Tag Archives: faith

May 12, 2016 · 5:37 AM

The Real Question


Have you ever wished God would tell you, “What do you want? Ask, and I will give it to you”? Think about that. What would your answer be? How much time would you take to answer that question? Would your answer benefit just you or would it benefit others? If God promised to give you anything you wanted, that would be a big deal. Personally, I’d be afraid of giving the wrong answer, but in this situation, there really isn’t one.

I asked you that question, because that’s exactly what God asked Solomon in I Kings 3:5. Solomon had just sacrificed 1,000 burnt offerings to the Lord and God visited him that night with that question and promise. The Bible doesn’t say how long Solomon took with his answer. What he asked for has stayed with me my whole life. The final part of his answer in verse 9 was, “Give me the wisdom I need to rule your people with justice and to know the difference between good and evil. Otherwise, how would I ever be able to rule this great people of yours?” (GNT)

Solomon had some big shoes to fill being king after David. He recognized that he needed help in ruling the people, so he asked for wisdom. One of the biggest things that stands out to me is that God asked him what he wanted and he answered with what he needed. There’s a big difference there. Our wants are usually different from our needs. I may want a Lamborghini, but what I need is a reliable car to get from A to B.

Let’s go back to your answer to the question. Was it a want or a need? What about your normal prayer time? Is it a list of needs or wants? I think it’s ok to ask God for the wants, but when people ask for their needs, God goes above and beyond. II Corinthians 9:8 says, “And God will generously provide all you need. Then you will always have everything you need and plenty left over to share with others” (NLT). When God gives what we need, it’s enough to share. So the real question is, do you want what you need or need what you want?

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May 2, 2016 · 6:17 AM

The Journey Of Success


As you know, David was told by God that he could not build the temple. God had told him that his son Solomon would build it. In II Chronicles 22:5, David recognized that his son Solomon was young and inexperienced. He then decided to make preparations for building the temple. He ordered everything that Solomon would need in order to build the temple. Even though Solomon had everything he needed to be successful, it was up to him to do something with all the material if he was going to build successfully.

Success doesn’t lie in having the things God gives us, it lies in doing something with them. In Matthew 25:14-30, we read the Parable of Talents. Jesus told the story of three men who had been given bags of silver from their master according to their abilities. Two of the servants took that material and invested it while one hid it. When the master returned, it was the ones who did something with the material who were considered successful, not the one who let it sit.

I Corinthians 12:7 says, “A spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other” (NLT). God has given each of us the materials to be successful just like David did for Solomon and the master did for his servants. The question is, are you going to let the materials sit there or are you going to do something with them? You can’t let the fear of being unsuccessful to prevent you from doing anything. If you do nothing with what God has given you, you’re no better than the man ho buried his bag of silver.

If God has given you a dream, quit often it’s as big as the task given to Solomon to build the temple. You may look at yourself and think you’re too inexperienced to do what God called you to. If you read the Bible, the greatest heroes of faith were the ones who didn’t let their inexperience keep them from their calling. They trusted God to do His part, so they did theirs. It’s up to each of us to take the gifts God has given us and put them to use. The greatest successes in life start with the smallest of steps. What can you do today to get started on your journey of success?

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March 30, 2016 · 5:30 AM

The Best Friend 

  
I don’t know of a greater friendship in the Bible than that of David and Jonathan. I Samuel 18 says their souls were knit together. Jonathan knew he was next in line to be king, but also knew that God had anointed David for that role. He gladly gave up his rights to the throne for his friend. His loyalty was to what God wanted and not what he was entitled to, and it showed in his actions.

When Saul was desperately trying to kill David, Jonathan would warn him. He helped David escape. On one such occasion in I Samuel 23, Saul was trying to find him, but God hid David. In verse 16 it says, “Jonathan went to find David and encouraged him to stay strong in his faith in God” (NLT). To me, that’s what real friends do. They go to their friend in need and encourage them to trust God and to stay strong in their faith.

David didn’t have to tell Jonathan he was tired of living in caves, constantly having to hide, or that he was hungry. He didn’t have to tell him that he was doubting that God knew his situation and was telling God to wake up. As a friend, Jonathan proactively went to David and encouraged him. He prayed for him and stood by him in the struggle even if it meant his own father would kill him. He didn’t care about the consequences to his own life.

I would venture to say that many of us don’t have a friend like that and aren’t willing to go to that extreme for someone. However, each one of us can encourage another friend to stay strong in their faith. Each one of us can go to someone in need to stand in the gap for them and to pray for them when they don’t have the strength or faith to do it themselves. Proverbs 17:17 says, “A friend loves at all times, and is born, as is a brother, for adversity” (AMP). Be like Jonathan and love your friends in the good times and in the bad. Be there for them in adversity and encourage them when they’re weak. God will honor you if you do.

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March 22, 2016 · 5:30 AM

Get Your Umbrella

  
I once heard about a farm community who was experiencing a drought that threatened to bankrupt the whole town. One church decided to hold a prayer meeting to ask God for rain. Many people from the community showed up and lined the pews of the church. The preacher walked up front to address the crowded church. He said, “This prayer meeting has been cancelled.” The people gasped in disbelief. They had shown up to pray. How could he dismiss them? He said, “I noticed that none of you came with an umbrella. Why pray if you don’t believe God is going to answer?”

I’ve always loved that story. It reminds me of Hannah in the book of Samuel. She had wanted to have a child, but couldn’t. Her husband would go to the temple every year to offer sacrifices. He would then give his other wife, Peninnah, and her children meat from the sacrifice. He then gave the best piece of meat to Hannah. When he did, Peninnah would taunt her and tease her because she couldn’t have kids. Hannah would get so upset she would break down in tears and couldn’t eat.

On one such occasion, Hannah ran to the temple to pray. She quietly wept before the Lord as she prayed. She asked God for a son and promised to give him back if He answered her. As she sat there weeping, Eli the priest, confronted her thinking she was drunk. When she explained that she hadn’t been drinking and had been in prayer, he responded, “In that case, go in peace! May the God of Israel grant the request you have asked of him” (1 Samuel 1:17 NLT). Hannah then went back, ate food, and was no longer sad.

She acted in faith before she got her answer. She believed that God heard her prayer and answered it. We could all learn from her and the farming community. Jesus said in John 14:13, “You can ask for anything in my name, and I will do it, so that the Son can bring glory to the Father.” If we will start acting like God is going to answer our prayers, we will start to see more of them answered. Faith doesn’t wait in order to act. It acts before it knows there will be an answer. 

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March 10, 2016 · 5:30 AM

Crazy Faith

  
One of my favorite stories in the Bible is found in Joshua 10. Joshua led the Israelites into war against five kings. As they were fighting, God threw hailstones from the heavens and killed more men than the Israelites combined. The battle continued to rage, but the daylight was going to end. That’s when Joshua stopped, looked up into heaven, and said, “Let the sun stand still over Gibeon, and the moon over the valley of Aijalon” (Joshua 10:12 NLT). The next verse says the sun stood still until Israel defeated their enemies.

Can you imagine the kind of boldness, courage, and faith it took to make such a request? This is one of the greatest miracles of the Bible. God paused time so that Joshua could defeat his enemies. I love it when God shows off like this. To me, it’s Him saying, “If you can think it, I can do it. All you have to do is ask.” The problem is that I feel like I’m bothering God when I ask for something crazy like this. But God is sitting there wanting me to stretch my faith and ask Him for the unthinkable.

Ephesians 3:20 is a familiar verse to most Christians, and I love how the Amplified Bible writes this verse. It says, “Now to Him Who, by (in consequence of) the [action of His] power that is at work within us, is able to [carry out His purpose and] do superabundantly, far over and above all that we [dare] ask or think [infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts, hopes, or dreams].” God can do infinitely more than your wildest prayers, craziest hopes, and unrealistic dreams. He’s just waiting for you to trust Him enough to do it.

Many times I wonder if I’m asking God for enough, is my faith big enough, or do I trust Him enough. Joshua asked the sun to stand still, a widow asked Elisha to bring her son back to life, and Peter asked to get out of the boat. All three were granted because they were bold and courageous enough to ask. All three had the faith in God to answer their requests. If God is able to do exceeding, abundantly above all we could ever ask or think, I believe it’s time we had a faith that’s crazy enough to ask for those things.

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March 9, 2016 · 5:30 AM

Seeing The Supernatural 

  
Whenever we take teams to Haiti, on the first day, we ask them to keep their eyes open for Jesus. Each night after that, we ask the question, “Where did you see Jesus today?” I look forward each day to hearing where team members saw Him. He’s often found in small gestures from people that normally go unnoticed. I’ve found when you’re looking for Him, you find Him every day. For many of us, we are so caught up in life, that we forget to look for Jesus. We are so blinded by the mundane that we can’t see the supernatural right in front of us.

When we don’t look for Jesus, we don’t find Him. We begin wonder where God is in the middle of our troubles. We then rationalize that He must not care, and then allow our minds to tell us that we are insignificant to God. When we feel insignificant and uncared for, we wonder if God even cares that we serve Him. Praise takes a backseat in our lives. Our daily walk becomes a crawl. Reading the Bible becomes a chore. Prayer becomes nonexistent. We weren’t made to live like that.

If we are going to change the end result of that cycle, we have to change the beginning. We have to start looking for God working in our lives each day. In Psalm 105:4, the psalmist wrote, “Keep your eyes open for God, watch for His works; be alert for signs of His presence” (MSG). He knew that when we look for God, we will be excited about the things He is doing in our lives and share it with others. When we share what God is doing, it helps them to know what to look for.

If we haven’t looked for Jesus, His works, or His presence, how will we know what to look for. Those who see Him need to share with others to help calibrate their eyesight into the supernatural. They may have been seeing Jesus all along, but haven’t known it was Him. Lives are changed, miracles are born, and hope is restored when we see the supernatural on a daily basis. If you haven’t been looking, open your eyes. If you have been looking, but haven’t seen Him, ask someone who has. God promises to be found by those who seek Him. When’s the last time you sought Him? It’s time to make it a daily habit.

If you’ve seen Him recently, please comment with where. Let’s hear your testimony.

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March 7, 2016 · 5:45 AM

The Spiritual Odds

  
In Deuteronomy 20, Moses gave the Israelites a reminder that is good for us too. In verse 1 he said, “When you go out to fight your enemies and you face horses and chariots and an army greater than your own, do not be afraid. The LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, is with you!” (NLT) He knew that there would be battles they would face where they were outnumbered, outgunned, and outresourced. He knew that as people we would look at those things and be afraid.

When I was a kid, my brothers and I would always want to take things to a vote because we knew we had more votes than our parents. My dad would say, “Ok, but our vote counts as one more than yours.” Without knowing it, he was demonstrating what it’s like to have God on your side. It doesn’t matter how many problems you’re up against, you have one more solution than problems because God is on your side.

God wants to remind you today that with Him on your side, you are never outnumbered, outgunned, or outresourced. You don’t have to be afraid of what you’re up against no matter what the physical odds are. The spiritual odds are in your favor. In Joshua 1:9, God again reminds us of this promise. He said, “This is my command—be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.” So be strong and courageous today. God is with you. There is no need to be afraid. Walk in victory.

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March 1, 2016 · 5:30 AM

How To Love God

  
Several years ago, I read the book “Primal” by Mark Batterson. It was one of the most challenging books I’ve read. It expounds on Deuteronomy 6:5. It says, “And you must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength” (NLT). When you peel back all the layers of doctrines, rules, and traditions of Christianity, you will find this verse is the basis for a strong relationship with God.

Loving God with all our heart starts when we accept Him as our savior. In Luke 7, Jesus is approached by an immoral woman who weeps on His feet and then washes them with her hair. Everyone was in shocks as they watched this spectacle. Jesus used it as a teaching moment and said, “I tell you, her sins—and they are many—have been forgiven, so she has shown me much love. But a person who is forgiven little shows only little love.” Loving God flows from a heart that’s been forgiven.

Loving God with all of our soul goes beyond the affection we feel for Him. It draws us into a life that is devoted to Him like what described in Colossians 1:10. It says, “That you may walk (live and conduct yourselves) in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to Him and desiring to please Him in all things, bearing fruit in every good work and steadily growing and increasing in and by the knowledge of God [with fuller, deeper, and clearer insight, acquaintance, and recognition]” (AMP). When we love with all of our soul, our lives reflect it.

Loving God with all of our strength is where I was really challenged in reading “Primal”. I realized that I had been neglecting the gifts that God had given me. I had been so afraid to fail that I never tried. I spent my time working on the first two portions of that verse, but not the third. While that’s good for my own growth, it does very little to help others in their relationship with God. Loving God with all of our strength means stepping out in faith, doing what we were called to do, and letting God do His part.

I Timothy 4:14 says, “Do not neglect the gift which is in you, [that special inward endowment] which was directly imparted to you [by the Holy Spirit] by prophetic utterance when the elders laid their hands upon you [at your ordination].” It takes more than loving God with all your heart and soul to follow what Jesus called the Greatest Commandment. It takes doing something with the gifts He’s given you. Don’t just keep them to yourself. Give them to the world and love God with all your strength.

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February 24, 2016 · 5:59 AM

Your Role Matters

  
My son is into Daniel Tiger from Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood. Hearing the same songs again over and over can get frustrating at times, but it can also drive home simple messages. One of the songs says, “Everyone, everyone is big enough to do something.” When I tell my son he can’t do something, he will usually say, “But everyone is big enough to do something.” I agree with him and find a way that he can contribute because I want him to know that no matter what he does in life, he can contribute.

As Christians, we’re pretty hard on ourselves sometimes. We think of ourselves as less than we are and prevent ourselves from doing things. We tend to think of our failures as a person or Christian, and disqualify ourselves before we ever contribute anything. We think we have nothing significant to offer or we’re not a strong enough Christian. We can be pretty self limiting when it comes to doing things for God.

In I Corinthians 12:7, it says, “The Spirit’s presence is shown in some way in each person for the good of all” (GNT). That means that you have something to contribute to others. God has placed His spirit in you so that you can do what only He’s called you to do. If you excuse yourself from doing what that is, it’s not just you who misses out on the blessing, we all do. Just as each part of our body performs a different function to keep it working, each of us play a role in keeping the Body of Christ going.

You may not like your part. You may not like where you’re located, but don’t let that keep you from letting God show Himself through you. Verse 18 says, “But our bodies have many parts, and God has put each part just where he wants it” (NLT). That means that God has you right where He wants you so you can benefit others there. Quit looking for a better place or a more glamorous role in the body. Be who God called you to be where He placed you. Let God work through you for the good of others. Don’t hold back. You are important to the rest of the body.

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February 22, 2016 · 5:41 AM

All Things Are Possible

  
I scoff sometimes when I read about Moses. He met with God consistently, he physically saw God, He had the Shekinah glory over the Tabernacle that led them, and there was Manna on the ground every morning. He still found a way to doubt God. When the people were tired of Manna, they whined and complained. God called out to Moses and told him that He would provide meat for a month. Moses immediately thought of the impossibility of the situation instead of the ability of God.

The disciples were in a similar situation. They had been with Jesus for a long time, seen Him heal the blind, cure diseases, and raise the dead. Yet when there was a crowd of hungry people, they looked at a couple of loaves of bread and some fish and saw the impossibility of the situation instead of the ability of Jesus. They projected their abilities and limitations onto Jesus instead of His onto themselves.

You and I find ourselves in the same struggle thousands of years later. God has proven Himself over and over to us. He has answered our prayers, He has opened closed doors, He has changed our life, and has spoken to our heart. Somehow, we still find ways to doubt His ability to come through in the impossible. I have to remind myself what Jesus said in Matthew 19:26, “With men this is impossible, but all things are possible with God” (AMP).

God reminds you and I over and over in scripture that what’s impossible for us is possible for Him. I love His answer to Moses in the situation above. In Numbers 11:23, He asked Moses, “Has my arm lost its power?” (NLT) I believe He’s asking us that today. Has anything changed with who God is? I don’t know what impossible odds you’re facing today or how bad your situation looks. I do know that whatever it is, our God is able to provide. His arm has not lost its power. He specializes in coming through in the impossible. Rely on His ability, not yours.

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