olive thinks.

Ephesians 1:3-10

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him.  In love He predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of His will, to the praise of His glorious grace, with which He has blessed us in the Beloved.  In Him we have REDEMPTION through His blood, the FORGIVENESS of our trespasses, according to the riches of His GRACE, which He lavished upon us, in all WISDOM and INSIGHT making known to us the mystery of His will, according to His purpose, which He set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in Him, things in heaven and things on earth.”

The best blessing ever is in the person of Jesus Christ.

James 1:2-7

“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters,whenever you face trials of many kinds,  because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.  Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.  If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.  But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.  That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord.  Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do.”

We were like those tossed and blown by the wind but now after receiving the grace that comes through Jesus Christ, within those moments is the perfect opportunity to learn stability. We are able to grab a hold of the understanding that our hearts are anchored in the one that doesn’t change so that we can be mature and complete, not lacking in anything.

“If you have raced with men on foot and they have worn you out, how can you compete with horses? If you stumble in safe country, how will you manage in the thickets by the Jordan?”

Jeremiah 12:5

Plow through the storm.

“Some suggest that the purpose of the trial is to endure it. The truth is, we will endure every trial that we encounter one way or the other. We are where we are today because we endured every trial that we thought we would never survive. Everyone endures. Endurance is not the goal, but rather refinement. Everyone faces trials and everyone endures and gets through them, but not everyone is refined. Refinement of one’s faith is a willful cooperative effort in submitting to the “mighty hand of God” (1 Pet. 5:6) and “entrusting our souls to a faithful creator in doing what is right” (1 Pet. 4:19).”

“All of us have many lies harbored in our minds and pick up additional lies along the way. If we choose not to cooperate with what God is doing through exposing our false beliefs and seeking His truth, we will remain in bondage. The truth is, we will complete this mind-renewal journey at one of two places; either when we die or when the Lord returns.”

“Any effort to escape sin apart from relying on Christ is self-righteousness. ”

Pointless. What is the Point? 

Whenever we claim that such and such is pointless.. we are claiming to know better than the God that allowed it. 

Humility is the point pretty much.

“We cannot  have a change of heart about the lies we believe and embrace the truth He has for us, if we are unwilling to look back to what we believe.  And everything that we believe is located in the context of experience. Throwing more truth on top of lies will not resolve the problem. We must identify the lies we believe before we can find freedom from them.  If what a person means when he says “put your past behind you” is for us not to be self-absorbed with the events of the past while there is no resolution from the lies we have harbored, then I agree. If all I do is think about how bad I have had it and do not find resolution of the pain in my past then I accomplish nothing and have succumbed to a victim status. Conversely, if what I do is bury the past and never attend to the lies that permeate my thinking, then I am as bad off as the other. God desires that we own our past, identify what we believe and seek Him for the truth. Herein lies true victory. ”

So wise. Pull the weed by the roots.

Blessed are the Forgiven.

For it is you who light my lamp; the Lord my God lightens my darkness. Psalm 18:28

He trains my hands for war, so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze. Psalm 18:34

My eyes are ever toward the Lord, for he will pluck my feet out of the net. Psalm 25:15

Be my stronghold as I make war against the flesh and the kingdom of darkness.

“As for me, I shall behold your face in righteousness; when I awake, I shall be satisfied with your likeness.”

Psalm 17:15

Oh Lord, bring restoration to my soul.

He prays to God and finds favor with him, he see God’s face and shouts for joy; he is restored by God to his righteous state. Then he comes to men and says,”I sinned and perverted what was right, but I did not get what I deserved.  He redeemed my soul from going down to the pit and I will live to enjoy the light.”

Job 33:26-28

Luke 21:26

Men will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken.

Luke 21:34-36

Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with dissipation, drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you unexpectedly like a trap.  For it will come upon all those who live on the face of the whole earth.  Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man.

Answer:

Phillipians 4:6-7

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

To be anxious is to be like the world.

Make me a prayer warrior Lord.

And he said to the disciples,  ”The days are coming when you will desireto see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it.  And they will say to you, ‘Look, there!’ or ‘Look, here!’ Do not go out or follow them.

Luke 17: 22-23

And then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘Look, there he is!’ do not believe it.  For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform signs and wonders, to lead astray, if possible, the elect. But be on guard; I have told you all things beforehand.

Mark 13:21-23

* Timing, Inaugurated Kingdom, and the Fullness of the Kingdom of God.  Understand these and we won’t be so easily swayed to look for God anywhere else but to seek Him where we’re at.

All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the LORD, 
and all the families of the nations will bow down before him, 
for dominion belongs to the LORD and he rules over the nations.

Psalm 22:27-28