Grace 809

Gabe and Rebekah Lyons equip couples to fight for connection in their marriage and break unhealthy patterns of conflict. Listen in to find out how they shared and processed their origin stories to better understand their emotions and know each other more deeply.

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Our minds cannot be full of God and at the same time full of fear!  Don’t get lost in your troubles. Lift up your eyes! “He will keep in perfect peace all those who trust in him, whose thoughts turn often to the Lord!  (Isa. 26:3 TLB)

Are you troubled, restless, sleepless?  Then rejoice in the Lord’s Sovereignty.  I dare you. I double-dog dare you—to expose your worries to an hour of worship. Your concerns will melt like ice on an August sidewalk!

Jeremiah draws a direct connection between faith and peace. He says, “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, and whose hope is in the Lord.  For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, which spreads out its roots by the river, and will not fear when heat comes; but its leaf will be green, and will not be anxious in the year of drought.  (Jeremiah 17:7-8 NKJV)

Read more Anxious for Nothing: Finding Calm in a Chaotic World

For more inspirational messages please visit Max Lucado.

Transcript

John

Today is prophesy Friday,. We’ll read Amos 5-9. I’ll have a brief introduction before reading each chapter, and after the reading I’ll have some comments. And of course I’ll have an “On This Date In Church History” segment for you, too. I’m calling today’s episode  “God Is Not Hiding.”

In chapter five, verse four, God tells Israel, “Seek me so you can live!” When we sincerely pursue a relationship with God, we will find Him and have eternal life. In the book of Jeremiah, God said, “If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me.” Jesus said, “Ask and it will be given to you, seek and you will find, knock and the door will be opened for you.” 

God is not hiding. He wants us to know Him, to trust Him, to love Him.

But we must seek him wholeheartedly as He said in Jeremiah. If we hold on to our old ways, He is not pleased. Further on in chapter five, He chastises the Israelites for their phony attempts to serve him while they remain in their sin. In verse 21 He tells them, “I absolutely despise your festivals! I get no pleasure from your religious assemblies!” And dropping down to verse 27 He says, “…I will drive you into exile beyond Damascus.”

Church attendance doesn’t fool God. We can fool those around us. We might even fool ourselves. But if we try to hold on to anything that is not pleasing to Him, He sees through the charade. We should continually take a spiritual inventory. We should ask Him to show us if there is anything in our life that is more important to us than He is, and help us to eliminate whatever it is. He wants to shower blessings on us, but we must be willing to have Him be on the throne in our lives. Him and only Him. 

7“Are you not as the sons of Ethiopia to Me,

O sons of Israel?” declares the Lord.

“Have I not brought up Israel from the land of Egypt,

And the Philistines from Caphtor and the Arameans from Kir?

Amos 9:7 NASB

People of Ethiopia were thought by Israel to be distant and unimportant. In verse 7 God is saying, “Yes, I brought you out of Egypt, but I also brought he Philistines from Caphtor and the Arameans from Kir. Don’t be proud just because you are Jews.”

In verse 9, a shift begins to take place in the narrative:

Rebekah Lyons addresses when you and your spouse need to address difficult topics in your relationship.
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Gabe and Rebekah Lyons equip couples to fight for connection in their marriage and break unhealthy patterns of conflict. Listen in to find out how they shared and processed their origin stories to better understand their emotions and know each other more deeply.

Receive a copy of "The Fight for Us" and an audio download of "Fighting for God's Best in Your Marriage" for your donation of any amount! Plus, receive member-exclusive benefits when you make a recurring gift today. Your monthly support helps families thrive.

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Do you have a story or comment on how Focus on the Family impacted you or your family? Leave a message for Jim Daly! 

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The next time you fear the future, rejoice in the Lord’s sovereignty. Rejoice in what he has accomplished. Rejoice that he is able to do what you cannot do. Fill your mind with thoughts of God.

“He is the Creator, who is blessed forever” (Romans 1:25).

“He is the same yesterday, today, and forever” (Hebrews 13:8).

“His years will never end” (Psalm 102:27).

He is king, supreme ruler, absolute monarch, and overlord of all history. An arch of his eyebrow and a million angels will pivot and salute! Every throne is a footstool to his. Every crown is papier-mache next to his. He consults no advisers. He needs no congress. He reports to no one. He is in charge.

Sovereignty gives the saint the inside track to peace. Others see the problems of the world and wring their hands. We see the problems of the world and bend our knees.

Read more Anxious for Nothing: Finding Calm in a Chaotic World

For more inspirational messages please visit Max Lucado.

Transcript

Today is poetry Thursday, and we’re in Proverbs. We’ll read chapter 25. I’ll have a brief introduction before reading each chapter, and after the reading I’ll have some comments. And of course I’ll have an “On This Date In Church History” segment for you, too. I’m calling today’s episode  “I Will, Part 2.”

Proverbs chapters 25-29 were proverbs of Solomon that were collected under the supervision of King Hezekiah of Judah, about 270 years after Solomon died.

21If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat;

if he is thirsty, give him water to drink.

22In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head,

and the Lord will reward you.

Verse 21 is self-explanatory. But what does verse 22 mean?

Commentators over the years do not agree whether heaping coals on the head is a good thing or a bad thing, from the viewpoint of the enemy. It could be referring to a burning conviction that happens when we do something good for the enemy. Or perhaps the thought is of lending a burning coal to him to help light a fire for himself. The motivation, nonetheless is that we make a friend of an enemy, and we will receive a reward from the Lord.

Adam Clarke wrote in one of his commentaries, “Not to consume, but to melt him into kindness…”

Bruce Walke, a respected Old Testament scholar who has written an excellent two volume set of commentaries on the book of Proverbs, said, “Most commentators agree with Augustine and Jerome that the ‘coals of fire’ refers to ‘burning pangs of shame’ which a man will feel when good is returned for evil, his shame producing remorse and contrition.”

Whether the coals on his head is positive or negative, from the point of viewpoint of your enemy, is not the point. His attitude is not your concern; it does not change your responsibility. In this proverb God is telling us that we should be kind to our enemy. And isn’t that what Jesus said in Matthew 5:43-47?

43“You have heard the law that says, ‘Love your neighbor’ and hate your enemy. 44But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! 45In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike. 46If you love only those who love you, what reward is there for that? Even corrupt tax collectors do that much. 47If you are kind only to your friends, how are you different from anyone else? Even pagans do that. 

This is, of course, not an easy thing to do.

Steve Farrar shares how it’s important to be a man of integrity who leads your family well.

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What kind of father does a boy need? In an upbeat recorded message, the late Steve Farrar encourages men to invest time and energy into the lives of their sons, in spite of the fact that our culture emphasizes the importance of a man’s career. Steve reminds men that God wants them to love His Word deeply and teach Scriptural truths to their children and grandchildren.

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What will happen if your job disappears? Or your health diminishes? Or the economy takes a nosedive? Does God have a message for his people when calamity strikes?

He certainly had a word for Isaiah. The prophet wrote, “In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up…above it stood seraphim; each one had six wings with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one cried to another and said, ‘Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts. The whole earth is full of His glory’” (Isaiah 6:1-3).

God calmed the fears of Isaiah, not by removing the problem, but by revealing his divine power and presence. Rejoice that God is able to do what you cannot do! Your anxiety decreases as your understanding of your heavenly father increases.

Read more Anxious for Nothing: Finding Calm in a Chaotic World

For more inspirational messages please visit Max Lucado.