Where are you casting your cares?

From social media to self-help books, we have a tendency to find our comfort and confidence in validation from others. But where should you seek clarity when you’re feeling confounded?

As early as the book of Genesis, the Bible provides several examples and reasons why we should make it a habit to call unto the Lord. In Genesis 26, God blesses Isaac when Isaac purposefully seeks the Lord and calls on Him (26:25).

When and why should we call on the Lord? Whether you call on Him in calm and quiet, or in the midst of a great storm, the Bible provides many answers for and examples of why we should call unto the Lord.

Call unto the Lord when you have questions

We should call unto the Lord when we have questions. In Psalm 4:1, David wrote, “Answer me when I call, O God of my righteousness! You have relieved me in my distress; be gracious to me and hear my prayer.” When you’re confused or when you require clarity, call on the Lord.

Call unto the Lord when you need someone to talk to

We should also call unto the Lord when we need someone to talk to. Better than any earthly advice, being still before the Lord is one of the best ways to learn what a great listener He is, and it’s also an opportunity for us to learn to become better listeners ourselves. “Because He hath inclined his ear unto me, therefore will I call upon him as long as I live,” wrote David in Psalm 116:2. When you call on the Lord, you’ve got a listening ear for life.

Call unto the Lord when you’re in trouble

Call unto the Lord when you’re in trouble. “Call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me.” (Psalm 50:15) Call on the Lord when you need forgiveness (Psalm 86:5), when you’re feeling down (Lamentations 3:55), when you need help (2 Sam. 22:4, Psalm 18:3). You can call on the Lord no matter where you are, even from the ends of the earth (Psalm 61:2).

Lest we think it’s all about us, it’s important to remember that calling on the Lord is about more than just our selfish interests. In 1 Chronicles 16:8 and Psalm 105:1, David says, “Oh give thanks to the LORD, call upon his name; make known his deeds among the people.” We read again in Isaiah 12:4, “Praise the LORD, call upon his name, declare his doings among the people, make mention that his name is exalted.” Calling on the Lord should be done with great reverence and praise.

To whom are you committing your way?

To whom are you committing your way? When we call unto the Lord, He shows us His goodness, His forgiveness, and His abundant lovingkindness (Psalm 86:5); He relieves our distress, shows us grace, and listens to us (Psalm 4:1); He is plenteous in mercy (Psalm 86:15), He saves us from our enemies (Psalm 18:3), rescues us, honors us (Psalm 91:15), and He is good to us. We should always take care to call on the Lord first.

Originally published as “Call unto the Lord.” Minto Express, Independent Plus, Arthur Enterprise-News, Mount Forest Confederate, Walkerton Herald-Times. April 4, 2019: 6. Print. Web.

A buckler is just as important today as it was thousands of years ago.

In my Grama’s Bible, a buckler is defined very simply as a shield. I’ve also heard a buckler described as a shield that covers the entire body. A buckler seems like something that would have been more relevant in David’s day than the present day. If you’re a Christian however, a buckler is just as important today as it was thousands of years ago.

David frequently claimed God as his buckler. After the Lord delivered him from the hand of Saul, David wrote a beautiful song of deliverance in 2 Samuel 22: “As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the Lord is tried: he is a buckler to all them that trust in him.” (2 Samuel 22:31) God is a buckler to all them that trust in him. You’ll be better prepared for life’s battles when you trust Christ as you can claim Him and His Word as your source of protection and your shield.

We can claim God as our buckler!

David also wrote Psalm 18 around the same time that God saved him from his enemies (Saul included). “The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower.” (Psalm 18:2) I love Psalm 18 for many reasons, including the beautiful attributes of God that are referenced, which are as relevant today as they were the day David penned them. There are ten incredible attributes of God contained in just the first two verses of this fifty verse Psalm – all attributes that you can claim when you have Christ as your Saviour. David wrote Psalm 18 in the day that the LORD delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and specifically from Saul (who was seeking him out to kill him).

If the great King David could utter these words when he was fresh off fleeing for his life in the wilderness, surely we can claim God as our buckler, too!

God’s truth is our shield.

In Psalm 91, David creates a picture of God protecting His children much like a bird protects its young, and he refers to God’s truth as his shield and buckler: “He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler.” (Psalm 91:4) Being a Christian means that you’re going to require God’s protection. Proverbs 2:7 tells us that “He layeth up sound wisdom for the righteous: he is a buckler to them that walk uprightly.” When you’re walking uprightly and standing up for the truth, you need to be prepared for attacks from the enemy. One of the best places to go for protection and strength is God’s Word. Read it, absorb it, commit it to memory, learn from it, and be encouraged by it. The Bible is an awesome history of the men and women of faith who trusted God before us – and also the one place where we can find God’s truth and promises for our own lives.

Spurgeon once said that, “the way you view God will eventually show up in the way you live your life.” When Christ is your buckler, you can live boldly and be brave.

Originally published as “What is a buckler?” Minto Express, Independent Plus, Arthur Enterprise-News, Mount Forest Confederate, Walkerton Herald-Times. March 28, 2019: 6. Print. Web.

In being bold for Christ, our confidence is found in Christ alone, not in ourselves

When the name of Jesus is spoken, do you stand tall or do you shrink back? In your day-to-day life, are you being bold for Christ? Proverbs 28:1 says that, “The righteous are bold as a lion.” If you were to examine even your encounters from today, how would your actions measure up?

Being bold for Christ in trying situations

We are called to be bold for Christ in trying situations. Consider Caleb, who in Numbers 13, found his confidence in God when it came to entering the land of Canaan, despite an entire nation disagreeing with him; or Joshua, the successor to Moses, who led the Israelites to cross the Jordan and defeat the nation of Canaan. In trying situations, Caleb and Joshua both exhibited boldness in Christ. So should you and I.

David wrote in Psalm 27, “The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?… though an host should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear: though war should rise against me, in this will I be confident.” Even in the midst of trying situations – think running for his life and living in a cave for a period of time – David claimed the Lord as his strength, and found his confidence in God. Does being bold in trying situations mean that we’ll walk right out of troublesome circumstances? No, but it does mean that when we cry out to God, He will strengthen us with “strength in my soul.” (Psalm 138:3)

Boldness is required of us

While crying out may seem contrary to being bold for Christ, prayer is another place where boldness is required of us. Written from his place in prison during his first Roman imprisonment, Paul wrote to the church at Ephesus and encouraged the believers that in Christ, “we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of him.” (Ephesians 3:12) Consider that for a moment. Even while facing persecution, Paul claimed boldness in Christ. How much more should we do the same! We need to have boldness to enter His presence and claim His promises (Hebrews 10:19).

It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man

We should not be ashamed, but rather we should be bold in letting Christ’s light shine. Paul also wrote in Romans 8:31, “If God be for us, who can be against us?” Even when it seems like you’re all alone and that no one is standing with you, “Stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong,” (1 Corinthians 16:13) David said, “The LORD is on my side; I will not fear: what can man do unto me?” (Psalm 118:6) Later in the same Psalm, he wrote, “It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man. It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in princes.”

A.W. Tozer once said that “Christians should be the boldest people in the world; not cocky and sure of ourselves, but sure of Him.” Where do you find your confidence?

Originally published as “Being bold for Christ.” Minto Express, Independent Plus, Arthur Enterprise-News, Mount Forest Confederate, Walkerton Herald-Times. March 21, 2019: 6. Print. Web.

What does taking up your cross mean?

“If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it. “ (Luke 9:23-24)

What does taking up your cross mean? As Matthew Henry wrote in his commentary, “the troubles of Christians are fitly called crosses, in allusion to the death of the cross, which Christ was obedient to; and it should reconcile us to troubles, and take off the terror of them, that they are what we bear in common with Christ, and such as he hath borne before us.” You are not alone in your troubles, in your loneliness, or in your sorrow. While the load you carry is different from that of your neighbour, it doesn’t take away from the fact that you carry a burden. Christ told each one of us to cast all our cares on him because he cares for us (1 Peter 5:7), and preceding that he said, “Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time.” (1 Peter 5:6)

Humility is another part of taking up your cross.

Humility is another part of taking up your cross. “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself,” Jesus said in Luke 9:23. “Let him deny himself”. There is no greater act of humility than self-denial, but how often each one of us are guilty of putting ourselves first: When you refuse to give the gift of forgiveness although Christ has already forgiven you; when you resent that someone else got the glory for the work that you did; when you hold tightly the very grace and mercy given to you by God but you offer it sparingly to those around you. We are all guilty, and we are all self-involved. Taking up your cross requires denial of self, even – and especially – when no one is watching. As Oswald Chambers said, “it is one thing to go through a crisis grandly, but another thing to go through every day glorifying God when there is no witness, no limelight, no one paying the remotest attention to us.”

Taking up our cross is not about reliance on our own strength.

“Let him…take up his cross daily,” Jesus said in Luke 9:23. We are to take up our cross not just on Sunday, not just when we feel like it or when we want something from God; we are to take up our cross every day. John Piper said, “Sin is ugly. It should be killed daily. I die every day, because Jesus said, ‘Take up your cross daily’ and crosses are for dying.” Each of us fails every day, and the beauty of a relationship with Christ is that He already knows, and He’s already forgiven us. Taking up our cross is not about reliance on our own strength or what we can do, but rather all about reliance on what Christ has already done.

The path may be narrow, but Christ has already paved the way.

“Follow me,” Jesus said, “For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it.” (Luke 9:23-24) Keep going. The path may be narrow, but Christ has already paved the way. As C.S. Lewis said, “When Christ died, He died for you individually just as much as if you had been the only person in the world.”

Originally published as “Taking up your cross.” Minto Express, Independent Plus, Arthur Enterprise-News, Mount Forest Confederate, Walkerton Herald-Times. March 14, 2019: 6. Print. Web.

If you want to grow stronger in your faith, you’ve got to spend more time alone with God

“And when he had sent the multitudes away, he went up into a mountain to pray: and when the evening was come, he was there alone.” (Matthew 14:23) Several times throughout the New Testament, we read about Jesus departing from the company of other people to spend time alone with God and pray.

Be still and know that He is God

It seems like more often than not, people today have a tendency to do just the opposite. Not wanting to be alone, they surround themselves with other people, turn up the music or turn on talk radio, and fill their solitary moments with noise, all in an effort to avoid being alone with their own thoughts. They fill their schedules with activities, work, time spent always in the company of others. While listening to music and spending time with friends is certainly not wrong, busying ourselves in order to bypass being alone is a direct contradiction of God Himself telling us to “Be still,” (Psalm 46:10).

Perfect peace often eludes us because we’re always filling our minds with everything but God

We don’t understand the importance of daily time alone with God, because we have a tendency to seek peace in all the wrong places. “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee; because he trusts in thee.” (Isaiah 26:3). Perfect peace often eludes us because we’re always filling our minds with everything but God. We’re working our own way in order to get ahead and to move forward, when really we should be exercising our faith and putting our trust in God. And that’s another reason we don’t understand the importance of daily time alone with God: We’re impatient. We want answers to prayer in an instant, and we’re more apt to be flippant than we are to be faithful. Remember, we are called to “hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; for he is faithful that promised.” (Heb. 10:23) If you want to grow stronger in your faith, you’ve got to spend more time alone with God.

Time alone with God and talking with Him directly are not things reserved for a booth or a certain day of the week

Not only do we not understand the importance of daily time alone with God, we also take for granted the privilege that it is to spend time alone with God. We have not an high priest (Hebrews 4:15) because we are the priest. When you know Christ as your personal Saviour, you have direct access to talk to Him whenever you want and wherever you are – confession, prayer, praise, sharing hopes and fears – time alone with God and talking with Him directly are not things reserved for a booth or a certain day of the week. The Lord is near to all who call on him (Psalm 145:18). You have the ear of the Creator of the Universe. Consider that. He wants to hear from you, and He wants to talk with you!

What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer!

Joseph Scriven wrote the famous hymn, “What a Friend we have in Jesus,” the first verse of which reads: “What a Friend we have in Jesus, All our sins and griefs to bear! What a privilege to carry Everything to God in prayer! O what peace we often forfeit, O what needless pain we bear, All because we do not carry Everything to God in prayer!”

Originally published as “Spend more time alone with God.” Minto Express, Independent Plus, Arthur Enterprise-News, Mount Forest Confederate, Walkerton Herald-Times. March 7, 2019: 6. Print. Web.