Encouragement – Page 2

Hope – We Need It

Published on December 5, 2018April 26, 2020 by Nancy DemaryLeave a comment

Picture yourself in the lowest part of the earth, perhaps at the bottom of a mining shaft, fearful, stuck… but wait, for a few minutes each day the sun hits directly above, just right, and some light from the surface above travels down the hole. Your heart leaps temporarily, “perhaps today I will be rescued from here”. But soon the darkness and hopelessness of your lost condition sweeps in again, you are stuck, alone, in the pit, afraid you’ll never get out; at the same time afraid you’ll be discovered.

This is a glimpse into the soul of one who is stuck in the grip of sin, especially sexual sin – a feeling of no way out, and fear of discovery. Aloneness, darkness, hopelessness prevails; a battle in the mind (heart) so intense that often another fantasy comes creeping up alongside… introducing death as a good option.

Consider for a moment the important words of Jesus to us in John 10:10. The scripture says, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” Jesus made this simple, clear statement. So why do many fantasize with the invitation to die, or give up — that comes from the Enemy, rather than Jesus’ invitation to live?

No FEAR

Some years ago this slogan, NO FEAR, was popularized. No Fear T-shirts were very popular and sometime later the motto was big within the extreme sports world. The idea was to go to the edge, break the limits, and go beyond what you have known or feared. The problem is that without God, people do some pretty drastic things to try and fill the void within; they try unusual things to create a euphoric state of consciousness.

This No Fear mentality has killed many souls, destroyed many relationships, and people who have lived this out have often headed in the wrong direction. Our culture, knowingly or not, takes scriptural ideas and twists them to make it look as though someone who lives on the edge is enlightened in some way. I have personally known young lives snuffed out because they went for the delusion of trying to find fulfillment in self and new cultural ideas apart from God, our Creator.

Jesus made several other simple and clear statements. In Matthew 10:28, He said, “Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.” Now that’s a slogan that isn’t repeated too often. Yet, it is Truth and offers the answer on how to live a successful life now, and for all eternity; how to escape the snare of the Enemy, how to avoid ending up in hell for eternity.

Yes, FEAR!

Our Father greatly loves each person He created. And because of that, He offers to rescue us! He gave us a solution to our problems. He gave Jesus, the pure and perfect One, to die in our place, to place our sin upon Him so that we could be free and live an abundant life in Him, without fear.

Appropriate FEAR

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all those who practice it have good understanding. Psalm 111:10

Fearing God is what sets our feet upon the path of wisdom and understanding. There are no problems in life that can be solved permanently apart from God’s wisdom and understanding applied. When we trade away His desires and replace them with our own, we end up in one kind of pit or another. Perhaps your pit is not as deep and dark as the one I described earlier, but we all have places that are dark at various times in life. God has an answer for these times if we will turn to Him for help.

We Need Him

I’ve heard various illustrations over the years of hopelessness and rescue. One of them goes like this: A horse fell into a large dry well, there was no way out, it was hopeless. But then a deliverer came along and carefully began shoveling dirt into the hole until it elevated the horse to a higher and higher level to where, viola! — the horse stepped out on the surface!

Have you been down deep in a pit with no one to help you? Days, weeks, months, and even years have gone by, and it seems you’re destined to stay there forever? No fear! Ask God to send some help your way; become desperate, ask Him to help you, He will. He offers hope to anyone who sees themselves as needing help– choose life, not death. Humble yourself, confess your sin (including all heart idols) to God and see what He does. He is the only deliverer that can give you lasting hope and a changed heart. The scriptures say He will put a new heart within you, and remove your stony heart – He will give you a heart of flesh that can function, feel, and love again! Why not Fear Him and become free?

My prayer for you is Romans 15:13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.

There’s HOPE.

God’s Word is the only hope for a mind that has been wired to sin. If you decide to surrender and open your heart to Him, be sure to fill your mind with God’s Word so that you will be successful in your journey. Get involved in a church family where you can grow and give your time and energy in ways that will bless others, instead of hurting them. Pray and ask God to remake your mind (heart) and then do the work of putting God’s Word into your mind daily — soon you will think differently, resulting in new actions that please and glorify God. There is hope!

Our culture is increasingly realizing that with the proliferation of internet availability and it’s usage in the mid-nineties, the lure of sexual sin increased exponentially; sadly, we live among a generation of sexually addicted souls. Some folks seem unaware of the dilemma we face or would rather avoid it. And the church is not exempt; among men, statistics indicate 65% are struggling with sexual sin, for women over 25%. For specific details, please go to the Covenant Eyes website to become further educated.

While there seems to be a growing number of men’s groups within the church to address the sexual idolatry problem and provide help, women in the church are usually left outside the info circle, confused, or avoiding the problem altogether. Husbands must bear the responsibility of talking honestly with their wives about this issue, and women must be willing to acknowledge this condition and learn how to respond without fear.

Photo Credit: Pixabay

Action Steps in Response to Sin

Published on December 5, 2018November 8, 2020 by Nancy DemaryLeave a comment

What can I do? This question has faced many. It is very difficult for someone to discover habitual sin that has been hidden. Besides the knife in the heart feeling, and a mind racing with possibilities, it’s important to gain what is promised to us in 2 Timothy 1:7, “God has not given us a spirit of fear, but rather of power, love and a sound mind.” First of all, realize that fear is your enemy and you need to choose to think rightly and get the help of a biblically sound person. Recognize the power of God to help you and allow His love to motivate you toward a godly solution.

When someone sins against you, they first have sinned against God and lived in rebellion to Him. They have failed to worship God and have an ungrateful heart.[1]

Decide to be a tool in God’s Hand to bring sin into the light (I John 1:7), this is vital. This offers the opportunity for repentance and confession (I John 1:9). Perhaps this has already happened on occasion with this person; you must realize that there is a deep, deep stronghold that comes with habitual sin — especially sexual idolatry. Coming out requires much more than confession and repentance, intensive restructuring with God’s Word and accountability is mandatory. Don’t agree to just let it ride and become their monitor; that will not work.

Freedom, found in Christ, comes from walking in the light and hating sin; we must hate sin as God does. Consistent, honest openness and accountability with another party is required. It takes work. Changing the mind and its patterns concerning what is pleasing to God is vital. Humility is a major factor in overcoming the past, and pride will fight against this all along the way.

Action Steps: If you feel sin is present, don’t allow fear and suspicion to rule your heart. Instead, take steps toward having a conversation about what you are feeling with the one involved (Mt. 18:15-17). If this fails, find one or two to come along and assist you.

In order to prepare yourself:

1) Think biblically: get biblical counsel if you are unable to think this through yourself. Living in High Heels on the Rocks for years will have its affects. The truth presented in love (Eph. 4:15) will be needed to set everyone free, including you.

2) Act, instead of reacting: God’s Word gives action steps that bring hope. Write out what scripture says about your situation. Differentiate truth from thoughts based in the pain you feel.

3) Pray, instead of panicking: In order to trust God through this process you need to pray and gain power over the enemy, who uses fear to derail us. Reacting will not produce righteous fruit.

4) Exercise faith in God: Trust involves believing God. Responding out of your flesh (feelings) will increase the confusion, which Satan loves to operate in. God offers clarity to those who will trust Him.

5) Ask for help — this is so important! Do not try to handle the situation alone. There are plenty of resources available to you; there are caring people who can help. Start with your pastor, church leadership, or someone trained to help; they may need to become involved to enact biblical discipline. Glorifying God and freeing yourself, and those you love, are worth it.

Remember, Satan wants to destroy you, your spouse, and your children, but God wants to give you abundant life (John 10:10). Bringing sin into the light is the first step to freedom.

[1] Taken from Stuart Scott, The Exemplary Husband (Bemidji, MN: Focus Publishing, Inc. 2000), 287.

To read the complete article go to: High Heels on the Rocks

Freedom Living!

Published on March 30, 2018January 26, 2019 by Nancy DemaryLeave a comment

Sad, discouraged, depressed? Angry when things don’t go your way? Many go through life wondering why their life seems discouraging while others seem happy. There are various reasons for this, and I will tell you that it is not God’s will for you to be bound by these feelings, but rather to find your hope in Him.

It Helps to Take Inventory

If you are struggling with these feelings, let’s look at some foundational factors. Is there something you are desiring that seems illusive? Do you feel obsessed with reaching a goal or attaining some status? Perhaps it’s a particular item you feel would bring you happiness; a certain job, marriage, a house. When you sense that someone is interfering with your plans for success, do you become agitated or angry with them? — a boss, co-worker, neighbor, parent, spouse, or child. If so, here’s a good weekly exercise: take a note-card and whenever you feel this happening, write it down so you can review it later. Allow yourself to notice how often this happens during the day and over the week. You will see a pattern develop that will prove helpful. What factors cause you to experience these agitated or anxious thoughts? We’ll come back to this later.

The Self-life

Our natural man, the way we are all born into this world as sinners, desires for things to go our way. From childhood our brains are wired to come out on top. Unless our parents understand God’s ways and are able to put great effort into training us to think differently, we often end up having to recognize and deal with this ME principle the hard way. God uses difficulties to attempt to teach us to give up the self-life and go with His-life instead — this is the way He designed us to function successfully .

Freedom in Christ!

Discovering the place of living for God’s glory, takes us out of this lower position of serving ourselves and exchanges our desires for His plans and purpose for us — this is freedom living. Instead of living according to our natural bent to sin; our self-serving nature, we become free to live for God’s glory. The beginning point to this position is known as being born-again by God’s grace extended to us. Nothing we’ve earned or deserve, but because of His love (Ephesians 2:8-9). The Holy Spirit then takes up residence within us so that the life of Jesus Christ himself is expressed in us and replaces our self-life (Galatians 2:20). While God gives to each of His created beings personality and unique gifts, His desire is that these are given to be used for His glory. This is where fulfillment, joy and peace are obtained. But this kind of living requires a choice on our part; initially and daily as we walk with Him.

Being Enlightened (Ephesians 1:18-20)

When we surrender our life to God we learn how to adjust our focus away from our personal ambitions, and turn our future over to Him. He desires our best and knows what that is. Once He is given control, He leads us into a life that is pleasing to Him and this is where we find true fulfillment, joy and peace. God’s Word becomes our basic training manual. Much like the retraining of the mind in a military boot-camp, we choose to enlist in a training program that will cause us to think according to God’s principles. The military teaches its recruits how to serve for the purpose of war or peace-keeping; in similar fashion we who belong to God’s kingdom are taught how to love and protect whether we are in the midst of difficulty or not. We are here to in order to promote God’s agenda and purpose in our world (Matthew 5:43-44).

Many of us have given ourselves to much learning in various areas of life, yet so few give the necessary time and interest to learning theology and allowing God’s Word to retrain our thoughts. Yet this is what leads us down the road to sanctification and satisfaction in life.

The Word of God tells us that it alone can reveal our true problems and teach us what to do in response to them. “For the word of God is living, and active, and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing even to the dividing of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and quick to discern the thoughts and intents of the heart.” (Hebrews 4:12 ASV) It is only after we are able to see our intents for what they are, that we can choose to deal with them. Until then we are blinded and our own desires deceive us. We need the power of God’s words to change us. By the new birth experience, receiving the Holy Spirit to take up residence inside of us, we gain the ability to live for God. We then are able to put off the natural man, our old nature, and put on the new thoughts, words and actions of Christ. Once we experience this transformation we truly become new creations.

My Way vs. God’s Glory

Now back to the exercise. Any one who completes the written exercise I mentioned earlier should come to the conclusion that our self-life is the core issue to be dealt with. This diary of events helps us see that when we face frustration, it’s often because we want things to go our way, we want to receive the praise, status and comforts we feel we deserve.

Under the curse of sin, we are all born destined for destruction and eternal hell apart from God’s redemptive answer. Understanding this is crucial to living a life of peace with God and in freedom to glorify Him in all we do. Apart from this mindset, we will believe we deserve to be glorified, praised and exalted. We will come up short when it comes to happiness because it will be based upon the praise of people, rather than the satisfaction of knowing we are living for God. Unless Jesus Christ becomes King of our heart, idols will take their natural place leading us to self-destruction.

Victory lies in Glorifying God

When we remember Christ’s resurrection over death, hell, and the grave, let’s consider why He suffered and died. He came to give us abundant life in Him and defeat the enemy of our soul (John 10:10). He came to give us power, by the indwelling Holy Spirit, to overcome sin and ourselves! He was raised to life again and lives to intercede for us in order to gain success in freedom-living. Let us choose to surrender completely to His will and glorify God in our bodies. The choice is ours.

Photo Credit (Pixabay)

Free-fall

Published on March 17, 2018March 4, 2019 by Nancy DemaryLeave a comment

Fear is what kept me from jumping out of the airplane that day. They call it free-fall — jumping out of a perfectly good airplane, pulling the rip cord at the right time, relaxing and falling, rather floating, to the ground. There were several candidates signing up for the early morning class and afternoon jump. My friend asked me once more, “Are you sure you don’t want to do it?” I was sure. “No, thanks, it’s kind of you to offer but it’s not for me,” I said.

When we are in free-fall with God, we step out in faith based upon God’s Word, and simply trust our Heavenly Father – daily, hourly, minute-by-minute sometimes, knowing that He will carry us in His everlasting arms. Picture the God of Heaven and Earth, our Father who created everything, with His Hands underneath, often just a few feet below ready to keep us from destruction. It’s like the new toddler going around the room with coaxing parents wanting the child to launch out on a few steps without assistance; and they are there to catch them when they wobble. God knows when we need to wobble, and be reminded that He is there.

Fear

Fear kept me from jumping; learning to trust is a process. Fear is often normal and a natural part of stepping into a new area we are looking to explore. God gave us the ability to fear those things we should, but He also desires for us to trust Him in the areas He says we should.

The Word of God calls us “little children”[1] for a reason. This faith walk requires a transfer from what we have known and trusted in for most of our lives, to adjust to the new walk that requires trusting in Him alone at times. That’s big and takes time to retrain our minds and hearts to this; but as we practice trusting, we learn that He is faithful to us.

In order to be relieved of the fear of the unknown, to free-fall into His arms, we must rely upon His Word to teach us who He is.

Faith

The Bible says that faith comes to us through hearing/reading the Word of God (Rom. 10:17). We cannot see the future, but we can trust our Heavenly Father to hold us. When you accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, you too become His precious child. Can you believe this? He is aware of all that has happened in your life and He wants you to know that He will never harm you. You can free-fall into His arms and He gives us the Holy Spirit to live within us, assuring us of His constant care.

Allow God’s Word to give you guidance into His absolute care. Discover that He is different from all others. No one can possibly love you as He does.

The Finish line:

With free-fall, there’s a sense in which once adapted to the parachute, air pressure, and the ability to control the descent, the journey down becomes so enjoyable that many do it again. If the jump is done under duress, in fear, there will be no desire to repeat this experience. But for those who trust and follow the guidelines, stepping out of the plane actually becomes a joy; the thrill of the ride back down to earth — it captivates some.

With God, our Good Father, we can learn to embrace free-falling into His arms and become strengthened through it. It is the practice of placing our faith in Him to bring us to safety. Will you step out and believe that He wants to expand your abilities to trust Him? Free-falling while He holds you can become a way of life that brings Him joy as a Father, and gives you delight knowing He cares for you.

One day we will land safely home at our final destination, Heaven, and realize the journey was short after all. So, practice obedience, trust Him and free-fall — and enjoy the abundant life that God desires to lead you in[2]. Go for it!

[1] My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth. IJohn 3:18 (NKJV)

[2] The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. John 10:10 (KJV)

Photo Credit: Pixabay

Our Real Enemy

Published on March 9, 2018May 25, 2023 by Nancy DemaryLeave a comment

ALL Christians face spiritual warfare. Some may not be aware of who actually is opposing them, and they end up taking offense and despising the people they ought to love. If we are not wise and equipped with minds renewed daily upon God’s Word we are easy prey to our enemy’s schemes and will believe that people are our enemy. In reality, all of humankind is under the sway of this masterful deceiver[1] in some way. Satan’s purpose is ONLY to steal, kill and destroy you[2].

What are your first thoughts when you wake up in the morning and there’s darkness present? Perhaps a bad dream resulting from the past. Where do you think these dark feelings come from? Certainly not from your loving Father who said He would cast our forgiven sins far from us and not bring them before us again. Of course, it would be from the oppressor, the enemy, who would like to rob you of the abundant life that Jesus promises to His own.

Be sure that when you are encountering these dark moments of fear, discouragement, shame or confusion, all of this is rooted in the strategy of Satan to cause you to doubt God and live in unbelief. Recognizing this and then going to God’s Word to renew your mind, and strengthen your soul, is the proper response. What did Paul tell us we should do daily in order to equip ourselves for these attacks? Ephesians 6:11-12 “Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places”. Go on to read and study verses 14-17 to learn what the armor of God is.

When I consider how much training goes into equipping the military for earthy battles, let us consider the daily onslaught from hell that we face — it is very real. We need to be equipped and ready to recognize the battle we are in. We need to be careful not to involve ourselves in unnecessary skirmishes to the neglect of the real spiritual battle we’re in. We can be sidetracked fighting temporal situations and people, instead of the one God has declared to be our real enemy.

I Peter 5:8-9 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walks about, seeking whom he may devour: whom resist steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.

Prayer is the needful, consistent, daily exchange between us and our Father. He desires to guide us and glorify Himself through us. To be useful in His Kingdom and overcome our enemy, we must communicate and hear from God, our Chief and Commander. A good soldier heeds what He says and does it. We must equip ourselves with spiritual armor (Eph. 6:10-18) against this enemy; remember he is a subtle deceiver, not easy to recognize. Our victory against Satan is firmly planted in Christ’s victory over death, hell, and the grave at Calvary; Christ earned this position for us and He is greater than our foe.

A song written by Martin Luther about 500 years ago, A Mighty Fortress is Our God, describes this battle. Here is verse one of this hymn. Powerful songs like this have kept believers strong in faith and action. May we recognize the enemy’s craft and respond in the power of the Holy Spirit.

A mighty fortress is our God, a bulwark never failing; our helper he amid the flood of mortal ills prevailing.
For still our ancient foe doth seek to work us woe; his craft and power are great, and armed with cruel hate, on earth is not his equal.

[1] 2 Corinthians 4:3-4 But if our gospel be hidden, it is hidden to them that are lost: In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.

[2] John 10:10 The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I have come that they might have life and that they might have it more abundantly.

May you RECOGNIZE your real enemy and RESPOND according to the Instruction Manual.

Photo Credit: Pixabay