A Tested And True Faith

If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. Luke 14:26 In the Old Testament, a person’s relationship with God was seen by the degree of separation in that person’s life. This separation is exhibited in the life of Abraham by his separation from his country and his family. When we think of separation today, we do not mean to be literally separated from those family members who do not have a personal relationship with God, but to be separated mentally and morally from their viewpoints. This is what Jesus Christ was referring to in Luke 14:26. Living a life of faith means never knowing where you are being led. But it does mean loving and knowing the One who is leading. It is literally a life of faith, not of understanding and reason, but a life of knowing Him who calls us to go. Faith is rooted in the knowledge of a Person, and one of the biggest traps we fall into is the belief that if we have faith, God will surely lead us to success in the world. But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint. Isaiah 40:31 The final stage in the life of faith is the attainment of character, and we encounter many changes in the process. We feel the presence of God around us when we pray, yet we are only momentarily changed. We tend to keep going back to our everyday ways and the glory vanishes. A life of faith is not a life of one glorious mountaintop experience after another, like soaring on eagles’ wings, but is a life of day-in and day-out consistency, a life of walking without fainting. It is not even a question of the holiness of sanctification, but of something which comes much farther down the road. It is a faith that has been tried and proved and has withstood the test. Abraham is not a type or an example of the holiness of sanctification, but a type of the life of faith. A faith, tested and true, built on the true God. For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness. Romans 4:3 Abraham believed God! A tested and true faith!

I Choose To Worship

And the Lord closed the door behind him (Noah). Genesis 7:16

Did you notice in Genesis that it says it was God who locked the door behind Noah and his family? For 370 days and 370 nights in the Ark, Noah's family is locked in. No windows, decks, internet, cell phones, TV, Youtube, Facebook, or Netflix. Mrs. Noah could not go out for walks or go to the store. They could not take the animals for their da ily walk.

All they heard was the sound of rain for forty days and forty nights. They spent their time fellowshipping, praying, loving on one other, and caring for the animals. God provided for them. I wonder if Noah fretted that maybe the amount of food he took with him would not be enough for eight people and hundreds of animals, especially that he did not know how long it would be before they would disembark the Ark.

Can you imagine that Noah did not think of opening the window of the Ark except after 264 days? That is over nine months!! I am not against watching the news, or surfing the internet, but if you are surfing from one channel to another 24/7, you are leaving the window open for far too long. The rain can flood your Ark with anxiety, fear, doubt, and disbelief.

Even though there is an ocean of viruses and life seems chaotic, God is watching over you! God is in control. Do not be afraid! Be faithful to Him and wait patiently. The rain will stop, and the rainbow will shine again.

Don't let the coronavirus shake your Faith. Don't panic, don't fear. Pray and believe that it is God who locked you in to save you from the raging storm of COVID-19. Hold on to Jesus because all your provision comes from the Lamb.

Now is the time to choose. I choose to worship.

Wearied To A Wayside Well

Reading from the Book of Ezekiel 3:22

And the hand of the Lord was there upon me; and he said unto me, Arise, go forth unto the plain, and I will there talk with thee" Ezekiel 3:22

 

Did you ever hear of any one being much used for Christ who did not have some special waiting time, some complete upset of all his or her plans first; from St. Paul's being sent off into the desert of Arabia for three years, when he must have been boiling over with the glad tidings, down to the present day?

 

You were looking forward to telling about trusting Jesus in Syria; now He says, "I want you to show what it is to trust Me, without waiting for Syria."

 

I laid it down in silence,

This work of mine,

And took what had been sent me--

A resting time.

The Master's voice had called me

To rest apart;

"Apart with Jesus only,"

Echoed my heart.

I took the rest and stillness

From His own Hand,

And felt this present illness

Was what He planned.

How often we choose labor,

When He says "Rest"--

Our ways are blind and crooked;

His way is best.

The work Himself has given,

He will complete.

There may be other errands

For tired feet;

There may be other duties

For tired hands,

The present, is obedience

To His commands.

There is a blessed resting

In lying still,

In letting His hand mould us,

Just as He will.

His work must be completed.

His lesson set;

He is the higher Workman:

Do not forget!

It is not only "working."

We must be trained;

And Jesus "learnt" obedience,

Through suffering gained.

For us, His yoke is easy,

His burden light.

His discipline most needful,

And all is right.

We are but under-workmen;

They never choose

If this tool or if that one

Their hands shall use.

In working or in waiting

May we fulfill

Not ours at all, but only

The Master's will!

--Selected

 

God provides resting places as well as working places. Rest, then, and be thankful when He brings you, wearied to a wayside well.

Woe, to the Rebellious Children

Reading from the Book of Isaiah 30:1-2, 9-13

Isaiah 30:1 Woe to the rebellious children, saith the Lord, that take counsel, but not of me; and that cover with a covering, but not of my spirit, that they may add sin to sin:
² That walk to go down into Egypt, and have not asked at my mouth; to strengthen themselves in the strength of Pharaoh, and to trust in the shadow of Egypt!

Isaiah 30:1 is another of those "woe" passages we see from time to time in the Bible. In it the Lord pronounces a curse upon those rebellious children who turn from trusting in Him to take counsel of themselves, carry out their own plans, and flee to "the shadow of Egypt," rather than resting under the "shadow of the Almighty."

Isaiah 30:2, in this case, fleeing to "the shadow of Egypt" refers to turning to the arm of the flesh rather than leaning on the arm of the Lord. In other words we are not to trust others, in ourselves, or in the world, but only in the Lord. We are to acknowledge Him in all our ways so that He may direct our paths. We are to find our strength in Him alone.

Isaiah 30:9 That this is a rebellious people, lying children, children that will not hear the law of the Lord: ¹⁰ Which say to the seers, See not; and to the prophets, Prophesy not unto us right things, speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits: ¹¹ Get you out of the way, turn aside out of the path, cause the Holy One of Israel to cease from before us. ¹² Wherefore thus saith the Holy One of Israel, Because ye despise this word, and trust in oppression and perverseness, and stay thereon: ¹³ Therefore this iniquity shall be to you as a breach ready to fall, swelling out in a high wall, whose breaking cometh suddenly at an instant.

When you and I make our plans or run to other people instead of trusting in the Lord, we leave a weak spot in our wall of divine protection. At a time when we least expect it, the enemy will break through that weak spot. When that happens, we will indeed be like the "broken section of a high wall" mentioned in Isaiah 30:13.

God does not want us to have weak spots in our lives. He wants us to rely on Him and be obedient to Him so our "walls" will remain strong and thick and our lives will be blessed and full. The more we depend on God, the more He can do through us. Sometimes we may have to go through brokenness before we enter His blessings. Sometimes before God can promote us, He has to remind us of our place.

He is the answer to all of our problems, especially when we are broken. And our children, who have forsaken the Lord, who have taken the path of destruction, are coming upon a time where meeting the Lord face to face will be their final rebellious act.

Showers Of Blessings

Reading from the Book of Ezekiel 34:26

Ezekiel  34:26 And I will make them and the places round about my hill a blessing; and I will cause the shower to come down in his season; there shall be showers of blessing.

"I will send... showers of blessing." Notice that the word 'showers' is plural. God will send all kinds of blessings. And all His blessings go together like links in a golden chain. If He gives you saving grace, He will also give you comforting grace. God will send "showers of blessings."

What is your season today? Are you experiencing a season of drought? If so then it is the season for showers.

Are you going through a season of great heaviness with dark clouds? Then that too is the season for showers.

Look up today, you who are dried and withered plants. Open your leaves and flowers and receive God's heavenly watering.

Laying of Hands Upon You

Reading from the Book of Acts 8:14-18, 10:44-46

^{Acts 8:14} Now when the apostles which were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent unto them Peter and John:
¹⁵ Who, when they were come down, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Ghost:
¹⁶ (For as yet he was fallen upon none of them: only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.)
¹⁷ Then laid they their hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost.
¹⁸ And when Simon saw that through laying on of the apostles' hands the Holy Ghost was given.

The Holy Spirit is the seed of eternal life that leads us to salvation. God gives His Holy Spirit to the truly repentant person after baptism by the laying on of hands by His true servants. Then, through the gift of the True Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ begins to live His life in us.

 ^{Acts 10:44} While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word.
⁴⁵ And they of the circumcision which believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost.
⁴⁶ For they heard them speak with tongues, and magnify God.
The Word of God teaches that though some people received the holy Spirit through the laying of hands, other times the Spirit was simply poured out upon people. The believers who came with Peter were amazed because they witnessed how freely the gift of the Holy Spirit was poured out on the crowd as evidenced by their talking in unknown tongues.

You can ask God to fill you and baptize you in the Holy Spirit right now, right where you are, by simply praying. Then wait on God quietly and believe you have received that for which you asked.

A Choice To Be Humble

Reading from the Book of Matthew 23:12, 1 Peter 5:6

And whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” Matthew 23:12

Humility is a quality that is greatly underemphasized in today’s standards. The world today does not know what humility means, and they do not know how to appreciate it. More importantly, they do not know how to do it. The sad fact is they’re not all that sure they even want to have it.

Culturally, we're much more drawn to the energetic, dynamic, charismatic, crowd-drawing people. That's who gets the headlines and the attention. But if we listen closely and watch carefully, we can see in Jesus someone who is humble, but strong; humble, but charismatic; humble, but crowd-drawing; humble, but dynamic.

The same Jesus who stilled the storm and spoke to the crowds is the same Jesus who washed feet and died on a cross and held babies in His arms when it wasn't politically correct.

Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time. 1 Peter 5:6

Humility is a choice. We’re never told in the Bible to pray for God to make us humble. It’s something you choose for yourself.

Humility doesn’t mean thinking of yourself less. It means thinking of others and God more. If you have experienced some success and are beginning to get prideful, then ask God to teach you how you can be humble. Make a conscious effort to change your perspective about who you are and where your success comes from.

Make a choice to be humble. Making a choice means you change your mind. You go from thinking one way about your life to thinking another way.