This holiday season may find you in a dark place. Anxieties can darken your outlook and leave one feeling pretty hopeless. It is my prayer that this post will help you find a way to the light of day.
Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. –1 Peter 5:7 (NIV) Continue reading “Casting Your Cares On The Lord”
21“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ 23Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ –Matthew 7:21-23 (NIV)
Have you ever heard a preacher talk about these verses? How did it make you feel? Uncomfortable? Even scary?
Look at all the accomplishments of the people described here. First, some prophesied in His name. And some drove out demons in His name. And finally some performed many miracles in His name. They were all using the name of Jesus (His authority) to achieve all these results. And yet, when they want to enter the kingdom of heaven they are rejected. Continue reading “Does God Know You?”
Psalm 13 (NIV)
For the director of music. A psalm of David.
1 How long, Lord? Will you forget me forever?
How long will you hide your face from me?
2 How long must I wrestle with my thoughts
and day after day have sorrow in my heart?
How long will my enemy triumph over me?
3 Look on me and answer, Lord my God.
Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death,
4 and my enemy will say, “I have overcome him,”
and my foes will rejoice when I fall.
5 But I trust in your unfailing love;
my heart rejoices in your salvation.
6 I will sing the Lord’s praise,
for he has been good to me.
[emphasis mine]
Are you, like David, waiting for a loooong time for God to answer your prayer? A long enough time to make you feel like God has left you alone to fend for yourself? And you might feel like He has so many other requests and demands, maybe He has forgotten you.
The Psalmist here says he was wrestling with his own thoughts. Is your mind so overwhelmed with clutter that you are finding it difficult to make any choices? Do you feel like God is distant and He isn’t even a part of your planning process?
And this has gone on so long that your heart is heavy. You feel lonely and sad. Every day. Sorrow and sadness are never far from you. Your problems loom large and appear impossible. Day after day you wake up with dread for the day ahead. You are bombarded with criticism and accusation. For David, there were people who wanted him dead. It was their sole purpose to hunt him down and kill him.
David cried out to God, “Look here! Look at my situation! Answer my prayer for help! Or I will die!” He continued, “If you don’t help me now then my enemies will conquer me and they will be glad when I fail!”
Do you see what happens in verse 5? In the midst of pouring out his innermost feelings, the words change and make a complete reversal with one simple word “But”. Watch what David writes next, “But I trust in your unfailing love;” The Hebrew word that David uses here is chesed (the ch has a hard sound like k). It means favor. Under the Old Covenant one had to do all the works of the Law to earn God’s favor. But it was certainly a part of the covenant agreement with God. And David draws on this word in Psalms more than any other Old Testament writer. David knew if he obeyed God’s commands that God would be loyal to His promise of favor toward him. Time after time in the Psalms David reminds God of their covenant agreement. He trusted God to uphold His end of the deal.
By now you may be thinking that this Hebrew word, chesed—God’s favor, sounds a whole lot like the New Testament Greek word, charis—God’s favor, then you are right. But the Hebrew word carries with it the condition of each one of us having to obey all of God’s commands first. In other words, under the Old Covenant, favor was earned by each one of us. Under the New Covenant, favor was earned by Jesus and then freely given to us. Our only requirement is to trust what He has done.
But there is one more thing. Jesus didn’t come to abolish the Old Covenant. He came to fulfill the Law and the Prophets. (Matthew 5:17) The Old Covenant Law and all the prophecies were executed perfectly by Jesus. This was so that we could partake of all the original blessings of the Old Covenant (like God’s all powerful, never failing, never ending, unconditional, unmerited favor).
What does that mean when we read the Psalms? It means that the promises of God’s blessing, favor, and protection that David trusted in are the very promises that we can trust in, too. It is because of what Jesus Christ has accomplished on our behalf! We get all the Old Testament blessings and none of the Old Testament curses!
Now the tone of writing changes dramatically. In the midst of imminent danger, long term sadness and grief, and feeling like God was distant, David continues “my heart rejoices in your salvation” Really? How can he rejoice when his circumstances have not even changed? Is he just fooling himself? No. He is not lying to himself. David had an understanding about his covenant with God. He reminded God and himself about their agreement.
The part that caused David to rejoice? And this is so very good. Listen closely. David reminded himself of God’s commitment, loyalty, and favor toward himself. The commitment of God was personal to David. And it is personal to you and I as believers today because Christ has made the way possible. Direct access. Direct favor. God’s thoughts are toward you. His attention is toward you. He cares for you. Always. And you have His commitment of loyalty to His promises for you. And now you know how David changed his attitude by reminding himself of God’s loving favor toward him personally. God is thinking good thoughts about you now. He wants to show His favor toward you personally.
David finishes up the Psalm with the triumph of heart in verse 6. “I will sing the Lord’s praise, for he has been good to me.” Here again you might be tempted to think David is either over stating his plight at the beginning of the Psalm or you may think he is deluding himself at the end here.
Previously I wrote about David reminding himself and God about the covenant agreement that they shared. But his circumstances hadn’t changed yet. So how could the last phrase be true “for he has been good to me.”? It’s right in front of us. Look at the verb tense. “Has been” is past tense. And here we find the final key to changing one’s outlook in life when facing impossible situations. David called to mind all the good things God had already done for him. On purpose, David changed his focus from negative circumstances he faced to the reality of God’s love and favor toward him. Recalling past blessing was like icing on the cake.
We can apply the same principles today. David was not afraid to express his deepest emotions to God. Do you think God was surprised by David’s expression of emotion? I think not. God isn’t surprised with how you feel either. You might as well tell him. Share your problems with Him like you were confiding in your best friend (because He is!). Next David spelled out all the scary circumstances. For David, elite militia were commissioned to kill him. Trained killers. You may not have killers after you. But the problems you face are very real. Go ahead. Tell God the circumstances. Tell Him all about it.
And finally, tell God (and yourself) about your covenant agreement together. Acknowledge God’s commitment to you based on what Jesus did for you. You don’t get blessings because you are good. You get blessed because Jesus is good. You have favor because Jesus had favor and He has freely bestowed it upon you. His commitment to you is that He will never give up on you and to never let you down so that you are all alone. He will never leave you. He will never forsake. He will always protect you. He will always be with you.
Now remind yourself of all the good things that God has already done for you. Even the smallest things count. As you think of those things, thank God for each one. As you are thanking God, you will find that you actually want to give Him praise. Go ahead! Let the song in your heart come out!
Today my prayer for each one of you is that you get so blessed with His love that you want to do kind things for other people. Yes. I pray that your heart is so enriched that the excess of God’s love will spill out to those around you! Blessings of health and wellness to you. Blessings of abundance to you. Blessings of peace and joy to you. Blessings of favor with others for you. Blessings to you and your family. And blessings of protection and safety to you. May this day be a turnaround day for you!
4 Love endures with patience and serenity, love is kind and thoughtful, and is not jealous or envious; love does not brag and is not proud or arrogant. 5 It is not rude; it is not self-seeking, it is not provoked [nor overly sensitive and easily angered]; it does not take into account a wrong endured. 6 It does not rejoice at injustice, but rejoices with the truth [when right and truth prevail]. 7 Love bears all things [regardless of what comes], believes all things [looking for the best in each one], hopes all things [remaining steadfast during difficult times], endures all things [without weakening].
–1 Corinthians 13:4-7 Amplified Bible
***What Love is
Love is kind
Love is thoughtful
***What Love does
Endures with patience
Endures with serenity
Rejoices with the truth [when right and truth prevail]
Bears all things [regardless of what comes]
Believes all things [looking for the best in each one]
Hopes all things [remaining steadfast during difficult times]
Endures all things [without weakening]
***What Love is not
Love is not jealous
Love is not envious
Love is not proud
Love is not arrogant
Love is not rude
Love is not self-seeking
Love is not provoked [overly sensitive or easily angered]
***What Love does not do
Love does not brag
Love does not take into account a wrong endured
Love does not rejoice at injustice
Ode to Psalm 90:14
My eyes look to You every morning, Lord,
before the light of dawn.
Fill my heart to overflowing
with your steadfast love.
Satisfy my every craving for You
with an overwhelming amount of your loyal mercy.
Show Your faithful,
covenant kindness to me.
Shower me with the riches
of Your everlasting, unmerited favor toward me.
So that I may be able
to delight in You!
And it will give me cause
to be able to shout for joy!
Because of all this my heart
will be filled with song!
And the contentment of Your peace, prosperity, and long life
will occupy my mind!
And I will be glad
each and every day of my life, for as long as I live!
The first sin of man in the Garden of Eden happened before the tasting of the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. They had made up their minds to sin before the act of eating ever occurred.
Adam and Eve were expelled from the Garden the same day, but their physical deaths didn’t happen until years later. But God’s promise was that they would die the same day that they ate of the forbidden fruit. They died a spiritual death that day. Their physical deaths happened years later. Their bodies were corrupted from the inside out.
From Adam to Moses, sin was not passed to each generation, yet sin still reigned. And folks continued to die.
Once the Law given by Moses was instated, sin was transferred from generation to generation. Every man and woman from then on was born with an evil nature—a corruptible, evil core.
The Law was given to us as our tutor. The Law only made sin more obvious. It was impossible to keep. Truly attempting to keep the Law should prove man’s incompetence and point to his need for a Savior. For sin is not just an outward act, but what comes from within. True righteousness includes every thought, every imagination, every dream, and all desires and intentions.
The sin nature was imputed through the male. This is why it was important for Jesus to be born to a virgin so He would not inherit the nature to sin.
But sin was possible without the nature to sin. Adam and Eve were created in God’s own image without a nature to sin. Yet they still fell. So the sin nature is not the source of being able to sin. The sin nature is the tendency to sin and along with it, the lack of power to overcome it.
Jesus limited himself to that of a human being even though he was God’s own son.
God gambled everything on Jesus, the man.
Sin derives its power from the Law. The harder someone tries to keep the Law, the more obvious sin becomes. Sin is not just external actions, but also thoughts, intentions, and imaginations of the heart.
Sin is internal. The Law is external. There is no amount of external behavior change that will ever satisfy the righteous requirements of the Law or change the internal nature to sin.
All persons are judged guilty because of their internal sin nature. All have fallen short of God’s standard.
This is the setup for the second greatest injustice of all time—you are not judged for your actions, but because you were born with a sinful instinct. And, no amount of good deeds can ever redeem your condition.
No matter how hard you try to do right, you cannot perform. It is because it is no longer you doing the act, but it is sin inside of you. Even though you have the best of intentions you will fail.
What is the solution to this dilemma? It is Jesus.
Jesus existed from the foundation of the world. He came to earth, born of a virgin, Mary. He was of the lineage of King David. He lived a sin free life on our behalf. God made him to become the embodiment of sin—the very nature that has plagued mankind since Moses. And the faultless, spotless Jesus took sin upon himself on the cross—the greatest injustice of all time!
And the power of sin was abolished with Jesus’ death. Mercy took our deserved punishment. Mercy took our judgment. And Grace conquered the power of sin upon His resurrection and gave us a new heart—a new life.
Satan is the Accuser. He’s like a prosecuting attorney. It is his mission to bring condemnation to each of us. He is empowered by the Law—man’s attempt to be righteous. When we fail, he accuses us using the Law. The very thing we thought would lead us to a righteous life actually brings us condemnation because of our inability to live righteously in and of ourselves.
But thanks to Jesus who fulfilled the Law. Because once the Law was fulfilled that Law was no longer in effect. Jesus was the author of a new covenant! So Satan lost his ammunition. He can no longer bring accusation using the old covenant. There is no more condemnation. We are guilt free. Faultless. And we can stand in the Presence of the Almighty God. It is because the New Covenant was established between Christ and God. And we got written in as beneficiaries based on Christ’s accomplishments instead of our own!
Abraham believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness. And this happened before he received the sign of the Old Covenant, circumcision. So he is the father of all who have faith in God.
The Law was given to the Jews by birth. But faith is for all. True Jews are those who have been circumcised of the heart—those who believe in Jesus Christ the Son of God.
So all those who believe in Jesus, the Christ, are recipients of the blessing of Abraham.
And God blessed Abraham in every way. These are the blessings to everyone who believes in God.
It is by faith that we have a heart transplant. Our stony hearts are removed and we get a new heart of flesh and a new spirit. And God’s Laws are written on our hearts.
Our old sin nature is crucified with Christ, once and for all, for all time. And in its place we receive a complete acquittal before God and the punishment is removed. All guilt and condemnation are gone. Not because of what we have done, but because of what Jesus has done for us on our behalf.
We are saved by faith in Jesus Christ. We live every day by faith. We walk in His divine grace. We have absolute confidence. It is no longer us who perform righteous acts, but it is Christ inside of us. Sin no longer is lord over us. Sin has lost its grip. Addictions are broken. Fear is gone. Worries and cares fade away in His Presence. We are free. We are surrounded by His love daily. His power lives within us. As He is so are we in this world. We reign in life because of what Christ has accomplished. Every day. All the time.
When we walk in step with the Holy Spirit our lives will change. We will not fulfill the desires that once bound us. But we will be useful in loving others with the good news of the gospel—the power of God.
Jesus died and rose again to crush the power of the sinful nature within us and give us new insides—a new nature. This new abundant, overcoming life is one of victory. Not because of any deeds we have done but because of what Jesus has done on our behalf. Now we walk in the light of His favor.
Jesus left the earth so He could give us the Holy Spirit. It is the life in the Spirit that allows us to walk in victory every day. The Holy Spirit is God in us. Just as Jesus was Love in a body, so are we. We are to others what Jesus was to the world through the power and ability of the Holy Spirit. We listen to His voice. We can walk in supernatural love and power. And just as Jesus healed many folks and performed miracles and signs, so we too can expect God to move similarly in us. It is not because of any great will power or dedication, it is only by a child-like trusting in the same God as Jesus did.
This is the Kingdom of God—not a bunch of external rules and regulations, but it is comprised of the internal qualities of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit!
This is what our Easter celebration is about. It is not about going to a church (although that is important). Or doing some religious thing. Or feeling sorry for Jesus. Yes, He despised the shame and didn’t enjoy the suffering. He did it for the joy of the reward. It is the reconciliation of friendship between man and God.
So talk to God today. Listen for His reply. Allow Him to encompass you with His Love. It’s not about your love for Him. It is ALL about His Love for you! Enjoy it! Thank Him for it! Give your consent His glorious victory on your behalf. And be glad for the friendship you have in Him.
You are greatly blessed, highly favored, and deeply loved by God! Happy Easter weekend!
Many folks think that when we get saved, our sins are merely done away with like dirt when you wash your dishes. You wash the dirt (sin) off. Or like giving your pet a bath, getting saved is you getting cleaned up. Your sins are wiped off.
I will use a pig as an example. Pigs like mud. They wallow in it. They roll around in it. It is a part of their nature. People make jokes about pigs flying because that is an outlandish thing to even think about.
But for illustration sake, let’s say you own a pig. You hose off your pig. You get out sponges and rub it down until it is as clean as you can get it. Then you let it back outside. Where does the pig go? Yep. Back to its favorite muddy place. And it gets all dirty again.
Maybe you feel like when you got saved, you were like the pig. Jesus cleaned you up but you couldn’t help yourself. You ended back in the mud hole of sin. Then you go running to Jesus and confess your sins and get clean again. And you go back out into life and roll around in mud and need to be clean again.
Doesn’t this cycle lead one to feel guilty all the time? What kind of life is this anyway? Does this sound like a life of victory?
Now what if I told you when you got saved that you were no longer the mud-loving pig? Do you think I’m making a stretch at this? What am I saying?
2 Corinthians 5:17 New American Standard Bible
Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.
There it is! When you become a believer in Christ, you become a new creature. The old Greek word for this means to create something out of nothing. Like when God created the world out of nothing. When you get saved, you became a new creation. That old pig is no more. But, you say, you still are in the same body. You still think the same thoughts. What has changed?
It’s the old self. Your want-to’s—your desires changed. You no longer want to roll around in the mud. Can you still be tempted? Of course. Adam and Eve were tempted without ever having the old fallen nature. But now you are no longer under any obligation to sin. You have the power inside of you as a believer to overcome it. (Romans 6:14 and more fodder for another blog post)
The old things are passed away. Really. Like so-and-so passed away 4 years ago. Or the time for enrolling for college has already passed. Gone. The Greek verb tense here is aorist—it simply means that the event happened at one point in time in the past.
Behold, new things have come. Behold is an older English word. In today’s lingo one might say, “look here” or “look at this”. New things have come. The verb tense here is perfect—it’s an event that happened in the past, but still has a continuing effect. The Greek word for “have come” actually carries the sense of emerging. Like when you plant a seed and a new shoot emerges from the ground. That’s you.
You are a brand new creation. You are completely changed inside. All the old stuff has passed away at one point in time. Hebrews 10 says Christ’s death dealt with sin once for all time, never to be repeated. The moment you become a new believer is the time at which you became a new creature! All the old things are now behind you. Everything in life ahead of you is all brand new. Every moment! Every day!
We all know what to do in an emergency—we dial 9-1-1. We do it for situations that require urgent and immediate care. Accidents, tragedies, heart attacks and the like are examples for which we use this service.
But what happens in life when you face situations that are personal emergencies that are not covered by 9-1-1? Like that time you got news of a life-threatening illness? Or a death in the family? Or an unwelcome financial surprise that strains your very ability to make ends meet? Or you lost your job, your house, or your car?
And what about migraines from extreme pressures you are facing? Or fears that are so strong that they inhibit your ability to perform normal everyday activities? Or feelings of such great inadequacy that it leaves you in deep depression and you just want to hide from everyone.
I may not have described your urgent need. In short, I am reaching out to those of you who feel helpless—those of you who feel like you have no place to go. You are at the end of your rope. It’s a dark place.
I am thankful that God has 9-1-1, too. I have used it often. You can find it in Hebrews 4:15-16.
Hebrews 4:15-16 New International Version (NIV)
15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. 16 Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
This supernatural 9-1-1 doesn’t really need dialing—it is immediate direct access! If you and I were on a ship and you fell overboard, would you ask me in a calm voice “Oh, devout friend Greg, wouldest thou peradventure, tosseth yonder life jacket towardst thy humble brother?” Ha! I think not! I bet your request would be more like this “HEEEEEELLLLLPPPPP!!!”
If your little child comes running to you in tears during a thunderstorm because they are scared, do you tell them just to suck it up and be strong? Of course not! You open your arms and pick them up and hold them close. You assure them that everything’s going to be okay. But how often do we feel comfortable running to our loving Heavenly Father when we feel like our lives are a wreck?
Maybe you have heard that God hates sin. Yes, He does. And there is severe punishment for it. God’s wrath. You’ve probably heard all about it…over and over again. Did you know God took out his wrath on Jesus? God placed our sin on Jesus and He bore it for us so that we don’t have to. Jesus took the guilt and punishment of God’s wrath on our behalf. This is the how and the why we no longer face an angry God. We have all the benefits of God’s covenant love toward us because of Jesus.
Now we can enjoy the benefits of verse 16. Long ago, approaching a king’s throne was a scary thing. If you came to his throne without approval or even just at a bad time, it could mean death. But Jesus won God’s approval—His favor. And we have access on Jesus’s merit. We now have God’s favor toward us all the time. We can approach the very throne of grace without the fear of rejection. God’s loving arms are open wide to receive us when we come running to Him. And we can receive God’s twins of love—mercy and grace. Mercy is us NOT getting all the bad things we deserve. Grace is us getting all the good things we do not deserve. We no longer have a contract with God that relies on our deserving works. It relies on what Jesus has earned on our behalf.
The last part of verse 16 is “…help us in our time of need.” The original Greek here means to provide you with aid in your urgent and immediate need. It can be at the point of exclamatory urgency. Yes, you know. The exclamation point. That part of writing that gets totally overused on Twitter and Facebook. It is supposed to give a sentence emphasis. But here, you can apply it in a worthy manner. How is that, you say? When you have that urgent emergency and all you have is “HELP!” That’s enough for God to hear you, embrace you in His love, and then act on your behalf. Because it is not about how much we care for Him. It is how much He cares for us that really counts.
So even though you do not feel like you deserve help. And you do not feel like God is near. And you do not feel like God even cares. When you feel like there is no hope. You are now a candidate for God’s disproportionate grace. God’s love for you is always more than enough. Call out to God and let Him love you now!
You really don’t have to wait for a crisis to get a dose of God’s grace and mercy. It’s there for you all the time. Spending your days close to the throne of grace is a wonderful thing.
2 Corinthians 4:18 New Century Version
18 We set our eyes not on what we see but on what we cannot see. What we see will last only a short time, but what we cannot see will last forever.
Have you ever watched an old Star Trek TV show or seen a rerun of the original series from back in the 1960s? Remember them talking about parallel universes? Maybe you’ve seen one or more of the many movies that use this same concept (or something like it). Or maybe you heard a scientific theory embracing the possibility of parallel universes to our universe. Something like another dimension that we cannot see, but that is living and thriving simultaneous to our universe. These are examples of what humans think a parallel universe might be like.
What does the Paul say here in Corinthians 4:18? We do not set our eyes on what we see—that is, the things here in this world that we perceive by reason of the physical senses (see, hear, smell, taste, and touch). But we are supposed to set our eyes on what we cannot see? What does he mean? Paul is touching on what many folks struggle with. We have grown up all our lives believing what we perceive by our senses is real. Paul is asking us to set our focus on what we cannot see. But where is that?
We have our first clue in the next sentence in this verse. What we see will last only a short time. It’s temporary. It will not last forever. It is limited by time.
Just a few days ago I found out about the passing of Robert Schuller (April 2, 2015) and was saddened. Many of you will remember him from his TV ministry. Maybe you were not impressed. That’s ok. I knew of him best from a book of his that helped me during my recovery from an acute form of leukemia (diagnosed in 2001 and was declared cured in 2008). I spent days struggling to stay positive in my mind. But this book constantly helped me look at life with a more positive angle. It helped me fight against the negativity of self-pity. The name of that book? Tough Times Never Last, But Tough People Do. It helped see my problems as temporary. In short, it helped develop hope inside of me while my external circumstances did not seem so promising.
Knowing that what you see or feel (which includes most all of your problems giving you stress or causing you to worry or fear) is temporary is a very powerful thing. It puts your trouble into a time-limiting container. It will pass. It helps you with patience. You can outlive your problem. You can outlive your temporary setbacks. You can last longer than your failures. You can get up again. Life didn’t hold you down.
But what we cannot see will last forever. Those are the spiritual things that God gives us. Faith. Hope. Love. The promises we have with God under the New Contract are in this Unseen World. We cannot see it with our physical eyes. It is why it requires us to change the way we think. It requires our beliefs to change. God is unseen. He is forever. There is no limit on time. His promises to us are there. So how do we live here in this earthly life and yet we be attuned to this unseen world?
Romans 8:24-25 New Century Version
24 We were saved, and we have this hope. If we see what we are waiting for, that is not really hope. People do not hope for something they already have. 25 But we are hoping for something we do not have yet, and we are waiting for it patiently.
The promises of God are in the unseen world with God. He makes those promises available to us in that realm. Where folks have the hardest problem is when they need to see something here in this visible, temporary realm. Maybe it’s money to pay the rent. Or a physical healing. Or they have family problems. Whatever the need, it has already been taken care of in God’s unseen world. Now you may be thinking, “Well, woopty-doo! What good is that? It’s over there. And I need it here. Now. In my own time-space continuum.” And that answer is so far away that you cannot drive or fly there. It is in another realm. It is not accessible by your human effort. You cannot get there by doing good things (no matter how much effort you expend) because you cannot get there on merit. You cannot get heavenly answers because of works that you do to make you feel like you deserve it. So how do we get heavenly answers in a fallen world? Why is this soooo hard?
Actually, it is not hard. Hard work focused on earning Brownie points with God is for folks who want to ascend to new levels of piety achieved by their own efforts so they can look down at those with less will power and speak proudly of their achievements, holiness, blah-blah-blah. Ad nauseam. No, it’s not like that. It is a gift from God to believe that Jesus Christ has earned access for us. He is the gateway. The door to God’s unseen world. It is because of His achievements. And not ours. That is so no man has any reason for boasting. For God so loved the world, that He gave his only Son. It is a gift. It is the only way that anyone can receive it. You don’t have to have a university degree. You do not need a high IQ. You do not need to be rich. At all. You do not have to be married. Or single. It doesn’t matter what your gender is. It doesn’t matter what religion you belong to. It does not matter what your nationality is. It doesn’t even matter if you are a slave or a prisoner. Whatever your situation, everyone has access to God and His divine love and acceptance through the man, Jesus Christ, who died and rose again for us all.
Hebrews 11:1 New Century Version
1 Faith means being sure of the things we hope for and knowing that something is real even if we do not see it.
I used to think of faith as a difficult concept. I didn’t know how to get more faith. I never knew if I had enough for my life at any time. I didn’t know quite how to use it. How to make it grow. Or what it really was. I had many mental blocks. That is, until recently, when it dawned on my lightning fast mind that faith was nothing more than trust. A relationship kind of trust. What do I mean?
Well, take for example the relationship you have with a friend. How did you learn to trust one another? Did trust come instantly? Of course not. It built over time. How did it grow? By spending time together. Each of you found out about the other person. You found out what they liked. And what they didn’t like. You found out what was valuable to them. The more time you spent together, the more you thought about the other person. The more you trusted them. Your faith in them grew. But how does your faith in God improve? By spending time with Him. How do you do that?
You pray interactively. Interactively? Yes. Go ahead and tell God what you want to talk to Him about. Then let Him talk to you. Talk? Well, you’ll know inside of you. John says in his Gospel that Jesus said that His sheep would hear His voice and follow Him. You will get a nudge on the inside. That’s Him talking to you. You will understand what He wants. You exchange your earthly wishes in exchange for His heavenly wishes. He will let you know His will. He will let you know what pleases Him. And you do not have to hide for hours cooped up in a prayer closet! Just be aware of His Presence with you all day long. And there is certainly no need to talk to Him in King James style English with some holier-than-thou voice. You don’t talk like that to your husband, wife, or kids, right? (at least I hope not!)
Hebrews 11:1 is saying that if you find a promise of God in the New Contract (what Jesus has already bought for you), then you can bring your request into the unseen world by faith. And you can eagerly await results in your world for your current need. (Above, I’ve included a few notes from the Greek words—the language the New Testament was written in—to help you better understand the relationship kind of trust I am talking about)
2 Corinthians 5:7 New Century Version
We live by what we believe, not by what we can see.
Finally, this is just a beautiful verse. What makes being a real Christian so different is being connected to God through Jesus Christ. And because of this connection, we have access into God’s unseen world. We will learn to see things differently in the unseen world. Our believing changes when we spend time there. If it all works out, eventually we’ll starting seeing other people in this world like God sees them—like valuable treasures. And we will be able to love others here in this world with the same free grace and favor that God has extended to us. And that my friends, will change the world.
Duct Tape Rx 