All tagged faith
Today let’s contemplate the rewards that come from God... what is His promise regarding them, how do we receive them, and what are they? This is a massive subject because God desires to heap rewards upon us both physically, spiritually, and in heaven. This was prophesied in regards to the coming of Jesus, and then made so.
This morning we are dwelling on praying during seasons of conflict. Paul gave these instructions to the Ephesians regarding being a Christian soldier, and they have served us well throughout the millennium...
“and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints,”
Ephesians 6:17-18 ESV
My devotional reading this morning had to do with the missionary commandment losing its true spirit and simply becoming the empty performance of a movement. In reality that is the peril facing the church as a whole. We can poke a tiny hole in each end of an egg and blow the yolk and white (albumen) from it, then place it on display for others to see, but although it still looks like a whole egg it is just a shell. Is this our faith, our church, and the relationship we have with the divine? Is this the state of the Church today? Perhaps we are seeing this manifest itself in modern Christianity. In the late 1800s, and early 1900s, Pastor E.M. Bounds warned of this coming… was he right?
As a younger man I was an avid fisherman. Most weekends, and often after work, I would either take my boat to the lake or stand on the bank of one of my favorite fishing holes casting a line. On the way to one such place, I would pass by an abandoned school house. This school was an old one room school that once held students of multiple grades and ages all together where they were taught by a single teacher. That one-room schoolhouse was eventually renovated and converted into a home. The children who once attended there can now drive by and read the roadside marker which has been erected to commemorate the building and the impact it had on this rural community. But as I think back on this method of teaching I marvel at its benefits, and how it resembled a church gathering.
This morning our thought and study is on being not only the children of God, but going one step further and having the heart of a child; or being childlike. Jesus tells us this directly in scripture when he says that unless we are converted and become like little children we won’t enter into heaven. Have we been converted and prepared in this way?
Trust and obey... What a message regarding prayer! We have noticed certain themes throughout our study of praying... trust, obedience, compassion, persistence, and consecration, among them. We learned that these are the tools of prayer. Then, as we exercised them in praying, we witnessed divinity, and received its products which are a flourishing of faith, holiness, righteousness, relationship, power, wisdom, understanding but most of all... a dispensations of grace and mercy; all of which culminate in our salvation, and an eternal existence with God. We have found that as we were taught to use these tools in our prayers we received the Lord’s peace, and the other products of His divine nature.
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...
I was reading and contemplating the words of Pastor E. M. Bounds this morning, and as I read his devotional message regarding the close relationship between faith and prayer, I drifted into thought on the subject. I thought about all the times my faith had been strengthened as I prayed and slipped into deep conversation with Him as His Spirit gave me remembrance of His Word. I contemplated the scripture that He revealed to me on those occasions, I recalled how my faith was bolstered as I had prayed in it, and how my prayers fed on my faith, and my faith was nourished by my prayers. Asking in prayer prompts us to seek, and seeking prompts us all the more in our asking.
I was reading and studying Psalm 107 this morning. It reminded me of the state of the world today. I have written on this subject before... Men not recognizing the miracles and mercies of God for what they are. We, as a people, failing to praise Him for His loving kindness, especially in the face of incredible devastation. Let’s look today at how we should praise God in all things, and without end. In this psalm the psalmist begins with a call to prayer by saying... “O give thanks unto the Lord, for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.” Then he goes on to give examples of God's provisions that occur every day and are worthy of our praising Him. Do we do this? Do we praise him in the storms?
Today is the last day of September and this morning's devotion speaks of the fullness and boldness of prayer. This year is passing by quickly, and we are looking forward expectantly as we wait for Christmas to arrive. We wait on many things of faith during the year, just as the disciples of old did, but let’s focus today on how Jesus told his disciples to remain in Jerusalem until the Holy Spirit came. They were expected to sit tight, to wait, just as we are expected to wait until we receive those things of prayer that we are anticipating. Our opening scripture today will be Luke 24:49.
How do we speak of Jesus and avoid speaking of prayer? With just a cursory glimpse into the life of Christ we understand the importance of prayer to Him. And how it fit into His relationship with God. One thing that impresses me about the prayers of Jesus is that they aren't prayers of inactivity. The relationship that He has with the Father isn't one in which He prays and then does nothing. In something as simple as feeding the hungry crowd with fishes and loaves, He prayed, but then He actively trusted in God, broke bread, and gave the food to the hungry...
Let’s consider the topic of "obeying God out of love" this morning. Love is a powerful emotion and leads us to our greatest heights. But unfortunately, when spurned, it has also causes some of our greatest pains, and failures as well. Fortunately, God never rejects our love or fails to recognize our obedience to His Word that flows from it. He rewards us, just as those of us who are in love do with one another; each longing to fulfill the other's desires, even if doing so comes at the expense of our own comfort or desire.
Shaping our character through faith and prayer is the subject of our contemplation this morning. A person of good character is a delight to the Lord and His presence in their lives leads them towards that goal.
The spirit of rebellion against God's Commandments is a rejection of His authority, however, God's grace will provide us with the strength we need to keep them. This was the subject of my devotional reading this morning. But, before we can examine the Commandments properly we have to establish their authenticity, and there is a verse in Romans that does this for us; boldly and without question.
Over the years I have had a reoccurring conversation with various people, pastors and lay people alike, regarding the maturity of today's Christians. The first question discussed is this; "Are our churches filled with babies, toddlers, and young children in Christ?" and then the follow up question asked is… "What would it take to move the church body towards maturity?"