Pastor Claude Thomas Online

Author: Pastor Claude Thomas

There is a principle here: You find solutions when you share your problems with someone very close to you. And who is closer than Jesus? It is a privilege to be able to pour out our hearts to Him. And the great news is that He understands and responds. He knows how we feel, because He has experienced the same pain we have. The Bible says…
“For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are-yet was without sin.” (Hebrews 4:15)
When David felt despair, he cried out to God. He said, “I cried unto the LORD with my voice, and he heard me out of his holy hill. Selah.” (Psalm 3:4). On another occasion David cried, “How long, O Lord? Will you forget me? forever? How long will you hide your face from me? How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and every day have sorrow in my heart? How long will my enemy triumph over me?” (Psalm 13:1, 2). You don’t have to read the Psalms for very long to discover that David freely poured out his heart to God.
David isn’t the only one in Scripture who cried out boldly to God. Moses did. Job did. Isaiah did. Paul did. Each one of them cried out to God in times of great difficulty.
So, what should we do? We should cry out to the Lord. Being honest with God about the way we feel is the beginning to finding real help. He hears and delights in responding to us! And we find solutions when we share our feelings of despair with God.

We live in a rapidly paced world. In a matter of a few hours you can leave New York and be in London. That’s great! But with that ability, we also can end up being caught up in the demands of living in a fast-paced world. And that will create stress.
Stress is a real problem in our world. When we have a physical, part of the exam is to determine how well we are able to deal with stress. Seminars are given to help us handle stress in life. It’s real.
How do we handle it? There are some simple but helpful and effective hints to handling stress. We see them from a look at how Jesus dealt with one of the most stressful times in His life… just before He went to the cross.
First, remember you have a purpose in life. It is relational in nature. It is our relationship to God and others (Mark 12: 30, 31). So, keep the focus on that primary purpose will alleviate some of the stress caused by secondary issues.
Second, take your concerns to God in prayer. In the Garden of Gethsemane Jesus faced the stress of the cross and the sins of the world. What did He do? He prayed. And so can we! In open, honest conversation, we talk to Him about the stressful matters of life.
Third, talk to some close friends about the most stressful matters of your life. Jesus did that in the Upper Room.
And finally, 1) do the best you are able 2) with what you have 3) where you are. Then you can trust God to make up any difference or deficit you might feel.
Pat Williams and my friend Jay Strack remind us in their book, Success Secrets of Shamgar, that these are principles of success.
I have discovered that following these helpful hints will help relieve the stresses of life.

Author: Pastor Claude Thomas
She just didn’t seem to fit in anywhere. She went here and she went there but she didn’t find acceptance until she met Jesus.
When she met Him everything seemed to change. Her whole outlook changed. She showed she felt better about herself and others too!
Who are we talking about? We are talking about the woman caught in sexual misconduct. She was looking in the wrong places and to the wrong people for affirmation and acceptance. But when she met the Lord all that changed in her life.
We are told that rejection is one of the most difficult things in life to overcome. Why? We all need to feel and be accepted. But the sad thing of life is we have refined the art of rejecting people who don’t fit into our “molds.” So, where do we turn to be accepted? Where do we go for affirmation?
Well, we go to Someone Who loves us unconditionally and did all necessary to accept us. Jesus did that for the woman who knew the horrors of rejection. I believe He is still doing that for people today. Do you fell you need that today? Then turn to Him in faith right now.
He is ready to accept us when we accept Him as Lord and Savior of our lives. Then, we are on the road to feeling acceptance ourselves.

Author: Pastor Claude Thomas
I remember coming home to the smell of food, a warm house, a big hug from my mom, and a word to encourage me. It sure made me feel good. There are some things that just stand out in life … and those hugs and encouraging words do.
I’ve wondered why that was so important to me and is so firmly fixed in my mind. I think I’ve found out why. It was a recurring encouragement! I experienced it almost every day.
Author and friend, John Maxwell, said it like this: Encouragement enables us to persevere like nothing else (Encouragement Changes Everything).
The bible says encouragement is often found in a well spoken word. The writer of Proverbs has a lot to say about the influence of our words. He said “death and life are in the power of the tongue.” (Proverbs 18:21). He also said that “Good words can make an anxious heart glad.”(12:25). He said a timely word is “delightful” (Proverbs 25:23).
How about it? Do we all agree that a word of encouragement would be helpful to someone? So, let’s be encouragers and say a good word to someone today.