Having faith in difficult times

February 8 2024

Forget About It

Doug Gould Uncategorized faith, forgetfulness, Having faith in difficult times, Jesus, let go; let God, Letting go of the past, surrender, trust in the Lord

Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. –Philippians 3:13, 14

The past is gone. You cannot do anything about it. You cannot change one event or one experience. But Paul, the apostle, said that a Christian could do one helpful thing about the past. In fact, he made it very personal and said it is what he, himself, was doing: Say, like Paul, “This one thing I do.” Call it the power of concentration, consolidation of purpose, or singleness of heart. Whatever you call it, we need it in our walk with God. In fact, this concept is all through the Bible.

“Many a man goes through life shackled and crippled because he will not forget the
things he should forget.” – J. Vernon McGee

I. Forget your Mistakes.

First, forget your mistakes. We all blunder, don’t we? Well, let us forget them. How many of us lose sleep over things we wish we had not said or done? My friend, correct what you have done and then forget it. Move on.

II. Forget your Sensitivities.

Listen, you are going to get hurt in life’s struggle. Somebody is going to offend you. How many people nurse grudges and hurts? You may even be carrying ill feelings and spreading disruption and disturbance among God’s people. Do not let your life be ruined by old wounds and hurt. As you look back into your past and remember personal injuries, forget them.

III. Forget your Successes.

Today we measure people by the dollar sign. How much money have you made? Are you a success in business? What school did you graduate from? What title do you have at work? Hw much influence do you have? My beloved, these values are wrong. Many a man is called a success who is a sorry failure at home.

IV. Forget your Sorrows.

Child of God, He let you go down through the valley of the shadow of death in order that He—as the
God of all comfort— might comfort you. And He does it so, through you, His Word can bring comfort
to others.

V. Forget your Sins.

God’s Word makes it clear what we are to do with our sins: Confess them promptly to God, and then
forget them. God gets tired of us reminding Him of our past sins. After we have dealt with the sin and confessed it privately to God, He says it is forgotten— “forget those things which are behind.”

David spoke of a unique place:

Shall Your wonders be known in the dark? And Your righteousness in the land of forgetfulness? –Psalm 88:12

I do not know the actual location of the “land of forgetfulness,” but wherever it is, it is the proper
place for the forgiven failures of your past.

But your sins are not forgiven, or you are not sure they are forgiven. If that is your situation, I ask you: Would you like to wipe out the sins and stains of your past? Would you like confidence they are forgiven? God will not only forgive your sins, but He will also do something else: He will forget them.
His Word says it over and over:

VI. DON’T FORGET ABOUT THE FUTURE
We may stand on the threshold of the unknown future, but Paul stands with us, saying,

… one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. –Philippians 3:13, 14

After you have done the challenging work of forgetting what is behind, look to Jesus Christ, “the
author and finisher of our faith” (Hebrews 12:2).

Come to Him, the One who is the way, the truth, and the life—the One who can bring you into contact
with the Father. None of us know what tomorrow will bring. But God does. Why not put Him at the
controls of your life?

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July 22 2023

The Gift of Making Amends

Doug Gould Personal Development, Spirtual, Uncategorized amends, defining moments, fear, Having faith in difficult times, our walk with Christ, surrender, trust in the Lord

It was years ago when I heard this comment from a Pastor friend of mine. He said, “There will come a time in life when you will be faced with a decision; that decision will define you.”

During a recent bible study, I began thinking of that thought when I stumbled upon another two additional quotes regarding defining moments:

“When a defining moment comes along, you define the moment, or the moment will define you.”

“It has been well said that a crisis never made any man; it only reveals what he already is.”

That statement, in my opinion, is true if we allow it to be. It is my understanding of God’s Word, that although God allows man “free will” it is the free will of the other peoples’ behaviors that can annoy us.

In the movie, It’s A Wonderful Life, Clarence, the angel, says to George Bailey when he wishes that he had never been born and finds out that his own actions really did make an impact on others, “Strange, isn’t it? Each man’s life touches so many other lives. When he isn’t around, he leaves an awful hole, doesn’t he?”

Before the crisis a man will look at life one way; however, afterwards-and possibly forever-he will begin to see the whole world around him in a different way.

Some of you may be there right now. It may be a health problem, and unless God intervenes, there’s no hope. Perhaps, it’s a serious marital or family problem, a financial problem or a desperate need for work. It may be a personal problem, such as loneliness, guilt, anger, bitterness, or anxiety. It could be some life-dominating sin, such as alcohol, drugs, pornography, or gambling. But whatever the crisis may be, how is it defining you?

Now to fully understand this passage of scripture and how this relates to our walk with Christ today, let us examine this defining moment more closely for in the Book of Genesis we read:

Genesis 32:3-6 “Jacob sent messengers ahead of him to his brother Esau in the land of Seir, the country of Edom. 4 He instructed them: “This is what you are to say to my lord Esau: ‘Your servant Jacob says, I have been staying with Laban and have remained there till now. 5 I have cattle and donkeys, sheep and goats, male and female servants. Now I am sending this message to my lord, that I may find favor in your eyes. 6 When the messengers returned to Jacob, they said, “We went to your brother Esau, and now he is coming to meet you, and four hundred men are with him.”

It was Jacob that cheated Esau out of his birthright over a bowl of stew. This family puts the funk in dysfunctional. He then proceeded to impersonate his brother, Esau, and trick his father, Isaac, on his deathbed, who was old and unable to see.

Yet, 20 years later, Jacob was met with a defining moment. Jacob heard that his brother, Esau, was traveling to meet with him. So, Jacob, not knowing the intention behind Esau’s visit, sent messengers to meet him, for he was unaware if Esau was coming as a brother or an enemy.

Upon his meeting, Jacob’s moment was that of reconciliation. How do we know this? He begins by showing and expressing humility when he says to his brother “your servant Jacob.” He then proceeds not to brag about what he had gained in his life but to offer his amends through his own material gain.

The Gift of Making Amends.

Isn’t it funny how the pains of yesterday’s past can cripple our behaviors today?

I am a firm believer that we are not defined by our past. If we continue to live our lives through our past behaviors, then we will have no JOY of the Present.

Jacob was in fear in meeting his brother, Esau, because of his past behaviors toward him but humility of making amends softened the heart of Esau.

Allow me to give you a couple of points on what fear does immediately when it hits our brain:

Fear creates a “fight or flight” reaction – immediately! This causes us to either run from facing the issues or modify our behaviors, so we don’t think about it any longer.
Fear creates distractions – Fear creates distraction, which is absolutely a scheme the enemy wants us to do in our lives. If the enemy can distract us from using the mistakes of our past then we will not spend time with God in the present. The longer we keep our mind’s eyes on the problem instead of the solution, the enemy wins! We should be reminded everyday with what we read in Proverbs.

Proverbs 3:5-6 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not unto your own understanding in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your path.

So, what can we learn from this?

God must break us of our self-dependence, so that we can cling to him through our brokenness.

Brokenness and humility lead us in having a heart of surrender.

Before God can use you in this defining moment to a pathway of blessings, we must be broken – Why? Because all of us have this innate ability to put our trust and security in something that is tangible -stay with me—so what happens-Jacob sends his entire family across the river and he finds himself alone—

Before God could deliver him from the hand of his brother, he had to deliver Jacob from his own self will and self-reliance.

Many times we think the real enemy is our opposition when the real enemy is our own nature that needs to be surrendered.

So, here is our defining moment! If we come into the proper relationship with God, of clinging to Him in our brokenness, then we have power with Him.

We prevail with Him when we allow God to prevail over us.

April 24 2023

The Greatest Recovery Program of All

Doug Gould Personal Development, Spirtual faith, forgiveness, God's grace, Having faith in difficult times

As you know the ROC Recovery Center is a Christ-centered recovery program that offers men, women, and youth everything they need to succeed on a journey to freedom and long-term sustainable sobriety.

In making Christ at the center of our recovery, we see that all things come from His teachings. The freedom from bondage of addiction is just another one of His many gifts. But that doesn’t mean the road isn’t going to be met with an occasional obstacle or two.

ROC Recovery Center offers an approach in cleaning up the wreckage of our past that is free from shame and judgement so we can be free from addiction.

Step #1: We Admitted That We Were Powerless Over Alcohol—That Our Lives Had Become Unmanageable

The bible says:

“I know, O LORD, that the way of human beings is not in their control, that mortals as they walk cannot direct their steps”

Jeremiah 10:23

David faced this dilemma many times in his life as well. In Psalms 38:4 David admitted that he, too, was overwhelmed by sin when he writes:

“For my iniquities have gone over my head; like a heavy burden they are too heavy for me.”

Even the Apostle Paul described his own struggle with sin and his need for God’s deliverance when he wrote in Romans 7:24-25:

“What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!”

Step #2: We Came to Believe That a Power Greater Than Ourselves Could Restore Us to Sanity

Hebrews 11:6 tells us, “He who comes to God must believe that He exists and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.”

So, in Step 2 we are urged to acknowledge that recovery depends on “a power greater than ourselves.” To fully understand our dependence on God, we must examine our human sinful condition. We read in Romans 3:23, “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.”

We have all sinned. We have all done things that are displeasing to God. There is no one who is innocent, therefore, since all have sinned, God designed a plan for man’s redemption. In Romans 6:23, we read:

“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

There is a way out! The Lord reveals this as we continue to read verse 23: “But the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Furthermore, in Romans 5:8, we see just how much God loves us:

“But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

But wait, there’s more!

Step #3: We Made a Decision to Turn Our Will and Our Lives Over to the Care of God As We Understood Him

How do I apply this step? In Romans 10:9, we read that this gift is free to anyone who seeks it.

“If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.”

Romans 10:13 says it again, “for everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” Jesus died to pay the penalty for our sins and rescue us from eternal death. Salvation, the forgiveness of sins, is available to anyone who will trust in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.

Addiction doesn’t often have a direct cause-and-effect relationship to the person struggling with addiction. Not only will we have to expose our own shortcomings (sins), but we also have to examine and address the damage caused personally to us by the behaviors of others.

In other words, sometimes bad things do happen to us because we live in a world where man has free will to choose. This is when we offer to God our will, so that hopefully we will get to that moment to walk and live in complete forgiveness. One of Christ’s greatest teachings is forgiveness. This applies to us forgiving ourselves for our past mistakes, as well as forgiving others. This is why we celebrate the Life of Christ from death to resurrection. We live today because He lives.

We all can grow, change, and become what God has called us to be; however, we are not going to be able to do this unless we can let go of the past.

Christ’s forgiveness extends to people struggling with addiction as well. And when you make the decision to leave that life behind, the judgement that you might expect won’t be found in a Christ centered recovery program.

March 20 2023

Checkmate

Doug Gould Spirtual, Uncategorized facing adversity, faith, Having faith in difficult times, hope, peseverance

Many years ago (when I was in school), I asked my dad if he could teach me the game of chess. Of course, dad being such a great baseball coach, along with our family’s love for the game, seemed to infiltrate into each piece on the chess board. My Dad took the time to explain the name of each chess piece and their assigned responsibility (just like a baseball team). What I learned from this time with my dad was the art of looking ahead. To anticipate each scenario of what play my opponent may do. Although it sounds like a good idea of “learning to be prepared,” it also created in me what I like to call “anticipated anxiety.” Instead of just staying in the moment of what life brings on a daily, I began playing out in my thoughts a “what if” scenario. Don’t get me wrong, I think it is ok to be prepared, but when the pre-expectations that we produce in our thoughts do not meet up with reality, then, there is always a possibility of disappointment.

So, I must admit that I was not very good at the game of chess because I could never stay one step ahead or anticipate my opponent’s moves. Because of this weakness, I would often hear the fatal words, “checkmate!”

I came across a famous painting that once hung in the Louvre Museum in Paris, painted by Friedrich Moritz August Retzsch. This is a famous painting called, Checkmate. On the left (with the hat, the red feather, and the green cloak) is Satan. The young man on the other side of the table is in distress because he can’t move, and he thinks to himself that it is over, and the enemy says, “checkmate.”

However, there is more to this story. According to legend, during a group tour of the museum there was a chess grand master champion that came upon this intriguing painting. The grand master stared a long time at the chess board in the painting and finally noticed something surprising. As the tour group moved on to look at other paintings in the museum, the grand master champion stayed gazing at the painting and carefully examining each detail. He noticed the guardian angel offering an atmosphere of peace, in spite of the enemy’s sinister look while gripping a chess piece that once was owned by the man. He pointed at the poisonous spider crawling toward the man’s direction as if to attempt to cast a web of control. He felt the man’s apparent discouragement and defeat through his facial countenance which caused him to slump forward, indicating that he had lost all hope.

Though the devil seemed to be the obvious victor, the grand master chess champion noticed the arrangements hidden among the chess pieces on the board.

According to the arrangement of the pieces left on the chess board, his king had one more move. This fateful move would make him the winner of the game.

The grand master called the curator and determined that the title “Checkmate” did not fit the scene because the forlorn-looking player actually had the ability to defeat his opponent. Though he didn’t realize it yet, his king had one more move.

As I read this story last week, I couldn’t help but to break down in tears, knowing that many times in my life, I have been in that position of despair – that I have allowed this game of life, and the enemy himself to lie to me, causing me to lose my trust in God, and therefore my HOPE.

See my friends, when you feel trapped, when you feel overwhelmed, when you don’t know what to do or where to turn, Satan loves to whisper, “Checkmate.”

When it seems that there is no way to carry on. When you find yourself trapped by your circumstances and don’t know which way to go. When it seems like you can’t move, and you have run out of chances, you’ve run out of help, you’ve run out of resources, and you begin to say to yourself, “What’s the use”-Checkmate!

The Bible says in John 10:10 “The thief comes to kill, steal and destroy.”

But notice that before he can kill and destroy, he has to steal. He must steal your faith. He has to steal your joy. He has to steal your hope. He has to steal your dream. But it is never over with God. The KING has one more move. When your life seems out of control, there is nothing out of the control of the King of Kings. The KING has one more move. It is never over with God.

So remember, what we read in Psalm 139:5:

“For the LORD will go before you, and the God of Israel will be your rear guard.”

God knows where you are, and He knows who you are. He knows what you are going through and can see around corners. He loves you and He cares for you. There is nothing that God cannot do. So know that the King of Kings has one more move.

“And we know that, in all things, God works for the good of those who love Him”