things that happen that we don’t like. God doesn’t bless the things that do not please Him. He doesn’t cause the things that He doesn’t like to work together, and we must be clear about this. Romans 8:28 clarifies that the recipients of this promise of causing all things to work together is to those that love God and are called according to His purpose. He will take the circumstances that have troubled those of us that love Him and are called according to His purpose, and He will cause them to work together for our good. It’s a mistake to think that people who do not love God and ignore their purpose in His Will can receive

that same blessing. God’s purpose is important to Him and therefore, it must be important to us. Proverbs 3:5-6 tells us not to depend on our own understanding, but to trust God with all our hearts and seek His Will in all we do because only He can show us the path of life. Briana came to understand that God indeed had a plan for her life, and she made a commitment to yield to His direction and guidance. This is a very conscious and intentional choice that we must make. We must rest in the Father’s care and trust that He is going to cause all things to work together for our good because we love Him, and we are committed to His purpose for our lives. God is the One who gives us the desire to what pleases Him. The ways of the Lord are endless, and He knows how to work in us. He knows how to present us with opportunities and relationships that open doors for us like the parting of the Red Sea. God will make the path plain to us, but we have to pay attention. Like Briana, we must focus on our relationship with God and do the things that build and strengthen it. We don’t have to try to force things to come together, because that’s a strategy that will ultimately disappoint us. When we put God in the driver seat of our lives, we don’t have to push, we have to pray. God tells us in Philippians 4:6 (NLT), “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.” We must pray in the morning and pray before we go to bed each night. Continually relinquishing control to God and dedicating our days to Him will keep us on the path of His purpose. Briana graduated from nursing school at twentysix, and landed a job as a pediatric nurse, and she absolutely loves it. Like her, we must seek God in everything we do and above all, trust that He will lead, guide, and direct us according to His divine Will and plan for our lives.■ 21

“If you are faithful in little things, you will be faithful in large ones. But if you are dishonest in little things, you won’t be honest with greater responsibilities.” Luke 16:10(NLT)

esus Christ is teaching us about principles that apply to our attitude about money. He points out that if we don’t learn to properly handle our finances when we only have a small amount, we will not be able to handle money of large amounts. This principle can and should be applied to every area of our lives. A big part of understanding the importance of spiritual preparation for marriage is

recognizing that without it, the blessing doesn’t land in our hands. We can’t reach up and grab blessings when we lack the spiritual strength to do so. This is not a new revelation, but it might be to those who are not putting themselves in check. They are unaware of how their attitudes, behaviors, and habits affect their ability to be conditioned and positioned for what God has in store. 22

“Intentional Behavior towards God’s Blessings” Conclusion

Being faithful in the little things is being faithful to our responsibilities to the Lord even when our circumstances are not optimal. God is not in heaven holding a measuring stick to determine how far or close we are to this standard. He has woven the laws of His Kingdom into the universe. They work on automatic. He designed the universe in such a way that it cooperates with our efforts to be faithful to Him, and it will not cooperate when we go in the opposite direction. God tells us to have faith and to express it by being faithful to seek Him in all that we do because He wants us to remain in the overflow of His blessings. Some of us have grown weary in our desire to be married. We have taken an attitude of “If He blesses me with a husband, fine, if He doesn’t, that’s okay too.” That’s not faith. Faith is a fully persuaded, sold-out belief that we will have the thing we have prayed to receive. It is wholeheartedly trusting the faithfulness of our Heavenly Father. Our behavior towards God’s blessings must be intentional, which means we intend to both sow into His Kingdom and to receive blessings from it. 2Corinthians 13:5(NLT) tells us, “Examine yourselves to see if your faith is genuine. Test yourselves.” When our faith is genuine our faithfulness to do the things that God requires will be as well. Faithfulness is a quality of character. It’s being committed to something no matter what. It requires us to be consistent, determined, and committed, even when no one is looking. Even when things are difficult, you remain committed to doing what’s right. Some of us are faithful to tithe, read and study God’s Word, and to pray often for others and ourselves. We pay more attention to the things of this world than we do the things of God. We don’t sow into His Kingdom to the extent we are required, and this more than any other reason keeps us separated from the blessings we desire most. We may think we’re ready to handle the responsibility of marriage, but our faithfulness to God determines this. He examines our hearts to see what’s at the

core of our desires. He sees whether we have faith in Him and if we are faithful to do the things that back up our faith.

When our behavior is intentional about receiving God’s treasures, our actions will convey that. Our Heavenly Father is aware of our aching hearts and loneliness, and He wants us to have faith that He has empowered us to do something about this. No longer can we waste time or be apathetic about the things of God. We must be attentive to our relationship with God and demonstrate to Him that we have established a level of faith and faithfulness in our character that will be a blessing to our future husbands and families.■ 23

earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal.” Earth for us is a temporary dwelling, and our Lord and Savior tells us not to store up treasures here. How do we store up treasures? We store up treasures in our hearts. It’s the things of which we focus and place all our attention. Our hearts tell the truth about what we value, and the motivation and actions to pursue those things take up more and more space in our hearts. We place a tremendous amount of thought, resources, and energy on the thing or person that we think will bring us happiness. If that thing or relationship is ever stolen or lost, some of us crumble. We discover that we had given over more of ourselves toward the thing or relationship than we had imagined. In Matthew 6:24(NLT), Jesus Christ said, “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other.” Again, this is referencing the heart. God is love, and our love for Him should take up every ounce of heart space we have. He is the One that has made it possible for us to love. The way to love others is through Him. When our love for God is our greatest priority, we will not slip into idolatry and begin to make an idol of things or people. That’s a very, very bad move. When we make things and people our everything, we turn our eyes away from heavenly treasures and cast our lots on things of this earth, this temporary dwelling place. God created us to be His spiritual children. We are spiritual beings having an earthly experience. To hunger and thirst after goodness came packaged with our makeup. We’re supposed to hunger and thirst to be filled, but people and things are not our source. People and things are not capable of filling our cups. God is our Source. He commands us to come to Him for all our needs, because He alone can take care of them.

ll of us are driven by what we believe will make us happy. For instance, if a person believes that money guarantees their happiness, then they will be motivated to do what it takes to get money. If a person believes a relationship with a significant person will make them happy, then they will become very motivated to find that person. Our motivation and the actions we take to follow it are all driven by our quest to be happy. Even though things and people can’t secure our happiness, we train ourselves to believe that they can. We invest our hearts into these treasures, and they become our motivation as well as the reason behind many of our actions. Jesus Christ speaks to this in Matthew 6:21(NKJV) when he said, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Our treasure is the thing that we believe will fulfill our souls and make our hearts happy. Whatever that thing is, it’s our treasure, and because it forms the desires of our hearts, it’s also probably the thing we pray about most. We may not be fully aware of it, but there’s a song playing inside our heads and hearts about our treasures. It’s “I gotta have it! I gotta have it! It must be mine!” God can hear this song, and He asks, “Am I not your treasure? I’ve given you the life of my only begotten Son. I’ve given you life itself and the earth for a habitation. I’ve blessed you with all spiritual blessings and set you free from sin and darkness. Why Am I not your treasure?” The answer to God’s question can be found in our hearts. Jesus Christ said in Matthew 5:8(NLT), “God blesses those whose hearts are pure, for they will see God.” A pure heart towards God is a heart that is consumed with seeking Him, and this is what He requires from us. Jesus Christ tells us this in Matthew 6:33(NLT), “Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.” Jesus Christ also warns us in Matthew 6:19 -20(NLT), “19 Don't store up treasures here on 24

“Your Heart’s Treasure” Conclusion standing who He has made you in Christ. Your heart reveal if you’re really ready to receive all Heavenly Father has in store for you. Many of us have been praying for such a long time for a blessing that is very important to us, but we may not be coming clean about our true motivation. For some of us, the truth is that God is not the joy of our rejoicing, the thing we’ve prayed to receive is. We think that thing or relationship will fill us up and make us complete, when only Jesus Christ can do that. Colossians 2:10(NLT) says, “So you also are complete through your union with Christ, who is the head over every ruler and authority.” God is the One that has made us complete in Christ, so we shouldn’t be looking for something or someone to do what only God can do. Oddly enough, many of us can’t envision what it would look like for God to be our everything, our all in all. We’re so accustomed to running on empty and chasing after the temporary treasures of this world that we won’t allow ourselves to be full through Jesus Christ. Now is the time to change this. Proverbs 27:19(NLT) says, “As a face is reflected in water, so the heart reflects the real person.” God will not force us to love Him, but as His children, our hearts must reflect our love for God. When it does, our lives will be flooded with His peace, love, power, and everlasting joy. ■

The psalmist, King David, said in Psalm 16:5(NLT), “LORD, you alone are my inheritance, my cup of blessing. You guard all that is mine.” David understood the proper order of priorities. It’s always God first, but this isn’t the case for many of us. We’re not hungering for more of God, many of us are hungering for more of other stuff and more of other people; we must begin to pray about this. We must ask God for a new heart, one that hungers and thirsts after His righteousness. The bottom line is that wherever our treasures are, our hearts are right there with them. Our treasures carve out a straight path to the contents of our hearts. They tell God what is most important to us, and if our Source of all good things, the Creator of all that survey, is not most important to us, our hearts will tell Him that. You and I don’t have to say anything or do a whole lot of talking. We don’t have to get all emotional and cry our eyes out in front of God, trying to convince Him we love Him. He knows whether we do or not. 1Samuel 16:7(NLT) tells us, “But the LORD said to Samuel, "Don't judge by his appearance or height, for I have rejected him. The LORD doesn't see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.” Your heart tells God what you really believe. Your heart tells Him if you truly value all that He is and if you’re truly under-

Turning Sadness into Joy! Conclusion Jesus Christ tells us in Matthew 6:33(ESV), “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” As born-again believers that have accepted Jesus Christ as our personal Lord and Savior, we have everything we need to do as he commands. We must have a desire and an intention to make pleasing God by obeying His Word our highest priority. This must be felt in our hearts, and when it is, we will have given the Holy Spirit permission to work within us. Philippians 2:13(NLT) says, “For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.” He accomplishes this through His Spirit. Through the Spirit, God will work in us, and He will give us the desire and the power to do what pleases Him, but He will not overstep our free-will in order to make this happen. God doesn’t force His goodness and blessings on us. We must come into agreement with Him by having faith that He will do what He says. Ephesians 1:3(NLT) wonderfully proclaims, “All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ.” We need joy in our lives and God has supplied it through Jesus Christ! Colossians 2:9-10(NLT) says, “9 For in Christ lives all the fullness of God in a human body. 10 So you also are complete through your union with Christ, who is the head over every ruler and authority.” Again, everything that we need to live in total joy is within us. You may not know the path to all the treasures within that Christ has given you, but the Spirit does. By ourselves, we can’t get there, but with the power of the Holy Spirit, we can have confidence that we can release our fear of disappointment, turn our sadness to joy, and live with the power and authority of Jesus Christ.■ 25

“4 Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. 5 God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ.” Ephesians 1:4-5(NLT)

lla struggled for years with addiction, and both her and her brother would binge together. With an abusive father and an addicted mother, drugs and dealers were always around their home. She started taking them at a very young age, but as hazed as she’d be some mornings, Ella never missed a day of school. Despite their drug use, her parents

were very accomplished, and Ella was quick-witted, smart as a whip, and motivated to learn. Her teachers did everything they possibly could to encourage and help her. She was accepted to several universities, with scholarships and opportunities that most of us would envy, but Ella couldn’t handle the pressure and her addiction got worse. 26

“Introduced to the Light” Conclusion

For the last twelve years, she and her brother have lived with their mother who’s struggling with sobriety herself. Ella is full of regrets and wants desperately to change her life. Never holding down a job for any length of time, being in an abusive and addictive household all her life, and being addicted herself, most of us would look at Ella’s situation with little hope for her. The obstacles in the way of her getting from point A to point B seem insurmountable, and she is well aware of this. She was depressed and contemplated doing herself harm, but she met a man, a Christian man. He is saying words, speaking sentences, and giving off a light she has never encountered in her life. “Are you kidding me!!!” is a statement she frequently makes in his company. In her mind, she thinks, “this dude can’t be real.” She wonders why he keeps asking her out for coffee and calling her for long conversations. He’s kind, but kinda corny, she thinks. He’s always asking her about her day, and it irks her, because to her, for the last several years, every day is basically the same. It’s the same grind of figuring out how to be high. In her mind, the man, Franklin, came out of nowhere, and because he seems so foreign to her way of living life, she thinks he doesn’t have a clue, but indeed he does. Ephesians 1:4-5(NLT) tells us, “4 Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. 5 God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ.” It’s no secret that we can make a mess of our lives and do so to the point that they are unrecognizable to God’s call and purpose, but His call and purpose will still always win. We didn’t choose God first, He chose us first. Even before He said, “Let there be light”, He knew that we would give our lives to Him. Before we entered our mother’s wombs, God chose us to be His very own. God works through people. His love and light shines before us through the lives of those that have accepted His call. He sends them to help us, to show us the way through Jesus Christ and come to Him. Then we, too, will one day have the great privilege to do for someone else what has been done for us. Nothing in life matters more than being a child of God and getting to know Him as our Heavenly Father for ourselves. Our purpose is to be and share His love and light. 1Thessalonians 5:5(NLT) tells us, “For you are all children of the light and of the day; we don't belong to darkness and night.” The darkness of the night is where we lived before we accept-

ed Jesus Christ as our personal Lord and Savior. That darkness took many forms. For some it is abuse, addiction, and hard partying. For others it’s arrogance, pride, selfishness, obsession, idolatry and people worship. Humans are very crafty with designing ways to neglect their identity in Christ and to reject God’s love and light. We do this because we’re walking around asleep. 2Corinthians 4:4 tells us that one of satan’s tricks is to keep our minds blinded so that we don’t see the truth, and like Ella, many of us make ourselves comfortable in that darkness. Jesus Christ said in John 3:16-17(NLT), “16 For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. 17 God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.” God wants to save us so that we can live in Him and He can live in us. He wants us to know the depth of His love, the brightness of His light, and the strength of His unlimited, incomparable power. He wants us to lean on Him with all that we are because He created us to be His family and to live through Him. He wants what is best for all of us. 2Corinthians 5:17(NLT) says, “This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!” When we’ve lived in the darkness, and we’re suddenly introduced to the light, it can be jarring. The light is exposing things we want hidden. It’s putting the darkness on blast, and that’s uncomfortable, but it’s our destiny! We need to have faith in God and trust that He will transform us into what He created us to be. When it feels that life is stacked against us, its overwhelming, and we might feel hopeless. This is where Ella had been for most of her life, but God has a plan for her and for our lives as well. When we surrender to His love and care, He will flood our hearts with His light so that we understand His power. We must trust that He will do for us what we cannot do for ourselves. If we learn about Christ and pray often, we will grow in his love, and like Franklin, we will want to share his light with others.■

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