The Value of Faith!

Staying with the theme of recent posts I was led to share a previous message from last July.  The value of our faith in times of struggle is the key to living an overcoming life.  

As we face the stress of every day life we need to remember the value of Faith!  We are quick to place our hope in “our” decisions and in “our” ability to direct life according to the outcomes based on factors and elements that are to great for our mortal control.  This is the concept of needing a “Savior”, someone who holds the key to our future, which is God almighty. 

Hebrews 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

GOD'S SAFETY

I was seeking the word “safety” in the scripture this morning and was led to Psalm 91.  As I began to read this passage looking for an ending point with which to pull from, I found myself unable to stop reading.  The fullness of this passage is the WORD for today. 

Do you desire “SAFETY” in your life?

Psalm 91 He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High
Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.

THE REWARD IS WAITING

When the struggles of life seem to get you in a corner its time to move forward.  Your reward is waiting.

Do you ever feel like throwing in the towel?  This saying came from the sport of boxing when a person was getting destroyed in the ring the manager could throw in the towel and end the match.

Philippians 3:13-15Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Therefore let us, as many as are mature, have this mind; and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal even this to you.

RECONCILED WITH GOD

Romans 5:9-11 Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. ¹⁰ For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. ¹¹ And not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.

Webster’s Dictionary

reconcile |ˈrekənˌsīl|

verb [ trans. ] (often be reconciled)

restore friendly relations between : she wanted to be reconciled with her father | the news reconciled us.

• cause to coexist in harmony; make or show to be compatible : a landscape in which inner and outer vision were reconciled | you may have to adjust your ideal to reconcile it with reality. 

When our relationships have been strained in life we need to be reconciled back to the people we have had the dispute.  The definition above tells us that if we are reconciled we can coexist in harmony.

We Need Truth!

It is our nature as people to seek peace. This is difficult when society is telling us to do whatever we want and its “OK”.  It also is forcing us to accept "Everything" as truth.  

When this happens it causes everyone to live by “His or Her” own foundation while creating confrontation and conflict because a selfish foundation is not rooted in God's “Truth”. 

Psalm 52:2-4 You who practice deceit,
   your tongue plots destruction;
    it is like a sharpened razor.
³ You love evil rather than good,
    falsehood rather than speaking the truth.
⁴ You love every harmful word,
    you deceitful tongue!

2 Timothy 4:4 They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.

Everlasting Glory

While driving down the interstate I recognized that the road construction was everywhere. Crews were constantly repairing the damage that the traffic had caused.  I started to ask the question.  Is there anything that is going in the opposite direction? 

It seems as if everything is in a cycle of withering away.  From the roadways to the flowers, trees and even people are in a process of dying off and or diminishing.  It seems that nothing is becoming better, or transforming into something beautiful.  

I gained a revelation about our salvation from this withering away of life.  Only those that are saved and growing in God are being transformed into something that is beautiful with no end to the “glory” that God has in store for them.  By salvation our spirit is not only everlasting, but is becoming more and more complete and beautiful as we seek God to become all that He has for us. 

A Heavenly Inheritance

We live in such a materialistic world that much of the focus is on our inheritance.  Examples of which include: land, money, stock, homes and automobiles. 

I believe we have learned to focus on material things so much that we discount the eternal inheritance that is available to us through Christ Jesus our Lord!

1 Peter 1:3-5 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, ⁴ to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, ⁵ who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

The Crown of Life

James 1:12  Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.

During our daily journey through life we will be faced with many levels of temptation.  Our ability to endure these temptations will result in “LIFE”.  This is the kind of life that only God can provide and it will bring forth the JOY of the Lord and peace in our time of need.

The key word in James 1:12 is “ENDURE”

WHOLE WORLD DECEIVED

Since the beginnig of time the world has been deceived.  We are no exception when it comes to the trap of deception.

Websters Dictionary:

deceive |diˈsēv|

verb [ trans. ]

to cause (someone) to BELIEVE something that is not true, typically in order to gain some personal advantage : I didn't intend to deceive people into thinking it was French champagne.

• to give a mistaken impression : the area may seem to offer nothing of interest, but don't be deceived | [ intrans. ] everything about this was intended to deceive.

• ( deceive oneself) fail to admit to oneself that something is true : enabling the rulers to deceive themselves about the nature of their own rule.

31 times the word deceived appears in the bible

Genesis 3:12-13

¹² Then the man said, “The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate.”

¹³ And the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?”

The woman said, “The serpent DECEIVED me, and I ate. 

Eve was led to believe something by the “ENEMY” that was not TRUE

QUESTION:  Who is this enemy and what causes us to be deceived?

Life’s Lessons

As we narrow in on another season of Travelers Baseball I was led to repost this article about life's lessons.  Sports teaches us so much and it is important to not be deceived by our flesh of what we can truly learn at the root of the challenges we face.

When we talk about sports in the sense of its value we begin to gain perspective.  Team sport is the greatest teaching tool in America to teach our youth about life. 

As parents we can conclude that sports is a place to show acceptance for our children in the world.  It brings us pride for their success. This is good and bad, especially bad if our pride in our children outweighs the potential lessons that prepare them for life as adults.

We need to take a step back and look at the value of competition and how we handle failure and success.  On the field we see our youth fail by striking out or making errors and our human nature seems to want to make excuses for their mishaps, when in reality having to face this adversity is a great lesson that teaches them how to overcome and respond to difficulty with character.

FRESH START

God has a plan for us to grow in every aspect of life.  I have learned that we all go through seasons that can challenge us by design to help us reach our full potential and destiny in God. 

Sometimes we simple need a “FRESH START” to clean up the mess we make during a difficult season. 

Isaiah 43:19

¹⁹ Behold, I will do a new thing,
Now it shall spring forth;
Shall you not know it?
I will even make a road in the wilderness
And rivers in the desert.

Unity Requires a Foundation!

To unite people you have to have common principles and values to bring them together.  I keep reading how we need to unite together no matter our differences.  This would mean race, sexual orientation, cultural differences and even spiritual backgrounds.  When you mix the “anything” is acceptable into this bag of differences you end up with variable differences that simply have no chance of unification.  The liberal view of anything goes will never work because it lacks “TRUTH” as its foundation.

Truth is not a choice but rather a condition.  Truth comes from GOD and its foundation is clearly laid out for us in the Bible. 

Job 34:12 Of a truth, God will not do wickedly, and the Almighty will not pervert justice.

As I continue to see the world reflect its opinion of Christianity I can’t help but be amazed at the foolish lack of knowledge that is being thrown around the internet and television by the “World”. 

The latest headline I read said “Christian Peyton Manning in another scandal”.  First of all the scandals that the world is trying to attach to Peyton are more than likely false.  Secondly and more importantly, why is Peyton Manning and others so visibly labeled as “Christian” with the intent of emphasizing that he or she shouldn’t ever make a mistake or that they are supposed to be perfect.  There is only one perfect one.  Jesus Christ.

Romans 3:10-11 ¹⁰ As it is written “There is none righteous, no, not one; ¹¹ There is none who understands; There is none who seeks after God.

What’s Next?

I woke up this morning with this thought on my mind. What’s Next God?

When we have uncertainty of our future we must hold on to the truth of God and trust Him.  This takes humility to turn loose of our fleshly perspective.  God has a great plan and we need to seek Him daily and rely on the fact that He will guide our steps.

Psalm 25:9 The humble He guides in justice, And the humble He teaches His way.

Question:  Do we want to “learn” from the ways of the world or from God?

Are we looking and pushing towards things that that are offered by the world, or asking the question, What’s Next God?

What’s Your Opinion?

I find myself continuously needing to share this blog from July 7th.  It talks about how much our opinions do not matter when we have no foundation to stand upon.  Here is the blog that everyone needs to hear.

As I thumb through Facebook I see that everyone has his or her own opinion about everything.  This opinion usually is based on a persons past experiences.  The posts are from an intermingled mix of fleshly pride, off-based judgment and even partial spiritual truth.  For the most part, these posts have no real foundation but rather personal opinions based on the following scripture. 

1 John 2:15-17 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. ¹⁶ For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world.¹⁷ And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.