Your Faith

I’ve often quoted Hebrews 11:6 where it says in part, “without faith it is impossible to please God”. So faith must be present in every believers life. In fact, having faith in God is the very definition of a believer. But did you know that our level of faith, or lack thereof, can have a direct effect on whether our prayers are answered? My guess is that you do. But in case I’m mistaken, the story of Jesus healing the blind beggar may help you understand the importance of our engaging our faith when we expect God to move on our behalf. In Luke, chapter 18, verse 42 it says: 

“Jesus said to him, ‘Receive your sight; your faith has healed you.’ Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus, praising God. When all the people saw it, they also praised God.” 

It was the blind beggars faith that brought about healing. Jesus was the vessel used to perform the healing, but he said that it was the beggar’s faith that healed him. There are several other accounts where healing was reliant on the recipient’s faith. There is an account in Matthew where two blind men came to be healed. Jesus said to them, “according to your faith will it be done to you.” What if the men in Matthew and the blind man in Luke didn’t have faith? I believe that they would not have been healed. I say all of this to encourage you to build your faith. If you want the Holy Spirit to intervene on your behalf; if you want your prayers answered; or if you are crying out to God for deliverance, you must have faith. Otherwise, you shouldn’t expect anything from him because more often than not, there will be a direct connect between your faith and the move of God.

—-

Much like everything else when it comes to our Christian walk, our level of faith makes a huge difference. In Matthew, Jesus said that if we have the faith of a mustard seed we can say to a mountain move from here to there and it will. How is your faith? If you are in need of a move from God, often times it is your faith that will get his attention. I believe in prayer chains, the laying on of hands by fellow believers and the fervent prayers of the saints, but we should all be secure enough in our own faith that should we hear the words, “according to your faith will it be done to you,” we won’t be left disappointed. So I would encourage you to believe. Rely first on your faith. Walk close enough to God that like the blind man, it will be as if he says to you, “your faith has healed you”.

What Counts

Grace can be a difficult concept for humans to grasp. How can the God of all creation offer us something that we didn’t earn? How can faith alone qualify us for God’s amazing grace, favor and forgiveness? Surely we must prove ourselves through our deeds, right? The better we are, the more deserving we become, right? Wrong. It is by grace, through faith that we have been saved. But even if we know this to be true in our minds, do we really know it in our hearts? There were some in Paul’s day who, I believe, struggled with this concept as well. Some wanted to prove their worth by their deeds - or by their obedience to the law. They wanted to show their faithfulness through the physical act of circumcision. But in Galatians, chapter 5, verse 6, Paul says this: 

“For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.” 

“Faith expressing itself through love”. That is what counts. What makes a difference in the kingdom of God isn’t legalism, but faith expressing itself through love. We can read as many chapters in the Bible as we want and commit all of it to memory; we can go to every church service and sing every Christian hymn; we can believe that deeds without faith has value; but Paul tells us differently. James reminds us that faith without deeds is dead. But I would also submit to you that deeds without faith is dead.  “For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.” That is a verse worth committing to memory.

—-

When it comes to our deeds, as believers in Christ, Paul reminds us that “the only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.” For some of us, this might require a shift in attitude. We shouldn’t waste our time on things that don’t matter, even if they are veiled in a shroud of Christianity. Sure, many of our Christian practices have benefits, but what really counts is faith expressing itself through love. When we get to heaven, and all of our deeds are examined and filtered through the lens of God’s character, it is this that will float to the surface. Remember, in first Corinthians Chapter 13, Paul points out three vital attributes that God values; faith, hope and love. And in this verse in Galatians, two of those attributes are highlighted. I don’t know about you, but that tells me something.

Good and Bad

There may be several new believers who were sold a bill of goods when they were won over to Christ. They may have been told that when one becomes a believer, God will miraculously change their life situation; that he will soon transform their rough circumstances into something better. They may have been led to believe that God will always protect them from every kind of harm, and because they are a believer, life will be frictionless if only they would put their faith in God. But mature believers know this to only be half true. We know that God does protect us, but we also know that he may choose for us to go through the storm. Job knew this, even though his wife struggled with the concept. It says in Job, chapter 2, verses 9 and 10: 

“His wife said to him, ‘Are you still holding on to your integrity? Curse God and die!’ He replied, ‘You are talking like a foolish woman. Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?’ In all this, Job did not sin in what he said.” 

It is a huge disservice to promise new believers a frictionless life. Because when their faith is tested; when they find that there is a circumstance that God wants them to walk through, not rescue them from, their faith may fail. Job said, “shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?” If you are walking through something today and you’ve prayed for deliverance, all to no avail, consider this verse. Consider that God may want you to walk through the storm. He may have decided not to rescue you from it or to help you avoid it. But also know that in all situations, God is with you. Regardless of what you see with your eyes, know that he can see the bigger picture, and may be working in ways you cannot see. I encourage you to trust him. I encourage you to have faith.

—-

“Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?” Job reminds us that God is sovereign. And in his sovereignty, he may decide to have us walk through something instead of rescuing us from it. If you are familiar with the story of Job, you will know that God allowed Satan to have free reign on him and his family. God already knew, and had decided, that Job would have to walk through all of the calamities he faced. It was only at the end did Job see the bigger picture, and because of his faithfulness God restored to him all that he had lost and more. Will you be like Job? Will you trust God? If you are struggling today, I encourage you to allow the Holy Spirit to give you a new perspective on your situation. Allow him to lift your head and give you hope. Allow him to remind you that God has your best interest at heart, and understand that this may be one of the times he chooses for you to walk through your situation instead of rescuing you from it.

No Vile Thing

The fruits of evil can be enticing. That is why our struggle, as believers, is widely referred to as temptation. If it weren’t enticing, it would be easy for us to be holy and blameless all of the time. But we aren’t a sinless species. Sometimes we fall. Sometimes we give into the temptation and allow vile things to enter our eyes, ears, hearts and lives. God wants us to avoid such things. In fact, if we are to be like him, we should hate them. We should treat them like an icky slime that once tossed on us makes us want to rush to the sink and wash it off so that it no longer clings to us. But it begins with a decision by us to watch what we set our eyes upon. It says in Psalm, chapter one hundred one, verse 3: 

“I will set before my eyes no vile thing. The deeds of faithless men I hate; they will not cling to me.” 

It shouldn’t take long for you and me to identify what tempts us. It should be obvious what causes us to stumble. When you hear this verse, what comes to your mind? What is it that you shouldn’t set before your eyes, or your heart? I encourage you to determine in your heart and your mind that you “will set before your eyes no vile thing”, as this psalm by David challenges. It goes on to say the the deeds of faithless men he hates; that they will not cling to him. What is clinging to you today? I encourage you to think like David. If there is any sin, or any vile thing that clings to you today, come before the Lord and ask him to wash you clean; to scrape off what is vile that you may walk in right relationship with him once more. Practically speaking, when we are dirty, nothing will make us feel as good as a hot shower to make us clean again. Spiritually speaking, I would suggest the same remedy is required. Nothing will make you feel as good as a repentant and recommitted heart cleansed by the Holy Spirit to make you clean again.

—-

Are you familiar with teflon? If you enjoy cooking you might be. It is a synthetic resin used to coat cooking utensils so that food doesn’t stick on them. Let our countenance be like teflon. As Psalms 101 says, let us hate the deeds of faithless men. Let us proclaim that like teflon, they will not cling to us. I understand that it may be more easily said than done for most of us. But with the Holy Spirit, it can be done. So I encourage you to have the heart of David. I encourage you to proclaim that you will set before your eyes no vile thing; that you will learn to hate the deeds of faithless men; and that they will not cling to you. If you are currently winning the sin battle, great. But if you are struggling to make this verse real in your life, I encourage you to pray with all sincerity to the Holy Spirit, that he will help to change your heart.

Worship Him

I was reading Matthew recently and as I arrived at the birth of Jesus, the motivation of the Magi who went to visit him in Bethlehem made me pause in consideration. Their unwavering faith in a prophesy proclaiming the birth of the Messiah and the star indicating the time of his arrival was incredible. Without ever seeing him, they packed expensive gifts for a long journey to meet the king of the Jews motivated only by faith. And their plan when they were to finally see him was not to expect anything from him, or to ask anything of him, but to simply worship him. It says in Matthew chapter 2, verses 1 and 2: 

“After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, ‘Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw the star in the east and have come to worship him.’” 

When we seek God in prayer, most of the time we come to him with requests. But what if we adopted the attitude of the Magi? What if we came to him with the sole purpose of  worshipping him? I’ll always encourage you to set aside time to pray to God, but next time, consider dedicating all of your prayer time worshipping him. There will be plenty of time to share your requests with him later. But I believe that every believer should consider the power of admiration. Consider Jesus’ response when he healed the ten lepers and only one came back to worship him. He is God and he created us to worship him. My question is, how are we doing on that front? Many of us worship him on Sunday, but what about the rest of the week? I’d like to challenge you, as well as myself, to try to make our prayers as much about worshipping God as we do requesting something of him. Jesus modeled it and as we can see in Matthew, the Magi did too. So what do you say we practice it as well with our hearts engaged and our love and adoration evident toward the one who saved our soul.

—-

When the Magi came to find Jesus lying in a manger, their primary intent was to worship him. What is your intent towards our Lord and Savior? How often do you truly worship him, love him and adore him? Just like a good earthly father loves to have his children lavish their love upon him, God, our heavenly Father loves it when we love and worship him in spirit and in truth. After all, the greatest command is for us to love the Lord our God with all of our heart, mind, soul and strength. Are you doing that? I would challenge you to focus your heart upon him today; to pray with thanksgiving and uplifted hands; to lavish all of the love and adoration you can muster on him. He is worthy.