Rick Costa's Blog

Let your eyes look straight ahead and your sight be focused in front of you.  Carefully walk a straight path, and all your ways will be secure.  Do not lean to the right or to the left. Walk away from evil.

– Proverbs 4:25-27 (GOD’S WORD® Translation (©1995))

The enemy will do his very best to keep you distracted from the path God has for you using the things of this world.  He’s not a stupid devil…he has had thousands of years of practice enticing the hearts of men away from their Creator.  Don’t allow yourself to get side-tracked from the calling of the Lord on your life.

As Scripture says, “Whoever brags must brag about what the Lord has done.”

1 Corinthians 1:31 (GOD’S WORD® Translation (©1995))

Instead of talking about how great you are or your accomplishments, tell people how great God is and all the things He has done!

By mercy and faithfulness, peace is made with the LORD. By the fear of the LORD, evil is avoided.

– Proverbs 16:6 (GOD’S WORD® Translation (©1995))

Often times the reason why men can so easily sin with such audacity is that they lack the fear of the Lord.  Yes God is Love but he is also the Righteous Judge who will absolutely NOT tolerate sin in His presence.  It says in Hebrews 12:29,  “For our God is a consuming fire.”  You don’t play with fire!

Why are you crushed down, O my soul? and why are you troubled in me? Put your hope in God, for I will again give Him praise who is my help and my God.

– Psalm 43:5 (Bible in Basic English)

We all get sad and depressed from time to time but this verse encourages us to believe that God will give us the help we need as we praise Him.

Godless fools say in their hearts, “There is no God.”

-Psalm 53:1 (GOD’S WORD® Translation (©1995))

Only a fool actually would open his mouth and say that God doesn’t exist.  The book of Romans 1:20 says, “From the creation of the world, God’s invisible qualities, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly observed in what He made. As a result, people have no excuse.”

In every way we’re troubled, but we aren’t crushed by our troubles. We’re frustrated, but we don’t give up.  We’re persecuted, but we’re not abandoned. We’re captured, but we’re not killed.  We always carry around the death of Jesus in our bodies so that the life of Jesus is also shown in our bodies.  While we are alive, we are constantly handed over to death for Jesus’ sake so that the life of Jesus is also shown in our mortal nature.

– 2 Corinthians 4:8-11 (GOD’S WORD® Translation (©1995))

The ways of the Kingdom of God are often the opposite from the ways of the world.  From death comes life (that garden tomb is still empty!) and from circumstances that are bad will often come good.  Trust God that through our suffering He is transforming us into the person He wants us to be till that time when we’ll be fully in His presence forever.

How precious are your thoughts concerning me, O God! How vast in number they are!  If I try to count them, there would be more of them than there are grains of sand. When I wake up, I am still with you.

– Psalm 138:17-18 (GOD’S WORD® Translation (©1995))

God loves us so much that He can’t get us out of His mind.  He is constantly thinking about you and me.  Imagine that…the God that created everything in the entire universe Who really doesn’t need anything or anybody always has you in His thoughts!  What an awesome God we serve!

At the same time the Spirit also helps us in our weakness, because we don’t know how to pray for what we need. But the Spirit intercedes along with our groans that cannot be expressed in words.

-Romans 8:26 (GOD’S WORD® Translation (©1995))

Even in prayer we need to lean on the Holy Spirit’s help to lead us in talking to God.  Jesus Himself always walked around in the “power of the Spirit” and He is our greatest example.  And also think of this…the enemy has no defense against a Spirit led prayer!

But He said to me, `My kindness and strength is enough for you. When you are weak, My power is strong.’ So then, I am very glad to talk about how weak I am so that the power of Christ may live in me.

– 2 Corinthians 12:9 (Worldwide English (New Testament))

God doesn’t want to use people who think they are so talented and have it all together.  No, He rather use those who know that without Him they can do nothing right.  Those who totally lean on God for their strength.  It’s with  these type of people that God’s power can move the strongest.

For the LORD will not forsake his people for His great name’s sake: because it has pleased the LORD to make you His people.

– 1 Samuel 12 :22 (American King James Version)

All of us who are saved were all selected by God to be His.  It’s possible (God forbid) that we can reject Him but He will never reject us because that’s just the kind of God He is.  No matter how bad we mess up, He will not change His mind about us.  We will always belong to Him.