"A Sound Mind Amidst All The Turmoil" - Inspirational Weekend

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"This is an evil among all things that are done under the sun, that there is one event unto all; yea, also the heart of the sons of men is full of evil,  and madness is in their heart while they live, and after that they go to the dead."  -  Ecclesiastes 9:3  (KJV)

That is not starting this weekend post on a very joyous note, but stay with me because I am leading up to something good!   The New American Standard Bible says of the same verse, "....full of evil and insanity in  their hearts..."    In other words, to think and do evil is insanity;  sin is insanity.  Yet the same stubborn, habitual, hardened sinners call Christians mad and crazy for their beliefs.   The insanity spoken of in Ecclesiastes  is moral, that of the heart.  By the heart here is meant the will -  a person's voluntary power.  "The conduct of impenitent men is the perfection of irrationality."

Because punishment for their sins seems to be delayed, it only encourages them to more wrongdoing, as stated in Ecclesiastes 8:11.   God is patient and at times delays punishing the sinner because He is long-suffering and does not wish any to perish  (2 Peter 3:9)

As for true believers, 2 Timothy 1:7 tells us, "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind."  That is pretty positive !   A sound mind from God, a mind focused on Him and Jesus and good works and holy conduct.   Believers may not be perfect, as they still occasionally sin, but they repent and are "washed in the atoning blood of Jesus Christ."  

It has been said that if you can keep your wits about you when everyone else is losing theirs, then you do not have a complete understanding of the situation.   That should not be true of Christians and followers of Christ.   We know the world has gone crazy and is full of violence, wars, crime, crooked and evil governments, and the threat also of global economic collapse.   But we have a blessed hope, and know what the future holds for us later in eternity.   We can weather the storm now because of our faith and because of God's promises.   

"And there shall be signs in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring.  Men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth; for the powers of heaven shall be shaken................And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads, for your redemption draweth nigh."

Luke 21:25,26,28

A hymn that fits here and that encourages me follows:

Yes, the world situation is explosive right now; but things are not falling apart, they are falling into place.   Bible prophecy teaches you that.   Many Bible prophecies are being fulfilled all at once now in these last days; and at an accelerated pace, a convergence, if you will. as I have stated previously  here  and also at this post  

Read and study God's Word, pray without ceasing; it will build your faith and also enable you to have a close, personal, and intimate relationship with God through Jesus Christ.   And filling your mind with good things and God's Word has the bonus of God giving you a sound mind.

"Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all things; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."  -  1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

"And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God."  - Romans 12:2

"Reasons To Pray and Charles Spurgeon's Sermon on Prayer" - Inspirational Weekend

Someone once said, "Prayer is the highest use to which speech can be put."  That is true, but prayer goes so much deeper and heartfelt prayer draws you closer to God.  It is communication with the Almighty God; you acknowledge Him and thereby give Him credit and honor that is due Him.   If you never talked with your spouse about anything, the relationship would suffer and eventually die.  The same is true where the LORD is concerned; if we never communicate with Him in prayer, there is no relationship with Him, no closeness.   Charles Spurgeon said, "A prayerless soul is a Christless  soul."    Without Christ, you will never have eternal life in heaven.   You will never be able to have a close, personal, intimate relationship with God the Father, because Jesus is our advocate to/with God.  "My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not.  And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous."  - 1 John 2:1

Someone may say, "I don't know how to pray."   Jesus gave us an example to follow at Matthew 6, called "The Lord's Prayer".   Below is a video with blind artist Andrea Bocelli singing a beautiful rendition of the Lord's Prayer.

One of the reasons we pray is to make our requests known to God.   Sadly, sometimes that is the only way we pray.   We should pray to draw close to God,  to give Him thanks in all things. to intercede for others, and of course to confess our sins to Him, repent, and ask for His forgiveness.  If you notice in the Psalms, often a Psalm will begin with moaning and groaning and complaining, but as the attention is focused on the LORD, the Psalm will end in praise to Him and in thanksgiving.   So prayer can help clear out all the garbage in our minds and life as we focus on God.  It is important to pray in Jesus' name, however.  Sometimes we may think God will not listen to us or answer our prayers, but rest assured he does listen and, more than that, He always listens to His Son.   

"And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.  If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it."  -  John 14:13-14

We need to pray to find out what God's will is, and to ask for discernment.  To find that out, we need to spend time "listening" to what God says.   That happens when we read the Bible, because it is, after all, God's Word.   Listening to God happens when we spend quiet time with Him, and we can "hear" a small, quiet voice within our soul  that we will know is God speaking by the revelation of the Holy Spirit.   It may direct us to a Scripture, or prod us into an action the LORD wants us to take.

"God does nothing except in response to believing prayer."  -  John Wesley.   We need to have faith and believe that God will answer our prayers, because without faith it is impossible to please God as stated in Hebrews 11:6.  Keep in mind that you need to pray in agreement with God's will for Him to answer your prayers.   God is sovereign and knows what is best for you; He has plans for you, if you are a true believer, and He will not answer a prayer of yours that goes contrary to His plans and His will for you.  

"Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.  And He that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because He maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God."  -  Romans 8:26-27

Below is an excellent sermon by Charles H. Spurgeon, a Baptist preacher who lived in the 1800's and who is known as the "Prince of Preachers."  The sermon is about pleading prayers.

Prayer is Powerful !!