TRUE FAITH

 

TRUE FAITH

Mark 8:15 As they were crossing the lake, Jesus warned them, “Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and of Herod.” NLT

The disciples got it all wrong. They did not yet have the mind of Christ in them; therefore, they did not understand what He was telling them. They thought that Jesus was chiding them for not having enough food with them for their trip across the lake. They thought He was hungry and was disappointed in them for not being more responsible.

However, Jesus knew what they were thinking and had to redirect their thoughts so that they clearly understood what He was saying. We often find ourselves in the disciples’ shoes. We often read the Word and yet miss the point altogether. We assume we know what God is saying, but we often don’t get it at all. Like the disciples, we need to get our thinking straight. We need to listen to what God is saying without an agenda or our assumptions. We need to meditate on God’s words and wait before Him until we clearly hear what He is saying. Jesus was warning the disciples about the dangerous lives of the religious elite. He wanted them to be different than religious people. The religious elite were good at telling people what to do and how to do it without even trying to do it themselves. Jesus made it clear that people who don’t practice what they preach are to be avoided. True faith is a practicing faith. It’s not what we say that makes us right with God; it’s living out what we say that matters to God.

God judges the heart and holds us accountable for our motives and living.

GOD ON TRIAL

 

GOD ON TRIAL

Mark 8:11 When the Pharisees heard that Jesus had arrived, they came to argue with him. Testing him to see if he was from God, they demanded. “Give us a miraculous sign from heaven to prove yourself.” NLT

There always has been and always will people in the church who want to argue over one’s beliefs. They tend to want to prove that what they believe is true and that others are wrong. I used to be one of them. I just knew that I had the corner on understanding and that there was no room for anyone else to think differently than I did. I expected everyone to read the Scriptures with the same understanding that I had. I no longer am so foolish.

Arguing over details of understanding is a waste of time and energy. Seldom does arguing over particular points of the faith accomplish anything other than drive a deeper wedge between people. We simply have to learn to agree to disagree agreeably and move on for the glory of Christ.

These religious leaders demanded that Jesus prove He was from God. I think that we sometimes do the same thing. We get along fine with the Lord as long as things go well for us, but when things go sour, we begin to waver in our confidence in Him. After all, if He loved us, we wouldn’t have to suffer, right? The worse things get, the more demanding we get. We insist that the Lord prove himself and if He doesn’t, we often doubt Him and some even walk away from Him.

Jesus is the same in all our struggles and sorrows as He is in our good times. He does not change who He is just because our circumstances change. He is God. He is the same source of love, comfort, strength, wisdom, peace, and righteousness as He always has been. Don’t let the changing tides of your life shake your confidence in the Lord. You can trust Him always.

God never has, nor shall He ever, prove He is. We know He is who He is by faith, not sight. Never doubt in the dark what you know to be true about God in the light.

DEFILED THOUGHTS

DEFILED THOUGHTS

Mark 7:20-23 And then he added, "It is the thought-life that defiles you. For from within, out of a person's heart, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, wickedness, deceit, eagerness from lustful pleasure, envy, slander, pride, and foolishness. All these vile things come from within; they are what defile you and make you unacceptable to God." NLT

This is one truth that I have found to be very hard to deal with. God knows my every thought. I have to admit that sometimes I am not too proud of what I think about. It makes me uncomfortable to know that God knows what I am thinking. Some things that I think about I would never act out in my life; nevertheless, they are there and if I allow them to stay there they do affect me. I am thankful that my thought life doesn't control me, but it can.

The more we think about something, the easier it becomes for it to control us and determine our behavior. Who we become in life is directly linked to what we allow ourselves to dwell on. It is our responsibility to take control of our thinking. We can resist the urge to react according to the thoughts that cross our minds. How? By letting Christ be Lord of our lives.

When Jesus is in charge and takes control of our hearts, He takes control of our minds as well. He has the power to keep our thought lives in check. The more He is Lord of our lives, the less we lose control of our minds.

If you are having trouble controlling your thought life, I urge you to let the Lord be your Lord. Let Him take charge of it. Let Him help you to not become defiled by your thoughts. It does not mean you will never have another unholy thought, but it does mean you will not dwell on it to the point of becoming a slave to it. It will not lead you into sin.

IS YOUR HEART PURE?

 

IS YOUR HEART PURE?

Mark 7:14-15 Then Jesus called to the crowd to come and hear, “All of you listen,” he said, “and try to understand. You are not defiled by what you eat, you are defiled by what you say and do!” NLT

Jesus makes it very clear that what we say and do does matter to God. Many have the idea that grace will somehow keep us right with God regardless of how we talk or act. It’s simply not true. What we do and say can, and does, defile the soul. We need to take a deeper look at our lives and quit rationalizing our behavior and talk because we have accepted Jesus as our Savior and are now living in grace.

We dare not gloss over this. Grace never has, and never will, give us a license to sin. Paul makes that very clear in the book of Romans. A careful reading of Romans will dispel any idea that we may have that our sins do not matter since we are saved.

Consider for a few moments how you talk. If you are a gossip, talk people down, pass on raunchy jokes, use the Lord’s name loosely, curse, berate others, lie, etc., your heart is defiled. You are not right with God and need to repent.

Consider what you do. Do you participate in unholy things? If you would be uncomfortable being somewhere or doing something knowing that Jesus would be physically right beside you, you are defiled and need to repent. Never forget, even though Jesus is no longer physically on earth, He is spiritually with us. Jesus said, “I will never leave you, or forsake you.” This means that we, as His children, cannot go anywhere without Him being with us. He does not stay behind when we want to go somewhere where we know He would not go.

Examine your life today. Do the things you do and say defile you? If so, you need to repent now while you can and change your ways. Only the pure in heart will see God.

DON'T FAKE IT

 

DON’T FAKE IT

Mark 7:6-8 Jesus replied, “You hypocrites! Isaiah was prophesying about you when he said, ‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far away. Their worship is a farce, for they replace God’s commands with their own man-made teachings.’ For you ignore God’s specific laws and substitute your own traditions.” NLT

The bottom line is, we can’t be right with God and make up our own rules. Sadly, so many of us do just that. Instead of just listening to what God says in His Word and striving to live it, we adjust or change it to suit our tastes. God said what He meant and means what He said. The only way we can ever have a right relationship with God is for us to do things His way.

Some will not mess with the Word, but they don’t put into practice what they preach and teach. They put on a good front before others as to how spiritual they are, but their lives betray what they say. They may wow people with how well they know the Scriptures and be very persuasive in how they present it, but if they are not as real out of the limelight as they are in it, they are hypocrites in God’s eyes.

When our living does not support our teachings, our worship is a farce. God is not impressed or swayed in any way by performance. Worship that is acceptable to God is godliness lived out every day of our lives. It is a natural response to God from a grateful heart. It is a yearning to be near to God and to hear from Him as He speaks. Worship is humbly approaching God with a desire to be holy before Him. It is a soul in need of grace that knows that God alone is its source.

Don’t fake it. You are not fooling God. He knows your heart and holds you accountable for what is in it, the righteousness of Christ or a heart full of sin. Only the pure in heart will see God.

DROWNING?

 

DROWNING?

Mark 4:38 Jesus was sleeping at the back of the boat with his head on a cushion. Frantically they woke him up, shouting, “Teacher, don’t you even care that we are going to drown?” NLT

Maybe you know what it’s like to believe you are drowning. Maybe you too know the desperation of the moment and you are in a state of panic. Maybe you are there today. Perhaps you are drowning in the overwhelming stresses of living, maybe the bills are piling up, maybe you have health issues, or maybe the kids are really messing up their lives. Perhaps people are judging you unfairly and really making your life difficult. Whatever the reason may be, maybe you too feel like there is no hope or help for you.

In all likelihood, people are of little help. Some may mean well and try to offer you advice, but it doesn’t help much. Some may pray for you, but the situation remains the same. Some may help as much as they can, but it’s never enough. Some may try to convince you that they understand, but unless they have experienced it themselves, they don’t. Yet, in spite of all the hopelessness, we find comfort in today’s verse. There is Jesus.

The disciples were really concerned and desperate; they even questioned whether or not Jesus cared they were about to drown in their storm. Perhaps you have wondered the same thing. Does Jesus really care? Yes, He does!

We find Him in the very next verse getting up and rebuking the storm and immediately the storm was no more. He wasn’t fazed by the storm’s presence or size. He cared about His disciples and came to their rescue.

Now, He doesn’t immediately cause all our storms to go away, but He does promise to be with us and hold us steady in the midst of our storms. Sometimes we need the storms in order to get stronger in faith so they don’t go away as quickly as we would like. But, when we turn our storms over to Him and put our trust in Him, He helps us through the storms. Jesus alone is our only sure hope and help in the storms of life. Let Him help you and everything will be alright.

Just remember, on the other side of every storm, the Son shines.

GREATER UNDERSTANDING

 

GREATER UNDERSTANDING

Mark 4:22-25 “Everything that is now hidden or secret will eventually be brought to light. Anyone who is willing to hear should listen and understand! And be sure to pay attention to what you hear. The more you do this, the more you will understand---and even more, besides. To those who are open to my teaching, more understanding will be given. But to those who are not listening, even what they have will be taken away from them.” NLT

Everything that God has made known will be known and understood in due time. There are things right now that remain a mystery to us because we don’t have the spiritual minds to comprehend them. Some people have greater understanding on some things than others do, but no one understands all things God has made known to us.

The things that we do need to know we can understand if we would but listen to what God is saying. Listening involves the engagement of our minds as well as hearts. We must discipline ourselves to set aside what we think we know and be open to new understanding as the Holy Spirit leads us through the Word. Sometimes our understanding just needs a little tweaking and sometimes it needs a great overhaul. If we are submissive and want to learn, we will gain understanding.

Of course, understanding can only come through engagement in the Word of God. We must take the time to read it and meditate on it. We must be willing to sacrifice other things in order to spend adequate time in it for the Spirit to speak to us. Devotionals serve a good purpose, but they should never be the only time spent in the Word. They supplement our personal reading time, not supplant it. Far too many of us rely solely on devotionals for our spiritual food. If you do that, it will stunt your spiritual growth.

Understanding results in change of not only thought, but often action. The more we understand what God is saying, the more He will entrust us with greater understanding. If we do not seek greater understanding, we will lose what understanding we do have. This happens because without a growing knowledge base of the Lord we drift away from Him. Often our understanding is swallowed up by false teachings we buy into. And the downward spiral of our souls begins.

With greater understanding comes greater responsibility. God does not make His ways known to us so that we can put it in storage and pull it out when needed. We are to put into practice what we know and also share it with others so that they too can learn the greater truths of the Gospel.

ONLY GOD FORGIVES SIN

 

ONLY GOD FORGIVES SIN

Mark 2:6 But some of the teachers of religious laws who were sitting there said to themselves, “What? This is blasphemy! Who but God can forgive sins?” NLT

It has always baffled me how people who are so religious and knowledgeable about the Word can get so far away from what the Word says. These people who criticized what Jesus was doing were people who were teachers of the religious laws; they were like college and seminary teachers in our day. Their life work was to teach others the ways of the Word. They were highly educated men who should not have missed the point of all of Scripture, and that is that Jesus is the Messiah, the Savior of the world.

Being religious is the death trap of the soul. Having the right answers and missing the point is one of life’s greatest tragedies. The Church is full of people who are religious, but lost. Faith is having a vital relationship with the living Christ, not knowing a great deal about Him. Faith is not the dispensing of information; it’s living in Christ. It makes no difference how good of a person you may be or what you know about the Word of God. If you don’t know Jesus as your Savior and Lord you will go to hell when you die.

Most people have heard of Jesus and have some knowledge about Him, but they will carry their knowledge with them into hell when they die. Be careful that you aren’t basing your readiness for death on how good of a person you may perceive yourself as being or on what you know about the faith. A relationship with Christ can only be had through the embracing of what He did for us at Calvary, confession of our sins, asking Him for forgiveness, and committing ourselves to letting Him be Lord of our lives and changing us in any way He sees fit to make us holy before God. It also means that we forsake our sins and strive to do them no more.

JUST BE YOU

 

JUST BE YOU

Mark 1:17-18 Jesus called out to them, "Come, be my disciples, and I will show you how to fish for people!" And they left their nets at once and went with him. NLT

Simon and Andrew were brothers, and Jesus saw them one day doing what they did every day. They were fishermen by trade and were going about their daily business. As it often happens, Jesus came to them where they were at. Isn't that wonderful? Jesus found them. He initiates contact with us. He seeks us out before we seek Him out. It tells me just how much the Lord loves us and wants to have fellowship with us. I notice also some other interesting things about the disciples' encounter with Jesus.

They left what they were doing and followed Jesus. They did not hesitate. They did not debate the issue. They just followed Jesus and left behind what they knew. They didn't know what it would mean for them; all they knew was that they had to follow Him. Even though they didn't know much about Jesus at the time, they knew enough to know they wanted to follow Him. Sometimes we have to do the same. We may not know all that we want to know, but when He bids us to follow Him, we just need to do it. He will teach us what we need to know when and as we need it.

They were ready to give up all they knew to follow Jesus. It is only when we give up our all to Him that we find life.

They were willing to let the Lord use who they were when they followed Him. They didn't become who they weren't. They were fishermen and often returned to their trade later in their lives. Sometimes the Lord changes the total direction of our lives, but often He uses us just as we are. The Lord makes us who we are and will use who we are for His glory if we will let Him.

There are ways to serve Him no matter what we do for a living. God specializes in using ordinary people doing ordinary things to accomplish extraordinary things. It takes far more people living ordinary lives to reach the world than it does those who are especially gifted and in the public’s eye.

Just be you, let the Lord have His way with you, and see what the Lord will do through you.

IS GOD PLEASED WITH ME?

 

IS GOD PLEASED WITH ME?

Mark 1:11 And a voice came from heaven saying, "You are my beloved Son, and I am fully pleased with you." NLT

I have often wondered what if the Lord were to speak from heaven in an audible voice for others to hear, what would He say about me? Would He be able to say that He was well-pleased with me? Would He claim me as His own? Would I be pleased with what He had to say about me?

God was fully pleased with the life Jesus was living. He saw nothing in Jesus to cause Him to hesitate in affirming Him as His beloved Son. What does God think of us? I wonder. We identify ourselves with Him. We proclaim allegiance to Him. We live to serve Him. Yet, is there anything in us that would keep Him from being well-pleased with us? I wonder. Jesus didn't need anyone to represent Him before the Father because His righteousness was perfect. He knew no sin. But, we do.

Our righteousness is tainted by sin. We are not able to stand before God on our own two feet. We would not be allowed to get anywhere near God on our own. We must have someone to approach God on our behalf. We need Jesus who alone is able to be in the presence of God because of His righteousness. The closer we live to Jesus, the more pleased God is with us.

GIFTED TO SERVE

 

GIFTED TO SERVE

Matt. 25:15 “He gave five bags of gold to one, two bags of gold to another, and one bag of gold to the last—dividing it in proportion to their abilities—and then left on his trip.” NLT

The key point here for me is that we are given gifts and responsibilities based on our abilities to handle them and use them wisely. God does not give us more than we can handle well. Each of us is uniquely gifted and is able to do unique things with our gifts. No one else can be you or do what you can do. Regardless of whether you are largely gifted or gifted just a little bit, you are able to do what it is God has given you to do.

The more gifted a person is the more responsibility he has and the more expectations there are of him. We are to use what we have been given for the honor of Christ. We are to seek to bless Him through our usage of our gifts. We are to not hoard what we have been given or use it for ourselves.

The Lord entrusts us with our gifts and tasks and then leaves it up to us to be good stewards of them. He is always there to help us if we need it, but for the most part it’s up to us to put into use our talents and gifts.

Whatever you can do well, do it all for the glory and honor of the Lord and you will be blessed. Serve the Lord well and when He calls you home, you will hear Him say, “Well done thou good and faithful servant, enter now into the Kingdom of thy Lord.”

LET IN OR LOCKED OUT?

 

LET IN OR LOCKED OUT?

Matt. 25:10 “But while they were gone to buy oil, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was locked.” NLT

If you know the story, you know that there were 10 bridesmaids who were invited to the wedding feast. Half of them came prepared and had enough oil for their lamps and five didn’t. When the groom showed up those who did not have enough oil had to go and buy some while the others went to the wedding feast. When those who had to go buy oil arrived, it was too late. They were locked out of the feast and could not enter.

The Lord invites everyone to come to His wedding feast. His arrival is guaranteed and set in heaven. He commands us to be ready at all times since we don’t know when the time of His arrival is. Some think they have it all figured out, but they don’t. We are told it’s not for us to know; we are just to be ready because it will happen when we least expect it.

Most people who profess to know the Lord do not appear to be ready at all. They go about their business with little concern that the Lord may come for them at any moment. Their faith plays a small role in their lives. They spend their time and energy on pursuing the things in this life. They do not consider church involvement that big of a deal. They generally are pretty soft on sin.

We may or may not be alive when the Lord returns. No one knows when their life on earth will come to an end. We assume that we will live a long time, but so many don’t. Death is no respecter of persons or age. Death is but one breath away for any of us. If death were to come knocking on your door today, can you honestly say that you are ready to meet up with God? Are you dreading having to stand before Him and give an account for your life?

Don’t be foolish and wait to get ready to meet the Lord. The door of opportunity may soon pass you by and then it will be too late. Today is the day of salvation; seize it while you can.

ARE YOU READY?

 

ARE YOU READY?

Matt. 24:42 “So be prepared, because you don’t know what day your Lord is coming.” NLT

Are you ready for the Lord to come back? If He were to come today, do you know that you would be among those who would go to heaven with Him? Is there any doubt whatsoever in your mind about your readiness? If there is, you need to get things settled with God right now. You know whether or not there is unconfessed sin in your heart or mind. You know whether or not you have given the Lord the best of your heart or the leftovers. You know whether or not you have obeyed His Word to the best of your ability or not. You know whether or not Jesus is your first love and what you have done to show your love for Him. You know what you are doing to stay prepared for His coming. Are you ready?

Part of being ready is serving. The Lord commands us to live to serve. We are to invest our lives into others to help whomever we can to be ready, too. Are you doing that? Are you growing in Christ by spending daily time in His Word and fellowship? Would you welcome His coming with great joy if it were to be today? It could be today. No one has a guarantee of another day on earth. Jesus may come for you today. If you are ready, the mere thought that it could be today should excite you. It should be what you are living and hoping for. If you hope He doesn’t come today because you know that you might not go with Him to heaven, then today is the day you must get things right with Him. Tomorrow might not ever come for you. Do it now while you can.

Don’t let the Lord’s coming catch you off guard. Stay alert and stay ready at all times.

MAKE ME A SERVANT

 

MAKE ME A SERVANT

Matt. 23:11 “The greatest among you must be a servant.” NLT

We normally measure greatness all wrong. We consider great those who are the achievers, those who set themselves apart from others by what they accomplish in life. We look up to them and give them our attention and adoration as long as they continue to be great in our eyes. Normally these people are hard workers and disciplined. We recognize their dedication to their craft and put them on pedestals. Some of them have their names embedded in record books so they will not be soon forgotten.

The Lord looks at greatness totally differently. He considers greatness to be measured by servant-hood. He is saying it’s not so much what is accomplished that is important as it is what we do with our abilities. Most achievers draw attention to themselves; servants do what they do without concern for personal attention. Servants humbly go about their business without the need for attention. They know what needs to be done and just do it.

Servants are generally people who are motivated by humility and sometimes love. They do not consider what they do to be of any significance. They do not care about what others may think of them; they just live out their lives to honor their master. As believers, we serve the Lord with humility.

Jesus said that the truly great people among you are those who serve others. As we consider our own lives, we must look inward and discern our motives for what we do. If we seek recognition for what we do, then we need to change our attitude. Everyone needs to be appreciated for what they do, but great are those who continue to do what they do whether they are appreciated or not. If we do all that we do to honor and please the Lord, it doesn’t matter whether or not anyone else notices what we do. It is God’s opinion of us that really matters and He says that great are those who have servant hearts.

MORE LOVE TO THEE

 

MORE LOVE TO THEE

Matt. 22:36-37 “Teacher, which is the most important commandments in the law of Moses?” Jesus replied, 'You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important. ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the other commandments and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments." NLT

We read and meditate on this statement from Christ and more than likely shake our heads. We know that we fall so far short of doing this. We know it's possible; otherwise God would not have given it for us to do. We have to hang our heads in shame, because we just are not able to do it as a way of life.

To love God with all of our heart, soul and mind means that He is the sole purpose for why we live. It means that everything in our lives flow from our devotion to God. He overshadows our work, relationships, recreation, etc. He is on our mind from the beginning of our day to its end. All that we do is to first honor and glory Him. We may have moments when we can do it, but as a way of life? I doubt that any of us can honestly say we do it.

And then, to love others as we love ourselves? How many of us can honestly say we do that? I do know some people who I really believe do, but most of the people I know don't. We usually look out for ourselves better than we do others. We are more apt to sacrifice for ourselves than we are for others. We do seem to be better at this commandment than we are the first one.

The thing of it is: God is love and when we love Him first and most of all, we are then able to love others as we should. Our priority should always be to love the Lord. We should always stay in touch with Him through His Word, prayer, and the fellowship of other believers. We should always remain open to Him and let Him have His way with us. We should always strive to know Him better and seek to show our love and respect for Him in how we live and talk. It should be our passion to know Him better and live for Him better. If we love Him, we will want to please Him in all we do and say.

When we learn how to love the Lord and live in His love, we will then naturally love others and ourselves as we should.

ARE YOU ALL IN?

 

ARE YOU ALL IN?

Matt. 22:37-40 Jesus replied, "You must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important. 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the other commandments of the Lord are based on these two commandments." NLT

Have you ever loved the Lord with all of you? Can you honestly say that He is so powerfully wonderful to you that you desire nothing else in life but to love and be loved by Him? Let's face it. We rarely love the Lord in that way. We may have momentary flashes of such intense love for Him, but it soon fades away amid the many happenings of our lives. We try to love Him as we should, but we find ourselves acting in an unloving way. So, are we excused? Should we resign ourselves to being failures at love? I don't believe so. I believe we should continue to strive to love Him; we should continue to do those things that would feed the flame of love: daily devotions, faithful worship, faithful involvement in the life of the church, and faithfully serving the Lord in all we do.

We struggle with loving the Lord as we should and fail to love others (and ourselves) as we should. We fail mainly on an earthly plane because we first fail on the heavenly plane. We can't love others as we should unless we first love God and then ourselves as we should. Love requires respect. Until we respect the object(s) of our love, we will never really love. There are many infatuations that we think are love, but they aren't the real deal.

Love is best defined by God because He is love. Check out what He says love is in I Corinthians 13:4-8a. Love is not an emotion we feel at the moment, it is a life we live every moment. It is a connection with God that never comes unplugged. It is letting the Lord be the source of all we are. It is striving to be more and more like Him as we journey through life.

MANY CALLED; FEW CHOSEN

 

MANY CALLED, FEW CHOSEN

Matt. 22:14 "For many were called, but few were chosen." NLT

This is the story of the great wedding feast. Jesus used this story to teach us what it will be like when He comes back to establish His kingdom. This was a wedding feast and all the guests who were initially invited were too preoccupied with their own agendas to bother coming when it was time for the wedding to take place. The host of the wedding was furious with those who spurned him and turned to those who would come, those who considered the invitation something special and dropped everything else to hurriedly come.

The point Jesus made is that we should never squander our opportunity to be ready for His coming. We will never know when He will show up, and if we are not ready for Him, it will be too late. We should consider it an honor to be invited to be a part of His wedding party. It should be the number one priority of our lives. We must be ready so that at any given moment we can join Him.

Don't assume anything about the Lord's coming. He may come for His church, or He may come for you, at any moment. Live each moment as if it were going to be your last one on earth. If Jesus were to come for you today, would you wish that you had more time to get ready, or taken the time you had been given? Would you be spurned by Him because you passed up His invitation to be ready while you had it? If Jesus would call you home today, what would He find you doing with your life?

Many are invited into His kingdom, but few are chosen because most people do not value the treasure of a life lived in Christ. Hell will be full of people who waited one day too long.

FAITH: FRIEND OR FOE?

 

FAITH: FRIEND OR FOE?

Matt. 21:21-22 Then Jesus told them, "I assure you, if you have faith and don't doubt, you can do things like this and much more. You can even say to this mountain, 'May God lift you up and throw you into the sea,' and it will happen. If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer." NLT

The more faith we have, the greater our authority to move the mountains in our lives will be. There is nothing that can hinder us if we have the faith to move forward. Faith can be either our greatest friend or our worst foe.

Faith is our friend when it is a real presence in our lives, when it is actively working to draw us closer to God. It helps us to grow up and become more effective lights of grace in the world. It helps us to be able to handle whatever life throws at us with a calm confidence and unshakable peace. It provides for us a purpose for living and dying.

Faith is our enemy when we don't exercise it and give it opportunity to take root and grow in our lives. When we don't nurture it, we live in misery. To believe in God without living in God saddles us with a life without peace, joy, and no real hope. We try to justify ourselves with our knowledge of God, but we can't. We base our relationship with God on what we think we know, instead of with whom we know. We try to live without God influencing our lives and yet thinking it's okay since we believe in God. One of the biggest problems that plagues a Christian today is the thinking that we are saved and alright with God since we mouthed some words at some point in our lives. Faith that is a saving faith is a faith that changes the way we think and live.

Faith can be your friend or your foe. It's up to you. Make a commitment to nurture your faith so that it can grow in you and you will be able to command the mountains of your life to go away, and they will.

A HOUSE OF PRAYER

 

A HOUSE OF PRAYER

Matt. 21:12-13 Jesus entered the Temple and began to drive out the merchants and their customers. He knocked over the tables of the money changers and stalls of those selling doves. He said, “The Scriptures declare, ‘My Temple will be called a place of prayer,’ but you have turned it into a den of thieves!” NLT

I have often thought about these verses and wondered whether or not the things we do in church really please the Lord. We may not set up shop and do business in church, but do we make it a house of prayer? Often prayer together is more of a formality in a program than the heart of the program.

We have done away with our altars and rarely call people together around one to pray anymore. We focus our attention on performances and preaching and call it church. We tolerate prayer and grumble when we have to stand for too long while others pray for us. We look for places to hide when we are asked to lead in prayer.

We rarely have anyone encourage us to get on our knees and would not think of doing it ourselves because of what others may think. We have few prayer warriors because we don’t make praying together an essential part of our church life.

I am convinced that part of the reason why so many churches have problems and struggles is because they have forgotten how to pray and have neglected to make it the heart of what they do. If we are too busy to pray, we are way too busy! We won’t pray much at home if we don’t learn how to pray at church, and we won’t pray at church if we don’t pray at home.

Isn’t it about time that we change our ways and once again return to our knees? Nothing is going to change in the church, our homes, or the world until we do.

SERVANT-LEADER

 

SERVANT-LEADER

Matt. 20:26-28 “But among you it should be quite different. Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must become your slave. For even I, the Son of Man, came here not to be served but to serve others, and to give my life as a ransom for many.” NLT

How many servant-leaders do you know? Servant-leaders are people who are not afraid to get their hands dirty doing the things that need to be done with cheerfulness of heart. We live in a culture where it seems far too many of our spiritual leaders are content to sit in their pastoral roles and let others do all the manual labors and the serving of others. We pay our pastors and staff a lot of money and tell them not to worry about the busyness of church life. But, is this something we should be doing?

Having been a pastor for over 40 years of my life, I know how important it is for pastors to have time to study and meditate on the Word. I know the demands on his time to prepare and minister to those in need. However, I believe we do the people of the church a disservice when we deny pastors the opportunity to get dirty hands; we deny the people of the church and community the opportunity to see them serve. Leaders who don’t know how to serve can’t adequately teach their people how to serve.

If you are a leader in the church, lead by example. It is easy to delegate responsibility and retreat into our ivory towers. It is easy to hide behind the veil of meditative study. It is much harder to balance the time in the study with time in the trenches.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful to walk in on your pastor sometime and catch him on his knees—cleaning the toilet while singing to the Lord? I, for one, want to follow such a leader.

IMPOSSIBLE SALVATION

 

IMPOSSIBLE SALVATION

Matt. 19:25-26 The disciples were astounded. “Then who in the world can be saved?” they asked. Jesus looked at them intently and said, “Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But with God everything is possible.” NLT

Jesus had just dealt with a very rich man who had come to Him wanting to know how to be saved. He was a good and devout man. He thought he had all his bases covered, but he wanted Jesus’ affirmation. Jesus told him the only thing he lacked was to sell his possessions and then to follow Him. The price was just too steep. He left Jesus dejected. His riches just meant too much to him. The disciples were caught off guard. Jesus made a statement that they did not understand. He told them how hard, impossible, it was for rich people to be saved. Mystified, they then asked the Lord who in the world could then be saved. Jesus’ response put things in their proper perspective; only God can save a soul. There is nothing man can do to save himself.

Jesus did not come to help us help ourselves to be saved. He came to be our Savior. Without Christ in their heart, no one will make it to heaven. All the money, fame, friendships, or good works in the world will not save the soul. Anyone who thinks he can make it to heaven without repentance is believing a lie straight from hell.

It is not impossible for God to save anyone. Whoever humbles himself before God, confesses their sins, asks for forgiveness, and accepts Jesus as their Savior and Lord will be saved. God does not exclude anyone from the reach of His saving grace. He longs for all to be saved and will not turn anyone away who sincerely seeks Him.

BEING RICH; BEING SAVED

 

BEING RICH; BEING SAVED

Matt. 19:23-24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “I tell you the truth; it is very hard for a rich person to get into the Kingdom of Heaven. I say it again---it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God.” NLT

What was the point Jesus was making? I believe that He was saying that whoever is not willing to let go of everything and follow Him is not able to be His disciple. If we withhold anything from the Lord and let it hinder us from serving Him, we are not true disciples of Him. If we become attached to anything more than Him, we are in danger of not making it to heaven. Attachments become adorations. We tend to direct our affections toward those things we become attached to.

The Lord can’t have our full attention when we become attached to anything or anyone more than Him. He must be our first priority, our first love in life, if we are going to make it to heaven.

Is the Lord your first love today? If He is, you will not withhold from Him your life. You will allow Him to take you wherever He wants you to go and do whatever He wants you to do. If He is your first love, then you will value His role in your life more than anyone else’s. You will be willing to let Him change anything He wants to change in your life, no matter how difficult or demanding that change may seem to be to you. Again I ask you today, “Is the Lord your first love?” If He isn’t, you are not in the center of His will for your life and you will never be happy or satisfied until He is.

MARRIED FOR LIFE

 

MARRIED FOR LIFE

Matt. 19:4-7 "Haven't you read the Scriptures?" Jesus replied, "They record that from the beginning God made them male and female." And he said, "This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one. Since they are no longer two but one, let no one separate them, for God has joined them together." NLT

God is the perfect matchmaker. He knew exactly what man needed and thus He made woman. He made her as a perfect fit to fill the need of man physically, emotionally, and socially. Men and women are different because we need to be. We complement each other and supply what is lacking in each other for a well-rounded and balanced married life.

God made it clear that the life man and woman share is sacred. It is a life that is to be lived independently from their parental lives and independently from everyone who would want to mess up their lives. God warns us to be careful how we handle married life.

He warns us not to interfere in someone else's marriage. Let no one separate a married couple. This means that if someone is married, they are off limits. It is never okay to become involved emotionally or physically with someone who is already married. To do so is sin.

It is also never okay with God to let yourself become involved with someone other than your spouse. No matter how much you may think it is justified, it isn't. It is living in sin.

Married life is a committed life before God. The commitment must be to strive to keep your life together fresh so that love does not grow stale and tempt you to look elsewhere. If your marriage is struggling, get help while you can. Ask the Lord to show you how to fix it and to give you the desire to do it. Seek out wise counsel and strive to do what is right in God's eyes. He holds you accountable for it.

MARRIED FOR LIFE

 

MARRIED FOR LIFE

Matt. 19:4-7 "Haven't you read the Scriptures?" Jesus replied, "They record that from the beginning God made them male and female." And he said, "This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one. Since they are no longer two but one, let no one separate them, for God has joined them together." NLT

God is the perfect matchmaker. He knew exactly what man needed and thus He made woman. He made her as a perfect fit to fill the need of man physically, emotionally, and socially. Men and women are different because we need to be. We complement each other and supply what is lacking in each other for a well-rounded and balanced married life.

God made it clear that the life man and woman share is sacred. It is a life that is to be lived independently from their parental lives and independently from everyone who would want to mess up their lives. God warns us to be careful how we handle married life.

He warns us not to interfere in someone else's marriage. Let no one separate a married couple. This means that if someone is married, they are off limits. It is never okay to become involved emotionally or physically with someone who is already married. To do so is sin.

It is also never okay with God to let yourself become involved with someone other than your spouse. No matter how much you may think it is justified, it isn't. It is living in sin.

Married life is a committed life before God. The commitment must be to strive to keep your life together fresh so that love does not grow stale and tempt you to look elsewhere. If your marriage is struggling, get help while you can. Ask the Lord to show you how to fix it and to give you the desire to do it. Seek out wise counsel and strive to do what is right in God's eyes. He holds you accountable for it.

FORGIVE MUCH

 

FORGIVE MUCH!

Matt. 18:21-22 Then Peter came to him and asked, “Lord, how often should I forgive someone who sins against me? Seven times?” “No!” Jesus replied, “seventy times seven!” NLT

We think we do so well at practicing our faith. We listen to what our Lord says and strive to obey Him. We know that we don’t always get it right, but we do alright. We do better than many people we know. We must be a sweet aroma to God, right? Not necessarily. Jesus told Peter that what he thought was enough was not nearly good enough in God’s eyes. The problem wasn’t in Peter’s efforts, it was in his heart. What Jesus wanted Peter to understand is that the motives of the heart are the key to pleasing God.

Peter thought he was really being noble by suggesting that maybe they should forgive someone seven times, for the law only required one time. The law was more about justice and not forgiveness. Therefore, when Jesus suggested ten times as much as Peter did, He was pointing to a much deeper and better way to live. Jesus’ way is a way of grace instead of meting out justice. God will take care of the justice part; we are to act graciously towards one another.

If we are trying to keep score and noting how well we are doing, we are missing the point. If the heart is right, we will always do what is right before God with no regard for how many times we have done it, even if it is thousands of times. There is no such thing as resting on our laurels or stopping our obedience to God. His life is our way of life. It is who we are and to not live like Christ wants us to live is out character for us and should be unnatural. If we want to please God, we will always strive to do what is right before God. Period.

AGREEMENT IN PRAYER

 

AGREEMENT IN PRAYER

Matt. 18:19-20 “I also tell you this: If two of you agree down here on earth concerning anything you ask, my Father in heaven will do it for you. For where two or three gather together because they are mine, I am there among them.” NLT

One of the things these verses tell me is that it is good and even necessary for us to pray with others. It is good to be in our prayer closets alone, but if we never invite others into our space, we are hindering God from working on our behalf. There is great power in two or more people being united together in one heart before the throne of God.

It is important that when we invite others to pray with us that we agree together on what we are praying for. If our hearts are joined together as one, Jesus said that we will have what we ask for. Perhaps one of the reasons why we don’t see as many answers to our public prayers is that we often aren’t united together in what we are praying for. When was the last time you were led in prayer by someone who prayed for things that didn’t concern you at the moment? When was the last time you sat down with someone before you prayed and carefully discussed what you were going to pray for? I have to admit that I have often failed to join my heart with another before I prayed and while I was praying.

When we are praying differently, it does not mean that the Lord is not with us and will not answer our prayers. It just means that we deprive ourselves of the strength in prayer that united hearts have in prayer. It only makes sense to think that there is strength in numbers. Don’t give up on praying with others.

Jesus said that when we are praying together with others, He is right there with them. Isn’t that an awesome thought? We know with our heads that God is with us when we pray, but have you really grasped it with your heart? The next time you pray with someone, think about it. Jesus is right there with you as you pray! Every time you pray over a prayer someone has prayed on your behalf, Jesus is right there with you as you pray!

Maybe we should be looking for more opportunities to pray with and over others!

JUDGING ANOTHER

 

JUDGING ANOTHER

Matt. 18:15-17 “If another believer sins against you, go privately and point out the fault. If the other person listens and confesses it, you have won that person back. But if you are unsuccessful, take one or two others with you and go back again, so that everything may be confirmed by two or three witnesses. If that person still refuses to listen, take your case to the church. If the church decides you are right, but the other person won’t accept it, treat that person as a pagan or a corrupt tax collector.” NLT

These verses have been used and abused so often in the church. Because of our sinful nature and often spiritual immaturity, we have used them for our own advantage and agenda. Jesus gives us clear instructions on the right way to deal with sin in the church, but most churches either don’t understand them or they ignore them altogether. The purpose of Jesus is reconciliation, not alienation.

Notice first of all that this passage deals with private matters of sin between believers. It is about issues that affect personal relationships, not community relationships. We are to deal with personal issues as they come up so that they do not become issues that affect the whole body.

It is so easy to sit in judgment of another. It’s another thing to work with another with the intent of reconciliation. When someone sins against you, you are to go to that person in love and humility and seek peace. If that doesn’t happen, take one or two others with you who are spiritually mature and do so that they may be able to offer wisdom on how to restore peace between you and before God. If that doesn’t work, then the matter needs to be brought before the church so that the church can decide what must be done for the good of the body and individuals involved.

Also, before a person is judged to be in the wrong, the accuser must first be sure that his own sins are dealt with before God. Only the pure in heart should ever try to hold another believer accountable for sin.

Needless to say, everyone involved seeking peace should first of all be much in prayer so that the discernment given will be from God and not man. It is only when all efforts fail that a person is then alienated from the church’s fellowship. As long as a person is stubborn and too proud to listen to wise and godly counsel he cannot be a part of the fellowship of the church. When the will is broken and the offending party humbles himself before God and man, peace can then be restored.

I believe that applying these verses in the life of the church is needed, but it should be done sparingly. It is necessary to hold one another accountable for sinful behavior, but it is a very serious matter to remove someone from the fellowship of the church. We better be right before God before we exercise this step in the peacemaking process of the church.

BEWARE OF TEMPTERS

 

BEWARE OF TEMPTERS

Matt. 18:7 “How terrible it will be for anyone who causes others to sin. Temptation to do wrong is inevitable, but how terrible it will be for the person who does the tempting.” NLT

The world is full of people who make it their life to tempt others to sin. We cannot escape them. They infiltrate every area of our lives. They have become such a part of living that we scarcely recognize them anymore and don’t seem to care. We accept their presence and allow them to influence our thinking and living.

Think about it. Take note of everyone today who offers you some way to sin. Listen to the lyrics of the songs you hear. Pay attention to what you read. Look around you at work and take note of how things are being done. Pay attention to the ads on TV and the content of the shows you watch. Listen to what others are saying to you. If you take note of these things, you will discover just how much temptation to sin you encounter each day of your life.

It takes great determination to resist the temptations to sin. It takes a lot of prayer and exposure to God and His Word to have the willpower to say no. It takes staying close to the Lord to even recognize much of the temptations we encounter to lure us away from God.

It is a terrible thing to fall into sin. But it is even worse to be the one who leads others into sin. Stay alert and don’t let sin have a foothold in your life. And, make sure that you don’t cause others to sin along the way. There are people watching you. They notice how you live and talk. If they respect you, they will conclude that if it’s okay for you then they can do it, too. If you are a believer, then it is obvious how you can influence others to sin.

Guard your soul and strive to live a godly life always. Sin is a big deal to God as is being the cause of another person falling into sin. Terrible is the fate of those who lead others into sin. Terrible is the fate of those who fall into sin and do not repent. How we live does matter to God.

CHILDLIKE FAITH

 

CHILDLIKE FAITH

Matt. 18:1-6 About that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Which of us is greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven?” Jesus called a small child over to him and put the child among them. Then he said, “I assure you, unless you turn from your sins and become as little children, you will never get into the Kingdom of Heaven. And, anyone who welcomes a little child like this on my behalf is welcoming me. But if anyone causes one of these little ones who trust in me to lose faith, it would be better for that person to be thrown into the sea with a large millstone tied around the neck.” NLT

Faith is being simple-minded before God. It is simply trusting in God. It is that absolute confidence that God always stays true to His character and His Word. Faith is not letting the things we don’t know or understand throw us for a loop. It is enough to know that God knows. Faith is letting God worry about details and how to take care of us when we get into messes. In other words, faith is simply living in the comfort and security of God’s love.

Little children are reactionary. They sometimes react in negative ways that are not acceptable behavior in the world. They must be taught and disciplined so that they will change their behavior and attitude into a more acceptable way of life. If a child never learns and adapts, he will never mature to the point of fitting into life in the world. It will affect relationships and his ability to enjoy life.

Like little children, faith grows up. But, like all of us, there always remains a little bit of a child in us. He who forgets how to act like a child ceases to live. All joy goes away and all that remains is a miserable life waiting for it all to end. And, so it is with faith. We must never lose our childlike qualities of faith that enable us to trust and enjoy the life we have in Christ. We must get rid of the bad, but retain the good.

There is a grave danger for anyone who causes a child of faith to wander away from God. Anyone who leads a child of God away from God will be responsible for it. His fate will be such that it would have been better if he had never been born. Be sure that what you teach and preach leads a person to Christ and not away from Him.

ENOUGH FAITH

 

ENOUGH FAITH

Matt. 17: 19-20 Afterward the disciples asked Jesus privately, “Why couldn’t we cast out that demon?” “You didn’t have enough faith,” Jesus told them. “I assure you, even if you had faith as small as a mustard seed you could say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it would move. Nothing would be impossible.” NLT

How much faith do you have? Does your faith enable you to move the mountains in your life? Is your faith enough to help you overcome whatever life brings you? There is nothing in life that is beyond our ability to handle if we have faith in God. If we have absolute trust in Him, we will not lose heart, or hope. Faith shapes the way we think about life’s circumstances. If we lack faith we will be overpowered by life and live in defeat instead of victory. Faith draws us closer to God. When the tough times of life overwhelm us, faith makes the Lord more real and precious to us. The journey is often very difficult, but faith makes any journey possible.

Faith is rooted in relationship. A faith that is rooted solely in the brain is no real faith at all. Faith that will move the mountains is rooted in the heart where Jesus is. The more Jesus influences our lives, the more we trust Him in life. Jesus changes us from the inside out and that change enables faith to take root and govern our lives.

How much faith do you have? Is it enough to move the mountains out of the way in your life? Jesus said that just a little faith can make the impossible possible. There is no limit to the victories you can have over the obstacles in your life if you but believe in God’s ability and willingness to help you. Buckling underneath the heavy loads of life is simply a lack of faith in Him who can carry them for us. He is able to do immeasurably more than anything we ask for Him to do or for us to imagine Him capable of doing. Ask anything in the will of God and don’t doubt and He will do it for you.

WORTH LIVING FOR

 

WORTH LIVING FOR

Matt. 16:26 “And how do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your soul in the process? Is anything worth more than your soul?” NLT

There are so many whose only goal in life is to gain as much of the world as they possibly can. They buy into the lie that the more you get out of the world, the happier you will be. They become convinced that this life is all the life there is and so it only makes sense to go for it. Fame and fortune become their necessities in life. Live for today and don’t worry about tomorrow becomes how they live. Death is not a concept that is taken seriously as far as how it affects how they live.

Then, when their dreams are not realized, they have nothing else to live for. Life becomes a pain instead of a joy. Negativity rules the soul. Anger is not unusual. Defiance is common. For those whose only life is wrapped up in the world, they are disappointed and disillusioned. It may come early or late in life, but it does come.

Yet, everyone must somehow come to grip with their soul. No matter how much one may try to bury it, no one can go through life without dealing with it. What happens after death? Can it be true that there is eternal life? If so, where do I fit into it? Will I go to heaven when I die? Is there any criteria I have to meet in order to get there? If I don’t make it to heaven, then what? Is there really a hell that awaits me? Really, is gaining all I can from this life worth the risk of losing my soul? What if there is a heaven and hell?

Whether we want to or not, we must think about these things. Waiting until you die to find out if it is all true or not is not a good idea. If it is all true, which I know it is, then if you have not lived so that you are ready to die, you will go to hell. Life is not about gaining what the world has to offer; it’s about living in Christ so that when you die you will go to heaven and not hell.

Are you willing to take a chance on missing out on heaven? Are the world’s offerings worth it?