In His Grip

We have emotional, internal struggles that war against our spirits, like fear. Fear is a real emotion. There’s a good kind of fear. There’s a bad kind of fear. You need to teach your children not to run across the street into traffic...to be afraid of that. That’s a good kind of fear. There are fears that paralyze. There are fears that cause us to not take the next step forward.

What is genuine repentance? Is it simply saying, “I’m sorry” or is there more? Repentance means that we not only are sorry or penitent for what we’ve done, but that we reject our behavior as wrong and we turn toward doing what is right. A liar is still a liar until he acknowledges that lying is wrong and he starts telling the truth. A thief is still a thief until he rejects stealing and starts giving back. If I don’t embrace the opposite characteristic of the sin that I’m putting off then my “repentance” is merely half way. We love our emotions, don’t we? We love to be angry. We love to laugh. We love emotion. We are an emotional people. Emotions are good, except when they are bad. Emotions often make it easier to cross over to the “dark side.” Join Dr. Chuck Betters as he continues his series Souls of Steel, Feet of Clay, with today’s message entitled The Christian’s Civil War Part 3.

The war between good and evil continues as the citizens of Shechem attempt to create a new religion: Half breed Christianity. They wanted to worship Baal but they also wanted to worship God but in their attempt to worship both, an evil king took up residence on the throne of their souls. Compare the results of their choices to the call of the Gospel which is surrender to the joy of following Jesus.

Are you living in the flesh...that is, are you a Baal killer or are you Gideon? Are you married to the concubines in your heart when you live that close to the Baals and you intermarry with the Baals and you have one foot in the world and one foot in the Spirit? Eventually the one is going to drag you down. This message from Dr. Betters entitled The Christian Civil War Part 1 has a cautionary tale from the book of Judges about the perversion of the Israelites religion that led to the slaughter of Gideon's family. Dr. Betters draws a parallel from this to our lives warning us that when Jesus does not rule our lives then sin will.

Gideon, an unlikely choice for God to raise up as a “savior” for His people. And yet, in this series, we see God using broken things to accomplish His purposes. Still, Gideon was not perfect. Gideon’s story confronts us with questions like, What would my life look like apart from Christ? Where would I be if I were lost in my trespasses and sins? What was I like before I came to know the Lord?

Thin. Fat. Thin again. Dieting. Binging. Starvation diets. Grapefruit Diets. Low Carb. Thin. Fat. Thin Again.

Constance Rhodes understands the obsession of young people with body image. In this conversation, she shares her own roller coaster struggle with weight. Young people and adults alike will find a friend in Constance as she transparently tells her story of weight loss, weight gain and the thin cage in which she found herself trapped. Out of her struggles has come her book: Life Inside the Thin Cage, A Personal Look into the Private World of the Chronic Dieter. Constance is also the founder and CEO of FindingBalance, a non-profit health and wellness organization dedicated to helping people eat well and live free.

Constance offers numerous resources on her website at Findingbalance.com.

Constance’s story will encourage young people that there is help and hope when faced with feeling fat, inadequate and “less than.” That hope is not in food. Listeners, young and old, will be encouraged to find balance in their view of food and life.

Life Inside the Thin Cage – A Personal Look into the Private World of the Chronic Dieter: by Constance Rhodes

https://www.amazon.com/Life-Inside-Thin-Cage-Personal/dp/0877880387

Do you struggle with discouragement? Are you discouraged right now? If so, this message is for you. The battle was not yet over, Gideon and his men were exhausted in the pursuit of the Midianites and rightfully expected help from other Israelites. Instead, they met with discouragement and contempt because they had not yet finished the “job.”

This passage is a study in discouragement and its antidote. Discouragement often comes when Satan reminds us of our failures to complete the work we have been called to do, how the war is not over and how the victory we say we have has not yet come. This is a most effective evil strategy when we are running a spiritual marathon.

o   Raising kids is a marathon.

o   Building a strong marriage is a marathon.

o   Earning the right to be heard is a marathon.

o   Building trust is a marathon.

o   Sanctification is a marathon

Discouragement occurs when the size of the task seems overwhelming and we lose vision for the goal. In this message, Dr. Betters uncovers the causes of discouragement as well as how to fight discouragement.

After such a great victory, why couldn’t the Israelites just rejoice together. Instead, the Ephraimites asked Gideon why they were not given a more prominent place in the battle against Midian. This was a great victory yet these people sharply criticized Gideon. Sound familiar? Why do people envy? In this message, Dr. Betters gives us six reasons, along with scripture that backs up each point. Do you struggle with envy, jealousy? This practical and convicting message is for you, actually for each of us.

Gideon continues to experience the miraculous intervention of God’s power as he leads a small army against a powerful enemy, the Midianites. All along the way, God encourages Gideon to trust him, even using the enemy’s own fear to give Gideon courage. In this message, Dr. Betters reminds us of other battles where God’s leaders recognized their own inability to win unless God miraculously intervened, including the call of Asa when the odds were 2 to 1 against the people of God:
2 Chron. 14:11 Then Asa called to the Lord his God and said, "Lord, there is no one like you to help the powerless against the mighty. Help us, O Lord our God, for we rely on you, and in your name we have come against this vast army. O Lord, you are our God; do not let man prevail against you." 
Gideon’s story will encourage you to view your weakness as a platform for God to demonstrate His strength.

Gideon continues to experience the miraculous intervention of God’s power as he leads a small army against a powerful enemy, the Midianites. All along the way, God encourages Gideon to trust him, even using the enemy’s own fear to give Gideon courage. In this message, Dr. Betters reminds us of other battles where God’s leaders recognized their own inability to win unless God miraculously intervened, including the call of Asa when the odds were 2 to 1 against the people of God:
2 Chron. 14:11 Then Asa called to the Lord his God and said, "Lord, there is no one like you to help the powerless against the mighty. Help us, O Lord our God, for we rely on you, and in your name we have come against this vast army. O Lord, you are our God; do not let man prevail against you." 
Gideon’s story will encourage you to view your weakness as a platform for God to demonstrate His strength.