Flee Follow Fight...Fall?

11 But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness. 12 Fight the good fight of the faith, lay hold on the life eternal, whereunto thou wast called, and didst confess the good confession in the sight of many witnesses. (1 Tim 6:11–12, ASV)

Flee, follow, fight... Flee, follow, fight. For days I read 1 Timothy 6, praying for a revelation regarding those three action words found in verses 11-12. Finally, another action word came to mind when considering the trio,"flee, follow, fight". That word is "fall."

Daily we endeavor to flee unrighteousness, follow the Lord's way, and fight the good fight of faith. But daily, I also, think, say, or do something that I shouldn't have. The Bible defines this as sin, which is equal to falling.

In His awesome sovereignty, God knew that we would be imperfect humans. He knew that even those of us who love Him would fall short of His glory while fleeing, following, and fighting. ("for all have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God" Romans 3:23 [ASV])

Nevertheless, He still created us and instructed us to flee from sin: from the love of money, selfishness, pride, strife...etc; to follow after Him: after righteousness, peace, and joy, gentleness, kindness, faithfulness, contentment, generosity, meekness, and Love; and to always fight the good fight of faith. (1 Timothy 6 Hebrews 11:6)

Knowing that sin would trip us up, the Lord specifically instructed us to run away from sin. He also knew that we would fall, but He loves us so much that He gave His Son Jesus to die for our sins: past, present, and future. (John 3:16 and 17): For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life...God sent the Son into the world, not to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him.)

Forgiveness is only a prayer away, and the price has already been paid to provide it. When we fall, we need only to confess our sins (repent); God is faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9).

We can't run this race alone. That's why before returning to heaven, Jesus promised to send the Comforter, Teacher, and Helper--- the Holy Spirit--- to us. He knows we can't go it alone, and He doesn't want us to! (see John 14: 26: "But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.")

What are you waiting for? If you have fallen, repent. Call on Jesus today and let the Holy Spirit's power be yours. Satan, the enemy of our souls, would like nothing better than to see you fall down and stay down. But Jesus has a better plan! ("The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." John 10:10) 1 Timothy 6 commands us to keep moving, and the Holy Spirit makes it possible.

Get up! Let's get going! Jesus's death has purchased our freedom and victory, and we have the Holy Spirit to claim it! (Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come. 2 Cor 1: 21–22 [NIV]) Praise be to God!

Ain't No stopping us now - we're on the move! Let's flee from sin, follow Christ, and fight the good fight of faith. The rewards are both in - and out - of this world! (Hebrews 12:1-3, 1 Corinthians 9:24)

Angels in Disguise by Louisa Guzman

I confess I don't always give to those who beg on the train or the street. Often when people walk by asking for money, besides wondering if they really are in need, what goes through my head is "am I my brother's keeper - must I give to everyone that asks?" Having inspected them for signs that they are faking it and deciding not to give, I still tend to feel guilty afterwards (after all, we shouldn't judge a book by its cover, right?).  Recently I had a dream in which I moved to a poor neighborhood. I found myself buying extra groceries and secretly leaving them where people in need could find them. In the dream I saw myself freely handing money to indigents on the street. At one point I was sitting on a park bench and a woman asked if I knew of anyone that was renting a room. I replied that I thought I might know someone. Then I tore off a little piece of paper from a notebook, wrote my name and number on it and told her to call me tomorrow and that I would let her know. But she sat down next to me and asked if I would stay and talk so I began telling her how I almost became homeless. When her eyes opened wide as if she couldn't believe what I was saying, I reminded her that it can happen to anyone - even Jesus, as we are told in Matthew 8:20 "foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay His head". When I finished I took her hand in both my hands, she leaned in and we hugged. I told her it was going to be alright. Then I woke up with Hebrews 13:2 in my head: "don't forget to show hospitality to strangers, for some who have done so have entertained angels without realizing it".

What if all those people begging on the street and the train were actually angels and all this time I've been neglecting or ignoring them? And even if they weren't angels, didn't Jesus say in John 21:17 "if you love Me feed My sheep"? Even though I don't play the lottery I always wished I could come into lots of money, just so I could anonymously help those in need. I'm not rich, but that doesn't mean I can't start right now with what I do have. Didn't Mary use all her expensive perfume on Jesus' feet? Wasn't that all she had? I'm sure if I give it some thought and prayer I can come up with ways to serve them without breaking the bank. I'm suddenly reminded that we need "not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up" (Galatians 6:9). Any small kindness will do, for Proverbs 19:17 says that who ever is kind to the poor lends to the Lord, and He will reward them for what they have done. As long as I take the first step by asking God to open my eyes and heart to these people, Jesus will take care of the rest. Says the Sovereign Lord in Ezekiel 34:15, "I myself will give them a place to lie down in peace". Just as Jesus fed the 4000 from only a few loaves of bread and a few fish, He will multiply whatever you have so that you are able to do so much more with it in order to "feed His sheep".

It isn't difficult to find opportunities to serve the needy. Here in America we may live in the "land of milk and honey" but there is poverty and need in our own back yard. Jesus reminds us in Deuteronomy 15:1, that "there will always be poor people in the land, and He commands you to be evenhanded towards those who are poor and needy in your land". What Jesus is saying is that I dont have to travel far. I don't even have to leave home to help. There is great need right here in Rockaway. Hòw much easier can it get than that? And most importantly, in whatever way I can help those in need, my actions are towards Jesus, for He tells us in Matthew 25:40, "whatever you do for one of the least of these you do for Me". Feed His sheep and be an angel in disguise to the angels in disguise.

By Christina Calvache

“You are your own worst enemy”. You’ve said this to someone or heard it about yourself. Far too often we are in situations where we sabotage ourselves. In any situation, if your behavior or choices are preventing you from achieving a positive outcome, you are sabotaging yourself. Self-sabotage is defined as any action that gets in the way of achieving your goals.

Can you recall a time when you’ve asked yourself, “Why? Why do I always do this? Or remember smacking your forehead with the palm of your hand saying something like, “I did it again!”, if so, it’s time to analyze your actions.

Unfortunately, if this sounds like you, (because it sure sounds like me) I’m sure self-sabotage is also reflected in your walk with God.

Hebrews 5:12 states “you have been believers so long now that you ought to be teaching others. Instead you need someone to teach you again the basic things about God’s word. You are like babies and cannot eat solid food” (NLT). Here we see that even when we walk in the will of God, hoping to fulfill His plan for our lives, we can hold ourselves back.

So the real question is, what holds us back? How do we get to a point in our lives where we start moving forward?

Research shows there are reason for these behaviors. A mindset of negativity and doubt sabotages any situation. Ultimately, negative thinking is poison and doubt is a sin. Next time you set your mind on something and then start thinking about “what if’s” or “I can’t do this” try to recognize it as a cycle of. sabotage.

Consider who you are in Christ. We were created to “speak before kings” (Mat 10:18) and we are to be like “trees planted by the water” (Jer 17:8). As children of the Great I Am, who speaks things into existence, we are quick to forget that nothing is impossible with Christ. God’s word teaches us to “Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth” (col 3:2).

The Word also explains in Romans 14:23, that when we have doubt, we are condemned because to doubt is to be without faith and to be without faith is to be in sin. How is negativity and doubt sin? We were made to be more than conquerors through Christ who strengthens us in any situation. To be anything other than what God made us to be, is sin.

I remember a time when I set out to do something, prepared for it, prayed about, built myself up to go and do it, and then stopped dead in my tracks. FEAR. Fear is a self sabotager. Fear can take control of you not only mentally, but physically. In the face of something frightening, your heartbeats faster, you breathe faster, and your entire body becomes tense. It can paralyze you. This is why God commands us to Fear Not!

Joshua 1:9 (NIV) Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”

God is with us wherever we go. Wherever we go, God is with us. If God is for us, who can stand against us? (Ro 8:31). There are over 365 scriptures about Fear, Anxiety and Worry in the Word. That is an awful lot of convincing and encouragement our Lord and Savior is trying to get through to us.

We can break the cycle of self-sabotage by creating a new cycle. Studying the Bible will transform our mind and the way we think, resulting in a new way of thinking so we can fulfill God’s plan for our lives and accomplish what we set out to do.

A great scripture to start with is Philippians 4:8. “Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.” (NIV).

When you’re going after that new job, striving to pass a class in school, or pursuing the love of your life, focusing on the Word of God will prevent negative thinking, doubt and fear from sneaking up on you. Eliminate self-sabotage from your life.