Weekend Seed Thought: Reducing Stress and Anxiety

	Seed Thought for this Weekend Sent weekly to over 100,000 Christian families and growing. Reducing Stress and Anxiety It seems helpful to share a few brief thoughts about overcoming what we could call Ordinary Stress and Anxiety. Clinical or acute depression and anxiety is different and should be treated by a professional. Ordinary Stress and Anxiety is the kind of stress that we experience in the natural course of our daily lives. As People of Faith, our felicity and peace of mind is enhanced through prayer. Prayer lifts us above the storms in life. Although we may still be emotionally wrestling with the difficulties in front of us, we have found a measure of inward peace through prayer. Another way to relieve stress and anxiety is discipline. The undisciplined life is a stressful life. Jesus said, my yoke (or a disciplined life) is easy and my burden is light. It is easier to bear the yoke of discipline than the painful shackles of stress and anxiety. Simplicity will also reduces stress and anxiety. Christian simplicity is simple living. It’s unraveling the more complicated parts of our life and refusing to live an immoderate and complicated life. Simplicity is a personal choice after we have honestly considered all the variables that are unique to us. And the little choices we make along the way. More About Reducing Stress and Anxiety Listen to Our Podcast Seed Thoughts Sponsored by: Christian Counselor Directory Nine Fruits of the Vine and Five Little Foxes Resource for Personal Devotions, Discussion Groups, Bible Studies
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Weekend Seed Thought: Prayer is the Language of Faith

	Seed Thought for this Weekend Sent weekly to over 100,000 Christian families and growing. Prayer is the Language of Faith In Mark 11:24 Jesus said, “What things you desire, when you pray, believe that you shall receive them, and you shall have them.” In this verse, desire means sincere. And believe means faith. So we see the connection between sincere prayer and faith. Sincere faith is in the heart. The language of the faith is prayer. It takes sincerity to pray well. And without faith no one will pray sincerely. When we pray sincerely we should have confidence that we will be heard. When infants cry when hungry or tired it is natural for a parents to try to figure out what they need. They give them something to eat or put them to bed. And hope that’s why they were crying. When children mature they are more specific and clear with their requests. There is nothing feigned when infants cry when they need sleep or food. Small children have a certain innocent sincerity when they asked for something they want or need. As God’s children, we pray sincerely bringing our specific needs to God. Sincere prayer is the language of faith that God has promised to hear. Sincere prayer is the language that says “I believe.” Listen to Our Devotional Podcast At the Christian Counselor Directory - New Postings Each Week NEW Book!  Nine Fruits of the Vine and Five Little Foxes Resource for Personal Devotions, Discussion Groups, Bible Studies by Joseph Hutchison   Seed Thoughts Sponsored by: Christian Counselor Directory

Christian Counselor Directory - Weekend Seed Thought: Pleasing God is Good for Us

	Seed Thought for this Weekend Sent weekly to over 100,000 Christian families and growing. Pleasing God is Good for Us If we spend time with God we kind of know what God wants from us. Sometimes we are confused, or not sure, but on balance we have a deep sense of what sits well with God. And if we are wrong, sooner or later, God will correct and redirect because we are one of His children. Yet, it is so easy to please people even when we know it doesn’t please God. In my journal I have written “Please God do not please people. And please people if it pleases God.” Most of the time they are the same but not always. Although I know this, I don’t always follow my own conviction. Sometimes I fall short but I know the more I succeed the better off I will be. I read about a young man who married two women within 48 hours in the central Greek town of Lamia. He married the first women and went on his honeymoon. The car had engine trouble, so he sent his new wife into Athens on a bus. In the meantime, he married another women he knew before and continued on with his honeymoon with her while leaving his first bride in Athens. When he went to court for polygamy he said that he decided to marry both of them because both families put unbearable pressure on him. He said he did it because he did not want to hurt anyones feelings! Needless to say, things did not go well for him in court. Knowing that this is a strange example of trying to please people when we know it is wrong or not the best for us, it is clear one, and just strange enough to remember. When it comes to our faith, if we are pleasing others while we are doing something hurtful to God it will not be good for us in the end. We are God’s children. God expect us to learn what pleases Him and what is best for us at the same time. If we try to do this and people get upset or de-friend us, or even if we are ostracized by a family member, God will support us when we please Him. Solomon wrote in Proverbs ” when a man’s ways please the Lord He makes even his enemies be at peace with him.” How much more will God help us with people who are closer to us? Pleasing God does not keep us out of favor with people we care about and who care about us for very long.  Listen to Our Devotional Podcast At the Christian Counselor Directory - New Postings Each Week NEW Book!  Nine Fruits of the Vine and Five Little Foxes Resource for Personal Devotions, Discussion Groups, Bible Studies by Joseph Hutchison   Seed Thoughts Sponsored by: Christian Counselor Directory

Christian Counselor Directory - Weekend Seed Thought: This Is What Love Does

	Seed Thought for this Weekend Sent weekly to over 100,000 Christian families and growing. Weekend Seed Thought This Is What Love Does  Most would agree that spreading false accusation or stories is wrong or immoral. If spoken it is called slander. If written it is called libel. There is not much argument that slander and libel is something we should never do. But what about spreading stories about people that are true? We could think it is okay to talk about people’s missteps and failures if it is true, or to think it is okay if what is true is only partially true.  We are reminded of biblical Noah and his three sons when it comes to exposing the faults and missteps of others. Noah drank too much wine. He was drunk and fell asleep unclothed. Ham found his father naked and couldn’t wait to tell his brothers that his dad was compromised. The other two sons, Japheth and Shem, walked in backwards into the tent and covered their fathers nakedness (Genesis 9:22-26). This is what love does. Paul said in 1 Peter 4:8, “And above all things, have fervent love among yourselves; for love shall cover a multitude of sins.” Benjamin Franklin once said, “I will seek ill of no man, not even in the matter of truth, but rather excuse the faults I hear, and upon proper occasions, all the good I know of everybody.” Listen to Our Devotional Podcast At the Christian Counselor Directory New Postings Each Week NEW Book!  Nine Fruits of the Vine and Five Little Foxes Resource for Personal Devotions, Discussion Groups, Bible Studies by Joseph Hutchison   Seed Thoughts Sponsored by: Christian Counselor Directory

Christian Counselor Directory - Weekend Seed Thought "Economic Happiness"

	Seed Thought for this Weekend Sent weekly to over 100,000 Christian families and growing. Solomon prayed, “Two things I ask of you, LORD; do not refuse me before I die: Keep falsehood and lies far from me; give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread. Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say, 'Who is the LORD?' Or I may become poor and steal, and show dishonor to the name of my God.” (Proverbs 30:8) This verse clearly reveals that the happy place when it comes to money is neither super-rich or adversely poor. Although we know there are exceptions, there are very specific vulnerabilities and temptations when we live in adverse poverty and maybe even more if we are wealthy. According to Solomon, neither poor or rich is the happy place. I am so convinced of this, I have encouraged my children to be satisfied with seeking a middle or upper-middle class life. This gives us the opportunity to have the resources to live a secure life, provide a safety net for the people we care about, and give to our church and charitable causes It's good for our pocketbooks and our souls.   Seed Thoughts Sponsored by: Christian Counselor Directory NEW Book! Nine Fruits of the Vine and Five Little Foxe Resource for Personal Devotions, Discussion Groups, Bible Studies

PRAYER IS THE LANGUAGE OF FAITH: Weekend Seed Thought

	Seed Thought for this Weekend Sent weekly to over 100,000 Christian families and growing. Prayer is the Language of Faith Talking and listening to God is the oldest form of communication. It is before any known language or means of conversing. We can even go back as far as Adam and Eve; for in the Garden of Eden we are taught that God walked with them in the cool of the day; a clear Scriptural image that God routinely walked and talked with the first couple.    It is also recorded in Scripture that the ancient people of faith prayed for forgiveness, reconciliation, spiritual comfort, physical health, and deliverance from brutal and fierce enemies. Jesus prayed more often than any living soul. He also taught his apostles and disciples to pray. And when He was taken up into heaven, they made prayer their highest calling. And through the centuries we have continue to mediate, speak, and listen to God.   Faith is in the heart. The language of the faith is prayer, either silent or vocal, which pleads and confers with God to take hold of the benefits of faith. In the Book of Mathew Jesus said ask and it shall be given, seek and you shall find, knock and the door will be opened. In this passage the asking, the seeking, and the finding are distinctive qualities of earnest and persistent prayer. We know there will always be insincere prayer that wants to be seen, or for some other unsuitable motive; yet we should also know that no one will earnestly ask, seek, or knock, without faith. And without faith no one will pray earnestly. So when we pray earnestly we should have confidence that we will be heard because of our faith; for God will teach us that earnest prayer is the language of faith.    It is true that God knows our needs before we pray. Yet prayer is also a way we receive more specific needs. God graciously provides for the people of faith along with all of the world’s citizenry; for we are taught in Scripture that the rain falls on the just and the unjust alike. This verse and others like it testify that many of God’s physical and natural provisions are given to all regardless of faith; yet the Scripture also teaches us from Genesis to Revelations that specific provisions are for people who have faith.    When an infant cries when hungry or tired or cold it is natural for a parent to provide what is lacking. So it is for all the living to receive fatherly care. Yet when children mature they become more specific with their requests in which a learned language will clearly communicate their needs. In this likeness prayer is the language of faith in which the people of faith clearly and earnestly bring their specific needs to God.    Prayer is a heavenly language that God has ordained and promised to hear. It is a language that is peculiar to some and doubtful to others, but for the people of faith they know if they seek God in earnest and for the right reasons, they will be heard; not because they deserve to receive anything from God; for it is only because they have enough faith to seek God for anything. And when all of their own remedies evaporate before their eyes they humble themselves and turn their eyes toward God knowing that all things are possible with Him.    In the gospels Jesus encourages us to have faith. For if we pray sincerely and without little doubt, we will receive whatever we ask; even the seemingly impossible in which Jesus told us metaphorically that prayer can cast mountains into the sea. And if for some reason beyond our understating that we suffer under the heaviness of our challenges and injuries without much relief or some delay, God will comfort us and by many proofs convince us that all things work together for good to those who love God.   Written by Joseph Hutchison Click to listen to our weekly podcast  New book of short Christian essays Seed Thoughts Sponsored by  Christian Counselor Directory

Christian Counselor Directory - ONE DAY AT A TIME: Weekend Seed Thought

	Seed Thought for this Week Sent weekly to over 100,000 Christian families and growing. ONE DAY AT A TIME Most of the time our problems are fleeting or we think they are worse than they are. These kinds of problems go away as quickly as they came. But sometimes there are challenges and difficulties that not only look bleak, but are bleak, and they stay with us for a while. When we are going through this kind of trouble, it is best to take it one day at a time.  In Mathew 6:34 Jesus taught us that we should not “worry about tomorrow for tomorrow will take care of the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is evil.” In this verse, evil is the emotional toll it takes on us when we worry too much beyond the present; when we fail to trust God for our future. Worrying too much about tomorrow is also destructive because we will be of little good to ourselves and to others because we are emotionally drained. We can even get mentally or physically sick because of worry and stress. Medical professionals often remind us that stress contributes to emotional and physical illness.  Taking it a day at a time doesn’t mean we should neglect to plan for tomorrow’s challenges and responsibilities or fail to do everything we can to relieve our problems with a look toward the future. It means we should not worry about tomorrow’s troubles and contingencies to the point that we have strangled the life out of everything remaining that is not part of the problem or challenge. If we do this too much we will fail to live well in the present. In the English language the word worry comes from an Anglo-Saxon word meaning to choke or strangle. Evidently they knew something about worry.  It is not easy to handle our problems one day at time. But we must try. If we do, God will give us strength to do it. We should remember when God guides us to do something he gives us the strength and peace of mind to do it. When we are confronted with challenges and hardships we should do what we can the day we have them. Then rest in faith, committing our future and outcomes to God. And when tomorrow comes we do the same.  We can also seek out a friend, family member, or therapists for guidance all the while seeking God with our whole heart to help us worry less and trust more. Click to listen to our weekly podcast  New book of short Christian essays Seed Thoughts Sponsored by  Christian Counselor Directory

Christian Counselor Directory - Happiness and Spiritual Contentment: Weekend Seed Thought

	Seed Thought for this Week Sent weekly to over 100,000 Christian families and growing. The Difference Between Happiness and Spiritual Contentment There is a difference in feeling happy and feeling a deep sense of spiritual contentment. They can run concurrently but they are not the same. Happiness is mostly a result of favorable circumstances or the positive experiences we have with people. Deep seated spiritual contentment is only experienced when we are in right relationship with God. There are many imitations and false narratives that promise spiritual contentment that dismiss or deemphasize our relationship with God. In which over time they leave us empty yet we may have thought they were true at one time. Abiding spiritual contentment is rooted in our relationship with God.  For even when the unhappy times overwhelm the People of faith their spiritual contentment and inward tranquility cannot be quenched because they trust God with their future. It is not unusual for the People of Faith, that when their best efforts fall short of their expectations that the unhappiness they feel is accompanied with a a deep sense of spiritual contentment.  Click here to read more of this short Christian essay  Click to listen to our weekly podcast  Seed Thoughts Sponsored by  Christian Counselor Directory

Christian Counselor Directory - Business and Careers from a Christian Perspective: Weekend Seed Thought

Seed Thought for this Week Sent weekly to over 100,000 Christian families and growing. Business and Careers from a Christian Perspective  I admit that there are successful businesses and careers that have little or nothing to do with being a Christian; they are monetarily successful because they practice and encourage mutual trust, fiscal responsibility, and fair value. Of course, these same business practices are also necessary for a Christian to have a successful businesses and career. Yet, there are some more principles and practices that help us manage our careers and businesses from a Christian perspective that are worth thinking about.  We should give our businesses and careers to God. When we trust God we will receive help from God. Jesus helped his disciples feed 5,000 hungry families. These were those that had been following Jesus to hear him teach. The disciples ask Jesus to send them into a near by town so they could find something to eat.  Jesus let the disciples know they did not need to go searching for food. Jesus asked the disciples if they had any food. The disciples said that they only had five loaves of bread and two fishes. Knowing that it was clearly not enough, they said “what are these among so many?” Jesus asked them to bring the fishes and the loaves to Him. Jesus blessed the bread. Miraculously the five loaves of bread were transformed into enough bread to feed everyone. God multiplies our efforts when we depend on him. It’s really that simple.  Secondly, we must give God what we have and stop worrying about what we don’t have or can’t do. We do our best and we let God do the rest. That’s how it works. The disciples needed to learn this lesson. The disciples asked Jesus what are these (the fishes and loaves) among so many. They focused on what they didn’t have, not what they could have when God is part of the equation. Jesus taught the disciples that God can do much with little! The disciples gave what they had. That’s all that was required of them. That’s all that is required of us. Finally, we must get started. So many business and career minded people never reach their potential because they wait for everything to line up perfectly before they take even one step in the right direction. The inclination for perfection and inordinate preplanning has kept a lot of talented and gifted people from even getting started. Jesus instructed the disciples to pass out the food. While they were passing out the bread, it multiplied in their hands! So let’s get started! Not only will we move things forward, the psychological value of working through the process and actually accomplishing our goals are nearly the same; the activities of attaining and the finalities of attainment are at equally rewarding. Listen to Our Short Devotional Podcast At the Christian Counselor Directory New Postings Each Week NEW Book!  Nine Fruits of the Vine and Five Little Foxe Resource for Personal Devotions, Discussion Groups, Bible Studies by Joseph Hutchison   Seed Thoughts Sponsored by: Christian Counselor Directory

Christian Counselor Directory - Thanksgiving Pause: Weekend Seed Thought

Seed Thought for this Week Sent weekly to over 100,000 Christian families and growing. Thanksgiving Pause  Thanksgiving celebrations in Christendom have deep historical and spiritual roots. Even as far back as Moses; although Jewish, he was a founder of the faith that was to come in Christ, he directed the people of faith to give thanksgiving offerings as a remembrance of what God had done and was doing for them. Jesus encouraged thankfulness when he was with us in the flesh. The Pre-Roman Church, Roman Catholic Church, Anglican Church, and Protestants churches have all celebrated and continue to do so in one way or another or in some degree; albeit different days, weeks, and even months when celebrating some kind of thanksgiving. Thinking of our National Holiday in America: In 1619, ship Margaret brought thirty-eight settlers to our shores. They paused from the excitation of finding the New World and established in their charter that an annual day of Thanksgiving to God should be kept. The settlers established a faith driven Thanksgiving tradition two years and 17 days before the faith hungry pilgrims arrived aboard the Mayflower at Plymouth Massachusetts who when arriving also paused and offered thanksgiving to God subsequently establishing a day of Thanksgiving.  This Thursday we will be sharing a Thanksgiving meal with family and friends. A prayer of thankfulness will likely be offered for the food and guests. As people of faith this is what we do. Yet, we could also pause for a few minutes by ourselves and thank God for the many blessings we have received; for even the least of what we have is greater than a vast majority of the citizenry of the world. Yet at the same time prayerfully keeping the less fortunate in mind. It would also be fitting to call a moratorium in regard to our religious differences and political leanings. We could welcome a day where we are only thankful for what we do have and not what we don’t have. And what is collectively right with us and not what is wrong with us. There will be other days to share our religious and political views.  On Thanksgiving Day we could pause and thank God for the life of faith; for the life of faith is a gift and there’s nothing for us to do but be thankful for it. We are members of a worldwide spiritual community that will one day be transformed into an eternal community. We are not a part of this community because we deserve it or earned it. Paul wrote that we have a life of faith by grace, through faith, not from ourselves; it is a gift from God. The Life of faith is a gift which merits a moment by ourselves; to pause and thank God for what He has done for us.   God bless you and have a wonderful Thanksgiving! Listen to Our Devotional Podcast New Postings Each Week  Nine Fruits of the Vine and Five Little Foxes Resource for Personal Devotions, Discussion Groups, Bible Studies   Seed Thoughts Sponsored by: Christian Counselor Directory

Christian Counselor Directory - Jesus is Heaven to Me: Weekend Seed Thought

Seed Thought for this Week Sent weekly to over 100,000 Christian families and growing. Jesus is Heaven to Me  As people faith we know there is a Heaven; not what we see when we look up to the clouds or sky or when gazing at the stars but a place far removed from what we can see here on earth. Heaven is a celestial home fit for God, the angels, and the redeemed. St. Augustine called it the Heaven of Heaven created before the atmospheric space and the earth as we know it. Although we know there’s a Heaven we might wonder, what is Heaven like? Is it similar to what we experience on earth? What will we be doing in Heaven? Although there is little certainty what heaven will be like or what we will be doing, there is a veiled understanding what it might be like in Heaven. There is a song by the Lanny Wolf Trio, entitled Jesus Will Be What Makes It Heaven For Me. The people of faith know what it is like to sense the presence of God or Jesus, for they are the same. We mostly sense God’s presence during quiet time; often while reading the Scripture, spiritual books, or praying silently or vocally. This same presence can be felt when we are in church worshiping wth others. Regardless of where, how, or when we experience this heavenly phenomena we know it is real. Heaven is somewhat like this experience in the presence of God. If we love spending time in the presence of God while we are here on earth we are perfect candidates to be with God in his eternal presence without the distractions of daily life. Here’s another thought about Heaven: Regardless of our interpretation of the written Word of God it has been cherished by the people of faith in all ages. Yet, the written Word carries with it some ambiguity in which the Apostle Paul wrote that we see through a glass, darkly but then (speaking of Heaven) we will know even as we are known and shall see God face to face. Paul is saying that the precise meanings of the spiritual life in the written Word are often illusive; yet when we get to Heaven we will look upon the face of the Eternal Word and learn about Him. There will be no written Word of God in Heaven. In the Heaven of Heaven when we look at Jesus we will be looking at the Word of God. It will be somewhat the same experience when we are reading his written Word yet more enlivened when we see something new about the Eternal Word in celestial bliss. Augustine wrote that the Heaven of Heaven reserved for the angels and the redeemed, will be a place where we will have no need to gain the knowledge of the Word of God by reading it. For the angels and the redeemed will always behold his face and read the Word, without any syllabus in time, they understand what the Eternal Will intends. They are always reading and what they read will never pass away.  Listen to Our Devotional Podcast New Postings Each Week  Nine Fruits of the Vine and Five Little Foxes Resource for Personal Devotions, Discussion Groups, Bible Studies   Seed Thoughts Sponsored by: Christian Counselor Directory

Imperfect Faith from Seed Thoughts

Seed Thought for this Week Sent weekly to over 100,000 Christian families and growing. Imperfect Faith Faith involves knowledge. For example, we are called to faith through some method of preaching or teaching. We are also sustained in our faith because of what we learn about God and ourselves. Both spiritual regeneration and renewal require spiritual knowledge. We might be emotionally moved to lay hold of what God offers us, but we would be hard pressed to move one inch toward God if we didn’t know the path to God and all of His benefits. Such is the Scripture in which we must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him. Faith cannot exist without knowledge. Paul calls this spiritual knowledge the excellency of the knowledge of Christ. Faith involves knowledge. Read more here ...    Listen to Our Devotional Podcast Several New Postings Each Week   Nine Fruits of the Vine and Five Little Foxes Resource for Personal Devotions, Discussion Groups, and Bible Studies   Seed Thoughts Sponsored by: Christian Counselor Directory

Christian Counselor Directory - Spiritual Maturity is not Perfection from Seed Thoughts

Seed Thought for this Week Sent weekly to over 100,000 Christian families and growing. Spitual Maturity is not Perfection  As the people of faith, we should find comfort that the goal is spiritual maturity and not perfection or anything near it. In the book of Mathew, Jesus makes this point when he speaks about spiritual maturity, in that, some will bear a hundred-fold, some sixty, and some thirty. This verse speaks to different levels of spiritual maturity and that even the thirty-fold are persons of faith and sincerity.  And to those who might seem to think they are spiritually mature; less we are lifted up with our inflated perception of spiritual progress, or enamored by what seems to be the spiritual maturity of others, we should know that even the hundred-fold Christian mentioned in Mathew, in whom there is scarcely one in a thousand, are all wanting because even the best of us are stained with imperfection. Yet, we are called to strive to be the best we can be although never close to living up to our own standards in thought and action.  As people of faith we might live recklessly for a while, but God loves us too much for us to go on like that forever. God will not leave his people alone. God will check in on us. He will not allow us to live life unchecked. At first we might deny that anything is wrong. But it catches up to us; sometimes it takes days, weeks, months, or years. We eventually feel guilty. We feel regret. Our hearts and conscience is pricked. We feel ashamed. This is how it has been for the people of faith of every age, as far back as Adam and Eve who thought they could do their own thing in the garden. They failed. Yet God went searching for them.  Although they were dismissed from the garden they were far from lost. After the fall they grew in grace and faith. As time went on they taught their children how to worship, evidenced in the pure worship of their son Abel, whom Cain slew. They also had thankful hearts when God blessed them with another son in whom they acknowledged that he was a blessing from the hand of God. And the Scripture notes that after the birth of Seth men began to call on the name of the Lord. This means that public worship was introduced among the people of faith who were living at the time. All of this was after Adam and Eve fell in the garden. By their example we should take heart that we will also grow in grace and faith if we are sincere, even if we have been wayward or failed miserably. For we are convinced it is not the beginning of a person that counts the most but the latter because Scripture confirms that even the thirty-fold who persevere and bear fruit can rejoice that they are safe and redeemed in the end.    Listen to Our Devotional Podcast New Postings Monday - Thursday    Nine Fruits of the Vine and Five Little Foxes Resource for Personal Devotions, Discussion Groups, and Bible Studies   Seed Thoughts Sponsored by: Christian Counselor Directory

Christian Counselor Directory - One Day at a Time: from Seed Thoughts

Seed Thought for this Week Sent weekly to over 100,000 Christian families and growing. One Day at a Time! Most of the time our problems are transitory or we think they are worse than they are. These kinds of problems go away as quickly as they came. But sometimes there are challenges and difficulties that not only look bleak, but are bleak. And they stay with us for a while. When we are going through this kind of trouble, it is best to take it one day at a time.  Taking it a day at a time doesn’t mean we should neglect to plan for tomorrow’s challenges and responsibilities or fail to do everything we can to relieve our problems with a look toward the future. It means we should not worry about tomorrow’s troubles and contingencies to the point that we have strangled the life out of everything remaining that is not part of the problem or challenge. In the English language the word worry comes from an Anglo-Saxon word meaning to choke or strangle. Evidently this cultural group knew something about worry.  Jesus encouraged us to deal with our problems one day at a time. In Mathew 6:4 Jesus taught us that we should not worry about tomorrow for tomorrow will take worry for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is evil. In this verse, evil is connected to worry and simply means that if we worry too much beyond the present it is unhealthy and unproductive. We will fail to live well in the present. It will paralyze us. And we will be of little good, to ourselves and to others. It is also unhealthy because it’s extremely stressful. The medical profession often remind us, that stress contributes to emotional and physical illness.  It is not easy to handle our problems one day at time. But we must try. If we do, God will give us strength of heart and peace of mind about what is happening to us.  We should remember when God instructs us to do something he gives us the strength and peace of mind to do it. And He only ask us to do what we are capable of doing. When we have enduring problems and challenges we should do what we can the day we have them, and when tomorrow comes we do the same. And for the people of faith we look to God for help to face up to our problems in life, all the while, committing our future and all outcomes to God.  Listen to Our Devotional Podcast Monday - Thursday Each Week      Resource for Personal Devotions, Discussion Groups, and Bible Studies  Nine Fruits of the Vine and Five Little Foxes Seed Thoughts Sponsored by: Christian Counselor Directory

Christian Counselor Directory - Knowing that God will take care of us: from Seed Thoughts

Seed Thought for this Week Sent weekly to over 100,000 Christian families and growing. Knowing That God Will Take Care of Us God led Abraham in various directions with no guarantees other than an inward assurance that God would take care of him. Abraham’s life was not dissimilar to ours. Abraham was familiar with anxiety, fear, uncertainty, disappointments, and near death experiences. Abraham also suffered the emotional pain of a somewhat dysfunctional and challenging family life; the separation of children, unreasonable and uncomfortable familial interactions, and sibling rivalry. It should not be surprising to the people of faith, when these kinds of challenges, in one was or another, are a part of our lives or at least threaten to be a part of our lives.  Through all of his challenging experiences Abraham found comfort and confidence because he had an inward assurance that God would take care of him.  We can have this same assurance that God will take care of us. The Book of Hebrews defines our common faith as the substance (or inward assurance) of things hoped for but the evidence of things not seen. The essence of faith is having an inward assurance that everything will be okay with us, no matter how bad it looks.  We should cast our care upon God because he cares for us. This is a particular promise offered to the people of faith. And if for whatever reason, help is deferred for a time, or even to the end of our life, we look for a City Who’s Builder and Maker is God, as Scripture confirms Abraham did. Knowing that eternal assurance is of greater assurance than all things in life, and that we are only here for a while. And although our life may be mostly pleasant, when we face any hardship or challenge we will endure it with patience and confidence because we are convinced that God will take care of us, now and to the end.  Listen to Our Podcast Monday - Thursday Each Week      Resource for Personal Devotions, Discussion Groups, and Bible Studies  Nine Fruits of the Vine and Five Little Foxes Seed Thoughts Sponsored by: Christian Counselor Directory