FAITH

The subject of faith can take us down many paths, here's one.

The Bible tells us in James that "faith without works is dead" or barren, or unfruitful. Then we are told in Hebrews that "without faith it is impossilbe to please God". Indeed faith is an important subject, something we need to understand and grow in.

Heb 11:7 By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith. (KJV)

The faith that Noah had caused an action, he moved, he prepared, he did something becasue of what he believed. It took many years to build the Ark, a good share fo his life, but because of what and whom he believed he stayed with it. Let me make this statement, "If what you say you believe does not effect what you do, you really don't believe it".

Notice James said, "faith without works is dead", he didn't say faith without manifestations, there is a big difference. Many times we are tempted to be discouraged when we excersize our faith and the manifestation doesn't come to pass as we had hoped. Faith isn't always about the manifestation that we want, but it is always about pleasing God. If you read the whole chapter of Hebrews 11 you will find that there are those who were "destitue, living in caves, and sawn asunder". Those aren't the usual manifestations we would expect to be associated with "productive faith", but God was pleased enough with their work of faith to record them in the Bible. In short I think it is safe to say that God is more interested in the Work of our faith, in our trusting of Him than in the manifestations our faith produces. That is not to say that He doesn't want us to have all that he has promised us or that we should not pursue the dreams He has put in our hearts. It is just that faith is about trusting our Father and obediently living our lives for Him and His purposes not just getting things from Him. It's a matter of priorities.

God is pleased with us as we use our faith even if we sink like Peter. Mt 14:31 And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt? (KJV) When you stop and think about it that doesn't sound like some scathing rebuke, but like a father reaching out to a toddler who is learning to walk. If Jesus were that upset with Peter He might have called him a "viper" or "white washed seplechure", I am sure Jesus knew how to say what He meant. No I think it was more like "dude, you can always trust me" .. my paraphrase. I believe everytime you step out in faith Jesus and the Father look down on you and say, "look at him or look at her go". Jesus is Your great High Priest and your intercessor, I think it is safe to say He is your greatest fan.

Go for it. The Lord is on your side, who can stand against you?

SELAH

ONE DEFINITION OF SUCCESS

[Jn 14:23] Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.

Having the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit living in us is prosperity or success anyway you want to slice it.

You might say or think "How will having a close relationship to God help me in everyday life"?

The greater our awareness of the presence of God the more apt we are to walk in His ways. His ways are blessed already, His ways work, and He is the one who best knows how to live life. The path that our Shepherd chooses for us may not always be the easiest in our mind, but it is ALWAYS the right path and in the end we will find goodness and mercy following us and we will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

THAT IS SUCCESS.

SELAH

A WINDOW

Our ability to trust the Lord, to believe Him or have faith in Him and His Word is directly related to our revelation of His love for us as an individual. To the degree that we are convinced that Jesus loves us is the same degree that we are willing to trust Him.

The Love of God is so amazing, so incredible, so great toward us that is passes understanding. That however doesn't mean that we can't experience a deeper and deeper communion with Him. He loves you and I more than we know. Lets do all we can to plumb the length, height, breadth and depth of His love.

1Jo 3:1 Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God:

Eph 3:17-19That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; 19 And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God. (KJV)

SELAH

WET WATER WALKER

Sometimes I think Peter gets a bad rap, when the story of him walking on the water is told. It is almost always mentioned that Jesus said to him, "oh ye of little faith" but the Bible doesn't even mention what Jesus said to the eleven still in the boat.

Peter did have the faith to get out of the boat. True he was overcome with the sights and sounds of the circumstances around him and he began to sink, but he walked on water farther than I ever have... how about you?

Learning to walk by faith is like Peters experience, we make it a few steps then get caught up in the things, the fears, the circumstances around us and get our eyes off the Lord and His Word. Thank God He hears and answers when we call. Sometimes we may have to swim to the shore, spit out the seaweed and say here I go with God again .. in the end He will see us through. In the days that we live in and are facing we have to know how to walk by faith, living by the Word of God alone.

I guess I just want to say I would rather be a wet water walker than a dry boat rider. I would rather be working on walking with Jesus than rowing a boat in a storm.

Blessings in Jesus

SELAH

ALL WE NEED AND MORE

[2Co 9:8] And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work.

I want to start out by saying that the context of this verse is money. We can expect financial blessing from God to come our way. Jesus said in, [Lk 6:38] Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.

Having said that it occurs to me that so often we think or say, "I need this much money so I can do" ... Whatever it is we are thinking about. It is true that in some cases only money will do. However in many cases money isn't what we need at all. For example if I need a computer and I ask God for it He may have someone give me one, or He may prompt someone to loan me one, the boss may let me do the work on the office system, or someone could give me the money to buy one, or I could get some overtime and extra cash to buy one. The point is that God has many avenues of meeting our needs and answering our prayers.

As I thought about our opening text it occurred to me that what God gives us is His grace (His ability in us to do what we cannot do ourselves). His grace abounding toward us is what makes us sufficient for all circumstances. [Phl 4:13] I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. No matter what state or circumstance we find ourselves in, California or Alabama, empty check book or full, in Christ we are sufficient because we have His grace in abundance. We have grace to endure, to stand, to overcome, to win, grace to do all things and to finish our race.

SELAH

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

Joh 14:12 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father. (KJV)

That's quite a statement isn't it?

What was your first thought when you read that? Was it "Yes", "all right" or, "Amen"? Might it have been "yeah right" or "no way"?

After thinking about it for a moment, do you think it is possible for a man to do the works of Jesus?

More to the point, do you think it is possible for you to do the works of Jesus?

I hope your answer to those last 2 questions was yes, because God does or He wouldn't have said it! We may have to learn how, but we can.

Mr 9:23 Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth. (KJV)

Remember what we believe starts with what we think.

SELAH

A DIFFERENT TWIST

I ran across this verse the other day and I thought it would be a good installment.

Watch your thoughts; they become words.
Watch your words; they become actions.
Watch your actions; they become habits.
Watch your habits; they become character.
Watch your character; it becomes your destiny.

Frank Outlaw

I don't know who Frank Outlaw is but ... thanks Frank.

Ro 8:29 For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. (KJV)

I believe the destiny of every Christian is to be conformed to the image of the Son of God. Our thoughts, words and actions should line up with that God given goal.

SELAH

MORE CONTRASTS

Buddah is dead.

Confuscious is dead.

Mohammed is dead.

JESUS CHRIST IS ALIVE AND WELL ... FOREVER THE SAME ... UNCHANGABLE ... THE LORD OF LORDS AND KING OF KINGS ... HE IS SAVIOUR ... HE IS HEALER ... HE IS BAPTIZER IN THE HOLY GHOST ... HE IS THE SOON COMING KING.

HAVE A BLESSED EASTER

SELAH

CONTRASTS

David as a shepherd boy said,"who is this uncircumscised Philistine that defies the armies of the living God" and went after Goliath.

Joshua and Caleb said, "we are well able to take the land, let us go up at once and possess it". Later they did just that.

Caleb when it was time to take possession of his tribes inheiratance said, "give me the mountain", which was where the giants lived ... and he took it.

The "boys" in the boat said, "Master we are perishing". (Not that there is anything wrong with calling on God for help) but Jesus replied, "Why are you so fearful"? The word fearful is first translated or defined in Storngs Concordance as "timid". Jesus was asking, why are you so timid?

There is at least one thing that all of these men had in common. They all had the same covenant, with the same God.

We have a "Better covenant established on better promises", and the God that they served has now become our Father and lives within our hearts.

Why are we so timid?

Be bold, be strong for the Lord thy God is with thee.

SELAH

FLOATING BOATS

Jesus and "the boys" were going across the Sea of Galilee. He was asleep in the back of the boat and a storm came up. The boys freaked out and woke him up saying, "Master don't you care that we are perishing"? He said, "why are you so fearful and where is your faith"? Then rebuked the storm and there was a great calm.

They "the boys", like we do many times forgot who was in the boat with them. I suppose we should give them a bit of a break, after all they were still learning who Jesus really was. Maybe we are too in a way. I think though, that most of us should realize that if God says something is going to happen it will happen. If He tells us to "go to the other side" He will make sure we get there.

The Bible tells us, "Fear not I am with you", "I will never leave you or forsake you", "Lo I am with you always", " the Kingdom of God is at hand", "the Kingdom is in your heart", "if God be for us who can be against us", "The Lord is on my side" and "The Lord is at hand. Be careful for nothing".

Who or maybe the better question is what floats your boat? The simple answer is your faith in the Lord Jesus who is in your boat. Even though Jesus questioned the boys about their faith, in their defense I think it should be pointed out that they did have enough faith to cry out to Him, instead of doing what we do so often which is struggle silently in our own strength and suffer shipwreck or drown.

The Lord is always available to us and He wants us to call on Him. He has given us access to His mercy and His grace. We have been told to "come boldly" to the throne, but still so often "we have not because we ask not".

Are you in a storm? Do you need help, wisdom, understanding or strength? ASK.

Php 4:5-7 ... The Lord is at hand. 6 Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. 7 And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. (KJV)

SELAH

SEEDS, WORDS AND POWER

Ge 1:11-12 And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so. 12 And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good. (KJV)

Mr 4:14 The sower soweth the word. (KJV)

Isa 55:11 So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it. (KJV)

Seeds produce after their own kind. This is true for plants, animals and human beings. It is also true of God's seed, we were born again of incorruptible seed, the Word of God.

Words are seeds. Most important are the Words of God for they are the seeds of His will and purpose. Just as natural seeds have within themselves the power to reproduce, so the Word of God has power within itself to produce the will of God.

Every promise of God has the power within itself to produce its fulfilment. Every command of God has within it the power to accomplish the command. God will never ask of us something that He will not enable us to do. For the sake of clarity it should be said that seeds must be planted and commands must be acted upon in order for the power to be released... but it can be released! Halleujah!

Remember your words are producing your life. What kind of harvest are you planting? Are your words in line with Gods?

Word up ... Power up ....

Help us Lord to guard our thoughts and choose our words wisely today in Jesus Name. Amen

SELAH

OUT AND ABOUT

Ac 10:38 How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him. (KJV)

Jesus went about doing good, so can we. We are anointed with and empowered by the same Holy Ghost as He was, the same God is with us and He has promised never to leave us. Jesus said that as believers we would the works that He does.

Joh 14:12 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father. (KJV)

Notice that it does not say the works that I did, but that I do. Jesus is still alive, doing the same things He has always done, He is just using us to do them. Notice also that it says "shall he do" and not he might do. Should we be setting our sights higher?

I think it's important to remember that there are many ways of doing good. The most effective deeds or acts are those that the Lord directs us to do. Jesus is our example in exact obedience, as in all things. He only did what He saw the Father do and said only what He heard theFather say, that's one reason he was so successful at all He did.
To smile, or give a hug, or an encouraging word in the Lord's timing is just as important as a "miracle" or healing. Whatever the Lord directs us to do, to whomever, where ever we are, we can do effectively because He is with us to strengthen us. He is ever with us empowering us to do good.

Be blessed and be a blessing while your out and about ... perhaps on a majestic moped ...hmmm

SELAH

HEAVENLY RIDE

I rented a Harley today and rode with one of my sons. It's been awhile since I've been on a Harley. What a Blast!!!!

The Bible says Jesus went about doing good. I've been challenged by that simple description of the ministry of the Master. God is with us too, and we can go about doing good.

I was glad today that I was able to go about on a Heavnely Harley, it could have been a Holy Honda, a Godly Goldwing or I could have riden a Yamaha for Yahweh. I guess that main thing is going about doing good with Jesus.

SELAH

THINK ON THESE THINGS

Php 4:5-8 ... The Lord is at hand. 6 Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. 7 And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. 8 Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. (KJV)

There is at least one thing that has all of the attributes, the Word of God.

The Bible is a collection of the thoughts of God on every subject we will encounter in life. They are thoughts that we can think, thoughts that will lift us to His position, they are higher than our thoughts. His thoughts are better than our thoughts. His thoughts are grander than our thoughts and His thoughts produce His ways.

His thoughts produced His Words. His Words produced actions ("let there be" and there was). Those actions set in motion our world and the lives we can live in Him. The Words of God establish the position and potential of God in our lives. For example He has declared Himself to Jehova Jireh, The Lord our provider, because He is the Lord and He changes not, because the Word of God is settled forever in Heaven He will forever be our provider. With God the impossible is possible He is Almighty God.

His thoughts in our hearts and minds, His Words upon our lips will produce His will accomplished in our lives. His Word on our lips releases the potential of God into our lives.

The words of our mouths and meditations of our hearts are of great importance. David asked that both be pleasing to God. Again let me say that the relationship of our words to our actions must be understood ... our words combined with our actions frame our worlds. Your mate can be your "old lady" or your "old man", or your best friend and greatest love. We are the ones who choose our words, thats why we should engage our hearts and minds before our mouths.

Think on these things ... the higher things ... the higher ways. Be Blessed in Jesus.

SELAH