Faith IS the Victory

Faith is the Victory.

Our faith is what is tested when the waves of doubt and despair announce themselves at the open door of our heart and mind.

Do we live within the world and fall prey to how the world lives and conducts its business?

Success -- failure ... a fine line exists.

We all live in the world, but we who have been reborn - not recreated, but born anew from old ways to new ways, from without to within, from alive to sin to dead to sin and alive to Jesus, our Savior, our Redeemer, we are not of the world.

We take up residence in the world, just as Jesus did when he walked the streets of Jerusalem and Judea and Samaria and elsewhere (Acts 1:8). But our residence is not permanent. We come, we stay awhile (to us it may seem a long or short time), and we go.

Life is not permanent. Do we "curse God and die" (Job 2:9) as the wife of Job said to him in the midst of pain and suffering when Job did not know why?

Struggles do come and stay awhile and go.

The timing is ALL in God's hands, not ours.

How we cope with the struggles and calamities that strike us from every side and angle tells, shows others where our faith is, where our strength to go on comes from.

When Job was beset with problems did he blame God? He did not understand the why of any of it. But he did not curse. Instead, he praised and worshiped the Almighty.

"Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return there. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; Blessed be the name of the Lord." (Job 1:21)

Satan can only destroy us if we allow him to.

Our covenant, our pact has been made with the Lord God above.

He sees everything. Nothing escapes Him. He sees all our ways. He sees our destruction, our disasters, false statements made to ourselves and another. He sees the steps we make backward and forward. He sees our integrity and our lack of it.

God knows everything and it is His purpose, His plan for us that is vital, NOT how much we know, not how our plan or purpose goes.

Faith is the Victory.

Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, not faith in me.

What can "me" do?

We think we can do much, but it is only what God has enabled us to do that is real and comes to fruition.

Remember what God's servant Paul says in I Corinthians 15:58, "be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord."

Faith IS the Victory. .... the assurance of things hoped for in great anticipation, but not seen.

We must persevere .... in Christ. 

Is God's army ready for battle?

“Wise warriors are mightier than strong ones; and those who have knowledge than those who have strength; for by wise guidance you can wage your war, and in abundance of counselors there is victory.” (Proverbs 24:5-6)

“Do not envy the wicked, nor desire to be with them; for their minds desire violence, and their lips talk of mischief. Whoever plans to do evil will be called a mischief-maker. The devising of folly is sin, and the scoffer is an abomination to all.” (Proverbs 24:1, 8-9)

“If you faint in the day of adversity (trouble), your strength being small; does not he who weighs the heart perceive it? Does not he who keeps watch over your soul know it?” (Proverbs 24:10, 12)

God sees all, knows all. It is in His strength, His power, His wisdom that we are enabled to overcome evil. Wisdom and knowledge will take us farther than any strength we alone possess. Wisdom, His wisdom, guides us. In wisdom we can discern right from wrong. We can defeat the enemy.

“Put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh.” (Romans 13:14)

“God did not give us a spirit of cowardice; but rather a spirit of power and of love and of self-discipline.  Do not be ashamed … join (with me) in suffering for the gospel, relying on the power of God, who saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works but according to His own purpose and grace. (2 Timothy 1:7-9)

“Be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus; share in suffering like a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No one serving in the army gets entangled in everyday affairs; the soldier’s aim is to please the enlisting officer.” (2 Timothy 2:1, 3-4)

“If we have died with him, we will also live with him;

If we endure, we will also reign with him;

 If we deny him, he will also deny us; 

If we are faithless, he (STILL, YET) remains faithful, for he cannot deny himself.” (2 Timothy 2:11-13)

“Remind them, … warn them before God that they are to avoid wrangling over words, which does no good  … do your best to present yourself to God as one approved by him, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly explaining the word of truth.  Avoid profane chatter. … God’s firm foundation stands – The Lord knows those who are his. Let everyone who calls on the name of the Lord turn away from wickedness. (2 Timothy 2:14-16, 19)

We can be ordinary or we can be special. We can continue in former ways and neglect, reject God’s call on our hearts or we can reject the world’s tug and pursue God’s righteousness, faith, love and peace.

“Shun youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart. Have nothing to do with stupid and senseless controversies; you know that they breed quarrels. And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kindly to everyone, an apt teacher, patient, correcting opponents with gentleness. ” (2 Timothy 2:22-24)

“You must understand this, that in the last days distressing times will come. For people will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, inhuman, implacable, slanderers, profligates, brutes, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding to the outward form of godliness but denying its power. Avoid them!” (2 Timothy 3:1-5)

“Indeed, all who want to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. But wicked people and imposters will go from bad to worse, deceiving others and being deceived.  All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, so that everyone who belongs to God may be proficient; equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:12-13, 16)

Beware of those who oppose but don’t give in to them.

“Proclaim the message; be persistent whether the time is favorable or unfavorable; convince, rebuke and encourage, with the utmost patience in teaching, for the time is coming when people will not put up with sound doctrine, … they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own desires, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander away to myths.” (2 Timothy 4:2-4)

God’s battle … and ours, for He abides in us who abide in Him. .. We put on the Lord Jesus, His armor, to do battle in the world.

“Never be lazy in your work, but serve the Lord enthusiastically. Be glad for all God is planning for you. Be patient in trouble, and always be prayerful.” 

(Romans 12:11-12 NLT)

“The night is almost gone; the day of salvation will soon be here. So remove your dark deeds like dirty clothes, and put on the shining armor of right living. Because we belong to the day, we must live decent lives for all to see. Don’t participate in the darkness … Instead, clothe yourself with the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ.” (Romans 13:12-14 NLT)

“Be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his power.  Put on the whole armor of God … Take up the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to withstand, to resist the evilness, and thereby, to stand firm.” (Ephesians 6:10-11, 13)

“Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God’s righteousness. For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared. In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil. Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.” (Ephesians 6:14-18 NLT)

And may God grant you peace.

(All Scripture taken from the New Revised Standard Version of the Holy Bible except where noted.) 

To live as the Lord directs

To live, really live, as the Lord directs, not as the world suggests and even it seems commands, means
to give up our lives, our thoughts, our desires and dreams, our positions. To renounce all we have, all we hope to have, all we plan, all we do, and lay it at the feet of Jesus, at the foot of the cross, in His hands.

To live, really live, as the Lord directs, means first we must be obedient. Obedient to His call -- "Come."

"Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine."
(Isaiah 43:1 NRSV, New Revised Standard version)

It is in our obedience to the Lord that our faith grows ... But easy it is not. God tells us, "My grace is sufficient for you." (II Corinthians 12:9) My grace, My love. God's grace is God's love. His love is nothing like that between husband and wife. But more, much more.

He is with us ... Always, forever.

"When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior." (Isaiah 43:2-3)

We are precious to Him. He created us. We are His children. Precious ... and honored ... and loved. God yearns for His spirit to live within us. He wants more than anything for us to "know" and take hold of
His love.

His instructions, His teachings, His commandments are written in His Word for the benefit of His children.


"Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you." (James 4:8)


"Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you." (James 4:10)

His children. He created all.


"whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made." (Isaiah 43:7)

From all nations, all nationalities, every religion, known and unknown.

"Bring forth the people who are blind, yet have eyes, who are deaf, yet have ears!
Let all the nations gather together, and let the people assemble ... Before me no god was formed, 
nor shall there be any after me. I, I am the Lord."  (Isaiah 43:8-11)

To live, really live, as the Lord directs, we would be content with God's truth, God's love, God's commandments, God's promises. Truth is God and God is love. Truth without love is a falsehood, a lie. All perceptions, all knowledge, all so-called truth is meaningless, worthless, useless, if there is not love.

"If I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a  clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give away all my possessions, and I hand over my body so that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing." (I Corinthians 13:1-3)

He tells us His grace is sufficient, for His power is made perfect in weakness. All of His children are weak, the world over, we have no power, unless we are united with The One, The Only One, The True One, The Holy One, The Eternal One. If we would only look upward and grasp hold of Christ's hand extended to us ...

Related post: Stay focused on Jesus, 11.21.2009

Are you a doubter?

The doubter
questions
wants clear answers
wants to be sure
not gullible,
not deceived
not drawn into
a fellowship filled with enthusiasm
for the wrong reason

Thomas,
one of Jesus' disciples,
a doubter.
We too
pass through, suffer from
this dilemma

Thomas responds,
"Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails
and put my finger into the print of the nails,
and put my hand into His side,
I will not believe." (John 20:25)

Woe to him
to others too
to us
to not believe
simply because we have not seen,
have not witnessed

Where is your faith!?
For Jesus has said
even faith as small as a mustard seed
can move mountains. (see Matthew 17:20)

IF
to believe
we must see
with our very own eyes
and hear
with our very own ears

There is much of life
to be missed
that has already been missed

The doubting can believe
Thomas did
but only because he saw
what he needed to see
to believe.

Jesus says to us all,
"Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed." (John 20:29a)

Do you live by faith in the Lord Jesus or ....

The Ten Commandments, recorded in Exodus 20:

"And God spoke all these words, saying:  I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. (1) You shall have no other gods before Me. (2) You shall not make for yourself a carved image ... you shall not bow down to them nor serve them... (3) You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, ... (4) Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. (5) Honor your father and your mother. (6) You shall not murder. (7) You shall not commit adultery. (8) You shall not steal. (9) You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. (10) You shall not covet your neighbor's house ... i.e., anything that is your neighbor's."


After Moses returned from the mountaintop, where God had spoken to him and given him the Ten Commandments which were chiseled on stone tablets, he spoke to the people --

"Do not fear; for God has come to test you, and that His fear may be before you, so that you may not sin." (Exodus 20:20a)

In Romans, the apostle Paul writes,
1:20-21  "For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened." 


2:17-20, 21a, 24 "Indeed you are called a Jew, and rest (rely) on the law, and make your boast in God, and know His will, and approve the things that are excellent, being instructed out of the law, and are confident that you yourself are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness, an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of babes, having the form of knowledge and truth in law. .... you, therefore, who teach another, do you not teach yourself? .... For the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you."


4:13 "For the promise that he (Abraham) would be the heir of the world was not to Abraham or to his seed through the law, but through the righteousness of faith." 


The law is not what saves us; obedience to the law will not reap rewards of eternity.

It is only our faith in God almighty that saves us, that sets us apart. Our righteousness comes about through faith, not following the law - its every letter.

"And therefore it was accounted ... for righteousness. ... but also for us, ... who believe in Him who raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead, who was delivered up because of our offense, and was raised because of our justification. ... Therefore, having been justified by faith we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. (Romans 4:22, 24-25, 5:1)

Faith in the Lord Jesus is our assurance of everlasting life. Obedience to laws and traditions without faith is not the direction God has shown us, that He wants us to follow.

Paul reiterates to the Galatian believers: "I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. I do not set aside the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain." (Galatians 2:20-21)

And Christ did not die in vain, for God sent Him. God is ALL and we His creation. Who are we to say He is less than He is?

How many people are saved by the law?

None. Zilch. Zero.

The laws are a standard to live by.

"... What does the Lord your God require of you, 

but to fear the Lord your God,

to walk in all His ways

and to love Him,

to serve the Lord your God

with all your heart

and with all your soul

and to keep the commandments

of the Lord 

and His statutes,..."

(Deuteronomy 10:12-13)

"Therefore you shall love the Lord your God, and keep His charge, His statutes, His judgments, and His commandments always." (Deuteronomy 11:1)

The "seed" promised by God to Abraham is Jesus Christ. The law was a precursor to what was to come. The law was given to the people as a standard to live by because of repeated disobedience to God.  When Jesus came the law was fulfilled.

"Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor. For  you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. ... There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise."  (Galatians 3:24-26, 28-29)

And Jesus himself says in Matthew 5:17,  "Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill." 


The law keeps us confined. Christ sets us free. If we choose jail and live under the confines of rules and regulations and judgments rather than living by faith in He who died for our sins, we are separated from Christ. We cannot have both. We either live under the law ... and ultimately death  or live by faith in the Risen Lord ... and eternal life.


Remember LOVE
"Therefore you shall love the Lord your God." (Deuteronomy 11:1)
"You shall love your neighbor as yourself." (Galatians 5:14)

God's Rest

I have been confused by the true meaning of God's rest. I understand He rested after completion of His work.

"And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done and He rested ... Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made." (Genesis 2:2-3)

He blessed the seventh day because His work of creation was finished. He sanctified it - doesn't that mean set apart?

God's Rest came to be known as the Sabbath in Hebrew/Jewish circles. The name implies cessation from normal activities.

What I find hard to grasp is our rest, our Sabbath. Is it a day of our personal whims and desires or a day of worshiping the True God, our creator?

The Jewish Sabbath is a holy day, a day of rest for man and beast, commemorating God's rest after the work of creation. It is one of the Ten Commandments God gave to Moses for His people.

"Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it." (Exodus 20:8-11)

The Hebrew Sabbath is on a Saturday, their seventh day. The Christian Sabbath is on a Sunday.
It seems to me God's rest is any day and every day.

"Six days you shall labor ... but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God." (verses 9-10)

Who determined God's first day of creation was a Sunday or that the seventh day, the day of rest, the Sabbath, was a Saturday? Which six days do you labor? Is it Sunday through Friday ... Monday through Saturday?

"God saw ... God divided ... God called ... so the evening and the morning were the first day." (Genesis 1:4-5)

There are no strict dates.

God blessed the seventh day. He sanctified it. When He gave Moses the Ten Commandments, regarding the Sabbath, He said, "Remember to keep it holy."

Remember to keep it holy.

Do we remember God's command? Do we obey or are we following a "must do" set of rules that we think will get us to a higher plain? We are all equal in the sight of God. Not one of us is better or greater than another.

A day of rest, not relaxation, a day of rejuvenation, refreshment, a regrouping of our souls within, a day of remembering, commemorating the Lord and all He has done, is doing and will do for now and forever.

God's rest is a result of being one with Him, a personal relationship, one-on-one with He who was and is and is to come. God's rest comes to those who believe and accept, who profess faith in His Son whom He sent - Jesus.

"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved." (John 3:16-17)

God's rest comes to those who give, surrender their whole life to Him, who rely completely on His promises, who do not turn from Him and do their own thing. God's rest comes solely by faith.

"Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, in the day of trial in the wilderness, where your fathers tested Me, proved Me, and saw My works forty years. Therefore I was angry with that generation, and said, They always go astray in their heart, and they have not known My ways. So I swore in My wrath, They shall not enter My rest." (Hebrews 3:8-11)

"Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage." (Galatians 5:1)

IF "you have become estranged from Christ, you who attempt to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace." (Galatians 5:4)

If you do not believe in Him
If you are disobedient to Him
If you walk a path away from Him

The covenant promise of God's rest will not come to you.

Without faith there is no rest, no peace.

With it, we are blessed beyond more than we deserve.

Questions

What do you have that matters?

Is it a house over your head?

Or a job to pay the bills?

Or wheels to get you places?

Or good health?

Or friends of one or two or more?

Or family ... parents or siblings or husband/wife or children?


Or is there something else?

Perhaps your faith?

Faith in God, our Lord Jesus Christ.

Is it enough?

Is it all you need?

Ask ... seek ... find
To get you started, check here

The calm of Jesus

We say

"Lord, save us!
We are perishing!"

(Matthew 8:25)

He says

"Why are you so fearful,

O you of little faith?"

(Matthew 8:26)

He rises, He rebukes.

There is calm.

He is The Conqueror

The Victor

The Mighty One

He is our Hope

Our Eternal Hope

past present and in the days to come

He is The One

who overcomes the evil one

who sentences him to eternal punishment

He hears our plea of guilty

when before the judgment seat we stand

and He hears the sinister laugh

of the evil one who thinks he has won

He is The One

who knows our heart

who understands our pain and weakness

who is always there,

ready to encircle us

with His love.

We say

Save us Lord!

Help me Lord!

He is there.

He is The One

who calls your name.

Do you hear?

Do you respond,

"Here I am!"

(1 Samuel 3:4-10)

It is in responding that our life walk with the Lord Jesus Christ begins.

Has your walk began?

Have you found the calm of Jesus?

Only with Jesus

Risk-taking faith. Healing begins when we do something. Is it any something or must it be something phenomenal? Going to the doctor may not be enough. That perhaps is not a risk? Healing begins when we reach out, when we take a step. How big a step? How much?

God, Max Lucado says, honors radical, risk-taking faith. What is radical. Where can I find healing from the pain, relief from the pain. The pain that distracts me, that prevents a good night's sleep and through the day.

There are many, besides myself, who seek healing - from pain, disease, anything and everything. Many, many.

Leg pain, reoccurring leg pain, newborn surgery, foot surgery, diabetes, arthritis, carpal tunnel, shoulder surgery, cancer. So much, so so much.

And then there are answers. Thank you Lord for answers. You do answer. You provide the answers we seek. Sometimes we don't always see them staring us right in the face. Sometimes we are so blind. Our understanding takes so long, doesn't come as fast as we'd like. You know all. We are so slow.

But we pray. We continue to pray for our friends, our family, ourselves and we continue to praise you and give thanks for all you bestow upon us.

It does not come easily to thank you for the turmoils that come upon us. But when we seek you in their midst, we do find, perhaps, a bit of relief, possibly complete healing or remission. But best of all, we find peace. And rest in you Lord Jesus.

And because of You, we can overcome. Because of You dear Lord, because of You in us, we can overcome. Thank you Lord.

Thank you for helping me to remember that it is through You, in You, walking beside me, carrying me, I can overcome each struggle. Only by your power is it possible.

"The Lord is near to all who call upon Him, To all who call upon Him in truth." - Psalm 145:18

"With God, all things are possible." Matthew 19:26a

Where is your faith?

If your mind is open to God and what His word has to say to you, you will find that "with God all things are possible." Just like it says in Matthew 19:26. We have these words framed on our dining room wall. I see it everyday. I read it everyday. Yet as I mentioned yesterday, brain connection is not always present. It is good that God does not give up on me. For if He did ... I am definitely very glad for Jesus' presence in my life.

I wish I could just let go and let God at every stage. I wish my faith in Him was stronger, bigger, ALWAYS present, never questioning. But alas, we are human. And as such, we think and consider and reconsider and wonder, when perhaps what we should do is ask God to show us the way He would have us go.

Rely on Him, seek guidance for everything from Him through prayer. Prayer is the answer. But in prayer, we must listen for His response and obey.

We can't just assume because we have prayed for a disease or illness to be healed, God will instantaneously remove it. No. He may and He may not. We can pray for healing, but I think too we need to pray for guidance in its midst. What am I to learn, do I go to another doctor, do I stop with the round of doctor visits, am I to wait, when is waiting too long. So many questions.

And when we pray, we need to believe God hears us. "And Jesus said, 'If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.' " (Mark 9:23)

When we doubt - whether it be doubting the power of prayer or doubting He hears, perhaps we should question just where we are in our walk -- are we truly one of His?

Prayer is the voice of faith.

A moment of prayer ....
Lord, show me how to make the money we have available last us till payday. Lord, enable the money needed for our medical bills to be paid. Lord, show me how to utilize faith in the workplace. Lord, enable me to teach another in the workplace and bring me patience while I am about it. Lord, guard my mouth - what I put in and what comes out. Lord, show me how to be pleasing to you. In your name I pray.

Faith looks across the storm -- it does not doubt
or stop to look at clouds and things without.
Faith does not question why
when all His ways are hard to understand,
but trusts and prays.

Living by Faith

Faith ...

This morning I read "Faith in the Daily News Chase" by John McCandlish Phillips. It was a most heart-warming, well-written, engaging and to-the-point article. I had never heard of this man. Sometimes I think I must be living in a huge vacuum; there seems to be much I haven't seen or heard, much I am missing. I am thankful a chance article in the February Missouri Baptist Convention's publishing arm, The Pathway, led me to my first ever Christian Journalism Conference.

I searched the Internet for information on McCandlish Phillips, beyond the little I already knew -- from a night copy boy to general assignment reporter, he spent 21 years with The New York Times, 1952-1973.

• I found an Annals of Communications column by journalist Ken Auletta The Man Who Disappeared
  
  
• I found the World Journalism Institute's blog, Case in Point and Web site, which in turn led me to additional information on the man who lived by faith.
  
  

Faith ....

Faith is not one big word that means one thing and one thing only. When we try to describe it to another, we tend to say it is believing without seeing. Hebrews 11:1 says it best, and depending on what translation/version of the Bible you use, some say it better than others. The New King James version says: "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." The New International version says: "Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see."

I believe there is the Faith we live in, live with and live by.

The Christian faith we live in is believing Jesus Christ is the Son of God and the Virgin Mary, believing He died, was crucified for my sins and your sins, believing He was buried, believing He rose from the grave, believing He ascended into Heaven, believing God the Father, Jesus the Son and the Holy Spirit are three distinct beings. Living in faith is the kind of faith that saves us.

Living with faith is believing God will do all He says He will do.

Living by faith is following through without question, being totally obedient to the Lord, totally dependent on, totally relying on the Lord's instructions, commands to us through His word written and spoken, through all of life, all ordeals, turmoils, catastrophes, until all is accomplished.

"The just shall live by faith." (Romans 1:17b, Hebrews 10:38)

Who are the just? -- Those who have been made righteous by God, those who have been saved/born-again, those who have received the Good News of Jesus Christ and have believed it and accepted it, the called, His sheep, His children.

"For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, While we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal."

Our lives, every aspect of our lives, may bring much pain and chaos, running the gamut (personal health, finance, housing, employment, transportation, state governments, federal governments, insurance, interest rates, moral upheaval), but we are not to see, not to live as though these struggles are permanent, but rather only temporary. I know that is not easy. God didn't say it was going to be easy. What He said was the afflictions we are presently dealing with, we will get through, by faith, assuming we are looking to Jesus, waiting on Him to guide us, looking to our eternal glory. We must always look upward, always think about what Jesus would do, always believing, trusting that the Lord will enable us to accomplish, to pass through this stage, unto the next and the next, until He has called us Home, however long it takes, wherever His road takes us.

McCandlish Phillips said, "Faith makes the decision to trust God fully, no matter what the appearance of things may be, or how contrary to faith the message that is screamed into our being is. Faith is a voluntary act of trust in God."

Beware!

Today's devotional reading took me to Philippians 3. In the margins I have written "what we are on the outside doesn't always tell us what's inside. Labels don't make a person a believer in Christ." How true that is. You may say you are a Christian, you may be considered a Christian by those around you, but to really be one is something else.

Philippians 3:2-3 says "Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the mutilation! For we are the circumcision, who worship God in the Spirit, rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh."

In Old Testament days, "dogs" were what the Jews called Gentiles - i.e., everyone who was not Jewish. Here in Philippians Paul is saying "dogs" are those who strive to steal away the true beliefs of Christians. Those "who do evil" try to add something to faith as the way of salvation.

Faith is believing without seeing. Faith does not need appendages.

Jesus died for each and everyone of us individually. Faith is when we accept His death, burial and resurrection and believe it was and is for me.

Believing that requirements are necessary because someone said so is in direct opposition to the True Gospel. The True Gospel is that of Jesus Christ. There is no other. You who don't think Jesus matters may find out too too late just how much He does matter.

What we are labeled by others is not always a true description of who and what we are. It is merely often their singular belief. We should not fall prey to another.

Verse 3 paraphrased says, "We worship God in the Spirit, not the flesh, and rejoice in Christ Jesus." It is a matter of the heart. When we worship in the flesh, we are doing our own thing. We are not one with God the Father and Christ the Son.

Where are you?

It's About Faith

Faith is not what we see,
what appears to be
Faith is not the spoken word of others
It is not what we view on television
or read in the newspapers.

Faith is
believing, accepting
God is in control
God has all the answers
God knows.

Faith is
Looking to Him for everything,
Thanking Him for everything.
Seeking answers to all our questions from Him alone.
Not questioning
the hows, whys, whens, wheres, what ifs.

Just knowing
Just believing

Faith
can be as tiny as a mustard seed
or as huge as a mountain

We each have a mountain or many to climb
Our successes are not really ours
We achieve through our faith
in Him alone.
My Jesus
My Savior
My Lord
My God

In His Name, Amen.

Cathy Orrick Luders

9.10.2007

Faith vs. Tradition

Following Jesus is all about faith, not about tradition nor what we feel nor what we experience nor what we accomplish in life.

Last night's Bible study message, Following Jesus: "Putting Tradition In Its Place," was taken from Matthew 15: 1-20. Earlier this week I started a personal Bible study in Romans.

Following Jesus begins with faith and continues onward and upward. When we accept that Jesus died for each and everyone of us and our sins, that He was buried and that He rose again, we achieve God's righteousness, we are in right standing with God. We are His children. Because of that righteousness God has given us through His son, we are enabled to produce more righteousness by how we conduct our lives and give service to the Lord.

There is nothing more, nothing additional needed for us to be in right standing with God. Some Christian denominations mistakenly think more is needed, by saying "we interpret the Bible according to experience, reason and traditon."

God clearly says He is in control, not us. The Bible is God's book for us.

I concur with my pastor's consensus, "we interpret our experience, reason and tradition according to the Bible." Three points he made make sense to me:
(1) Don't let tradition invalidate God's commands
(2) Don't let tradition blind you to God's call
(3) Don't let tradition hide the real source of your filth

What do you think?