Tag: scripture

Three Tools To Fight The Good Fight Of Faith…

How do we fight the good fight of faith? What is the good fight of faith? What does the Apostle Paul mean when he tells Timothy to fight the good fight of faith? Obviously, it is not a physical fight but a moral, spiritual and emotional fight. Our scripture reference is 1 Timothy 6:12 “Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.”

The reader needs to review 1 Timothy chapter six because the context is important to understanding the good fight of faith that the apostle Paul is writing to Timothy about. He tells him in verse six “godliness with contentment is great gain.” What ever place we are in God supplies our need. Being content with what you have is essential to peace. When we are focused on what we do not have we become frustrated and fretful with life.

Fighting the good fight is a moral, emotional and spiritual fight. When we get to focused on getting things or having what we do not have, we become focused on ourselves. This can open the door to greed, lust, self-pity, and bitterness. The Apostle Paul understood this and said in Philippians 3:12 “I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things, I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. 13) I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”  He understood the harm of letting our situations consume our mind, will and emotions. He understood that Christ strength empowers us to endure and wait, and to press on and persevere. Which is part of “the fighting the good fight of faith.”

First tool for fighting the good fight of faith is God’s Word. Speaking God’s Word to overcome in any area is the best tool to fight with. His word is effective and powerful.

One way in using God’s Word is to knock down the thoughts and imaginations that are contrary to God’s word and His peace. Be mindful of your thoughts they generate consequences on your emotions, health and wellness and eventually will cause spiritual issues. It is good training to pray and ask the Holy Spirit to help recognize what kind of thinking you are doing. Recognizing your positive and negative thoughts clarifies what type of self-talk you are thinking about. Both men and women talk to them selves and how we talk to ourselves has an influence on us.

This scripture tells us how to pull down our thoughts that exult against the knowledge God. Anything contrary to God’s word, will and ways should be taken down in our thoughts. 2 Corinthians 10: 3-6 states, “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. 4) For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, 5) casting down arguments and every high thing that exalt itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to obedience of Christ, 6) and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled.”

How by verbally saying I tear down the thought…be specific and speak the thought out loud and loose it off your mind in the Name of Jesus. If it comes back loose it from your mind again.

The second tool to “fight the good fight of faith” is prayer and fasting. This tool keeps your flesh in submission to your spirit. We fast and pray because God’s word is telling us too. It’s a good tool to discipline your self and a training tool to focus your mind, heart and spirit on God Almighty. Some of us have health issues so don’t get caught up in the word fasting. If you have health issue and cannot go with out eating you can always give up something for example, Facebook, tv, treats etc. My husband just did a 10-week challenge for fight club and gave up Facebook. It was a way to sacrifice and focus on scripture and prayer.

In 1 Timothy 6:11 it says, “But you, O man of God, flee these things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness.” Fleeing what is harmful to you and your walk with God and pursuing the character traits of Jesus.  

The third tool to fight the good fight of faith is humility. When we walk in humility God gives us grace. Humility produces a teachableness and dependence on God. When your humble you are not relying on your own instincts and modes you depend on God’s word, will and ways. God provides us with wisdom and knowledge. Fighting the good fight of faith is daily living focused and dependent on the word, will and ways of God.

Three Things Required To Be An Overcomer

OVERCOMER

I was thinking today of what it takes to overcome obstacles in our lives, to achieve our goals and carry out our dreams.

For the last five months I have been studying for a large test. On Saturday 21st I passed the test. Praise God!  What is success to you? What is the cost of success and what motivates you to carry out your goals? These are a few of the questions we will look at along with the three things needed to be an overcomer.

To overcome something there must be a fight to push on. What motivates you to push on in life? For me it is my faith in God. He gives me the grace to go on.  What motivates a person to carry out their goals I believe is perseverance, faithfulness and a steadfast spirit.

When you want to finish a task what is your mindset? We can make choices to discipline ourselves in whatever we are working for. The test I passed took discipline to study, it took time to read, study, memorize and reread, study and memorize. I had to change my routine so that I could prioritize my time and I put studying first.

I had to overcome my feelings on the days I did not feel like studying I did it anyways, I chose to study when I could have been out with friends etc. My husband has been doing The Fight Club he has been memorizing scripture and doing all the different requirements to do the goals. It is ten weeks of a lot of different requirements, and he is in the 10th week. I am proud of him for continuing and he will finish Sunday!

The first thing to be an overcomer you must have perseverance. Perseverance is “doing something despite difficulty or delay in achieving success.” How we view our difficulties can help us or hinder us. I believe choosing to speak the truth to yourself that you can finish, the difficulty will come to an end, and you will succeed is essential to developing perseverance. I have learned through my disability that if I dwell on the pain or recount the hardship in my thoughts it is not productive for me it only pulls me down in my thoughts.

The second thing to be an overcomer you must have faithfulness. Faithfulness is “loyal, adhering firmly to a person or course.” Being faithful to your goal is essential. Being faithful in all situations produces maturity. When we are faithful it will come out in many different areas through our relationships, work, ministry etc. Being faithful to your word, is most important in developing faithfulness. It is an excellent character trait to develop. When you honor your word your being faithful to your own self and others. You follow through even when it hurts. Which means when it is inconvenient, or your feelings do not want to, with faithfulness you do what is needed to honor your word to complete the task.

The third thing to be an overcomer we need steadfastness. Steadfastness is “fixed or unchanging, steady” Being steadfast you stay fixed in your goal or plan. You do not change the plan when it is tough you push through and finish. For steadfastness to develop in your character one must keep the goal as the focus. The word steadfast means “resolutely or dutifully firm and unwavering.” Being loyal to your dream, goals or vision is so important to finish the course.

Those who overcome the obstacles, setbacks or delays will learn to develop patience. There is always a choice in life do we keep going or quit? Do we push through or let go? You must choose. Your will needs to be activated to choose wisely. Speak the truth to yourself you can finish what ever it is your facing.

We can ask the Holy Spirit for help every day. We can ask for the grace to finish the tasks and goals. Allow Him to develop in you the perseverance, faithfulness, and steadfastness and become an overcomer.

How To Handle Stress And Anxiety

What is stress and anxiety? Is there any difference between stress and anxiety? What are the symptoms of both, and can you identify as your starting to experience the symptoms? Why are these questions important to know?

My interpretation of stress is the physical and emotional reaction to an event in life that produces a fight or flight response. Also, any event which causes you to feel frustration, anger nervousness. Gary R. Collins Ph.D. wrote in his book ‘Christian Counseling.’ “Anxiety is an inner feeling of apprehensions, uneasiness, concern, worry, and/or dread that is accompanied by heightened physical arousal.” Anxiety also triggers a fight or flight response. There is a normal quantity of stress or anxiety that has the potential to motivate one to carry out tasks or avoid dangerous situations. This kind of stress is useful to understand and allow it to motivate you.

Learning how to manage stress and anxiety by recognizing the signs and symptoms helps one to decrease the symptoms from progressing. This helps to calm ones physical and emotional responses.

Both stress and anxiety have similar symptoms and have been used interchangeable. Therefore, I will give a brief list of symptoms on stress which can be used interchangeably with anxiety. You can find many good articles on both symptoms and definitions.  Physical Symptoms of stress can be but not limited to increased heart rate, sweaty palms, frequent urination, digestive issues, jaw tightness, headaches, sleeplessness, fatigue. Emotional symptoms can be but not limited to anger, sleeplessness, irritability, racing thoughts, memory problems or depression.

Knowing your stress and/or anxiety symptoms will help to decrease the progression of symptoms and help you to diffuse the fight or flight reactions.

I too am experiencing stress and anxiety we are facing my husband having heart surgery for the second time. We have been in a holding pattern for months waiting on tests and results, with medical appointments as well as Covid19 restrictions at hospitals etc… I can safely say the whole world has been in a stressful experience for many months effecting all our lives.

Dr. Collins states, “Anxiety arises from threat, conflict, fear, unmet needs, physiology, and individual differences.” This article is to provide us with a brief and practical applications to help cope with stress and moderate anxiety. If you are experiencing long term anxiety, I recommend you try to find medical and therapeutic help. Mental health is extremely important and the stigma of looking for help should no longer keep anyone away from seeking help. God gives wisdom to doctors, psychiatrists, therapists, and counselors to help individuals get the help they need.   

How do you handle stress and anxiety? I choose to self-talk with positive statements of scripture, I also pray and depend on Gods character to care for me. I use breathing techniques, mediating on the goodness of Jesus and journaling. I have been taught through the years when you understand your symptoms you can begin to apply these useful tools to reduce your stress or anxiety symptoms.

Here are a few helpful suggestions in dealing with stress. Exercise, breath in deeply though your nose and slowing expel the air out your mouth, meditate, meditation is biblical if you are unaware how to meditate it is simple. To mediate simply sit quietly think on a positive thought or scripture and repeat it 3-4xs. I speak slowly and say Jesus is light, Jesus is Truth, Jesus is Peace 3-4xs, speak positive self-talk, prayer is beneficial in all situations, speaking scripture out loud, and journaling is just some helpful suggestions.

Another wonderful technique is to ask yourself questions about the thoughts you are thinking. Dr. Daniel Amen founder of Amen Clinics has an excellent tool called “Learn to kill the ANTS” ‘Automatic Negative Thinking’ questions “1) Ask yourself is it true? 2)Is it absolutely true with 100% certainty? 3) How do I feel when I believe this thought? 4)How would I feel if I couldn’t have the thought? 5)Turn the thought around to its exact opposite.” I saw him on a PBS fundraiser many years ago and wrote down notes on this technique applied it to my life and it truly made a difference in stressful situations. After asking yourself these questions you will begin to defuse the automatic negative thoughts that stir up anxiety.

I pray that this article provides you some practical applications to assist in dealing with stress and anxiety.