"Bonds to Glory"

"For the LORD God is a sun and shield: the LORD will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly." (Psalms 84:11) So it comes down to this, for you were listening: our lives our not our own, but they belong to God. We have been changed for a reason; and as Paul so perfectly put it, "we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives." If you can accept it, you can claim that citizenship right now; right now, you have already been made a citizen of heaven, you're just waiting to go home where you belong. It really does take a huge amount of pressure off you when you can accept that truth. But the enemy will do everything in his power to try and persuade us otherwise; whether it be our personal choices, our faults or weaknesses, or even our actual faith in God's word. Personally, I think that putting our faith in God's word is the only way we can combat everything else. If you don't truly believe everything that is written in the Bible, then it is pretty much impossible for you to see yourself as eternally secure in Christ. I'm not saying it's totally impossible, because with God, all things are possible; but you will find it harder to believe God can transform your life, if you doubt His word. Study this verse, because it pretty much gives us security in our faith and trust in God. If we have any doubts about any portion of our faith, we only need to ask Him to enlighten us and strengthen our faith. There is no shame in asking for more faith; there is nothing wrong in asking God to enlighten your understanding, or show you the truth. We would be foolish not to ask, if there were any doubt! Sure, there are plenty of things that we do not understand, that is for sure; but we cannot use our lack of knowledge as anything close to doubt! We take those things that we know are certain, those things which God has made perfectly clear in His word, and we bank on them with everything that is in us. If we still come up lacking the faith enough to settle our doubts on the truth, then maybe we need to ask Him to change our heart...
"Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again -rejoice! Let everyone see that you are considerate in all you do. Remember, the Lord is coming soon. Don't worry about anything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God's peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus."
(Philippians 4:4-7) NLT