Is Christian Nationalism from God?

In the Old Testament, God raised up the nation of Israel to prepare the world for the Kingdom of God.
Then God sent His only Son, the Eternal Word of God, to show the Jews and all the world the character and the love of God.

“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. Jn 3:16 NRSVue

In the Old Testament there are many prophecies telling of the coming of the Messiah from heaven to restore the nation of Israel as the headquarters of God’s global government. Jesus will return from heaven one day to do exactly that.

When Jesus entered Jerusalem shortly before His execution, the crowds welcomed him, expecting him to reveal himself as the heavenly ruler who would cast out the Roman occupiers and make Israel great again. It seemed to be a MAGA moment, but Jesus disappointed them.


When Jesus was trial before Pontius Pilate, he said to the Roman Governor:

Jesus answered, “My kingdom does not belong to this world. If my kingdom belonged to this world, my followers would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not from here.” Jn 18:36 NRSV

Jesus did not come to restore the Jewish theocracy and rule the world. Jesus was not a Jewish nationalist and he never established any kind of Christian Nationalism.

After His execution on the cross, Jesus returned from death and spent 40 days with his disciples.

Before he returned to heaven, his disciples still expected God to restore a dominant nation of Israel.

So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?” Acts 1:6 NRSVue

Jesus answered decisively:

He replied, “It is not for you to know the times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority. 
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Acts 1:7–8 NRSVue

In other words, not yet.

Since then, there have been many attempts to set up earthly kingdoms and empires in the name of Jesus. These have often been very bad.

The Roman Catholic crusaders travelled through Constantinople on the way to drive the Muslims out of Israel. The Crusaders violently attacked the Eastern Orthodox Christians. The ugly face of Christian Nationalism.

The Spanish Inquisition ruthlessly persecuted the Jews. Christian Nationalism again.

The Spanish Inquisition followed the Conquistadors to Mexico and South America. Many indigenous people were murdered or enslaved. Christian Nationalism.

The colonists in North America had African slaves and committed genocide against indigenous people. They believed they were christianising North America. Christian Nationalism is so often savagely cruel.

American missionaries went to Hawaii in the middle of the 19th Century. They won many converts but they were not satisfied with that. They settled in Hawaii and successfully overthrew the benevolent Hawaiian monarchy. They replaced a free hospital with commercialised American health services. They punished Hawaiian children for speaking their native language. Christian Nationalism is not Christian.

Aboriginal children in Australia were treated even worse by many Christian missionaries. Christian Nationalism is not from God.

A True Friend is Trustworthy. God is Trustworthy

 God places a very high value on friendship.

A friend loves at all times, And a brother is born for adversity. Proverbs 17:17 (NKJV)

Most of us want to be loved. We want to have true friends. We want our friends to be there for us, but sometimes we forget that friendship is also a responsibility. If you want to have good friends, be a good friend.

A man who has friends must himself be friendly, But there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother. Proverbs 18:24 (NKJV)

Friendship is so important but you will sometimes be disappointed or even deeply hurt when friends misunderstand you, let you down or even turn against you. But there is someone who will never let you down. God is always faithful.

Do not forsake your own friend or your father's friend, Nor go to your brother's house in the day of your calamity; Better is a neighbour nearby than a brother far away. Proverbs 27:10 (NKJV)

The Bible makes it clear that friendship is a very good thing, a gift from God and an extremely important part of life.

And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, "Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness." And he was called the friend of God. James 2:23 (NKJV)

Jesus Himself valued friendship very highly.

He said these very important words to His disciples shortly before He died on the cross. 

No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you. John 15:15 (NKJV) 

A true friend can be trusted. Are you trustworthy? Can your friends trust you? Can God trust you? A true friend can be trusted with secrets. Can you keep secrets? 

True friends share interests. Do you value what God values? God is interested in what concerns you. 

Kept by the Power of God

 We also pray that you will be strengthened with all his glorious power so you will have all the endurance and patience you need. May you be filled with joy … Colossians 1:11 (NLT) 

If you entrust your life into the loving hands of Jesus, you belong to God. You have chosen to use the faith God gave you to put your daily life and eternal destiny in the hands of the Father.

When you belong to the Son of God, you know you are forgiven. You know you have eternal life. You know you have been taken out of the darkness and transferred to the Kingdom of Light.

God is almighty, and that is very powerful. He uses His power to give strength to His children.
The Greek word for Power is DYNAMIS. The English word Dynamite comes from this Greek word. It makes you think of dramatic miracles, of sudden breakthroughs, of instant healings.

All of this is true.  In the Bible we see Jesus performing miracle after miracle, healing the sick, raising dead bodies to life, walking on water, multiplying bread a thousandfold.

But the Power of God is not only for instant miracles. There is another English word which comes from the Greek word DYNAMIS. That is Dynamo. A dynamo is a device for generating a constant flow of electric power.

From New Age to Jesus

 So many people long for love, to be deeply loved, but they don't find it in their families or even in Christian churches. They feel their must be a God. If God exists, He must be supernatural in some way, in another dimension beyond our physical senses.

They have not found real love or any meaningful experience in churches or even in their churchgoing family.

So they start searching. They look online or in bookshops and they start with Yoga or some kind of meditation. They get some relief from stress but not the personal love they long for.

They crave for a loving relationship, so they go from one sexual relationship to another. They might find some fulfilment there or they might even be hurt and abused. So they keep searching.

They read more books on spirituality. They go to fortune tellers, faith healers, Hindu gurus New Age meetings. Some even go on a pilgrimage to India. They have many spiritual experiences, which may be real and they think this is a way of connecting to God, but they still don't find the deep unconditional personal love they long for.

They are open to any form of spirituality, but they shy away from biblical Christianity. They have seen lifeless Christian religion and they don't want it. Or they may have been badly hurt by Christians, even perhaps sexually abused by a preacher or priest.

Walter Heidenreich was a young German man who was brought up in a Christian churchgoing family, but he did not find the inspiration he longed for in church. He became a hippy, searching for profound emotional and spiritual experiences with drugs and New Age culture.

One day he and his girlfriend experimented with an extremely strong dose of LSD. They had a terrifying out of body experience. They were in outer darkness, and they felt they were in the presence of the Devil Himself.

Then they saw a glorious light, and they knew that it was a manifestation of the God of the Bible. God rescued them and restored them to normal consciousness. They compared notes, and they had both had identical experiences.

They then began searching for the God of the Bible. They learned to pray and God answered. They began journey of discovery which led to a strong personal connection to Jesus, a deep understanding of the Bible and a new life with God.

If you search the internet, you will find many stories like this, interviews with Christians who searched for God in New Age and spirituality of many kinds, but then they encountered Jesus and found a whole new life with God.

In the Bible, you see Jesus is the eternal Son of God, the Good Shepherd who pursues wandering souls like a shepherd searching for lost sheep.

“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. Jn 10:11 NRSVue

“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. Jn 3:16 NRSVue

Jesus said to him, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. Jn 14:6 NRSVue

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, 
and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” Jn 11:25–26 NRSVue

Trust in the Mercy of Jesus

 Jesus loves you as you are. If you are an alcoholic, he does not love your addiction, but he loves you.

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 
For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Jn 3:16–17 NIV

God created the human race. He loves what he created and he is grieved and angry with what we have done with his creation, but although he is horrified by what we have done, he never stopped loving us.

Some of Hitler’s Nazi leadership group turned to Jesus before they were executed and God forgave them. God will not forgive just because you feel guilty, but you must be willing to change.

So if your life is rotten, do you have to give up all your sins before you be forgiven, before you can receive eternal life. There are sins that you do not even realise are sins. There are sinful addictions that you cannot overcome in your own strength.

Come to Jesus as you are. If you are sincere in trusting Jesus, he will save you first and then set about cleaning you up. Even then Jesus will not force you to stop doing bad things, but he will help you to get free.

“Come to me, all you who are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Mt 11:28 NRSVue

We all carry heavy burdens. If we don't have a guilty conscience, there are things we should feel guilty about.

But guilt for sin is not the only burden we carry. It may not even be the burden that is distressing you the most. You may be crushed by the sins others have committed against you, domestic violence, sexual abuse, workplace bullying or many other terrible things.

Come to Jesus with your burdens and let Him supernaturally relieve you of the traumas that you cannot deal with yourself.

Talk to Jesus about your burdens. He is listening. Preachers tell you you must have faith. Many people in despair have cried out to Jesus in spite of their doubts. So many have cried out to Jesus, like this.

“Jesus, if you really exist, please change me. If you are real, I want to give you my life!”

God spoke through and Old Testament prophet:

Call to me, and I will answer you and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known. Jer 33:3 NRSVue

A grieving single mother mourned the death of her daughter. She went to church and told the pastor she wanted to invite Jesus into her life so she could see her daughter in heaven.

The pastor said that was not a sufficiently good motive to merit salvation. He sent her away. Only some time later she had a personal encounter with Jesus and received salvation.

Do you believe the pastor was right? I absolutely do not. Jesus wanted to meet her as she was. He is willing to receive you and me where we are. When we take the first step, he will lead us on from there.

Love and Justice of God

 In the Bible we see some passages where God is furiously angry. In other passages, God is full of love for everyone. Which God is real, the angry God or the loving God?
This is a problem for many people.

But have a look inside your own heart. You love your children, but you are angry if someone maliciously hurts your child.

What do you think should happen to someone who rapes your wife or your daughter and shows no remorse?

In the Bible, we see that God is love.

And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. 1 Jn 4:16 NIV

But then we see that God is angry. But isn’t God a loving father? Yes. But could it be that God is angry because he is a loving father?

Jesus said to his disciples: “Things that cause people to stumble are bound to come, but woe to anyone through whom they come. 
It would be better for them to be thrown into the sea with a millstone tied around their neck than to cause one of these little ones to stumble. Lk 17:1–2 NIV

If someone seduces your daughter, and she becomes a prostitute, how do you think you would feel towards the man who ruined your daughter’s life? Would you easily forgive him?

But God is love. He wants to forgive, but only if the offender sincerely wants to change and be forgiven.

God is also a God of justice. Offences must be punished. God wants to save us from our own perverse character, so He sent his son Jesus to be punished and suffer death on our behalf.

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 
For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Jn 3:16–17 NIV

A Better Future with Jesus

 Let’s make Bible truth really simple.

There is no condemnation now for those who live in union with Christ Jesus. Rom 8:1 GNB

Now that we have been put right with God through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Rom 5:1 GNB

God says I am OK with Him because Jesus paid the price for my sin. I was not OK but God put things right and now I am OK with God and I can be OK with myself.

For God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not die but have eternal life. Jn 3:16 GNB

I am OK with God and He wants me to be with him from now on. Death is only a transition to a better life, a better world, a better place.

Everyone is Important to God

For if anyone thinks himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. Gal 6:3 NKJV

This verse is difficult to understand. How can a son or daughter of God be nothing?

 When I was a new Christian, a pastor tried to correct my tendency to pride. He told me I was “nothing”.. Of course, he exercised so much power to judge and control me, that he seemed to be saying he was super important, but I was quite literally “nothing”. This is not Christlike ministry at all. It was spiritual abuse.

Paul was a Jews, as was Jesus. In Hebrew thinking we often find extreme black and white statements which are really shocking if we take them literally.

“If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple. Lk 14:26 NKJV

Jesus also tells us to love on another. Paul tells husbands to love their wives. Parents who hate their children are the worst sinners on earth. So Jesus is not telling us to hate people, but rather to love God more then we love our families.

Likewise, in Galatians, Paul is telling us not to be self important but to consider other people to be at least as important as ourselves.

Do nothing from selfish ambition or empty conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. Php 2:3 NRSVue

Here again, Paul is not telling me I should go around feeling inferior to everyone. That is sick.

No. I see an insane man pulling faces and talking to himself. He is just as important to God as I am.

Years ago I was a language teacher. A young woman in my class was dressing and acting like a prostitute and I think she was. She was as important to God as myself.

So many churches teach women that their husbands are more important than they are, because men as supposedly wiser than women. The bible talks about doctrines of demons and I am convinced this is one of them.

I look around church meetings and I almost always see more women than men. Women who love God often find it hard to find a husband who is spiritually strong enough to be their married partner, and yet people rip bible texts out of context and tell us that the husband should always be the spiritual leader.

Clear eyed observation tells me this is dangerous nonsense.

Jesus tells you that you are dearly loved by the Heavenly Father. If you believe that Jesus suffered the punishment for your sins on the cross, if you accept the forgiveness that Jesus offers, you have eternal life.

You are a son or daughter of God for ever and ever. You cannot be a nobody. You are a very important somebody in God’s eyes, but you are not more important than anyone else. Why? Because God loves everyone without exception.

“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. Jn 3:16 NRSVue

Faithfulness in Small Things

 Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children, 
and walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. Eph 5:1–2 NRSVue

“Walking in love” is a very meaningful concept. Loving God and loving other people is a daily, hourly, minute by minute way of life. When I go shopping or walk in the park, I often see someone who looks sad or broken and I spontaneously offer a prayer for him or her.

When I pay for groceries at the supermarket checkout, I try to be friendly and take a personal interest in the cashier.

When I walk in the park, I often start friendly conversations with strangers. This can lead to meaningful spiritual communication, although I don’t usually preach to everyone.

I usually get up before my wife and I make a cup of coffee for her. A lifestyle of love may involve intense urgent prayer for people in trouble but if your whole life revolves around spiritual drama and you neglect the little things, you are not “walking in love.”

Jesus healed the sick and raised the dead, but He also washed His disciples’ feet. Husbands often see menial household tasks as the job of their wives, but Jesus was the King of Kings who came to serve. A husband should not always wait for his wife to clean the toilet.

Following Jesus means learning to be like Jesus. Pray for people and expect miracles. Tell people about the love of God, but also help people in little practical ways. Cultivate habits of kind deeds.

I get irritated when Christian casually use biblical words without any thought about the meaning. So often Christians talk about their “Christian walk” but I don’t often hear teaching about the deep meaning behind these words. This expression has sadly become a religious cliché.

Another aspect of the “Christian walk” is a willingness to make small changes in your life, to improve step by step.

If you are a talker, like me, learn to be a better listener. Start at home with your husband or wife and your children. If you are preacher, practice respectfully listening to the concerns and ideas of your church members.

You must understand this, my beloved brothers and sisters: let everyone be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger,
for human anger does not produce God’s righteousness. Jas 1:19–20 NRSVue

If you are untidy, like I am, practise small improvements. Straighten your bed when you get up. Wash dishes after you use them. Learn better habits, step by step.

If you are always compulsively busy, pause from time to time, think about something to thank God for. Pray a short prayer for yourself or someone in need. Go for a short walk in the garden and relax for a few minutes. A machine that works non stop wears out more quickly. The same applies to human beings. 

Suffering can become a Blessing.

 A Peruvian man had a hunger for adventure. Adventures can be exciting but they can also be fatal.

This man lost his way in the Amazon jungle. His family was sure he was dead, but he was adopted by an indigenous tribe and learned to live in the jungle. He not only learned their language and customs, but he learned to use jungle plants to treat tropical diseases. 

After seven years, he somehow found his way back to his own people, but he found a community in a tragic crisis. People were in the grip of an epidemic. Modern medicine was not working and many people were dying. 

He was not a doctor but he applied his knowledge of natural medicine he had learned in the jungle. It proved so effective that many lives were saved. 

The news of this success spread far and wide. Many botanists and medical experts came to learn from him. 

This man, who had been given up for dead, lived to the age of 91.

I have never known anyone who was lost in the jungle, but there are different kinds of terrible experiences which can lead to great blessings.

I have met people who have come out of prostitution, long prison terms and terrible drug addictions, but they have found faith in God and become a life saving help for many people.

I had a Christian conversion experience in my twenties but the first church I joined turned out to be a cult, where people were brainwashed and spiritually abused. After I was expelled from the cult, I spent a whole year in intensive full time psychiatric treatment.

It took me many years to recover, but God did not give up on me.

Corrie ten Boom was a Dutch Christian woman whose family protected Jews in the wartime Nazi occupation. She and her sister were captured and spent nearly a year in German prisons and concentration camps. Her sister died in the camp but she was released due to a clerical error. 

After this terrible suffering, she toured the world, bringing faith and hope to people without hope.

What kind of suffering have you been through? Prison, domestic violence, rape, human trafficking, cult brainwashing, severe mental illness?

No matter where you are, God loves you and has a plan for your life. In heaven there are murderers, ex prostitutes, people who have been witches, and also victims. 

In heaven there are babies who were aborted and mothers who aborted their babies.

No matter what you have been through, no matter what you are going through now, never, never, never give up.

Gaby Wentland is a German missionary preacher. She ministers to prostitutes and victims of abuse. She says there is more prayer in brothels than in many churches. 

God loves you no matter where you are, who you are, what you are doing, what you have done or what has been done to you.

“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. Jn 3:16 NRSVue

No matter whether you are the worst abuser or the most broken victim, Jesus died to take your punishment on himself. He hung naked on the cross to bare your shame.

But there is a condition. You must be willing to turn away from your cruelty, your selfishness and dishonesty. God loves you but you must be willing to change.

Call to me, and I will answer you and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known. Jer 33:3 NRSVue

God is waiting to hear you cry for help.

Not only does God want to save you from guilt, from shame and abuse. He wants to use your painful experiences to help others. I have been wonderfully encouraged by people who have been in very dark places. 

The Peruvian man learned jungle medicine to save lives. If you have been in prison, in psychiatric treatment, in drug addiction or prostitution, God can use your experience to help people with similar experiences.

God wants to help you.

 Jesus left Judea and returned to Galilee. It was a long walk, and at noon he took a break at a well in Samaria. 

There he found a woman drawing water from the well.

 It was taboo for Jews to talk to Samaritans. Jesus was also a Bible teacher, and no rabbi was allowed to speak to a woman alone. 

When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, “Will you give me a drink?”

Jesus was alone with this woman because his disciples had gone to the nearby town to buy supplies. The woman was surprised that Jesus spoke to her.

So the Samaritan woman said to him, “How do you, being a Jew, ask from me water to drink, since I am a Samaritan woman?” (For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.) Jn 4:9 LEB

Jesus answered and said to her, “If you had known the gift of God and who it is who says to you, ‘Give me water to drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.” Jn 4:10 LEB

Are you a little religious, virtuous and idealistic? That's a good start, but there's more. Many pastors preach humanistic philosophy, and their listeners have nothing more than vague ideas about God and eternal reality.

Are you a Christian? Do you expect an eternal future in heaven? That's good. But if you knew what Jesus wants to give you here on earth, you would pray from the heart and expect miracles.

Are you entangled in drug addiction, prostitution, pornography or the occult?
 
The woman in this story was despised in her society, but she may not have been to blame.

The woman answered him, “I have no husband.” Jesus said to her, “You are right in saying, ‘I have no husband,’ 

for you have had five husbands, and the one you have now is not your husband. What you have said is true!” Jn 4:17–18 NRSVue

In this society, only the man had the say. Five husbands had rejected her? Why?
Was she unable to bear sons? 
Had she been sexually abused and was unable to satisfy her husband? 
Was she extremely depressed, traumatised and moody?

How could she survive as a woman who had been divorced five times? As a beggar? As a prostitute?

Jesus did not look at her sins, but at her need. He simply loved her.

Jesus died on the cross for you and your sins. He simply loves you.

No matter where you are, Jesus wants to bless you.

When you entrust your life completely to Jesus, God's Spirit comes and dwells in your spirit.

Now to him who by the power at work within us is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine, Eph 3:20 NRSVue

Why do we expect so little from God? What is your problem?
Have you failed? Jesus can give you strength and wisdom to live a new life.

Are you caught up in a colourless, decent religious routine? Jesus freed the decent Jews of his time from their religious treadmill. Jesus gave his disciples a new life filled with joy, freedom and adventure.

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. Jn 10:10 NRSVue

Are you addicted to pornography? You can never enter God's heaven with pornography, but Jesus can set you free.

Jesus was tortured on the cross. Through his suffering, he took the punishment for all your sins upon himself.

If only you knew how God can and wants to help you, you would cry out for God's help and have a new life.

Love is the Answer

 From his birth in Bethlehem to his death on the cross, Jesus was surrounded by conflict and rejection. He was born in a stable. Mary and Joseph had to flee to Egypt to save their child from being killed.

When Jesus began his ministry, he was opposed and persecuted by the religious leaders for three years until they had him executed on false charges.

His country was occupied by brutal Roman soldiers. The Jewish people were divided into religious and political factions. There were religious legalists, violent freedom fighters, and corrupt collaborators who worked for the Roman occupiers.

In this chaotic environment, Jesus loved people, cared for them, practised and taught forgiveness, and loved his enemies.

The world we live in today is catastrophically chaotic. 

Our environment is stressful. There are conflicts in families, communities, and Facebook groups because of different political or religious views, gender identity, and all kinds of difficult issues. 

We see Jesus as a role model in the Bible. He also lived in an extremely stressful time. He loved Jews and non-Jews, Roman officers and cared for prostitutes. 

Paul was a true disciple and also a wonderful role model. He loved and respected men and women, slaves and intellectuals. 

There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. Gal 3:28 NIV

In the lives of Jesus and then Paul, we always see kindness. Of course, kindness was not always possible. Jesus and Paul could also confront people, but they wanted to treat everyone with kindness as much as possible.
 
Kindness is often lost in this day and age. So many people are overwhelmed by stress and hurt. Rejection has become an epidemic. So many people are rejected, and then they become increasingly defensive. 

Many people hate themselves. How can they love their fellow human beings?

The antidote is not culture war, but kindness and love.

In the daily news and on social media, we see war, culture wars, hatred, and violence, murder, and corruption over and over again. Of course, we often react with outrage, but then we are in danger of becoming habitually horrified.

Do not fret because of those who are evil or be envious of those who do wrong; 
for like the grass they will soon wither, like green plants they will soon die away. 
Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. 
Take delight in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Ps 37:1–4 NIV

… “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’” Lk 10:27 NIV

The antidote we need is not culture war, but love. You cannot love God without receiving God's love.

This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. 
Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 1 Jn 4:10–11 NIV

But if you hate yourself, you cannot receive God's love, nor can you love your neighbour. 

We need spiritual therapy. Think of beautiful memories. Thank God for people who have loved or helped you. Don't let the horrors of this world take away the blessings God has given you in your life. 

God is with you in Troubles

 This life can be very hard. It is normal to feel overwhelmed at times. Jesus came to give you comfort and peace, but your daily experience is often very different, even if you believe in Jesus.

Shortly before his death, Jesus told his disciples that they should be prepared for serious problems.
 
“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” Jn 16:33 NIV 

Jesus knows that we too will encounter difficulties, but he has sent his Holy Spirit to help us through all our problems.

Are you too young or inexperienced to cope with your situation? God wants to guide you with his wisdom.

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. Pr 3:5–6 NIV

Are you old and feeling weak? That is not a pleasant feeling, but God wants to encourage and strengthen you.

[God] .. forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, 
who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, 
who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s. Ps 103:3–5 NIV

We often have to resist our natural thoughts and feelings by holding on to God's promises so that we can receive God's peace and strength.

God promised to look after the believing Jews in the Old Testament and he kept his promises. As followers of Jesus, you and I can rely on the same faithful love of God for ourselves.

Listen to me, O house of Jacob, all the remnant of the house of Israel, who have been borne by me from your birth, carried from the womb; 
Even to your old age I am he; even when you turn grey I will carry you. I have made, and I will bear; I will carry and will save. Isa 46:3–4 NRSVue

Jesus Wants You to be Free

 Jesus died to set you free.
Jesus died to save you from eternal death, to free you from despair and endless hopelessness, without God, without friendship, without comfort.

“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. Jn 3:16 NRSVue
 
Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Rom 8:1 NRSVue

Jesus died to free you from your twisted, selfish human nature.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. 2 Cor 5:17 NKJV

Jesus died to free you from loneliness.

May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. 2 Cor 13:14 NIV

But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. 1 Jn 1:7 NIV

Jesus died to free you from sickness.

… “He took our infirmities and bore our diseases.” Mt 8:17 NRSVue

Jesus died to free you from legalism.

Welcome those who are weak in faith but not for the purpose of quarreling over opinions. 
Some believe in eating anything, while the weak eat only vegetables. 
Those who eat must not despise those who abstain, and those who abstain must not pass judgment on those who eat, for God has welcomed them.

 Who are you to pass judgment on slaves of another? It is before their own lord that they stand or fall. And they will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make them stand. 
Some judge one day to be better than another, while others judge all days to be alike. Let all be fully convinced in their own minds.

 Those who observe the day, observe it for the Lord. Also those who eat, eat for the Lord, since they give thanks to God, while those who abstain, abstain for the Lord and give thanks to God.
Those who do not eat meat do so for the glory of the Lord, and they also give thanks to God. Rom 14:1–6 NRSVue

Jesus died to free us from authoritarian leadership.

Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. Eph 5:21 NIV

Submission is mutual.

 You gladly put up with fools since you are so wise! 
In fact, you even put up with anyone who enslaves you or exploits you or takes advantage of you or puts on airs or slaps you in the face. 2 Cor 11:19–20 NIV

Here Paul teaches through the Holy Spirit that Christians have the right, even the duty, to resist arrogant, authoritarian, or cruel church leaders. 

God sacrificed Jesus to free women from the arrogant rule of men.

 The extreme subordination of women was not God's intention in creation. After the Fall, God sadly predicted that because of sin, women would be enslaved by men.

To the woman he said, “I will make your pains in childbearing very severe; with painful labour you will give birth to children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.” Gen 3:16 NIV

But in the new covenant, women are free.

There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. Gal 3:28 NIV

It is wonderful that Jesus wants to give us freedom, but we do not receive that freedom automatically.
 
There are people everywhere who do not believe in freedom, even in the church.

 There are many people who do not want to allow you to be free.

But Paul says:

For freedom Christ has set us free. Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery. Gal 5:1 NRSVue