All tagged faith
Are we like children before God, or are we walking in your own independent self-righteousness? Do we say, “I believe” and yet act like we are in control of our own lives? Maybe we have trusted God with our life at some point, but have since taken those reins back from Him, and slowly, over time, found ourselves walking totally apart from Him. Do we know where we are? Are we uncertain how, and if, we can come home again? Well, through Christ we can.
Are you struggling with whether you will give yourself to Jesus, and fully believe in God? Have you been reasoning and reading scripture without moving an inch closer to actually believing? If so, then quit listening to your own intellect, and still your mind... then open your ears to the still small voice of God that has been calling you to “Come” and which now asks you to determine what has brought you to this place. Hearing God isn’t a matter of intellectual reasoning on your part; it is being inexplicably drawn by His voice alone. So… what are you doing here, and will you come to Him?
The world is five sunrises away from Christmas morning, and the day we celebrate the birthday of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Thank God Almighty we aren’t still awaiting His birth but find ourselves celebrating that which has already come! As I do on the birthdays of my own children, I find myself reminiscing and thinking back to that day when Jesus was born and I hope that it brings the same tears to you that is does to my eyes. Jesus is with us always, every minute, day, and week... so I invite you to listen as I praise Him in verse, and to join with me by reading and praying these words of joyous praise...
Hearing the gospel and having it fall on fertile ground within us creates a need for its peace and joy deep inside that is unquenchable. Is this how you are feeling inside? Are you one of those souls in which the gospel of Jesus Christ has found a slight furrow into which its seed has fallen and taken root? If so then despite the season of life you find yourself in, you will be irresistibly called to tend it... time and time again, day after day, you will water and admire it until it begins to bear the sweet fruit of Christ. For all the others of us there will be only darkness and a withering spirit.
If you were to look around right now would you see God in everything around you? Could you look at the items in the room, or the trees in your backyard and say “God, how magnificent you are!”, or would you struggle to find Him? Seeing God in every aspect of our life, and in every scene, thing, or occurrence that makes up our lives, requires spiritual training, and a circumcised heart. How sensitive is our spiritual radar?
Do we have routine habits of faith? Are we made proficient in our faith by setting aside certain times each day to regularly read, pray, or just contemplate God, and Jesus? If not, and we are dependent on random thoughts to guide us and going to church once or twice a week to mature our faith, then we are missing out on a wonderful growing relationship with Jesus and the full power of God in our lives.
Do we have a plan for our life? Have we set everything before ourselves and determined what pieces of the puzzle go where, and started the process of fitting them perfectly together? If so, there is probably a nice spot for God, another for Jesus, and oh yes, let’s not forget the Holy Spirit, but is that really how our life is formed, and our faith is shaped?
Do we go about rationalizing our own actions while claiming to be a servant of God and follower of Jesus? Do we use the good nature of God as an excuse for doing just those portions of His Word that we agree with? Do we believe that this is anything other than outright disobedience and a lie we tell ourselves? If so, then we need to re-evaluate our faith and interpretation of His Word. God may not be forcing us to obey Him or do His will, but that doesn’t diminish its importance in the least. He expects us to obey Him to the letter without quibbling or doing so halfway.
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 Him for where you are right now because in your misery God is expanding the breadth of your faith. It is in such times that our faith isn’t tested... it is stretched as we reach desperately for His hand. Remember when the disciples of Jesus had just failed... when 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...
The hardest question that any missionary faces isn’t “can I go out and do this?”, but rather “is Jesus able to do this?” It all boils down to faith, and it begins with the faith of the missionaries themselves. Going out and reciting scripture can be done by anyone, but believing belongs to the disciple, and what is a missionary if not a disciple?
How do we faithfully live our lives? Do we seek excitement, advancement, or greatness as we pray, and do we ask God for these things in the same breath in which we ask Him for a deeper faith? If we happen to be a preacher in a small church filled with godly families, do we still plead in prayer for a megachurch and a television show that bears our name? Our faith is what leads us to sainthood, not millions of dollars; not all that is of the world, because these things are of little spiritual consequence to God.
The day after going to the altar and accepting Jesus Christ as our savior, Satan begins to work at us... will our faith withstand his onslaught? Believing is easy when we are on the mountain, but when we go back to the valley we must reach out to the Lord for help. So as a new Christians we should be prepared for this moment. In Mark 9 we read about Jesus healing a boy who had an unclean spirit and in this account we hear the boy’s father plead for Jesus to help them. In doing so this distraught father relates the boy’s condition and then begs using these words. “”.... But if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us."” Mark 9:22 ESV
Once we accept God as our creator and the God of our lives, and we have accepted Jesus Christ as our Savior and Redeemer, we receive by grace the gift of eternal life, but is that gift absolute? Is it a firm commitment on God's part? How about on ours when we receive it? The discussion of topics such as this can either divide us or bring us together.
Are you being tempted with Jesus Christ even today? In that temptation do you continue following Him, or do you turn away from Him and leave? This is a question Jesus asked His disciples at the last supper, and which is still valid today. Let me ask you one more question... when we give into our temptations are we saddling and shaming Jesus with our sin again?
Have you prepared yourself for the challenges of faith ahead? Are you ready for the trials that lie before you, or are you totally out of spiritual shape? Be as Jesus was... ready for the moment of God's calling... be ready to join the Father in the race of your life.