Faith Crisis

As we all know, it's one thing to have faith when all is well and another thing altogether when you're sick or having a life crisis. When you've been sick a while and you've prayed and prayed for deliverance and nothing happens, it's easy to start wondering if you really believe everything you say you believe.
Head faith and heart faith are two different things. Head faith seems to abandon you when things get really bad, but heart faith is with you always! We read the Bible and listen to the sermons on faith and it all makes sense. But if it never travels from your head down to your heart, you're going to be in trouble when the hard times hit!
We need to be sure that we "know that we know" and believe in our hearts before something come up. It is so easy to "lose your head" when times get tough! Give your faith a good examination today and make sure it's settled in your heart.

Hupomeno

James 1:3 says "For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow." The greek word translated endurance (or patience, in other versions) is hupomeno - a remaining behind, a patient enduring. So, James is telling us that when trials come, when our faith is being tested, one of the things God is trying to do for us is give us the ability to "hang in there"! I don't know about you, but when I encounter a trial in life the first thing I look for is the way out! But God wants us to be able to bear up under pressure. He knows we will need that ability sooner or later. He's always doing what is good for us, even when it may "feel" bad.
I believe the time is coming soon when Christians will really need to patiently endure some things. The world is changing and becoming increasingly hostile toward Christianity. But then, Jesus said that would happen, didn't He? Things are going to happen that will require us to patiently endure and I'm afraid many won't be able to. I pray that I will be able. I don't like trials; I don't enjoy uncomfortable things happening to me. But if God wants me to learn patient endurance and trials are the way to learn, then let it be.

Pain

C.S. Lewis once said "God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks to us in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: It is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world." It is unfortunate that God's children let things get to this extreme. But, it underlines just how much God loves us, that He would go to such lengths to get our attention.
I don't believe God ever causes pain, but I know that He uses pain. None of us are innocent, all have fallen short. There is no telling how many times God holds back judgment when we sin choosing instead to show us His mercy and grace. But sometimes, when we have lost our focus and are heading for dangerous territory, I believe He lets the repercussions of our sin catch up to us to awaken us to reality and teach us. I know He has with me. I'm not saying that all pain and suffering is God's chastisement or His teaching moment, but we need to check ourselves and make sure.
God could just let us wander off into the tall weeds of the world and get hopelessly lost, but He loves us too much for that. He loves us even when we forget how much we love Him! He holds onto us even when we get distracted and let go of Him!
God is the author of love and the author of tough love as well. He knows what we need and He knows how to get our attention. The Bible says "He will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on thee...", but when our minds stray and we wander off into danger, look out! The Good Shepherd, the Perfect Father will do whatever it takes to protect His child!

The Choice to Love

God commands us to love people. He commands us to love one another. He even commands us to love our enemies! If He commands us to do it, we must have the ability to do it. But we don't always have the desire to do it.
Love is a choice. We must choose to love people. We must choose to love people not when we think they deserve our love, not when we "feel" emotionally inclined to love them, not just because they love us and not only when they are "lovable"! We must choose to love them because God commanded us to and because they are made in God's image and because God loves them!
If we are waiting for that fuzzy, warm feeling to hit us before we love people, we are obeying our emotions and not our God. Choose today to love everyone no matter what. It isn't easy, that's for certain. But it is God's will for us and His commandment to us. If we love Him, we will obey Him.
Jesus said that the world will know we are His "because we love each other"! Love is the trademark of God's children! God is love and His children will exhibit love toward people because God's love has been shed abroad in their hearts!

Christmas Present

Do you know what I would really like for Christmas? I would like to hear the trumpet sound and then look up into the eastern skies to see Jesus coming in a cloud with His holy angels! I'm ready for things to be as they should, the way God intended from the very beginning. I'm tired of the hate, the fear, the disease, the pain, the suffering, the hunger, the wars, the selfishness, the racism and all the other evil that plagues this Earth! I'm ready for everything to be made right!
I know that the end will not come until the very last person who will be saved is saved, and I know that no one knows when that will be. But I say the sooner, the better! I'm ready for Jesus to have Satan tossed into the lake of fire for all he's done to people. I'm ready for sickness and death to be thrown in after him. I'm ready for the new Jerusalem to come down and Jesus to take His place on the throne of David to reign forever. I'm ready for a new Earth under new Heavens; a place where there's only peace and love and mercy for all eternity. I'm ready to lay aside all this mortal baggage and be made incorruptible and immortal. I'm ready for REAL life to begin for us all!
Even so, Lord Jesus, come quickly!

Forgiver and Forgiven

The Bible tells us we must (not should...must!) forgive. The Bible tells us that God forgives forgivers. Conversely, God doesn't forgive those who won't forgive. If we refuse to forgive, we sin by not doing what we're told to do. Unforgiven sin will keep us from the presence of God and hinder our prayers. OK.... that seems pretty simple to follow. So, why is it that we keep asking God to hear our prayers and bless us when we know there are people we are holding grudges against?!
Do we think He doesn't know? Or maybe we think He knows you were wronged and that you have a right to hold that grudge and therefore He'll overlook it? Wrong!! God knows our thoughts, so we can't hide anything. And He tells us to forgive those who mistreat us, even our enemies!
We all need to search our hearts and forgive and release those we have been holding something against. When we do, we'll begin to see an outpouring of God's blessings on our lives.

Keep Saving Me

I try to be so tough
But I'm just not strong enough
I can't do this alone, God I need You to hold on to me
I try to be good enough
But I'm nothing without Your love
Savior, please keep saving me ~ Josh Wilson "Savior, Please"

I know Jesus saved me.... but sometimes I find myself asking him to keep saving me. I try hard. I live my best. But I see that my righteousness is filthy rags and on my own I'm a miserable failure. I need Jesus' strength, Jesus' companionship, Jesus' righteousness. Please, Savior, keep saving me.

Curve Ball

I must admit that there are times when God really messes with my theology. I know I don't have everything figured out (who could possibly "figure out" God?) but just when I think I have one little topic in hand, He does something that blows me out of the water. It's very confusing. It's very frustrating. It's very humbling.
He doesn't leave me completely in the dark though. He uses my confusion to lead me into prayer and meditation where He can teach me deeper truths. Besides, He just loves me too much to let me get too big for my britches!
When God throws you a curve ball, don't get angry or let the devil tempt you to doubt. Go to God with your questions and let Him teach you. Meditate in His Word and let the Holy Spirit lead your thoughts.

Childlike

I think we have gotten it backwards. It's our child"ish"ness we're supposed to grow out of, not our child"like"ness! 1Corinthians 13:11 says "When I was a child, I spoke and thought and reasoned as a child. But when I grew up, I put away childish things." Matthew 18:3 has Jesus saying "I tell you the truth, unless you turn from your sins and become like little children, you will never get into the Kingdom of Heaven." Being childish is one thing but being childlike is something altogether different! Mature Christians shouldn't be selfish, silly, whiny, mischievous and the like. But neither should we forget how to have fun and enjoy the simple things in life! Children believe their fathers can fix anything and trust them implicitly. Children can play with others and never even notice the color of their skin. Children forgive and forget so easily. May we always be childlike and never childish!
" To be concerned about being grown up, to admire the grown up because it is grown up, to blush at the suspicion of being childish; these things are the marks of childhood and adolescence. And in childhood and adolescence they are, in moderation, healthy symptoms. Young things ought to want to grow. But to carry on into middle life or even into early manhood this concern about being adult is a mark of really arrested development. When I was ten, I read fairy tales in secret and would have been ashamed if I had been found doing so. Now that I am fifty I read them openly. When I became a man I put away childish things, including the fear of childishness and the desire to be very grown up." ~ CS Lewis

Sin

We have lost our desire for holiness. We have lost our hatred of sin. We have turned God's mercy into a license to do evil. We no longer tremble at the thought of God's wrath and judgment. We have been told that the God of the old testament, the one who erupted in anger and wrath at the sins of His people and slaughtered the men, women and children who worshiped other gods, isn't the same God we serve today. He is a God of mercy and grace and He won't punish sin like He used to. He's not quite so finicky these days. He lets a lot of the "little" things slide. We are in for a very rude awakening!
God's mercy and forbearance is meant to give us time to repent. But when God doesn't immediately judge sin, we start thinking that maybe we got by with it; Maybe God doesn't care about sin anymore! Maybe we are living under grace and we can do as we please! We are fools if we think that.
The Bible says that the wicked are "laying up wrath" for the "day of wrath". Every sin, every selfish deed, every corrupt thought is being noted. The bank account is filling up quickly and one day the total amount will be withdrawn and paid in full. The wrath of God will fall heavily! And do we escape because we confess Jesus as savior? Can we act any old way we want and God's grace blinds Him to it all? Not for one minute!
Sin is still cosmic treason! It is rebellion against the highest of authorities! Sin is still arrogance at it's extreme!