Mark 12:30

You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.  This is the first commandment.  

What do you love the most?   Where your love is focused will be where you spend all your time and energy. When we don’t focus our love on God, we don’t spend time drawing close to Him.  We don’t learn from Him or know how much God loves us, and our spirits will feel the lack of closeness.  Love is a superpower.

Romans 12:2

And do not be conformed to the world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

Our minds can think and create thoughts that take us far from reality, which is why we have to keep them under control.  The word is a focus on God’s reality for our lives.  It is a positive force for us to overcome life’s obstacles and not be swallowed by them.  The renewing of the mind is the renewing of the focus to the perfect will of God.

Romans 12:1

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.  

The gain we get from our relationship with Jesus Christ and His sacrifice far outweigh any sacrifice to remain holy on our part.  That is why Paul says that keeping ourselves holy is a reasonable service.  No joy comes to our lives through sin, but with Jesus, our lives are made full.  

Hebrews 10:35-37

Do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward.  For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise: “For yet a little while, and He who is coming will come and will not tarry.”

We can have confidence as we remember all that the Lord has done for us in our lives and all that He is doing.  Sometimes, we have to remember our beginnings to where we are now.  We may need to practice endurance and building our strength in the word.  Jesus is coming back for us, and we want to receive the promises of God.

Psalm 31:24

Be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart, all you who hope in the Lord.

Courage!  The strength to move forward against the obstacles and the power to stand on solid ground in a storm.  When the heart is strong and full of courage, we are not swayed or dismayed.  We know who we are fighting against and that God is on our side and will strengthen our hearts. 

Psalm 91:10,11

No evil shall befall you, nor shall any plague come near your dwellings; for He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways.

Faith and confessing God’s word is the barrier to plagues and the evils of this world.  Our confession is a shield for everyday living for all problems big and small.  God created this world with His words, and we are to create our world with our words.  The angles are waiting to hear us speak the word and bring our confessions to pass and keep us in all our ways.

Proverbs 3:25,26

Do not be afraid of sudden terror, nor of trouble when it comes; for the Lord will be your confidence, and will keep your foot from being caught.

We have a strong, powerful, mighty God, and He will keep us safe.  When trouble comes, and the devil tries to get us to fear, keep the focus on God.  Fear is a faith blocker and stops God’s ability to work on our behalf.  Speak the word and create a faith barrier and build up the wall of protection.

James 1:22

Be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.

When we were in school, we would practice the things we were learning.  The Bible takes consistent practice until its teaching becomes a habit.  That is why we read it every day, so we remember and renew our minds.  Then joy comes to us as we walk uprightly before the Lord and in His word.  The rough spots smooth out, and hope is sustained in our hearts.

Acts 5:29

But Peter and the other apostles answered and said: “We ought to obey God rather than men.”

History shows that the wisdom of man is never greater than the wisdom of God.  God’s plan is for peace and love between us on this planet.  The Holy Spirit is here to guide us and lead us onto the right path.  Many voices are coming to us through media that try to persuade us to change our way, but God is still the only voice we should listen to and obey. 

1 Thessalonians 4:17-18

Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.  And so we shall be forever with the Lord.  Therefore comfort one another with these words.  

As the world turns its back on God and turns to sin, we can be comforted that God has a plan.  We can remind ourselves that none of the turmoil is a surprise to God, and He won’t leave us helpless.  There is coming a day when we join Him in the clouds.  Just imagine meeting the Lord in the air and never having to leave?