Conquering the Giant of Fear

When Moses sent the 12 spies into the Promised Land, they came back reporting there were giants in the land. This scared the people of Israel so much that they spent the next 38 years in the wilderness!

To receive everything that God has promised to you, you must defeat the Giant of Fear.  I’ve attached a link to an 18-minute video of me teaching about the 4 weapons you will need to use.

To watch the video, click on this link: Conquering the Giant of Fear
--Kent
www.kentcrockett.blogspot.com
www.makinglifecount.net
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How will God provide for you?

Does your situation look so desperate that it’s hard for you to imagine how God can intervene? Matthew 17:24-27 tells an amazing story about Peter catching a fish with a coin in its mouth. This story is recorded in Scripture for a reason—to show you that God can do the impossible to provide your needs.

Instead of writing this week’s devotional, I’ve attached a link to a 20-minute video of me teaching on this passage. I hope this teaching will encourage you to not give up hope, no matter how impossible your situation may be. To watch the video, click on this link: How Will God Provide for Me?

--Kent

www.kentcrockett.blogspot.com

www.makinglifecount.net

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Read over 150 Bible studies at www.makinglifecount.net
Does the future scare you?  Read The Sure Cure for Worry
Are you depressed or feel rejected?  Read Slaying Your Giants

Turning Points

George Foreman is the former two-time world’s heavyweight boxing champion and known for his powerful knockout punches. On his 19^th birthday, he got so drunk that he couldn’t remember what happened that night. The next day, he ran into a friend who had been badly beaten up. His eye was swollen and he had cuts and bruises on his face. George wanted to get revenge on the person who hurt his friend. He said, “Man, you look terrible! Who did that to you?”

His friend looked at him in disbelief and said, “Are you kidding me? You beat me up last night!”

George was stunned because he couldn’t remember beating him up. This was a turning point in his life. The hurt he inflicted on his friend jolted him so much that George never took another drink of alcohol after that. (George Foreman, God in My Corner, Thomas Nelson, 2007).

Although you might not physically beat up someone, have you ever verbally beat up someone? We can hurt others without realizing the damage we’ve done. Husbands and wives get into heated arguments and never realize they’ve shoved an invisible knife through their spouse’s heart. Without a turning point, it could lead them to the divorce court. Abusive parents scream hateful things at their children, never realizing how it has devastated them. Without a turning point, future generations could be affected.

Change doesn’t occur without a turning point. The only way to stop hurting others is for the light bulb to come on in our minds. Our eyes must be opened to the pain we have inflicted. The Prodigal Son didn’t change until “he came to his senses” in the pigpen. This was his turning point. He got up, and went back home with a changed attitude toward his father (Luke 15:17-20). Saul was on the road to Damascus to persecute Christians when he was struck down by a blinding light. This was his turning point. He changed from murdering Christians to preaching about Jesus (Acts 9:1-20).

Think back on your life. Have you ever had a turning point? Have you hurt your spouse, or your parents, or your children, or anyone, without realizing the damage you’ve done? It’s not too late to change. Today can be your turning point. Don't just say that you're sorry. Prove it with a change in behavior. 

www.kentcrockett.blogspot.com

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ACCIDENT OR DIVINE INTERVENTION? We have 500-600 people who receive this devotional via email. Occasionally the email service goes crazy and sends out one of the previous Devotionals without telling us. This happened earlier this week when a devotional from last May on “Rejection” was accidentally sent out. We have no idea how that happened, but maybe God wanted someone to read it.
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Read 150 Bible studies at www.makinglifecount.net
Does the future scare you?  Read The Sure Cure for Worry
Are you depressed or feel rejected?  Read Slaying Your Giants

10 Unusual Ways People Have Died

Call me weird, but I keep a file of unusual ways people have died. This morning I read about a man who had just pulled his car in a parking space when an abandoned apartment building collapsed and fell on his vehicle. If you had told him beforehand he would die that way, he would not have believed you. Here are nine more unusual ways people have died (These came from newspaper articles and are not urban legends).

·         A Brazilian man died when a cow fell through his roof and landed on him. His house was next to a steep hillside where the cow had been grazing.

·         A fisherman in Sri Lanka bled to death when a fish jumped out of the water and cut him on the neck with its fin.

·         A man in Iran was shot to death by a snake. He was trying to catch the snake alive and put the end of his shotgun on its head. The snake coiled around the gun and pulled the trigger.

·         A herdsman in Kenya was watering his livestock when he was stoned to death by wild monkeys.

·         A man at a Jets-Patriots pro football game was killed by a flying lawnmower. The entertainment at half-time was radio-controlled unusual-looking model airplanes. The flying lawnmower went out of control and flew into the stands where he was seated.

·         A man in Florida was sleeping in his bedroom when a sinkhole beneath his home opened up and sucked him in.

·         A man in London at his 100-year-old birthday party said, “Yes, I made it!” and immediately died.

·         Two passengers were dining on a cruise ship off the coast of France when a 26-foot high wave crashed through the glass windshield and killed them.

·         A man in South Carolina was jogging and listening to his iPod when he was hit from behind by a small plane that had lost its power and was making an emergency landing.

None of these people knew that death was just moments away. Have you ever thought about how you will die? Will you be cut by a fish tail? Shot by a snake? Killed by a flying lawnmower? Sucked into a sinkhole? Maybe your heart will just stop beating.

Life is short and death can happen at any moment. James 4:14 says, “You do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away.” Will you be ready when your time comes? If not, please read “How can I know that I’m going to heaven?”

 

Have a great day. It could be your last.

www.kentcrockett.blogspot.com
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Read over 130 Bible studies at www.makinglifecount.net
Are you worried about the future?  Read The Sure Cure for Worry
Do you want to defeat depression, unforgiveness, and rejection?  Read Slaying Your Giants

Leaving Your Offering at the Altar?

Jesus made a profound statement that most of us have overlooked.  He said, “Therefore if you are presenting your offering at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your offering there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and present your offering” (Matt. 5:23-24). Jesus is saying that a wrong horizontal relationship with man will block our vertical relationship with God.

Imagine a man taking his lamb to the temple to sacrifice as an act of worship. As he is about to hand his animal to the priest to place it on the altar, a thought pops into his mind. The worshipper remembers a disagreement he had with someone. His enemy stole some money from him, but he reacted in the wrong way by calling him hateful names. He realizes that he must forgive his enemy for wronging him, but he also needs to ask forgiveness for his hateful response.

Jesus tells him to leave his offering at the altar. Leave it there while he takes care of some business. There’s nothing wrong with the offering, so there’s no need to take it away. The offering is acceptable, but the worshipper’s attitude isn’t, and God is looking at his heart. This passage reveals that the Lord is aware of what we are offering Him, along with the attitude in our hearts, and also the personal conflicts we are experiencing.

The worshipper leaves his offering and walks three miles to where his enemy lives. He asks forgiveness for calling him those names and forgives him for stealing from him. His enemy returns the money, accepts his apology and they are reconciled, so he returns to the temple and finishes presenting his offering to God.

But suppose his enemy doesn’t want to be reconciled. Instead of being receptive, his enemy curses him out and slams the door in his face. What is the worshipper to do? God accepts that fact that he did everything in his power to resolve the difference. Perhaps his enemy will change his mind later and get right with him and God. The worshipper can now return to the altar with a clear conscience, knowing he did what Christ has asked of him.

Romans 12:18 says, “If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men” Notice 3 things:

·         “If possible.” This implies that the other person may not want to be reconciled. But it also means that resolving the conflict might be possible.
·         “So far as it depends on you.” This puts the burden of peace-making on you. It will require humility on your part because pride wants the other person to come to you. Quit waiting for the other person to make the first move. You take the initiative and start the process.
·         “Be at peace with all men.” Conflict creates friction, but reconciliation brings peace.

If you will make the first move, you will find that God will also make a move by blessing you! He will always bless the one who takes the initiative in peacemaking. www.kentcrockett.blogspot.com

Visit Kent’s New Bible Teaching website: www.makinglifecount.net

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Are you worried about the future?  Read The Sure Cure for Worry
Do you want to defeat depression, unforgiveness, and rejection?  Read Slaying Your Giants

Listening to God

Jesus said that when some people pray, they wrongly assume “that they will be heard for their many words” (Matt. 6:7). Praying doesn’t get better because it’s longer, just like sermons don’t get better because they’re longer. I’ve never heard anyone say, “That sermon was so good because it was SO long!” And I don’t think God says, “That prayer is so good because it’s so long! That person just talks and talks and talks and never expects Me to say anything back!”

Years ago when I worked for a Christian college in Georgia, I had an appointment with a lady who lived in another city to talk about some business concerning the college. After we met, she started talking non-stop (and I am not exaggerating) for the entire hour. I kept waiting for her to take a breath—to pause—to take a break between words—to ask what I thought—anything so I could get a word in edgewise, but she never did. Finally, after sixty minutes of me listening without saying a word, I had to leave for my next appointment. When I got up from my chair I said, “Well, it was nice talking to you!” 

God must feel the same way when we do all the talking but never listen. He wants to speak to us, but we must have open hearts to hear His voice. “Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts” (Heb. 3:15). If you in a bad situation and don’t know what to do, God says if you will pray and ask for wisdom, He will always show you what to do. “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God...and it will be given to him” (James 1:5).

But how will you know when He gives you the wisdom? He will put thoughts in your mind and impressions on your heart. Sometimes He will give you desires to point your heart in the right direction. At other times, you will just instinctively know what you need to do. However, if you don’t expect Him to speak to you, you won’t receive anything from the Lord (James 1:7).

Remember that prayer is a dialog and not a monologue. Learn to listen to God and then do what He says.  www.kentcrockett.blogspot.com  

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Are you worried about the future?  Read The Sure Cure for Worry

Do you want to defeat depression, unforgiveness, and rejection?  Read Slaying Your Giants

Trust in the Lord with all Your Heart

(This amazing true story comes from my new book, The Sure Cure for Worry (Chosen Books, 2013, pages 32-35)
Sometimes it’s hard to believe that God is in control when your world is falling apart. You must continue to obey God, even when what He tells you to do doesn’t make sense. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths” (Proverbs 3:5-6).

Max Wilkins is a pastor in Gainesville, Florida. Shortly after he surrendered to go into full-time ministry, Max applied at Candler School of Theology for seminary training. He had no money to attend graduate school but took the first step of faith by applying.

Max had two summer employment opportunities before fall classes would begin. The most promising was an assistant pastor position in a local church, which would completely pay for his first semester at the seminary. The other job was working at a church camp for only a penny per hour. The correct decision appeared to be obvious. The church staff job had to be the right choice. But after spending time in prayer, Max felt God pulling at his heart to work at the camp.

His parents tried to talk him out of it. “Son, you need to pray again. Obviously you didn’t hear that from God.” But Max could not deny that the Lord was leading him in a direction that defied logic. It would be financially impossible for him to pay for seminary with the money he would be making at camp.

Max faithfully fulfilled his camp duties and by the end of summer he had earned five dollars. Classes would be starting in two weeks. If he had listened to his parents and taken the other job, he would have had the money to pay for his first semester at school. But now that option was gone.

How could the Lord let him make a huge mistake like that? Max stormed down to the camp lake to have it out with God. Standing by the lake, he cried out, “Lord, you are the one who called me to seminary and to work at this camp. I am trying to be obedient to you, but I have no idea what to do now. This is your problem, God!”

At that moment he sensed the presence of someone nearby. He turned and noticed an elderly woman sitting on the lakeside bench. “Hello,” Max said. “Have we met before?”

“No, my name is Emily Ann. Why don’t you tell me what’s bothering you.”
Max sat next to her and shared about his desire to attend seminary and turning down the assistant pastor job to work at the camp for a penny per hour.

“You want to go to Candler School of Theology?” she asked. “My husband and I happen to have some friends who are endowing a scholarship at that seminary. Please give me your contact information and I will tell them about you.”

Max wondered if she was making up the answer to his problem, or if she might be a little bit senile. After all, what are the odds that a person with connections to a scholarship to the very seminary he had applied for would come to that exact spot on the lakeshore at the precise time he was there praying? Max scribbled his address on a piece of paper and handed it to her.

When summer camp ended, Max returned home and found a stack of mail lying on his desk. He came across an envelope from the Sherman Foundation. Tearing it open, he read:

Dear Max, Our dear friend Emily Ann spoke very highly of you and your calling to ministry. We trust her implicitly. Based on her recommendation, we are pleased to award you an all-expense paid scholarship to Candler School of Theology at Emory University. Sincerely, Frank and Helen Sherman, The Sherman Scholarship Foundation

What looked like an incredibly stupid decision to work at the camp for a penny an hour turned out to be the correct decision! Because Max trusted in the Lord with all his heart and did not lean to his own understanding, God led him on the right path—and provided what he needed.

The scholarship not only paid for his entire three years in seminary, but also gave him a monthly stipend for living expenses! When you walk in obedience to God, He has ways of providing for you that are beyond your understanding. Are you trusting the Lord with all your heart and obeying what He is telling you to do? If you will, God will take care of everything else.  www.kentcrockett.blogspot.com

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Are you worried about an economic collapse or that you won't find the right person to marry?  Read The Sure Cure for Worry

Do you want to conquer depression, rejection, or unforgiveness?  Read Slaying Your Giants

The Purpose of Prayer

Many people aren’t motivated to pray because they don’t understand why they need to do it. Suppose your friend says, “I’d like for you to go in my backyard and dig some holes four feet deep.” You don’t want to do it but because he’s your friend, you agree to do it.  

Ten minutes into digging you start complaining about the heat. Twenty minutes later your back begins to hurt. You keep looking at your watch, wondering how much longer he wants you to dig. After an hour you’re mad at him because you have no idea why you’re doing useless work.

But suppose your friend gives you more information. “My grandfather buried bags of gold coins in my backyard four feet deep. If you will dig them up, I’ll share the treasure with you.” You get excited and start shoveling dirt as fast as you can. You’re not even thinking about sweating, blisters, or backaches. Now you have one thing on your mind—finding the gold.

What changed? Your motivation increased once you understood the reason for your digging and that you would benefit from it. In the same way, your motivation to pray will increase once you understand the purpose of prayer and how you will benefit by doing it.  

Did you know that some things will not happen unless you pray? Otherwise, prayer would serve no purpose. “You do not have because you do not ask” (James 4:2). Prayer is like having a passkey that will unlock doors.  It won’t open every door, but it will unlock the doors that are in God’s will.  However, if you don’t use the passkey many doors will remain closed.  

Through your prayers God can change your circumstances and open doors of opportunity for you. The Lord wants you to participate in bringing His will to pass on earth through your prayers. The key is in your hand. It’s up to you to use it. www.kentcrockett.blogspot.com

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Are you worried about an economic collapse or some other tragedy?  Read The Sure Cure for Worry

Do you want to conquer anger, unforgiveness, and rejection?  Read Slaying Your Giants

Am I Supposed to Love Myself?

(The following is an excerpt from Slaying Your Giants.)

To love self or not to love self. That is the question. Jesus said, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself" (Matt. 22:39). He also said, "If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple" (Luke 14:26).

These two apparently contradicting verses, both spoken by Jesus, make me wonder, "Should I love me, or love me not? If God loves me, shouldn't I love me?" And here's a bonus question. If Jesus commanded me to love everyone, why does He now tell me to hate?

No, Jesus wasn’t commanding us to despise mom and dad. The biblical word “hate” doesn't always mean to “cease loving.” When Jesus says you must hate your relatives and yourself, He means that you must favor Him above everyone else. Christ wants to lead you, rather than letting anyone else control your life. However, some people wrongly believe they must hate themselves—the very souls Jesus created and died for. If that were true, you should want to go to hell, which would be the ultimate hatred of self. Obviously, that can’t be right. You would be fulfilling Satan’s will, not God’s.

A prison chaplain once told me, “Do you know why those prisoners committed their crimes? It’s because they hate themselves. And if they hate themselves, how can they love others? If they don’t have respect for themselves, why would they respect anyone else and their property? So it doesn’t bother them to steal or kill. They don’t love their neighbors because they don’t love themselves.”

Attaining a healthy self-image requires that you see yourself as God sees you—as a valuable person He created and loves. It’s important to understand that “self” can mean a couple of things. It can mean “the person God created you to be” which is good, or it can mean “having a selfish attitude” which is bad. When Jesus said to hate your own life, He meant to hate selfishness, not the person God created you to be. The Lord wants you to love yourself as His creation and child, but to hate your selfish attitudes.

www.kentcrockett.blogspot.com

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Don't Stop Praying (The Unjust Judge)

After we’ve been praying for something for a long time and the answer hasn’t come, we might conclude that God isn’t listening. Sometimes He will not answer because we are asking for something that will not be good for us. But at other times we quit praying too soon, which forfeits what we are praying for. Jesus told a parable explaining why we must continue to pray.

Luke 18:1 “Now He was telling them a parable to show that at all times they ought to pray and not to lose heart.” 

Jesus is the one who answers our prayers—and He is teaching us about how to pray and about how prayer works.  First He says to pray at all times.  Do you realize that some things will not happen unless you pray? Otherwise, prayer would serve no purpose.  The problem is we only pray when we need something and not “at all times.”

Second, it’s easy to get discouraged and lose heart. He knows that when we don’t see the answer to our prayers that we can be tempted to quit praying.  Notice that Jesus is the one who told us to keep praying, even when it looks like nothing is happening. 

Luke 18:2-3 "In a certain city there was a judge who did not fear God and did not respect man. There was a widow in that city, and she kept coming to him, saying, 'Give me legal protection from my opponent.'” 

There are three reasons why you help people. One is because you fear God, and another reason is you respect others.  Jesus sets up this parable by eliminating the two primary reasons to help her.  That only leaves one reason left.

Luke 18:4-5 "For a while he was unwilling; but afterward he said to himself, 'Even though I do not fear God nor respect man, yet because this widow bothers me, I will give her legal protection, otherwise by continually coming she will wear me out.'"  

The reason the ungodly judge gave in to her was because she wouldn’t stop bringing her request to him!  Do you understand what He’s trying to tell us?  That’s the kind of persistence we should have when we bring our requests before God.  Persistence is a necessary ingredient in faith and gives us the determination to keep praying until the answer comes. 

Don’t give up praying for your loved ones or for something else that’s on your heart. Jesus said that your prayers are making a difference in bringing it to pass.

www.kentcrockett.blogspot.com

To READ SAMPLE CHAPTERS of Slaying Your Giants click here: www.kentcrockett.com

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The "Present Time Zone" (Stress)

In the devotionals below, I talked about the “Past Time Zone” and the “Future Time Zone” in your mind.  The present is the only place where you can live.  However, if you keep thinking about all the things that you need to do today, you will get “stressed out.”  

Martha in the Bible is someone who was always stressed-out. Jesus said to her, "Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things; but only one thing is necessary" (Luke 10:41-42).  She wasn’t properly managing the “time zones” in her mind. 

She was worried because her mind got stuck in the future, and she was bothered (stressed-out) because she was thinking about too many things in the present.  He says, “Martha, you keep thinking about things that I didn’t call you to do.  Only one thing is necessary.  Concentrate on what I want you to do.”

We usually get stressed out by taking on too many responsibilities.  In the old west, cowboys would put their branding irons in the campfire to heat them up so they could mark their cattle.  If they put too many irons in the fire, it would put out the fire. Too many irons in the fire will put out your fire, too!  You don’t need to do everything—but only the things God has called you to do. 

How can you reduce your stress?

1.Control what you think about.  Do you realize that you can choose to NOT think about some things?

2. Get more organized. Many people are stressed-out because they have no structure in their lives. They bounce around like a ball in a pin-ball machine, reacting to whatever happens to them. Write down the things you need to do for the day and prioritize them.

3. Handle one task at a time.  Don’t try to do five things at once. Accomplish the highest priority task first, then the next, and so on.

4. Simplify your life. Jesus said, “Only one thing is necessary.” He didn’t say “Four hundred things are necessary.”  What is that “one thing”?  It’s seeking to hear God and please Him in all that you do.

www.kentcrockett.blogspot.com

Coming in April 2013: Slaying Your Giants by Kent Crockett (Hendrickson Publishers)

The "Future Time Zone" in Your Mind

In the devotional below I talked about the “time zones” in your mind and how your thoughts can drift to the past.  Your mind can also travel in the other direction to the future.  Worry sends your mind ahead so you’ll agonize about the horrible things that might happen. Maybe you’re thinking, “The future scares me.  What if there’s a world war?  What if the economy collapses?”

Worry is the belief that the worst will happen to you.  Hope is the belief that the best will happen to you.  Which one do you think God wants you to do—worry or hope? Jesus specifically told His followers to not worry.  He said, “Do not keep worrying.” (Luke 12:29)

Studies show that 92% of things we worry about will never happen.  I know what you’re thinking.  “What about the other 8%?”  The other 8% will either not be as bad as you think, or God will give you the grace to get through them.  That takes care of everything you’re worried about.

If you are worried, it’s because you’re not trusting God to be in control of your circumstances and take care of you.  You cannot worry about the future and trust God at the same time.  Here are 3 things reasons why you can look forward to the future.

1. God exists in the future.  God is “I AM” the eternally existent one (Ex. 3:14), which means He is not bound by time and He exists in the future.  Tomorrow when you get there, God will be waiting there to welcome you.  It doesn’t matter what the world is like tomorrow.  If God is there, you don’t need to worry.

2. God has good plans for your future.  The prophet Jeremiah said, “‘For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope’” (Jeremiah 29:11).  He has plans for His followers, too.  We don’t know what they may be, but we do know they are good plans to give us hope.  Hope for tomorrow displaces worry.

3. God promises to take care of those who put Him first. Jesus made this promise: “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you” (Matthew 6:33).  If you will seek Him as your highest priority, He promises to provide all your needs. 

My book The Sure Cure for Worry will be published in August 2013, which will explain why people worry and will give solid evidence that God is in control and can be trusted completely.

www.kentcrockett.blogspot.com

Coming in April 2013: Slaying Your Giants by Kent Crockett (Hendrickson Publishers)

The "Time Zones" in Your Mind, Part 1

Do you realize that you have “time zones” in your mind?  Although you live only in the present, your mind can drift to another time zone—either to the past or to the future. Paul said, "One thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus" (Phil. 3:13-14).

THE “PAST TIME ZONE”

The past does not exist anymore, except in your memory.  I grew up in New Orleans and in my mind I can see myself walking through all the rooms in that house.  In 2005 that house was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina.  The house doesn't exist anymore—but it’s still there in my memory.  In reality that house is gone but in my imaginations, I can still go there—if I choose to think about it.  

In the same way, your past doesn't exist anymore, but in your imaginations you can still go there. It’s not wrong to briefly visit the past to reminisce about good memories, which can make you thankful.  But far more people climb into their mental time machine and travel to the past time zone to think about the horrible memories in the past.  If you dwell on your hurtful past, you will become bitter, or will feel guilty, or will sink into depression, or will fume in anger.  Calling up bad memories will affect your mental and spiritual health in the present.

LETTING GO OF YOUR PAST

Just like you can hold on to things with your hands, you can also hold on to things with your spirit. To let go of the past, you must let go of what your heart is holding on to.

If you have accepted Jesus Christ into your life and still feel guilty about past sins, trust this verse: “He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions” (Col. 2:13).

If you were hurt by someone in your past, you must forgive and let go. “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving one another, just at God also forgave you in Christ” (Eph. 4:32).

If you regret something you did or didn’t do in your past, remember that God will accept you in your present situation and lead you from where you are right now if you will surrender to Him.  “We know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose” (Rom. 8:28).

Next time I’ll talk about the “Future Time Zone.” 

www.kentcrockett.blogspot.com 

Coming in April 2013: Slaying Your Giants by Kent Crockett (Hendrickson Publishers)