Faith Needs Prayer (Matthew 26:35-41)

Have you ever made a decision of faith, but then never follow through with the action of it? Maybe you sat in church, listened to a sermon and made a prayerful decision that never came to fulfillment. Possibly in devotions, the Lord impressed upon your heart as you read the scriptures and spent quiet time with him and you never moved beyond that. Why? Was your decision insincere? Was it simply an emotional decision and not a truly faith one? If it was real, why didn’t it happen?

After eating the Passover meal, the Lord revealed to his disciples that he would be smitten and they would be scattered. Peter responded that he would not be offended in him and that he would rather die than deny Christ. You probably know the outcome that he denied Christ three times and then wept bitterly. He had faith and failed terribly.

Why did it happen? We know the type of relationship that Peter had with the Lord and we also know the greatness of his faith by walking on water with Jesus and also bring the first to proclaim that he believed Jesus was the Christ, the Son of the living God. But with all that faith, why did he fail?

In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus being full of heaviness in heart and mind, petitioned Peter, James and John to pray with him. When he returned to them sometime later, he found them asleep. He questioned them as to why they could not pray with him and then admonished them by saying, “Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

Peter, whether he knew it or not, was in a battle. Events were going to transpire that would keep him from standing strong in his faith. Jesus provided to him exactly what he needed in order to be victorious and that was prayer. Peter, great in faith, had a spirit which was convinced that Jesus was the Messiah, but in order to carry out the actions of his faith, he would need his body and its faculties to cooperate with him at standing strong and speaking out loud his faith to Jesus’ captors and those he would meet over the next 18 hours and beyond. For that to occur, he would need to pray. It wouldn’t be some short mumbling of words, but instead a battling place where he would petition God for his grace, strength and courage. Had he done that, the outcome would have been different and Jesus would have never made the statement about his denial.

Our lives are no different than Peter’s. We have faith and in our hearts we make determinations and proclamations concerning that faith. However, decisions are not enough. As we face the constant battle with the world, the flesh and the Devil with his aids, we need to spend time in prayer with God. The flesh never wants what is spiritual. As we pray, we are strengthened in the inner man. Our spirit and soul are in harmony with the leading of God’s Holy Spirit. The stronger the inner man becomes, the weaker the flesh is. Prayer or spending time communicating with God and fasting, which is a denial of the body and flesh of what it wants, will strengthen the inner man and weaken the flesh. Remember, it is prayer that enables you to fulfill your decisions of faith.

Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. (Matthew 26:41)

When you make a decision of faith, don’t just stop there. Create check points throughout the day for you to stop, seek God’s face and ask him to provide his strength to you. The greater the faith decision, the more prayer will be needed. You may need to petition others to pray with you just as Jesus petitioned Peter, James and John. The battle you face is important and you can be victorious because the Lord would not have impressed upon you to make that faith decision if you could not do it.

It is not terrible people who make faith decisions and then fail to follow through with them. It is people, who lack strength, who fail to live up to their faith. Prayer is what you need so that you can actualize your faith. Have faith and remember, you must pray.

Three Sources for Forgiveness

Each of us have experienced wounds in our lives, which were caused by other people. Sometimes these actions were accidental and other times they were purposeful acts driven by the wicked sin nature that resides in everyone.

Freedom from these wounds can only occur through forgiveness. Forgiveness is not based on the works that a person does so as to earn it. Otherwise it would not be forgiveness, but instead the payment of debt that was met. Forgiveness means to send, to leave or to put away. When a person forgives, they are breaking the tie between themselves and the person who sinned against them. In other words, they are leaving it or letting it go.

What gives a person the ability to forgive or release someone from a debt against them? There are three sources: the source of pain, the source of mercy and the source of one’s love for God. 

Countless people have been hurt by someone and after carrying the burden of hurt for so long, finally decided to forgive the offender and let the issue go from their lives. This decision resulted from their pain. It was not caused by faith or any virtue, but merely from pain and the desire to be free from the source of it.

The two other sources for forgiveness are the spiritual virtues of mercy and love. It is by these virtues that the Psalmist petitions God for forgiveness. (Psalm 51:1) Forgiving out of mercy comes from recognizing the struggle of the offender and reaching out to them in forgiveness because of it. The forgiveness is not condoning the wrong, but recognizes the person’s fallen state and releases them from personal debt because of it. Those forgiving out of the source of mercy have insight into the needs of the offender and are moved to meet that need. This type of forgiveness occurs most often among friends, family and spouses, but will also be manifested towards others by individuals filled with the Holy Spirit’s power.

The final source of power for forgiving is love for God. The pain a person has may continue to hurt and never get to the point where it moves them to forgive, let go or move on and they may never develop the insight necessary to forgive in mercy. These occasions require another motive or source for forgiving and this source is love or specifically love for God.

God, in his tender mercy, has forgiven us. It was his love that moved him to create, implement and submit to his plan for redemption. Although it would be extremely difficult and very rare for a person to forgive because they love their offender, it is possible to access this great motivation to forgive someone who has been wounded greatly. Since the greatest of qualities that a person can have is love, the same love can move a person to forgive. The difference is that the focus of love is on God and not the offender. Love for God will create a desire to be in his will, an obedience to his leading, a yielding for him to receive glory, and a submission of faith. A heart in this condition can forgive because the focus is not on the event or the offender, but on God. When they forgive, they are putting the care of the matter into the hands of a righteous and just God and are able to let go and finally leave the matter behind them. However, this love can only come about by abiding in God. When we abide in him, we as a branch tap into the vine of his strength and enable it to produce the love that can move someone who has struggled for years to finally forgive.

Forgiveness is never easy, but God has provided all that we need in order the be victorious and conquerors in life. (1 Corinthians 15:57; Romans 8:37)

Waiting on the Lord (Psalm 40:1)

It is important to wait patiently before the Lord. When you do, you are performing three important acts.

When you wait on the Lord, you knowledge him as your sovereign Lord. By that, you recognize that he is in complete control of all events that take place and regardless of how they appear, you believe he will use them for good and his glory.

When you wait on the Lord, you are exercising your faith and when I say exercise, I mean exercise. Each time that you place your faith in the Lord, you are strengthening it and also developing the closeness of your relationship with him. Your relationship with God is what gives your faith strength. This comes from his word (Romans 10:17) and also his joy (Nehemiah 8:10).

When you wait on the Lord, you are relying on his love. God is love and everything that he does for you or allows to happen is motivated by that love. When we cannot understand or see the workings of his love in his actions, it is then that our faith must moves us to wait on the Lord.

Waiting on the Lord will always bring his results. When we fail to wait on him, we act on our own independently of God. These actions are works of the flesh motivated by the emotions that we experienced in the trial.

So instead of allowing your emotions to drive you to disobedience, instead allow God’s working through your faith to lead you to rely on him who on countless times has guided, comforted, carried and loved you. He did not fail you then and he will not fail you now.

Brace Yourself!

Brace yourself! This is the phrase that we use to prepare ourselves for some impending negative event. It may be physically holding on to something in preparation for jolting or even a collision. It could even relate to preparing yourself for news that may move you emotionally.

As bracing yourself may seem to work in the physical world, it does not work in the spiritual. However, what will work is if the Lord braces you.

1 The Lord hear thee in the day of trouble; the name of the God of Jacob defend thee;

2 Send thee help from the sanctuary, and strengthen thee out of Zion;  (Psalm 20:1-2)

In this time of distress for David, he is looking for the Lord to send him help and strength. The strength he is seeking is comfort and to be held up. Another meaning for the word strength would be to brace. David is not bracing himself for the trial that he faces, but he is asking the Lord to brace him.

When I think of the Lord bracing us for trials, I picture a parent with a child. Imagine a small child in the arms of a father as they face a frightening experience like a thunderstorm. With each flash and bang of the storm, the child buries their head in the father’s chest as the father tightly braces the child. The father’s embrace may not be able to stop the storm, but it does bring security and strength to the child.

As we face the storms of life, God wants to brace us for them. He may not choose to remove the storm, but with his tender embrace, he will provide us the comfort and strength that we need.

Thankfully his loving embrace in these times is based on his mercy and grace. Because of this, we can always count on the father to be there for us. As you face storms in life, bury your head into the chest of your heavenly father and experience his strong loving embrace.

When You Just Can’t Go On

Sometime back when I worked in the steel mill, I was a part of a crew of men that worked on changing the motor of a large crane. The work took place over the 200 foot tempering furnace, which created an extremely hard-working environment. The crew worked in 15 minute intervals because of the fatigue caused by the heat and after short periods of rest, we were refreshed, renewed in strength and ready to go again.

Life can have a fatiguing effect on our hearts, just as the heat did on our bodies in the steel mill. The effect is not so much the heat of the day, but the wearing away upon the heart by life‘s struggles. Health, financial, domestic and work issues can bear upon the heart of man causing him to stoop and even fall. But God has promised to be with us, provide comfort to our hearts and the strength that we need.

He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength (Isaiah 40:29)

The power that we need is not in us nor does God couple his power with ours so that the total is enough for us to endure. We must remember that he is our strength. (Psalm 46:1; 81:1)

As long as we continue trying to rise above life and the burdens that it bears upon us, we will continually fall which leads to greater anguish in the soul. But when we rest in him, we gain his strength. Resting in him does not mean a time of leisurely repose for the recovering of strength, but more like how God rested from his work of creation on the seventh day. He was not tired from his labor: his resting was him ceasing from work.

When we rest in Jesus, we cease from our own work—whether physical or soulish— and allow him to do his work in and through us. We give up our strength so that we may gain his strength.

So instead of trying harder to overcome, give up and then look to God so that he may do in you what you are unable to do.

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. (Psalms 46:1)

Sing aloud unto God our strength: (Psalm 81:1)

Not Good to Wrestle

It was a number of years ago when my beautiful and fruitful garden was being destroyed by an intruding groundhog. In an effort to rid myself of the varmint, I bought a muskrat trap and set it in the garden. It was not long until I received a distressful phone call from my wife informing me that a “kitty cat”was caught in the trap. I quickly drove home from the office to attempt springing the cat from the trap and setting it free. However as I tried to get close enough to open the trap, the cat fought vigorously and kept me from setting it free. I eventually removed its strength by covering it with a blanket and then released the trap. He eventually ran free. As I pondered what happened, I ask myself, “I wonder how many times I am like this cat: fighting God because I think he is trying to do some unwanted thing in my life when he is really only trying to help me?

Jacob, who later became Israel, was like that. (Gen. 32:25) He schemed and plotted all of his life-that was until he was all alone and ready to face Esau. God was not going to allow Jacob to continue in his way. He confronted him and physically wrestled him from progressing forward until he recognized his weakness and inability. Man’s pride never allows him to yield so God had to break Jacob. He did this by touching him in the thigh which was his greatest place of strength. He did not break him to make him a failure, he broke him in order to make him a victor.

Jacob went from wrestling against God to clinging to him and asking him for a blessing. By asking for a blessing, he revealed his dependence on God and no longer in himself. He gain the strength of a prince with God by being broken as a man.

We too can be like Jacob. Situations in life that we find ourselves fighting against may be the instruments God is using to break us of our own strength and self-reliance. It would be best that we go to God with these situations and then yield ourselves to him for the work that he wants to accomplish. Whether the problems go away or remain, we—like Jacob—will receive God‘s blessing.

But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.  (James 4:6)

The Shepherd: He Restores My Soul

I remember my first trip to the mountains of Pennsylvania.  It was a snowy day and I was walking along the top of the mountain.  When suddenly, my foot caught ahold of a root under the snow.  I tripped forward and after a number of staggering steps, I finally caught my balance.  That is when I realized I was in a very bad situation.  Because the wind was blowing hard, the tracks behind me were cleared away.  I was spun around and lost.

From my location, I walked in various directions trying to get to the edge of the mountain, which would lead me back to camp.  I was unsuccessful, cold, lost and darkness was fading in.  I was spin around and I really needed somebody to turn me in the right direction.

Life is much the same way. We live with everything appearing to be just right and then it happens.  Some event knocks us for a loop, spins us around, and we find ourselves farther away from God than we want to be.  How did it happen and how do we get back?

We can find ourselves turned around and away from God for a few reasons. One way we get turned around is by deceit.  We can be deceived by people who teach us things contrary to the Word of God or we could be deceived by our traditions.  Regardless of the source, unbiblical doctrine can cause you to end up far away from the Lord. If you are trying to live up to a standard so that you can be or feel accepted by God, you have been spun around. Instead of walking toward God, you are walking away from him.

Another major cause for believers to get turn about and away from God is by not being prepared .  We are admonished to put on the whole armor of God. When we are not equipped, we get overcome by our past and present failures. Our sin nature has the ability to rise up and take control of our lives and we can easily find ourselves turned around by sin, simply because we were not prepared.  But there is good news.

Remember, when life turns you around, it is only God who can turn you back around. He restoreth my soul... (Psalm 23:3)

It is God who can turn you around and he may use different ways to accomplish it. One thing we know is that he will use his powerful word because it is perfect and it can convert or turn around the soul. (Psalm 19:7) There can be instances where we may resist his working and when that happens, he may use acts of chastening to accomplish what is best for us. Regardless of how he does it, it will always be because of his mercy. (Psalm 85:4-7) Thankfully it is new every day. 

How did I get turned back around on that mountain top? I remembered that in the morning the sun rose from behind the cabin. Through the snow clouded sky, I spotted where the sun was ready to go down. I used the sun as a guide to get me back to safety by keeping my back to the sun and began running. Eventually, I made it to the mountain’s slope edge and to safety.

It is the same for me today. When I get turned around, I look for the son—the Good Shepherd—and he always leads me back.

Praise the Lord! He restoreth my soul.

It Is All in the Shepherd (Psalm 23:1)

What would it take to make you happy? People may give various answers to this question, but what each answer reveals is the longing that people have in their hearts. If you could sum up for all people as to what would make them happy, it would be that their hearts would be full and without want.  For some people, it may be to be out of debt.  For another person, it may be to have a spouse. If you asked a person living in an impoverished situation, their answer may be to have enough food to eat each day.

King David said it wisely, “The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want.” This statement is insightful in that David recognized the shepherd was everything that he needed and that because he had the shepherd, he did not have any needs. This does not mean that he was in possession of everything that he ever would need.  He recognized that it is the shepherd who would supply his needs and that because he had the supplier of his needs, he really had everything he would ever need.

Have you recognized this for your life? You have everything you will ever need in the shepherd: everything for your marriage, child raising, work, ministry and personal happiness. When you are abiding in the shepherd, your heart will be satisfied and lack nothing.  However, if you find your heart becoming barren and longing for something that you just cannot identify, it is because you ceased abiding in the shepherd.  You begin to want because you wandered from the shepherd.

If you want to be like David and in your heart experience the joy of being without want, consider the following.

1. Recognize your need for a shepherd.  

2. Decide to trust the shepherd. For some, it may mean them accepting his payment on the cross for their sin as what they need in order to be saved and accepted by God.  For others, it may mean that they will cease from trying to create their own security in life and will now trust him to provide for them.

3. Follow the leading of the shepherd. Life is not a brightly lit way down a path of lovely flowers. It is filled with darkness, evil and heart ache. When you follow him, he will lead you in the path that is best for you.

4. Feed on what the shepherd provides. Spend time with him in prayer and reading his word. From it, you will gain strength, nourishment and guidance.

5. Sit at the feet of the shepherd.  I am reminded of a German Shepherd that I once had. She would lie down at my feet and look up at me in adoration. I was strong and she loved strength; I am loving and she loved my attention. She would look at me and wait to be noticed. When I would reach out to touch her, she would soak up the attention. Did you know, that God wants that with us. He wants us to sit at his feet and look to him.  He wants to pour out his blessing of fellowship and love and when we experience this, we will recognize that everything we would ever want or need is found in him.

6. Rejoice in what the shepherd has provided to you. When you do, this rejoicing will be revealed in every aspect of your life. The lost and the saved will see it, but best of all, your heart will be drawn even closer to the shepherd.

The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want.

Really?

Oh yeah. Really!

Misplaced Faith

From our childhood, we have heard the story of Adam and Eve. They were the first two humans created by God and lived in the garden of Eden.  When God made them, he declared that they were very good. By these words, he was describing the wonder and magnificence of his creating act. As they lived together, they were sinless and acted according to the will of him who created them. You would think that because they were sinless, they would just continue to live a sinless life. However if you know the story, you know that they failed terribly and plummeted the entire human race into sin.

Why didn't Adam and Eve stay sinless? What was the core problem or cause for their failure? This may come as a surprise to you, but their core problem was their faith. Stop and think for a moment. At one point in time, Adam only knew God. He did not recognize he had a need, but he did and the need was that of a companion.  Adam saw God meet that need and present woman to him. His life in the garden of Eden was complete and fulfilling.

But then the serpent came using alluring words: words that promised an even better existence then they were already experiencing. At that point, Adam and Eve had a major decision to make. Would they believe the serpent or would they believe God.

As you know, they believed the serpent, ate the fruit and became sinners. The goodness of their creation and being could not prevent it, because the action which led to the fall first began in the heart. 

Because man fell in this matter, God made his redemption and way back to him to be in the same way. Man fell because of misplaced faith, man will be rescued from sin by right faith.  God will not require a man to be faithful for salvation, but instead he requires man to put his faith in the only person whoever was faithful: Jesus Christ. God is not looking for goodness because there is not anyone who is good: Matthew 19:17 ...there is none good but one, that is God. Romans 3:10 There is none righteous, no not one.

God is looking for people who will believe and trust in his promise of salvation through the work of Jesus Christ.  Ask yourself this question, "Do I have faith?" If your answer is yes, ask yourself, "Am I placing my faith in me or in Jesus Christ?"  It can only be one way or the other.

Fruits of Righteousness (Philippians 1:11)

At one time, I was traveling each week to some point in the country for a speaking engagement. At first, my trips were ill prepared leaving me many times at a hotel without all of essentials that I needed.  Eventually, I created a packing list.  It was a listed all the items that I needed for traveling and the list remained in the suitcase.  In the event that I traveled and discovered that I had a new need, I would add that item to the list.  Eventually, I had the perfect list.  All I needed to do was check and make sure that everything on the list was packed and if it was, I was set.

Some people try to use the same process in their spiritual lives.  They have a list and it contains the "do's" and "don'ts" for righteous living.  In their minds, if they do the things on the "do" list and refrain from items on the "don't" list, then they are spiritual.  I really wish it were that easy, but it is not.

Being spiritual is when a person lives as God expects them to live.  In other words, the actions of the person's life will be righteous.  The problem is that any action that may appear to be righteous can also be sinful.  For example, is giving to the poor a spiritual or righteous action?  It could be, but it also could be sinful.  If a person gave because God led them to give, then the action would be spiritual or righteous.  However, if the person gave so that they would be recognized, then the same action would be sinful.

Being spiritual cannot be reduced to a list of "do's" and "don'ts".   Instead, the spiritual life of living as God expects and desires is accomplished by abiding or dwelling in Jesus.  When we do this, Jesus lives his righteous life through us.  This is know as grace living.  Grace living is when God empowers us by living his life through us and the righteous actions of our lives then are really though Jesus Christ.

Being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God. (Philippians 1:11)

Instead of trying to manufacture a righteous life, why not instead focus on abiding with Christ.  As you do, he will enable you to live beyond your ability.  If you don't, you will experience so much frustration and failure, because without his empowerment, you can do nothing.

I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. (John 15:5)

Sweetarts in Life (2 Samuel 19:4-6)

Do you remember your childhood favorite candies.  One of mine was Sweetarts.  I remember when they came out.  They were a two inch disk that packed the best of both worlds in candy: sweetness and tartness.  This candy reminds me much about life: it is filled with sweet events and also events that are tart.  Things have changed since then: both my tastes and also the size of the candy, but life is still the same.

For the believer, blessing and sorrow come in the same package,  it is in times of deepest hurt and sorrow when God will be present to strengthen and comfort you.  The problem for many is that because their focus is so much on the hurt and sorrow, they fail to recognize God's presence or working in their lives.  David experienced just such an event.

But the king covered his face, and the king cried with a loud voice, O my son Absalom, O Absalom, my son, my son! And Joab came into the house to the king, and said, Thou hast shamed this day the faces of all thy servants, which this day have saved thy life, and the lives of thy sons and of thy daughters, and the lives of thy wives, and the lives of thy concubines; In that thou lovest thine enemies, and hatest thy friends. For thou hast declared this day, that thou regardest neither princes nor servants: for this day I perceive, that if Absalom had lived, and all we had died this day, then it had pleased thee well.  2 Samuel 19:4-6

He sorrowed so greatly over the loss of his son that he failed to see his victory blessing and the goodness of the Lord in the people that supported him.

As you face difficulties in your life such as financial strain, an unwanted diagnosis or any type of loss, remember that the event--as a two sided coin--has more that one aspect to it.  Trials and struggles will come, but the Lord has promised always to be present with you even in the midst of the struggle and he promises to see that all things work together for good. (Romans 8:28)

What you can do as you face trials is to stop and pray to the Lord.  Acknowledge that you know he allowed this event to occur and you believe that he wants to work and manifest his presence in the trial.  Pray for him to guide you and to help you recognize his workings.  Rest assured: although it may take time, he will answer your prayer.

Forget Karma: God is Watching (1 Samuel 26:23)

If the Lord gave you what you really deserved, would you be ready for it?  Would you look forward to it with joy or does the thought frighten you?  What we fail to recognize is that it is not just a hypothetical question. 

The Lord render to every man his righteousness and his faithfulness: (1 Samuel 26:23)

These were words spoken by David when he interacted with King Saul who sought to kill him.  He knew that God was sovereign and would return upon men that which they have rendered to others.  The same still holds true today.  The New Testament describes the principle as sowing and reaping.  What you sow, you will also reap.  It may take some time before it arrives, but it is coming.  Just like it takes all summer for apples to grow and ripen on a tree, it may take most of a person's life before they reap what they sow, but be sure, they will reap.  

Much of this principle concerning sowing and reaping is in relation to how we treat other people.  If we sow righteousness towards others, then we will get righteous treatment back, but if we sow wickedness then wickedness awaits us.

Some may ask, "What guideline could I follow that would aid me in sowing righteousness?"  The answer would be to love your neighbor as yourself. (Matthew 22:39). If you allow your actions to be motivated by what is best for another person or make decisions that enable you to meet the needs of someone else instead of focusing on yourself, you will most consistently sow righteousness.  This doesn't require you to give all of your money to the poor or even to live a dejected life.  It only requires you to start focusing on others instead of yourself.  Give somebody recognition.  Show patience and mercy, try looking at situations from the other person's perspective or even take time to listen to people and their problems are opportunities that each of us have to sow righteousness.  It will not cost you one penny, but it will be an investment worth millions of dollars.

For you, the world of people is a field ready for planting.  What kind of seeds will you sow?

Why Do People Come to Jesus?

 

Why do people come to Jesus? Most people in society believe that it is the result from someone scaring them to death about hell. But is that really the reason? Surprisingly, it is not.

In Matthew 5 and Luke 6, Jesus speaks of certain conditions in life that are considered blessings to man. Blessed are you that are poor; blessed are you that are hungry;blessed are you that weep: these doesn't sound too promising to me. I don't see people lining up to be poor, hungry or sorrowful, but still Jesus says that these people are blessed.

Blessed be ye poor: for yours is the kingdom of God.

Blessed are ye that hunger now: for ye shall be filled.

Blessed are ye that weep now: for ye shall laugh. (Luke 6:20-21)

The reason these are blessings is because when people find themselves in these types of situations, they are unable to deliver themselves and are forced to look outside of themselves for hope.

Before coming to Christ, I had everything that I have ever wanted, but I was miserable and sorrowful inside. That sorrow moved me to seek Christ. Renowned apologetist, Ravi Zacharias, was in a hospital bed after a failed suicide attempt and soon afterwards trusted Christ. I have met many successful businessman with cash just flowing through their hands, but their hearts were dry and the dry emptiness turned them to Jesus.

Surprisingly, most people do not come to Christ out of fear, but they come to him because they recognize the need for God to be in their lives. God wants to be in people's lives so that he may do his miraculous work, but in order for that to occur, he first must conquer the sin that separates us from him.  The message of Christ is still true. He died on the cross to make a complete payment for your complete lifetime committing sins.  His life for yours. When we trust him to do this, the sin debt is gone, but he does much more than that.  The poor become kingdom rich, the hungry souls are fed and the sorrowful laugh with joy.

Think about it. Why did you come to Christ? Or haven't you yet? You can today by simply calling upon him to save you from sin and do this miraculous work in your life too.

Pleasing to God (Colossians 3:20)

The scriptures inform us that the action of children obeying their parents is well pleasing to the Lord.

Children, obey your parents in all things: for this is well pleasing unto the Lord. (Colossians 3:20)

It does not say that children who obey their parents are well pleasing to the Lord, but that obeying parents is pleasing to him.  As a child of God which positionally puts you in Christ, God is always pleased with you.  However, there may be things that you do that may be displeasing to the him.

This can be difficult for some to understand.  They are locked into the thought that if a person does something that is displeasing to the Lord, then the Lord must also be displeased with them.

What we must understand is that God does not exist in linear time.  This means that God is not stuck in time like you and me only moving forward from one day to the next.   Time does not affect him: he can see from the beginning to the end and from the end to the beginning.

My children, as all children, have done things that are pleasing to me and also displeasing.  Some of these actions were faults and others we sins.  However when I look at them and assess whether or not I am pleased with them, I am able to see and recall much of their past and even with their faults and sins, I can still truly be pleased with them.

God looks at us from eternity future.  The complete workings of salvation have been accomplished and from that standpoint as he looks at you in today's time, you are pleasing to him.  You are pleasing to God because of Christ and whenever he sees you, he sees you in Christ.  The actions you do may be displeasing, but you are still pleasing to him.  If you remain in disobedience and continue to act in ways that displease the Lord, he may chasten you.  He will do this because he takes pleasure in you, and he cannot allow you to ruin your life.

Remember, your relationship with God is completely based on the works of Christ.  There is nothing that you can do that will make you any more or less acceptable to him.

Knowing Leads to Trusting

Years ago, the GI Joe cartoon had a slogan, "Knowing is half the battle."  That slogan is true for believers as well.  How do you know or view God determines your level of trust.

And they that know thy name will put their trust in thee: for thou, Lord, hast not forsaken them that seek thee. (Psalms 9:10)

If you know God as one who is quickly angered at you and ready to judge, then you will have a difficult time trusting him. However, if you have experienced God's faithfulness and see him as a loving father full of mercy, then you will wholeheartedly cling to him in times of trouble.

The secret to the Christian life is not trying harder or laboring to mustarding up faith, but instead to get closer to him. Just as you and I can trust true friends but shy away from trusting strangers, we will more comfortably trust God as we move from a practically stranger relationship to one as a son resting in the bosom of his father.

Praise Can Be Difficult (Psalm 34:1)

Some people today have received the heart breaking news that a loved one has passed away.  Others may be under the heavy burden of finances or the obligations of work.  Children may be a blessing from the Lord, but as you raise them, they may make decisions that absolutely devastate your life.  With life as difficult as it is, is it outlandish to think that God wants us to continually praise him?

I will bless the Lord at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth. (Psalms 34:1)

In order for praise to continually be in your mouth, you must have a biblical perspective of life.  You must recognize that God wants to use situations in your life to either develop or display your faith.  When you have this perspective on life, trials and blessings are recognized as instruments for God's glory.  Remember, how you see life determines how you respond to it.

To praise is to boast.  True praise boasts on the goodness of God and it has two purposes: to magnify the Lord and to encourage others to do the same.  It is intended to be public so that others will hear.  When you praise the Lord, you not only magnify him, but you solicited others to do the same.

My soul shall make her boast in the Lord: the humble shall hear thereof, and be glad.  (Psalms 34:2)

Praise is not an attitude that you can just conjure up.  It results from acts of trust.  Throughout the Psalm, David declares the works that the Lord has done for him.  Occasions of deliverance, hearing of prayers and encouragements all resulted from him trusting the Lord and because of them, praise flowed from his lips.

As you face difficult trials in you life, turn your heart to the Lord.  Yield yourself to whatever he wants to accomplish and as you do, his spirit will guide your heart to the treasures that he has in stored and enable you to praise him.

Praise, Honor and Glory (1 Peter 1:7)

At the seat of the new man in Christ is faith.  All that man is will come from his faith.  Trials are not temptations to sin, but are testing of that faith.  The results of the testing of faith affect man, testify to those around them and are intended to bring praise, honor and glory to God.

That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ: (1 Peter 1:7)

It is not our actions that bring glory to God, but instead our faith.  Abstaining, performing and working may all appear to be what is expected of men, but they are not.  Each of these could have a motive other than faith.  Fear, shame and pride could all motivate man to strive at achieving these and the results would be nothing more than wood, hay and stubble (1 Cor. 3:12).  Many have failed because they focused on producing the by products of faith instead of yielding faith to God.

Abide in the vine and you will yield the vine's fruit.  Read his word for the purpose of knowing and experiencing him.  Do this so that your heart will love him more and become devoted to him.  This is what is pleasing to the Lord.

Since the scriptures say, the just shall live by faith.  Are you performing or abiding?  The actions may appear the same: one will bring praise, honor and glory, but the other will yield shame.

He Touched Him (Matthew 8:3)

Many times, there are behaviors that people do that are overlooked by most.  Some people wring their hands as they think about something that disturbs them.  Others may brush their hair from their face when they are nervous.  The behavior isn't really important, but what is important is the motivation behind the behavior.


And Jesus put forth his hand, and touched him, ... Matthew 8:3

As I consider the passage recording Jesus healing the leper, I cannot help but ask my self questions in regard to Jesus' behavior.  One question is why did Jesus touch the leper?  He didn't need to touch him in order to heal because the next few verses record Jesus healing the centurion's servant who was some distance away.

Consider this.  When do you think was the last time the leper was touched.  I don't mean being pushed as he fought for food or random interaction among lepers, but when was the last time the leper experienced a tender affectionate hand rest upon the side of his face?  When did he last feel a grasp on his should like that of a loving father who rests his hand upon the shoulder of his son?  It had probably been an extremely long time.  I believe that after years of rejection from society and solitude living, the touch was God's display of affection to the leper.  It seems that as Jesus's hand gently rested on the leper, a part of the leper revived and his heart filled with the experience of God's love.

Did you know that God wants you to have that same experience of his love.  Regardless of whatever is in your past, God wants to have a relationship with you.  He loves you dearly and has done--through Jesus' work on the cross--everything that is necessary for that relationship to occur.  Come before and ask as the leper did and ask.  The relationship is greater than you can imagine.

Faithful in Christ (Colossians 1:2a)

To the saints and faithful brethren in Christ which are at Colosse: (Colossians 1:2a)

What is it to be faithful in Christ?  Is it to abide by a doctrine of beliefs?  Do I need to continually learn doctrine and make sure that my beliefs are correct?  Doctrine is important, but looking back over my life, I can say that such a task has been a life-long endeavor.  Doctrine may be important, but it does not make us faithful.

Is being faithful in Christ a matter of living a certain way or up to a certain code of behavior?  We would all agree that God hates sin and that any aspect of sin in the life of a believer is besetting.  But at what point of living would a person be considered as faithful?  How much sin is allowed or how many times can a person fall before they are considered as unfaithful?  If this were the standard for faithfulness, then nobody would be faithful, because everyone is still a sinner and falls short of the glory of God. (Romans 3:23)

So, what is it to be faithful?  The word faithful comes from the Greek word pistos which means faith or believe.  To be faithful could be stated as to be believing.  Those who are faithful in Christ are those who continue to believe in God and his testimony to men.

When the trial comes, they believe in the goodness of God. When they face great need, they believe that God will provide for them as he provides for the birds in the air. (Matthew 6:26). When loved ones die, they believe in look for his comfort. When they have been sinned against, they believe in God's solution and forgive passing all vengeance to God.  The faithful in Christ are those who exercise faith as they face situations in life. Never is it easy, but with Christ in us who is greater than all that is in the world, it always is possible.

To accomplish this, the step is simple: abide in the vine. What is abiding? It is to continue, to tarry, to stay, or to remain with Jesus. It is turning your heart and affection towards him. Jesus commended Mary as she demonstrated this important aspect of the believer's life. To be faithful, you will need to sit at the feet of Jesus and have a love relationship with him. The earlier mentioned incorrect views were part of a duty relationship to Christ. Those you cannot always perform.  God is more concerned with our hearts because when the heart is right, everything else will fall into place.