What the bible says about overwork and being hasty

Mark 6:31  And He said to them, “Come aside by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while.” For there were many coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat.

Matthew 11:28-30 Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.

Psalm 46:10 Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!

Luke 10:38–42 Now it happened as they went that He entered a certain village; and a certain woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus’ feet and heard His word. But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached Him and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me.”  And Jesus answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.”

Philippians 4:6-7 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

Isaiah 28:16 Therefore thus says the Lord God:  Behold, I lay in Zion a stone for a foundation, A tried stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation; Whoever believes will not act hastily.

Proverbs 21:5 The plans of the diligent lead surely to plenty, But those of everyone who is hasty, surely to poverty.

Proverbs 19:2 Also it is not good for a soul to be without knowledge, And he sins who hastens with his feet.

Proverbs 4:26 Ponder the path of your feet, And let all your ways be established.

Proverbs 28:20 A faithful man will abound with blessings, But he who hastens to be rich will not go unpunished.

Ecclesiastes 5:2
Do not be rash with your mouth, And let not your heart utter anything hastily before God. For God is in heaven, and you on earth; Therefore let your words be few.

Proverbs 18:13 He who answers a matter before he hears it, It is folly and shame to him.

Proverbs 29:20
Do you see a man hasty in his words? There is more hope for a fool than for him.

Proverbs 25:8 Do not go hastily to court; For what will you do in the end, When your neighbor has put you to shame?

James 1:19-20 So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath; for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God.

Also see How to use your time
Also see Swift to hear, slow to speak

Model Prayer With Promises

The following comes from Steps to Personal Revival

Father in heaven, I come to you in the name of Jesus our Savior. You said: Give me your heart. (Prov. 23:26) I want to do that now by submitting myself to you today with everything I am and have. Thank you that you have already answered this prayer according to Your will, because Your word says that if we pray according to Your will we know that we have already received it (1 John 5:15). And you also said that you would by no means cast anyone out who comes to you (John 6:37).

Jesus said: “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him.” (Luke 11:13)

You further said that you would give the Holy Spirit to those, who believe in you (John 7:38-39), who obey you (Acts 5:32), who let themselves be renewed with the Holy Spirit (Eph. 5:18) and who walk in the Spirit (Gal. 5:16). This is my desire. Please accomplish this in me. For this reason I sincerely ask you Father to give me the Holy Spirit today. Since it is a request according to Your will, I thank You that have given me the Holy Spirit now (1 John 5:15). Thank You that I have received Your divine love at the same time, because Your word says: “The love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit.” (Rom. 5:5; Eph. 3:17) I want to say with the psalmist: “I will love You, O Lord, my strength.” (Psalm 18:1) Thank you that I can love my fellow human beings with Your love.

Thank You that through the Holy Spirit the power of sin has been broken in me (Rom. 8:13, Gal. 5:16). Please save and protect me today from sin and from the world, give me protection from the fallen angels, save me from temptations and when necessary snatch me and save me from my old corrupt nature. (1. John 5:18)

And please help me to be Your witness in word and deed (Acts 1:8). I praise You and thank You for hearing my prayer. Amen.

Also see Conditions to receiving the Holy Spirit
Also see Carnal Christianity: Our Central Problem
Also see The Solution To Our Problems

The Solution To Our Problems

How to be a happy and strong Christian
“These things I have spoken to you, that My Joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full.” (John 15:11 NKJV) Through these two steps (continually receiving the Holy Spirit and complete surrender) Christ lives in us and it is the way to perfect happiness. The crucial point is that we (as a rule) daily surrender ourselves to God including everything we are and have and that we also daily ask and receive by faith the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.

Why We Need To Surrender To Jesus Daily
Jesus said in Luke 9:23: “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.” Jesus said that discipleship is a daily matter. To deny oneself means giving Jesus the control over my life.

In order to keep our spiritual life strong and healthy it is also necessary to take care of the inner person daily. “We are to follow Christ day by day. God does not bestow help for tomorrow.” DA 313. “However complete may have been our consecration at conversion, it will avail us nothing unless it be renewed daily … .” RH 1/6/1885. "If you will seek the Lord and be converted every day ... all your murmurings will be stilled, all your difficulties will be moved, all the perplexing problems that now confront you will be solved." MB 101.

We may be certain that: when we consciously surrender ourselves to Jesus every morning, then we are doing what He wishes us to do, because He said: “Come to me…” (Matt. 11:28 NKJV) and: “... the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out.” (John 6:37 NKJV)

Why we need to daily ask for the Holy Spirit
“To the consecrated worker there is wonderful consolation in the knowledge that even Christ during His life on earth sought His Father daily for fresh supplies of needed grace … His own example is an assurance that earnest, persevering supplication to God in faith – faith that leads to entire dependence upon God, and unreserved consecration to His work – will avail to bring men the Holy Spirit’s aid in the battle against sin.” AA 56

Our inward man needs to be renewed daily (2 Cor. 4:16). In what way does this daily renewal take place? According to Eph. 3:16-17, 19 NKJV it happens through the Holy Spirit: “That He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, … that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.”

God's word commands us to continually “… be filled with the Spirit.“ Eph. 5:18. This isn’t a one-time experience, but rather something that has to be continually repeated. Notice that the Ephesians had been sealed with the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:13) and yet it was necessary for them to be: “strengthened with might through His Spirit” and to “be filled with the Spirit” and “let yourselves be consistently and continually filled with the Spirit anew".  “In order that we may have the righteousness of Christ, we need daily to be transformed by the influence of the Spirit, to be a partaker of the divine nature. It is the work of the Holy Spirit to elevate the taste, to sanctify the heart, to ennoble the whole man”. 1SM 374

Rom. 5:5 shows us that God’s love is poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit. We find the same thing in Eph. 3:17. The daily baptism with the Holy Spirit (being filled with the Holy Spirit) causes at the same time a daily baptism with love (being filled with God’s agape love). In addition, it says in Gal. 5:16 that as a result the power of sin is broken.

Being filled with the Spirit doesn’t mean that we quantitatively have more of Him, but rather that the Spirit has more and more of us. That’s why Paul commanded all the believers to be constantly filled with the Spirit. This is a normal condition for a Christian. One baptism, but many fillings.

The Importance of Personal Worship Time
Through daily surrender and through being daily filled with the Holy Spirit our lives will be benefi cially changed. This happens during our personal worship time. “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.” Matt.6:33 NKJV The kingdom of God is when you have Christ in your heart now. This is why we need daily surrender and to daily ask for the Holy Spirit during our worship time. When we are carnal Christians worship can be just an obligation. When we are spiritual then worship will become more and more a necessity.

Worship in Spirit and Truth
God's last message to the world is about worship (Rev. 14:6-12) and we must worship God in spirit and truth (John 4:23-24). To worship in spirit means be filled with the Holy Spirit and to worship in truth means complete surrender to Jesus, the person of truth (John 14:6) and living by God's word which is also truth (John 17:17).

Daily Need to Surrender and Ask for God's Spirit, Even After Baptism
Baptism is definitely a significant decision; this corresponds to God’s will. It has and will keep its great significance. But we shouldn’t look back to an event in the past as proof that we are filled with the Holy Spirit. Instead we should know now and experience now that we are filled with the Holy Spirit. Just like we constantly need food, water, sleep, exercise, etc after physical birth, even after being born, we constantly need surrender to Jesus and be filled with God's Spirit, even after baptism. Neither the physical nor the spiritual life remains automatically in us. By asking for the Holy Spirit, we're asking for Jesus to come into our hearts. “And by this we know that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us.” 1 John 3:24

The Effects of the Holy Spirit
When the Holy Spirit is in me, then He accomplishes in me what Christ achieved. Romans 8:2 says: “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.”

“When the Spirit of God takes possession of the heart, it transforms the life. Sinful thoughts are put away, evil deeds are renounced; love, humility, and peace take the place of anger, envy, and strife. Joy takes the place of sadness, and the countenance reflects the light of heaven.” DA 173

Prayer: Lord Jesus, I thank you that you want to remain in me through the Holy Spirit. Thank you that through daily surrender our trust and love relationship is growing. Lord, help me to get to know the Holy Spirit and His work better. I long to know what He wants to do for me, my family and my church and how we can have the assurance that we can receive the Holy Spirit when we daily ask Thank you for this. Amen

Carnal Christianity: The Central Problem

God's word uses the terms "natural", "spiritual", and "carnal" to describe a person's relationship to God. (see 1 Corinthians 2:14-16, 1 Corinthians 3:1-4, Romans 8:1-17, Galatians 4 and 6)

Natural - No relationship
“does not receive the things of the Spirit of God” (1 Corinthians 2:14)

Spiritual - Full, real relationship 
Has "the mind of Christ" (1 Corinthians 2:15-16)
In the message to Laodicea, referred to as "hot" (Revelation 3:15)
In the parable of the 10 virgins, referred to as "wise" (Matthew 25:1-13)
Has life “more abundantly” (John 10:10)
"filled with all the fullness of God.” (Eph. 3:19; Col. 2:9)
See more in Romans 8:1-17 and Galatians 5

Flesh/Carnal - Divided or feigned relationship
"Babes in Christ" 1 Corinthians 3:1-4
“foolish” Matt. 25:1-13,
"Lukewarm" Rev. 3:14-21,
Not "born again" John 3:1-21
"having a form of godliness, but denying its power" 2 Tim. 3:5

The carnal Christian may be either dissatisfied or satisfied with their spiritual condition and may be very enthusiastic about church, but here's the problem: they don't have a real relationship with Jesus (Matt. 7:22-23).

The Importance of Surrender
We need to be completely surrendered (Romans 12:1), born again (John 3:1-21), and keep abiding in Christ (John 15:1-17).

Why it's difficult to recognize our carnal condition
We have the certainty that we believe the truth; that thrills us. We have a lot of good knowledge. We say the right things. That is what makes it so difficult to identify the carnal problem. We can become so "rich" with "religion" that we don't realize our lack of an intimate and saving relationship with Jesus (Revelation 3:17-18). Jesus needs to live in our hearts through the Holy Spirit. If Christ isn’t allowed to govern our whole life, then He is standing in front of the door knocking (Rev. 3:20).

Carnal people try to follow God's will and their own will at the same time, but that doesn't work. That's what James 4:3 is talking about when it says “You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss.” (James 4:3 NKJV). Wouldn’t an answer to such a request only boost the ego? Consequently, this church member is living through normal human powers and abilities. In Rev. 3:16 this is called "lukewarm" and in Matt. 25 “foolish”.

Why Jesus calls the carnal church lukewarm
 The believers of Laodicea were called lukewarm because Jesus wasn't in the center of their lives, but outside of it. He isn't invited inside and He cannot force himself inside because He respects our free decision. A lukewarm person can be so busy doing God's work and neglect the Lord of the work.

The Parable of the 10 Virgins
Jesus’ statement, "I do not know you", shows us that our personal relationship with Him has something to do with the Holy Spirit. Whoever doesn’t let himself be led by the Holy Spirit won’t be acknowledged by Jesus. In Rom. 8:8-9 it says: “Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. …if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His.”

Actually, we only have a real personal relationship with Jesus through the Holy Spirit. 1 John 3:24 says: “And by this we know that He [Jesus] abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us.” This means that the assurance I have that I am filled with the Holy Spirit is at the same time the assurance that I am in Jesus and He is in me.

Why there's so little of God's Spirit in church
“The reason why there is so little of the Spirit of God manifested is that ministers learn to do without it.” (E.G. White, Testimonies for the Church, Volume 1, (1868), p. 383.1) As important as a basic education and systematic ongoing training is for a preacher, it is even more important for him that he let himself constantly be refilled by the Holy Spirit.

The Main Problem of Carnal Christianity
The great ethics of the Bible – loving your enemy, forgiving people for everything, overcoming sin, etc. – can only be achieved by the power of the Holy Spirit, not with human effort. This shows us that the main problem in carnal Christianity is that it is a life solely in human strength. We can’t do God’s will alone in our own strength.

Jer. 13:23 NKJV: “Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard its spots? Then may you also do good who are accustomed to do evil.”

Ezekiel 36:26-27 NKJV: “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you…. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them.”

Traveling the path of faith in their own strength is the foremost problem of every carnal Christian. The problem is much more serious than we think. “Half-hearted Christians are worse than infidels; for their deceptive words and noncommittal position lead many astray.”

How to grow spiritually 
“Yet the operations of the Spirit are always in harmony with the written word. As in the natural, so in the spiritual world. The natural life is preserved moment by moment by divine power; yet it is not sustained by a direct miracle, but through the use of blessings placed within our reach. So the spiritual life is sustained by the use of those means that Providence has supplied. If the follower of Christ would grow up ‘unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ’ (Ephesians 4:13), he must eat of the bread of life and drink of the water of salvation. He must watch and pray and work, in all things giving heed to the instructions of God in His word.” DA 284

A Great Danger
“I will not here dwell upon the shortness and uncertainty of life; but there is a terrible danger – a danger not sufficiently understood – in delaying to yield to the pleading voice of God’s Holy Spirit, in choosing to live in sin; for such this delay really is.” (1SM 109). What is at the core of sin? “Because they do not believe in Me.” (John 16:9) The sign that we really believe and trust Jesus is that we completely surrender ourselves to Him. It has to do with our complete surrender; our willingness to follow Him in everything.

The Crucial Question
The crucial question is if you are filled with the Holy Spirit or not. But when is a person filled with the Holy Spirit? What are the necessary prerequisites? What are the positive results of a life with the Holy Spirit? What happens, when you erroneously think you are filled with the Holy Spirit?

Prayer: Father in heaven, please make me willing to ask myself this question. If I am a carnal Christian, then please help me to realize this right away. Make me willing to be willing for everything you want. Please lead me to a happy Christian life – to the promised life in abundance and to eternal life. Please renew my heart. Thank you for answering my prayer. Amen.

Conditions to Receiving The Holy Spirit

A yearning for God
(“whoever thirsts” John 7:37)

Trust in God 
(“he who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said” John 7:38)

Complete surrender as a result of trusting God 
(placing your whole life at God’s disposal, "as a living sacrifice" Rom. 12:1)

Following God in everything 
(“those who obey Him” Acts 5:32)

Give up their own way, go God’s way and do this according to God’s will 
(“repent and be baptized” Acts 2:38)

Not to plan anything wrong 
(“if I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear” Ps.66:18)

Realize and admit to your great need 
(“I have nothing” Luke 11:6)

Continually ask for the Holy Spirit
("ask.. seek.. knock" Luke 11:9-13)

We can pray: “Lord Jesus, I completely say yes to all the prerequisites for receiving the Holy Spirit. I sincerely ask that you now – for today – fulfill them in me. Thank you for Jesus’ urgent invitation to ask for the Holy Spirit. I am sorry for the losses I have experienced because of a lack of the Holy Spirit. I need divine assistance so that Jesus can become greater in me. I need His help in every area of my life. Thank you that the Holy Spirit can change my character and can make me fit for God’s kingdom. I completely surrender myself to you with all that I am and have. Thank you for accepting me and giving me your blessings. Help me to grow in knowledge about the Holy Spirit. Amen."

Cognitive Distortions to Avoid

Abide in God's word, we will know the truth and the truth will set us free (John 8:31-32). Sinful actions begin with sinful thoughts (Matthew 15:19). This same principle is understood in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy.

Common errors in thinking

1. All or nothing: 
When you give up on everything good because of a bad thing
2. Overgeneralizing: 
When you think something will always be bad and never change
3. Mental filters: 
When you only see one side of things, usually only the bad
4. Mind reading: 
When you think you know for sure what others are thinking
5. Fortune telling: 
When you think you know for sure what's going to happen
6. Magnification/Minimization: 
When you think something is a big deal or not a big deal
7. Personalization: 
When you blame yourself for something outside of your control
8. Emotional reasoning: 
When you think feelings define how things really are
9. Mislabeling: 
When you call yourself or others names because of something that was done
10. Discounting Positives: 
When you see the good side, but think it doesn't count

If the thoughts are wrong, the feelings will be wrong; and the thoughts and feelings combined make up the moral character. [MYP 92]

Overcoming Stinking Thinking With Agape Love

Love rejoices in truth, it won't use emotional reasoning or faulty mental filtering, nor will it discount the positive. Love doesn't envy or give into self-seeking forms of all or nothing thinking. Love believes in all things, it doesn't "mind-read" or assume others think a certain way. Love hopes in all things, it doesn't "fortune tell" evil or overgeneralize that something or someone will always be a certain way. Love is kind, it doesn't resort to name calling or mislabeling. Love isn't puffed up, so it won't magnify or minimize things out of proportion. Love isn't easily provoked because it doesn't take anything personally.

Relevant quote
Charity “doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil” (1 Corinthians 13:5). Christlike love places the most favorable construction on the motives and acts of others. It does not needlessly expose their faults; it does not listen eagerly to unfavorable reports, but seeks rather to bring to mind the good qualities of others. [AA 319]

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What the bible says about hell

Does God have any pleasure in the death of the wicked?

Ezekiel 33:11 Say to them: ‘As I live,’ says the Lord God, ‘I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn, turn from your evil ways! For why should you die, O house of Israel?’

How is God's act of punishing described?

Isaiah 28:21 

For the Lord will rise up as at Mount Perazim, He will be angry as in the Valley of Gibeon— That He may do His work, His awesome work, And bring to pass His act, His unusual act.

Comment: God doesn't like to punish, it's a strange act for Him to do, but he will inevitably do it

For whom did God originally prepare eternal fire for?
Matthew 25:41 Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels

When will the wicked be punished?
Job 21:30 For the wicked are reserved for the day of doom; They shall be brought out on the day of wrath.
2 Peter 2:9 then the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations and to reserve the unjust under punishment for the day of judgment

How will the dead present themselves on judgment day?

Revelation 20:13 The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works.

Note: Apparently, the judgment happens while physically present in one's body. Also see study on what happens at death

Where does hell fire come from?

Revelation 20:9
They went up on the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city. And fire came down from God out of heaven and devoured them.

Hebrews 12:29 For our God is a consuming fire.

Psalms 68:2 As smoke is driven away, So drive them away; As wax melts before the fire, So let the wicked perish at the presence of God.

What is God able to do with the soul in hell?
Matthew 10:28 And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.

Comment: Contrary to popular belief, this verse clearly shows souls are not immortal

What is left after lost souls are destroyed?

Malachi 4:1-3 “For behold, the day is coming, burning like an oven, and all the proud, yes, all who do wickedly will be stubble. And the day which is coming shall burn them up,” Says the Lord of hosts, “That will leave them neither root nor branch. But to you who fear My name The Sun of Righteousness shall arise With healing in His wings; And you shall go out And grow fat like stall-fed calves. You shall trample the wicked, For they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet On the day that I do this,” Says the Lord of hosts.

What past example does the bible give of eternal fire?
Jude 7 as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities around them in a similar manner to these, having given themselves over to sexual immorality and gone after strange flesh, are set forth as an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.

Comment: Is Sodom still burning today? No, because there's nothing left to burn

What will the Lord do with the devil?
Hebrews 2:14 Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil
Revelation 20:10

The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.

Who can live in God's fiery presence without harm?

Isaiah 33:14b-15  ...“Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire? Who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings?” He who walks righteously and speaks uprightly, He who despises the gain of oppressions, Who gestures with his hands, refusing bribes, Who stops his ears from hearing of bloodshed, And shuts his eyes from seeing evil

What promise does God give us to look forward to?
2 Peter 3:13 Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.

What will the new earth be like?
Revelation 21:4 And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.

Will affliction rise up again?
Nahum 1:9 What do you conspire against the Lord? He will make an utter end of it. Affliction will not rise up a second time.