What Is Faith?

"Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen."
Hebrews 11:1 (NKJV)

Faith is an important part of the Christian life.  We are saved through faith (Ephesians 2:8), we live by faith (Galatians 3:11), and without faith it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6).  From these verses we can see that faith is important, but what is faith and how does it work?  If we are saved through it, we live by it, and faith pleases God then we need to know what faith is and how to use our faith.  Faith is just taking what the Bible says, accepting it, and acting like it is true; we act and speak about a situation based on what the Bible says about it, that is faith.

Faith means that we put our trust, focus, and confidence in what God has said in His Word.  We don't trust in our own abilities, we don't focus on our circumstances, and we don't put our confidence in natural things.  When we are in faith about something we will be at peace and rest in our hearts even if we still have questions in our head.  We can put our trust and confidence in what God has said in His Word while still not completely knowing or understanding exactly how God will do what He said He would do, that is faith. 

When we are in faith about something we are really just saying that we know God will help us with what it is that we need and everything is not just left up to us.  God may give us an idea about something we can do in the situation but that does not mean we are trying to do it on our own, our focus is on what God has said not on what we can do.  Faith is not based on our actions but our actions must be in agreement with what the Bible says.  Faith is not a mystery, faith is believing what God says and then acting on that and saying that, that is faith.

Simple, But Easy?

"But He said, The things which are impossible with men are possible with God."
Luke 18:27 (NKJV)

Most of us don't like it when things get complicated and difficult; usually the simpler things are the better.  But, just because something is simple does not mean it is easy.  For example, it is simple to say that we will start eating right and exercising, that is what many people decide at the start of a New Year.  However, most people who make that decision don't follow through with it.  Saying something and wanting to do it is simple, but it's not so easy to actually do it.  It is also simple to say that we should just do what God tells us to do, but is that always the easiest thing?

The Bible tells us we need to be a doer of the Word, a very simple statement that is not so easy to do.  How about walking in love?  It is simple to say that we need to do this but it is not so easy to do when you deal with people who are not always so kind and loving towards you.  This is not to say we should be discouraged and throw up our hands saying that there is no way to please God and to do what He says.  On the contrary, God tells us things that are simple and, although they may not always be easy, they are possible to do and He will help us to do them. 

Most people are only looking for what is easy but that is not always the best choice.  Sometimes the thing that seems the hardest to do is the best and leads us to better things.  So what can we do with things that are simple but not always so easy?  First of all, we need to have the attitude that no matter how difficult something seems to be we can do it.  God will help us do what we need to do.  Secondly, we need to remember that doing the right things in life is not always easy, but it is always best.  God is a big God who will help us do everything His Word tells us to do and everything He leads us to do.

The Real Power Of Your Confession

"Who is he who speaks and it comes to pass, when the Lord has not commanded it?"
Lamentations 3:37 (NKJV)

Our words are very important; what we say about ourselves and our life will have an impact on us.  This principle is something that we see in the Bible but the truth of this principle has been misunderstood and neglected by many people.  Often even when something is true but it is used in the wrong way people have a negative attitude towards that thing.  Our words, our confession, is one of these things.  While it is true that our words are important and our confession will have an impact on our life, many people struggle with this because they fail to understand the underlying principle of confession.

Some people have had the idea that if they just repeat something for a long enough period of time that it will produce results.  But it is not the amount of times or the length of time we say something that really matters.  That would be like what Jesus said about how the Pharisees thought that their prayers would be heard because they used "many words" (Matthew 6:7).  Just saying something we want to have happen one thousand times is not the most important thing, the most important thing is if what we say is in agreement with what God has already said.

We need to be sure that the things we say about every area of our life is what God has said in His Word about every area of our life; God will always stand behind His Word.  God's Word will not return void but it will accomplish what it was sent to do (Isaiah 55:11) and God will watch over His Word to bring it to pass (Jeremiah 1:12).  There is power in the words we speak when we speak God's Word.  When our words are in agreement with God's Word that is when we will see the greatest results in our life.

Maintaining Good Works

"This is a faithful saying, and these things I want you to affirm constantly, that those who have believed in God should be careful to maintain good works.  These things are good and profitable to men."
Titus 3:8 (NKJV)

The New Testament has a lot to say about good works.  Good works are not things you do to earn salvation and guarantee yourself a place in heaven; good works are what you do as a Christian because of who you are in Christ and what God has done for you.  Paul told Titus that Titus should "affirm constantly" the fact that believers should maintain good works.  That is really interesting.  It was not enough just to talk about doing good works once and a while, but Paul said it was something that should be done constantly.  Christians need to be encouraged to do good works, always.

The Bible says that we should be zealous, eager, for good works (Titus 2:14); we should have a pattern, be an example of, good works (Titus 2:7); we should stir up and encourage one another to do good works (Hebrews 10:24); people should be able to see our good works (Matthew 5:16); we should be rich in good works (1 Timothy 6:18); we were created for good works (Ephesians 2:10); and we should maintain, take the lead in, good works (Titus 3:8, 14).  What is all of this saying?  That our life needs to be filled with good works that glorify God.

So if we need to have a life of good works how do we do that?  It all starts with our relationship with God and moves out from there.  As we spend time with God through His Word and in prayer He will give us direction and bring us opportunities to do good works.  We can find good works to do in our church, in our community, and with friends and family.  The main thing is that we are always ready to take advantage of opportunities that come our way to demonstrate the life of God and the love of God that is in us, that is how we maintain good works.

Not By Might Or Power, But By The Spirit Of God

"So he answered and said to me: This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit Says the Lord of hosts."
Zechariah 4:6 (NKJV)

Have you ever faced a situation that seemed too hard to handle, a problem that seemed to be unsolvable, or a task that seemed too difficult to do?  At one time or another all of us have faced things like this.  Zerubbabel was in one of those kinds of places.  He had led a group of Jews back from Babylon to Jerusalem and he was faced with some big challenges as he and others worked to rebuild the temple.  This was a huge job and I am sure he felt a bit overwhelmed.  What God told Zerubbabel is something that we can all benefit from today.

In Zechariah 4 God tells Zerubbabel that what needs to be done will not be accomplished by might or power.  Things were not going to be done by any ability, strength, or power that some person could naturally supply; the work was going to be done by the help of the Holy Spirit.  In our lives today, we may be called by God to do something that seems impossible or we may face problems where we don't know what to do.  This is where we need to turn to God and let Him help us.  By His Spirit, God will give us direction, ability, knowledge, and wisdom to do what needs to be done.

The fact is that everyone will come to a point in life that they will deal with something that is beyond their own resources to take care of.  By His Spirit, God can give us the energy and ability we need, God can show us what to do, God can give us wisdom, and He can direct us about exactly how to be most effective in what we do.  We need to stop trying to do everything on our own and realize that God is ready and willing to help us in every situation.  It is not just by our might or our power that we will be victorious in life and do what God calls us to do, it is by His Spirit!

Be Aware Of The Enemy's Tactics

"Now whom you forgive anything, I also forgive. For if indeed I have forgiven anything, I have forgiven that one for your sakes in the presence of Christ, lest Satan should take advantage of us; for we are not ignorant of his devices."
2 Corinthians 2:10, 11 (NKJV)

It has been said that knowledge is power.  This saying originally comes from the English philosopher and statesman Francis Bacon and it has been used by many people since then.  What we know and understand is the basis for what we do.  A person cannot act on what they do not know and often a lack of knowledge is what defeats people.  The more we know and understand about spiritual things the more effective we will be as Christians and the more we will be able to do for God.  It is good to know what we should do but it is also good to know what we should not do.

In 2 Corinthians 2 Paul talks about forgiving someone and in the next verse he mentions not being ignorant of Satan's devices, literally Satan's plans or purposes.  Paul is showing us the importance of forgiving others and how by not forgiving someone Satan could take advantage of us.  Paul also tells us that our enemy has a plan and a purpose.  Many people get into trouble because they do not understand this. The devil is constantly trying to cause problems in our life and hinder us from doing what God wants us to do.  We need to be aware of this and on guard because of it.

The devil will try to use things against us like unforgiveness, bitterness, disappointment, discouragement, and similar things. If we realize that these things can be opportunities for the devil to attack us we will be on guard against them.  If we are unaware and even ignorant of that then the devil will try to use situations and circumstances against us and we may fall prey to some scheme of the enemy; we need to be on guard against the plans and purposes of the devil.  We have God's Word and the Holy Spirit to help us with this.  No matter what the devil may try to do we can always triumph in Christ!

What Kind Of Report Do You Give?

"The light of the eyes rejoices the heart, and a good report makes the bones healthy."
Proverbs 15:30 (NKJV)

All around the world you can find reporters from different organizations who are reporting the news, or at least what they understand about it.  These men and women find information about various things that are happening to report in news stories.  In the English language a report is defined as "a written or spoken description of a situation or event" and so a reporter is someone who relays this information to others.  All of us have the opportunity to be "a reporter" in our own lives as we give information and "report" about the events and situations we deal with in life.

The Bible talks about a true report, a good report, a bad report, and an evil report.  Something may be a true report but is that a good report?  In the Bible a good report is saying what God says and a bad or evil report is when someone disagrees with what God has said.  How can we be sure what we say will be a good report and not a bad report?  The answer is whether or not what we say is in agreement with God's Word.  We have the choice about what to report and we need to say what God says about everything in our life.  Proverbs 15:30 shows us that the right report can even affect our health!

It is interesting to see how different reporters highlight certain aspects of a story and sometimes fail to mention some other facts that are an actual part of the story.  We can do the same thing, we can choose what aspects of our life we emphasize and talk about.  In every situation we can choose to talk about what God says in His Word instead of just talking about the bad things we could report.  So, what do we report about our lives and the situations we go through?  Instead of just talking negative and saying things that do us no good and really only serve to wear us down, let's talk about what the Bible says and always give a good report.

The Instant Christian

"Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching."
2 Timothy 4:2 (NKJV)

Some people can be very picky.  They like things done in a certain way and if it is not what they like, the way they like, they don't want anything to do with it.  Sometimes we see this with children who only want to eat certain kinds of foods and they refuse to eat others.  There are some people that are looking for the perfect moment to do something and then when they think that they have that moment it often does not work out the way they dreamed it would.  While we may not think of ourselves as that kind of person normally, we may sometimes act like that with spiritual things.

There are Christians who think that they should be able to do what they want, when they want, the way that they want.  They think that what they do for God in their life should somehow be the ideal thing that they would like to do in a pristine setting; but this is not reality.  If we expect to only serve God when everything is perfect and at just the right time we are going to be sadly disappointed.  It seems that just when we get settled something will come along that knocks us right out of our comfort zone and requires us to do more than we wanted to do when we didn't want to do it.

Paul encouraged Timothy to be ready to do the things that needed to be done in season and out of season.  The King James Translation says, "be instant in season, out of season".  That is a good picture; we need to be ready to go in an instant.  The devil will never attack us at a convenient time, people will never have a crisis when we are necessarily ready to deal with it, and the work God calls us to do will probably not be with the exact conditions we would dream of.  But, we can know that no matter what happens, when it happens, and how it happens God is there to help us.  By filling ourselves with God's Word and trusting the Holy Spirit to help us and guide us we can be the kind of Christian who is ready anytime, anywhere to do anything that needs to be done!

Shouting On Monday

"Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing psalms. Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord."
James 5:13, 14 (NKJV)

It's great to be in a church service or at a special meeting with a group of believers.  It can be very inspiring to hear a message that encourages us and motivates us to do more for God.  It seems as though when we are in these kinds of situations we are confident that God can do anything and that no matter what we might face we will overcome.  The problem is that we don't live at church and we don't have special meetings every day.  We may not have a problem getting excited and shouting on Sunday, but what about the rest of the week?  Can we shout on Monday just like on Sunday?

It's easy for us to get excited in a crowd or to rely on others to keep us motivated and help us in difficult times.  But, we will all come to a point where we have to stand on our own.  In James 5 it says that if someone is suffering they need to pray; it does not say that we just automatically call someone else for help or run to a seminar.  James also says if someone is cheerful they should sing, that part is easy.  Singing and even praying are easy on Sunday but can we pray and sing just as easily on our own on Monday as we can with the help and encouragement of others on Sunday?

This shows us the need for spiritual growth and an understanding of who we are in Christ, and this points us back to God's Word.  While we may not have a meeting to go to and we may not have our pastor or other Christian friends around on Monday we still have the Bible.  Yes there will be times when we face a situation that we must call for help, as James 5:14 says.  But, if everyone is just in the position that they always need to call someone else for help who would we all turn to?  We all need one another, as well as spiritual growth and development in our life and a solid foundation in God's Word.  If we have these things then no matter what we face we will always come through triumphantly, every day of the week!

Speaking The End At The Beginning

"Remember the former things of old, For I am God, and there is no other; I am God and there is none like Me, Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all My pleasure,"
Isaiah 46:9, 10 (NKJV)

God is a faith God, He is not a God who is focused on what can be seen but He looks to what is not yet seen.  Isaiah 46 tells us that God declares the end from the beginning.  This is similar to what we see in Romans 4:17 where it tells us that God calls the things that are not as though they were.  God does not just talk about how things look and the way things are now, from the beginning God talks about how things should look and how things will be in the end.  This is a principle we see all throughout the Bible.

In the Garden of Eden after man had sinned God promised that there would be a Redeemer.  We see this principle in the prophecies of the Old Testament proclaiming the coming Savior, Jesus.  We can see God talk like this to people too.  In Judges 6 an angel appeared to Gideon who was hiding from the enemy and the angel from God declared that this was a might man of valor.  In Genesis 17:5 God renamed Abram to Abraham, which means the father of a multitude, saying "I have made you a father of many nations".  It hadn't happened yet but God talked as if it had.

Some people would look at all of this and say that it is fine for God to do this, He is God.  But, the Bible tells us that we need to imitate God (Ephesians 5:1), and that we need to have the God kind of faith (Mark 11:22).  We need to imitate God and use our words the same way that He does.  From the first moment we find ourselves in the middle of a difficulty or a problem we should begin to say what the Bible says about the situation.  Don't just talk about how things look, how you feel, or what past experience you have had, from the beginning make a declaration based on God's Word of what the outcome will be!  That is how God talks and that is how we should talk.

Who Do You Listen To?

"Wisdom calls aloud outside; She raises her voice in the open squares. She cries out in the chief concourses, at the opening of the gates in the city She speaks her words:"
Proverbs 1:20, 21 (NKJV)

In the Book of Proverbs we see several references to wisdom calling out to people.  There are some valuable things we can learn from these examples.  One thing we can see is that wisdom is available, if we listen for it.  We can also see that wisdom is something that will benefit us and help us to lead the right kind of life.  And we can see that wisdom is not the only thing that is calling for our attention; there are many things and many opinions that we can hear.  Our success or failure in life will depend a lot on what it is we pay attention to.

We hear things from other people, we can see and hear the news and the latest events going on around us, and we can of course listen to God through His Word and the direction He gives by the Holy Spirit. There are many things calling for our attention and it is impossible to avoid hearing some things that are not good or profitable.  But, what do we choose to focus on and follow, what do we pay attention to?  Wisdom is calling to us every day through God's Word, but are we listening to that wisdom or are we listening to the wisdom and information from the world?

Proverbs 9 shows an interesting example of this.  In the first part of Proverbs 9 it talks about wisdom calling out to people and then later in Proverbs 9 it talks about a foolish woman who is also calling out to people.  Both wisdom and the foolish woman are calling out to people but what they offer is not the same.  Wisdom leads to life and understanding while the foolish woman, personifying things that are contrary to godly wisdom, leads to the depths of hell.  We all have the choice about who and what we are going to listen to in life and we need to be sure that what we hear is wisdom based on the Word of God; that will lead us to success.

There Is Always Room To Grow

"Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. Brethren, 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."
Philippians 3:12-14 (NKJV)

The Apostle Paul did many great things for God.  Paul traveled to many different places to preach the Gospel and to start churches.  Paul was someone who was very well educated and had a great revelation from God concerning who we are in Christ.  But, even with all of his education and understanding of God, Paul still realized that he did not know everything and there was room for growth and development in his life.  This is also true in our lives, no matter where we are naturally and spiritually there is always room to grow.

Any honest Christian knows that there is always room for more spiritual development.  The Bible talks about spiritual growth and there are several things we can do to grow up spiritually.  We need a continual diet of God's Word, we need to spend time talking to God in prayer on a regular basis, and we need to be involved in what God is doing in the world today.  We need to be an active member of our local church as well as being involved in what God is doing around the world.  Paul said that he was not "perfected" but he kept moving forward so that he could do the things that God had called him to do.

We need spiritual growth but we can use some natural training and development too; we can find ways to improve what we do in the natural side of life.  There are classes we can attend, there are books we can read, and we can ask God for wisdom and insight so that we can be better in whatever we do.  If we realize that we will always have room for growth and apply ourselves to learn and develop in every area of our life we will be more effective for God and more productive in everything that we do.

The Great Commission, Or The Great Suggestion?

"Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age, Amen."
Matthew 28:19, 20 (NKJV)

In Matthew 28 we read about what is called "The Great Commission".  When Jesus returned to heaven He left the work that He started to His followers.  Jesus told His disciples that their job was to go to all the nations, make disciples, and teach.  In Mark 16 it simply says to go into all the world and preach the Gospel, this is what the Great Commission is all about.  However, if you look at what a lot of Christians are doing today it seems like they did not understand what Jesus was talking about.  Most people who say they follow Jesus are not really doing what He asked them to do.

Jesus told His followers to go into the whole world, not "Stay where you are, focus on yourself, and do what you want to do".  Many people would be happy if Jesus had said that, but it is not what He said.  In Acts 1 Jesus said that the Holy Spirit would empower the disciples, and us, to be witnesses for Him, in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the end of the earth.  Again, Jesus is saying the same thing, go into the whole world.  Yes, you can start with where you are but the Gospel message has to go out into the whole earth.  This is what Jesus commanded and this is what we need to do.

Jesus did not give us "The Great Suggestion" and say if we can find the time it would be nice to do it.  No, Jesus told us to go into every nation.  Of course not everyone will relocate to another country, but we still need to do what we can to help fulfill the words of Jesus.   Oswald J. Smith, who was a pastor and a missions advocate, once said, "You must go or send a substitute".  All of us are called to reach the world but not all of us will personally go to the whole world.  But, we can pray, we can give financially, and we can support those who do go.  Individually we cannot fulfill this, but together, with each one doing their part we can fulfill The Great Commission!

What Do You Live For?

"For the love of Christ compels us, because we judge thus: that if One died for all, then all died; and He died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again."
2 Corinthians 5:14, 15 (NKJV)

Some people say that they live for their children, their husband, or their wife.  Others say that they live for the weekend when they have more free time, or that they live for some other activity or event.  When people say things like this they are making the statement that their life is focused on their children, husband, wife, or whatever; this person or thing gives their life meaning and purpose, it is what motivates them.  Having good family relationships, free time, and recreation are all good, but is that what our life should revolve around, is that really what we should be living our life for?

The Bible tells us that all Christians are a part of the body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:27).  The Bible also tells us that each part of the body of Christ has something it needs to supply for the rest of the body (Ephesians 4:16) and that each one of us have received a gift from God that we need to be a good steward of (1 Peter 4:10).  We need to know who we are in Christ and we need to understand that we are a part of God's plan for the world today.  While we do need to take care of things in our natural life, like our family, our focus and what our life revolves around needs to be our purpose in Christ.

Jesus gave His life for us and now we are required to live our life for Him, this is what 2 Corinthians 5 is telling us.  However, this does not mean that we have to sell all of our possessions, forsake our family and friends, and go live an isolated life on a mountain somewhere. What it does mean is that because God created us for good works (Ephesians 2:10) and He has a plan for our life that we need to focus on that and make it what we live for.  God certainly wants us to have a blessed, happy, and successful life but it all starts with finding and fulfilling our God given purpose; that is what we should live for!

Responding Or Reasoning

So he, trembling and astonished, said "Lord, what do You want me to do?" Then the Lord said to him, "Arise and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do."
Acts 9:6 (NKJV)

When Paul met Jesus on the road to Damascus it was an experience that changed Paul's life.  Paul became a Christian and served God for the rest of his life and accomplished great things for God.  Paul asked Jesus the question that we all need to ask, "Lord, what do you want me to do?"  Jesus simply told Paul to get up and go into Damascus and he would be told what to do.  Paul responded by going into the city.  Jesus did not give Paul any real details, Paul had to completely trust Jesus without really knowing what he would find in the city or what was coming next.

There is a lot we can learn from this story.  One thing is that this is a good example about obedience and following God's plan for our life.  Once Jesus spoke to Paul and told him what to do Paul had a decision to make, was he going to respond to what Jesus told him or was he going to think about it for a while and try to figure out what was going on?  This is where many people make a mistake, instead of just responding to what God says they try reasoning it out and often they miss what God is trying to do.  

One thing we all need to settle in our minds is that God knows what we need to do far, far better than we do.  God sees ahead and knows where our next steps will take us.  When we hear from God, through His Word or by the Holy Spirit, we should respond to His direction without trying to figure it all out to see if we understand it, like it, or agree with it.  When God speaks to our heart we should not check in our head, we need to simply respond to His direction.  Once we take the step God gives to us He will give us another step and then another to lead us to our ultimate desired destination.