Month: November 2024

By Rick Warren – Source: nhulieuthanhkinh.com

“Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.”  1 Peter 5:7 (NIV)

At one time or another, you’ve probably been in a situation where you’ve asked, “Doesn’t God care?” The disciples asked this very question in Mark 4.

They were out in a boat on the lake when the winds and the waves came up. The water started sloshing over the boat and it began to fill with water. Jesus was sleeping. The disciples woke him up and asked the most important question you can ever ask, “Don’t you care that we’re drowning?” (Mark 4:38 CEB).

What about you? Does God care about your house payment, your health, whether you are a success or failure, your children’s education, whether you ever get married or not, about the argument you had with your boyfriend, or about how you feel this morning? God says, “You bet I care! I am a caring Father.”

Matthew 6:31-32 says, “So do not worry saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ . . . your heavenly Father knows that you need [these things]” (NIV).

The next verse goes on to say, “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well” (Matthew 6:33 NIV).

Scripture says that God is interested in every little detail of your life. That’s so incredible I don’t think it even sinks in. God is a caring God. He is concerned about every little detail in your life.

A while back, a man came into my office and said, “I’m a Christian but I don’t feel like I’m going anywhere in my Christian life. I’m kind of stuck in neutral.” I said, “What do you think the problem is?” He said, “I think my problem is I just don’t love God enough.”

I said, “That’s not your problem. Your problem is not that you don’t love God enough. Your problem is that you don’t understand how much he loves you.”

Love is always a response to love. The Bible says, “We love because he first loved us” (1 John 4:19 NIV). When you say, “I don’t love God,” it’s because you don’t understand just how much he really loves you. He cares about every detail of your life. He is a compassionate, caring Father.

By Rick Warren – Source: nhulieuthanhkinh.com

“Nothing is impossible for God”  Luke 1:37 (GW)

God can handle any situation you give him. No problem is too tough for him. Nothing is beyond his ability. But the first thing you’ve got to do is bring it to him.

What decision are you facing this week? What mountain needs to be moved? Cancer? Bankruptcy? Your kids are having problems? Can’t break a bad habit? “Nothing is impossible for God” (Luke 1:37 GW).

In Jeremiah 32:27 God says, “I am the LORD, the God of all mankind.  Is anything too hard for me?” (NIV). It’s almost like God is laying down the gauntlet, saying, “I dare you. Think up a problem that I can’t solve. Is anything too hard for me?”

Many children have said something like, “My daddy can do anything! My daddy can beat your daddy!” I really thought that was true of my father. But as I grew up, I began to have my eyes opened. I realized that when it came to my allowance, my dad had limited resources. When it came to advice, sometimes he was just guessing too. My guess was as good as his because he’s an imperfect father. 

Ephesians 3:20 says, “God . . . is able to do far more than we would ever dare to ask or even dream of—infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts, or hopes!” (TLB). I have a pretty vivid imagination. I can think up some pretty big dreams. I can set some high goals. But God essentially says, “My son, you think up the greatest thing you think I could do in your life and I can beat that. I can top that.” He is a capable Father.

What can you expect from your Father in heaven? “My God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19 NIV). He has unlimited resources, unlimited energy, unlimited knowledge, unlimited time.  He can meet all of your needs.

The Lord’s Prayer gives us an example of that. It says that God, as our Father, provides three things:  provision for today (“give us today our daily bread”); pardon for yesterday (“forgive us our debts as we have forgiven our debtors”); protection for tomorrow (“lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one”) (Matthew 6:11-13 NIV).

In today’s language, God might say, “I’ve got all the bases covered—present, past, future. Your present?  I’ll provide. Your past? You blew it, but it’s okay; it’s forgiven. Your future? Don’t worry; don’t fear

“I’ll take care of yesterday’s failures, today’s frustrations, and tomorrow’s fears because I am a capable Father.”

By Rick Warren – Source: nhulieuthanhkinh.com

“We are helpless in the face of this large army that is attacking us. We do not know what to do, but we look to you for help.” 2 Chronicles 20:12 (GNT)

When you feel overwhelmed, it’s important to go to God in prayer and confess your inability and inadequacy. If you’re afraid, you need to be honest and tell God exactly how you feel.

In 2 Chronicles 20:12, Jehoshaphat prays, “We are helpless in the face of this large army that is attacking us. We do not know what to do, but we look to you for help” (GNT). Have you ever felt that way? Have you ever felt like there was a problem in your marriage, your career, or somewhere in your life that you thought was overwhelming? You start at the beginning of the week thinking maybe you can handle it, but by Wednesday you’re out of power.

Have you ever felt like that? You pick up the newspaper, and it looks like the bad guys are winning. The moral and spiritual climate of our society is collapsing. It looks like the bad guys are winning in many ways.

So what do you do? You say, “God, we’re powerless, and we don’t know what to do.” You tell God exactly how you feel.

It’s interesting when you compare verse 12, where it says, “We are helpless” to verse 6, where Jehoshaphat says, “You are powerful and mighty, and no one can oppose you” (2 Chronicles 20:6 GNT). When God has power, it doesn’t matter if you’re powerless. If you put your trust in him, he’ll take care of you.

I don’t have to have power. You don’t either. And you don’t have to pretend that you do. All you have to do is trust in God, who’s got all the power that you need.

By Rick Warren – Source: nhulieuthanhkinh.com

“King Jehoshaphat went and stood before [the people] and prayed aloud.”  2 Chronicles 20:5-6 (GNT)

Life includes times when you feel like you’re in an impossible situation, when you feel like you’re being attacked from all sides. That’s what happened to Israel’s King Jehoshaphat, who prayed to God when he faced armies from three different nations. To get through those times, you need to learn how to model your prayers after Jehoshaphat’s so that you can get relief.

Jehoshaphat did three things in 2 Chronicles 20 that you can do too:

Refocus on God. Even with a problem looming before you, shift your focus to God’s character and promises. Jehoshaphat prayed, “O LORD God of our ancestors, you rule in heaven over all the nations of the world. You are powerful and mighty, and no one can oppose you” (2 Chronicles 20:6 GNT). In essence, he was saying, “God, you are bigger than anything I will ever face.” Your problems may be too big for you to handle, but they will never be too big for God. Change your perspective by shifting your focus.

Remember God’s faithfulness in the past. Jehoshaphat recalled all the ways God had worked in Israel’s past. Remembering God’s faithfulness in the past will help you trust him for the future. You need to recall the times God has worked powerfully in your life.

Request God’s help. Jehoshaphat essentially prayed, “My problems aren’t too hard for you, God. You’ve helped us in the past. Please do it again!” God loves you, and he cares about your problems.

Jehoshaphat’s prayer is built around three questions: Are you not God? Did you not help us in the past? Will you not do it again?

When you are overwhelmed, you need God’s help. But it’s important to understand that your Father isn’t a vending machine who gives you whatever you want just because you’ve deposited a few prayers. God wants your worship first. You worship when you focus on him and thank him for his faithfulness. Then you pray and ask for his help.

Jehoshaphat was faithful to worship the Lord and ask him for help, and God delivered him from his enemies. God will do the same for you.

By Rick Warren – Source: nhulieuthanhkinh.com

“After this the armies of the Moabites, Ammonites, and some of the Meunites declared war on Jehoshaphat . . . Jehoshaphat was terrified by this news and begged the LORD for guidance.”  2 Chronicles 20:1,3 (NLT)

Sometimes it seems the odds are against you.

I once read the story of a man named Brian who had a day like that. First, his apartment flooded from a broken pipe. When he went to rent a water vacuum, he discovered that he had a flat tire. He went back inside to phone a friend for help. But grabbing the phone while standing in water gave him such a startling electrical shock that he ripped the phone off the wall. By the time he was able to leave, water damage had caused his door to swell shut, and he had to yell for a neighbor to kick it down. While all this was happening, somebody stole Brian’s car.

That evening, Brian attended a military ceremony at his university and injured himself when he sat on his bayonet. Doctors stitched his wound, but no one could resuscitate Brian’s four canaries who were crushed by fallen plaster from the wet apartment ceiling. On top of all that, when he got back from the university, he slipped on the wet carpet and injured his tailbone.

Brian said he began to wonder if God wanted him dead but just kept missing.

Have you ever had a day like that—or maybe a year like that? What do you do when you’re facing insurmountable, overwhelming problems?

Before you do anything else, you go directly to God. You say, “God, I am overwhelmed!”  And you ask, “God, what do you think about this situation?”

While your perspective is limited, God’s perspective is eternal—he can see the beginning and the end. He can see past, present, and future all at once. You need to get God’s perspective, the bigger picture of the problem that seems so overwhelming to you right now.

Too often we see prayer as a last resort rather than as our first thought. Prayer is usually something we do way down the line after we’ve tried everything else. People will say, “I guess all we can do now is pray!” like it’s their last option.

Prayer should be your first choice, not your last resort. If you want God to help you overcome the odds in any area of your life, you have to turn to him first.

2 Chronicles 20:1,3 says, “After this the armies of the Moabites, Ammonites, and some of the Meunites declared war on Jehoshaphat . . . Jehoshaphat was terrified by this news and begged the LORD for guidance” (NLT). When verse 1 says “after this,” it’s referring to a great national revival, a spiritual awakening. There was great prosperity and blessing in the land. But soon after, there was war.

With every high, there is a low. After every victory, there is a letdown. And with every blessing, there comes a testing. You may not be in a battle right now, but you’re going to be in one tomorrow or the next day or the day after that. You should expect blessing in your life, but you also need to expect battles in your life.

You’re going to have difficult times. But you should never let an impossible situation intimidate you. Let it motivate you to pray more and turn to God first.

By Rick Warren – Source: nhulieuthanhkinh.com

“These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold.” 1 Peter 1:7 (NLT)

God has promised to “meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19 NIV). But with every promise there is a condition. God wants you to learn to trust him more so that he can meet your needs and bless your life.

You learn to trust God more by having your faith stretched by trials. The more your faith is stretched, the more God is able to bless your life.

Yesterday, I mentioned two common trials that God uses to develop your faith so you can trust him more—the Pressure Test and People Test. Here are two more:

3. The Persistence Test

The Persistence Test answers the question: “Will you keep your commitments?” Life is about making commitments. The problem we have today is that most people are half committed to two dozen things instead of being totally committed to the one or two things in life that really matter for now and eternity. That’s a waste!

While weak people give excuses, wise people find the time and way to do what they say they will do. Do you want to be a weak person or a wise person? The Persistence Test shows what kind of character you’re developing. 

4. The Priorities Test

This is the most important test, and it asks, “Who will be first in your life?”

How do you know if God is really the first priority in your life? Ask yourself three questions: What do you think about the most? Where does your money go first? How do you spend your time? Your answers will reveal the priorities in your life.

God has eternal rewards in store for you if you pass the Priorities Test. The Bible promises, “God blesses those who patiently endure testing and temptation. Afterward they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him” (James 1:12 NLT). A crown of life is a symbol of all that God wants to do in your life—all the blessings he wants to bestow on you, all the needs he wants to meet, and all the rewards he wants to give you in heaven. What a deal!

By Rick Warren – Source: nhulieuthanhkinh.com

“These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold.”  1 Peter 1:7 (NLT)

The Bible repeatedly says that God has promised to meet your needs: “And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19 NIV).

But the Bible also tells us that with every promise there is a condition. One of the conditions for God’s promise to meet your needs is that you have to trust him. The more you trust God, the more God is able to meet your needs.

So how can you learn to trust God more? You don’t get faith by sitting in a Bible study group or just talking about it. Faith is like a muscle; it develops by being used. The more you use your faith, the more it gets stretched. And the more it gets stretched, the more God is able to bless your life.

Sometimes God creates circumstances—trials—to stretch our faith: “These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold” (1 Peter 1:7 NLT).

There are four trials—or tests—that God often uses to test our faith. Chances are, you’re in one of these tests right now. When you go through one of these trials, you can know that it is an opportunity for you to develop your faith so you can trust God more. I’ll talk about the first two kinds of tests today and the next two tomorrow.

1. The Pressure Test

The pressure test asks, “How will you handle stress?” Will you depend on yourself, or will you depend on God? Psalm 50:15 says, “Call on me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor me” (NIV). When you’re in trouble, do you turn to God or to other things?

2. The People Test

God often uses people to test and stretch and develop your faith. This test asks, “How will you handle disappointment?” Life is often disappointing. Careers and marriages don’t turn out the way we planned them. But the most disappointing thing in life is people. People disappoint us when we expect them to meet a need that only God himself can meet. In other words, the people in your life aren’t actually your problem. The problem is your response to those people. People also aren’t the answer to your problem. The answer is God. When you expect other people to be your savior, you’re setting yourself up for disappointment.

Jeremiah 17:7 says, “Blessed are those who trust in the LORD and have made the LORD their hope and confidence” (NLT). What happens if you trust in the Lord? Look at God’s promise in Isaiah 49:23: “Those who hope in me will not be disappointed” (NIV).