All tagged belief
I love the Bible verse we will contemplate in Philippians this morning, It leads us into the promise of eternity in a wonderful way. But before we speak of it, we must first remind ourselves to concentrate on seeking Jesus more every day. Coupled with the idea of obedience and the increase in faith it brings, we should strive to live our lives just as verse 12 speaks...
My personal devotional reading this morning was centered on prayer and the church, and was written by Pastor E.M. Bounds. He wrote "just as prayer generates a love for scriptures and causes people to begin to read the Bible, so does prayer also cause men and women to visit the house of God to hear scriptures explained." So often we think that believers are drawn to praying after having attended church, but that isn’t necessarily true. We are drawn to God, and prayer, in many ways by the Lord Himself, and our hearts are softened to Him as we come to know Him through His Son Jesus Christ… after having heard the gospel of Jesus by any number of ways.
In reading Pastor E.M. Bounds this morning I had to think to myself that the two questions he asked of the church and its congregants were of great importance today... "Are our leading laymen examples of holiness? Does business integrity and honesty run parallel with religious activity and Christian observance?"
This morning we will concentrate on a miracle that occurred on the outskirts of Jericho. It is the story of Bartimaeus, another blind man that was healed after calling out to Jesus, and there is a lesson in it for both believers and unbelievers alike. . Here is the account of what happened that day:
05/24/2024
What do we do when the impossible prayer is answered? How do we react when we pray for a miracle and we actually get it? This is the subject of our devotional this morning, and my example has to do with the coming Christ... The promised Messiah. Jesus Christ was promised, but before he could arrive another would have to be born and prepare the world for his coming... That forerunner would be John the Baptist, and his birth would be miraculous, but even after his parents had prayed continuously for a child, and when faced with this miracle, his father doubted the coming miracle because the answer was outside the natural norm.
Where do we turn when we feel we are in trouble? What do we do that brings us comfort? Our natural inclination should be to pray. Prayer in times of trouble is more than something we are instructed to do; it should be our natural destination in response to any crisis. Prayer is our lifeboat when life’s miseries and issues begin to toss us about. Praying is not something we need to earn, or seek out, no, we are invited, not ordered nor rewarded, with prayer, and we are asked by God Himself to call out to Him in this way. If we do this then we will receive comfort, deliverance, and salvation from whatever is troubling us, and by allowing the Lord our God to do this for us it will bring Him glory.
Today's let’s talk about a topic that has nagged at me in the past, and caused me great fear to this day. Our subject is a loss of intensity in our relationship with God. Many people call this a crisis of faith and if we are not careful it can lead us into a total breakdown in both faith and belief. Our ultimate goal is to increase desire and deepen our relationship with God, and developing a deep devotion to His Son Jesus Christ is the way we do this. So how do we overcome these moments of doubt, and the times when our faith seems flat and its effervescence is gone?
My devotional reading on this day in 2016 was regarding the machinery of religion. E.M. Bounds used his daily lesson to speak of the heartlessness with which the machinery of our religion and church often operates. I, on the other hand, would like to speak today about the occasions when that machinery purifies itself in the word of God, and the blood of Jesus Christ; and how thus, having becoming pure and undefiled, it works wonderfully well. In this righteous state of faithfulness the product of our machine is love, grace, mercy, and forgiveness.
Today we are focusing primarily on what it takes to be a successful pastor by using the description of Caesar, early Rome, and a wicked man from Psalm 10 to make this point for us. But, whether we are pastors with much responsibility, or laypersons, and saints who are dealing with our own smaller worlds, this is a good lesson for us. Are we ready to turn all our thoughts to God?
The divine anointing to preach is once again the subject of our devotional message this morning. I find affirmation in the words of E.M. Bounds' when he says. "Growth, fullness of thought, and simplicity of preaching are the fruits of this anointing." Jesus could debate the scripture in the synagogue... and yet his message remained simple. Jesus could be tempted by Satan and not be deceived, yet his approach to overcoming sin was a simple one. Love thy God... Love they neighbor... Believe in me... Obey my commandments... these are all such simple concepts. He most certainly contained the boundless intellect of God, but our salvation depends upon very simple guidelines. These things are the message of anointed preachers.
This morning we will study the topic of faith, and as I read Bounds' words about Jesus praying for the faith of Simon Peter, I was struck by his observation that "He knew that when faith breaks down, the various foundations of spiritual life give way too."
Do you deny the sin within you? Do you say to others that you are a moral man, a good man, and that you harm no one? Do you argue that your morality makes you righteous? My response to you is that you have no idea what sin truly is... or else you are deceiving yourself. Let’s look into this further.
Are we struggling with whether we will give ourselves completely to Jesus, and fully believe in God? Have we been reasoning and reading scripture without moving an inch closer to believing? If so, then we should quit listening to your own intellect, calm ourselves, and then open our ears to the still small voice of God that calls us to “Come.” Hearing God isn’t a matter of intellectual reasoning on our part; it is being inexplicably drawn by the Lord.
Are You Facing trials in your life right now? Does it feel like God has abandoned you and let the world have its way with you? Well praise God for where you are right now because in your misery He is expanding the beam of our faith. It is in such times that our faith isn’t tested... it is stretched as we reach desperately for His hand. The disciples of Jesus had just failed... they had been unable to cast a devil out of a child. They were feeling sorry for themselves and with their faces drooping, they asked Jesus why they hadn’t succeeded, and He said it was because of their unbelief. They were about to be stretched.
We all have touchstones in our lives by which we measure ourselves and the quality of our lives; those people, places, and events that we consider to represent our ideal. Is Jesus the touchstone of all touchstones in your life? Do you measure all else, even your other touchstones based on Him?