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Posts Tagged ‘Faith’

The Fear of the Lord is Recession Proof

Posted in Christian, Christianity, tagged , , , , , , , , , on April 17, 2009| Leave a Comment »

Ps 34:9
9 Fear the Lord, you his saints, for those who fear him lack nothing. (NIV)

Enough said? 🙂

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Being at the Knife Edge (of Faith) – Part 3

Posted in Christian, Christianity, tagged , , , , , , , , on February 22, 2009| Leave a Comment »

Continuing on from Parts 1 and 2…

I’ve been trying to explain why I feel that faith in our Lord Jesus is like ‘Being at the Knife Edge’ and relating that to Elijah.  Here are a few thoughts:

1) Genuine faith in our Lord Jesus is ‘living way beyond ourselves, it’s extreme living!’. The Spirit of God, if we listen intently and we obey completely, can have us saying and going and doing so much beyond our ‘natural man’.  Faith stretches us!

2) Genuine faith in our Lord Jesus is ‘choosing to give up control of our lives’.  Our ‘natural’ response is we want to keep control of our lives but in John 3:8 Jesus says ‘The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”

3) Genuine faith in our Lord Jesus is ‘a daily challenge, a daily battle’.  Faith runs contrary to our ‘natural man’.  Faith isn’t just the occassional one off event, faith is a moment by moment choice to trust in our Heavenly Father. God desires and deserves our full attention, our complete faith and trust in him.

4) Genuine faith in our Lord Jesus ‘finds out what we are made of’.  It challenges the very core of our being.  It seeks out the ‘cracks’ in our character and refines and conforms us to the image of Christ.  ‘For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son – Rom 8:29’

5) Genuine faith in our Lord Jesus ‘challenges and overcomes our fears’.  Within each one of us there is always the choice of faith in our Lord Jesus or fear.  ‘I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life – Deut 30:19‘.  Who are we going to serve?  Faith or fear? Like Elijah;  we can be living at the ‘knife edge of faith’ and then God allows something to happen that pricks or stirs or challenges our ‘natural man’ and we can ‘slide off the edge of that knife’ and start serving our fear and despair.

Let’s continue with the story of Elijah and see what happens.  Just to recap.  Elijah has run in fear from Jezebel’s threat.  He has ‘slid off the knife edge’.  He has thrown in the towel.  He has spat out the dumby (Gee, I’m not being very compassionate – however God is being very compassionate).  Elijah has collapsed in a heap.  It’s all too hard!  I’m all alone!  I want to die!  An angel comes and feeds him (twice) and sets Elijah’s journey to the Mountain of God.  The writer (ie: the Holy Spirit) makes it clear the journey takes 40 days and 40 nights so Elijah has a soul searching, flesh verses Spirit, wilderness experience before he arrives at the Mountain of God.  So now, as we continue the story, we will see if Elijah is ready to continue to be a prophet.  Is God’s prize prophet still down and out!  What is God going to do?  🙂

Let’s look at 1 Kings 19:9-19a
9 There he went into a cave and spent the night. And the word of the Lord came to him: “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
10 He replied, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, broken down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.”
11 The Lord said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.” Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake.
12 After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper.
13 When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave. Then a voice said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
14 He replied, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, broken down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.”
15 The Lord said to him, “Go back the way you came, and go to the Desert of Damascus. When you get there, anoint Hazael king over Aram.
16 Also, anoint Jehu son of Nimshi king over Israel, and anoint Elisha son of Shaphat from Abel Meholah to succeed you as prophet.
17 Jehu will put to death any who escape the sword of Hazael, and Elisha will put to death any who escape the sword of Jehu.
18 Yet I reserve seven thousand in Israel — all whose knees have not bowed down to Baal and all whose mouths have not kissed him.”
19 So Elijah went… (NIV)

Verse 9 reminds me so much of the conversation God had with Adam and Eve.  In fact, it reminds me of the conversations God has with many people (including me).  What I mean by this is, God already knows all the facts but He asks anyway.  It’s like God is having a councelling session with Elijah – “Where are you at, Elijah?”  “Are you there yet, Elijah?”  So gently and so compassionately does the Lord deal with Elijah. Elijah’s response in verse 10 indicates he is ‘not there’ yet. He has a ways to go.

In verses 11 to 13 we have Elijah’s famous mountain top experience with God.  God chooses to reveal Himself to Elijah in an awesome way.  Elijah is going through the final part of His restoration.  Elijah is having an intimate and direct encounter with the living God.  God shows him His power and might and awesomeness and then His intimacy through His gentle whisper.  What is God doing?  He is doing what He has done to many, many people.  He is saying, I AM GOD.  I AM ALMIGHTY AND POWERFUL.  YOU MIGHT NOT UNDERSTAND BUT I AM IN FULL CONTROL OF EVERYTHING.  MY WAYS ARE HIGHER THAN YOUR WAYS.  I AM!  I AM ALL THESE AWESOME THINGS (AND DON’T GET ON MY WRONG SIDE) BUT, ALSO, I LOVE YOU AND I CARE ABOUT YOU VERY MUCH!

So what is Elijah’s response?  Verse 14, it appears Elijah gives the same response.  Here is what I want to say about this.  Elijah’s auto-response to God’s question comes blerting out again but (my belief is) it does not have the same ring or the same heart or the same hold on Elijah’s life now he has personally experienced the awesomeness and the intimacy and the rejuvination and the revelation of His Heavenly Father.

So, finally, verses 15 to 18, God tells Elijah His plan and verse 19 Elijah goes.

So what did Elijah go through?  He was controlled by his fear and anxieties and wanted to die.  He was tenderly and supernaturally fed by an angel.  His sights and journey had been set to the Mountain of God.  He has gone through a 40 day wilderness (I believe, flesh verses Spirit) experience.  He has this mountaintop experience of the awesomeness and the intimacy of God.  He has revelation of the plans of God and he IS BACK AND GOING!

May the Lord bring you revelation about this story of Elijah.

Blessings

Steve

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Being at the Knife Edge (of Faith) – Part 2

Posted in Christian, Christianity, tagged , , , , , , on February 20, 2009| Leave a Comment »

Being at the Knife Edge of Faith (Part 2)

As I have mentioned in Part 1, the Lord has had me ‘ruminating’ over the life of Elijah.  In particular, Elijah’s response to Jezebel’s death threat where he runs in fear (1 Kings 19), after having such great faith and victory on Mt Carmel in defeating 850+ prophets of Baal and Asherah (1 Kings 18).

Perhaps now is the time to explain what I mean by ‘Being at the Knife Edge of Faith’.

In 2 Cor 5:7 it says we (ie: followers of Jesus) are to live by ‘faith and not by sight’ – this is what I am calling ‘being at the knife edge’.

Genuine faith challenges all of our natural settings and senses.  Our default, human settings are to live by ‘sight’.  In other words, we normally and naturally live by all of our human senses and judgement.  Also, let us not forget, our default, human settings are also heavily tainted with the sinful condition (our fallen nature) of living and serving ‘self’.  Jeremiah 17:9 describes the human heart as ‘deceitful above all things and beyond cure’.  Romans 3:23 says ‘all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God‘.  When we truly come to Christ, when we are truly born again, when we truly give up our lives to Christ, God transforms our default settings.  That is, we longer live for self and we longer live by what we see. [‘I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me’ – Gal 2:20]  We live by complete faith and trust in our Heavenly Father, being led continually by the voice of our Father.  [For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God – Rom 8:13-14] [My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me – John 10:27]  Day by day we are to walk in the Spirit.  [So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature – Gal 5:16] [Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit – Gal 5:25]  Day by day we are to have our minds renewed.  [Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind – Rom 12:2]

This faith living is a challenge and an opposition for our ‘natural man’ who wants to keep control of our lives and every situation.

Getting back to Elijah.  Even with the great faith moments that he had had, Jezebel’s threat struck a chord in his humanity.  Elijah lost it.  Something deep within Elijah rose to the surface.  Fear came in, instead of faith.  Elijah chose death instead of life. Like the contest on Mount Carmel, the Spirit and the flesh had a contest, but this time the flesh won (for a while).  Elijah had fallen.  Ah!, but God can use these situations to flush something out that can deepen intimacy with Him.  I am remembering Peter when he had a ‘human moment’ and denigned Jesus 3 times.  God highlighted the weakness, repentance came in, and a greater intimacy and committment came in.

I have much more to say about Elijah but let me leave you with these verses from Colossians 3:1-10:

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.
Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry.
Because of these, the wrath of God is coming.
You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived.
But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander and filthy language from your lips.
Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices
and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator

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Being at the Knife Edge (of Faith) – Part 1

Posted in Christian, Christianity, tagged , , , , , , on January 27, 2009| Leave a Comment »

Thoughts about Elijah Running in Fear – 1 Kings 19:1-4

The Lord has had me ‘ruminating’ over these verses in 1 kings 19 for several weeks now.  It seems the Lord wants to show me something.  Here are some thoughts about these verses.

1 Kings 19:1-4
1 Now Ahab told Jezebel everything Elijah had done and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword.
2 So Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah to say, “May the gods deal with me, be it ever so severely, if by this time tomorrow I do not make your life like that of one of them.”
3 Elijah was afraid and ran for his life. When he came to Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there,
4 while he himself went a day’s journey into the desert. He came to a broom tree, sat down under it and prayed that he might die. “I have had enough, Lord,” he said. “Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors.” (NIV)

Why would such a powerful and annoited man of God be fleeing in fear from an evil woman’s threat?

Well, it is difficult to say (with accuracy) why Jezebel’s threat had such a fearful effect on Elijah.  We know, for sure, that Jezebel was no match for God.  And we know, for sure, Elijah had great faith and power from God – he had just called down fire from Heaven to consume the sacrifice and had just put #450 prophets of Baal to death(read 1 Kings 18).

So this is THE burning question for these verses!: Why would such a powerful and annoited man of God be fleeing in fear from an evil woman’s threat?

Well, one thing is certain, Elijah ‘took onboard’ Jezebel’s threat and he had fled in fear of his life.  It would seem to me that Elijah has had a ‘human’ moment.  His humanity has kicked in, for whatever reason, and he is running for his life.

I’ve been thinking about Elijah’s words at the end of verse 4:  “I have had enough, Lord,” he said. “Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors.” Here, by the words we can tell, Elijah is really having a big crisis.  God needs to slap this guy about the head and tell him to wake up to himself – right?

Wrong, God really deals with Elijah tenderly.

1 Kings 19:5-8
5 Then he lay down under the tree and fell asleep. All at once an angel touched him and said, “Get up and eat.”
6 He looked around, and there by his head was a cake of bread baked over hot coals, and a jar of water. He ate and drank and then lay down again.
7 The angel of the Lord came back a second time and touched him and said, “Get up and eat, for the journey is too much for you.”
8 So he got up and ate and drank. Strengthened by that food, he travelled for forty days and forty nights until he reached Horeb, the mountain of God. (NIV)

God sends an angel to provide bread and water to Elijah for the JOURNEY.  What journey?  Wasn’t Elijah just running for his life (anywhere away from Jezebel).  I think so, for he took no provisions.  Now he has a journey!  Now he has a purpose and a destination.  And the destination is to the MOUNTAIN OF GOD! Woohoo!  Praise the Lord!

Did you notice the ‘forty days and forty nights’ bit?  Well it’s not an accident :-).  God cleansed the earth with rain for 40 days and 40 nights during the flood.  Moses fasted for for days and forty nights before writing down the 10 commandments.  Our Lord Jesus fasted for 40 days and 40 nights before being tempted.  This ‘journey to the mountain’ for Elijah was (potentually) a time of cleansing, a time of reflection and prayer and a time of subdueing and mastering the soul and the ‘flesh’.

Did it work?

To be continued…

P.S. I haven’t even touched on why I called it “Being at the Knife Edge of Faith” yet .  Maybe it has something to do with faith and humanity(‘the flesh’)?

Blessings

Steve

# In 1 Kings 18:19 it says this:
Now summon the people from all over Israel to meet me on Mount Carmel. And bring the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal and the four hundred prophets of Asherah, who eat at Jezebel’s table.” (NIV)

Did Elijah and the people allow the 400 prophets of Asherah (Baal was a male god and Asherah a female god) to escape?

My thought is no.  They were also part of the problem in Israel.  They have now become redundant because “The Lord, He is God”[v39]  Also, not killing them would have amounted to doing half a job.  Surely God would have rebuked Elijah for not killing them as well. Also of note is that these 850 false prophets were the ones that ‘ate at Jezebel’s table'[v19].  Perhaps a popular vocation in a time of famine 🙂 .  Seeing that the people came from ‘all over Israel'[v19] was the number for false prophets greater than 850?[purely speculation].  Perhaps I should have said Elijah and the people ‘put at least 850 false prophets to death’.

P.P.S. Did you read 1 Kings 18?  This is just something I found amusing in 1 Kings 18.  It’s when Elijah mocks the prophets of Baal.  Look at this translation of verse 27…

1 Kings 18:27
About noontime Elijah began mocking them. “You’ll have to shout louder,” he scoffed, “for surely he is a god! Perhaps he is daydreaming, or is relieving himself. Or maybe he is away on a trip, or is asleep and needs to be wakened!” [New Living Translation]

Perhaps your God has gone to the toilet – ho, ho, ho!

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Walking with God v1.1

Posted in Christian, Christianity, tagged , , , , , , , on July 15, 2008| Leave a Comment »

He has showed you, O man, what is good.
And what does the LORD require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy and to
walk humbly with your God. NIV
( Micah 6:8 )

—————-

The scriptures say that Noah ‘walked with God‘ (Gen 6:9).

What does it mean that Noah ‘walked with God’?

.

Let’s look at a few excerpts of some verses in Genesis chapters 6, 7 and 8.

6v13a God said to Noah… – 6v22 Noah did everything just as God commanded him. NIV
7v1a The LORD then said to Noah… – 7v5 Noah did all that the LORD commanded him. NIV
8v15a Then God said to Noah, 16 “Come out… – 8v18a So Noah came out… NIV

Are you getting my point? That is…

So walking with God is…

HEARING GOD AND OBEYING HIM

(THIS IS COMPLETED FAITH – FAITH IN ACTION)

Genesis 3:8 says about Adam and Eve
Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden. NIV

I believe Adam and Eve would have probably caught up with God as He walked in the garden (if they hadn’t eaten the fruit). So what had happened with their walk with the Lord? Sin and disobedience against God and His Word came into their lives. This brought with it guilt and shame and Adam and Eve hid from God (their friend). Their relationship and walk with God was broken. This is a very sad and tragic moment, Adam and Eve no longer wanted to walk with God (walking as a friend would do) in the garden.

Exodus 33:12b-14 says about Mose’ relationship with God
12b You have said, ‘I know you by name and you have found favor with me.’ 13 If you are pleased with me, teach me your ways so I may know you and continue to find favor with you. Remember that this nation is your people.” 14 The LORD replied, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.“ NIV

So walking with God is…

BEING HUNGRY TO KNOW AND OBEY GOD AND HIS WAYS

AND HAVING A COMPLIANT AND HUMBLE AND TEACHABLE HEART

(THIS PLEASES GOD)

Exodus 33:11a says about Mose’
The LORD would speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks with his friend.

Genesis 17:1b God says to Abraham
I am God Almighty; walk before me and be blameless. NIV

James 2:23b says about Abraham
He was called God’s friend. NIV

In Job 1:8 the Lord boasts about Job
Then the LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil.” NIV

So walking with God…

WE BECOME GOD’S FRIEND (ie: FRIEND OF GOD)

(GOD SAYS ‘LOOK AT THIS ONE, ANGELS, AREN’T THEY DOING GREAT!)

Acts 13:22b says about David
‘I have found David son of Jesse a man after my own heart ; he will do everything I want him to do.‘ NIV

Ezekiel 36:26 says concerning our hearts and spirits
I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. NIV

Walking with God is…

ACTIVELY PURSUING THE HEART OF GOD

(GOD’S SPIRIT COMES AND HE GIVES US GOD’S HEART)

Heavenly Father, my deepest desire is to walk with you. I am so sorry that I haven’t been pursuing you with all of my heart. More than anything else in this world I want to know you, I want to know your ways and I want to know your heart. Please help me to not just be a hearer of your Word (and deceive myself about my relationship with you) but a doer of your Word. Lord give me a new heart and put your Spirit within me. Help me to love and minister to others out of the overflow of your extravagant love and presence in my life. Teach me your ways Lord so that YOU MAY KNOW ME and I may be called ‘friend of God’. I pray that you will boast to your angels about me, In Jesus Name, Amen

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Faith (Part 4)

Posted in Christian, Christianity, tagged , , , , on July 15, 2008| Leave a Comment »

This is a follow on from the “Does God Really Know Us?” series of blogs…

Well, there are a lot of things going through my soul and spirit after a week of the Hillsong Conference. In a way, Hillsong Conference was excellent and, as I have said, there are a lot of things that have gone into my and soul and spirit and in another way there is a small distraction as I have taken many notes and it will take time to ruminate all of this input. You know ruminate?… Like the cows do…chew, swallow it, bring it back up again, chew, chew, swallow it etc, etc 🙂

I have been thinking about the following verses for months…ruminating…

OK, we know ‘faith comes by hearing the message, and the message is heard through the Word of Christ‘(see Romans 10:17) and we know that ‘faith without deeds is useless and dead‘(see James 2:20-26). We also know ‘we are saved by grace and not by works‘(Ephesians 2:8-10).

My First point: Merely hearing the ‘Word of Christ’ is not true faith!

Looking at Romans 10:17… ‘faith comes by hearing the message, and the message is heard through the Word of Christ‘, do we actually have faith when we hear the Word of the Lord in the true sense of what faith is or is this verse merely suggesting the vehicle in which faith comes? Let me explain a bit better, so we hear the Word of Christ do we have faith at that point? No we don’t! The best it could be called would be incomplete faith or unactioned faith or dormant faith or not-really faith 🙂 . Let’s cut over to James 2:20-24

20 You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? 21 Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? 22 You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. 23 And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called God’s friend. 24 You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone. NIV

My Second Point: ‘Actioned Faith’ brings God’s Friendship

I guess it’s like this, do we see the faith that we have in the Lord as a noun or a verb, faith as a ‘descriptive word’ or a ‘doing word’. I remember at the Hillsong Conference (Yes! It’s all coming back) Robert Ferguson spoke about ‘Bridging the Gap’ between who we are and who we are meant to be in Christ. He reminded us that the early Christians were called believers not Christians. ‘Christian’ came later (still in Acts though) to describe a group of people, that is, it was a ‘descriptive word’, a noun or a label. ‘Believer’, in contrast, is a ‘doing word’, an active word, a verb. Are we a believer and do we have an active faith in our Lord Jesus Christ or do we just sit under a ‘Christian label’, a ‘ticket to Heaven’ type of ‘dormant faith’. Well, if Hebrews 11:6 is true ‘without faith it is impossible to please God” (context – active and believing faith) were does that leave us?

Blessings Steve

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Prayer (Part 3)

Posted in Christian, Christianity, tagged , , , , , on July 4, 2008| Leave a Comment »

A small ‘word’ on prayer…

Pray and Don’t Give Up!

Have you ever prayed for something or someone and it appeared that nothing happened? (Haven’t we all) Perhaps it was a desperate cry for help from the Lord and it looked as though God was out to lunch. Are you praying for something right now and God seems quite silent? I want to encourage you… KEEP PRAYING AND DON’T GIVE UP!

In Luke 18:1-8 Jesus says:
18:1 Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. 2 He said: “In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared about men. 3 And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, ‘Grant me justice against my adversary.’
4 “For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, ‘Even though I don’t fear God or care about men, 5 yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually wear me out with her coming!'”
6 And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. 7 And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? 8 I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?” NIV

Notice the last verse, ‘when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?’ Prayer and faith are intimately inter-twined! We live in an ‘instant’ culture with instant solutions and instant gratifications. ‘God time’ can be very different to our time and the world’s time.

CONTINUE TO PRAY IN FAITH!

In James 5:15 the Word says:
And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. NIV

Has a (perceived) lack of a response from God had a negative effect on your prayer life and on your faith?

Do you pray less because of the lack of answers to prayer? Have you given up on prayer? I heard a wise saying last year at the Hillsong Conference

“If you want to see more people healed PRAY FOR MORE PEOPLE”

God is calling us to pray!

The results of prayer are up to God and not to us. God is ‘just’ calling us to pray.

Has the results of prayer (somehow) wrapped themselves into our egos?

If someone is healed because of your prayer do you take the accolades? No way! Conversely, do you take the ‘blame’ if someone is not healed through your prayers? No way! God is ‘just’ calling us to pray. Forget about past results! JUST PRAY!

Prayer makes a difference even when we physically can’t see the results. Genuine (God’s heart) prayer’ at the very least, changes our hearts into line with God’s heart but (I believe and I am sure many others believe) it does a whole lot more than that. It ushers in the Kingdom of God here on earth. The Kingdom of God is established here on earth through the prayers of His people.

KEEP PRAYING!

.

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Trampling Grace

Posted in Christian, Christianity, tagged , , , , , , on June 19, 2008| Leave a Comment »

These verses came up in a prayer meeting on Wednesday so I am thinking and pondering and praying about them. I have given them a heading but I offer them with very little comments at the moment.

Titus 2:11-3:8 (What grace does)
11 For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. 12 It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, 13 while we wait for the blessed hope — the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, 14 who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.
15 These, then, are the things you should teach. Encourage and rebuke with all authority. Do not let anyone despise you.
3:1 Remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready to do whatever is good, 2 to slander no one, to be peaceable and considerate, and to show true humility toward all men.
3 At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. 4 But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, 5 he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, 6 whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 so that, having been justified by his grace , we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. 8 This is a trustworthy saying. And I want you to stress these things, so that those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good. These things are excellent and profitable for everyone. NIV

2 Corinthians 7:8-13 (Godly sorrow brings salvation, worldly sorrow bring death – and guilt and shame and self condemnation)
8 Even if I caused you sorrow by my letter, I do not regret it. Though I did regret it — I see that my letter hurt you, but only for a little while— 9 yet now I am happy, not because you were made sorry, but because your sorrow led you to repentance. For you became sorrowful as God intended and so were not harmed in any way by us. 10 Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death. 11 See what this godly sorrow has produced in you: what earnestness, what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what alarm, what longing, what concern, what readiness to see justice done. At every point you have proved yourselves to be innocent in this matter. 12 So even though I wrote to you, it was not on account of the one who did the wrong or of the injured party, but rather that before God you could see for yourselves how devoted to us you are. 13 By all this we are encouraged. NIV

Blessings Steve

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Faith (Part 2.1)

Posted in Christian, Christianity, tagged , , , , on June 9, 2008| 2 Comments »

Proverbs 11:3
3 The integrity of the upright guides them, but the unfaithful are destroyed by their duplicity. NIV

I came across this verse this morning and, although I had a lot of other stuff to say, this single verse says a lot to me about being completely faithful to our Lord. We need to be people of integrity! We cannot mock God, or fool God. He knows our hearts and the intentions of our hearts. We cannot just serve the Lord with our lips but serve Him completely with our whole lives. Our God is a jealous God and a consuming fire and our lives need to be lives of ‘no compromise’ for Him(and no other Gods before Him) else our duplicity destroy us and our witness for Him.

Just a thought!

Blessings

Steve

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Faith (Part 2)

Posted in Christian, Christianity, tagged , , , on June 4, 2008| Leave a Comment »

You are my friend if…

John 15:14 (Jesus says):

You are my friends if you do what I command. NIV

How would you react if you had a friend come up to you and say “You are my friend if you do what I say!”? I ran this question passed my 11 year old son a couple of weeks ago to see what he thought. He thought it would be a bit of a ‘weird friendship’ to have someone wanting you to do everything they say. A friendship that would be a bit ‘one sided’ or ‘dominant’ or ‘unbalanced’.

Perhaps it would depend on who that friend was. I mean, how wise they were. How much they loved you and wanted the best for you. I would have to agree though, it is hard to imagine a ‘natural’ friend that would be so wise and loving and unselfish.

But what about if you were suddenly taken with blindness and you had to have someone walk with you and guide you and help you through the obstacles of life? They would tell you, “Go left”! “Go right”! “Walk faster”! “Run”! “Slow down”! “Watch out”! “Lift you feet higher”! etc, etc… and you would have to trust them and obey their commands.

I believe faith in our Heavenly Father works in a similar fashion. You see, there is One who is infinitely wise and One who deeply loves us and One who genuinely wants the best for us. He created us!

GOD FULLY QUALIFIES TO TELL US WHAT TO DO!

God wants to help us and guide us in all areas of our lives! He wants to walk with us and share with us through our good times and our difficult times. He loves us and wants to protect us (like the hen with her chicks – see the last blog) and He knows what is best for us. He has a plan and a purpose for each one of our lives. OUR DESTINY IS IN HIM and HIS PLAN IS IN US if only we will trust and obey Him!

In Ephesians 1:11 it says “In Him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of Him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of His will” (Eph 1:11) NIV

GOD DESERVES OUR COMPLETE TRUST AND OBEDIENCE IN HIM!

Psalms 23:1-4 says:
23:1 The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want,
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,
3 he restores my soul.
He guides me in paths of righteousness
for his name’s sake.
4 Even though I walk
through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me. NIV

Proverbs 3:5-6 says:
5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
6 in all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make your paths straight. NIV

I have been reminded of an old Hymn that says “Trust and obey, for there is no other way”…

Trust and Obey

Text: John H. Sammis, 1846-1919
Music: Daniel B. Towner, 1850-1919

1. When we walk with the Lord
in the light of his word,
what a glory he sheds on our way!
While we do his good will,
he abides with us still,
and with all who will trust and obey.

Trust and obey, for there’s no other way
to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.

2. Not a burden we bear,
not a sorrow we share,
but our toil he doth richly repay;
not a grief or a loss,
not a frown or a cross,
but is blest if we trust and obey.

Trust and obey, for there’s no other way
to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.

3. But we never can prove
the delights of his love
until all on the altar we lay;
for the favor he shows,
for the joy he bestows,
are for them who will trust and obey.

Trust and obey, for there’s no other way
to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.

4. Then in fellowship sweet
we will sit at his feet,
or we’ll walk by his side in the way;
what he says we will do,
where he sends we will go;
never fear, only trust and obey.

Trust and obey, for there’s no other way
to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.

Blessings

Steve

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