Tag Archives: Faith

Before your head hits the pillow

Put on the Whole Armor of God

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Ephesians 6:10-18

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.

As Christians, we must always remember that we are in the midst of a spiritual war. It is not a war of physical bullets or missiles. It is a battle against the evils of the world. It is a battle against greed, against arrogance, a battle against lying, a battle against gossip, or a battle against spreading discontent among believers. It is a battle against the devil himself.

2 Corinthians 10:3,4 – For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses.

2 Timothy 2:3&4 – You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier.

But Paul teaches us what we can do to prepare ourselves for the battle.

Each day, most of us get up and take a shower. Then we determine what cloths we will wear for the day, brush our teeth, tend to our hair and then we are ready for the day, but are we?

Do we take as much time dressing ourselves for the spiritual battles of the day?

Each day we should make sure that we equip ourselves with the BELT OF TRUTH.

In armor, the belt is needed to secure other pieces of armor. The rest of the armor does not function well without the belt being attached firmly in place. Just as God’s truth undergirds everything for our daily lives. If we did not have the truth, nothing in our arsenal would be effective. John 14:6 states that Christ is “the way, the truth, and the life.” Jesus is our truth.

Next we need to take on the BREASTPLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS. In the suit of armor, the breastplate protects the heart and other vital organs. We are deemed righteous only through Christ, not by anything that we can do. Understanding that we are deemed righteous only through the grace of the Lord keeps us humble. It also reassures us that no matter what happens in our lives that we are His. Nothing can pierce our hearts and take his redemption away from us!

After we have fitted ourselves with the belt of truth and the breastplate of righteousness, next we must arm ourselves with the SHIELD OF FAITH.

The shield was the warrior’s first line of defense. It was strapped firmly to his arm as faith must be strapped firmly to us as we face the world. Faith is our first defense against doubt. When we go into battle, we cannot afford to have a tinfoil shield of faith. Our faith must be strong and thick, strong enough to take any arrow or accusation the devil throws at us.

Then we must put on the HELMET OF SALVATION. Salvation is the knowledge that we are sinners, that we must accept Jesus as our Savior and repent of our sins.

The helmet guards our head. Knowledge of salvation comes from our head. There are going to be times that we doubt, but we must rely on that shield of faith, and the knowledge of salvation to get through those times. The helmet of salvation protects our head from false teaching and those who would lead us astray.

The next part of our uniform is GOSPEL OF PEACE SHOES. During our struggles hear on earth, we are going to have to be sure footed. We are going to stand firm in order not to slip. These shoes will help us side-step the enemy and will allow us to bring the good news to all mankind. Sharing the gospel of salvation ultimately brings about peace between God and man.

And then we must pick up the SWORD OF GOD’S WORD. This is the only offensive weapon in our suit of armor. Hebrews 4:12 states: For the Word of God is quick and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. An acute knowledge of the Word of God is our best defense AND offense in this world’s battles.

And the last of our armaments is PRAYER. Not just some prayer, but praying in the Spirit on all occasions.

Just as you wouldn’t go to work tomorrow morning minus your pants, or without your shoes, you cannot be prepared for the struggles of the day without placing on THE ENTIRE ARMOR.

You need TRUTH, FAITH, RIGHTEOUSNESS, SALVATION, SHARING OF THE GOSPEL, THE WORD, and PRAYER! You need all of them to battle well!

God has given us everything we need to engage in this spiritual war, it is up to us to make sure that we get dressed every morning!

 

Before your head hits the pillow

Are We Great Men and Women of Faith?

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As Christians we all fall short of the glory of God. We fail our Lord and fellow man EVERY day! But God knows this and wants to use us to fulfill his perfect will anyway. Romans 3:23-24 – for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus;

Consider this… Hebrews 11 lists the great men and women of faith

Here are some excerpts…
–It was by faith Noah built and ark to save his family from a flood.
–It was by faith that Abraham obeyed when God called him to leave home and go to another land…
–It was by faith that Sarah together with Abraham was able to have a child, even though they were too old and Sarah was barren.
–It was by faith that Abraham offered Isaac as a sacrifice when God was testing him…
–It was by faith that Jacob, when he was old and dying, blessed each of Joseph’s sons…
–It was by faith that Moses’ parents hid him for three months…
–It was by faith that Rahab did not die with all the others in her city…

Others mentioned in the great annals of faith are Abel, Enoch, Isaac, Barak, Jephthah, Samuel, Samson, David, and Gideon.

Now let’s look at each of these great men and women of faith

Noah – was found by his sons drunk in his tent
Abraham – Lied about Sarah being his wife
Sarah – Didn’t trust that God would give her a son and offered their servant Hagar to Abraham so he could have a child
Jacob – Deceived his father
Moses – was not allowed to go into the promised land because he disobeyed God and even killed a man
Rahab – was a prostitute
Samson – allowed himself to be seduced by a woman
David – committed adultery with a married woman and then arranged for her husband to be killed
Gideon – rather than simply trusting, needed God to send him a sign.

It should be noted that God did not select extraordinary people to become great men and women of faith. No they were shepherds, prostitutes, and farmers. God can use ANY of us!! We just need to want to be used and be willing to increase our faith!

So why did God list these obviously flawed people as great people of faith. First we must understand that any great person of faith is human, therefore destined to sin. Each of these people had sin in their lives, but each of them also had great faith in the promise of their God. I believe that this listing of great men and women of faith should serve as both a comfort and a challenge. We should be comforted that our faith will not come without stumbling, but that stumbling should not crumble our faith. Each of these people, although inherently flawed believed in the promises of God.

We too can believe in the promises of our God. He promises to give us comfort, He promises to take care of us through hard times. He promises to always love us and to never leave us. He promises that He has a better home for us in heaven. He promises that our Lord and Savior will once again return to bring each of us to our final home.

Now our faith comes into play. Do we believe all of His promises? Do we believe that He will not leave us? Do we believe that He can carry us through hard times? Do we believe that He has gone to prepare a place for us? What behaviors do His promises prompt in us? How is our faith demonstrated?

God uses very flawed, imperfect people to achieve his perfect will. God does not define us by our mistakes; we are defined by how we react to those failures. Each of these individuals although greatly flawed were still considered GREAT EXAMPLES OF FAITH.

We can’t earn salvation, but we can all be diligent in our service to Him. Let us each pray that God sees in us great faith and at that time when we meet our heavenly Father, He will say to us, “Well done though good and faithful servant!”

Before your head hits the pillow

Pesky Prayer

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Jesus’ Teachings on Prayer

We all know the Lord’s Prayer. We find His teachings on this instructive prayer in Luke 11:2-4 “And He said to them, “When you pray, say: Father, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread. And forgive us our sins, For we ourselves also forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation.”’ (NASB)

But how often do we think about what Jesus said next. In Luke 11:5-8 Jesus tell us about a man who went to a friend’s house at midnight. The man began knocking on his friend’s door asking if he could borrow three loaves of bread. The man’s friend is likely irritated, he tells the man that his door is locked for the night and that his family is all in bed. He really didn’t want to get up to help his friend, not at this hour.

So what did Jesus say? He said that even if the friend didn’t want to help the man because of their friendship, if the man knocked for long enough, the friend would give up and give him whatever he wanted just because of the man’s shameless audacity. The King James Version uses the word “importunity.” Importunity as defined in the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia as – impudent insistence rising to the point of shamelessness.

This section of the lesson of prayer cannot be divorced from the first part of Luke 11. We must pray as Jesus taught us. We must worship and praise God in our prayers, we must ask God for our sustenance, relying only on Him for the things that we need, we must forgive others, just as Christ has forgiven us and we must pray that God keeps us from temptation.

But we must pray ALL of these things with importunity, with insistence rising to the point of shamelessness. We must go to God again and again and again. How often don’t we go to God with a concern in our lives, once or twice and then wonder why He hasn’t listened? God wants us to come to him with reckless abandonment. He wants us to come to Him over and over and over again!

If you think God is not listening, don’t give up. Keep knocking; keep asking, for he will answer you. And you can be assured that He will give you what is best for you. He is not going to give you a snake when you need a fish (vs. 11).

God is more loving than ANY earthly father. If an earthly father wants to provide for his children, think how much more our heavenly Father wants to provide for us!

When you pray, be the pesky friend. Pray again and again and again. Go to the Lord over and over, keep knocking. But then have faith that He will come to the door and give you what you need! He will give you what is best for your, what most blesses you. God is good that way. Begin your pesky prayer life tonight and watch and wait to see how God blesses you!

Before your head hits the pillow

Don’t Be Deceived Part 2

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goodworks7

…Before your head hits the pillow…

Don’t Be Deceived Part 2

Last night I wrote about not being deceived about where our salvation comes from.  There is NO salvation apart from believing faith in Jesus Christ. NONE!  We cannot be deceived by the world who wants to say that as long as we live a “good” life we will go to heaven.

Our salvation does not come from anything we do, it only comes from the grace of God.  But let’s not be deceived about this either.  Once we come to the Lord, we do not have credence to live in any way we wish.  We cannot merely say, “I am saved and nothing can separate me from God so I can live any way that I wish.”  When we come to know Christ our lives and our actions must show that transformation.

The book of James is very convicting.  It says in James 2:14-17 that our faith cannot be divorced from good works, “What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him?  If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food,  and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.”

If your life is not showing good works then is your faith real?  That is a question each person must ask.

James 1:26 says, “If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person’s religion is worthless.”  A person who professes belief in Christ but continues in his ungodly ways deceives his heart about his true conversion.

In Matthew 12:33-37 Jesus warns with these words, “Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad, for the tree is known by its fruit. You brood of vipers! How can you speak good, when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. The good person out of his good treasure brings forth good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil. I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”

God expects transformation when He gives grace.  He expects action. He expects compassion for those in need and He expects us to alter our sinful ways.  James 3:11 tells us, “Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and salt water?”

If you are truly saved you will WANT to do good works.  You will want to bridle your tongue!  Your life must be a testament of your redemption.  Your life must become each day more and more like Christ.

If you believe you are saved but continue in unrepentant sin, you are deceiving yourself.  How can you be thankful for the sacrifice of Christ and continue using profane language?  How can you be overjoyed about your redemption and continue doing things that you know are wrong?

Let’s not be deceived.  Good works will not save us, but a lack of good works testifies to our salvation or our attitude about our salvation.  This does not mean that we will not slip, because we will.  This does not mean that sin might creep into a corner of our life, because it could.  But this does mean that every day we must work to become more and more like Jesus.

We must desire to care for those who are less fortunate than ourselves.  We must look for opportunities to put our faith into action.

“And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” Colossians 3:17

“Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.”  James 1:27.

So don’t be deceived in this either.  A true believing faith will be followed by good works.  A true believing faith will be followed by a transformed life.  Don’t be deceived.

 

Before your head hits the pillow

I Wonder

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…Before your head hits the pillow…

I Wonder

I wonder what it wbreadould have been like to hear Jesus preaching in the temple. I wonder what it would have been like to hear him deliver the Sermon on the Mount.

I wonder what it would have been like being a part of that massive crowd who followed Jesus to the Sea of Galilee in hopes of witnessing one of His great miracles. As this throng of people approached Jesus, He said to His disciples, “Where are we to buy bread, so that these people may eat?”  He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he would do.  Philip answered him, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread would not be enough for each of them to get a little.”  One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to him, “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are they for so many?”  John 6:5-9

Two hundred denarii was about a half year’s wage and that would only give the people each just a little bit of food.  But Jesus knew what He was going to do.  That little boy came over and gave Jesus his five barley loaves and his two fish and Jesus gave thanks for the food.  Then the disciples began their distribution.  How they must have wondered what it was all worth, distributing such a little bit of food to such a big crowd, but they did as Jesus told them.

It must have amazed them as they fed more and more and then even more people until all 5000 men were fed.  Not only were they all well fed but the disciples collected twelve baskets of uneaten bread.  Oh how I wonder what that must have been like to witness.

I wonder what it would have been like to see the woman crawling through the crowd convinced that if she just touched the hem of Jesus garment she would be healed.  Oh how I would have loved to see her joy.  She had been ill for twelve years and now she was healed. Luke 8:43-45

I wonder what it would have been like to have been with Jesus when the centurion pleaded for the life of his dear servant. And what faith was seen when he told Jesus that He need not come to his home to heal the servant but just say the word and the servant would be healed. Even Jesus remarked on this man’s great faith!  Luke 7:1-10.

But this is what I really wonder.  I wonder what God could do with us if we freely gave to him all that we had, just as the young boy willfully gave Jesus his five loaves and two fish. We know nothing about this boy, but what we do know is that he gave his fish and bread to the Master. I wonder how God could multiply our gifts if we freely gave.

I wonder what it would be like if we had faith like the centurion or the woman fighting through the crowd to touch the hem of Jesus.  I wonder what it would be like if we shared their faith in the power of Jesus.

Jesus acknowledged the faith of the centurion and He felt the touch of this helpless woman.  Jesus wants us to come to Him with our problems.  He wants us to bring Him our burdens.  Just as He felt the single touch of the woman as dozens of others pressed up against Him, He feels our touch as well.  When we reach out our hands to Jesus, He feels the touch of each of us.  No matter how many people are reaching out to Jesus at the same time as we are, He feels OUR touch!

So I wonder how much better our lives could be if we just trusted Him.  I wonder.

Before your head hits the pillow

The Parable of the Sower

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…Before your head hits the pillow…

The Parable of the Sower

So what is a parable and who uses them? When I was a child, I was told that a parable was an earthly story with a heavenly meaning. Now that I am older I think I would view them as extended metaphors. The story (parable) is a doorway to a greater truth, a larger reality. These parables were also understood by those with discernment, those who had ears to hear and eyes to see. (Matthew 13:10-17).

Parables or allegories were told in both the Old and New Testament. You will find parables in the Psalms, in Proverbs, and even in Ezekiel. Jesus told more than 30 parables during His lifetime. He told parables about the Kingdom of God, about service and obedience, about prayer, about neighbors, about humility, about wealth, about God’s love, about thankfulness, about Christ’s return, and about God’s values.

Tonight let’s talk about the Parable of the Sower. You can read this parable in Matthew 13:1-8 and in Luke 8:4-8. The Luke passage says, “While a large crowd was gathering and people were coming to Jesus from town after town, He told this parable, ‘A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path; it was trampled on, and the birds ate it up. Some fell on rock, and when it came up, the plants withered because they had no moisture. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up with it and choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up and yielded a crop, a hundred times more than was sown.’”

The seed in this parable represents the word of God. You and I might consider ourselves the sowers. As Christians we are called to go into the world and make disciples. We don’t know where we will find these disciples, and whether the seeds we plant grow into productive crop is not up to us, that is in the Lord’s hands. It is our duty to plant seeds wherever we can. We may plant some seeds on the by-ways and some in the rocks and some may be sown where they can be choked out. But if we plant enough seeds some will be planted in fertile soil. C.H. Spurgeon once stated, “Our duty is not measured by the character of our hearers, but by the command of our God. We are bound to preach the gospel, whether men will hear, or whether they will forbear. It is ours to sow beside all waters.”

The seed that was sown by the way-side is like the Word that is spread to men with hardened hearts. God’s Word sits on the outside of this person’s heart but never penetrates it. It never sinks in so cannot grow.

The next seeds fall among rocks. The seed sprouts but because of lack of moisture it soon dies. The people who are like these seeds hear the Word, they may even become emotional about what they hear, but their professions are not true. It is based on emotion not on deep-seeded faith. These individuals never really accept the truth or act on its commands so they also die.

Then there were the seeds that were sown among thorns. These seeds are those individuals who hear the Word, they listen, they take the words home with them and may even make a profession of religion. They worship with believers; they may attend your services, and appear to be growing. But they have allowed the things of this world to grow side by side with the Word of God. They have chosen not to die to self. They don’t want to put aside the things of the world, and eventually those very things choke out the Words that they heard so that it never takes root. They never make a complete profession of their faith.

The last is the seed that falls on fertile soil. This seed represents the true Christian. This seed represents the Christian who gives his/her life totally to the Lord, grows in truth and knowledge, and then becomes capable of planting seeds themselves!

It is our responsibility to plant seeds. We must sow them everywhere! Some will fall on non-fertile land but some will fall on fertile soil. Others may come and water your seeds. Another believer may bring in the fertilizer. But that fertile soil plant would not have spouted had you not planted the seed. What a blessing it will be when one day the seeds that you sowed begin sowing seeds of their own!