Tag: faith

Providing Light to Those in Darkness

Acts 26:18
To open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the dominion of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who have been sanctified by faith in Me.

Paul was sent before King Agrippa by the Jews in an effort to have him killed or at least imprisoned. Paul explained to King Agrippa how he had been led by an encounter with Jesus to abandon his efforts to oppose the message of Jesus of Nazareth and to then turn to a life of proclaiming the message of Jesus to the world.

In today’s passage, the Apostle Paul is describing to King Agrippa the directive and the message that Jesus gave him to bring to the people. The message summarizes for us the fullness of our blessing in Christ, but it also provides us with the responsibility that we share with Paul. For we are all called to spread the Good News that we have received.

It is not uncommon to hear and see people in all walks of life openly professing their disdain for Jesus Christ. People around us need to know and we need to be constantly aware that without our precious Savior, we are doomed to eternal damnation. The sin nature absolutely blocks any possibility that we would choose the light of Jesus Christ over the darkness of Satan. Fortunately for all mankind, Our Heavenly Father has a plan for all of us to overcome our frailty. Through His mercy, He provides a pathway to victory over the darkness in our lives. Through His perfect love and forgiveness, He has given us His Son to be Our Savior. Through His salvation plan, He calls each of us to participate in sharing His salvation story.

Let us choose the Light of the World. Let us choose to be lights to the world. Let us boldly spread the message of the salvation story. Let us insure that everyone around us knows that Jesus washes us clean with His blood so that we can bath in His light and abide with Him for all eternity.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for providing Your Son, Jesus, to atone for our sins and allow us to live in Your magnificent light for all eternity. Your Word tells us that there will be no need for the sun or the moon in eternity for Your light will be sufficient. We pray, Lord, that you will show us how to live in Your perfect light and share it with the world around us. Help us to become living testimony of the loving kindness, mercy and grace that you have provided to us through the sacrifice of Your Son. Father, may our Christian experience be marked by the light that we provide to those around us that are in the darkness. We ask these things in the name of the Light of the World, Jesus Christ.

The Ongoing Need to Honor God Through Worship

Genesis 12:8
From there he went on toward the hills east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. There he built an altar to the Lord and called on the name of the Lord.

Through our study of the Word, we find that Abraham was a forerunner in establishing a culture of worship. At the end of each of his journey segments, Abraham built an altar for the Lord from which he worshiped. He built the altars to set up and keep up the worship of God in his family. He maintained the ceremonial part of religion, the offering of sacrifice and he nurtured the practice of seeking his God. He preached concerning the name of the Lord. He taught his family and neighbors the knowledge of the true God.

Abraham showed us that the practice of honoring God through worship is an ongoing need. As he moved from station to station, at times unsettled in the midst of enemies, wherever he pitched his tent, he built an altar to worship Almighty God.

We can learn great lessons from Abraham by applying his worship principles to our own daily lives. If we consider each day a journey, we should conclude each journey by finding a quiet place to worship God. If our daily journey takes us away from our homes, let us not fail to take our worship practices along with us.

As Abraham did, let us establish a place of worship at the end of each journey no matter where we are located. At the end of each day’s journey, let us practice to separate ourselves from all of our daily activities and spend our time in worship with Our Lord.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for placing a desire in our hearts to worship You. We pray that You show us how to come to you each day to worship you in a manner that pleases you. Strengthen us and guide us, Lord, so that we are able to find a quiet place and time each day. We ask that the Holy Spirit help us separate our minds from all of the daily issues of the world so that we may focus on You alone. We pray these things in the name of the author of our faith, Jesus Christ.

Without a Known Destination Simple Steps of Faith Will Lead Us to Our Destiny

Hebrews 11: 8
It was by faith that Abraham obeyed when God called him to leave home and go to another land that God would give him as his inheritance. He went without knowing where he was going.

What an amazing example of living in faith is provided by the story of Abraham. It was a great step of faith for Abraham to leave his family and his homeland in response to God’s calling on his life. He did not even know where God was leading him. Yet he faithfully followed the path that the Lord laid out for him. And for his simple act of faith, he became the father of all nations.

Abraham was called out of his own country. He was called away from his family. He was called away from his father’s house. He was called from the only culture that he knew. It is not likely that God will ask us to follow a similar plan as Abraham. He is not likely to call us away from relatives, friends and acquaintances. He is not likely to call us away from the neighbors and neighborhoods where we find our comfort. In fact, it is quite likely that these are the places that He will call us to serve. But just like Abraham, we can be assured that we will be challenged in some major way by our calling.

In challenging each of us, God will ask us to take simple steps of faith. As we respond obediently, He will put before us the next step which usually will require a little more faith in Him and a little more of letting go of faith in ourselves. We may not become a father of a nation by yielding to our calling, but we will surely gain more than we ever imagined.

Let us step out in faith when we sense the urging of the Holy Spirit. Let us follow God’s calling even when we are not sure where we are going. Let us reap the harvest of our journey.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for having a unique plan for each of us. We rejoice in knowing that the reward that You have prepared for us if we respond to Your calling is beyond our imagination. We pray, Father, that you will give us the strength and guidance to follow the path that you have laid out for each of us. Even though we may not know our destination, Lord, may your Holy Spirit keep us steadfast in our journey to stand before you in the image of Your Son. We pray these things in the precious name of the author of our faith, Jesus Christ.

Our Final Destination is a Testimony to God’s Faithfulness

Colossians 3:2
Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.

As we move toward the new year, let us follow the instruction of God’s Holy Word and set our minds on things that are above in heaven where Jesus Christ sits at the right hand of the Father. Let us intentionally replace the images of sorrow, suffering, personal horror and overwhelming struggles continuing to pile up in the daily news from the world, and perhaps even in our own personal worlds, with images of goodness such as the the joyous images of the Christmas season that are fresh in our minds. Let us recognize that our current reality is in God’s future plan for us and not in today’s news. Let us grasp with hope and faith that God has a good and perfect plan for every broken person and for every painful situation. Let us reorder our thinking so that the power of Heaven can be released in our lives.

Know that it will not be easy to take the higher path. The pathway to fear and despair are easy roads directed downward by emotion and logic. Certainly the world will be ready to mock us if we dare to take the higher road when our destination cannot be seen with the natural eye.

Let us be strengthened by the knowledge that we are always secure in Jesus Christ no matter what is happening around us. Let us rejoice in knowing that our final destination will be our testimony of God’s faithfulness.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for the blessed hope and assurance that we have in Your Son, Jesus Christ. We bless His name for He is our anchor, firm and secure. We pray, Lord, that You will open our eyes so that we may see Your goodness in the dark world that surrounds us. We ask that the Holy Spirit renew and reorder our thinking so that we may align our thinking with Your heart and Your kingdom purpose. We ask all these things in the name of Our Hope that springs eternal, Jesus Christ.

The Supernatural Birth of the Son of God

1 John 4:9
In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him.

Christmas is the celebration of a spectacular supernatural event. Our Heavenly Father sent His Son to this earth so that we might have eternal life through Him. This event was one that could not be accomplished by the efforts of man. Only God could orchestrate such an act of love and supernatural endowment.

There are scoffers around each Christmas season who try to deny the great gift that has been provided for all mankind to receive. They try to logically dissuade others from having faith in the true story of Christmas. Yet to do so, they must try to make others believe that the God who directs the earth in its orbit, who feeds the burning furnace of the sun and who upholds the entire universe itself will prove unable to fulfill His own promises.

Is it possible that the One who hangs the world on nothing is unable to deliver on His promises to His children? Does He not hold the winds and the clouds and the oceans themselves in His hand? How can He fail His children? We have every reason to be absolutely firm in our faith.

Let us celebrate openly and with great fervor the birth of Our Lord, Jesus Christ. Let us freely share the love that He has manifest in us.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for sending Your Son to live in this world so that we may be supernaturally endowed with His presence in our lives and we may become heirs to Your eternal kingdom. We bless the name of Your Son, Jesus, who became poor so that we may have all the treasures of heaven. We rejoice in knowing that the Holy Spirit is with us each day to provide us with the peace that only Jesus can offer. We pray that as we receive these wondrous gifts that we surrender to the reign of Our Savior in our lives. May our lives become our love gifts to You, Father. May the world know us by our fervor for Our Savior. We ask all these things in the name of Our New Born King, Jesus Christ.

Take Care Not to Rush. Wait on the Lord.

Galatians 4:22
For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by a slave woman and one by a free woman.

Even though Abraham was approaching 100 years old and Sarah was approaching 90 years old, Almighty God promised that He would supernaturally open the womb of Sarah and upon the seed of Abraham He would build the nation of Israel. But Sarah and Abraham lost faith in the supernatural promise, so they sought natural, manipulated means to help God’s plan. Sarah allowed Abraham to sleep with their pagan slave, Hagar. Through the natural union of Abraham and Hagar, Ishmael was born. Thirteen years later, God supplied the supernatural birth of Isaac to Abraham and Sarah.

Because God promised Abraham he would raise up great nations through him, God had to allow Ishmael to be a great nation. But because Ishmael was the product of the natural process, there was no covenant with the nation of Ishmael. In fact, God told Abraham that “Ishmael will be a wild donkey of a man, His hand will be against everyone, and everyone’s hand will be against him; and he will live to the east of all his brothers.” The conflicts in the middle east today are the result of Abraham taking matters into his own hands.

The only covenant that God honored was the one that was of the supernatural process that He had revealed to Abraham. It was through the bloodline of Isaac that God built up the apple of His eye, Israel.

Let us take great care not to rush ahead of God when He has a plan for our lives. Let us seek the measures that God has set aside for our lives. Let us wait on the Lord for He will honor that which He blesses.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for the many promises that You have given us. We rejoice in knowing that You have a special plan for each of us. We pray, Lord, for the wisdom to wait on You. We ask for the Holy Spirit to guide us and instruct us in accordance with Your perfect will for our lives. We ask all these things in the name of the Keeper of Our Promises, Jesus Christ.

Boldly Proclaiming the Powerful Saving Words of the Bible

1 Corinthians 2:1
When I first came to you, dear brothers and sisters, I didn’t use lofty words and impressive wisdom to tell you God’s secret plan.

Persuasion is man’s means of swaying the thoughts of other fellow men and women. By nature and certainly by cultural pressure, when most of us try to persuade anyone on any topic, we are usually careful not to offend anyone if we can avoid it. One of the biggest mistakes that we make as Christians is to carry over this mindset when we talk about the salvation message with non-believers. If we are not careful, we end up manipulating the salvation message to please the ears of the listener. All the while, we are actually withholding from them the truth and the power that is in the Word of God.

The apostle Paul in his teachings to the Corinthians emphasized the point that the power to convert was not in fanciful speech. He knew that the people would not be stable in their faith if they were resting on the words of men and not on the power of God’s words. He also knew and taught that His teaching had no power without the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.

Be certain that Jesus did not come to earth worried about His message being politically correct. In fact, He stated clearly that His teachings would be sure to divide households. Know that politically correct messages will get no one into heaven, nor will they keep anyone out of hell. Only the Word of God inspired by the Holy Spirit and delivered by His servants produces the supernatural power that leads to real persuasion and conversion.

Let us be sure to boldly proclaim the powerful saving Words of the bible and not our own words designed to tickle the ears of others. Let us ask the Holy Spirit to prepare the hearts of those around us to receive and accept the Truth.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for the power that Your Holy Word has in transforming our lives. We rejoice in knowing that we are serving You and pleasing You when we share Your inerrant Word with others. We pray that the Holy Spirit will inspire us to be bold in proclaiming the Good News of the Gospel and direct us in choosing the right message for each time we are in a position to share our testimony. We ask, Father, that You prepare the hearts of those around us to receive the truth and respond to Your message of salvation. We ask all these things in the name of the Word of God, Jesus Christ.

Giving Thanks for the Greatest Blessing in Life

Ephesians 2:8
For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God.

During our recent Thanksgiving holiday now gone by, we all took time to pause and thank our Heavenly Father for all of the love, protection and provision that we have enjoyed in our lives. We may have even been humble enough to give thanks for our salvation. But did we take time to consider and give thanks for the awesome gift of grace that we receive from Almighty God each day? With the Christmas season of gift giving rushing toward us, let us be sure to add the gift of grace to our Thanksgiving list.

The ever flowing grace of God is what makes all the other blessings in our lives relevant. Not one of us would even accept the gift of salvation if we had not first received the gift of grace. Our sinful, human nature without the grace of God is simply incapable of accepting the idea that a Savior is needed for entry into the eternal kingdom of God. The greatest blessing that we receive in life, for which we should give thanks every day, is the supernatural grace that we are provided which allows us to acknowledge that we are destitute without Our Savior and we are powerless without His presence in our lives.

With the cherished moments of our Thanksgiving holiday fading away, let us take the opportunity to give thanks for the supernatural gift of God’s grace. Let us always be mindful that only through the grace of God and the inspiration of the Holy Spirit that our eyes are opened and our hearts are prepared so that we can see and accept the way, the truth and the life that is in Jesus Christ.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we give thanks today for Your ever flowing gift of grace. We pray, Lord, that we will be acutely aware of how far we fall short of Your glory without Your grace. May our hunger for Your grace release the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives. May the Holy Spirit lift us up into the fullness of our lives in Christ. May the world know us by the fruit that we bear because of our acceptance of Your grace. We ask all these things in the name of the One who is the ultimate evidence of Your grace, Your Son, Jesus Christ.

Letting God Handle Our Annoyances in the Courts of Heaven

Psalm 123:3
Have mercy upon us, O LORD, have mercy upon us, for we have had more than enough of contempt.

Every day the world around us seems to get more contentious and contemptuous. Webster defines contempt as “feeling that a person or a thing is beneath consideration, worthless, or deserving scorn.” We see dramatic outpourings of contempt in the news and throughout social media. We certainly recognize the contempt that unbelievers often have for our faith as disciples of Jesus Christ. As a result of the contempt that we encounter, hopefully we are quick to ask the Lord to open the eyes of those around us so that their scorn for us is replaced by a desire to learn from us the way, the truth and the life that we have in Jesus. But is that the case?

When we are out in the world, how are we reacting to those that annoy us? Are we taking an intercessory path or are we treating them with contempt? Are we losing our testimony because of an ugly glare or quick nasty comment that destroys our message of salvation? Are we leaving the world with a taste of our nasty attitude instead of the love of the One who we have accepted as Our Savior?

Let us be fully aware that the world is filled with contempt, but as Christians we are not of this world. Let us refuse to be swamped by the cares and challenges of life. Let us turn over the annoyances that we run into in the world and let God handle them in the courts of heaven. Let us ask the Lord to give us discernment in all things so that we are known by our intercession and not by our criticism. Let us exchange our contempt for others with our loving care for others.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for Your mercy that You have extended to us so that we may be able to extend mercy to others. We praise the name of Our Savior, Jesus Christ, who is our Mediator who stands for us to correct every wrong and every injury as any good master would do for his slave. We pray, Lord, that we will not faint under our trials in this world, but we will look unto the name of Jesus in faith and in prayer so that we may be vessels of His perfect love and forgiveness so that the world may know Him by our actions. We ask all these things in the name of Our Merciful Lord, Jesus Christ.

Releasing Power, Protection and Provision into the Lives of Others

Matthew 16:8
But Jesus, aware of this, said, “O you of little faith, why are you discussing among yourselves the fact that you have no bread?

The bread of life, which is Jesus Christ, is within us when we receive Our Lord as Our Savior. The living bread is ever present. He is never removed. He is always available to us and to those around us. The only restrictor of the living bread is our own faith.

When we have no faith in the indwelling power of Our Lord, we build a hardened silo from which no provision can flow. With little faith, we restrict what can be released from our lives. With great faith, we can release an unlimited distribution of power, protection and provision into our lives and into the lives of those who surround us.

Jesus teaches in today’s passage that doubt should never be an option for a believer under any circumstances. Jesus loved us so much that He was willing to die for us. How could we ever doubt His presence and His power in our lives? How could we ever fear with the King of Kings as our protector? His countenance shines upon us and His grace is always with us.

Let us live in the triumphant belief of who Our Lord says He is. Let our faith be not in ourselves, nor in the world, but in the One from Whom our salvation springs.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for giving us the Cornerstone of our faith, Your Son, Jesus Christ. With His death on the Cross, we received victory over all evil. We bless the name of Our Savior who made it possible for us to live our lives without fear. May we live by the faith that we have been given. We pray, Lord, that You will give us the wisdom and the strength to yoke ourselves to Jesus Himself. May we learn to live in the fullness of the One who dwells within us. We ask all these things in the name of the strength of our lives, the Bread of Life, Jesus Christ.