The Word That Replaces Worry

Hey there BCU Family!

For this post, because of the informal format, please tune into the podcast recording (click here or on the BCU avatar below) and refer to the written post for the highlights. We pray the post blesses and encourages you. If so, please thumbs up AND leave a comment! Thank you and enjoy the post!

Podcast highlights

  • Focusing on current events and the actions of others causes us to worry, get anxious, and to fret.
  • The word “fret” has several meanings including to be agitated, to be disturbed or to gnaw.
  • While we may initially be disturbed about our situation, consistent fretting has no place in the life of a believer.
  • The Word of God has “built-in” verses to ease the hearts of those who fret.

KJV Scripture references–Psalm 37

1 Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity.

2 For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb.

3 Trust in the Lord, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed.

4 Delight thyself also in the Lord: and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.

5 Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.

6 And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noonday.

7 Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass.

8 Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: fret not thyself in any wise to do evil.

9 For evildoers shall be cut off: but those that wait upon the Lord, they shall inherit the earth.

10 For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be: yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it shall not be.

11 But the meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.

12 The wicked plotteth against the just, and gnasheth upon him with his teeth.

13 The Lord shall laugh at him: for he seeth that his day is coming.

14 The wicked have drawn out the sword, and have bent their bow, to cast down the poor and needy, and to slay such as be of upright conversation.

15 Their sword shall enter into their own heart, and their bows shall be broken.

16 A little that a righteous man hath is better than the riches of many wicked.

17 For the arms of the wicked shall be broken: but the Lord upholdeth the righteous.

18 The Lord knoweth the days of the upright: and their inheritance shall be for ever.

19 They shall not be ashamed in the evil time: and in the days of famine they shall be satisfied.

20 But the wicked shall perish, and the enemies of the Lord shall be as the fat of lambs: they shall consume; into smoke shall they consume away.

21 The wicked borroweth, and payeth not again: but the righteous sheweth mercy, and giveth.

22 For such as be blessed of him shall inherit the earth; and they that be cursed of him shall be cut off.

23 The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord: and he delighteth in his way.

24 Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the Lord upholdeth him with his hand.

25 I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread.

26 He is ever merciful, and lendeth; and his seed is blessed.

27 Depart from evil, and do good; and dwell for evermore.

28 For the Lord loveth judgment, and forsaketh not his saints; they are preserved for ever: but the seed of the wicked shall be cut off.

29 The righteous shall inherit the land, and dwell therein for ever.

30 The mouth of the righteous speaketh wisdom, and his tongue talketh of judgment.

31 The law of his God is in his heart; none of his steps shall slide.

32 The wicked watcheth the righteous, and seeketh to slay him.

33 The Lord will not leave him in his hand, nor condemn him when he is judged.

34 Wait on the Lord, and keep his way, and he shall exalt thee to inherit the land: when the wicked are cut off, thou shalt see it.

35 I have seen the wicked in great power, and spreading himself like a green bay tree.

36 Yet he passed away, and, lo, he was not: yea, I sought him, but he could not be found.

37 Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright: for the end of that man is peace.

38 But the transgressors shall be destroyed together: the end of the wicked shall be cut off.

39 But the salvation of the righteous is of the Lord: he is their strength in the time of trouble.

40 And the Lord shall help them, and deliver them: he shall deliver them from the wicked, and save them, because they trust in him.

BCU Fam, as a “recovering fretter”, I completely understand how it feels when you are waiting for God to move on your behalf for the healing, job, spouse, blessing, miracle, situation to clear up or whatever you are trusting God for. As we mature in Christ, it is imperative that we remember God really is in control and that His will, timing and gifts are always perfect. Trust me, (well, trust God) whatever He has for you will be so much better than you imagined, you’ll be so thankful that you waited and did things God’s way. Let’s pray about it!

Father in the name of Jesus, we thank You that rather than fretting needlessly, we can come to you with our anxious thoughts, worries, cares and concerns, and leave them with You. We will no longer be consumed with who is doing what, and seemingly getting by, rather, we will rest and wait patiently in You, Lord. We will rest knowing that our steps are ordered and that we are the righteous, so we will not be forsaken, and we are Your seed, so we will not be begging bread. We bless Your name because You preserve and deliver your saints because we trust in You. Thank You for Your continual care of us, Jesus, and we will continue to give Your name the praise and glory, in Jesus name we pray, Amen!

As a reminder, if you have not subscribed to BlenCouragesU.com, please do so! It’s free and a good place to get the encouragement, inspiration and information based the Word of God! Additionally, you can also see what we are up to on Facebook, X, and Instagram.

Also, if you so inclined, join us for our Thursday Night Bible Study––-we are LIVE on Facebook, at 8:05EST/7:05CST. You can also listen in and subscribe to the podcast on whatever platform BCU is available on. Some of those platforms are Amazon Music, Apple Podcasts, iHeart Radio, Spotify, and many more of your favorite podcast platforms!

Thank you SO much for stopping by! May God bless, keep and make His face to shine upon you as you #StayOnTheWall!

Love,

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Concerned, But Not Consumed

Hey there BCU Fam!

For this post, because of the informal format, please tune into the podcast recording (click here or on the BCU avatar below) and refer to the written post for the highlights. We pray the post blesses and encourages you. If so, please thumbs up AND leave a comment! Thank you and enjoy the post!

Podcast highlights:

  • Down through the years, the Lord has connected me with some amazing people of God, for whom I am grateful!
  • One of these connections led me to a group* that meets once a month for prayer, intercession and encouragement.
  • The Lord opened up an opportunity for me to give a word of encouragement on one of my favorite scriptures.
  • While the audio quality varies a bit, please listen to the prayer and exhortation while the Lord blesses you!

KJV Scripture References

Philippians 4:6-9

6 Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.

7 And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

8 Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.

9 Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you.

BCUFam, it is my prayer that as you leave your concerns with the Lord, that He will leave you with His perfect peace! Amen? Amen!

As a reminder, if you have not subscribed to BlenCouragesU.com, please do so! It’s free and a good place to get the encouragement, inspiration and information based the Word of God! Additionally, you can also see what we are up to on Facebook, X,and Instagram.

Also, if you so inclined, join us for our Thursday Night Bible Study––-we are LIVE on Facebook, at 8:05EST/7:05CST. You can also listen in and subscribe to the podcast on whatever platform BCU is available on. Some of those platforms are Amazon Music, Apple Podcasts, iHeart Radio, Spotify, and many more of your favorite podcast platforms!

Thank you SO much for stopping by! May God bless, keep and make His face to shine upon you as you #StayOnTheWall!

Love,

BCU

*If you would like to join us for prayer, as of this post, we meet every month, from the first to the seventh day of the month (for example, June 1-7). The time is 6amEST/5amCST on the weekdays and, 7amEST/6amCST on the weekend days. There is NO cost or obligation—-just dial in whenever you can, listen on muted mode, and be blessed!

Conference call line: 978-990-5000 | Access code 693413#.

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Avoiding Haste, Waste, Stress & Mess

Here there BCU Family!

For this post, because of the informal format, please tune into the podcast recording (click here or on the BCU avatar below) and refer to the written post for the highlights. We pray the post blesses and encourages you. If so, please thumbs up AND leave a comment! Thank you and enjoy the post!

Podcast highlights:

  • Blogging/podcasting is such wonderful blessing to me—–the Lord has truly brought BCU a LONG way!
  • Experience has taught me that I need to break my podcast production into two parts.
  • One particular week, I leaned to my own faulty understanding and did not follow that teaching.🤦🏽‍♀️
  • Listen in to what happened, and what the Lord taught me about haste, waste and prayer.

KJV Scripture Reference

Proverbs 3:5-6

5 Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.

6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

Psalm 63:1

O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is;

Proverbs 16:3

Commit thy works unto the Lord, and thy thoughts shall be established.

I Thessalonians 5:17

 Pray without ceasing.

BCU Fam, we live in a society where it is almost a badge of honor to be busy, running, stressed and tired. There is no biblical evidence of that being a requirement for salvation, or living the Christian life. In order to combat this worldly mindset, with the help of the Lord, we should acknowledge Him regarding ALL our tasks, even the things we know we have to take care of routinely. I am not saying that we need to ask the Lord if we should brush our teeth or clean up the spilled milk before we leave for work. Rather, if we make it a habit to start our day with prayer (Psalm 63:1), and pray throughout the day, asking the Lord for the wisdom, knowledge and understanding on how to carry out our assignments, and which ones take priority for the day, He will help us. Amen? Amen! Let’s pray!

Father, in the name of Jesus, as we come before You, thank You so much for the reminder, as always to acknowledge You in all of our ways. Whether we are going to work, school, at home, taking care of family, whatever it is, please help us to ask You, Jesus, in what sequence things should go in for the day.

Help us, Jesus to hear You and follow that sequence, so that we are not walking around tired, stressed, angry, agitated, irritated, or any of those things that are not of You. Thank You for giving us the grace to follow what You tell us to do, as we look forward to being more productive and doing things in the kairos time zone, according to Your will and way! In Jesus name we pray, Amen!

As a reminder, if you have not subscribed to BlenCouragesU.com, please do so! It’s free and a good place to get the encouragement, inspiration and information based the Word of God! Additionally, you can also see what we are up to on Facebook, X,and Instagram. Also, if you so inclined, join us Thursday nights––we are LIVE on YouTube 8:05EST/7:05CST. You can also listen in and subscribe to the podcast on Apple podcasts, Pandora, Spotify and many other podcast platforms!

Thank you SO much for stopping by! God bless, keep and make His face to shine upon you as you #StayOnTheWall!

Love,

BCU

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Becoming a First Responder in Prayer

Hey there BCU Fam!

Because of the informal format, please tune into the podcast recording (click here or on the BCU avatar below) and refer to the written post for the highlights. We pray the post blesses and encourages you. If so, please thumbs up AND leave a comment! Thank you and enjoy the post!

Podcast highlights:

  • BCUFam, we are continuing our unofficial series on lessons learned from last year.
  • When we hear the term “first responders”, we think of the amazing Emergency Medical Technicians (EMT’s), paramedics, police officers, and fire-fighters that we thank God for.
  • First responders specialize in quickly and skillfully attending to emergency situations.
  • The Lord has been talking to me about being a better first responder when it comes to people and prayer.

KJV Scripture references

Ecclesiastes 5:4-5

4 When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer not to pay it; for he hath no pleasure in fools: pay that which thou hast vowed.

5 Better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldest vow and not pay.

I Thessalonians 5:17

17 Pray without ceasing.

James 5:16

6 Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.

BCUFam, when someone requests prayer, or when the Lord prompts us to intercede for someone, we may get caught up in the cares of the day and delay or even forget to take the request to the Lord. While our actions are not intentional, when we say we are going to do something, the Lord holds us to it, so with His help, we want to pray right away, even if we need to pray in our hearts—-God does hear us! Something else for us to consider——do we get caught up trying to get information about a situation rather than pray?

For example, on an extremely cold and icy morning, an ambulance showed up at my neighbor’s home. Unable to get outside, we looked out of the window for several minutes talking through scenarios as to what may have happened, and hoping to get a glance at who was in distress. As we continued looking out of the window for answers, the Lord reminded me that rather than talking and gawking, I should be praying for whoever was ailing—-and thank the Lord and I did just that! Thankfully, everything turned out fine for the neighbor, but the lesson is, that as people of God, we are intercessory first responders via prayer. Anytime an emergency situation arises, prayer should always be our first response. Amen? Amen. Let’s pray!

Father, in the name of Jesus, we thank and praise You for this day that You have made, and that we are rejoicing and glad in! Jesus, as we listened to what Your Word had to say to us, thank You for correcting and reminding us to be fervent and immediate in our prayers, rather than forgetting to or waiting for a particular time to pray. In fact, Luke 18:1 reminds us that we always ought to pray and not to faint. On that wise, we want to be in prayer in the morning—before the busyness of the day, we want talk with You, Jesus throughout the day and evening—–acknowledging You in all our ways, so our paths will be directed. Please bless us to remember to intercede for others as You prompt us, so that Your will is accomplished in their lives. Thank You, Lord for blessing us to be better first responders in our prayer life and we will continue to bless and praise Your name, in Jesus Name we pray, Amen!

As a reminder, if you have not subscribed to BlenCouragesU.com, please do so! It’s free and a good place to get the encouragement, inspiration and information based the Word of God! Additionally, you can also see what we are up to on Facebook, X, and Instagram. Also, if you so inclined, join us Thursday nights––we are LIVE on YouTube 8:05EST/7:05CST. You can also listen in and subscribe to the podcast on Apple podcasts, YouTube podcasts, Pandora, Spotify, and many others podcast platforms!

Thank you SO much for stopping by! God bless, keep and make His face to shine upon you as you #StayOnTheWall!

Love,

BCU

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Letting Go and Trusting God (WHEW!)

Hey there BCU Fam!

Because of the informal format, please tune into the podcast recording (click here or on the BCU avatar below) and refer to the written post for the highlights. We pray the post blesses and encourages you. If so, please thumbs up AND leave a comment! Thank you and enjoy the post!

Podcast highlights:

  • With the new year, we often look back over the previous year to take account of what lessons we’ve learned.
  • At times, I’ve attended courses at “Experience University” (EU) enough to know NOT to repeat certain situations.
  • Recently, in sharing my EU insight with advice-seekers, the intent was they would follow the godly, sound council.
  • Sometimes, the hearer chooses a different path, and that’s where the lesson of letting go and trusting God comes in.

KJV Scripture references

Ecclesiastes 3:1

24 To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:

Proverbs 19:8

8 He that getteth wisdom loveth his own soul: he that keepeth understanding shall find good.

Luke 18:18-23

18 And a certain ruler asked him, saying, Good Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?

19 And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? none is good, save one, that is, God.

20 Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honour thy father and thy mother.

21 And he said, All these have I kept from my youth up.

22 Now when Jesus heard these things, he said unto him, Yet lackest thou one thing: sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me.

23 And when he heard this, he was very sorrowful: for he was very rich.

Philippians 4:6-8

6 Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.

7 And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

8 Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.

Matthew 11:28-30

28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.

30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

BCUFam, when we are advising the people that God has assigned to us, it can be heart-wrenching when they do not heed the biblical and wise council we offer. While it is fine to be concerned, fretting, worrying, and being consumed with their decision is not of God. Rather, what we can and what we will do is take everything to the Lord in prayer…and we will pray in FAITH! Then, we will wait in faith and look for the Lord to speak to the person/situation, and turn things around His way and in His timing. It is not easy to let go and wait, but when God takes care of a matter, it is taken care of perfectly, because He is perfect. With the help of the Lord, let it go and trust God. Amen? Amen! Let’s pray!

Father, in the name of Jesus, we thank You for allowing us to hear Your voice through Your Word. We thank You for being here today and for the people You have placed in our lives that we care so deeply about. Lord, some of us have family, friends, co-workers, neighbors, loved ones, etc that are not making/have not made good choices, have not heeded wise and godly advice, have not secured their salvation—–whatever the situation is we are worried about. Rather than being anxious and fretful, we leave our emotions, cares and concerns at Your feet, Jesus! We want to exchange our heavy load for Your light load, as the book of Matthew 11:29-30 reminds us. We thank You for the exchange, and for giving us peace in our hearts and minds, Jesus, as You take care of the situation and us! In Jesus Name we pray, Amen!

As a reminder, if you have not subscribed to BlenCouragesU.com, please do so! It’s free and a good place to get the encouragement, inspiration and information based the Word of God! Additionally, you can also see what we are up to on Facebook, X, and Instagram. Also, if you so inclined, join us Thursday nights––we are LIVE on YouTube 8:05EST/7:05CST. You can also listen in and subscribe to the podcast on Apple podcasts, YouTube podcasts, Pandora, Spotify, and many others podcast platforms!

Thank you SO much for stopping by! God bless, keep and make His face to shine upon you as you #StayOnTheWall!

Love,

BCU

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