Like Mary and Martha, they told Jesus if you had been here, the one you love wouldn’t have died.
But Jesus knows that he is the resurrection and the life. We just need to believe and know that He is and go forth by faith.
Before Jesus called Lazarus He told them to take away the stone. People throw stones all the time, think about the stones thrown to block your way. To block your exit, your pathway, your open door. By telling lies, tarnishing your name, business, ministry, and more.
But to God be the glory before He calls us forward he had the stones removed.
Last but not least in our moving forward it causes old rags and things holding us in bondage to come off.
John 11:44 says And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with grave clothes: and his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus saith unto them. Lose him, and let him go.
I encourage you to evaluate yourself and your circumstances, see where God is working and have moved away the stones. Go forth and command anything and anyone that is from the grave to loose you and let you go. It may be procrastination, overthinking, not being a good steward over the things that God has given, relationships that no longer serve, and more.
As I drove home from a church program Sunday evening, my mind raced as I mentally reviewed my todo list for the week. There is just not enough time. Did I get enough clothes and school supplies to start the school year? I need to fold that basket of laundry when I get home. I wonder if the boys have practice this week. The month is almost over, and I’m not even close to meeting my goal at work. What should my radio show topic be for next week? I got to do this; I have to do that. Am I doing the right thing? I wonder if The Journey Tip helped someone today... All of my thoughts ran into each other. I couldn’t help but feel like I was on a treadmill, doing a lot of moving but going nowhere.
When busy people compare their lives to being on a treadmill, I get it. You’re doing so much but it does not seem like you’re going anywhere. When you look at it that way, it can be discouraging. But try changing your perspective. When the thought of my life being like a treadmill crossed my mind, I immediately heard in my spirit that even the treadmill has a purpose. No one gets on the treadmill just to do it.
In most cases, a treadmill is used to pursue improvement in one’s health and to tone the body. In the end, consistent use of the treadmill will yield results. Whether you walk or run, each step matters. The treadmill also protects you from outside elements such as rain and extremely cold or hot weather. In other words, it helps to prevent excuses.
Maybe you’re that person that has taken on too much. You said yes when you should’ve said no, and the treadmill in your life is going too fast for comfort. Remember, you have the choice to change the settings. Sometimes it is best to slow things down a bit and gradually increase your stamina instead of rushing into a level that you’re not ready for. Besides, change that comes about slowly has a better chance of being maintained.
Instead of viewing the treadmill of life in a negative light, try this perspective. The results may not be immediate, and although it appears you are not going anywhere, you’re still making moves; moves toward positive change.
While on the treadmill, you will build resilience. You’ll be able to track your progress so that you can make the necessary adjustments. You’ll learn how to be intentional about pacing yourself by counting the cost of your time and resources to avoid burnout. You’ll learn the benefit of saying “no”, or “not at this time.” The treadmill will teach endurance. Initially, five minutes might feel like torture, but gradually you’ll adapt. You’ll learn to breathe, to push through the discomfort, and keep going. The treadmill can bring out strength that you never knew you had.
Change your perspective, and you’ll see the benefit of life’s treadmill. Life is always changing. One day, the children will move out. People will come in and out of your life. You will grow older, and may not be able to move around as you do now. Nothing stays the same. Hang in there! Lord’s willing, you will see the fruits of your labor. Remember why you’re doing what you’re doing. Stay focused, and you’ll see none of it was in vain.
However, whatever you do, do not allow life’s treadmill to get in the way of your time with the Lord. He talks and guides us through His Word.
Just this week, I found encouragement through His Word when I began to feel overwhelmed by my life’s treadmill. Hopefully, you will be encouraged by this passage also. “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, 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. Philippians 4:6-7 NKJV. Amen.
By: Daveda Janine
AUGUST HAVE NO FEAR SCRIPTURES
Fear not, for I am with you, declares the Lord, a timeless promise that echoes through the corridors of faith and history. In moments of uncertainty, when the shadows of doubt loom large, His assurance provides a steadfast anchor. God, in His infinite love and wisdom, has pledged His unwavering presence, a beacon of hope and strength amidst life tempests.
Embrace gratitude, for in recognizing the blessings bestowed upon us, we draw closer to His divine plan. Each challenge faced and overcome is a testament to His faithfulness, a reminder that we are never alone. Trusting God in all things requires surrendering our fears and placing our confidence in His perfect timing and purpose.
Let our hearts be filled with thankfulness, for even in the valleys, His light guides our path. By faithfully leaning on Him, we find courage and peace, knowing that His promise to be with us is eternal and unbreakable. Fear not, for with God by our side, we are equipped to face whatever comes our way, strengthened by His everpresent grace.
By: Del Pickens
HAVE NO FEAR
August 1 - Romans 8:15: The Spirit you received does not make you slaves so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, Abba, Father.
August 2 - Romans 8:31: What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?
August 3 - 2 Timothy 1:7: For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.
August 4 - Hebrews 13:5-6: Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you. So we say with confidence, The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?
August 5 - 1 John 4:18: There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.
August 6 - Revelation 1:17: Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last.
August 7 - Psalm 27:1: The Lord is my light and my salvation whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life of whom shall I be afraid?
August 8 - Psalm 34:4: I sought the Lord, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears.
August 9 - Psalm 56:3-4: When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. In God, whose word I praise in God I trust and am not afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?
August 10 - Psalm 91:4-5: He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart. You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day.
August 11 - Psalm 118:6: The Lord is with me; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?
August 12 - Psalm 112:7: They will have no fear of bad news; their hearts are steadfast, trusting in the Lord.
August 13 - Psalm 115:11: You who fear him, trust in the Lord he is their help and shield.
August 14 - Proverbs 3:5-6: Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.
August 15 - Isaiah 12:2: Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. The Lord, the Lord himself, is my strength and my defense; he has become my salvation.
August 16 - Isaiah 26:3: You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast because they trust in you.
August 17 - Isaiah 35:4:Say to those with fearful hearts, Be strong, do not fear; your God will come, he will come with vengeance; with divine retribution he will come to save you.
HAVE NO FEAR
August 18 - Isaiah 41:10: So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
August 19 - Isaiah 41:13: For I am the Lord your God who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you.
August 20 - Isaiah 41:14: Do not be afraid, you worm Jacob, little Israel, do not fear, for I myself will help you,' declares the Lord, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.
August 21 - Isaiah 43:1: Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine.
August 22 - Isaiah 54:4: Do not be afraid; you will not be put to shame. Do not fear disgrace; you will not be humiliated. You will forget the shame of your youth and remember no more the reproach of your widowhood.
August 23 - Isaiah 54:14: In righteousness you will be established: Tyranny will be far from you; you will have nothing to fear. Terror will be far removed; it will not come near you.
August 24 - Jeremiah 1:8: Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you, declares the Lord.
August 25 - Jeremiah 17:7-8: But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.
August 26 - Matthew 6:34:Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
August 27 - Matthew 10:28: Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.
August 28 - Matthew 14:27: But Jesus immediately said to them: Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid
August 29 - Luke 1:30: But the angel said to her, Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God.
August 30 - Luke 2:10: But the angel said to them, Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.
August 31 - Luke 12:4: I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more.
Gen 1:1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
Gen 1:2 And the earth was without form and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep, and the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters .
Gen 1:3 And God said, "Let there be light." And there was light.
Gen 1:4 And God saw the light that it was good; and God divided between the light and the darkness.
Gen 1:5 And God called the light day, and He called the darkness night. And the evening and the morning were day one.
Gen 1:6 And God said, "Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters."
Gen 1:7 And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament; and it was so.
Gen 1:8 And God called the firmament heavens. And the evening and the morning were day two.
Gen 1:9 And God said, "Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together to one place, and let the dry land appear." And it was so.
Gen 1:10 And God called the dry land earth, and He called the gathering together of the waters seas; and God saw that it was good.
Gen 1:11 And God said, "Let the earth bring forth vegetation the herb yielding seed and the fruit tree producing fruit after its kind, whose seed is in itself upon the earth." And it was so.
Genesis
Gen 1:12 And the earth brought forth vegetation the herb yielding seed after its kind, and the tree producing fruit after its kind, whose seed is in itself. And God saw that it was good.
Gen 1:13 And the evening and the morning were day three.
Gen 1:14 And God said, "Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to divide between the day and the night, and let them be for signs, and for appointed seasons, and for days and years;
Gen 1:15 And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heavens to give light upon the earth." And it was so.
Gen 1:16 And God had made two great lights, the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night; and God had made the stars also
Gen 1:17 And God set them in the firmament of the heavens to give light upon the earth,
Gen 1:18 And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide between the light and the darkness. And God saw that it was good.
Gen 1:19 And the evening and the morning were day four.
Gen 1:20 And God said, "Let the waters abound with swarms of living creatures, and let fowl fly over the earth on the face of the firmament of heaven."
Gen 1:21 And God created great sea-animals, and every living creature that moves with which the waters swarmed after their kind, and every winged fowl after its kind. And God saw that it was good.
Gen 1:22 And God blessed them, saying, "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters of the seas, and let the fowl multiply in the earth."
Gen 1:23 And the evening and the morning were day five.
Gen 1:24 And God said, "Let the earth bring forth living creatures after their kind livestock, creeping things, and beasts of the earth each after its kind." And it was so.
Gen 1:25 And God made the beasts of the earth after their kind, and the livestock after their kind, and every creeping thing upon the earth after their kind. And God saw that it was good.
Gen 1:26 And God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, after Our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the fowl of heaven and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that crawls upon the earth."
Gen 1:27 And God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him. He created them male and female.
Gen 1:28 And God blessed them. And God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the fowl of heaven and over every living thing that moves upon the earth."
Gen 1:29 And God said, "Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree upon which is the fruit of a tree bearing seed to you they shall be for food.
Gen 1:30 And to every animal of the earth and to every fowl of heaven and to all the living creatures that crawl upon the earth, every green plant is given for food." And it was so.
Gen 1:31 And God saw everything that He had made, and indeed, it was exceedingly good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.
