Category: Hope

A Key To Overcoming Temptation

One day Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee, and John baptized him in the Jordan River. 10 As Jesus came up out of the water, he saw the heavens splitting apart and the Holy Spirit descending on him like a dove. 11 And a voice from heaven said, “You are my dearly loved Son, and you bring me great joy.” 12 The Spirit then compelled Jesus to go into the wilderness, 13 where he was tempted by Satan for forty days. He was out among the wild animals, and angels took care of him. 14 Later on, after John was arrested, Jesus went into Galilee, where he preached God’s Good News. 15 “The time promised by God has come at last!” he announced. “The Kingdom of God is near! Repent of your sins and believe the Good News!”

Mark 1:9-15 (NLT)

Yesterday, while standing in our kitchen, one of my sons walked up to me, pulled up his sleeve and said, “Feel my muscles Dad! I’m strong.” After affirming his new-found-strength, I had him feel my bicep then proceeded to have a moment like Uncle Rico from Napoleon Dynamite about how much weight I could lift during my glory days. It must be a guy-thing. 🤣

I think when it comes to temptation we think of it being a test of brute strength and willpower. Like trying to reach a new max in weightlifting, if we can just psych ourselves up enough we can push the weight of temptation. Sadly, that’s just not how it works.

Jesus shows us how to conquer temptation.

I find it encouraging that even Jesus experienced the terror of temptation. He can identify with you in your moments of temptation. I thought being strong meant you never would experience temptation. This what my perception of Christians, mostly because I never heard any Christian leaders talk about their struggles. The only time it would be talked about was when an influential pastor had a moral failure, and the conversation would be centered around the shock of the fall. I was very young when I started serving in the ministry, working at a church at 18-years old. I would go to church and see God move in mighty ways and then come home to experience temptation alone. I thought something was wrong with me. I thought that if I really loved God, I will not experience temptation. Simply not true.

So how did Jesus deal with temptation? In Mark’s account we don’t see the details of his temptation like we see in the other Gospel accounts. What I saw in Mark’s account was the emphasis of what happened right before Jesus was tempted.

Jesus experienced temptation in the wilderness immediately after the moment the Father affirmed his relationship. Temptation is always about if we are going to believe who God says we are, or if we are going to believe what everything and everyone around us is saying. Are we going to believe what we feel, or are we going to believe God.

Temptation is not a test of willpower, it is test of relationship.

I oftentimes see temptation as a test of willpower alone. I think it is all about how strong I am and try to conquer it in my own power, most times to no avail. However, when I look at this account of the life of Jesus I see him walking into the wilderness with affirmation of his identity from the Father.

“You are my dearly loved son. You bring me great joy.” Do you know this is how God feels about you. He speaks this over your life as well. Notice, this pronouncement was before Jesus did many of his recorded miracles. He was simply affirming his identity. You are valuable to God not because of what you do, but simply because of who you are. You were created in the image of God. You were created on purpose for a purpose.

So what is one thing can we take away from Jesus’ victory over temptation:

Key: When you are tempted, strengthen your relationship.

When you are tempted alone in the wilderness of life, remember who you are and what God says about you. When you are tempted, strengthen your relationship with God. How do you strengthen your relationship? There are many ways to strengthen your relationship with God: Prayer, worship, listening to a sermon, attending a small group, worshiping with other believers, just to name a few. Put your focus on who God is and what he says about you.

There are two ways to try to stay faithful in my marriage. I can live everyday psyching myself up to “Stay strong.” Or I can just fall in love with my wife and no other options will be appealing to me. Satan’s one goal to destroy a marriage is to put gaps in the relationship so that couples will give in to temptation. When a marriage is full of healthy communication, romance, and honor each day, temptation has no power.

God is with you win the wilderness! He has already spoken over you who you are and what he thinks about you!

You Are Accepted:

  • I am God’s child. (John 1:12)
  • I am Christ’s friend. (John 15:15)
  • I have been justified. (Romans 5:1)
  • I have been bought with a price. I belong to God. (1 Corinthians 6:19-20)
  • I am a member of Christ’s body. (1 Corinthians 12:27)
  • I have been adopted as God’s child. (Ephesians 1:5)
  • I have direct access to God through the Holy Spirit. (Ephesians 2:18)
  • I have been forgiven of all my sins. (Colossians 1:14)
  • I am complete in Christ. (Colossians 2:10)

You Are Safe:

  • I am free forever from condemnation. (Romans 8:1-2)
  • I am assured that all things work together for good. (Romans 8:28)
  • I am free from any condemning charges against me. (Romans 8:31-34)
  • I cannot be separated from the love of God. (Romans 8:35-39)
  • I am confident that the good work God has begun in me will be completed. (Philippians 1:6)
  • I am a citizen of Heaven. (Philippians 3:20)
  • I have not been given a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and of self-control. (2 Timothy 1:7)
  • I can find grace and mercy to help in time of need. (Hebrews 4:16)
  • I am born of God and the evil one cannot touch me. (1 John 5:18)

You Are Important:

  • I am the salt and light of the earth. (Matthew 5:13-14)
  • I am a branch of the true Vine, a channel of His life. (John 15:1,5)
  • I have been chosen and appointed to bear fruit. (John 15:16)
  • I am a personal witness of Christ. (Acts 1:8)
  • I am God’s temple. (1 Corinthians 3:16)
  • I am God’s workmanship. (Ephesians 2:10)
  • I may approach God with freedom and confidence. (Ephesians 3:12)
  • I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. (Philippians 4:13)
Lord, when we walk through the wilderness and are tempted, help us to remember what You have said about us.  May we see You and all of Your glory when we face temptation.  Father, help us remember how loved we are by you!  Today we choose to pursue more of You in our lives.  Holy Spirit, fill us to overflowing with your presence today!  In Jesus Name!

5 Ways To Fill Up The Love Tank

Over the next few days I want to share 8 reasons why we run out of gas and what we can do to keep our relationships healthy and moving forward:

2. Being Too Busy to Pause and Refuel

I have never woke up in the morning thinking, “I sure hope I can get gas today!” It is not something that I look forward to. It costs money and also it costs me time to stop. It seems that I always need gas when I am busy and on my way to somewhere important!

It is never convenient or exciting for me to fill up the tank.

Sometimes it is raining or cold. Other times you get the dreaded slow gas pump! I hate the slow gas pump!

It’s the same in relationships!

Maybe you are out of love and wonder if you married the wrong person! You think to yourself, “They know I love them! I did something really nice for them a few months ago. They know I have been busy lately! The reason I am so busy is because I am providing for them. It is all for them. I don’t know why our relationship is out of gas.”

It would be the same as being confused at why your car was sitting on the side of the road empty after you haven’t put gas in it for a month. You think to yourself, “My car should understand. I have been really busy lately. I must have the wrong car!”

Take time today to fill up the tank! Don’t wait on someone else to fill it up for you. Stop the blame game and get a gas can!

Here are 5 ways to pause fill up the tank today:

1. Love with words

☐ Send a kind text message.
☐ Write a letter.
☐ Make a phone call.
☐ Have a conversation without your cell phone in your hand.

2. Love with acts of service

☐ Do something kind that your spouse has been asking you to do.
☐ Stop what you are doing and serve them in a practical way.
☐ Let them know that they are most important to you by the way you serve them.

3. Love with time

☐ Spend some uninterrupted time together.
☐ Go for a walk.
☐ Eat a meal together.
☐ Take a trip together alone.
☐ Plan something creative and fun to do together.

4. Love with touch

☐ Hold hands.
☐ Give a spontaneous back rub.
☐ Regularly be intimate with your spouse.

5. Love with gifts

☐ Buy a flower and a card.
☐ Give a handmade gift.
☐ Bring home their favorite drink or dessert.
☐ Give them a small gift each week.

There is hope for your marriage if it is running out of gas! Take time today to fill up the tank and watch what the Lord will do to strengthen your relationship!

(Ephesians 5:25) Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her

 

There is hope for your family!

Maybe you had a family tree that you are not proud of and wonder if things can change.

YES THEY CAN! In Christ everything can be made new!

When we go all in with God the impact of that decision will not only change our life, but the lives of future generations!

This is my story. My family tree was changed when my Grandfather got in over his head and got water baptized!

Let’s go ALL IN today and see what God will do in and through our lives!

If you would like more info about getting baptized visit www.cityhills.com/baptism

“Road Trip” – Fill Up The Tank

Over the next few days I want to share 8 reasons why we run out of gas and what we can do to keep our relationships healthy and moving forward:

1. Not Starting Out With A Full Tank

Before I take a road trip I always stop by a gas station. I do not like getting gas but when leaving town I know I am doing to need it for the journey.

Relationships are a journey.

Each day is a journey.

What is the first thing you do everyday? I got in a bad habit of picking up my phone and scrolling through social media. I realized that I was starting my day off on empty instead of being filled with hope from the Lord each morning.

A few weeks ago we started our Spring semester of Small Groups at City Hills. My wife and I are leading a Freedom Small Group. Each morning I have been walking through a page of the Freedom book and looking up every scripture that it mentions and engaging with God through His word. It is changing my day! I am leaving the house each morning filled instead of empty!

Each day is a new start in our relationships. Even if your marriage started off on the wrong foot, you can begin again today. Even if you have been making mistakes as a single adult take the opportunity to begin again. Just like God has new mercies for us individually each morning, there are new mercies for our relationships each morning if we will receive them.

“Lord, I give this day to you. I have never been this way before. I surrender all of my expectations of what this day will hold and trust that you are holding it all. I give you the relationships in my life and ask for your help. I surrender everyone and everything to you. Help me to love the people in my life like you love me. You are my God and I choose today to worship you.”

“Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.” (Matthew 6:33)

Questions:
– What is the first thing you do each day? Does it leave you empty or filled?
– What relationship in your life needs a fresh start?
– Are you taking advantage of the fresh start that God has given you today?

How To Make Marriage Work

How to Make Marriage Work:

Stop trying to change people and allow God to change you. It makes all the difference in the world. It is futile when we spend our time, energy, and effort trying to change someone else. We don’t have control of what someone else does. However, we can allow God to change us!

We don’t have the power to control, but we always have the power to surrender.

How To Deal With Painful Memories

 

A few years ago I went back to the house where I lived as a small child. I was in the area for a family reunion and wanted to show my wife the house that I grew up in. It was a mansion in my mind. I remembered it to be so big. Much to my surprise it was not as big as I remembered it to be. The house was the same size. What was the difference? I had grown up. However, my memories had not. I was still seeing that house in my mind from a 4 year-old’s perspective.

Memories must be managed.

If we always let our mind run wild and live in the past we will miss the future that God has prepared for our lives.

One of the reasons the Children of Israel missed out on The Promised Land is because they did not manage their memories. Shortly after being delivered from Egypt and crossing the the Red Sea they said this:

The Israelites said to them, “If only we had died by the LORD’s hand in Egypt! There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted, but you have brought us out into this desert to starve this entire assembly to death.” (Exodus 16:3)

They remembred Egypt incorrectly. They remembered the food that they ate but conveniently forgot one very important detail about Egypt: They were slaves!

It is so easy for us to do this with people; especially those we are closest to. We build mansions in our mind of the past mistakes of others instead of choosing grattitude.

Paul said to the people of the Philippian Church, “Every time I THINK of you, I give thanks to my God.” (Philippians 1:3)

There were a lot of things he could have focused on. His assignment at Philipi was a very difficult one with a lot of pain. However he refused to focus on the memories of the pain and rather chose to be grateful for the people in his life.

He chose to remember the best and give God the rest.

Who do you need to say thank you to today?
What painful memories do you need to give to God today?

The Night a Song Shook The Earth

There is something about the perfect song played at the perfect moment. Certain songs serve as bridges that take me back to moments from the past. The right song can bring tears to your eyes and hope to your heart.

Just look at Paul and Silas in Acts 16. They were in prison and the time was nearing midnight. In the middle of this dark moment Paul and Silas begin to sing. We don’t know what song they were singing but as they sang a miracle and the clock struck midnight; the foundations of the prison were shaken, all of the doors to the prison were open, and not only they were loosed, but every prisoner was set free. Talk about the perfect song, sang at the perfect moment.

I believe we’re in an uncertain prison-moment as a planet. Everyone is imprisoned together and the night is dark.

We need a midnight miracle, and I believe it’s on the way! Here are some thoughts about how Paul & Silas experienced their miracle.

  1. Sing the Right Song

Can you imagine what the scene would be if Paul and Silas couldn’t agree on the song to sing that night? What would it have been like if Paul decided to sing one song and Silas decided to sing another? Not only would they have confused the other prisoners, I believe there would have been no midnight miracle.

That begs the question: What song are you singing right now?

A divided world needs a united Church. Our world needs hope; the hope that we have in Christ! This is our song. The temptation is to sing a song about the inconvenience of the prison or the darkness of the night. But these kind of songs cannot shake foundations and break chains. However, when we sing about Jesus together our world begins to change. People find hope, jailers are saved, churches are started. Hope is given!

Our song is “Jesus!”

  1. Get Loud

They sang so loud that the prisoners heard them!

You have a captive audience right now. We’re all in this same prison of 2020 and it’s time to sing the song of “JESUS” so loud that prisoners her it. This is not the time to be quiet. This is not the time to be timid! You have a song that can shake foundations! Let’s get loud!

Let’s sing “Jesus”
Let’s post about “Jesus”
Let’s tell our neighbors about “Jesus”

What would it look like if we just flooded the prison with the song all about Jesus?

  1. Harmonize

I’m not very good at harmonizing when I sing. It is something I really have to work at! My wife, on the other hand, is so great at it! She makes me sound good when I sing! Her harmony is beautiful.

A few years ago I asked her how she harmonizes. She told me the following:

To harmonize you have to listen. To harmonize you have to know your part. To harmonize you have to appreciate the beauty of someone else’s voice. To harmonize you can’t overpower. To harmonize you have to seek to complement the other person’s voice and not compete with their voice.

What is so powerful about believers singing? The beauty is in the harmony. The beauty is that a diverse group of people can come together to sing the same thing but still retain their uniqueness. Everyone comes together from every walk of life to add their voice to the song.

So what’s the power of a song? It is the power to shake the foundations of the prison and set captives free. Let’s sing it today! This is our finest hour Church! We were made for this hour! Let’s sing the song of “Jesus” together at the top of our lungs and watch the doors swing open!

2000 years ago a song in a Philippian jail cell shook the earth. I think it’s time for the earth to shake again! What do you say!?

#InThisTogether

Who is Winning the War?

Are you going through a battle right now? A few years ago I heard the story of an American soldier during World War 2 who was having a difficult time in the middle of the battle.

While fighting in the South Pacific he wrote a letter to his father back home in America. In his letter he described the horrors around him, named fallen comrades, and told of daily dangers. He closed his letter with this question, “Dad, please write me back and tell me who is winning the war.”

Isn’t that like us? We are so much in the middle of the battle that we don’t know if we are winning or losing. What do you do when you feel overwhelmed?

Talk to your Father.

Like this soldier reaching out to his Dad, we have access to our Father who sees our battle from a different vantage point.

After this I looked, and there before me was a door standing open in heaven. And the voice I had first heard speaking to me like a trumpet said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.”

Revelation 4:1

That door is still open today. When we enter that door through prayer we will see the battle from a new perspective… from heavens point of view.

From heaven’s point of view, your greatest mistakes can be redeemed and become your greatest message. From heaven’s point of view the people that seem to be harming you are actually propelling you to your destiny!

Rejoice not against me, O mine enemy: when I fall, I shall arise; when I sit in darkness, the LORD shall be a light unto me.

– Micah 7:8

I want to encourage someone today, get up again! Trust God again. Take a step of faith again. Get back into the battle. Stay faithful!

We may be in the midst of the battle and forget God’s faithfulness. You may even lose some ground from time to time.

But in the end… WE WIN!

What the More is For

Last week I was getting some exercise walking through my neighborhood.  As I walked I was noticing the houses around me.  The more I looked I realized that I was only noticing all of the homes larger than mine.

“That one has a basement.”
“Oh, I love that extra garage.”
“Man, they have more parking than me.”

Instead of being thankful for the beautiful home the the Lord has blessed us with, I was discontent because I was comparing up.

I see it with my kids. They are always telling me about someone who has more than them and how they want it. “Dad, if you get this for me, I won’t ever want anything else. This is all I want.”

As their father, this is frustrating to me. Their Mom and I seek to provide everything they need and when they don’t get something that another person has it is usually not because we can’t afford it. We usually do not give them something they want because it would not be good for them. More, more, more is not the best for them.

Never once have one of my sons come to me and say, “Dad, I noticed that a friend of mine had less than me and I wondered why are we so blessed. Can I take some of my toys and give them away.”

We think a lot about why we have less than others.  What would it look like if we thought more about why we have more than others?

Our Heavenly Father is fully committed to providing everything we need forever and always. You don’t have to fear. You are fully provided for. If God hasn’t given you something you desire it is because it’s not the best for you right now. He is a good father!

What he probably is waiting for is for us to stop comparing our lives with others. Be thankful for the blessings we have, and recognize we are blessed to be a blessing.

My Dad has always told me, “We are blessed to distribute.” To give away the blessings of God. To love and open-handed life knowing that we can trust God to always provide as we follow His example and give our lives away.

Have you ever wondered what the “More” is for? 

“Lord show us who we can you bless today.” In Jesus Name!

#MakeADifference

-Brandon