Category: Live forever

A Life of Thanksgiving

Do you want to live a life filled with joy? Do you want to live in His presence? Do you want your “cup to be half empty” or “your cup half full”? All of us have good things and bad things happen to us.

Matthew 5:45 for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.

That is the way life is and the older you get the more good will happen and the more bad will happen. Your attitude is determines the difference in your life. Have you ever noticed that there are certain people that others gravitate towards? They are the ones who are filled with thanksgiving and their cup is always “half full”. After you are around them for awhile you start to think that their “cup of life” is all the way full because of the joy that they have in their life. Their life is not any different from yours or anyone else’s life. They are not more blessed than you. They are thankful people rather than complainers.

Psalm 9:1 I will give thanks to the Lord with all my heart; I will tell of all Your wonders.

When you give thanks to the Lord with all of your hear then you will see and tell of all of His wonders. His wonders are all around us if we will only give thanks to Him then we will see the multitude of blessings that He has given to us. You have to give thanks to Him with ALL of your heart to see ALL of His wonders.

Psalm 26:7 That I may proclaim with the voice of thanksgiving and declare all Your wonders.

Do you want to honor the Lord. He has given us clear instruction how to do so.

Psalm 50:23 He who offers a sacrifice of thanksgiving honors Me;

He wants us to come into His presence through thanksgiving.

Psalm 95:2 Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving, Let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms.

If He has saved you then should a day go by when we do not thank Him for the precious gift of His Son, Jesus Christ? God’s wrath that you deserved was poured out on Jesus. His anger is turned away and you now have His comfort!

Isaiah 12:1 Then you will say on that day, “I will give thanks to You, O Lord; For although You were angry with me, Your anger is turned away, And You comfort me.

All of your prayers should be filled with thanksgiving.

Philippians 4:6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

Finally, thanksgiving is what distinguishes the Christian from the nonChristian. How sweet it is to see a family bow their heads in a restaurant before they eat and give thanks to the Lord. All of us when we see it we know that they are doing the right thing. They are not ashamed of the Gospel.

Romans 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.

If we don’t give thanks to the Lord then our foolish heart will become darkened.

Romans 1:21 For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened.

Giving thanks is one of the beautiful ways that we can humble ourselves before God and honor Him and bless Him. Let us give thanks to Him and not forget any of His benefits.

Psalm 103:1,2 Bless the Lord, O my soul,
And all that is within me, bless His holy name.
Bless the Lord, O my soul,
And forget none of His benefits;

 

 

A Life that Runs Well

The Lord has called us to run. One of the ways that He wants us to run is to run from temptation. People often will talk about resisting temptation but that is not what the Lord says, he says to flee from temptation.

II Timothy 2:22 Now flee from youthful lusts and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.

The Lord says to flee from youthful lusts and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace with those who have a pure heart. The Bible says that those who have a pure heart will see God.

Matthew 5:8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

Those with a pure heart will not be deceived by the lusts of the heart. The word “lust” in the Greek means “desire”. A lust is a desire that is outside of the will of God. Many lusts are greater temptations in our youth because we don’t want to wait for the Lord to give us His gifts. We want them now and so we “give in” to temptation.

James 1:14-16 But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death. Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren.

However, when you get what you want and it is not God’s will then you also lose the ability to fully enjoy it, that is why, the Bible talks about the passing pleasure of sin. It is only for a moment and then the guilt comes. We were deceived. We are always deceived when we sin. However, if our friends have a pure heart then they will help us in our weakness. The Lord will also help you flee from temptation. He understands your weakness.

Hebrews 4:15,16 For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

The other way that we are to run is that we are to run to Him and we are to run with endurance the race set before us.

Hebrews 12:1-3 Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

The saints who have gone before us are watching and they are the cloud of witnesses. Therefore, lay aside the things that make it hard for you to run the race and strive to run hard after the Lord. Fix your eyes on Jesus. He is at the right hand of the Father and He is praying for you. He also had to endure and was found faithful. You can do it. This is what grace is all about. Grace is the power and strength to be faithful to the end. Don’t grow weary or lose heart. Ask others to pray for you if you find yourself struggling. We all struggle. Jesus struggled. It is in the struggling that our faith is strengthened. It may seem like forever but in view of eternity it is only a moment. You will never regret being faithful but you will have great regret if you are not faithful.

Psalm 144:4 Man is like a mere breath;
His days are like a passing shadow.

Our life is like a mere breath and our days are a passing shadow but eternity is forever.

 

 

A Life that Chooses Life

The Lord presented His people with a choice many years ago and we are presented also with the same choice. We can either choose life or choose death.

Deuteronomy 30:19 I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. So choose life in order that you may live, you and your descendants,

If we do not intentionally choose life then we will be choosing death because that is our bent because of sin. Man chose death in the garden of Eden when He disobeyed God.

Romans 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

That sinful choice was passed down through the generations to all of us. Left to ourselves we will choose sin, which means that we choose to be our own God and the end result is death.

Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Death is the curse that comes to us when we do not choose life. The only way that we can choose life is to choose Jesus, for He is life. When we choose Jesus it means that we choose to have Him be our God and rule our lives.

John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.

When we choose life then we choose the life of Christ in us. We want Him to live through us in the power of the Holy Spirit. He always does what the Father desires and so if you choose Jesus Christ and life then you will do what He wills and that is, you will keep His commandments.

John 8:28 So Jesus said, “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and I do nothing on My own initiative, but I speak these things as the Father taught Me.

Jesus did nothing on His own initiative. When you choose life you choose Christ and a commitment to keep His commandments and do His will. The only way you can do this is to die to yourself and what you want so that you might live for Him and His will.

Galatians 2:20 I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.

It is a life of abiding in Him and obeying His commandments.

I John 3:24 The one who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. We know by this that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us.

If you choose Him then He also will make known to others that you are His.

Matthew 2:49,50 And stretching out His hand toward His disciples, He said, “Behold My mother and My brothers! For whoever does the will of My Father who is in heaven, he is My brother and sister and mother.”

How well do you know His commandments? He wants our love and devotion and these qualities are manifested in our life through keeping His commandments.

John 14:15 If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.

Life is in Jesus Christ and His words are life. Choose life and you will choose Jesus Christ and the evidence of that choice will be obedience to Him.

A Life that Wins

Everyone wants to wins. The Lord wants you to win and so He tells us how you can live like a true winner. A graceful wreath is what the Olympian winners used to wear and even today the winners of the Olympics wear an ornament around their neck.

Proverbs 1:8,9 Hear, my son, your father’s instruction
And do not forsake your mother’s teaching;
Indeed, they are a graceful wreath to your head
And ornaments about your neck.

This father’s instruction to his son, the very first thing that he addresses is who his friends will be and what to do if sinners try to entice him.

Proverbs 1:10 My son, if sinners entice you, Do not consent.

This father knows that people will want to lead us astray and there are certain people that we need to stay away from and they are the ones who gain by violating the Word of God. You will win or lose in life by the friends you choose.

Proverbs 1:19 So are the ways of everyone who gains by violence;
It takes away the life of its possessors.

The opposite of gaining by violating God’s ways is wisdom. This father knows his child needs wisdom. We desperately need wisdom. The naive person just does not have knowledge and they don’t understand the need for knowledge. To the naive person ignorance is bliss. Scoffers turn their back on knowledge and fools are hostile to knowledge and don’t want to hear it at all.

Proverbs 1:20-22 Wisdom shouts in the street,
She lifts her voice in the square;
At the head of the noisy streets she cries out;
At the entrance of the gates in the city she utters her sayings:
How long, O naive ones, will you love being simple-minded?
And scoffers delight themselves in scoffing
And fools hate knowledge?

People don’t love the knowledge of God’s ways because it brings reproof. However, the Lord has a sweet promise for those who will turn to Him and receive His reproof. He will pour out His Spirit on their lives and make His Words known to them.

Proverbs 1:23 “Turn to my reproof,
Behold, I will pour out my spirit on you;
I will make my words known to you.

If you want to know God’s Words then He tells you that you must turn to Him and listen to His reproof. Reproof is correction and it may be painful but not nearly as painful as the consequence of not listening to His wisdom.

Proverbs 1:24-30 Because I called and you refused,
I stretched out my hand and no one paid attention;
And you neglected all my counsel
And did not want my reproof;
I will also laugh at your calamity;
I will mock when your dread comes,
When your dread comes like a storm
And your calamity comes like a whirlwind,
When distress and anguish come upon you.
Then they will call on me, but I will not answer;
They will seek me diligently but they will not find me,
Because they hated knowledge
And did not choose the fear of the Lord.
They would not accept my counsel,
They spurned all my reproof.

Turn to Him now and call upon Him while He is near. Call on Him before the anxious moments come and the stressful times are upon you. Choose to be naive and choose death. Choose to be foolish and choose destruction.

Proverbs 1:31,32 So they shall eat of the fruit of their own way
And be satiated with their own devices.
 “For the waywardness of the naive will kill them,
And the complacency of fools will destroy them.

Fill your heart with His wisdom. Don’t neglect your time with Him. Choose Him and you will choose life. This father knows that his child needs wisdom to live securely and to be at ease from the dread of evil. Do you struggle with anxiety? Do you listen to the news of the world and it puts a dreadful feeling in you? The Lord does not want you to live this way. Listen to Him and learn His ways.

Proverbs 1:33 But he who listens to me shall live securely
And will be at ease from the dread of evil.”

 

A Life that Has a Home

All of us at different times in our lives will feel lonely. Sometimes we can be in the midst of people but other times we need a home. The Lord made us to have a home. Home is where the heart goes to even if the body has to wait for awhile. Home is where you are loved and the body, soul and spirit can rest.

Psalm 68:6 God makes a home for the lonely; He leads out the prisoners into prosperity, Only the rebellious dwell in a parched land.

The devil destroys the home and keeps his prisoners from being able to go home.

Isaiah 14:7 Who made the world like a wilderness And overthrew its cities, Who did not allow his prisoners to go home?

When Jesus walked and lived on earth He often sent people home after they were cleansed and forgiven.

Matthew 9:6,7  But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—then He said to the paralytic, “Get up, pick up your bed and go home.” And he got up and went home.

The Lord was not afraid to go into the homes of the sick, poor and needy.

Matthew 26:6 Now when Jesus was in Bethany, at the home of Simon the leper,

After we become a Christian He wants us to home and share with our family what great things He has done.

Mark 5:19 …but He said to him, “Go home to your people and report to them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He had mercy on you.”

God is a restorer and still wants to restore. Those who serve Him will also want to restore for others the paths that lead home.

Isaiah 58:12 Those from among you will rebuild the ancient ruins; You will raise up the age-old foundations; And you will be called the repairer of the breach, The restorer of the streets in which to dwell.

Sometimes the Lord calls His children to serve Him and to leave their homes. He promises to provide other homes for them and many more than what they gave up for Him. The Lord is no man’s debtor. He always gives back more to us than what we give to Him.

Luke 18:28-30 Peter said, “Behold, we have left our own homes and followed You.” And He said to them, “Truly I say to you, there is no one who has left house or wife or brothers or parents or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, who will not receive many times as much at this time and in the age to come, eternal life.”

Finally, He promises all of us who have followed Him and trusted Him in this life, a home in heaven.

John 14:2 In My Father’s house are many dwelling laces; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you.

One day we will go and be with Him and what a glorious day that will be. Don’t get discouraged in this life. Remain faithful to Him for He is faithful to you if you have trusted Him. Yes, one day soon we will go home forever. The older you get the more your heart longs to go to that eternal home where you are loved and where you body, soul and spirit can rest forever. He has a place prepared for you.

 

 

 

A Life that is Not Timid

Three times in Scripture the Lord talks about the timid and timidity and uses the same Greek word. The first time is in the Gospels when He was with His disciples and He rebuked them for being timid. He reproved them doubting His love.

Mark 4:36-40 Leaving the crowd, they took Him along with them in the boat, just as He was; and other boats were with Him. And there arose a fierce gale of wind, and the waves were breaking over the boat so much that the boat was already filling up. Jesus Himself was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke Him and said to Him, “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?” And He got up and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Hush, be still.” And the wind died down and it became perfectly calm. And He said to them, “Why are you cowardly? Do you still have no faith?”

The word cowardly in this passage has the meaning of being timid. He reproved them because they questioned whether He cared about them during the storm in their lives. The Lord does not reprove us for being afraid but He does reprove us for doubting His love when we are afraid. He wants you to by faith, trust Him and His love for you then He wants you to come to Him so that He can calm the storms in your life. Has He not promised to care for you and He loves you.

I Peter 5:6,7 Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.

It is more tempting to doubt His love than to doubt His power. Martha and Mary did not doubt His love but His power when their brother died. 

John 11:21 Martha then said to Jesus, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.

Again, if He had been there the situation would not have happened.

John 11:32Therefore, when Mary came where Jesus was, she saw Him, and fell at His feet, saying to Him, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.”

Often we do not come to Him because we feel that He really does not care about us in our situation.

II Timothy 1:7 For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline.

The Lord says that He has not given us a spirit of timidity. He wants us to come to Him to receive power to face the storms that He will still. He wants us to love Him and loving Him is coming to Him with our fears. He wants us to be disciplined in our relationship with Him and give Him our cares and concerns every morning before we face the day.

Revelation 21:7,8 He who overcomes will inherit these things, and I will be his God and he will be My son. But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”

The word here “cowardly” in the book of Revelation means the same as timid. In all three of these instances in Scripture it is the same Greek word, which means timid or cowardly or afraid. The second death is hell. These are the cowards, timid and those who are afraid to come to Him. Sin and unbelief causes us to not go to Him.

Ephesians 2:8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;

Grace is an invitation to come to Him and faith is coming to Him. Salvation is the gift He gives to those who come to Him. His salvation includes not only eternal salvation in the life to come but saving us from the storms in this present life, .

Matthew 11:28-30 Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

Are you struggling with storms in life? Go to Him and experience His rest for your soul in this present life. Are you struggling with sin and guilt? Go to Him and experience His forgiveness and cleansing. He loves you and cares about the things that concern you, whether it is an outward storm or an inward storm. Jesus is our salvation and came to save us.

 

A Life that Gains Understanding

Understanding is the knowledge of Him that the Lord gives to us but understanding can also be taken away from us.

Proverbs 9:10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.

Wisdom and understanding go together and the lady is blessed who gains wisdom and understanding.

Proverbs 3:13 How blessed is the man who finds wisdom and the man who gains understanding.

With understanding comes less discipline. Discipline is painful.

Proverbs 10:13 On the lips of the discerning, wisdom is found, But a rod is for the back of him who lacks understanding.

The Lord gives understanding.

II Timothy 2:7 Consider what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything.

Jesus came that we might have understanding.

I John 5:20 And we know that the Son of God has come, and has given us understanding so that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life.

Immorality and indulging our flesh takes away understanding.

Hosea 4:11 Harlotry, wine and new wine take away the understanding.

Without understanding we are ruined.

Hosea 4:14 …So the people without understanding are ruined.

A true spiritual leader, who is a shepherd of God’s people will feed His people with the knowledge of Him. Go where you will be fed spiritually. The Lord has not called His shepherds to entertain or to even be popular but to be faithful. Jesus said to Peter before He departed, “if you love Me, feed My sheep”.

Jeremiah 3:15 Then I will give you shepherds after My own heart, who will feed you on knowledge and understanding.

In this world where we don’t know who to trust, we know that we can trust Him but we must know Him and understand His ways. He promises to deliver us from those who are deceitful if we know Him and have understanding.

Proverbs 2:2-12 Make your ear attentive to wisdom,
Incline your heart to understanding;
For if you cry for discernment,
Lift your voice for understanding;
If you seek her as silver
And search for her as for hidden treasures;
Then you will discern the fear of the Lord
And discover the knowledge of God.
For the Lord gives wisdom;
From His mouth come knowledge and understanding.
He stores up sound wisdom for the upright;
He is a shield to those who walk in integrity,
Guarding the paths of justice,
And He preserves the way of His godly ones.
Then you will discern righteousness and justice
And equity and every good course.
For wisdom will enter your heart
And knowledge will be pleasant to your soul;
Discretion will guard you,
Understanding will watch over you,
To deliver you from the way of evil,
From the man who speaks perverse things;

Make your ear attentive, cry to Him and lift your voice for understanding. Seek understanding. He will be your shield and preserve your ways. You will discern the right course to take and discretion will guard you. Understanding will watch over you to deliver you from the way of evil and from men who would lie to you and try to deceive you to take advantage of you.

A Life that Seeks First

We all seek after something, whether it is fame, fortune, security, significance,purpose and meaning in life or all of the above, there is something deep within us that seeks. Oftentimes when we find what we are seeking it leaves us even more empty because many of the things that we think will make us happy are only an illusion, an emptiness that we realize is only vanity.

Ecclesiastes 4:4 I have seen that every labor and every skill which is done is the result of rivalry between a man and his neighbor. This too is vanity and striving after wind.

Many of the things that we seek are only a rivalry with another, a one up man ship or envy, coveting or jealousy. Again, it will not satisfy and we will only want more.

Ecclesiastes 5:10 He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves abundance with its income. This too is vanity.

You can become the richest person in the world and you still will not be happy. Your life will feel more empty than before because you will have gotten what you thought would make you happy.

Ecclesiastes 2:23 Because all his days his task is painful and grievous; even at night his mind does not rest. This too is vanity.

Your life will have been lived in vain if you do not seek what the Lord has designed you to seek. Your days will be filled with pain and your work will be grievous. You will not see meaning in many of the things that you do and some people will even have trouble sleeping at night.

Deuteronomy 4:29 But from there you will seek the Lord your God, and you will find Him if you search for Him with all your heart and all your soul.

If you do seek Him then you will find Him if you seek Him with all of your heart. If you seek Him, not only will you find Him and be satisfied, but you will receive everything else that you need to make you content as well. In seeking Him not only will you be content but you will understand that it is more blessed to give than to receive and your life will overflow with joy, satisfaction, contentment and life!

Matthew 6:33,34 But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. “So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

The Lord tells us that if we seek Him kingdom first and His righteousness all of the things that the nonchristians seek will be given to us and we will also need not have to worry about tomorrow. So, He says He will give us the meaning and security that we are seeking. He will give us what we need. He cares for us but He wants us to seek Him, so that we do not get caught up in the emptiness of wanting more and more and more.

Psalm 119:37 Turn away my eyes from looking at vanity, And revive me in Your ways.

Pray for revival first in your own heart. Revival comes when we quit seeking vanity and start seeking Him, that He might revive us in His ways.

A Life that is Created

Your life did not just begin in a random sort of way. You were planned and skillfully made in your mother’s womb. The Lord planned you before the foundation of the world and He chose your parents because He wanted you to be the unique and special person that you are. You are beautiful in His sight and there is nothing that you can do to make yourself more beautiful to Him.

Psalm 139:13 For You formed my inward parts;
You wove me in my mother’s womb.

You have no flaws because He does all things well. Whatever imperfections that you think that you have are marks of His ownership in your life. There is no one like you and nothing was done in accident.

Psalm 139:15 My frame was not hidden from You,
When I was made in secret,
And skillfully wrought in the depths of the earth;

Not only did He form you but He also knows all the days that you will live on earth. He knows all about you and He was pleased with how He made you.

Psalm 139:16 Your eyes saw my unformed body;
all the days ordained for me were written in your book
before one of them came to be.

You were made in His image. His image is not in physical appearance because that is temporal but His image is in the unseen and reveals the glory of God. The physical will pass away but His image in you will live on forever.

Genesis 1:27 God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.

Man is the only creature that was created in His image and yet man is the only one who has rebelled against his Creator. We don’t want to do what He has created us to do and that is to have fellowship with Him in a relationship with Him. We wanted to go our own way and the image of God was no longer seen the way He designed. Man violated
God’s Word and the word “violate” means to change, so we were changed and no longer showed His glory to the world. How can we be changed back so that we can reflect the image of God in our lives? There is only one way and that is to return to our Creator and be restored to Him. When this happens then we will become a new creation in Christ and the old things will pass away.

II Corinthians 5:17 Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.

Once we are restored then we will understand more fully His creation of us and how we are fearfully and wonderfully made. Our soul will know it and we will give thanks to Him.

Psalm 139:14 I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
Wonderful are Your works,
And my soul knows it very well.

Give thanks to Him today for how He made you. Give thanks for the unchangeable characteristics in your life. Give thanks for the parents he chose so that you would have the unique genetic makeup that you have. Give thanks to Him for making you in His image. Give thanks that you are beautiful.

 

 

A Life with Stability

We all long for stability in our lives. When your world is shaken it is a frightening feeling. The Lord promises His children stability so that no matter what happens in your life you will have a calmness within. You will not have to fear the times present nor the times future.

Isaiah 33:6 And He will be the stability of your times, A wealth of salvation, wisdom and knowledge; The fear of the Lord is his treasure.

The Lord will be your stability and His Word is the foundation of a life that will not be shaken when the instability comes.

Luke 6:46-48 “Why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say? Everyone who comes to Me and hears My words and acts on them, I will show you whom he is like: he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid a foundation on the rock; and when a flood occurred, the torrent burst against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built.

The Lord tells us what to do so that we will not tremble or be dismayed.

Joshua 1:8,9 This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will act wisely. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

The Bible says that what the wicked fears will come upon Him. The wicked have a lot of fears because they do not seek the Lord not listen to His Word. They want to be in control but most of life is out of our control.

Proverbs 10:24 What the wicked fears will come upon him,
But the desire of the righteous will be granted.

The wicked flee when no one is pursuing. Guilt causes a person to run away from life and also to have unfounded fears.

Proverbs 28:1 The wicked flee when no one is pursuing,
But the righteous are bold as a lion.

The Lord says to be strong and courageous. Boldness, strength and courage is what should characterize our lives for we have One who is always with us and will never forsake us.

Hebrews 13:5 …for He Himself has said, “I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you,”

When we are stable in our faith then not only will we have much joy but we will bring joy to those who have taught us in the faith.

Colossians 2:5 For even though I am absent in body, nevertheless I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your good discipline and the stability of your faith in Christ.