Faith and Understanding

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The Scriptures say that God accepted Abraham because Abraham had faith.   And so, you should understand that everyone who has faith is a child of Abraham.   Long ago the Scriptures said God would accept the Gentiles because of their faith. This is why God told Abraham the good news that all nations would be blessed because of him.  This means everyone who has faith will share in the blessings given to Abraham because of his faith.

Galatians 3:6-9

Do you understand the deep theological teachings of Scripture or do you believe in and trust Jesus.  Of course, you can do both, but it is really tempting to substitute "understanding" for faith!  There are even doctorate degrees available for those who study and come to "understand" justification, sanctification, grace, the will of God, and the numerous possible "End Times" scenarios. 

But there is no diploma for those who have FAITH!  Faith is honored by God, not by men.  Faith means you believe the things that Jesus said and the other Words recorded in Scripture.  Faith means that you expect God to accomplish the things that He said He would do. 

Every moment of every day you have a choice.  The choice is this: Will you live by FAITH or will you walk by sight?  Of course, FAITH is necessary in the big decisions of life, but FAITH is seriously important during the mundane moments of your day.  What you think about and do when no other human being knows or is watching, is the real test of your faith.  Trusting God when nobody else knows you are trusting Him removes any doubt that you may be "trusting God" to impress other people! 

You may have a college degree because of your understanding, but you will have an Eternity with Jesus in Heaven because of your FAITH!

"Lord Jesus, thank You helping me understand more about You but Lord, like a little child I choose to believe every Word that comes from You.  And may You be praised forever!  Amen."

Shine Forever Like the Stars!

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Michael, the chief of the angels, is the protector of your people, and he will come at a time of terrible suffering, the worst in all of history. And your people who have their names written in The Book will be protected.  Many of those who lie dead in the ground will rise from death. Some of them will be given eternal life, and others will receive nothing but eternal shame and disgrace.  Everyone who has been wise will shine as bright as the sky above, and everyone who has led others to please God will shine forever like the stars.

Daniel, I now command you to keep the message of this book secret until the end of time, even though many people will go everywhere, searching for the knowledge to be found in it.

Daniel 12:1-4

If I could encourage you to do one thing in your life, it would be that you would please God by the way you live your life!  Yes it is true that God wants you to be happy, but the other side of that coin is that you can make God happy!  The joy that comes from love is seeing the object of that love blessed by your actions! 

The richest man on earth is the man who despite his lack of material goods and even good health can rest in peace with the joy of the Lord in his heart as he trusts completely in his Father in Heaven.  The prosperity of this man is beyond the imagination of those who depend on gold and silver for their measure of wealth. 

So the question that I must consider in every decision I make is this: What step can I take  that will "bless God" and make Him happy?  When I focus on His joy and not my own, I can move through the "good times" and the bad with peace in my heart and a certainty that all is indeed well! 

If I succeed at giving God pleasure, I can fail at everything else and it does not matter!  And according to these verses God is pleased when I encourage you to please Him as well! 

"Lord Jesus, I have been so very much concerned with my own happiness and so little with Yours.  Help me today to do at least one thing that brings You pleasure.  And may You be praised forever.  Amen."

The Ultimate Warrior!

Then I was told:

These words are true and can be trusted. The Lord God controls the spirits of his prophets, and he is the one who sent his angel to show his servants what must happen very soon. Remember, I am coming soon! God will bless everyone who pays attention to the message of this book.

Revelation 22:6-7

I recently heard a rather well known person declare "if that is what a Christian is like, then I am not a Christian!"   We harshly judge those who themselves pass judgment on sins that to us don't seem "too bad."  We found the verse that says "God is love" and then defined the word "love" to mean whatever nice and pleasant thing we want it to be. 

We completely ignore the fact that God is the same yesterday, today and forever.  So when something was to Him an abomination in the Old Testament Scriptures, there is no indication that He has changed His mind! 

It is the Garden of Eden all over again as Satan, in clever disguise, tells you that God really didn't mean it when He said . . . . . . . . .!  The Devil goes on to say that sin is really not as bad as God makes it out to be. 

Do you remember the time that God told His people to destroy, in the battle for Jericho, all the men, women and children?  I found a list of those instances when God directed the killing of multitudes of people.  The list was compiled by those who oppose God because of what they deem to be cruelty on His part. I think those who love God and are followers of Jesus Christ should look at that list and consider who God is and the things that He considers to be abominations!

The bottom line is this: Pay attention to the message of the Bible!  Don't edit the Word of God to fit your opinion about what God should be like!  God is God and He never changes! 

A loving and gentle father who plays with his children may also be the man who fought bravely and fiercely in battle and won the Congressional Medal of Honor as he wiped out the enemy.  The complete man is both the gentle father and the unstoppable warrior.  Almighty God is both a gentle Father and the ultimate Warrior! 

"Lord Jesus, give me eyes to see You for all You are, not just what I want You to be!  And may You be praised forever!  Amen."

Complete, Steady, Strong, and Firm!

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Be humble in the presence of God's mighty power, and he will honor you when the time comes.  God cares for you, so turn all your worries over to him.

Be on your guard and stay awake. Your enemy, the devil, is like a roaring lion, sneaking around to find someone to attack.  But you must resist the devil and stay strong in your faith. You know that all over the world the Lord's followers are suffering just as you are.  But God shows undeserved kindness to everyone. That's why he appointed Christ Jesus to choose you to share in his eternal glory. You will suffer for a while, but God will make you complete, steady, strong, and firm.  God will be in control forever! Amen.

1 Peter 5:6-11

Every day I must remind myself that Heaven is real and that Jesus really is coming again to take His people to live with Him forever! Even though we suffer here, God will make us "complete, steady, strong, and firm." Like the little boy who gave Jesus his lunch, when we give our lives to Him, He multiplies what we have and feeds thousands!

My job on this earth is to trust Jesus. I must trust Jesus if I have an abundance of this world's goods, and I must trust Jesus if I am in desperate need. I must make it my goal in life to trust Jesus completely up until the time that and even while I am taking my final breath.

God wants to make you "complete, steady, strong, and firm" today! He wants you to be a man or woman who depends completely on Him for everything in your life! And don't forget that God will be in control forever!

"Lord Jesus, what a day that will be when You burst forth on the horizon and Your glory shines over all the earth! Oh Lord, I pray that today will be that day. And may You be praised forever, Amen!"

What Does it Mean: To Be Like Jesus!

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Don't be like Cain, who belonged to the devil and murdered his own brother. Why did he murder him? He did it because his brother was good, and he was evil.  My friends, don't be surprised if the people of this world hate you.  Our love for each other proves we have gone from death to life. But if you don't love each other, you are still under the power of death.

If you hate each other, you are murderers, and we know murderers do not have eternal life.  We know what love is because Jesus gave his life for us. This is why we must give our lives for each other.

1 John 3:12-16

Many years ago there was a "new song" that was popular among young Christians.  The first words were: "To be like Jesus, to be like Jesus, all I ask, to be like Him!"  We sang that song with great sincerity and fervor, but I don't think we had much understanding of what those words meant. 

We thought about the fact that being like Jesus meant hearing from God every day and seeing the miraculous power of God around us and even working through us.  But we forgot about the Cross and dying for others.  The terrible suffering that Jesus endured was far from our minds as we proclaimed in song our desire to be like Him.

But as the days turned into months and the months, years, the years also turned into decades, we discovered that there was much more to being like Jesus than walking on water in a storm!  Suffering, pain and sorrow also came while we walked the "victorious" life of faith! 

Being like Jesus is like a mother who suffers terribly and even walks up to death's door to bring her child into this world.  Then she gives her life for her child every day until that baby is able to live on it's own.

Being like Jesus is giving yourself for the sake of others.  That is what Jesus did and that is what we must do to be like Him.  Will there be miracles and great mountain top experiences?  There may be some, but for sure there will be the Cross and dying to self.

"Lord Jesus, I very seriously and soberly ask You to help me be like You today.  May I give up my life today as You did every day when You  walked on this earth.  And may You be praised forever.  Amen."

When the Breeze Begins to Blow!

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The woman stared at the fruit. It looked beautiful and tasty. She wanted the wisdom that it would give her, and she ate some of the fruit. Her husband was there with her, so she gave some to him, and he ate it too. At once they saw what they had done, and they realized they were naked. Then they sewed fig leaves together to cover themselves.

Late in the afternoon, when the breeze began to blow, the man and woman heard the Lord God walking in the garden. So they hid behind some trees.

Genesis 3:6-8

I have never stopped to consider the fact that the Bible tells us what time of day it was when God walked in the Garden and confronted Adam and Eve with their sin.  It was late in the afternoon, when the breeze began to blow.  Was the breeze because of the time of day, or because the Lord was walking by?  Remember when Elijah knew the Lord was present because of the breeze?

Today, what are the evidences in your life that the Lord is near?  The Lord comes near His children both to encourage and to correct.  When you feel the breeze and know that God is near, you must stop and listen for what He would say.  Sometimes He comes near  to lift you up and give you the strength to keep on walking.  And sometimes He comes to convict you of your sin, as He did with the first man and woman.

It is still true today as it was with Adam and Eve that you can run from God, but you can't hide.  He will find you wherever you are.  So today remember when you see and feel a soft breeze in the late afternoon, know that God is near.  And then stop and listen for His Word for Today!

"Lord Jesus, may the breeze of your presence blow on my life today.  May I hear Your voice and walk with You every step of the way.  Amen."

Don’t Lean on a Spider Web!

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Our ancestors were wise,

so learn from them.

 

Our own time has been short,

like a fading shadow,

and we know very little.

 

But they will instruct you

with great understanding.

 

Papyrus reeds grow healthy

only in a swamp,

and if the water dries up,

they die sooner than grass.

 

Such is the hopeless future

of all who turn from God

and trust in something as frail

as a spider's web-

they take hold and fall

because it's so flimsy.

Job 8:8-15

Are you wiser than the people that came before you?  You may quickly say, of course because in this age of information and computers we have so much more knowledge available!  But knowledge is not the same as wisdom.  A wise man is not simply the one with the largest vocabulary.  A wise man is the man who uses his vocabulary properly in stating and pursuing the truth!  My grandmother used to say that some college graduates were just "educated fools!"

One problem with some democracies around the world is that they are often like an airplane flying at 30,000 feet and the passengers decide they need a new pilot.  So they have an election and pick the most handsome or beautiful and charming passenger to fly the plane!  You know how that story ends!

When you turn from God and take hold of a spider's web you will fall!  Truthfully, if you turn from God, there is nothing in the entire world that you can take hold of which will keep you from falling.  There is only one option for those who have turned away from God!  TURN BACK TO GOD before it is too late!

"Lord Jesus, show me how I might have turned my heart away from You.  And if I have, draw me back to You today.  And may You be praised forever!  Amen."