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STRESS-FREE LIVING

8/9/2021

August 9, 2021 STRESS-FREE LIVING
Philippians 4:6-7 “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your request be made to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”
Matthew 6:26-27 “Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow or reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?
Just the title of this posting may draw a reaction. Surely, stress is a part of life, right? I admit that the idea of living a stress-free life may sound like one of those ‘pipe dreams.’ I understand that jobs, relationships, health, and the world of politics can be a source of stress. However, in God’s word we discover that a stress-free is available to us. How we view stress and how we deal with stress reveals deep issues of our hearts; central to this issue is that of expectations and trust. Living stress-free does not mean a life free of challenges, difficulties and trials, and it does not mean that we have our heads buried in the sand. Our response to the potential stress-producers is the issue. I understand that a lot could be said about stress, but hopefully we can in a few sentences open the door to the possibility of living free of stress. (We all know the adverse effects of living under stress.) First, we need revelation in our hearts and the deepest part of our being that God IS OUR FATHER. When we come to know, not just in our mind, that God is our Father, we will trust Him. From the verses above, and many other verses, we know that our Father is our PROVIDER-He cares for us and will take care of us. So, trusting God, really trusting God, is key to being stress-free. Second, the expectations we have must be in keeping with the things of God. Having self-centered expectations leads to conflict and disappointment; expectations has to do with contentment. Perhaps it takes too much for us to be content. Paul said in Philippians 4:11-13 that he had learned to be content in all circumstances-that’s an amazing declaration. We must know that Christ is sufficient and He makes us sufficient for whatever we face. A lot of our stress is self-imposed. Becoming stress-free requires that we examine our hearts, our expectations, and our trust in God. There are many practical steps we can take in eliminating stress, such as living within our income, finding contentment with less, and perhaps lowering our expectations, listening to worship music, and etc. Find some simple things to do-go on a picnic, fly a kite-or whatever-you get the point. There is a lot said about the benefits of having goals, but goals can cause stress; let us be sure to set the right kind of goals. God invites us to make our request known to Him-but then we leave them with Him to answer in any way He chooses. I understand that I have jumped all around this subject and have not given three easy steps to stress-free living, but I want us to know that God does not want us living under stress; as our trust in Him grows, as we learn, as Paul did, to be content in all circumstances, as we rid ourselves of unhealthy and unrealistic expectations, and as we take practical steps to eliminate the stress producers, we will begin to experience a stress-free life! (We will face difficulties, but we can do so stress-free.)
Philippians 4:19 “And my God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.”
Blessings,
Buddy

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A LIVING HOPE

8/7/2021

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August 7, 2021                                         A LIVING HOPE
From First Peter chapter 1: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you,”       “In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ; and though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, obtaining as the outcome of your faith the salvation of your souls.”       “Therefore gird your minds for action, keep sober in spirit, fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”
As believers, we have access to a living hope; a hope that is not based on circumstances. Our over-arching hope is based on the fact that God has an inheritance reserved in heaven for us! This living hope, this assurance of all that God has in store for us, is tested by ‘various trials.’ Even though going through   trials is difficult, the trials we face serve a purpose; trials are the proof of our faith. When we face difficulties and when things do not happen like we had hoped for, our faith is tested; our response to trials has a way of exposing our faith. Our faith in God is more precious than gold which is perishable. Even though we have not seen Jesus, and even though we do not see Him now, we can still love Him and believe in Him. Loving Him and trusting Him results in the good fruit of joy, peace, hope, and a sense of completeness, no matter our circumstances. Because of all that God has done and is doing, because there is an inheritance reserved for us in heaven, because our faith is genuine and not fading away even though tested by trials, because the Spirit of God lives in us, and because we love Him, let us ‘gird our minds for action, be sober in spirit, and fix our hope completely on the grace to be brought to us at the revelation of Jesus Christ.’ Note that we are to set our hope completely on Him and the inheritance that He has for us; we are not to set our hope on things of this life. We are to be good stewards of all that He puts in our hands and we are to trust Him for our daily needs, but our hope is to be in Him.
1 Peter 1:17-19 “And if you address as Father the One who impartially judges according to each man’s work, conduct yourself in fear during the time of your stay on earth; knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ.”
Blessings,
Buddy

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WALKING IN HIS WAYS

8/5/2021

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August 5, 2021 WALKING IN HIS WAYS
1 John 2:6 “the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked.”
Ephesians 2:10 “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”
We talk a lot about living and walking in the ways of the Lord, but we at times may wonder just what are the ways of the Lord and how do I know I am walking in His ways. In this posting, I will simply list just a few of the verses that make clear what His ways are like. Because we have the Holy Spirit living is us, we have the power to know His ways and to walk in His ways.
Romans 12:10 “Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor;”
Romans 14:19 “So then we pursue the things which make for peace and the building up of one another.”
Ephesians 4:32 “Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.”
Philippians 2:3 “Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves.”
Colossians 3:16 “Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you,”
1 Thessalonians 5:11 “Therefore encourage one another and build up one another, just as you also are doing.”
Hebrews 10:24 “and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds,”
1 Peter 4:9 “Be hospitable to one another without complaint.”
Ephesians 4:24 “and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.”
Galatians 5:16 “But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desires of the flesh.”
Philippians 2:5 “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:”
Acts 20:35b “It is more blessed to give than to receive.”
Proverbs 15:1 “A soft word turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.”
Colossians 3:13 “Bear with one another and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.”
1 John 1:7 “but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.”
Matthew 5:44 “but I say unto you, love your enemies and pray for them that persecute you;”
Galatians 5:22-23 “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.”

The benefit of reading and studying His word is that we learn of His ways and we discover our new identity as His sons and daughters; at times, we may need to be reminded of His ways and reminded of who we are. The blessings is that we can at this very moment make the choice to walk in His ways-that is how He wants it to be.
Romans 12:2 “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”

Blessings,
Buddy

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FRUIT OF RIGHTEOUSNESS

8/3/2021

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August 3, 2021 FRUIT OF RIGHTEOUSNESS
Philippians 1:9-12, 27 “And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in real knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve the things that are excellent, in order to be sincere and blameless until the day of Christ; having been filled with the fruit of righteousness which comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.” “Only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ; so that whether I come to see you or remain absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel.”
We choose the life we live; we choose our beliefs, our thoughts, our attitudes, our actions and our view of life (our world view). The obviously all important factor is the source of our motivation for life. In reality, we are motivated by one of only two things-the desire for self-fulfillment or the desire to know God and to live according to His ways; we live either according to the kingdom of this world, or the kingdom of God. It was Paul’s prayer that believers would be filled with the fruit of righteousness which comes through Jesus Christ. We are admonished in the verses above to conduct ourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ; the implication is that we have a part to play in determining the life we live; another implication is that we can chose not to live worthy of the gospel. For example, if I react to someone out of anger, I am at that moment not living worthy of the gospel; if I respond with gentleness and love, then I am living worthy of the gospel. I know that these are very simple and basic examples, but they do reveal the importance of how we conduct ourselves. The good news is that if we belong to God, then we have been transferred to His kingdom and have been made righteous; and because we have been made righteous, we can live righteously in this present world. When we live worthy of the gospel, our love for each other abounds and increases; we grow in real knowledge and discernment; we approve the things that are excellent; and we will be found blameless when He comes. On a practical note, living such a life is such a better life-a life free of regrets, dissension, selfishness, and all manner of things that rob us of the life that God has for us. Living righteously bears good fruit. To live worthy of the gospel does not just happen automatically; there is a ‘standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the gospel.’ We need to be connected with others where we encourage one another in the things of the Lord, and there is a sense where we ‘strive for the faith of the gospel’ as we say no to our flesh and to the things that are not of the Lord, and yes to the things that are pleasing to the Lord and worthy of the gospel. May we abound in the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ.
Romans 12:1 “Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.”
Ephesians 5:8-10 “for you were formerly darkness, but now you are light in the Lord; walk as children of light (for the fruit of the light consist in all goodness and truth), trying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord.”
Blessings,
Buddy

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LIVING THE GOSPEL

8/1/2021

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August 1, 2021 LIVING THE GOSPEL
Titus 2:11-14 “For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in this present age, looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our of great God and Savior, Christ Jesus; who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds.”
If we say we love God and we love His word, then let us live it out. The grace of God has appeared and He desires that all would come to know Jesus as there life. Jesus death and resurrection from the dead ushered in a new day; and it is a new day for those who are indwelt with the Holy Spirit of God as a result of trusting Jesus as their Savior. When the gospel of God is believed and received, it changes everything; it changes our motives, our desires, our thinking-in fact we get a new heart when we are born again. God reveals Himself in His word, and His word is also a book of instructions for life; His word describes life in His kingdom. Living in His kingdom here on earth is drastically different from living according to the ways of this world. Living in His kingdom involves denying certain things and pursuing and taking hold of certain things. We are instructed to deny ungodliness and worldly desire-pure and simple. When we are tempted to do are think something that is ungodly-deny it-DON’T DO IT! It is really that simple. Because the Spirit lives in us, we have the power “to live sensibly, righteously and godly in this present age, looking for the blessed hope and appearing of the glory of our great of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus.” Jesus gave Himself for us that He might redeem us from every lawless deed-and purify us for His own possession. (It is a lie that says that because we are human, we are bound to sin; Jesus came to set us free from the power of sin. If we sin, it is because we chose to do so.) Knowing that Jesus is about purifying you and I for His own possession certainly should motivate us to cooperate with Him in the process by denying what is ungodly and by taking hold of what is godly. As His possessions, we are to be zealous for good deeds; God is good and Jesus was the example of living a life of good deeds. We do not do good deeds to earn His love and acceptance; we do good deeds because that is the nature of God and He has given us His nature. What a blessing for us to be able to “live sensibly, righteously and godly in this present age.” We can live the life that God has made available to us where we are free from guilt, exhaustion, worry, confusion, fear and doubt; and we can live in peace, rest, confidence, purpose, and hope; we can live with a blessed hope, anticipating His return when we will see His glory and we will receive our full inheritance that He has reserved for us. So, if need be, let us adjust our life to where we are living expressions of the amazing and wonderful gospel that He has given to us.
Romans 12:2 “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.”
Colossians 3:4 “When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.”
Blessings,
Buddy

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STRESS-FREE LIVING

A LIVING HOPE

WALKING IN HIS WAYS

FRUIT OF RIGHTEOUSNESS

LIVING THE GOSPEL

Buddy Fitzgerald

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