ABOUT THE PHRASE "GOD'S IN CONTROL"

ABOUT THAT PHRASE “GOD IS IN CONTROL”  

I was listening to a preacher who used the phrase, “God is in control.” I felt that he had the right to use it because he had surrendered his life to the Lord’s leadership on a daily basis. For him, using that phrase is accurate and justified. But for too many people, it is an excuse for apathy. “Well, I can’t do that much anyway. I just let God be in control.” But it doesn’t work that way. If God were in control of everything, Adam and Eve would have never sinned; David wouldn’t have killed Uriah to steal his wife; Peter wouldn’t have denied Jesus three times.

 

There are certain things that God is in control of, but we need to be sure we are not shirking our responsibilities and apathetically turning over the tasks at hand to God because we are too tired, lax, or afraid to take responsibility for what He’s given us to do.

 

God gave humanity freedom to choose. God inspired Joshua to make the people decide: “If it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord” (Joshua 24:15).

 

When the Israelites came to the edge of the Promised Land in eleven days, Moses sent out twelve spies to check out the situation. God brought them to the land He’d promised them. But there were obstacles.

 

When God brings us to a new place in our walk with Him, there are going to be obstacles, but that’s no reason to give up and lamely excuse ourselves by saying, “Well, God’s in control, so I’ll just wait and see what He does.” There’s a time for waiting, but if the Lord is leading us and we’re yielding to Him, we may discover that there are more times He calls us to action than to sit on the sidelines. And if we’re unsure, we can always ask Him to show us more. He is always willing to help us. He is a merciful and compassionate God.

 

The Israelites were supposed to enter the Promised Land after the eleven days, but since ten of the twelve spies saw obstacles, the people were afraid and wouldn’t go in. And God couldn’t make them go in. God doesn’t force us. He gave us freedom of will. The Lord wanted them to be bold and act, but they wouldn’t. (See Numbers 13 and 14.)

 

Fear and apathy go hand in hand. “The slothful man saith, ‘There is a lion without, I shall be slain in the streets.’ As the door turneth upon his hinges, so doth the slothful upon his bed” (Prov. 26:13-14).

 

“So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth,” says the Lord in Revelation 3:16.

 

If we are going to use the phrase, “God is in control,” let’s mean it in our personal lives and use it in the right way, because we have chosen to surrender all to Him, daily yielding to His every call to action.

Be bold. The Lord is with us wherever we go. Hebrews 13: 5b reassures us: “For he hath said, ‘I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee’”.

 

No more sitting on the sidelines thinking the Lord is going to do all the work. We’re a team. As God said to His people in Isaiah 41: 8-10:

 

“But thou, Israel, art my servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, the seed of Abraham my friend” (Isa. 41:8). That is in the Old Testament times, but the Lord took care of that, and in the Epistles that are written to us, we are lovingly told that we are also Abraham’s seed—"and if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed” (Gal. 3:29a).

Continuing in Isaiah 41: 8-10: “Thou whom I have taken from the ends of the earth, and called thee. . . and said unto thee, ‘Thou art my servant; I have chosen thee, and not cast thee away. Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God [Elohim]: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee.’”
 

The Lord will never ask you to do something scary or new and then just walk away. NEVER! He is always with us.

 

Love, Carolyn

 

Discover how the principles of the Bible still apply to our lives today. My books contain short, true stories addressing current issues in a Biblical way.

 

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WHO ARE WE TALKING ABOUT?

WHO ARE WE TALKING ABOUT?

Have you noticed that a lot of Christians are using the term “YAHWEH” or “YAH, instead of using the word “God”? I didn’t give it much thought until one day when the Lord God of the Bible gave me insight into what was going on.

 

There is such a mish-mash of gods and deities worshipped in the USA now that we’re going to have to be more specific in our conversation and writing when it comes to who we’re talking about, and not assume that just because a person uses the word “God,” they’re talking about the God that we know.

 

When I went to grade school, we said the Pledge of Allegiance every day with “one nation under God.” Everyone back then understood that we meant one nation under the Judeo-Christian God, the God of the Bible. But it’s not that way anymore. And now I know why in the Old Testament we’re given other names to describe our God.

 

One of those names is Yahweh, which is the name God told Moses to give to the children of Israel to call Him. In Exodus 3:15 and other places, our God is called “the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob.” He is called the Creator (Elohim) of all things, El Elyon “The Most High God,” Jehovah-Rohi “Our Shepherd,” and several other names that describe the wonderful characteristics of our God.

 

And by the way, since the Most High God, our God, created all things, He also created Lucifer, which makes Lucifer below God, and he (Lucifer, the devil, Satan- which ever name you call him) will always be beneath our Almighty God in authority and power, no matter what form he or his minion demons decide to take.  

 

So, this gives me something to think about regarding my conversations and my writing. Please know that when I write, and I use the capital “G” for God, I am referring to the Almighty God of the Bible, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, Yahweh, and Elohim (The Creator), and the other characteristic titles the Bible gives our God, to describe who He is.

 

When we read the Bible now, we can become more aware of the culture and circumstances surrounding the believers and see how they speak of our God, distinguishing Him from other deities.

 

Think about how you would describe God, and what evidence of His existence you have in your own life.

 

Let’s get to know how to articulate in words Who we’re talking about and let others know too.

 

Love, Carolyn

 

This week, Tuesday through Friday, 4.14 – 4.17, I’m offering a free booklet: BIBLE STUDIES. Just click the Amazon link.

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LET'S TALK ABOUT WISDOM

LET’S TALK ABOUT WISDOM

Wisdom is the “how to.” It’s applied knowledge. I have knowledge about paint colors, but I use wisdom to mix the colors I want and apply them to the canvas to paint a horse and its rider. We all have worldly wisdom about something. But spiritual wisdom is different.

 

We make many decisions in a day, and when there’s a problem, we have several options for how to handle it.

 

As Christians, we’ve been especially blessed by our Heavenly Father with His spiritual wisdom. He has the best answer and solution to every problem, every dilemma, every tragedy. And it’s never guesswork. He will never say, “Well, try this and if it doesn’t work, maybe try that.” Nope!

 

Ephesians 1:8 tells us: “Wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom.” How does all that wisdom come to us?

 

And that’s where the great part comes in. The birth, life, crucifixion, and resurrection of our Lord and King, Jesus Christ! “But because of Him [God] are ye in Christ Jesus, who from God is made unto us wisdom” (1 Cor. 1:30a KJ21).

 

God sent His only begotten Son to earth for us, and Jesus agreed with God. He lived the life of a human on earth. But he did have pure, uncontaminated blood from his father, God. So there were no generational curses in him, and he could perfectly do the will of God on the earth. And he chose to do it—ALL of it.

 

So, as our Lord and King, he has all the wisdom of God to apply to every earthly problem we ever face. We have the problem, great or small, and he has not just a solution, but the BEST solution, the one that will bless us the most! And this is always true. The solution may involve some hard tasks and may at first seem harsh, and may even look like they’re not working. But if the Holy Spirit gives it, then it will always be accurate and true.

 

And the Lord Jesus, as King, can orchestrate any number of complex solutions. They’re not all going to be instantaneous miracles. Some take time. And Jesus also has the ability to call on angels to help, or inspire any other believer or unbeliever to help if they’re willing. And he has access to innumerable resources that can be invoked to intercede for us, and wonderful solutions already prepared way before the problem even comes up.

 

Specific Godly wisdom for us is always available through our Lord and King Jesus Christ, who agreed with God to learn earthly wisdom through experience.

 

Hebrews 4:15 “For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.”

 

If we’re unsure of what we should do in a situation, we can just ask, as the Lord tells us in James 1:5: “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.”

 

And we remember James 1: 17: “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.” And especially today, Easter, we recognize our greatest gift from our Almighty God is the life of the Lord Jesus Christ, our Rock (1 Cor. 10:4), our Redeemer (Gal. 3:13), and our King (Rev. 14:14).

 

HAPPY EASTER! Love, Carolyn

 

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FREE BOOKLET

I’m offering one of my booklets free from March 31^st through April 4^th. “UPGRADING TO GOD’S REALITY.”

 

In this sample book, I’ve chosen 7 chapters specifically about point of view. The true stories show the different ways God sees things compared to how we sometimes perceive them. These chapters will help you to see challenging situations from God’s point of view, and in doing so, you will worry less and be more trusting and confident in facing everyday obstacles. Chapters included are: DANGEROUS ILLUSIONS, DEFERRING TO THE SPIRIT WITHIN, CHANGING DOUBTFUL PRAYERS, INFORMATION VS REVELATION, MAMMON IS A LIVING BEAST, I’LL JUST IGNORE IT – NOT!, and APRIL FOOLS

 

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STAND AND RECEIVE THE LORD'S PEACE

STAND AND RECEIVE THE LORD’S PEACE

One of my Facebook friends told a story about a neighbor’s tree leaning over the fence into her backyard. Several times it caught on fire, and my friend and her daughter prayed for the fire to go out, and it did. Had the fire not been stopped by God, it would have destroyed their house. The weird thing about this tree being on fire is that there was never any evidence, no scorching, no evidence at all of a burn. The final fire was the most ferocious, and once again, mother and daughter took a spiritual stand against it. The neighbors called the fire department each time, but after this last fire, the neighbors cut down the tree.  That ended Satan’s plot to destroy my friend’s house.

 

Reading this story reminded me of how important it is for us to take a stand on what is right. My friend and her daughter would not allow that demon fire to take them down. They stood against it every time, and the devil had to back down.

 

That’s how we need to be. The Lord tells us in Ephesians 6:4: “Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness.” When we know the truth, we stand boldly for what is right without wavering.

 

I can tell when I’m standing in faith for the right thing to happen; there’s a sense of deeply-rooted peace inside me. It’s unnatural, considering the circumstances, but it’s become one of those Biblically normal feelings for me. Philippians 4:7 calls it the peace that passes understanding. The context of this verse is prayer, supplication, and thanksgiving for true, just, and right things.  

 

“And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”

 

We feel a solid sense of peace, but it seems like it doesn’t make sense because, in the natural, we feel like we should be apprehensive or distraught. But when we recognize this supernatural peace, we know that we really can’t worry because God says He keeps us in peace through Christ.

 

What does it mean that we’re “kept” in peace? The word “keep” comes from the Greek word which means “to guard, protect by a military guard, to prevent hostile invasion.” In other words, this peace is impenetrable.

 

After God rescued the Israelites from Egypt, they had second thoughts about this crossing the wilderness thing, and they didn’t like it one bit. They wanted to return to their old lives; yes, they had been in undeniable slavery, but they were used to it. With all the new challenges and hard decisions, this wandering business was not going to be comfortable at all. They were willing to follow Moses at first, but suddenly they decided Moses was the enemy, and they hadn’t really wanted to leave Egypt in the first place. They complained like crazy, saying:

 

“Is not this the word that we did tell thee in Egypt, saying, ‘Let us alone, that we may serve the Egyptians? For it had been better for us to serve the Egyptians than that we should die in the wilderness.’

 

“And Moses said unto the people, ‘Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will shew to you today: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen today, ye shall see them again no more forever.

 

“’The Lord shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace’” (Exod. 14:12-14).

 

God knows what the right things are that need to take place. When we trust Him, we can stand firm for what is Biblically right and be guarded by peace through the storm. God is already fighting for us, individually and in the nations, and He will perform all His will.

 

Ezekiel 36 hints at what is on the other side of this journey. (This was a prophecy to Israel, but Jesus brought the Gentiles also into the flock of God).

 

“Thus saith the Lord God; In the day that I shall have cleansed you from all your iniquities, I will also cause you to dwell in the cities, and the wastes shall be builded. 

 

“And they shall say, ‘This land that was desolate is become like the garden of Eden; and the waste and desolate and ruined cities are become fenced, and are inhabited.

 

“Then the heathen that are left round about you shall know that I the Lord build the ruined places, and plant that that was desolate: I the Lord have spoken it, and I will do it’” (Ezek. 36:33-36).

 

Let’s stand against those demon fires as my friend did. We will stand for truth. We will stand to see the salvation of the Lord, and the peace of God will guard our hearts.

 

Love, Carolyn

 

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APPEAL TO LEADERS

 

Hi friends 😊. I am appealing to my Bible friends who are pastoring churches, leading study groups, prayer groups, etc.

 

THIS IS IMPORTANT: I was talking to my Christian friend Buck Dopp, who I first met back in 1972. The group we were in walked in the power of the Holy Spirit, and met in home fellowships, with monthly gatherings on a larger scale. There were lots of healings and deliverances at the time.  Buck learned how to offer the laying on of hands at the end of each fellowship meeting.

 

Not long after joining this group, three others and I were sent to another city to start fellowships. Unlike Buck, our leader did not offer the laying on of hands for healing, and consequently and regretfully, I didn’t learn to do it and didn’t pass it on.

 

So, please, if you are a leader of any sort of Christian group, bring back the laying on of hands for healing.

 

All you need to say is, “If anyone needs prayer or healing, come see me after the service.” Simple and to the point.

 

And if you’re already doing this, Wonderful!

 

It will make a huge difference in the health and blessing of God’s people and the entire body of Christ.

 

And if you’d like to share this with others, please do 😊!

 

Thanks for your consideration! Love, Carolyn

IT'S A PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP - THE LORD WITH US

IT’S A PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP – THE LORD WITH US

I chose this picture because it’s simple and quiet. I wanted to show that not every spiritual choice we make looks like a dramatic, spectacular life-changing event. But, every choice is significant. And every day we make many decisions, all that ultimately contribute to our many-faceted lives. Jesus made many choices every day too, just like us. And there was one particular choice he made that changed everything for those who believe in him.

 

He accepted God’s will for us and chose to be with each of us every moment, every day, as our personal treasure.

 

Jesus “was in all points tempted like as we are” (Heb. 4:15). He could have chosen to be disobedient, just as Lucifer chose in the beginning.

 

But instead, Jesus chose to obey God for our sakes. He believed in what obedience would bring. He believed in his Father’s goodwill for humanity. And he knew what a mess humanity had made for itself. The first chapter of John tells us Jesus was there when God created everything: rabbits, elephants, tiny electrons, mountains, flowers, and everything else—all things for humanity to explore, utilize, and enjoy.

 

Jesus knew God’s intention from the beginning. After Adam sinned and the devil began to have so much influence on earth, Jesus was willing to come to earth and go up against the devil to rescue men and women from his clutches.

 

To do this, Jesus would have to beat Satan at every turn. He would have to live as a man and face all the temptations any man or woman would face. And He had to handle them by choosing God’s way every time.

 

He didn’t give in to even one temptation to make a bad choice.

 

As we accept Jesus Christ into our hearts, he gives us the ability to turn to him for better choices in every situation. He’s been there. He knows us more intimately than we even know ourselves.

 

God was sure Jesus would do the right thing, but because He loves us so much, He was willing to let Jesus come to earth, live as a human being, and have freedom of will. Jesus could have chosen differently if he wanted to. But he decided to go through with God’s plan at every turn because he, like God, loved us too.  Jesus took the horrible results of every bad decision we make and paid the ultimate price of death.

 

Then God raised Jesus pure and free forever.

 

Romans 8:34 says Jesus is at the right hand of God, now living to make intercession for us. He is also right here with us to help us with our choices. Every time we speak or sing in tongues, whether for prayer or praise or any of the other wonderful things speaking in tongues produces, every time we do it, the Lord is present, seeing and knowing what’s up and what we need. Since speaking in tongues is a language that we don’t know in our natural minds, the Lord has to be intimately involved with us to give us the exact words that we need to speak.

 

And Colossians 1:27 says we have Christ in us. How can he be in so many places at once? He is Spirit, and scientists are now proving what the Bible has said all along, that things can be in two places at the same time. It’s awesome.

 

Just like Jesus had decisions to make, let’s make an effort to honor God by making Godly decisions too. And when we honestly don’t know what choice to make, we take it to Jesus because he always knows the best option at that time. He’s been through it. And since he’s with us all the time, he always knows exactly what’s best to do in the situation. He is definitely the most precious treasure we’ll ever have, and will have forever!

 

Love, Carolyn

 

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