THE BIBLE TEACHES US ABOUT GOD ANSWERING PRAYERS: 1 John 5:14-15 ESV And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him. John 15:7 ESV If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. James 4:3 ESV You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions. Hebrews 11:6 ESV And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. Philippians 4:6 ESV Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. Psalm 37:4-5 ESV Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act. ALLOW THESE VERSES TO BE A GUIDE UNTO YOUR LIFE. PASTOR ANDRA HIGGINBOTHAM EVERLASTING SALVATION CHURCH OF GOD MINISTRIES PayPal.me/donatetochurch Church link: Everlastingsalvationchurchofgod.com
“I Just Feel Like God Isn’t Happy with Me” I am not aware of anything against myself, but I am not thereby acquitted. It is the Lord who judges me. Therefore do not pronounce judgment before the time, before the Lord comes, who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart. (1 Cor. 4:4–5) Have you noticed that you have less confidence in your relationship with God on days when you wake up feeling vaguely guilty? You can’t put your finger on any one thing in particular, but there’s this nagging sense that you’ve done something wrong and that God is frowning at you. Paul would dismiss that feeling, because he knows how God operates. When God judges, he brings to light what is hidden and exposes the motives of the heart. In other words, he’s specific. He exposes something that can be identified and linked back to an equally identifiable cause. And Paul is confident that God is much better at identifying and judging those things than he himself is (see 1 Cor. 4:3–4). Jesus said something similar when he described how the Holy Spirit would convict the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment (see John 16:8–11). When wickedness is involved, God does not bring a generalized feeling that something’s wrong. He brings conviction. And that only makes sense. If you bring a charge against someone in court, it has to be specific. You can’t accuse someone of being “a bad person.” They might be—but that’s a summary of their character based on individual things they have done. Charges are not a character assessment; they’re specific allegations. Why would God have a lower standard of specificity than we do? Think about the cross. The wrath of God that Jesus endured on your behalf was not a generalized wrath. God directed specific wrath against Christ for specific things that you would do against him and his holiness. To absolve you of those things, Jesus paid the exact penalty that was generated by each particular evil that God identified and judged. In other words, it’s not your job to convict yourself of sin. It’s God’s. And that’s a good thing, because you’d be horrible at it. None of us is very good at being good, which means that we’re not good at identifying where we are bad or the extent of our badness. Our spiritual blindness and our inexperience with true goodness mean that human judgment is superficial at best. If it were up to us, we would identify far too few things as sin and would assess far too small a penalty for them. The resulting payment would be inadequate, leaving us still separated from God. Thankfully, God examines and reveals your heart to you … which would be terrifying if he hadn’t also taken the responsibility of paying for everything that he convicts you of. Your role is to be open and sensitive to his Spirit. When he convicts you, repent. His conviction will be specific, which allows you to ask for specific forgiveness. When you’re just feeling uneasy, you can confidently push that feeling aside as you trust God to do his job. Is there something that God is clearly putting his finger on in your life? If so, then ask his forgiveness just as clearly. If there’s nothing explicitly wrong in your life but you feel vaguely guilty, ask God to either make clear what you’ve done wrong or give you greater trust that he will do so when something stands between the two of you. FOOD FOR THOUGHT, THINK ABOUT IT. PASTOR ANDRA HIGGINBOTHAM EVERLASTING SALVATION CHURCH OF GOD MINISTRIES PayPal.me/donatetochurch
“I Don’t Feel God’s Presence Like I Once Did” I bow my knees before the Father … that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength … to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge. (Eph. 3:14, 16–19) Have you ever found yourself thinking, “I just don’t feel God’s love or sense his presence like I used to”? If you were brave enough to tell a friend, they might have said something like “That’s okay. Faith is not a feeling.” I find that response unsatisfying—not only personally but also biblically. Consider the Laodicean church (see Rev. 3:14–22). Jesus describes their actions as neither hot nor cold but lukewarm. This was so unappealing to him that he would have preferred them to be cold toward him instead. Their emotional response mattered to him. Their faith had a feeling. Or think about the promise of 1 John 4:18: “perfect love casts out fear.” Obviously fear is more than a mental construct or an act of the will. It’s also an emotional response. Whatever drives it out must also be more than a mental construct or a willful act. Love, then, must be experienced even more than the fear it counteracts. Faith is not a feeling, but it has attendant feelings. Look again at Ephesians 3:16–19. Notice how Paul knows that we have to experience our faith, not just think about it or act on it. He prays that our spirits will be strengthened to know Christ’s love. And that knowing is much more than an intellectual, fact-based kind of knowledge. It’s experiential. It’s a knowing that surpasses knowledge. It’s a connection with Christ that so fills you that you can’t help but sense how much he loves you. Clearly faith is more than a feeling, and it is possible to overemphasize the role that feelings play in your faith—but it is just as easy to undervalue them, as well. What is one indicator, then, that you have really been saved—that you’ve been brought into a vital relationship with Christ? It’s that you, having once had feelings of closeness with Christ, now want them again. When you feel like you’re missing out on something with him, that is evidence that a relationship exists between you—a connection that gives you confidence to pursue him. And it tells you more. That nagging sense of wanting more connection isn’t one-sided. Your relationship with God is like any healthy relationship, in which both parties want to connect with each other. That dissatisfaction comes not only from you but also from the God who started a relationship with you. His Spirit yearns for more of you—even more than you do for him (see James 4:5). Far from being a sign that you’re not connected to God, being dissatisfied with his absence indicates that you already are connected to him and that he’s calling you to have even more of him. I HOPE YOU FOUND THIS REFRESHER TO BE OF HELP TO YOU. PASTOR ANDRA HIGGINBOTHAM EVERLASTING SALVATION CHURCH OF GOD MINISTRIES PayPal.me/donatetochurch
WE SHOULD MAKE A DIFFERENCE: 2 Timothy 2:22 ESV So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart. Luke 6:40 ESV A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone when he is fully trained will be like his teacher. Mark 16:15 ESV And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. Isaiah 60:1-2 ESV Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. For behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the Lord will arise upon you, and his glory will be seen upon you. MAKE SURE YOUR LIFE IS MAKING A DIFFERENCE AS YOU GO ABOUT YOUR DAILY WALK. MAKE SURE THAT WHEN PEOPLE SEE YOU THEY SEE GOD, AND WHEN THEY HEAR YOU THEY HEAR GOD. LET YOUR LIGHT SHINE! PASTOR ANDRA HIGGINBOTHAM EVERLASTING SALVATION CHURCH OF GOD MINISTRIES PayPal.me/donatetochurch
FAST FROM SINFUL PRACTICES: ISAIAH 58:3-10 Why have we fasted if you are not aware of it? Why have we inflicted pain on ourselves if you don’t pay attention? Don’t you see that on the days you fast, you do what you want to do? You mistreat all your workers. Don’t you see that when you fast, you quarrel and fight and beat your workers? The way you fast today keeps you from being heard in heaven. Is this the kind of fasting I have chosen? Should people humble themselves for ⸤only⸥ a day? Is fasting just bowing your head like a cattail and making your bed from sackcloth and ashes? Is this what you call fasting? Is this an acceptable day to the LORD? This is the kind of fasting I have chosen: Loosen the chains of wickedness, untie the straps of the yoke, let the oppressed go free, and break every yoke. Share your food with the hungry, take the poor and homeless into your house, and cover them with clothes when you see ⸤them⸥ naked. Don’t refuse to help your relatives. Then your light will break through like the dawn, and you will heal quickly. Your righteousness will go ahead of you, and the glory of the LORD will guard you from behind. Then you will call, and the LORD will answer. You will cry for help, and he will say, “Here I am!” Get rid of that yoke. Don’t point your finger and say wicked things. If you give some of your own food to ⸤feed⸥ those who are hungry and to satisfy ⸤the needs of⸥ those who are humble, then your light will rise in the dark, and your darkness will become as bright as the noonday sun. The honor of fasting consists not in abstinence from food, but in withdrawing from sinful practices; since he who limits his fasting only to an abstinence from meats, is one who especially disparages it. Do you fast? Give me proof of it by your works! Is it said by what kind of works? If you see a poor man, take pity on him! If you see an enemy, be reconciled to him! If you see a friend gaining honor, do not envy him! If you see a handsome woman, pass her by! For do not let only the mouth fast, but also the eye, and the ear, and the feet, and the hands, and all the members of our bodies. DID YOU FIND THIS REFRESHER TO BE HELPFUL? PASTOR ANDRA HIGGINBOTHAM EVERLASTING SALVATION CHURCH OF GOD MINISTRIES PayPal.me/donatetochruch
WHAT IS THE GOSPEL: The Gospel is the good news of God’s love in providing a Saviour—Rom. 5:8. Christ died for us while we were still sinners. This demonstrates God’s love for us. 1. Proclaims that Christ died for our sins—1 Cor. 15:3. I passed on to you the most important points of doctrine that I had received: Christ died to take away our sins as the Scriptures predicted. 2. That He rose for our justification—Rom. 4:25. Jesus, our Lord, was handed over to death because of our failures and was brought back to life so that we could receive God’s approval. 3. That His grace can save—Titus 2:11-12. After all, God’s saving kindnesshas appeared for the benefit of all people. It trains us to avoid ungodly lives filled with worldly desires so that we can live self-controlled, moral, and godly lives in this present world. 4. That His Blood can cleanse—1 John 1:7. But if we live in the light in the same way that God is in the light, we have a relationship with each other. And the blood of his Son Jesus cleanses us from every sin. 5. That His power can keep—1 Peter 1:4-5. We have been born into a new life which has an inheritance that can’t be destroyed or corrupted and can’t fade away. That inheritance is kept in heaven for you, since you are guarded by God’s power through faith for a salvation that is ready to be revealed at the end of time. 6. That His Spirit can qualify—Acts 1:8. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes to you. Then you will be my witnesses to testify about me in Jerusalem, throughout Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” 7. That His joy can gladden—John 15:10-12. If you obey my commandments, you will live in my love. I have obeyed my Father’s commandments, and in that way I live in his love. I have told you this so that you will be as joyful as I am, and your joy will be complete. Love each other as I have loved you. This is what I’m commanding you to do. 8. That He Himself can satisfy—Phil. 3:7–9. These things that I once considered valuable, I now consider worthless for Christ. It’s far more than that! I consider everything else worthless because I’m much better off knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. It’s because of him that I think of everything as worthless. I threw it all away in order to gain Christ and to have a relationship with him. This means that I didn’t receive God’s approval by obeying his laws. The opposite is true! I have God’s approval through faith in Christ. This is the approval that comes from God and is based on faith I HOPE YOU FOUND THIS QUICK STUDY TO BE HELPFUL. PASTOR ANDRA HIGGINBOTHAM EVERLASTING SALVATION CHURCH OF GOD MINISTRIES PayPal.me/donatetochurch
James 1:19 My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry. Proverbs 12:2 GW A good person obtains favor from the Lord, but the Lord condemns everyone who schemes. Proverbs 12:21 GW No ⌞lasting⌟ harm comes to a righteous person, but wicked people have lots of trouble. Proverbs 4:27 Do not turn to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil. LET US KEEP OUR SELF CONTROL, LIVE A RIGHTEOUS LIFE, BEING CAREFUL OF THE DECISIONS WE MAKE. STAY BLESSED, AND STAY SAFE. PASTOR ANDRA HIGGINBOTHAM EVERLASTING SALVATION CHURCH OF GOD MINISTRIES PayPal.me/donatetochurch
THE BIBLE TEACHES US ABOUT DEPENDING ON GOD. Isaiah 41:13 For I am the Lord your God who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you. Proverbs 3:5-6 Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. Psalm 121:1-2 I lift up my eyes to the mountains— where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. Jeremiah 17:7-8 But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit. I HOPE YOU FOUND THIS QUICK REFRESHER TO BE HELPFUL. PASTOR ANDRA HIGGINBOTHAM EVERLASTING SALVATION CHURCH OF GOD MINISTRIES PayPal.me/donatetochurch Church link: Everlastingsalvationchurchofgod.com
THE BIBLE TEACHES US ABOUT COMMUNICATION: THE POWER OF WORDS. PROVERBS 11:9 With his talk a godless person can ruin his neighbor, but righteous people are rescued by knowledge. PROVERBS 11:28 The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love to talk will have to eat their own words. MATTHEW 12:37 By your words you will be declared innocent, or by your words you will be declared guilty.” THE SOURCE OF WORDS. PROVERBS 16:23 A wise person’s heart controls his speech, and what he says helps others learn. PROVERBS 6:12 A good-for-nothing scoundrel is a person who has a dishonest mouth. HANDLING COMMUNICATION PROPERLY: BE LISTENING. Whoever gives an answer before he listens is stupid and shameful. PROVERBS 19:20 Listen to advice and accept discipline so that you may be wise the rest of your life. JAMES 1:19 Remember this, my dear brothers and sisters: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and should not get angry easily. I HOPE YOU FOUND THIS QUICK STUDY TO BE USEFUL REFRESHER. PASTOR ANDRA HIGGINBOTHAM EVERLSASTING SALVATION CHURCH OF GOD MINISTRIES PayPal.me/donatetochurch Church link: Everlastingsalvationchurchofgod.com
