Andrew Golden's Blog, page 43

He Makes Me Strong Enough

Philippians 4:13

13 I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

I know when we think of this verse most of our minds go to the thought of physical strength. We think of the strength Samson had, but there is a different kind of strength. The strength it takes to get up and go through you day after the loss of a loved one. The strength it takes to keep trying to have a child after several miscarriages. The strength to be the one standing tall when everyone else in your family is breaking down. This is the strength that comes from Jesus Christ. If you are going through these hard times, as soon as you wake up ask Christ for the strength to make it. Don’t be ashamed. Let him know you are weak and beaten down. Let him know the weight of the world is crushing you. Tell him the pain is to much and you are to weak. I promise his strength will hold you up. Know that through Christ you can make it.

We The Church

John 16:33

33 These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world

Often times I feel that the world is tearing down the church. It is like the world is washing away the very existence of the church. I wonder if my children will even be permitted to set in a church as adults. Then yesterday a good friend of mine said something that struck me, the building we set in is not the church, it is the people that make up the church. I now realize that they can tear down the walls of every church but it will never stop the church. When I realized this, I knew that the church would overcome the world. They think the battle is over and they have won. They are right, but they have not won. The battle ended when Christ said, “it is finished.” He defeated death, hell and the grave. He made everyone who calls on his name overcomers of the world. So, when the world is celebrating their laws that they think will silence us, smile and look up. They have lost and do not even know it yet. Smile and know that because he has overcame the world, we will overcome the world.

Turn Your Burden Over To God

Psalms 34:17-18

17 The righteous cry, and the LORD heareth, and delivereth them out of all their troubles.
18 The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.

Depression is an ugly word. Some people believe it is just a way of getting attention. Others will claim it is all in the person’s head. The truth is, depression is a real thing. Someone going through it will feel hopeless. They feel unworthy. They even feel like a burden on people. I would know. I experienced it for myself, but I found the best thing for it. You will be told give it to God. That is sound advice but go a step farther and give yourself to God. In this he takes over your life completely. He builds a wall of protection around you so when the depression begins to creep back in, you can call on God. Tell him you need his help. Let him know you are weak without his help. He is just waiting on you to reach out. He is listening. This goes for anything, not just depression. If you feel the load is too heavy turn to God. He may deliver you or he might send someone to help you carry your load.

A Early Morning Thought

Nehemiah 1:5-6

5 And said, I beseech thee, O LORD God of heaven, the great and terrible God, that keepeth covenant and mercy for them that love him and observe his commandments:
6 Let thine ear now be attentive, and thine eyes open, that thou mayest hear the prayer of thy servant, which I pray before thee now, day and night, for the children of Israel thy servants, and confess the sins of the children of Israel, which we have sinned against thee: both I and my father’s house have sinned.

As soon as I got up this morning the thought of how evil the world is began to eat at me. We read stories of evil people on the news. Children are going hungry. Sin is something we see in the open now. If you dwell on it, the thought can break you. I often wonder why God lets this happen. The truth is, he doesn’t. God made us a covenant at the cross and for some reason mankind has found it hard to keep. Instead, we set in church on Sunday only to be acting like the world on Monday. Before you say God has not sent anyone to fix the world, he did. He made us. He made the men and women of God to pray without ceasing. He made us to spread the word. He called us to pray for the sick. Often times we forget that we are the ones God has called to change the world for the better. We are the ones that should be in our prayer room begging God to save someone’s soul. We should be the light in the darkness the world flocks to. However, we cannot go along with the world and all of it’s sin and then stand as a Christian. So when you look at the evil in the world, know that God did not break his covenant, we did. There is still time to fix it. There is still time to see the lost saved and the sick healed.

No Remorse

Hosea 7:2

2 And they consider not in their hearts that I remember all their wickedness: now their own doings have beset them about; they are before my face.

If you have no remorse, how can you be sorry? You can’t. You have to feel remorse. Israel had strayed so far away from God that they thought nothing of the sins they had committed. Instead, they kept wondering why God had forsaken them. They never thought of what had they done for God to remove his protection. When you have strayed so far from God that you feel no remorse bad things will start to happen. Remember God has not forsaken you. You have strayed off the path and need to make your way back.

More Than One Serving

2 Kings 2:9

9 And it came to pass, when they were gone over, that Elijah said unto Elisha, Ask what I shall do for thee, before I be taken away from thee. And Elisha said, I pray thee, let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me.

If you know me you know that when I eat I eat. I go for seconds and sometimes thirds. If I invite you to dinner at my house, you better bring your appetite because I make enough for you to do the same. The thing is this is how we should treat the blessings of God and his anointing. We will ask him to give us a small portion of his anointing. Even though we want and crave for more, we set back and don’t ask because we feel it is being selfish. God’s blessings and anointing should be looked at like an all you can eat buffet. We should not only ask for more but beg and crave for more. We should never be satisfied with one portion. We should look and say God I want so much more. Now, beware when he gives you more, know that he expects you to use it. He wants us to go forth and spread his word and pray for the sick. When he sees us doing this he will continue to bless us. So, I encourage you, don’t settle for one or two portions. Instead go back for thirds and fourths.

Found Pure

2 Peter 3:14


14 Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless.

You can take a white shirt with black marker and place dot on it, as soon as you see the shirt you can see the spot without even knowing about it. It is because any stain will show on a perfect white shirt. We are supposed to be that like a brand new white shirt, pure with no spots. With everytime we mess up and fall down we get a stain. Just like that white shirt we have to be cleaned. We do this by hitting our knees and asking God to forgive us. That spot then will disappear. This does not give us the excuse to go and sin. God tells us to be diligent. We have to learn to check ourselves because people look at us and see if we are Christians. They look at us to see if they find that blemish to point out. That is why we have to be clean daily. Make sure you have no spots.

Stop Being Bitter

Colossians 3:19

19 Husbands, love your wives, and be not bitter against them.

Today I took my wife shopping. I could have done a hundred different things today. However, it was nice to see her light up when she found something she liked. I could of been upset she was taken forever, but I was just enjoying being there with her. You see we as men get upset at times. We come home and the house may not be clean or dinner not done. We find ourselves so upset that we become bitter. We forget that they worked as well or chased kids all day. We are supposed to love them. We have to stop getting in our feeling when they do not do what we think they should. We have to stop acting like we are not able to wash a dish or fold laundry. We have to get to what God intended and that is to love our wife and show them we do. Wash the dishes to give her a break or fold the laundry. Let her take a day to herself. Remember she puts up with you every single day.

Childlike Faith

Matthew 18:3-4

3 And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.
4 Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven

We are supposed to be mature and hold ourself to a high standard. Why would Jesus tell us to be like little children? They lack maturity. They do not know how to accept the harsh reality of life. They do not know how to give up on impossible odds. That is exactly why we need to be like them. They have a faith that we have forgotten. Watch a child pray. It is so heart felt and pure. They put their whole heart into it. Then when they finish they honestly believe it will happen. Unlike us they only look for the good to happen. They look for God to heal sickness when we run for the medicine cabinet. When they hear us complain about money they have so much faith that God will provide, we will start looking for extra shifts at work. This is why Jesus wants us to humble down and be like them. We need to have the faith that our medicine cabinet cannot heal us like God can. Learn the faith that God can make money literally grow on trees. He put money in the fishes mouth. Have the faith once more that the mountains can and will be moved. We need to find our childlike faith again.

Be Quiet And Listen

Zephaniah 1:7

7 Hold thy peace at the presence of the Lord GOD: for the day of the LORD is at hand: for the LORD hath prepared a sacrifice, he hath bid his guests.

I think of the show Judge Judy. I think of when the people are pleading their case. The judge will go to say something and the people will cut her off. No matter if she is giving them a punishment or clearing them, they keep cutting her off. It hit me. This is how we are with God. We keep telling him how bad we have it or what we need. We don’t stop and think, maybe I should just shut up and listen. God might just be setting there thinking if you would just listen to me I will give you a blessing. Instead, we just keep adding to what we need or complaining about something else. We never stop and say okay now God what do you have for me. We have to learn to listen just as much as we pray.