Tag:

problems

Life-Controlling Issues Can Separate Us From God

by Rhoda Gayle December 9, 2021

Life-controlling issues can separate us from God. How can we deal with it?

Life-controlling issues

In an episode of The Mum Show, host Marina Magdalena, together with Emma Browne and Clare Hooper, talks about life-controlling issues. A life-controlling problem is anything aside from God that masters or controls a person’s life. It may be anything from anger issues to eating disorders to mobile phone addiction.

Many people have been affected by this problem. Sometimes, what we see as our coping mechanism will lead to this issue. The worst thing about this is that our life-controlling issues can separate us from God.

“It creates a separation between us and God,” Clare emphasized. “It’s that coping mechanism and I suppose that’s what makes it all of us. I’m assuming there’s no stereotype to somebody who might go to a life-controlling issue in a way to cope.”

Nomophobia

One of the most common life-controlling issues is excessive mobile phone usage and it often leads to addiction. There’s even a term recently made to describe the fear of someone not having their phone with them, nomophobia.

According to data, 80% of teenagers would check their phones every single hour. And the majority of us spend over 100 hours per month on our phones, which is a total of 11 years over our lifetime.

“We’ve actually spent 11 years of our life not actually living in the present but kind of distracting our self, or using our mobile phone in order to kind of just escape what we’re experiencing right now,” Emma said.

Emma then shared some questions to ask yourself to check whether your behavior is a life-controlling issue or not.

“Is this behavior causing separation or distance between me and God? And is it impacting my relationship with God? Is this behavior impacting me in a different way? Is it impacting on my health, on my emotional health?”

If it’s impacting our relationship with God and relationship with others, we should start seeking healing. Remember that whatever issue you may be facing right now, Jesus is always the answer. There is healing and freedom in Him.

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Reference: GOD TV

December 9, 2021 0 comment

Articles Video

Are My Problems From The Spirit Or Satan?

by Christel Berns August 6, 2021

written by Christel Berns

In GOD TV’s “Ask Me Anything with Dr. Michael Brown,” he addresses a challenging query most believers are puzzled about, “Are my problems from the Spirit or Satan?” And his wisdom-filled answer needs to be heard by the body of Christ today!

Where Are The Problems Coming From?

A question from Xaverina was, “How can I find out what blockages there are in my life that are causing me not to walk in blessings but rather face lots of problems?”

Where are your problems coming from?

Instead of directly addressing the question, Dr. Michael asked the bigger question.

“Are the problems coming because of obedience in your life and you are going through a trial of your faith? Or you’re being resisted by the enemy as you walk in obedience? Or are there problems coming because there’s a lack of blessing in your life and something is wrong? How do you even know?” he said.

The Biblical scholar then highlighted the Scripture in Acts 16, where the Spirit forbade Paul to go to a particular area. But then Paul wrote in Thessalonians and said he wanted to come, but Satan hindered him. So, how do you know it’s the Holy Spirit hindering you, and how do you know when it’s from the devil?

Now, the host lays down principles to discern the truth behind such issues in your life.

“As far as you know, is your life right before God?” he asked.

But then he also stressed that it doesn’t mean you have walked a perfect journey. But that in your conscious knowledge, “Are you in the will of God?”

“Are you walking in conscious obedience to God? If not, that’s where you start,” he added. “You cannot expect the blessing of God outside of His will. The blessing of God is on His will. When you walk in His will, the blessing is there. When you walk outside of His will, you walk outside of His blessing.”

Are my problems from the Spirit or Satan? Ask Me Anything

Watch this video on YouTube

Grow closer to God daily by getting exclusive video teachings on God Today!

Read God’s Word For You Today directly from your phone. Download the Daily Word app now in Google Play and Appstore!

August 6, 2021 0 comment

Articles Faith

Are You Searching For Answers? Look To the Bible

by Henrietta Decruz November 20, 2020

written by Henrietta Decruz

Since the pandemic began we have many questions in our minds. Many people lost jobs and loved ones. Uncertainty is a fact of life. While we battle these circumstances beyond our control, there are questions arising in our minds. What is life really about? Who am I? What will happen after life on earth? Where do we search to find answers? I suggest the Bible.

Who Needs a Saviour?

When life is fine and going the way we want, we don’t have questions. In the same way, self-sufficient persons think they don’t need a Saviour. Problems reveal the need for a solution. God in His Sovereignty could have prevented the pandemic. But He allowed it and only He has the answers to all questions. What do we do when we have questions? The best thing to do is to seek God’s answers in the Bible.

How do we seek God? Deuteronomy 4:29-30 says, “But if you will seek (inquire for and require as necessity) the Lord your God, you will find Him if you [truly] seek Him with all your heart [and mind] and soul and life. When you are in tribulation and all these things come upon you, in the latter days you will turn to the Lord your God and be obedient to His voice.”(Amp) God asks that we seek Him with “all our heart [and mind] and soul and life.” Only wholehearted seeking will find answers. Shallow and half-hearted seeking will not help.

The Living Word

The best way to understand who God is and know Him better is through the Bible. The words written in the Bible are not ordinary words, they are living words. Hebrews 4:12 says, “For the Word that God speaks is alive and full of power [making it active, operative, energizing, and effective]; it is sharper than any two–edged sword, penetrating to the dividing line of the breath of life (soul) and [the immortal] spirit, and of joints and marrow [of the deepest parts of our nature], exposing and sifting and analyzing and judging the very thoughts and purposes of the heart.”

To those who are worried and living in fear, God says, “For I know the thoughts and plans that I have for you, says the Lord, thoughts, and plans for welfare and peace and not for evil, to give you hope in your final outcome. Then you will call upon Me, and you will come and pray to Me, and I will hear and heed you. Then you will seek Me, inquire for, and require Me [as a vital necessity] and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.” (Jeremiah 29:11-13)

The Bible – God speaks to us through His Word

An Answer for Our Questions

The Bible is a treasure trove of golden nuggets that we can keep finding and learning from throughout life. Many years back I stumbled upon the fact that the Bible had answers to every question I had. When I understood this I wished I had known it earlier, as it would have saved me a lot of heartache and pain and prevented me from making mistakes I regretted.

Proverbs 27:12 says, “A prudent man sees the evil and hides, but the simple pass on and are punished [with suffering].” Just as we are careful to avoid potholes and open pits on the road, in life too there are some pits and traps that we need to avoid. David was wise. In Psalm 119:11 he says, “Your Word have I hid in my heart, that I may not sin against You.” He found the path to true blessings and peace by keeping away from sin. God blessed him and gave him a legacy that will go on forever.

Directions for a Successful Journey

We are all on a journey in life. At the end of our journey, we will reach our final destination. Those who choose to go against God will bear the consequences of it. Romans 1:31-32 says, “[They were] without understanding, conscienceless and faithless, heartless and loveless [and] merciless. Though they are fully aware of God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve to die, they not only do them themselves but approve and applaud others who practice them.”

The Holy Spirit was with God during creation and it was He who helped the prophets write down the books in the Bible. No one can be a better Teacher to teach us the Word of God than the Holy Spirit Himself. If you want to have a peaceful life and find the answers you seek, ask the Holy Spirit to teach you the truth through the Word of God.

Here are some Bible resources online that you can use.

Bible Info

What Christians Want To Know

Bible Gateway

Type in the subject and click search, you will find verses on that subject listed. Pray and ask the Lord to reveal the truth to you and you will find deeper revelations in the Bible verses.

John 8:32 says, “And you will know the Truth, and the Truth will set you free.”

November 20, 2020 0 comment

Faith Lifestyle

8 Ways To Grow In Your Prayer Life

by GOD TV September 25, 2017

written by GOD TV

Grow While You Pray

Prayer is essential in every believers walk with God. If you think about it, communication is the basis for all human relationships. Imagine if you never talked to your best friend, would you be close friends? No, because you wouldn’t know anything about each other, nor would you have anything to do together. Well, our relationship with God is the same. It’s easy to forget the necessary role prayer plays in our lives on a daily basis. We get caught up in the rush of life, and can find ourselves ‘to busy’ to pray. Are we too busy to talk to our significant others, or our siblings? No, because if we ignored them like we often do to God then we would be friendless!

Prayer is essential to getting to know God more, and in developing a personal relationship with him. Here are 8 easy steps to implement in your life, if you have found your prayer life to be lacking.

1. Pray without ceasing

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 instructs us to, “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” Our prayer life should keep us in constant communication with God. It allows us to go to him whenever we want or whenever we need to. Prayer shouldn’t be a scheduled, mandatory act that we do each day, but a constant weave of communication with God.

2. Pray for others

It is important to pray for yourself and your needs, but it is also important to pray for others as well. Whether you are praying for your wife, your children, your friends, or your neighbor, everyone around you needs constant prayer too. Even that annoying cousin you have that is constantly sending you degrading text messages; she needs prayer too. You can pray for specific problems, or you can prayer for the general well being of others too.

3. Thank God for what he has given you

Our prayer life can be filled with requests to God, but we should also be thankful for all the blessings he has put in our lives. Being thankful is something easy for humans to struggle with, and even easier to forget to be thankful towards the one who gave us everything. Even if everything around you seems to be going wrong, you can still be thankful solely on the fact that God has given us the joy of salvation.

4. Let God talk to you

Prayer is important because it allows us to communicate with God, but it also lets him communicate with us. When in prayer, it’s important to not just listen to what we are saying to God, but what he might be saying to us. In order to hear from God, we must open our ears to Him and tune our hearts to Him.

5. Prayer is not supposed to be a check list

Prayer is a conversation, that people tend to turn into a check list. Prayer goes from a conversation with God to a list of points you must address. If you want to grow in your prayer life then you must learn that prayer is to be a conversation, not a list of things to command to God. He yearns to know us, and having a candid conversation is one way to get to know Him better.

6. Prayer is also not supposed to be a wish list

Like the previous point, prayer is not a wish list. It’s not a means to simply ask God for things. So many times people make the mistake of simply asking God for things, instead of consulting with Him on matters. Learn to talk to God about your decisions, your actions, and your desires not just things you want.

7. Read the Bible, and see how Jesus prayed

If you are questioning how to pray, or what a prayer life should look like, just look to the Word of God. In the Bible, we are told in Luke 11 how a believer should pray. We can also look to the way Jesus prayed, and see how earnest he was when praying to His father.

8. Pray with an open mind, heart, and soul

When you pray, remember that God already knows what’s on your heart. He knows your deepest desires, your insecurities, your heartbreaks, etcetera. Because of His all-knowing attributes, you should feel secure in being completely honest with Him. If you need prayer for something you don’t feel fine with telling others about, you still should bring it to God. He will guide you in your earnest prayer, and he will also bring to light things that need prayer.

September 25, 2017 1 comment

Faith Lifestyle

Worrying: The Idolization of Your Burden (Cast Your Cares Upon Him)

by Vance K Jackson February 24, 2017

written by Vance K Jackson

Cast Your Care Upon Christ

Worrying is the idolization of a burden that has exalted itself in your heart. It’s the constant meditation and magnifying of a problem. It engulfs and consumes your time, mind, thoughts and actions. The assignment is to distract you from fulfilling your God Given purpose. Worrying is the constant meditation and worship of a problem that Christ intended for you to cast back to Him. The Bible teaches us to cast our care (worry, anxiety and frustrations) upon Christ. “Casting all your care upon Him; for He careth for you.” (1 Peter 5:7)

Care casting

The exaltation of a problem magnifies its space upon the altar of your heart.

“Care Casting” is the release of life’s problems and it’s intentional redirecting to Christ. When you redirect your faith to trusting in God, you’re deliberately shifting your focus from the magnitude of the problem to God’s capability and capacity to take care of handling it. Let the problem go. Release your care over to Him. Holding on to your care is carrying weight in your heart. Spoiling the ground of your faith. The exaltation of a problem magnifies its space upon the altar of your heart. Your problem begins to competes with God. Your complaining becomes worship in exaltation of the problem. Your situation only grows and your chronic worship and focus on the problem puffs itself up and against your worship to God. “Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.” (Proverbs 16:18)

Worrying is in conflict with God

You were built to reflect God’s Glory.

Worrying directly conflicts against God. It is self absorption, foolish and related to pride. “Only by pride cometh contention: but with the well advised is wisdom.” (Proverbs 13:10) Self-absorption is the act of setting yourself up as God. You are not God. You were made like Him, in His image and likeness. You were not created to replace Him. Cast Your Cares. You were not built to self serve. You were built to reflect God’s Glory and cast. Cast your care back to Him. “Do not fret or have any anxiety about anything, but in every circumstance and in everything, by prayer and petition (definite requests), with thanksgiving, continue to make your wants known to God.” (Philippians 4:6)

Thorns in your heart

The decision to carry your own cares creates thorns in your heart. “As for what was sown among thorns, this is he who hears the Word, but the cares of the world and the pleasure and delight and glamour and deceitfulness of riches choke and suffocate the Word, and it yields no fruit.” (Matthew 13:22) When the Word of God is sown among thorny ground, it becomes entangled with erected altars in worship to other gods. His Word competes with your exalted cares. These strange gods take precedence in the soil of your heart, taking deep root, suffocating and choking your fruit. God wants you to dethrone every idol and cast your care upon Him. Christ cares.

If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed. (John 8:36)

You can be free from oppression

When you worry, you’re feeding and worshipping a care that has no place in the ground of your heart

Christ wants to set you free from oppression. If worrying is the misdirection of worship to a problem, then oppression is the weight that’s produced by carrying your burden. “Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:29-30) Oppression is a crushing pressure that suffocates your thoughts under it’s authority and power. It’s a spiritual bondage that keeps your heart under it’s pressure. When you set up false gods, in your heart, they become an oppressor with empty promises of fulfillment. No amount of worship or complaining can satisfy the fulfillment of a false god. When you worry, you’re feeding and worshipping a care that has no place in the ground of your heart and only entangles your liberty. “And who of you by worrying and being anxious can add one unit of measure (cubit) to his stature or to the span of his life? For the Gentiles (heathen) wish for and crave and diligently seek all these things, and your heavenly Father knows well that you need them all.” (Matthew 6:27, 32)

Break oppression, and it’s impact, by not worshipping your cares and by tearing down the altars and the platforms that you’ve given them in your heart. Worship The True and Living God. “A time will come, however, indeed it is already here, when the true (genuine) worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth (reality); for the Father is seeking just such people as these as His worshipers. God is a Spirit (a spiritual Being) and those who worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth (reality). (John 4:23, 24)

Exhortation

God designed us to cast all our cares, upon Him.

God designed us to cast all our cares, upon Him. Give over every concern and weight over to Him. We were not designed to carry the burden or this weight. We were built to cast. We may feel as though our concern is too small or great for God to handle, but Jesus, our loving God wants to give you rest and peace from every concern, worry, and care. “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28).

Prayer: Father God, In The Name of Jesus, I choose this day to serve You alone. I dethrone every false god that I’ve exalted in my heart. I cast all my care back to you. My heart is on a good ground. This is your ground. Dwell in me Lord. I will serve you forever. Amen.

Be Free! In Jesus Name.

February 24, 2017 0 comment