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1. Deliverance


Pastor Ralph

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I think that the way that stress pulls me away from God is that I am always thinking about it and not thinking of God. When I sit down for my meditation I think of my stress and turn it over to him. I may not stop thinking about it but I do have God helping me resolve it. For some reason I usually do turn it fully to God otherwise it wouldn’t be on my mind. I am asking Him to help me resolve stress.

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I feel most of the time stress puts the problem on our backs,not on  our SAVIOR'S. We attempt to fix them, as in we caused them, now I must figure out how to fix them. I've d learn , through the Bible, how to cope with most of the stress of my life.  Mostly there are others worst off than I am. Plus I have found the Psalms are wonderful in my times of need. I listen to them quite a lot, either from a Bible app, or them being set to music.

  It was interesting how you said, Pastor Ralph , how the Psalms were/are meant to be sung. Years ago my interest peaked in reading them when I read a blog on"what would say if they found JESUS'S songbook, with HIS name written in it. It would be priceless. Well, as the blogger stated, we have found it, and it's the book of Psalms.

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Day 1 Meditation (Psalm 120). In what ways does stress pull us away from God? I think that stress is a carnal aspect of our being. It has been my experience that the more submerged that I am in the spiritual, either thru prayer, reading Holy Scripture, or listening to sacred hymns (Psalms), or drinking in GOD's beautiful creation (like in Vincent van Gogh's paintings) the more distance between me and the stress...although, I think that some stress is helpful....because after "deliverance" we are more appreciative of the "Shalom" peace that comes.. In what ways does stress draw us closer to God? Have you given your stress points to God fully? What are you asking him to do about your stresses?....My initial reaction to stress is often to try and handle it by myself, depending upon my frame of mind, what caused the stress, etc...but thanks be to GOD and HIS SON, our LORD and Savior JESUS CHRIST, many, many times a Scripture verse will just come to me out of the blue..such as "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything, with thanksgiving, make your request known to GOD......" or "HE will keep you in perfect peace who's mind is stayed on the LORD"......

SING ALONG:.....

 

 

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Stress can be an obstacle and even a stumbling block and why meditation on Gods Word is necessary.  Stress drives folks to bad habits, sinful actions. Over-eating, drinking, medications and all those things which provide temporary "comfort".  Stress, when allowed, can result in poor physical and/or mental health, insomnia because of anxiety and worry.

But, when one's heart has the correct indwelling and instead of looking at the problems that cause stress, look upon the Lord through His Word and stand on His promises, Matthew 11:28-30 KJV
"Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."

Get with Him, alone and turn the problems over to Him.  I find having a slow scripture song benefits me. https://youtu.be/x5sFYvu6h-Y and this one are two of my favorites.  https://youtu.be/FKWGSzxtcZA

and I ask God for His wisdom for whatever is being stressful, and being quick to hear and slow to speak, because stress can make the tongue say things that should not be said.  A very sudden stressful situation can present itself out of the blue, terrible news can arrive at any moment.  When waking each morning, have the full armor of God engaged and upon retiring for the evening, evaluate your day in light of God's Word and His promises.  His grace is abundant. The Lord is my light and my salvation and Psalm 27-30 is a wonderful place to go to.

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Just an observation.  Stress is often a "growth point" where God is calling you to move to a new stage in your life.  It is frequently painful, like giving birth, but fruitful if responded to with a spirit of acceptance.  It often requires walking out in Faith with no clear idea of where the path is going but trusting that the way is secure.  The comment about Van Gogh in another post reminded me of his remark, "I am always doing what I cannot do yet, in order to learn how to do it."  I think God challenges us in stress filled situations to learn more about Him, and develop new life skills!

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I'm seeing this Psalm from a personal perspective. I've been praying for a renewal of my relationship with GOD and a problem area that i have is with my cussing, and negative thoughts. My daily meditation seems to center on "let the fruit of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable unto Thee oh LORD" (paraphrased?). My thoughts and negative verbalization (?) of them are the bitter herbs and poison asps of my Spirit. My background is real shady and i would be counted amongst evil-doers. That was over 10 years ago before The LORD gave me new life. Now, going thru turmoil of backsliding, i reach out to The LORD for help, for guidance, for strength, for conviction, for real love in my heart.....

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Feeling stressed, as a very earthly thing, can blind us and alter the order of our priorities. We leave God as a plan B and we try ourselves to "fix" the situation. And don't get me wrong, I believe we have to face whatever it is, but FIRST we have to consult God for wisdom and then act accordingly to His will. Sometimes, we just jump the gun, and because He gave us our free will, we just do whatever in order to cope with it...until we reach a point, when we are so broken, that we have to surrender and kneel. A sour-sweet moment, that changes your life forever. His Mercy and Grace takes away your stress and fears. He lifts the weight of your shoulders, of your broken heart and teach you to rely on Him. Sometimes is instantaneous, sometimes takes more prayers and faith, but He always listens and we have to be consistent in casting our stresses and problems on Him because He promised to give us peace, the one that nobody and nothing else can give. 

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On 7/18/2020 at 8:24 PM, Pastor Ralph said:

Day 1 Meditation (Psalm 120). In what ways does stress pull us away from God? In what ways does stress draw us closer to God? Have you given your stress points to God fully? What are you asking him to do about your stresses?

Stress pulls us away from God when we focus on the situation and try to fix it ourselves instead of looking to God and trusting Him to do the fixing for us.

Stress draws us closer to God when we turn to Him in prayer and cry out for His help.  Sometimes all I can do is cry for "help".  I have found Him to be faithful. He has always come through for me.

Sometimes I tell myself that I have given all the things that cause me stress over to God and then, it seems as if out of the blues, I find myself worrying about the same situation/s.  Then I go to Him again and hand them over.  I find that there are times when I have to be watchful and on the alert so as not to take those stress points away from God everyday. But I am so thankful to Him, and I have the confidence that He is always ready and willing to help when I call.

I am asking Him to fix the things that need fixing in my family, in our homes, in our lives, and as usual, I am crying to Him for 'help'.  

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Day 1 Meditation (Psalm 120). In what ways does stress pull us away from God?

Stressful situations demand action; in this Psalm, the writer wants to get rid of the lying and hate. The people of Meschech and Kedar also are stressed; otherwise they would not be “for war”. 
 
Where are they looking for relief? Both the writer and the people of Meschech and Kedar want violence to end it. But the writer calls on the Lord to “punish with warrior’s arrows”. Then the writer can work for peace, because the Lord will handle the violence.
 
 In what ways does stress draw us closer to God?
Being able to “give it to God” is the most awesome privilege of following Jesus! A few years ago I realized that the property manager of our homeowners association was dealing falsely. I showed the evidence to the board and confronted the property manager, but the board decided to do nothing. I gave it to God, and discovered that now I am free to deal lovingly with him. God has taken care of the situation, and I am not involved. Praise God for giving me a way to be “for peace” in an ugly
 situation! Cast all your cares upon Him, for He cares for you!
 
 Have you given your stress points to God fully? 
Father, please deal with the “lying lips “ around me today...please deal with the lies I am telling too. Help me to speak your loving truth.
 
 
What are you asking him to do about your stresses?
I am asking Him to deal with my stresses the way He wants. Please let me see Your glory.
 
 
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6 hours ago, Shuttlehall said:

My initial reaction to stress is often to try and handle it by myself, depending upon my frame of mind, what caused the stress, etc...but thanks be to GOD and HIS SON, our LORD and Savior JESUS CHRIST, many, many times a Scripture verse will just come to me out of the blue..such as "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything, with thanksgiving, make your request known to GOD......" or "HE will keep you in perfect peace who's mind is stayed on the LORD"......

Me too! So many times He puts a song or a Bible verse in my mind, so that I turn to Him! What a wonderful God!

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1 hour ago, Mona Burton said:

I am asking Him to fix the things that need fixing in my family, in our homes, in our lives, and as usual, I am crying to Him for 'help'.  

Dear Father, As Your children, we are always asking You to fix things that seem to be the opposite of Your will. But it was Your will to send Jesus to the cross, so maybe this trouble is Your will too. Please, Father, give Mona peace about her “things”! Thank You that You answer our cries for help!

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On 7/18/2020 at 8:24 PM, Pastor Ralph said:

Day 1 Meditation (Psalm 120). In what ways does stress pull us away from God? In what ways does stress draw us closer to God? Have you given your stress points to God fully? What are you asking him to do about your stresses?

Some times we are so bureden down with problems or troubles that we fail to look to God as an answer to our problems. If we are strongly aligned wih God and speaking with him consantly, additional stress can draw us even closer to God. I am curently dealing with shortness o breath due to COPD, but I am trying to put my focus on God's word rather than constanly dwelling on my breathing

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Granted, stress can and will certainly distract us, but I truly believe that  stress can only pull us away from God...'IF we allow it too.' So many times, as Believers, we neglect the power of God Who lives directly inside of us, when all we need to do is access Him by calling on His Mighty Name!

Example: Let's say I'm driving in a fully equipped vehicle, in dead winter, and all  the luxuries are found to be in full working order BUT I find myself freezing because I didn't turn on the heater...Whose fault is that? Mine! It is the same with God! We literally have Him living inside of us, and yet we choose not to fully access Him. 

When found in a stressful situation, I am always pulled closer to God. I immediately go to the scriptures for strength and encouragement. God has never failed me in the Truth of His Living Word!

I can honestly say that I've given all my stress points fully to God! Praise His Name!

What I find myself doing in times of distress, is simply taking the time to Praise Him ahead of Time for Answered prayer! I boldly claim the promises of God! This has been a huge faith builder in my life. It's setting our minds and hearts to KNOWING GOD is IN Control, and not us or the situation. 

Loved this Lesson! Thank you Pastor Ralph! May God continue to bless you!!

Edited by TonyaI
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2 hours ago, Lousand1 said:

Some times we are so bureden down with problems or troubles that we fail to look to God as an answer to our problems. If we are strongly aligned wih God and speaking with him consantly, additional stress can draw us even closer to God. I am curently dealing with shortness o breath due to COPD, but I am trying to put my focus on God's word rather than constanly dwelling on my breathing

Keep Focusing and Meditating on God's Word...He will Not fail you. I know many times, through my own illness, many would try to comfort me and I appreciated that. However, there is no better comfort nor strength than the Word of God Himself! Keep pressing on!

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Stress causes me to slip into self-pity & to become self-absorbed with my problems. Anxiety, fear, worry & resentment block me from the sunlight of God's Spirit. I forget to pray. I forget to  call upon God & begin loosing my faith & trust in Him.

God reminds me that He is always with me if I call upon Him. He is the light in my darkness. When I surrender to His will & pray for strength, courage, hope & comfort, He will answer me.

Yes, I have given my stress points to God fully. I am asking what His will is for me & the strength to carry it out. I pray that He help me accept the people, situations & circumstances just as they are, knowing that He is in charge not me. I am asking that He take my worries, fears & anger from me & that He increase my trust in Him that things in my life will happen according to His plan.

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1. Stress certainly pulls us away from God.  Satan will try his best to do that.  We get caught up in our stresses and try to solve the problems ourselves we get deeper and deeper in them.

2.  Stress can draw us closer to God if we realise and recognize and call HIS HOLY NAME.  "Call out to the Lord"  He will hear you and rescue you.

3.  Not always do I give my stress to God.  I have no excuses now.  There is a way to remember to call HIM.  He is always by our side.

4.  I am going to pray, as I know how powerful  prayer  is. I am going to seek God's help in my weakness and misery.  It needn't be this way.  It's getting into a Godly habit of praying at a set time so I can spend time with God and ask for His grace and favour.  I know He wants to shower me abundantly .  Praise Him! And thank Him the Almighty King. Pam

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 In what ways does stress pull us away from God?

When I'm stressed, I'm in my flesh. I'm self centered. Even if I think I'm feeling anxious or worried about someone else's problems, It really comes down to  how I fell about it and how does it affect me. This is the process of pulling away from God. I can avoid this ungodliness by focusing on the attributes of God,.

In what ways does stress draw us closer to God? 

Nothing I can do, and nothing anyone else can do for me can relieve my stressful reactions. I understand that God is the only way, and this brings me closer to Him.

Have you given your stress points to God fully? 

This is a goal for me. I'm not fully there yet, but I've learned to identify my stress points most of the time, and most of the time, I can turn them over. I'm still a work in progress.

What are you asking him to do about your stresses?

Once identified, I pray to give Him thanks for all of His blessings in my life, and ask that He help me to remain focused on the amazing gift of Jesus in my life. 

 

 

 

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On 7/18/2020 at 8:24 PM, Pastor Ralph said:

Day 1 Meditation (Psalm 120). In what ways does stress pull us away from God? In what ways does stress draw us closer to God?  Have you given your stress points to God fully? What are you asking him to do about your stresses? Sometimes when situations get so tense I tend to get caught up with the distractions in which I'm forced to fight for self respect. For ex, I'm staying at a hotel and paying over 2000 per month on my credit cards bec I was forced out of my subsidized apt. The hotel operator does not want to service me fairly and honestly and often times, they ridicule me when I ask why the microwaves blows smoke, or the stove top flicks off. I have a 6 month reservation and instead of honoring this, the employees mock me and refuse to fix the broken items in the room. In such cases, the stress does affect my time with God, but it does not pull me away from Him. Rather, it makes me draw closer to Him, and makes me seek Him for guidance, peace and love. I find myself reaching out to God more as the stresses attempt to overtake me because I know that Most High God will not judge me for being anxious and stressed. I pray often, read the Bible and listen to hymns.  The LORD Almighty is a compassionate God and I know He feels my struggles and wants to strengthen me, bless me, restore me.  He is a Warrior God so I often seek His mighty hand in helping me overcome my enemies. I feel truly lucky to have my God of Justice on my side. 

 

 

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When we focus too much on the trials and issues in life, we often get pulled away from God. Sometimes in my situations, I focus more on the stress of that issue and finding the solutions and fix it on my own.  But when I remember who I am in Christ, I step back and give it to  God and draw nearer to him in prayer and reading his word—surrendering all to him. He said in his word to cast all our cares upon him because he cares for us. I thank him for his peace in every area of the situation.

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17 hours ago, AnnetteSimone said:

Just an observation.  Stress is often a "growth point" where God is calling you to move to a new stage in your life.  It is frequently painful, like giving birth, but fruitful if responded to with a spirit of acceptance.  It often requires walking out in Faith with no clear idea of where the path is going but trusting that the way is secure.  The comment about Van Gogh in another post reminded me of his remark, "I am always doing what I cannot do yet, in order to learn how to do it."  I think God challenges us in stress filled situations to learn more about Him, and develop new life skills!

I agree with you. It can be if we go thru it with Him and don't wallow in it. 

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In what ways does stress pull us away from God?  While in some cases stressful events happen suddenly, most times stress creeps in subtly. We don't even realize it until it has occupied us so much that our attention is shifted from focusing on God to concentrating on the pain of the stress. By removing our focus from God, we begin to worry. We even begin to think of what we can do to 'help' the situation. This is how stress pulls us away from God. 

In what ways does stress draw us closer to God? Often, when we recognize the stress and step back, and surrender it to God, we find peace as He takes our burden away. As we learn to fully surrender to God, we are strengthened in recognizing God's power to do exceedingly above all we can think or ask (Ephesians 3:20). As we rejoice in the victory over the stress, our faith is strengthened and we draw closer to God.

Have you given your stress points to God fully? Although I have taken my stress points to the Cross, and I am trusting God to deliver me, sometimes I feel like I subconsciously pick them up. I know that God is able to deliver me.

What are you asking him to do about your stresses? I am encouraged by today's Psalm 120. That even though I might be afflicted, God is able to deliver me. This psalmist, even when he was dwelling in a foreign land was still able to go up to Jerusalem. The Ascend may not be easy. But there is hope for deliverance in God. I am asking God to help me to trust Him more and more.

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On 7/18/2020 at 8:24 PM, Pastor Ralph said:

Day 1 Meditation (Psalm 120). In what ways does stress pull us away from God? In what ways does stress draw us closer to God? Have you given your stress points to God fully? What are you asking him to do about your stresses?

Stress pulls me away from God, as I sometimes think that I can solve the problem myself naturally, and look up this thing and that thing and forget that He is just waiting for me to trust in Him with the situation.   When it is an impossible, I remember that nothing is impossible with God and I cry out to the Lord for help, he answers me and faith and love grows.   Nothing can take the place of spending time with the Lord before your day and a lot of the stresses of the day will never happen.  I am asking the Lord for me to be ever conscious of His presence throughout my day, to cast all my care on Him because He cares for me and to learn to trust Him in everything.

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