Posts Tagged ‘Faith’

Scripture reading for January 6th: Genesis 12-14

About 2000 years before Christ or about 400 years after the tower of Babel, God spoke to a man in Ur of the Chaldeans in the land that is now called Iraq.  This man’s name was Abram.  He was about 75 years old and married to a lady named Sarai.  They were childless and already beyond the years of childbearing.

God seems to specialize in doing what seems impossible! God spoke to Abram and gave him eight specific promises: (1) I will make you a great nation, (2) I will bless you, (3) I will make your name great, (4) You will be a blessing, (5) I will bless those who bless you, (6) I will curse those who curse you, (7) All peoples of the earth will be blessed through you, (8) To your offspring I will give this land (Canaan). (Genesis 12:2-3, 7.)   God then asked Abram to leave his home and go to a land that He would show him and Abram obeyed!  With promises like that, who wouldn’t want in on these blessings and future blessings?

In these verses we see the beginning of God’s plan to form a people who by faith would follow Him.  Abram was told that God would make him a great nation before he had even one child.  Abram was told all nations would be blessed through him.  Abram’s offspring carried the seed of the one who would carry the Son of God, Jesus Christ!  Abram believed and acted.  Faith is just that simple.  Faith looks at God who made the promises and chooses to believe that He is able to fulfill them!  (Romans 4:20-21)

That’s exactly what God is calling us to do!  We now trust in Jesus Christ and receive the blessing promised to all peoples of the earth: eternal life in His Name!  Faith is still trusting that God will do what He has promised!  Will you trust and obey Him today?  He has people He wants to bless through you and your testimony!

“Yet he (Abraham) did not waver in unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised.” (Romans 4:20-21)

“If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.” (Galatians 3:29)

Scripture reading for December 5th: 1st John 5:1-21

One of the favorite tricks of our enemy, the devil, is condemnation.  After we make a commitment to Christ, he loves to keep us in doubt about our faith or the level of our faith!  He doesn’t bring assurance, but constant doubt and fear of rejection by God.   John, as a wise pastor, brings assurance to his flock by sharing truth in a spirit of love!

“Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves His Child as well.  this is how we know that we love the children of God:  by loving God and carrying out His commands.  This is love for God:  to obey His commands.  And His commands are not burdensome, for everyone born of God overcomes the world.  This is the victory that overcomes the world, even our faith.” (1st John 5:1-4)  John emphasized that faith in Jesus Christ as the Son of God was the key to living a life of love and victory.    Anyone who said they loved God and hated his brother was a liar.  (1st John 4:19)  Faith was simple and worked through love.  Faith must be centered in God who alone is love!

Jesus Christ has given us three witnesses to verify that He is the Christ.  John was again emphasizing that Jesus came as a man who was the Son of God.  At Jesus’ baptism, the Spirit came down as a dove and the Father Spoke: “This is My Son, whom I love; with Him I am well pleased.” (Matthew 3:17)  This is the witness of the water.  At Jesus crucifixion, the centurion declared, “Surely this Man is the Son of God!” (Mark 15:39)  This is the witness of the blood.  The Holy Spirit testifies that Jesus is the Christ by His resurrection. (Romans 1:4)    In Jewish culture, all truth was established by two or three witnesses!  (Deuteronomy 19:15)

“And this is the testimony:  God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.  He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.  I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.” (1st John 5:11-13)  We can have full confidence before God when we believe in His Son!

Scripture reading for August 20th: 1st Corinthians 12:27-13:13

Each person has been placed in Christ’s body by God as it pleased Him!  (1st Corinthians 12:18)  We are all arranged and joined together in such a way to function as a unit to accomplish God’s purposes.  God appointed some ‘gift people’ to help with the teaching, equipping, and administration of His body.  But no matter what gift you may have, God has encouraged all to desire the greater gifts and to pursue the most excellent way: the way of love!

Paul gives us one of the best descriptions of what love looks like that was ever penned!  “Love is patient, love is kind.  It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.  It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.  Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.  It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.  Love never fails.” (1st Corinthians 13:4-8a)

We can have all the gifts and be filled with faith, but without love we amount to nothing.  Pentecostal and charismatic Christians have to be careful in this regard.  The church at Corinth was flowing with gifts of the Spirit, but lack of love caused divisions and many other problems.  Our flesh can easily get in the way and cause the love of God to cease flowing in our life.  Faith works by love.  (Galatians 5:5-6)

The proper exercise of the gifts also requires faith and love working together.  The gifts are for the edification, exhortation, and comfort of the body.   Christ loves His church and all is to be done through love.  Love is not rude, boastful, or self-seeking.  Love is humble and seeks the best for the other person.  Pride and envy are not part of God’s kind of love!  His love doesn’t keep record of wrongs and doesn’t remain angry with another person.  His love trusts and protects and hangs in there for the long haul.  In the end, love like this never fails to produce God’s highest good for the other person and for the Church of Jesus Christ!

“Now these three remain: faith, hope and love.  But the greatest of these is love.” (1st Corinthians 13:13)  When all else fades away, love remains the greatest gift of all!  Will you ask God for a fresh revelation of His love today?

Scripture reading for July 15th: Romans 2:24-3:8

These were Paul’s words to his own people the Jews: “As it is written, “God’s name is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.” (Isaiah 52:5, Romans 2:24)  He was trying to awaken an awareness that their religion was not having the effect God desired on the nations!  God had called them to be a light to the Gentiles and through Abraham’s Seed, all nations of the earth would be blessed!  (Genesis 12:3, Luke 2:30-32)  Instead, they boasted in their law and in the fact that God had made promises to them through Abraham.

Paul went on to tell them that circumcision in the flesh was only of value if they obeyed the law.  If they broke God’s law, then they would be no different in God’s eyes than the uncircumcised Gentiles!  (Romans 2:25-27)  Yet if the Gentile kept God’s laws, then they would be accepted as righteous in God’s sight.  True Jews were not just outwardly circumcised, but had their hearts circumcised!  This circumcision could only be done by the Holy Spirit through faith in Jesus Christ!

Paul was a Jew and knew just how the Jews thought.  He thought that way himself until Jesus revealed Himself on the Damascus road.  He was a Pharisee who knew the law “thou shall not commit murder”,  (Exodus 20:13) yet he judged Christians as unfit to live and sought to murder them while claiming to have favor with God!  Because of his own law-breaking, God’s name was blasphemed among the Gentiles!  True Christians were afraid of Paul but prayed for him!

Jews had an advantage because of the very words of God that they had given to them by the patriarchs and prophets.  They were instructed in faith through those words.  They would be held accountable by God for this advantage!  God would be proved justified when He judged them!  (Romans 3:4)  Some might twist this around to blame God, but God would be true!

Let’s examine our own lives today!  Do we claim to have Christ as our Lord?  Do we claim to have special favor as Christians and yet live in sin?  Are we causing God’s name to be blasphemed because of our own hypocrisy?  Lets judge ourselves first and get our own lives in order with God’s word and receive His grace!

Scripture reading for June 8th:  Acts 6:1-15

Every organization rises or falls on leadership.  Gifts of leadership are given to individuals by God to help the church function smoothly.  No one person is more important or higher than another in Christ’s body, but each person has a different function based on their gifts and talents.  Faithfulness and maturity are foundational to strong leadership.

A crisis in the early church was recorded in Acts 6:1-7.  There was strife and complaining between Grecian Jews and Hebraic Jews over the treatment of their widows.  Some were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food and the apostles gathered together to tackle the problem. “It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the Word of God in order to wait on tables.  Brothers, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom.  We will turn this responsibility over to them and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the Word.” (Acts 6:2b-4)

The apostles recognized their priorities as prayer and ministry of the Word.  They understood that leadership must be expanded.  But just warm bodies would not do the proper job.  These men must be full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom.  Known character and infilling with the Spirit would enable them to have the power necessary to properly function in this important ministry.  God cares deeply about widows and orphans!  (James 1:27)

“This proposal pleased the whole group.  They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit; also Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas from Antioch, a convert to Judiasm.  The presented these men to the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them.” (Acts 6:5-6)  The men were selected from a variety of backgrounds and then prayed over by the apostles.  They gave the responsibility of caring for the widows away to responsible people who had the Holy Spirit, faith and wisdom!

The recorded result was an increase in the word of God and number of disciples, even priests were coming to Christ!  When godly leadership functions in the proper tasks, God’s church expands.  Preaching the Word is a priority for those so gifted and called!  Pastoral care is also a vital need that those gifted and called can do.  Are you full of the Holy Spirit with godly character that God can put you into His service?

Scripture reading for August 5th: Jeremiah 1-6

“The word of the Lord came to me saying, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”" “Ah, Sovereign Lord,” I said, “I do not know how to speak; I am only a child.” (Jeremiah 1:4-6)

Have you ever made excuses for why you can’t do something?   Has your mom or dad or preacher ever asked you to do something and you looked for all the reasons why you couldn’t?  Have you felt fear rise in your heart at the thought of beginning a new job or going to school?  Because of sin and Satan, we are creatures bound by fears and centered on ourselves.  Change is often difficult and we become our own worst enemy by positing endless excuses.

Jeremiah was a young man when God spoke to him about a plan for his life.  This plan would take Jeremiah out of his comfort zone and involved public speaking.  Jeremiah was being called to speak before nations, not just the local people.  He immediately thought up some excuses!  “I can’t speak” and “I am only a child” came first into his mind.  Public speaking is one of the top fears even today.  I know personally that as a young man, I was terrified to get up in front of people.

God immediately rebuked Jeremiah and told him to stop his excuses.  God made promises to Jeremiah to calm his fears.  He told him that He would be with him and rescue him!  What comfort that should have brought!   I wonder if Jeremiah’s mind raced to think of the kind of dangers that God might rescue him from?

God also touched Jeremiah’s mouth and put His words in his mouth.  He spoke a prophetic word to Jeremiah that would define his mission.  “See today I appoint you over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant.” (Jeremiah 1:10)  He then gave him a vision of an almond tree.  This tree was the first tree to bloom in Israel and signaled the coming of spring.  Everyone watched the almond to know when spring had arrived.  God promised Jeremiah, “I am watching to see that My word is fulfilled.” (Jeremiah 1:12)  God knows how to deal with our excuses!

Scripture reading for May 6th: Ezra 7-8

We are all on a journey through this world.  Each day we face spiritual opposition from our enemy Satan.  He desires to steal all the riches of our knowledge of Christ and kill or destroy us and our faith.  (John 10:10)  We must prepare ourselves each day to walk with God in His power and guidance to be successful and arrive at His Temple in heaven!

Ezra had been chosen by the king of Persia to lead this group because he was a priest of the Lord and a man familiar with the Law of God.  God knew that the spiritual foundation of rebuilding His temple would be the most important part. Not only was the Lord’s temple in disrepair, but His people needed a new foundation of truth and obedience.  Ezra was a man known as a teacher who was learned in the law of God. (Ezra 7:10-12)

Ezra knew that his mission to Jerusalem from Babylon would be dangerous.  The caravan route that his team of leaders must take was full of bandits and most would take armed soldiers if they were carrying valuables.  Ezra’s team was carrying lots of valuables.  In fact, the weight of gold was nearly 4 tons and the silver was nearly 25 tons!  This did not count all the gold and silver vessels that had originally been taken from the Temple and were given by the king of Persia for the restoration.  (Ezra 8:24-27)

Ezra called his team together for a fast to humble themselves and petition the God of heaven for a safe journey.  He had told the king that the hand of God was upon them and now he knew that they must trust God by faith to protect them.  (Ezra 8:21-23)  Ezra felt that to ask the king for soldiers would deny the God that they served.  God answered their prayer for protection!  All the people and valuables made it to Jerusalem and were weighed in at the temple building site.  The glory went to God!

Where God guides and His people walk by faith in Him, He provides abundantly.  As you continue your journey through life, remember to be dependent on the Lord each day for His guidance and protection.  We all could use “traveling mercies” for our journey!  May God bless you and keep you this day and make His face shine on you!  (Numbers 6:24-25)

Scripture reading for December 15th: Hebrews 11-13

“Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.  This is what the ancients were commended for.  By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.” Hebrews 11:1-3

One of the foundational aspects of our faith is trusting God as creator of all things.  God alone has the wisdom and power to create the universe or cosmos out of nothing with his simple command!  This particular aspect of faith is attacked in our land today by those who put their faith in the theory of evolution.  Evolution is a type of religious system that puts time and chance as key ingredients to finding the basis of beginning in all things.  A creator is ruled out and intelligent design is believed to be the simple product of chance or random happenings over millions or billions of years.

We who trust God and His word know by His revelation how creation began.  God simply spoke a command and it happened.   Faith trusts what we cannot see but what God has said.  Faith’s object is always God or His word.  God does not lie.  He is absolute truth and His word is also truth!  The Bible records a number of human beings who trusted God’s word and were commended by Him.  There is a portion of that list in the rest of Hebrews 11! I want to focus on just one of these ancients, Enoch, who was the seventh generation from Adam through Seth.

“By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death; he could not be found, because God had taken him away.  For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God.  And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who seek Him.” (Hebrews 11:5-6)

Enoch was known as a man who walked with God.  He was a prophet who warned of the coming of the Lord with His holy angels in judgment.  His only recorded message is found in Jude 14-15.  Enoch began to walk with God after the birth of his son, Methuselah.  (Genesis 5:21-24) The name “Methuselah” has a meaning of judgment coming when he dies.  The flood came in the year Methuselah died and he lived longer than any other man recorded in Scripture.  Enoch so walked with God, that he was snatched up to heaven without death and became a type of faith-walker that would inspire others throughout the ages!

There is no other means of pleasing God!  Jesus is coming again.  Will you walk with God today as if that were true and warn others about this coming event?  Your reward will be better than Methuselah’s!  We have a better resurrection in Jesus Christ!  (Hebrews 11:39-40)

Scripture reading for October 21st: Luke 1-2

Godly mothers are a gift from the Lord to their children and to the world.  I have a godly mother and am so thankful and blessed!  My mother has a close walk with the Lord.  She was saved when she was young and sought to live out that faith every day.  She was faithful to read her Bible and teach her children.  She was the Sunday School superintendent in our church as I grew up.  Now  86 years young, she still joyfully serves her family and others by cooking and encouraging.  She faithfully calls each of her many children, grandchildren and great grandchildren on their birthdays and sings to them!  What a blessing now and to future generations!

In our reading today, Luke tells the story of two godly women who are key players in God’s work of salvation.  Elizabeth is older and beyond the time of having children when God breaks into her life with a word from an Angel.  This angel came to Zechariah, her husband, as he was offering incense before the Lord.  He was told that his wife would have a son and his name was to be “John”.  (A great name!)  This son would go before the Lord in the spirit and power of Elijah. He would turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and prepare the people for the Lord.  (Luke 1:13-17)  As the angel predicted, Elizabeth became pregnant and remained in seclusion for five months.  Her husband was unable to speak because he had doubted the angel’s prediction.

The second mother-to-be was Mary.  She was a virgin, engaged to be married.   Gabriel, an angel sent to her by God, announced her favor with God and told her that she would bear a child who would be called the “Son of the Most High.”  Mary humbly asked how this could be since she was a virgin.  The angel told her that the Holy Spirit would come upon her and she would conceive the child who would be the “Son of God”.  Mary’s response was a picture of faith for all of us. “I am the Lord’s servant,”  Mary answered.  “May it be to me as you have said.” (Luke 1:38)

This new mother had the joy of carrying Jesus Christ from conception to birth and then raising Him in her home.  I can imagine her joy and excitement, mixed with holy fear at all that had transpired.  These women had the privilege of working with God to bring about His plan of salvation.  Their faith and obedience was a blessing to their children and families, I am sure.  But now that faith has impacted each of us and countless millions around the world!  If we could get a grasp of the significance of our faith, it would motivate us to serve with joy in the small things the Lord asks of us.  Let’s say with Mary, the mother of Jesus, “I am the Lord’s servant.”

Scripture reading for September 1st:  Daniel 1-3

Have you ever moved into a strange neighborhood and different culture where you didn’t even speak the language of the people around you?  Have you gone on a mission trip and lived for a short time out of your comfortable culture?  These kinds of experiences would help us to understand what Daniel and his three young friends experienced in their 800 mile trip across deserts from Jerusalem to Babylon for a relocation and re-education.  They were probably teenagers and were the best and brightest of the Jewish people of God.  They were taken into the culture to be re-programed to think “Babylonian” by being placed in the prestigious “University of Babylon” and given a rich diet from the king of Babylon’s personal chef. (Daniel 1:1-6)

These young men had had good training in their home and church community.  As young men, they would have memorized the Pentateuch (Books of Moses) by the time they were thirteen.  They would have read the prophets and would have begun an apprenticeship for a trade at that time.  Their character was shaped by the Law of God in the ten commandments and through Moses’ writings.  They also had dietary laws that were given to keep them healthy and set them apart from the nations so that they might be a testimony to the nations.  As they were taken into captivity and placed in a foreign culture, this godly character helped them to walk with integrity and reap God’s blessing and favor.

We see Daniel resolving not to defile himself with the food that was not allowed by God’s law.  He appealed to the one in authority over him to have a different diet.  Notice that he didn’t demand his rights!  (Daniel 1:6-14)  Daniel listened and was understanding and agreeable and respectful to the one in authority.  These wise ways came from godly character through the Word of God.  The result was God’s blessing and favor. (Psalm 5:11-12)  They looked better with the diet of vegetables  and water than the rest who had the rich food and wine! (Daniel 1:15-16)

Honoring God brought these men lots of additional blessings.  God gave them wisdom and understanding in all kinds of literature and learning in this wicked university.  They excelled above all others and no equals were found!  They were “10 times better” than all the others in the kingdom.  (Daniel 1:18-20)

It pays to live a godly life and to purpose to honor God and not defile yourself with things God forbids!  Godly character brings wisdom to live wisely in a wicked culture.  It gives us guidance so we might enjoy God’s favor and blessing.  We see that those who enjoyed the temporary pleasures of the rich food and wine did not profit as did the obedient Jews who ate according to God’s instructions by faith in His Word.  Take time today and allow God to show you how to live separated lives in this culture.  What things should you purpose not to defile yourselves with?  What should you be “eating”?  Remember the blessings of godly character and living by faith!