Ridiculous Faith

5 09 2012

By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was going to receive as an inheritance. He went out without knowing where he was going.

By faith he lived in the land he had been promised as a stranger. He lived in tents along with Isaac and Jacob, who were coheirs of the same promise.   He was looking forward to a city that has foundations, whose architect and builder is God.   Hebrews 11:7-10

Living fearlessly would not be the most accurate description of my life.  I have tended to walk lightly taking chances where risks could be calculated and minimized.  On some fronts it has served me well but it has also robbed me of some experiences that only come with “walk on water” faith.  I think about people in the Bible, who were called to do things that way out of their comfort zone.  A young teen named David who faced Goliath.  Moses who experienced a speech problem but spoke out on behalf of God’s people and Esther a Queen who risked it all to save her people.  These may seem like extreme examples or maybe things that would definitely cause us to be out of our zone. But God calls us to live a life that puts our full trust in Him.  Our trust cannot wrapped in our capabilities, our resources or the people we love. It has to be in Him.





Refuge and Strength

31 08 2012

God is our refuge and strength, a tested help in times of trouble. And so we need not fear even if the world blows up, and the mountains crumble into the sea. Let the oceans roar and foam; let the mountains tremble. There is a river of joy flowing through the City of our God – the sacred home of the God above all gods. God himself is living in that City; therefore it stands unmoved despite the turmoil everywhere. He will not delay His help.  Psalm 46:1-5

I am so thankful for the refuge, a place of safety and protection that God provides. The world offers so much turmoil on so many levels, physically and spiritually. Watching the news of the day offers so much discouragement. But we are thankful for the Good News of Jesus Christ. He is our Savoir. We are thankful that we can look our Heavenly Father and His Son Jesus Christ to provide a place of refuge for us. This is a place where we are safe from confusion and turmoil. This is a place where we can receive His strength. With His strength we can have the power to move forward in our walk with Him. We thank God for His place of refuge and strength in Him.

God is our safe place and our strength. He is always our help when we are in trouble. So we will not be afraid, even if the earth is shaken and the mountains fall into the center of the sea, and even if its waters go wild with storm and the mountains shake with its action. There is a river whose waters make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High lives. God is in the center of her. She will not be moved. God will help her when the morning comes. Psalm 46:1-5





God’s Best

30 08 2012

Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us. Ephesians 3:20

Many of us approach life with some knowledge, a portion of common sense and hopefully a good dose of wisdom. Armed with these components, we often think we can move forward in making good decisions. We try to figure what to do, how to do it and even when to make the right moves. We pray and ask for His leading and sometimes His favor in opening the right opportunities for our lives. We remember His word in Proverbs, “In all thy ways acknowledge Him, He shall direct they path.” And God is faithful to hear our prayer and is also faithful to who He is as God. Despite our best thinking we know that God’s thinking is above all. His ways are above and beyond all that we can ask or think. We may think that He is moving on our behalf in one way and then He moves in way that is best that might be totally different than we can ever imagine. I am so thankful to God for his unlimited ability to work in us and on our behalf. He is able to bless us with His Best.

God can do anything, you know-far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, his Spirit deeply and gently within us.  Ephesians 3:20 MSG





Fully Persuaded

29 08 2012

Therefore, it is of faith that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all, (As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were. Who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations, according to that which was spoken, So shall thy seed be. And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sarah’s womb: He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform. Romans 4:16-21

I am so thankful that we serve the God who is faithful to keep His promises to His children. We can put our full trust in Him that He is able to accomplish what He has promised. Sometimes what is in front of us, makes it harder to believe that the promise can come to past. It may be the pain in our bodies, the bills that need to be paid, the situations on our job, our children who are on the wrong path. But when we concentrate of the situation, our focus is in the wrong place. Whatever we are facing today, we should be challenged to put our focus on God’s word. We can focus on His word concerning healing; By His stripes we are healed. We can stand on His promise concerning our finances; My Father will supply all my needs according to His riches and Glory. We can trust Him for our children; as for me and my house we will serve the Lord.

In the passage today, Abraham was given the promise to become the Father of many Nations. Even in His old age, the Word says that He considered not His own body or the deadness of Sarah’s womb. Abraham was not focused on His situation, but “He was fully persuaded” that God would do what He had promised. We can approach our walk with the Lord being “fully persuaded”, not living in doubt or fear, but fully trusting that He is well able to do what He said what He would do. We can live fully persuaded of God’s promises to us.





Inner Strength

24 08 2012

When I think of all this, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth. I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.

Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. Glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever! Amen.  Ephesians 3:14-21

Our spiritual growth is essential to our survival as we walk with Jesus Christ. We need to continually seek to be strengthened with His Spirit, so that our thoughts, our words and our actions reflect Him. We are often preoccupied with what we think, want and feel. If it is not consistent with God’s word, it is not of Him. If it does not reflect Holiness or His love then it is not of Him. This passage blesses me to know about God’s tremendous love for us all. It is immeasurable.   We need to be strengthened with His Spirit, through prayer, reading His word and dedicated time with the Lord. My prayers today are for inner strength that will allow us to achieve a steady walk with Him. He has unlimited power to complete the work in us, as we put our trust in Him.

My response is to get down on my knees before the Father, this magnificent Father who parcels out all heaven and earth. I ask him to strengthen you by his Spirit-not a brute strength but a glorious inner strength-that Christ will live in you as you open the door and invite him in. And I ask him that with both feet planted firmly on love, you’ll be able to take in with all followers of Jesus the extravagant dimensions of Christ’s love. Reach out and experience the breadth! Test its length! Plumb the depths! Rise to the heights! Live full lives, full in the fullness of God.

God can do anything, you know-far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, His Spirit deeply and gently within us.

Glory to God in the church!
Glory to God in the Messiah, in Jesus!
Glory down all the generations!
Glory through all millennia! Oh, yes!

Ephesians 3:14-21 MSG





All Praises

23 08 2012

The Lord has made the heavens his throne;

from there he rules over everything.

Praise the Lord, you angels,

you mighty ones who carry out his plans,

listening for each of his commands.

Yes, praise the Lord, you armies of angels

who serve him and do his will!

Praise the Lord, everything he has created,

everything in all his kingdom.

Let all that I am praise the Lord.

Psalm 103:19-22

Our creator is worthy of our praise. Some places in the world give me a vivid picture of God, His power and His faithfulness by witnessing His creations. It is hard to sit by any ocean and not think about the magnitude of the waves, its constant motion and its age and not think about the creator. Exploring the Grand Canyon makes it easy to wonder, what happened here to cause these great walls of seemingly timeless rock. And there are more common place wonders, like blooming flowers, rabbits in my backyard and the beautiful feathers of birds. All of these things when we consider their creation causes me to think about how Great is the Creator. We can be thankful to God for these blessings. And bless His Holy name with all of our Praise.





Everlasting Love

22 08 2012

But from everlasting to everlasting, the Lord’s mercy is on those who fear him.

His righteousness belongs to their children and grandchildren,

to those who are faithful to his promise, 

to those who remember to follow his guiding principles.

Psalms 103:17-18 GWT

God’s love for us extends to us now and well into the future. His righteousness is available to us and will be a blessing to our families for generations to come. Many of us are benefiting from generational blessings that extend from our family members who have gone before us living for the Lord. I think of the legacy of my parents and grandparents and their parents who have established a foundation of faith that we can continue to build on. I am hoping that my generation of parents will continue to bestow a legacy of faith based on the knowledge and reverence of God’s word and that our children will be able to share His light throughout the world. It is a tremendous gift to know that our blessings of faith can be extended to our children and our children’s children through our life of faith and their acceptance of His promise.

Dear Father –

We thank You for this day which is filled with Your promise to be with us each step of the way. We are grateful for the blessing of family and for those who came before us putting their full faith in You. We thank You for your continued guidance by Your Holy Spirit to be examples of faith and righteousness before our families. We thank You for answered prayer concerning the lives of our children and our grandchildren. We pray for open hearts and minds for the gift of salvation and a blessed life in You. We are so thankful for Your love which extends from everlasting to everlasting.

In Jesus powerful Name,

Amen.





Constant Love

21 08 2012

The Lord is merciful and loving, slow to become angry and full of constant love.

He does not keep on rebuking;  he is not angry forever.

He does not punish us as we deserve or repay us according to our sins and wrongs.

As high as the sky is above the earth, so great is his love for those who honor Him.

As far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our sins from us.

As a father is kind to his children, so the Lord is kind to those who honor Him.

Psalm 103:8-13

We are so blessed to have a Heavenly Father who loves us. His ultimate gift of His son Jesus Christ allows us to live in relationship with Him. Some people think of God as someone who sits high and looks for things that we have done wrong. This distorted picture does not reflect a God that is “slow to anger”.   God may hate the sin that we may allow in our lives but His approach to us is full of constant love. I believe how we think about God guides our actions, our fulfillment and the happiness in our lives. If you accept the fact that our Father is available to us and provides grace and mercy because He loves us, it changes our perspective on life. His love for us is great! Knowing this in our hearts and continually seeking to do His will in our lives allow us to experience a closer walk in the Lord. What a blessing to know that God is love and that this tremendous gift is available to each of us.

Dear Father –

We thank you for this day. We bless your name for you are the living God that loves us. We ask that you would forgive us for any place where sin and shortcomings may exist in our lives. We know that your love for us is constant and that you are faithful and just to forgive us, when we ask for it. We thank you today for forgiveness and a closer walk with you.   Help us to experience and embrace your constant love for us.

In Jesus’ wonderful name,  Amen





Total Praise

20 08 2012

I will praise the Lord at all times. I will constantly speak his praises. Psalms 34:1

The “I will” portion of this scripture reflects a personal decision and acknowledgment to give praise to the One who is so worthy of all the praise. We can approach each day and each situation with praises to the Lord on our lips and in our heart. We serve a Heavenly Father whose love for us is beyond our understanding. He loves us and has given us both grace and mercy, as we welcome another day. I am thankful this day for God’s goodness and faithfulness to me and to all of His children. We are praying for His continued leading and that every aspect of me, my thoughts, my words and the fruit of my hands will be used for His glory. We will have His praises on our lips and His songs in our hearts throughout this day and the days to come.





Renewal

17 08 2012

He fills my life with good things.  

My youth is renewed like the eagle’s!

Psalm 103:5

A renewed vision and strength for your life is essential for survival today. Our lives are sprinkled with challenges that could easily weigh us down.  And some situations feel like that they could easily take us out, if it were not for the Savior.  But our God is merciful.  Our Father desires to fill our lives with good things.   I am praying for God’s renewing spirit to abide with each of His children and provide the love, peace, joy, gentleness, kindness, faithfulness and self-control needed for today and the days to come.   We want to soar with the strength and vision of an eagle