When King Nebuchadnezzar threw Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego into the fiery furnace, God brought them out and “they didn’t even smell of smoke!” We’ve all encountered people who still “smell like smoke.”
Their attitude says, “I’ve been through a hard time, and I’m still upset about it.” How about you? Have the experiences you’ve been through hardened your heart or softened it? When you speak, do you sound positive or negative? Are you bound by the memories of your past? Do you talk about your pain to anyone who will listen? Don’t you see what you’re doing—chaining yourself to the past?
When circus elephants are young and unaware of their strength, they’re bound by a chain to a stake to limit their mobility. Later when they’re full-grown and have the strength to break that chain, they’re still bound by it. Why? Because they accept this limitation as permanent! But it’s not the chain that binds them, it’s the memory!
If you are bound by painful and debilitating memories, the Word for you today is, “O Lord our God, masters besides You have had dominion over us; but by You only we make mention of Your name. They are dead, they will not live; they are deceased, they will not rise. Therefore You have punished and destroyed them, and made all their memory to perish” (Isaiah 26:13-14 NKJV).
Whatever your haunting memory is, you must begin to declare your deliverance from its bondage. By standing on God’s Word, you activate its power to set you free.
Knowing You’ve Truly Forgiven Someone
“They didn’t even smell of smoke!” Daniel 3:27 NLT
February 21, 2017 • Bob Gass
Conquering Your Fear Of Intimacy (2)
February 28, 2017 • Bob Gass
Emotional intimacy is one of the greatest gifts you can give someone. It fills their souls and yours too. It eliminates our loneliness. And yes, even in our macho society, the Bible suggests emotional intimacy between men. The elders of the church at Ephesus, realizing they would never see Paul again, “wept freely, and fell on Paul’s neck and kissed him, sorrowing most of all for the words which he spoke, that they would see his face no more” (vv. 37-38 NKJV). Famed athlete Bill Russell said, “Most people have a harder time letting themselves love, than finding someone to love them.” So, what can you do? (1) Understand the source of your fear. What happened to make you avoid a desire to be known? (2) Accept yourself completely—every feature, every imperfection—as God’s masterpiece; then you can stop worrying about someone rejecting you because you’re not perfect. (3) Test the waters. Start gradually with a few friends and begin to share your needs and how you really feel. Confess your struggle with your weight, self-image, habits, or other issues. Instead of pretending you’re something that you’re not, ask for support. Find joy in being authentic. (4) Practice saying, “I love you” to the significant people in your life even if it feels foreign to do so. Stop fearing. “I love you” doesn’t translate, “I want to be your slave,” nor does it say, “I’ll tolerate anything and remain in relationship with you.” It just means “I’m committed to our relationship, and I believe that by God’s help we can work through the problem.”
Conquering Your Fear Of Intimacy (1)
February 27, 2017 • Bob Gass
Adam and Eve had no secrets from each other. “They were both naked…and were not ashamed.” As a couple, God said, they had power to rule the world. And that’s when Satan entered the picture. What did he attack? Their intimacy! “The eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings” (Genesis 3:7 NKJV). The word intimacy means “to be open, transparent, and trusting.” When Adam and Eve lost that, they started hiding from God—and each other. And we’ve been hiding from each other ever since. Emotional intimacy is the bedrock of any meaningful relationship. Without it, relationships become shallow and unfulfilling. We are afraid of revealing to others our fears, needs, insecurities, secrets, hopes, dreams, weird opinions, or our undesirable parts. And this fear is rooted in the fear of loneliness: “If you really knew me, you’d leave me.” Or the fear of inadequacy: “You may be disappointed in me because I cannot fulfill all your expectations.” Or the fear of losing control: “Now that you know how I feel, you may use it to control me.” Women play “hard to get,” and men play the “tough guy” who doesn’t need anybody. What’s the answer? Learning to pray together. Our most honest moments are before the God who already knows everything about us. When we share such moments, the barriers come down, our hearts become tender toward one another, and we move closer together.
The Father/Son Talk (2)
February 26, 2017 • Bob Gass
Psychologist Henry Brandt tells how his son got upset when he wouldn’t permit him to go out alone in a car with a girl down to the lake after dark. “What’s wrong, Dad?” demanded the son. “Don’t you trust me?” Brandt replied: “In a car, alone at night, in front of a lake, with a beautiful girl? I wouldn’t trust me!” Solomon got involved early and strongly in the lives of his children and educated them about God’s perspective on sex. The three largest sections in Proverbs dealing with one topic are found in chapters 5 through 7. In chapters 5 and 6, Solomon dealt exclusively with premarital sex—fornication. He devoted almost the entirety of chapter 7 to extramarital sex—adultery. And in between, he gave a frank discussion of sex within the will of God. For too long pastors and parents have kept their heads buried in the sand, hoping this topic would just go away. But the subject can’t be avoided. Pollster George Gallup stated, “There’s no question about it, sex-related issues are going to become the most important issues facing all churches in the foreseeable future. Abortion, AIDS, premarital sex, homosexuality—all those are going to be at the vortex.” Solomon warned his son, “With her enticing speech she caused him to yield.” So whether you’re a father, a mother, a single parent, or even a grandparent, your child won’t make the wrong move if they’re not in the wrong place, with the wrong person, at the wrong time. So teach them, “If you don’t want to get burned, stay away from the fire!”