How do we go about increasing our faith? First, it’s about believing and accepting the Gospel Message…that Jesus came to save and redeem us from eternal punishment by His life, death and resurrection. Secondly, our faith is built up every time we trust and obey God and then see Him working in our life. Thus, over time, our faith increases, like layers of bricks being built up to form a strong wall. Finally, with that increasing faith comes a confidence that there’s nothing impossible for God.
Tag: daily inspirational blog
Ruth 1:16 ” But Ruth replied, ‘Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God.’ “
When God calls us to leave behind our past and follow Him…it’s scary. We’re comfortable where we are and now He’s asking us to go into foreign territory. But just like Ruth, our past is dead and barren, holding out no hope for a productive future. So we need to make that decision of just who we’re going to serve…God or self. (Joshua 24:15)
Ephesians 1:18 ” I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which He has called you…”
My prayer for you today is for spiritual enlightenment. God made His light shine in our hearts to give us this light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ (II Corinthians 4:6)… and with this light of knowledge comes awareness and understanding. But not only this, but as Job replied to God, “My ears had heard of You but now my eyes have seen You.” (Job 42:5)…I pray that you would be able to experience God for yourself, not just what you’ve been told about Him.
Job 5: 6-7 ” For hardship does not spring from the soil, nor does trouble sprout from the ground. Yet man is born to trouble as surely as sparks fly upward.”
We all are born with a sin nature. You don’t need a teach a baby how to be crabby and out of sorts…they arch their little back, face beet red, as they let you know in no uncertain terms they’re unhappy! No, thanks to Adam and Eve that sin nature has been handed down from generation to generation. In Psalm 51:5 David laments about this sin nature when he says, “Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.” From the first Adam we obtained our sin nature…but the second Adam, Jesus Christ, came to redeem us from it.
Psalm 32:8 ” I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you.”
Are you unsure and confused today? God is there to bring guidance and clarity to any situation you’re facing. He’ll show you the correct path to take and how to best conduct your life. And when you need advice, look to Him, the Wonderful Counselor, first. For no worldly consultation can compare to God’s perfect insight and tender concern for you.
Hebrews 12:15 ” See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many.”
A root of bitterness flourishes in the person that takes offense easily. For when they feel that someone has insulted them…they react not with grace but with indignity and resentment. And if allowed to grow, this root of bitterness leads to a wounded spirit that is of no use to God. And when this happens among Believers in a Church setting…this is when we see division and disunity. As Believers, we need to fight for unity within the Body…not murmur, gripe, and easily take offense.
Ezekiel 28:17 ” Your heart became proud on account of your beauty, and you corrupted your wisdom because of your splendor. So I threw you to the earth; I made a spectacle of you before kings.”
It’s vital to know the enemy and his mode of operation…ask anyone who has served in the armed forces. The Scripture here is a lament or an oracle against Satan. It speaks of him being created blameless but then allowing wickedness and willful rebellious pride to enter him. Our enemy, Satan, also has many alias or aka – Lucifer, prince of this world, father of lies, the evil one, the devil, our adversary, a deceptive angel of light. His mode of operation is simple and yet very effective…it’s destruction, deception, and death. But it’s also essential to know the enemy’s limitations. It tells us in the Bible that if we resist the devil he must flee.(James 4:7) And when we are equipped with the armor of God, we are able stand against him victoriously. (Ephesians 6:11) Finally and most importantly…the One who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. (I John 4:4)
Lord, You cannot change…but yet You change everything.
This idea comes from Psalm 110:4 and later echoed in the New Testament in Hebrews 7:21, “The Lord has sworn and will not change His mind.” The God of the universe is unchanging, yet He’s continually changing everything around us. He’s changing hearts and minds…He’s changing situations and circumstances…He’s changing lives. I thank You Lord that You are the one and only stable factor in my life today…but I also thank Lord that You are continually changing me.
Proverbs 21:26 “…the righteous give without sparing.”
If we could only get past the notion that everything we own is ours… and would loosen the death grip we have on our money and belongings. We would realize that everything belongs to God…everything! And with that, we could then know the freedom in managing God’s assets. For if you think about it…you will never be able to out give God. For when you have a open hand policy concerning your material things and take on the heart of stewardship…God will bless beyond what you can imagine.
Mark 9: 33-34 ” They came to Capernaum. When He was in the house, He asked them, ‘What were you arguing about on the road?’ But they kept quiet because on the way they had argued about who was the greatest.”
Embarrassed silence is all you heard. For Jesus already knew what they had been fighting about…and He knew their prideful hearts. But He wanted them to verbalize out loud to Him this dispute so they could hear just how absurd they sounded. Jesus was then able to use this as a teachable moment when He said to them, “If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all.” Boy, was that a blow to those fragile male egos of the disciples! I can almost hear them ask, “So what you’re saying, Jesus, is that in order to be the greatest…I need to become the least?”
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