Monday
Where Is The Kingdom?
Read Luke 17:20-21; Revelation 11:2-4
Where is God’s Kingdom? Do you know? Is it up, up and away into the wild blue yonder? Oh, I know where it is; it’s high above the world so high like a diamond in the sky. No, that’s not it. Hey, I’ve got it! It’s to infinity and beyond!! This how I believe a lot of people see it. They see the kingdom as a far off place.
Some Pharisees asked Jesus when the kingdom would come (Luke 17:20). You can’t see it, replied Jesus. But Jesus also said, "The kingdom of God is within [NIV footnote: among] you" (verse 21). Jesus was the King, and because he was teaching and performing miracles among them, the kingdom was among the Pharisees. Jesus Christ is in us today, too, and just as the kingdom was present in the ministry of Jesus, it is present in the ministry of his church. The King is among us; his spiritual power is in us, even though the kingdom is not yet operating in its full power.
We have already been brought into God’s kingdom (Colossians 1:13). We are already receiving a kingdom, and our proper response is reverence and awe (Hebrews 12:28). Christ "has made us [past tense] to be a kingdom" (Revelation 1:6). We are a holy nation (1 Peter 2:9)—already and currently a holy kingdom—but it does not yet appear what we shall be. God has rescued us from the dominion of sin and transferred us into his kingdom, under his ruling authority.
The kingdom of God is here, Jesus said. His audience did not need to wait for a conquering Messiah—God is already ruling, and we should be living his way now. We don’t yet possess a territory, but we do come under the reign of God.
Tuesday
Have You Entered The Kingdom?
Read John 3:3, 5
Entrance: The word simply means coming into full possession or enjoyment. Just think of the blessings of the Kingdom. The Kingdom is a place of abundance, wealth, health, peace and joy. God’s manifested presence with us without ceasing; God’s blessed rule and dominion over us established, so that His heavenly will is done in us and by us; God’s mighty power descending upon us, so that through us Christ can do His word of saving souls. Into a life in which these blessings are your daily experience, you can enter even now. That life has been prepared for you, and is promised; it is waiting for you. You can enter even now by faith. As an army conquers and enters a city, so many a one struggles and fights and seeks to take the Kingdom by violence. And he fails. We can only enter by faith. As Joshua brought Israel into the land of promise, and Jericho fell without a blow being struck, our Lord Jesus waits to bring us into the good land. It was He who from heaven gave the disciples their abundant entrance into the Kingdom; it is He who still by His Holy Spirit will lead each one of us in. We cannot begin to come into possession until we understand what God was saying in John 3:3, 5. We must believe and accept Jesus for who He is and we must be born again. The church has been focused on getting people born-again so they can see the Kingdom but have not taught them how to enter the Kingdom that has been prepared for them. (John 3:3 Born- 5 enter) the entrance has been prepared. Have you entered in?
Wednesday
Revelation Light
Read Matthew 16:17-19; 1 Corinthians 2:10-13; Hosea 4:6
Revelation light comes from God’s Spirit. God has given us His spirit to reveal to us the truths of heaven. In Matthew 16: Jesus says, “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”
A key is a tool that empowers us to open and shut doors, or bind and loose chains. The kingdom of heaven is God’s royal power, His dominion, the right and authority to rule. Jesus gave us the tools to exercise His right and authority to rule on earth, as it is exer¬cised in heaven. What are we to rule? We’re to rule over the circum¬stances of our lives. And how are we to rule? We’re to use the keys Jesus gave us. We’re too loose what should be loosed in our lives and bind what doesn’t belong.
We can identify what is to be bound and what is to be loosed by looking to heaven as our example. Re¬member, we are to have things on earth as it is in heav¬en—the same structure and system on earth that exists in heaven. Heaven is a place where the walls are made out of jasper, the gates are made out of pearl, and the streets are made out of gold. It’s a place where only good exists. There is no sickness, no sorrow, no fear, and no lack in heaven.
Thursday
Declare The Kingdom
Read Luke 4:18-19; Matthew 10:26-27
We have heard time and time again that what you say with your mouth is very powerful. For much too long a time we have said things with our mouth that should never have been said. Christians need to be aware of their thoughts and what their mouth is saying. A few days ago I saw documentary on the Czars of Russia and one of the czars was known as Ivan the Terrible, the thing about Ivan was that even before he was born he was cursed by the church, all of his childhood he was cursed and told how horrible he was. When we were in Russia this year we got to hear firsthand about the atrocities that Ivan committed…….he truly lived up to the words that were spoken over him.
Our words should be words of encouragement radiating love and compassion, just as Jesus’ words. We should declare what the word says about us and about others. Declare the things Jesus said and You will be declaring the Kingdom. Be conscious of the words you are speaking. Talk and think positively. If negative words brought forth one such as Ivan, imagine what the right, positive words of God will bring forth.
Friday
God Is A Giver
Read Genesis 49:19-20
God is good and He is a giver of good things. People have been taught wrong things about God. Instead of learning about a God who wants only good things for His children, they have been taught about an angry God who takes things away from His children. He is not an angry God. He is love, laughter, fun and giving. If there was something you really wanted but didn’t get, talk to God about it. He understands and he will have something even better for you. If you lost something and couldn’t find it, pray about it. God hears and has something better for you. His thoughts and ways are better than ours. He knows what is best for us. Be thankful for all He has given you.
Father God is very rich. Everything belongs to Him but He doesn’t want to just give us things for our pleasure. His best gifts are the ones that draw us to Him Some of His gifts are healing, salvation, deliverance, wisdom, wealth and many more. His greatest gifts were Jesus and the Holy Spirit. His very best gifts are eternal things. By Barbara Goddard
The Weekender
Living In The Kingdom
Read Mark 4:30-32; Matthew 6:33
God wants us to know there is a way of living that we should enjoy as citizens of heaven. Matthew 6:33 in¬structs us to seek out, learn, understand, and take time to know the kingdom of God. We are to seek out God’s kingdom and His righteousness above anything else. This means seeking out His ways of doing, being, and operating.
How does God’s kingdom work? Jesus describes this for us in Matthew, “Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven”. God desires you and me to experience His will here on earth, exactly as it is done in heaven. Whatever is God’s will in heaven, it is supposed to work that way on earth too.
That means it’s vital for us to know how God operates, and for us to operate as He does. Again in Matthew, Jesus makes it clear that the things we need and desire to live well on earth will be added to us when we oper¬ate according to God’s kingdom principles. We are to adopt God’s way of being and doing. Then the things we all seek—homes, debts paid, good jobs, cars, peaceful relationships with family and friends, and every other good thing in life—will be added to us.
Jesus taught us how to live in the Kingdom here on earth while He was here with us. He came declaring the Kingdom, preaching and teaching the Kingdom and he demonstrated the Kingdom through the miracles he preformed while He was here. He said that we were to do the same thing. He sent the helper here to enable us to do all things.
January 24, 2011
January 15, 2011
The Daily Compass January 17-22, 2011
Monday
Declare The Word
Read Mark 11:22-23; 1 John 5:14-15
Jesus was matter-of-fact: "Embrace this God-life. Really embrace it, and nothing will be too much for you. This mountain, for instance: Just say, 'Go jump in the lake'—no shuffling or shilly-shallying—and it's as good as done. That's why I urge you to pray for absolutely everything, ranging from small to large. Include everything as you embrace this God-life, and you'll get God's everything. Mark 11:22-23(The Message)
Believing God is wonderful. But Jesus urged us to do one more thing — to speak the word of faith, to verbalize what we are seeking from God. Such a believer, who understands the power of the spoken word of faith, "will have what he ask for”.
In Mark we see three foundation stones of faith that gets results. (1) Have faith in God — faith in His Word, in His promises, in His Son Jesus. It’s not “faith in faith” or in memorized formulas that gets results, but faith in God. (2) Believe in your heart, without doubting. (3) And say with your mouth what you believe. Believe in your heart and say with your mouth. Believing God and His Word is of great importance. But Jesus encourages us further to state, to Declare, what we believe God for. There is great power in the declared word of faith. 1 John 5:14-15 This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us — whatever we ask — we know that we have what we asked of him. We cannot just speak or ask for anything that comes to our mind we must use wisdom. How do we know what God’s will for our lives is? God’s will for us is found in His Word. When we believe and know what His Word says concerning our lives then we can say, with faith, “Lord, I believe that you are Jehovah-Rapha, the Healer of my sickness”, because we find in the bible God’s promises of divine healing. We can declare with faith, “Lord, through you I can defeat the devil, not be defeated by him”, because we find New Testament scriptures declaring Jesus’ defeat of the devil on our behalf. Having determined from God’s Word that which is in accordance with His will, we can confidently believe God for these things — and declare these things with our hearts full of faith and see those things as though they have already happened.
Tuesday
It Starts With Declaration
Read Genesis 3:3; Luke 4:18
The very existence of the world started with a declaration in Genesis chapter one God spoke and there was light and over the course of six days He spoke everything into place with dramatic results. The words of God have unlimited power. What more proof do we need than just looking around this universe and marveling at what spoke into existence, but just in case you need more, for our benefit He has summarized for us a revelation of Himself in 66 books, the Bible. Inside his written word we find that there is immense power in those words in the Bible. We are encouraged to read His word to get to know Him further and through spending time in His written word we build a relationship with Him. When learn His words we become confident about what He says about us and when we believe His word and then we declare them. Then we see results.
Results begin with an action on our part, we must declare God’s words over our situations, and we will see that immense power working in our situations. Do you have a need in your life, do you need a life change? Look in the written word and begin to declare God’s promises for you and just relax and watch Him work!
Wednesday
What Do We Declare?
Read James 1:21; Joshua 1:8-9
Jesus said “The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life.” Proverbs tells us that the tongue has the power of life and death. So why is it important to declare anything? It is so that we can see our circumstances change and we see God’s hand moving in our lives. So what do we declare? We declare God’s word, we are to speak what He says about us and our circumstances. We need to be like Jesus, when he began to preach, teach and speak aloud the things of God. As Jesus begin to speak forth and speak confidently His words of faith there were healings, miracles and other supernatural signs that began to manifest. Jesus was a faith filled speaker.
You have been given authority as a son of God, you have been given the tools to see your circumstances change. What are you waiting for? The Lord’s words in your mouth are still His words. Therefore, they are still “spirit and life”! His Words, His promises spoken by your mouth have the “power of life and death”. Speak life!
Thursday
How Do We Declare It?
Read Romans 10:8, Psalms 149
Matthew 12:34 says, Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. In other words the mouth speaks what the heart is full of. This scripture should cause us to ask ourselves some important questions: What are we saying? What are we prophesying over our own lives?
We can’t say things like, “I’m a loser,” or “I knew this wouldn’t work,” or “I always catch a cold this time of year,” and expect good things to happen! The words we say out of our mouths have such creative power. Mark 11:23 says we will have whatever we say.
Over the course of my life I have had the privilege to meet some very special people who understood this principle. In the twenty years I spent working in nursing homes, I met several people who lived to be upwards of 95 and even one person that lived to be 112 years old and the advice they shared on living a long, healthy and prosperous life came down to basically the same thing, trust, faith in God and speaking positively in all aspects of their lives. They believed in declaring over their lives positive words such as “In Jesus’ Name, I’m getting better and better every day in every way, in Jesus’ Name.” Start it in Jesus’ Name and finish it in Jesus’ Name.
What are you declaring over your health today? Over your children, your marriage, or your finances? God said His word would never pass away or return void (Luke 21:33, Isaiah 55:11). When we declare the Word of God, believe it and act on it, we can have its blessings working in our lives!
Friday
What Does A Declaration Do?
Read Mark 4:14
Making declarations builds your faith. It also plants seeds in other people. When they see it working in your life, they want what you have.
• Declarations change the hearer. When you hear the word preached or taught it can be a life changing message for you and you become a different person. If a person who has no confidence in himself, begins to speak positively over his life and he hears what God says about him that this will change his life.
• When a man or woman of God speaks positively in your life and shares a word from God to you this is life changing.
• Declarations changes the atmosphere, you can be in a dark place and time in your life but positive words changes the darkness to light.
• Declarations activate Heaven; it starts a war in the Heavens and creates changes on the earth. Satan has already been defeated; he just needs reminding where he stands in our lives. Satan will come towards us with the negative, he will come at us with guilt and shame, and he will attack us with fear and doubt. When he does this we need to remind him of where his place is and we do that by declaring God’s Word.
What are areas in your life that you need to be declaring God’s Word over?
What are some areas in our nation and world that we need to be declaring God’s Word over?
The Weekender
I Declare!!!
Read Romans 15:10-11; Hebrews 2:12
Your words create power, whenever you speak something out either good or bad you speak life into what you are saying. Your declaration should be that your greatest victories are in your future; your greatest accomplishments are still in front of you. You are the righteous so you know your path is getting brighter and brighter. God’s favor is not for a season. He promises a lifetime so expect something good. Get in agreement with God because he has an awesome plan for your life. The victories God has for your future are going to make the ones you’ve seen in the past pale in comparison. The key is the words you tell yourself. God has called everyone to do something great; he has given you gifts, dreams, goals. He put desires on the inside of you. Don’t curse your future; bless your future with positive thoughts and actions. Thank God today is a new day, if you will change your words you will change your world. God will open doors that no one can slam shut and He has the power to turn negative situations around. You will accomplish your goals and dreams and you will become everything God created you to be and you will have everything God created you to have.
Begin making these ‘Faith Declarations” over your life (we will add a new one each week)
January 2
1. My prayers are powerful and effective. James 5:16(b).
January 9
2. God richly supplies all my financial needs. Philippians 4:19
January 16
3. I am dead to sin and alive to obeying God. Roman 6:11
Declare The Word
Read Mark 11:22-23; 1 John 5:14-15
Jesus was matter-of-fact: "Embrace this God-life. Really embrace it, and nothing will be too much for you. This mountain, for instance: Just say, 'Go jump in the lake'—no shuffling or shilly-shallying—and it's as good as done. That's why I urge you to pray for absolutely everything, ranging from small to large. Include everything as you embrace this God-life, and you'll get God's everything. Mark 11:22-23(The Message)
Believing God is wonderful. But Jesus urged us to do one more thing — to speak the word of faith, to verbalize what we are seeking from God. Such a believer, who understands the power of the spoken word of faith, "will have what he ask for”.
In Mark we see three foundation stones of faith that gets results. (1) Have faith in God — faith in His Word, in His promises, in His Son Jesus. It’s not “faith in faith” or in memorized formulas that gets results, but faith in God. (2) Believe in your heart, without doubting. (3) And say with your mouth what you believe. Believe in your heart and say with your mouth. Believing God and His Word is of great importance. But Jesus encourages us further to state, to Declare, what we believe God for. There is great power in the declared word of faith. 1 John 5:14-15 This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us — whatever we ask — we know that we have what we asked of him. We cannot just speak or ask for anything that comes to our mind we must use wisdom. How do we know what God’s will for our lives is? God’s will for us is found in His Word. When we believe and know what His Word says concerning our lives then we can say, with faith, “Lord, I believe that you are Jehovah-Rapha, the Healer of my sickness”, because we find in the bible God’s promises of divine healing. We can declare with faith, “Lord, through you I can defeat the devil, not be defeated by him”, because we find New Testament scriptures declaring Jesus’ defeat of the devil on our behalf. Having determined from God’s Word that which is in accordance with His will, we can confidently believe God for these things — and declare these things with our hearts full of faith and see those things as though they have already happened.
Tuesday
It Starts With Declaration
Read Genesis 3:3; Luke 4:18
The very existence of the world started with a declaration in Genesis chapter one God spoke and there was light and over the course of six days He spoke everything into place with dramatic results. The words of God have unlimited power. What more proof do we need than just looking around this universe and marveling at what spoke into existence, but just in case you need more, for our benefit He has summarized for us a revelation of Himself in 66 books, the Bible. Inside his written word we find that there is immense power in those words in the Bible. We are encouraged to read His word to get to know Him further and through spending time in His written word we build a relationship with Him. When learn His words we become confident about what He says about us and when we believe His word and then we declare them. Then we see results.
Results begin with an action on our part, we must declare God’s words over our situations, and we will see that immense power working in our situations. Do you have a need in your life, do you need a life change? Look in the written word and begin to declare God’s promises for you and just relax and watch Him work!
Wednesday
What Do We Declare?
Read James 1:21; Joshua 1:8-9
Jesus said “The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life.” Proverbs tells us that the tongue has the power of life and death. So why is it important to declare anything? It is so that we can see our circumstances change and we see God’s hand moving in our lives. So what do we declare? We declare God’s word, we are to speak what He says about us and our circumstances. We need to be like Jesus, when he began to preach, teach and speak aloud the things of God. As Jesus begin to speak forth and speak confidently His words of faith there were healings, miracles and other supernatural signs that began to manifest. Jesus was a faith filled speaker.
You have been given authority as a son of God, you have been given the tools to see your circumstances change. What are you waiting for? The Lord’s words in your mouth are still His words. Therefore, they are still “spirit and life”! His Words, His promises spoken by your mouth have the “power of life and death”. Speak life!
Thursday
How Do We Declare It?
Read Romans 10:8, Psalms 149
Matthew 12:34 says, Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. In other words the mouth speaks what the heart is full of. This scripture should cause us to ask ourselves some important questions: What are we saying? What are we prophesying over our own lives?
We can’t say things like, “I’m a loser,” or “I knew this wouldn’t work,” or “I always catch a cold this time of year,” and expect good things to happen! The words we say out of our mouths have such creative power. Mark 11:23 says we will have whatever we say.
Over the course of my life I have had the privilege to meet some very special people who understood this principle. In the twenty years I spent working in nursing homes, I met several people who lived to be upwards of 95 and even one person that lived to be 112 years old and the advice they shared on living a long, healthy and prosperous life came down to basically the same thing, trust, faith in God and speaking positively in all aspects of their lives. They believed in declaring over their lives positive words such as “In Jesus’ Name, I’m getting better and better every day in every way, in Jesus’ Name.” Start it in Jesus’ Name and finish it in Jesus’ Name.
What are you declaring over your health today? Over your children, your marriage, or your finances? God said His word would never pass away or return void (Luke 21:33, Isaiah 55:11). When we declare the Word of God, believe it and act on it, we can have its blessings working in our lives!
Friday
What Does A Declaration Do?
Read Mark 4:14
Making declarations builds your faith. It also plants seeds in other people. When they see it working in your life, they want what you have.
• Declarations change the hearer. When you hear the word preached or taught it can be a life changing message for you and you become a different person. If a person who has no confidence in himself, begins to speak positively over his life and he hears what God says about him that this will change his life.
• When a man or woman of God speaks positively in your life and shares a word from God to you this is life changing.
• Declarations changes the atmosphere, you can be in a dark place and time in your life but positive words changes the darkness to light.
• Declarations activate Heaven; it starts a war in the Heavens and creates changes on the earth. Satan has already been defeated; he just needs reminding where he stands in our lives. Satan will come towards us with the negative, he will come at us with guilt and shame, and he will attack us with fear and doubt. When he does this we need to remind him of where his place is and we do that by declaring God’s Word.
What are areas in your life that you need to be declaring God’s Word over?
What are some areas in our nation and world that we need to be declaring God’s Word over?
The Weekender
I Declare!!!
Read Romans 15:10-11; Hebrews 2:12
Your words create power, whenever you speak something out either good or bad you speak life into what you are saying. Your declaration should be that your greatest victories are in your future; your greatest accomplishments are still in front of you. You are the righteous so you know your path is getting brighter and brighter. God’s favor is not for a season. He promises a lifetime so expect something good. Get in agreement with God because he has an awesome plan for your life. The victories God has for your future are going to make the ones you’ve seen in the past pale in comparison. The key is the words you tell yourself. God has called everyone to do something great; he has given you gifts, dreams, goals. He put desires on the inside of you. Don’t curse your future; bless your future with positive thoughts and actions. Thank God today is a new day, if you will change your words you will change your world. God will open doors that no one can slam shut and He has the power to turn negative situations around. You will accomplish your goals and dreams and you will become everything God created you to be and you will have everything God created you to have.
Begin making these ‘Faith Declarations” over your life (we will add a new one each week)
January 2
1. My prayers are powerful and effective. James 5:16(b).
January 9
2. God richly supplies all my financial needs. Philippians 4:19
January 16
3. I am dead to sin and alive to obeying God. Roman 6:11
January 10, 2011
The Daily Compass January 10-15, 2011
Monday
The Place Of No Risk
Read John 16:33; Matthew 7:24-27
One of the things that is important to most of us in the West is security – We all worry we want to know where we will live, we want to know where we are going, we want to make sure our family will support us, we want to make sure that we can support them, we want to make sure that we’ve got enough cash in the bank to cope with anything that the world throws at us, we want to be in control of our lives. In the West we call these things wise, we call it prudent, we expect people to make sure that they do these things. We base our society on being secure. Here’s the news for you: Jesus doesn’t. Jesus expects you to take risks. He expects you to risk your reputation. He expects you to risk your security. He expects you to take the risk of trusting Him to know what He is doing. He expects you to follow the Holy Spirit wherever He takes you – the Bible says that you can’t tell where the wind is going or what it will do next, and it is the same with people who follow the Spirit – you never know where He will take you next. If you are following Jesus then your friends should be writing your addresses in pencil, because they never know where you are going to be next. Now the good news: Wherever Jesus asks you to follow, He will look after you. Whenever He leads you through a difficult place, if you look back, all you will see is His goodness. You will find that however rough it gets, He was carrying you all along. Because what the world calls ‘security’, what the world calls ‘safe’, isn’t safe.
Jesus said: Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Every thing you see around you, all of the things that we put our trust in here in the West are fragile. They can be taken away from you in an instant. Our society is so fragile. Everything around us is fragile, and we don’t like to think about that. We put our trust in America to keep the world peace, just as people trusted the Roman Empire in Jesus’ day, but where is the Roman Empire now? The anthropologists tell us that you can tell an Empire is dying, that a society is sick, by three signs: The young are violent. The adults are confused. There are no elders. Read the papers and you see these things – we are living in the last decades of the American Empire. Everything you see around you will one day be swept away in fire, it will fall to dust and blow away, because this world is as temporary as a tent in a hurricane and it is passing away. The only things that will be left, the only strong things, are the things that Jesus gives – these are the only things that will last. This world has nothing for you – it might seem to have everything that you want, but it has nothing that you really need. When his other followers were leaving him saying “This teaching is too hard”, Jesus asked his disciples “Do you want to leave me too?” but Peter asks Him “Lord, where on earth could we possibly go? Only you have the words of eternal life, only you have the things that will last”. Following Jesus is the only security.
Tuesday
It Is Safer In The Boat or Is It
Read 1 Peter5:8
Keep a cool head. Stay alert. The Devil is poised to pounce, and would like nothing better than to catch you napping. Keep your guard up. You're not the only ones plunged into these hard times. It's the same with Christians all over the world. So keep a firm grip on the faith. The suffering won't last forever. It won't be long before this generous God who has great plans for us in Christ—eternal and glorious plans they are!—will have you put together and on your feet for good. He gets the last word; yes, he does. (The Message, 1 Peter 5:8)
Water walkers are people who get out of their safety zone and dare to do something they’ve never dared to do before. It may feel safer in the boat, the place of comfort, but it doesn’t stop problems from coming to you. Sooner or later you will have to face your problems. You will have to get out of your comfortable place and do something to rid yourself of the problem. A person can accept their circumstance such as sickness or they can start speaking to the problem (the sickness) and command it to go in Jesus’ name. A person may be comfortable sitting in a church pew week and week doing nothing or they can get out of that pew and pray for someone or give a word of the Lord to someone to encourage them. If you always want to sit in the comfortable boat, you may see some miracles happen, but you may never take part in causing one to happen. It pleases God when we get out of our comfortable boat!
Would you rather just see miracles happen or would you rather have a part in bringing them about? It’s up to you. Are you willing to get out of your comfortable boat?
Wednesday
Look For Jesus In The Storm
Read Genesis 1:2; Mark 6:48
Storms in your life and around you grab your attention. In order to overcome those storms you must make a decision to not give up. Giving up is a choice not a circumstance. You must first choose to not throw in the towel and just give up. Secondly, you must look for Jesus in the midst of the storm. The book of Mark gives the account of the same storm in Matthew’s gospel but adds the fact that Jesus saw the disciple’s struggles. Many times we question whether or not God sees our struggles and efforts. The fact is He not only sees but He is praying for you! Imagine that. Jesus is praying for you! The question, however, is not does God see my struggles, it is do you see Him in the midst of your struggles and storms? You see in Jesus intended to go past the disciples. Did you catch that? Jesus’ intention was to walk by them. It was up to them to look for Him in the midst of their storm. He was not just going to jump into their boat. He came just close enough to be found, if they were looking for Him. Your focus must not be on the storm but on Him that strolls through them. Throughout Scripture, Jesus came just close enough to those in need that if they were searching for Him, He could be found. Whatever you are looking for is what you will find. If your focus is the size of the waves and the strength of the storm, you will find just that. However, if you look for evidence that Jesus is in the storm you will find Him there. Focus on His promise, not the problem.
Thursday
Keep Your Eyes On Him
Read Hebrews 12:2; 1 Corinthians 10:13
Why did Peter sink? He saw Jesus walk on the water and as long as Peter kept his eyes on the LORD, Peter stayed afloat. It was when Peter got his eyes off of the LORD and on to the waves beneath him that he sank. The lesson for the believer here is that our faith must be rooted in Christ and we must not allow ourselves to be distracted by life's circumstances. Doubt is not the absence of faith it is a test of faith. Peter had faith to step out but he did not count the cost and he "looked down." It was only then that Peter began to falter and sink. Yet, the hand of grace pulled Peter to safety.
There is a great lesson of faith in this passage of Scripture where Jesus walks on the water. First, it is that Jesus has control over the situation. The wind and turmoil of the waves obeyed Him. As born again believers, if we keep our eyes on the LORD rather than the situation that threatens to engulf us, we too can walk through the waves with confidence in Christ's ability to bring us peace in the middle of whatever storm is raging over our lives. There is nothing that we can face as born again believers that is outside of God's control (1 Corinthians 10:13).
Another great lesson here is that Christ's hand is always extended to the lost. When by faith one reaches out to the LORD for salvation, grace lifts that one out of the sinking waves of sin. Jesus walks on water is a principle that the invisible realities of faith in Christ are victorious over the visible threats of this world, regardless of the form they may take.
Friday
There Is Help!
Read Hebrews 13:6
Has your heart and spirit ever just went thud. Have you ever felt as though your life is falling apart and the harder you try to overcome the circumstances swirling around in your life the deeper the pit seems to get. You have finally sunk to the lowest place in the pit and you feel so alone, isolated. I found myself in this at the end of this year, that same familiar place. What will I do? I felt like just giving up, but there in my lowest place I felt a presence, it was Jesus……He was there with me. He was whispering in my ear………. “I will never leave you or forsake you”, “As your days, so shall your strength be”, “And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory forever and forever”, “Fear not, for I am with you. Do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with my victorious right hand” (Isaiah 41:10).
He kept whispering these and many other promises in my ear. God is good. He does not abandon us. He is always there. He cares more about us than we think. He is always there for us in our time of need. He is always offering us His hand. When we think we are alone and we have no place to turn and the world seems as though it is against us, Don’t fret, listen to Him whisper promises in your ear. God is there. He will take care of you. Just give Him the opportunity. There is Help!
The Weekender
Water Walkers
Matthew 14:14-36; Mark 11:22-27; James 5:17
When a person reads Matthew, Mark, Luke or John - the one thing we clearly see about Jesus was He constantly had His disciples to keep stretching their faith. He had them exercising great faith, in fact. Jesus knew how delighted His heavenly Father was when they believed Him to accomplish seemingly impossible feats, and He also knew the opposition they would face after Jesus resurrected and went back to heaven to be with the Father. Take the account of Peter walking on water. The waves were wild and the wind howled, but here is Jesus, walking on the water, just as cool as could be. Next thing you know, out of the boat jumps Peter and he starts walking on the water as well. Peter let fear then doubt get to him and he began to sink. I believe Jesus was teaching us how quickly fear and doubt will strangle our faith if we’re not careful. Jesus was absolutely tickled that one of his disciples would be so brave as to try to walk on water as well! Have you ever put yourself in Peter’s shoes? Maybe he was thinking “Wow! What a thrill it was for a short while, that I actually was able to walk on water just as Jesus was doing. While I kept my eyes focused on Him, I knew there was absolutely nothing I couldn’t do if the Holy Spirit was leading me in doing so”! Peter didn’t just jump out of the boat without being certain God was okay with it. Peter was wise enough to know that assumption and presumption are two powerful weapons Satan always tries to use to frustrate us in our faith in God. That’s why the Holy Spirit tells us that Peter first asked God if it was okay for him to try to walk on water. Had Jesus clearly said to Peter: “No!” Peter would have sunk the first step he took out of the boat. But because Peter first sought to know God’s will in the matter, and heard Jesus clearly say, “Come!” The Holy Spirit activated faith in Peter to trust God to be able to start walking on water. Okay, now you may be asking yourself, if that was the case, why didn’t the Holy Spirit continue to increase Peter’s faith in God, so he didn’t end up sinking? I believe it was to demonstrate how quickly fear can shut down our faith in God and rob us of having a testimony to share with others that will ultimately glorify Jesus Christ. Fear and doubt are the most potent weapons the devil has to rob us of our faith in God.
No – you may never be led by the Holy Spirit to literally walk on water, but God wants to exhort each of us to do something far more brave: be able to walk on top of spiritual water, by being courageous enough to walk up to complete strangers and ask them if they have ever had a salvation experience with Jesus Christ, and if not, would they like to have one? Would they like to have intimate friendship - intimate relationship with God? Now that is being brave and courageous.
The Place Of No Risk
Read John 16:33; Matthew 7:24-27
One of the things that is important to most of us in the West is security – We all worry we want to know where we will live, we want to know where we are going, we want to make sure our family will support us, we want to make sure that we can support them, we want to make sure that we’ve got enough cash in the bank to cope with anything that the world throws at us, we want to be in control of our lives. In the West we call these things wise, we call it prudent, we expect people to make sure that they do these things. We base our society on being secure. Here’s the news for you: Jesus doesn’t. Jesus expects you to take risks. He expects you to risk your reputation. He expects you to risk your security. He expects you to take the risk of trusting Him to know what He is doing. He expects you to follow the Holy Spirit wherever He takes you – the Bible says that you can’t tell where the wind is going or what it will do next, and it is the same with people who follow the Spirit – you never know where He will take you next. If you are following Jesus then your friends should be writing your addresses in pencil, because they never know where you are going to be next. Now the good news: Wherever Jesus asks you to follow, He will look after you. Whenever He leads you through a difficult place, if you look back, all you will see is His goodness. You will find that however rough it gets, He was carrying you all along. Because what the world calls ‘security’, what the world calls ‘safe’, isn’t safe.
Jesus said: Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Every thing you see around you, all of the things that we put our trust in here in the West are fragile. They can be taken away from you in an instant. Our society is so fragile. Everything around us is fragile, and we don’t like to think about that. We put our trust in America to keep the world peace, just as people trusted the Roman Empire in Jesus’ day, but where is the Roman Empire now? The anthropologists tell us that you can tell an Empire is dying, that a society is sick, by three signs: The young are violent. The adults are confused. There are no elders. Read the papers and you see these things – we are living in the last decades of the American Empire. Everything you see around you will one day be swept away in fire, it will fall to dust and blow away, because this world is as temporary as a tent in a hurricane and it is passing away. The only things that will be left, the only strong things, are the things that Jesus gives – these are the only things that will last. This world has nothing for you – it might seem to have everything that you want, but it has nothing that you really need. When his other followers were leaving him saying “This teaching is too hard”, Jesus asked his disciples “Do you want to leave me too?” but Peter asks Him “Lord, where on earth could we possibly go? Only you have the words of eternal life, only you have the things that will last”. Following Jesus is the only security.
Tuesday
It Is Safer In The Boat or Is It
Read 1 Peter5:8
Keep a cool head. Stay alert. The Devil is poised to pounce, and would like nothing better than to catch you napping. Keep your guard up. You're not the only ones plunged into these hard times. It's the same with Christians all over the world. So keep a firm grip on the faith. The suffering won't last forever. It won't be long before this generous God who has great plans for us in Christ—eternal and glorious plans they are!—will have you put together and on your feet for good. He gets the last word; yes, he does. (The Message, 1 Peter 5:8)
Water walkers are people who get out of their safety zone and dare to do something they’ve never dared to do before. It may feel safer in the boat, the place of comfort, but it doesn’t stop problems from coming to you. Sooner or later you will have to face your problems. You will have to get out of your comfortable place and do something to rid yourself of the problem. A person can accept their circumstance such as sickness or they can start speaking to the problem (the sickness) and command it to go in Jesus’ name. A person may be comfortable sitting in a church pew week and week doing nothing or they can get out of that pew and pray for someone or give a word of the Lord to someone to encourage them. If you always want to sit in the comfortable boat, you may see some miracles happen, but you may never take part in causing one to happen. It pleases God when we get out of our comfortable boat!
Would you rather just see miracles happen or would you rather have a part in bringing them about? It’s up to you. Are you willing to get out of your comfortable boat?
Wednesday
Look For Jesus In The Storm
Read Genesis 1:2; Mark 6:48
Storms in your life and around you grab your attention. In order to overcome those storms you must make a decision to not give up. Giving up is a choice not a circumstance. You must first choose to not throw in the towel and just give up. Secondly, you must look for Jesus in the midst of the storm. The book of Mark gives the account of the same storm in Matthew’s gospel but adds the fact that Jesus saw the disciple’s struggles. Many times we question whether or not God sees our struggles and efforts. The fact is He not only sees but He is praying for you! Imagine that. Jesus is praying for you! The question, however, is not does God see my struggles, it is do you see Him in the midst of your struggles and storms? You see in Jesus intended to go past the disciples. Did you catch that? Jesus’ intention was to walk by them. It was up to them to look for Him in the midst of their storm. He was not just going to jump into their boat. He came just close enough to be found, if they were looking for Him. Your focus must not be on the storm but on Him that strolls through them. Throughout Scripture, Jesus came just close enough to those in need that if they were searching for Him, He could be found. Whatever you are looking for is what you will find. If your focus is the size of the waves and the strength of the storm, you will find just that. However, if you look for evidence that Jesus is in the storm you will find Him there. Focus on His promise, not the problem.
Thursday
Keep Your Eyes On Him
Read Hebrews 12:2; 1 Corinthians 10:13
Why did Peter sink? He saw Jesus walk on the water and as long as Peter kept his eyes on the LORD, Peter stayed afloat. It was when Peter got his eyes off of the LORD and on to the waves beneath him that he sank. The lesson for the believer here is that our faith must be rooted in Christ and we must not allow ourselves to be distracted by life's circumstances. Doubt is not the absence of faith it is a test of faith. Peter had faith to step out but he did not count the cost and he "looked down." It was only then that Peter began to falter and sink. Yet, the hand of grace pulled Peter to safety.
There is a great lesson of faith in this passage of Scripture where Jesus walks on the water. First, it is that Jesus has control over the situation. The wind and turmoil of the waves obeyed Him. As born again believers, if we keep our eyes on the LORD rather than the situation that threatens to engulf us, we too can walk through the waves with confidence in Christ's ability to bring us peace in the middle of whatever storm is raging over our lives. There is nothing that we can face as born again believers that is outside of God's control (1 Corinthians 10:13).
Another great lesson here is that Christ's hand is always extended to the lost. When by faith one reaches out to the LORD for salvation, grace lifts that one out of the sinking waves of sin. Jesus walks on water is a principle that the invisible realities of faith in Christ are victorious over the visible threats of this world, regardless of the form they may take.
Friday
There Is Help!
Read Hebrews 13:6
Has your heart and spirit ever just went thud. Have you ever felt as though your life is falling apart and the harder you try to overcome the circumstances swirling around in your life the deeper the pit seems to get. You have finally sunk to the lowest place in the pit and you feel so alone, isolated. I found myself in this at the end of this year, that same familiar place. What will I do? I felt like just giving up, but there in my lowest place I felt a presence, it was Jesus……He was there with me. He was whispering in my ear………. “I will never leave you or forsake you”, “As your days, so shall your strength be”, “And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory forever and forever”, “Fear not, for I am with you. Do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with my victorious right hand” (Isaiah 41:10).
He kept whispering these and many other promises in my ear. God is good. He does not abandon us. He is always there. He cares more about us than we think. He is always there for us in our time of need. He is always offering us His hand. When we think we are alone and we have no place to turn and the world seems as though it is against us, Don’t fret, listen to Him whisper promises in your ear. God is there. He will take care of you. Just give Him the opportunity. There is Help!
The Weekender
Water Walkers
Matthew 14:14-36; Mark 11:22-27; James 5:17
When a person reads Matthew, Mark, Luke or John - the one thing we clearly see about Jesus was He constantly had His disciples to keep stretching their faith. He had them exercising great faith, in fact. Jesus knew how delighted His heavenly Father was when they believed Him to accomplish seemingly impossible feats, and He also knew the opposition they would face after Jesus resurrected and went back to heaven to be with the Father. Take the account of Peter walking on water. The waves were wild and the wind howled, but here is Jesus, walking on the water, just as cool as could be. Next thing you know, out of the boat jumps Peter and he starts walking on the water as well. Peter let fear then doubt get to him and he began to sink. I believe Jesus was teaching us how quickly fear and doubt will strangle our faith if we’re not careful. Jesus was absolutely tickled that one of his disciples would be so brave as to try to walk on water as well! Have you ever put yourself in Peter’s shoes? Maybe he was thinking “Wow! What a thrill it was for a short while, that I actually was able to walk on water just as Jesus was doing. While I kept my eyes focused on Him, I knew there was absolutely nothing I couldn’t do if the Holy Spirit was leading me in doing so”! Peter didn’t just jump out of the boat without being certain God was okay with it. Peter was wise enough to know that assumption and presumption are two powerful weapons Satan always tries to use to frustrate us in our faith in God. That’s why the Holy Spirit tells us that Peter first asked God if it was okay for him to try to walk on water. Had Jesus clearly said to Peter: “No!” Peter would have sunk the first step he took out of the boat. But because Peter first sought to know God’s will in the matter, and heard Jesus clearly say, “Come!” The Holy Spirit activated faith in Peter to trust God to be able to start walking on water. Okay, now you may be asking yourself, if that was the case, why didn’t the Holy Spirit continue to increase Peter’s faith in God, so he didn’t end up sinking? I believe it was to demonstrate how quickly fear can shut down our faith in God and rob us of having a testimony to share with others that will ultimately glorify Jesus Christ. Fear and doubt are the most potent weapons the devil has to rob us of our faith in God.
No – you may never be led by the Holy Spirit to literally walk on water, but God wants to exhort each of us to do something far more brave: be able to walk on top of spiritual water, by being courageous enough to walk up to complete strangers and ask them if they have ever had a salvation experience with Jesus Christ, and if not, would they like to have one? Would they like to have intimate friendship - intimate relationship with God? Now that is being brave and courageous.
January 3, 2011
The Daily Compass January 3-8, 2011
Monday
What Faith Is
Hebrews 11:1; Mark 11:23,24; 1 John 5:14,15
In the general sense of the word, to have faith is to believe in something or someone, to fully trust, to be so confident that you base your actions on what you believe. To have faith is to be fully convinced of the truthfulness and reliability of that in which you believe. Faith in God then, is having the kind of trust and confidence in God and in Christ that leads you to commit your whole soul to Him as Savior (Justifier, Cleanser, Healer, Deliverer) and Lord (Master, King).
Faith is a spiritual substance. When you have this spiritual substance in you, it communicates to you a certain inner knowing that the thing you are hoping for is certainly established, even before you see any material evidence that it has happened. Faith is a spiritual force. Faith in God is a response to God's Word which moves God to act. Jesus said in Mark 11:23, "For assuredly I say to you, whoever SAYS to this mountain, 'Be removed and cast into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart, but BELIEVES that those things he SAYS will be done, he will HAVE whatever he SAYS." Words mixed with the real, pure faith can and will move mountains or any other problem that we face.
Faith in God must be from the heart. It is not merely intellectual. It is spiritual. "For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation." (Romans 10:10) Faith causes you to know in your heart before you see with your eyes. "For we walk by faith, not by sight." (2Cor 5.7)
Tuesday
What Faith Is Not
James 2:14; 19
Faith is not religion. Many times people say "We have our faith". What they mean is this: "We have our religious ideas and doctrines, our traditions, our ways of doing things passed down through the generations. Don't you try to change them." This is not the Biblical idea of faith.
Faith is not mental assent. It is not agreeing with your mind, "Yes, that is true." Many professing Christians believe mentally that the Bible is the Word of God, but this faith does not change the way they live. It is not a faith that can save. (James 2:14)
Even demons have that kind of faith. They know and believe that God exists (James 2:19) - and tremble. They have no loving confidence in God. Faith is not a way to manipulate God. It is not a power by which we make God do what WE want when otherwise He would be unwilling to do that thing. It is not a kind of magic through which we make God into our servant!
Faith is not hope, nor positive desire. Hope is good, and relates to the future. Faith, however, takes the promise as done NOW. Many people have hope and are anxiously looking for results, but they lack the settled confidence and present assurance which faith has.
Do you see your promise Done?
Wednesday
Why We Must Believe God
Hebrews 11:6; Romans 1:17; Romans 14:23
Why must we believe God? Hebrews 11:6 says, "But without faith it is impossible to please God, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him." "Whatever is not of faith is sin" (Romans 14:23) and God hates sin. When we don't believe God, we treat Him like He is a liar. Remember that He is everywhere and sees all things. He is hurt when we act like He doesn't exist, or that He will not do what He promised to do. Only when we have confidence in God and His Word can we please Him.
Lack of faith leads to lack of obedience. God's commands can only really be fulfilled through faith. Without confidence in God's promises a man will never really do what God says. Lack of obedience in God's eyes is rebellion. Such lack of obedience dishonors God and surely deserves to be punished. "The just shall live by faith" (Romans 1:17). We must live by faith in order to be considered by God "right" and "correct". Otherwise we stand condemned.
Those who don't believe God inevitably believe in something else. God is therefore righteous in expecting us to believe in Him and what He says.
Who is better qualified to tell us the truth and help us to find answers for life and eternity?
Thursday
Keys to Developing Faith
Romans 10:17
We see how important faith is. Yet some people despair here, thinking that they don't have faith. Yet faith comes (Romans 10:17), it can grow and develop. If you are not full of faith today, that doesn't mean you will be that way all your life. You can choose to be a person of faith!
Here are some keys to developing faith. 1. Listen to the Word of God as much as possible. "Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God" (Romans 10:17). Constant attention to the Word of God produces faith, especially if we attend to it with an open heart and mind.
2. Realize that every believer has been given a measure of faith by God. (Romans 12:3). We just have to use and develop what God has given. We must put it into action. 3. Obey God and the conviction of the Holy Spirit. It is as you walk that you gain strength. 4. Give thanks. Give thanks for the results before you see. Don't complain - that shows you doubt God's love and God's answer to your situation 5. Develop a life of praise and worship. Praise drives the powers of darkness away and brings the throne of God into your circumstances. 7. Speak the WORD. By saying with your mouth you exercise your faith, you hear the Word and you build it into your life. God's Word is anointed and has power. 8. Seek holiness, purity of heart. 9. Remember that faith works by love (Galatians 5:6). The centurion (Matthew 8:5-13) and the woman of Canaan (Matthew 15:21-28) were both motivated by their love for another in coming to Jesus. God will release a multiplied harvest in return if we endure and do not faint (Hebrews 10:36).
Friday
Confession and the Power of Words
Romans 10:10; Proverbs 18:21
With the mouth confession is made unto salvation" (Romans 10:10). Confessing Christ as your Living Lord and Saviour with your mouth releases God's salvation into your life. Since salvation includes many benefits and blessings our right mouth confession is a major key to receiving what God has provided for us by his grace.
We should realise that "Death and life is in the power of the tongue, And those who love it will eat its fruit." (Proverbs 18:21). The power of the tongue is in the power of the words we speak. All our words have an effect on the spiritual atmosphere around us, either for good or bad. It is through words that covenants and promises are established. It is through words that our faith or our fears are expressed. Bad words open the door for bad spirits to work. Good words open the door for God and His angels to work.
Angels heed the VOICE of God's Word (Psalms 103:20). Words are spiritual seeds. Words of life produce life. Words of faith produce faith. Words of love produce love. Words of hope produce hope, and so on. Words of death attract spirits of death, words of doubt attract doubt, words of fear attract spirits of fear, and so on. Therefore we must guard carefully what we SAY.
Saturday
Acting In Faith
Hebrews 11:4-37
Real faith has corresponding actions. Looking at Hebrews 11:4-37 we see that all those who are commended for their faith did something as well. It is possible to have actions, even religious actions, without real faith - but these actions are dead works. Without faith you can't please God. (Hebrews 11:6).
Sometimes confusion arises in this matter of faith and works. There is a radical difference between works or actions that spring from real faith, and works which spring from SELF in an effort to earn God's approval. The former cannot be separated from real faith. The latter are as filthy rags to God (Isaiah 64:6), and are wrong because the man occupied with them cannot understand or accept God's free grace - that it is by GRACE, by CHRIST that we are saved, and not by our own works.
Faith hears the word of God, the voice of God and acts in obedience with a trusting heart. God often speaks to us through our consciences by His Spirit, pressing us towards a particular kind of action which is based on God's Word. Real faith yields to God's suggestion and does it.
Jesus told the blind man to go to the pool to wash. The blind man, by acting in obedience to Jesus' words BEFORE he received healing, demonstrated the kind of faith which God required of him in that situation, and he was healed. (John 9:7). If he had not obeyed, he would not have been healed. God told Abraham to offer his son Isaac up as a sacrifice. Abraham's obedience in this matter demonstrated the reality of his faith. (James 2:20-24). Even justifying faith is not passive. It does not rest in sin. Justifying faith works with repentance to open the door for the receiving of God's great salvation.
What Faith Is
Hebrews 11:1; Mark 11:23,24; 1 John 5:14,15
In the general sense of the word, to have faith is to believe in something or someone, to fully trust, to be so confident that you base your actions on what you believe. To have faith is to be fully convinced of the truthfulness and reliability of that in which you believe. Faith in God then, is having the kind of trust and confidence in God and in Christ that leads you to commit your whole soul to Him as Savior (Justifier, Cleanser, Healer, Deliverer) and Lord (Master, King).
Faith is a spiritual substance. When you have this spiritual substance in you, it communicates to you a certain inner knowing that the thing you are hoping for is certainly established, even before you see any material evidence that it has happened. Faith is a spiritual force. Faith in God is a response to God's Word which moves God to act. Jesus said in Mark 11:23, "For assuredly I say to you, whoever SAYS to this mountain, 'Be removed and cast into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart, but BELIEVES that those things he SAYS will be done, he will HAVE whatever he SAYS." Words mixed with the real, pure faith can and will move mountains or any other problem that we face.
Faith in God must be from the heart. It is not merely intellectual. It is spiritual. "For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation." (Romans 10:10) Faith causes you to know in your heart before you see with your eyes. "For we walk by faith, not by sight." (2Cor 5.7)
Tuesday
What Faith Is Not
James 2:14; 19
Faith is not religion. Many times people say "We have our faith". What they mean is this: "We have our religious ideas and doctrines, our traditions, our ways of doing things passed down through the generations. Don't you try to change them." This is not the Biblical idea of faith.
Faith is not mental assent. It is not agreeing with your mind, "Yes, that is true." Many professing Christians believe mentally that the Bible is the Word of God, but this faith does not change the way they live. It is not a faith that can save. (James 2:14)
Even demons have that kind of faith. They know and believe that God exists (James 2:19) - and tremble. They have no loving confidence in God. Faith is not a way to manipulate God. It is not a power by which we make God do what WE want when otherwise He would be unwilling to do that thing. It is not a kind of magic through which we make God into our servant!
Faith is not hope, nor positive desire. Hope is good, and relates to the future. Faith, however, takes the promise as done NOW. Many people have hope and are anxiously looking for results, but they lack the settled confidence and present assurance which faith has.
Do you see your promise Done?
Wednesday
Why We Must Believe God
Hebrews 11:6; Romans 1:17; Romans 14:23
Why must we believe God? Hebrews 11:6 says, "But without faith it is impossible to please God, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him." "Whatever is not of faith is sin" (Romans 14:23) and God hates sin. When we don't believe God, we treat Him like He is a liar. Remember that He is everywhere and sees all things. He is hurt when we act like He doesn't exist, or that He will not do what He promised to do. Only when we have confidence in God and His Word can we please Him.
Lack of faith leads to lack of obedience. God's commands can only really be fulfilled through faith. Without confidence in God's promises a man will never really do what God says. Lack of obedience in God's eyes is rebellion. Such lack of obedience dishonors God and surely deserves to be punished. "The just shall live by faith" (Romans 1:17). We must live by faith in order to be considered by God "right" and "correct". Otherwise we stand condemned.
Those who don't believe God inevitably believe in something else. God is therefore righteous in expecting us to believe in Him and what He says.
Who is better qualified to tell us the truth and help us to find answers for life and eternity?
Thursday
Keys to Developing Faith
Romans 10:17
We see how important faith is. Yet some people despair here, thinking that they don't have faith. Yet faith comes (Romans 10:17), it can grow and develop. If you are not full of faith today, that doesn't mean you will be that way all your life. You can choose to be a person of faith!
Here are some keys to developing faith. 1. Listen to the Word of God as much as possible. "Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God" (Romans 10:17). Constant attention to the Word of God produces faith, especially if we attend to it with an open heart and mind.
2. Realize that every believer has been given a measure of faith by God. (Romans 12:3). We just have to use and develop what God has given. We must put it into action. 3. Obey God and the conviction of the Holy Spirit. It is as you walk that you gain strength. 4. Give thanks. Give thanks for the results before you see. Don't complain - that shows you doubt God's love and God's answer to your situation 5. Develop a life of praise and worship. Praise drives the powers of darkness away and brings the throne of God into your circumstances. 7. Speak the WORD. By saying with your mouth you exercise your faith, you hear the Word and you build it into your life. God's Word is anointed and has power. 8. Seek holiness, purity of heart. 9. Remember that faith works by love (Galatians 5:6). The centurion (Matthew 8:5-13) and the woman of Canaan (Matthew 15:21-28) were both motivated by their love for another in coming to Jesus. God will release a multiplied harvest in return if we endure and do not faint (Hebrews 10:36).
Friday
Confession and the Power of Words
Romans 10:10; Proverbs 18:21
With the mouth confession is made unto salvation" (Romans 10:10). Confessing Christ as your Living Lord and Saviour with your mouth releases God's salvation into your life. Since salvation includes many benefits and blessings our right mouth confession is a major key to receiving what God has provided for us by his grace.
We should realise that "Death and life is in the power of the tongue, And those who love it will eat its fruit." (Proverbs 18:21). The power of the tongue is in the power of the words we speak. All our words have an effect on the spiritual atmosphere around us, either for good or bad. It is through words that covenants and promises are established. It is through words that our faith or our fears are expressed. Bad words open the door for bad spirits to work. Good words open the door for God and His angels to work.
Angels heed the VOICE of God's Word (Psalms 103:20). Words are spiritual seeds. Words of life produce life. Words of faith produce faith. Words of love produce love. Words of hope produce hope, and so on. Words of death attract spirits of death, words of doubt attract doubt, words of fear attract spirits of fear, and so on. Therefore we must guard carefully what we SAY.
Saturday
Acting In Faith
Hebrews 11:4-37
Real faith has corresponding actions. Looking at Hebrews 11:4-37 we see that all those who are commended for their faith did something as well. It is possible to have actions, even religious actions, without real faith - but these actions are dead works. Without faith you can't please God. (Hebrews 11:6).
Sometimes confusion arises in this matter of faith and works. There is a radical difference between works or actions that spring from real faith, and works which spring from SELF in an effort to earn God's approval. The former cannot be separated from real faith. The latter are as filthy rags to God (Isaiah 64:6), and are wrong because the man occupied with them cannot understand or accept God's free grace - that it is by GRACE, by CHRIST that we are saved, and not by our own works.
Faith hears the word of God, the voice of God and acts in obedience with a trusting heart. God often speaks to us through our consciences by His Spirit, pressing us towards a particular kind of action which is based on God's Word. Real faith yields to God's suggestion and does it.
Jesus told the blind man to go to the pool to wash. The blind man, by acting in obedience to Jesus' words BEFORE he received healing, demonstrated the kind of faith which God required of him in that situation, and he was healed. (John 9:7). If he had not obeyed, he would not have been healed. God told Abraham to offer his son Isaac up as a sacrifice. Abraham's obedience in this matter demonstrated the reality of his faith. (James 2:20-24). Even justifying faith is not passive. It does not rest in sin. Justifying faith works with repentance to open the door for the receiving of God's great salvation.
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