Faith and Stuff?

”God has given a lot of faith to the poor people in this world.”

James 2:5a

It does seem strange that faith is a gift from God. As a child I was taught that faith was a measure of how much I believe. I cannot find that definition in the Bible. Faith is the evidence of things hoped for and the assurance of things not seen.

The truth of James 1:5 is seated in the fact that possessions war against faith. When you have many possessions you thing you have little need of the Lord. When you have few possessions trusting Jesus becomes a larger part of your life.

So why do we spend our lives trying to amass the stuff that is poison to our faith?

Have you prayed for the Lord to increase your faith, and then the stock market takes a dive?

The flesh tells us in no uncertain terms that if we can lay up enough stuff on this earth we will have no need to depend on anyone for anything, including God!

Set Your Mind!

Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

Colossians 3:1-4

What is the difference in imagination and reality? If something is real, then we can see, touch, hear or otherwise perceive it with our physical senses. If we deem something to be imaginary it is because we cannot touch, taste, etc the thing we imagine.

But the most important things in life cannot be quantified with our five senses. Prove that you love me. Show me your sorrow or compassion. Can you measure desire or mercy? They are all beyond our ability to study with objective measurements.

So when I set my mind on “things above” am I simply daydreaming and using my imagination to escape the reality of this world? Someone years ago described it this way, “He is so heavenly minded, that he is of no earthly good!”

That philosophy will drag any follower of Jesus away from the peace of God which can fill his heart and mind. The truth is that it is only the “heavenly minded” that are of any earthly good at all! It is only when you focus your mind of heaven that you can be of true value to those who live on this earth.

“Lord, fill my mind with thoughts of things above. Show me what is going on in heaven. Give me a glimpse of Glory! Help me ponder the praise that is heard before Your throne! Make my imagination Your drawing board that I may see You more clearly today than ever before!”

Garden of His Delight

The vineyard of the LORD Almighty is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah are the garden of his delight. And he looked for justice, but saw bloodshed; for righteousness, but heard cries of distress.

Isaiah 5:7

What does God look for in me and what does He find? Does God see in me what He desires or is it something else? When the plans for me were devised in the mind of God what role did He have in mind for my time here on earth? If God were to show me the “job description” for my creation what would it say?

The gifts that He gave me were not without purpose. The place He directed for me to be born was not without plan. The parents that were mine were not the random choice of God. It all makes sense to Him. The delight of a father for a child is the delight that God has for me. Here is where my mind cannot conceive of God’s ability. Even as God has plans for me and desires that I fulfill those plans He knows for certain the path I will take and the pain I will suffer because of my sin.

And yet God is faithful forever! He saw my sin from the beginning and made a plan to come as Jesus to personally pay the penalty for my rebellion against Him. The love of God for me is beyond measure or imagination. I joined the enemy and fought against all that was Holy and all the while God was planning for my return to the Father.

What can I say about God? I can praise Him and tell of His greatness forever and yet never even approach the truth of His Majestic reality. My ability to praise God is like a grain of sand on the beach of eternity. I say “God is great” but only see a slight glimmer of who He is. I see a shadow of His glory. A man could spend every waking moment of his life speaking praise to God and only touch the “hem of the garment.”

“Today Lord, in mercy and grace allow me to see a few more grains of sand on the beach of Your Glory. Open my eyes to a step of reality beyond the light of this world. “

Jesus Washes Robes!

"Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city.”

Revelation 22:14

Mankind lost the right to eat the Tree of Life because Adam and Eve ate of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. It was a tragic loss and the altered nature they received was passed from father to son all the way down to my own grandchildren. When Adam and Eve ate of the forbidden fruit it was necessary for God to separate them from the Tree of Life so that they would not live forever on this earth in their fallen state. Death came and cut short their lives.

Would it be safe to say that before the fall Adam and Eve had only knowledge of good and not evil? Before the fall they walked with God in the garden. Before the fall they had no inkling of embarrassment because of their nakedness. Before the fall their every thought was pure and holy and acceptable to God. With the forbidden fruit came the additional knowledge of “Evil.”

Knowing about evil never helped anyone escape its grip on their lives. Satan’s great lies continue today as we attempt to help people avoid destructive practices by educating them about such things as illicit drugs and sex.

Revelation 22:14 clearly says that the dilemma for mankind is that we wear filthy robes which keep us from eating of the fruit of Tree of Life. Sin has separated us from God. It is only when our robes are washed in the blood of the Lamb that we can have the hope of eating of the fruit of the Tree of Life.

The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil had the forbidden fruit before the fall of man and after the fall the Tree of Life has the fruit that we are forbidden to eat. Now we are not only forbidden to eat that fruit but we have no access to the Tree of Life unless our robes are washed in the Blood of Jesus!

The work that Jesus does in our lives is to reverse the effects of the fall. When we come to know Jesus we are ushered in to a relationship with God that is like the one Adam and Eve had before the fall. When this life on earth is over we will be given fruit from the Tree of Life so that we can live forever with Him. Praise His name forever!

A Chosen Fast!

"Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen:
to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke,
to set the oppressed free and break every yoke?"

Isaiah 58:6

For many years I have tried to find a specific link between the struggle to free people who are oppressed and being Godly. Isaiah 58:6 says that loosing chains, untying cords, setting the oppressed free, and breaking every yoke is “fasting” that pleases God.

How can that be fasting? Fasting is an act of denying yourself from nourishment for a time to honor God. How can freeing the oppressed be fasting? The answer is simple. When I spend myself setting the oppressed free I am certainly denying myself personal pleasures and even needs for the sake of those in bondage.

This verse is justification of the entire “Freedom” focus that America has trumpeted to the entire world for many years! And the blessings we have enjoyed must have come from our fast from power and oppression. America could have conquered the world militarily and forced many lands to accept our rule. We did not and for that we should be praised.

The greatest bondage and oppression is not being imprisoned and controlled by an evil government. The greatest bondage and oppression comes directly from SIN. Sin controls those who practice it like nothing else in the world. Sin has arms that reach around you and bind you in every way possible.

It honors God when I am “fasting” in the pursuit of breaking the bonds of sin in the lives of oppressed people. There is only one way to break the bonds of sin. When a man comes to know and accept Jesus the chains of sin begin to fall away.

Fast the fast of Isaiah 58:6 and you will be nourished with strength from above!

Bold Eternal Assumptions

But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare. Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness.

2 Peter 3:10-13

Now, let’s see. God said that the earth and everything on it will be destroyed by fire. But I am going to “SAVE THE PLANET!” Global warming is child’s play compared to God’s fire. When the day of the Lord comes “the heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare.” Are there any volunteers who want to work on stopping the destruction of the earth when the day of the Lord comes?

I saw a grave stone that had a bold engraving which said, “We will always remember you!” I thought, “No you won’t because you will die just like he did and your body will be put here in the cemetery just like his.” Our lives are filled with bold eternal assumptions that have no basis in reality or even in possibility. We will not live forever here. We will not save the planet and we will not thwart God's eternal purposes. The only power we have, and that power was given by God Himself, is the power to reject or accept the purpose of God for our lives. Beyond that we are powerless.

If God decides to allow the population of the earth to be decimated by disease we will not discover a “miracle cure” to keep Him from letting it happen. If God decides to bring famine on the earth we will not find a way by our own creative genius to stop His purpose.

But the bottom line for me is this. I can choose to be part of what God is doing on this earth today, or I can choose not to be part of that. Those are the only two choices I have. And having those choices is a sovereign gift from God Himself.

We often try to change God and His purposes instead of letting God change us and use us according to His purpose. Today be part of what God is doing around you!

Final Preparations!

"In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all peoples, nations and men of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.”

Daniel 7:13-14

When you have a great desire for something the time you spend waiting for it can seem very long. Everyone’s list of things they have deeply desired may be different but the need for patience is universal. A child desires to be a grown-up but must wait for that day to come. We all wait for Christmas, birthdays, celebrations, graduations, and all sorts of personal pleasures.

While you wait for that day to come you begin to think about it more and more. And as the day approaches your mind is dominated by the fact that the day will soon come. In the last days before a wedding the future bride and groom are literally consumed with final preparations for the wedding. Every waking and many sleeping moments are focused on that moment when they both say “I do” and begin their life as one!

Do you desire the moment when Jesus will return to earth? Do you really believe that the time of His coming may be very near? If you do, then let your mind and heart be dominated by the fact that the day of His return may soon be here. Make a list of those things you would like to do before His return and do one of those things today!

All of the things that you desire here on this earth may or may not come. They are not certain, but the Day of the return of Jesus is certain without any doubt. Jesus said “I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.”

These may indeed be the “last days” before the Eternal Wedding of the Lamb. If you are part of the Bride then let yourself be consumed with desire for that Day and the final preparations!

Keep looking up! He will soon come!