Abraham was a man of great faith, in the book of Hebrews the 2nd chapter and 23rd verse it states that Abraham believed God and that it was accredited to him as righteousness, and that he was called a friend of God.
What was it about Abraham that made him a friend of God? How did he show his faith in a way that many others did not? The book of James states that faith without works is dead. So not only did Abraham believe God and accept the word of God as the ultimate truth, and base his life on those specious promises that even though he was more than 100 years old and childless that he would be the "father of many nations", he proved that he believed it by his actions. Now referring back to the previous blog, this went against everything that he knew to be true in his life. People just didn't become fathers at that age, let alone a "father of many nations"! Yet he put aside all that he knew to be true and ignored the scoffing of all his friends and associates and he held fast to the promise in the words of his God. He had the title deed to the things that he hoped for. He was going to be a father! His wife also being of a great age of more than 100 years old laughed at the thought that this could be true, but Abraham did not doubt nor sway in his belief. He had that title deed in his hand and he held onto it for dear life. Even when the Lord told him to take his son and sacrifice him. He was fearless because he knew that he posessed that deed that could not be revoked by any human law, and that God would provide a way out of that situation because He had given Abraham His word, and God is not a man that He can lie. It was a test of Abrahams faith, and he passed with flying colors. Because just as he was about to take the life of the son that God had provided him in obedience to God's command, a ram caught in the thicket appeared and his son was spared as a reward of his faith.
How many of us could have done what Abraham did? How many of us would have held onto that title deed of faith, believing that God would provide a way out for us?
Abraham was a man just like the rest of us, flawed and sinful as the rest of us, but his faith was legendary, and to this day is held up as an example of the supernatural power of faith and God's promises to us.
When you are faced with a situation that seems impossible, and when you think there is no way out but to let go of that title deed called faith in the things that you hope for, remember Abraham and stand firm in the knowledge that faith is stronger and more real than your circumstances. Remember that the spiritual laws are superceded by any physical laws or circumstances that you may be facing. Your faith will be credited to you as righteousness just as Abraham's was.
Your faith will be tested in many ways and many times during the puff of smoke that is your life, just hold fast to the knowledge that God will never tempt you beyond what you can bear, and that He will always provide a way of escape.
Hold fast to your faith, it is your title deed to the things that you hope for. Ignore the clatter, the discouraging words of others and the circumstances around you that may try to force you to believe that God is not still in charge. When you feel discouraged remember that once you have that faith, that title deed in your possession, nothing on this earth can take it from you...only you can let go of it, and hold fast to it and the promises that go with it.
Remain faithful my friends, be remembered as a friend of God. It is your choice, and your priviledge as a child of the most high God, never forget that and your life will be fuller and richer than you could ever imagine!
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Friday, January 28, 2011
Faithbuilders
In times of trials, whether they are financial, spiritual, health, realationships with our fellow man or other forms of trials, we as human beings are often faced with times of doubt, fear, discouragement, or feelings of defeat. As a result,we often question ourselves as to our worth, or impact upon the world, and perhaps we even question the age old question, "what is the point"?
We have to deal with those around us who have little or no faith in our abilities or desires to accomplish something which can in turn cause us to lose faith in ourselves. The very nature of being human with all of the accompanying frailties can be stymying, but we can find encouragement in the words of the Bible, friends, family members, and the remembrances of past accomplishments that we have made at times of extreme duress, or by looking at the accomplishments of those around us who may be functioning under even worse circumstances than our own.
The Bible in Hebrews 11:1 defines faith as the "substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen."In essence this is saying that faith is not an ephemeral thing, but something of substance, as real as any physical object with a tangible quality. In the Amplified version of this scripture it likens faith to the "title deed" to the things that we hope for. For instance, if I were to give you the title or deed to my home or my car, you would have absolutely no doubt that the object in question belonged to you legally, rightfully and would in no way be questioned by any authority. Therefore if we are to take these words and apply them to faith, then faith is the title deed to the things that we hope for. It is the evidence, or the proof that the things that we hope for are in fact our own, providing that we believe and adhere to the supernatural laws concerning faith.
It has been said that if you possess the faith of a mustard seed, a tiny seed smaller than a sesame seed, that we can in fact order a mountain to remove itself from it's place and be cast into the sea. Now considering that we do not see many mountains being cast into the sea, can we assume then that faith, this incredible substance is in short supply? The question then becomes how do we get this faith, and how do we increase our faith enough to attain these things that we hope for? When we are sick, financially unstable, suffering through the death of a loved one, or a nasty divorce, and we are hoping for health, financial security, comfort, or reconciliation, we must realize that hope preceeds faith. It is the first step to having faith. What must follow is the total belief, devoid of any doubt that we have the right and the ability to attain that which we have now hoped for.
One of my favorite examples in the Word of God is the story of Peter walking on the water. Now Peter was a simple man, who was a fisherman and who knew the seas and how water works. His logical mind and all his experiences told him that it was impossible for a man to walk on the surface of the water. By any standards he would have been considered wise to have come to those conclusions, and perhaps more than a little foolish to think that he could ever defy the laws of nature and all that he knew to step out onto the water believing that he would do anything but sink, yet Peter got out of the boat at Jesus' bequest and while keeping his eyes fixed upon Jesus the author and finisher of our faith, he let go of all that he knew to be true, disregarded any fears, or comments from others who may have been saying things like "what are you crazy? Surely all your years as a fisherman and a human being have taught you that just as gravity and other forces and laws of nature decree, you will sink!" he stepped onto the water with a title deed in his hand stating that he, Peter, a common man, could and would walk across the surface of that water to Jesus. But just as so many of us do, when the storm kicked up around him by the devil distracted him from his goal he immediately let go of that title deed and began to doubt and question and as a result he took his eyes off his goal, and with his faith gone...his title deed, the rights to what he had hoped for were revoked, and he sank into the water like stone. He had already taken steps onto that water, he had the deed in his hand, he knew for a fact that he could do it as he had already begun the process, but when he let go of that faith, that deed to the thing he hoped for, he sank. No one took it from him, he merely let it go and let all that he had been taught and had experienced take over and pull him down. When he refocused and realized this he took back the title deed and stepped up onto the waters surface defying all that he knew and all that he had experienced in his life up to that point, and he focused on Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith and he took back what was rightfully his, ignoring the raging storm all around him and he walked across the surface of that water and into the arms of the Lord.
Now I apply this to your life. You are feeling sicker than you have ever felt in your life, and the hope wells up in you to overcome the illness that is ravaging your body just as that storm would have ravaged his, you close your eyes and say "Lord, give me the title deed to my healing and let me walk through this storm without paying a bit of mind to what I see, or what my experience has taught me about others who have tried to overcome this", and you fix your eyes upon the author and finisher of your faith and you stand, and walk over the waters of the surety that you will be destroyed by the ravages of this illness. You ignore the shouts from the disbelievers and you believe the words of Jesus who says that all things are possible to him that believes and you disregard the storm that the devil has kicked up around you that in your knowledge and experience would mean certain death, and you walk through the storm, fearless, certain and fully believing in the promises of a supernatural law that supercedes the laws of nature and into the arms of the author and finisher of your faith...the substance of all that you hope for.
You hear of stories everyday where someone has beaten cancer, or heart disease, or any number of other fully defined causes of a sure death, and you say "wow that was a miracle!" And you fail to realize that God has promised that He is no respecter of persons and that what He has done for one He will gladly do for another, never realizing the potential that you have for that same miracle. All it takes is faith.... that title deed.
So when you are approaching what seems to be an impossibilty, when the Dr's tell you nothing can be done, that you will surely die, remeber Peter walking on the water. Fix your eyes on Jesus and remember that He has the power...all the power, and that believing Him is all that He asks of you. Walk boldly, unafraid, ignoring the storm around you into the healing of your body, your broken relationships, your poverty into the waiting arms of your Lord and Saviour. Be an overcomer...have faith...it's the title deed to all that you hope for.
We have to deal with those around us who have little or no faith in our abilities or desires to accomplish something which can in turn cause us to lose faith in ourselves. The very nature of being human with all of the accompanying frailties can be stymying, but we can find encouragement in the words of the Bible, friends, family members, and the remembrances of past accomplishments that we have made at times of extreme duress, or by looking at the accomplishments of those around us who may be functioning under even worse circumstances than our own.
The Bible in Hebrews 11:1 defines faith as the "substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen."In essence this is saying that faith is not an ephemeral thing, but something of substance, as real as any physical object with a tangible quality. In the Amplified version of this scripture it likens faith to the "title deed" to the things that we hope for. For instance, if I were to give you the title or deed to my home or my car, you would have absolutely no doubt that the object in question belonged to you legally, rightfully and would in no way be questioned by any authority. Therefore if we are to take these words and apply them to faith, then faith is the title deed to the things that we hope for. It is the evidence, or the proof that the things that we hope for are in fact our own, providing that we believe and adhere to the supernatural laws concerning faith.
It has been said that if you possess the faith of a mustard seed, a tiny seed smaller than a sesame seed, that we can in fact order a mountain to remove itself from it's place and be cast into the sea. Now considering that we do not see many mountains being cast into the sea, can we assume then that faith, this incredible substance is in short supply? The question then becomes how do we get this faith, and how do we increase our faith enough to attain these things that we hope for? When we are sick, financially unstable, suffering through the death of a loved one, or a nasty divorce, and we are hoping for health, financial security, comfort, or reconciliation, we must realize that hope preceeds faith. It is the first step to having faith. What must follow is the total belief, devoid of any doubt that we have the right and the ability to attain that which we have now hoped for.
One of my favorite examples in the Word of God is the story of Peter walking on the water. Now Peter was a simple man, who was a fisherman and who knew the seas and how water works. His logical mind and all his experiences told him that it was impossible for a man to walk on the surface of the water. By any standards he would have been considered wise to have come to those conclusions, and perhaps more than a little foolish to think that he could ever defy the laws of nature and all that he knew to step out onto the water believing that he would do anything but sink, yet Peter got out of the boat at Jesus' bequest and while keeping his eyes fixed upon Jesus the author and finisher of our faith, he let go of all that he knew to be true, disregarded any fears, or comments from others who may have been saying things like "what are you crazy? Surely all your years as a fisherman and a human being have taught you that just as gravity and other forces and laws of nature decree, you will sink!" he stepped onto the water with a title deed in his hand stating that he, Peter, a common man, could and would walk across the surface of that water to Jesus. But just as so many of us do, when the storm kicked up around him by the devil distracted him from his goal he immediately let go of that title deed and began to doubt and question and as a result he took his eyes off his goal, and with his faith gone...his title deed, the rights to what he had hoped for were revoked, and he sank into the water like stone. He had already taken steps onto that water, he had the deed in his hand, he knew for a fact that he could do it as he had already begun the process, but when he let go of that faith, that deed to the thing he hoped for, he sank. No one took it from him, he merely let it go and let all that he had been taught and had experienced take over and pull him down. When he refocused and realized this he took back the title deed and stepped up onto the waters surface defying all that he knew and all that he had experienced in his life up to that point, and he focused on Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith and he took back what was rightfully his, ignoring the raging storm all around him and he walked across the surface of that water and into the arms of the Lord.
Now I apply this to your life. You are feeling sicker than you have ever felt in your life, and the hope wells up in you to overcome the illness that is ravaging your body just as that storm would have ravaged his, you close your eyes and say "Lord, give me the title deed to my healing and let me walk through this storm without paying a bit of mind to what I see, or what my experience has taught me about others who have tried to overcome this", and you fix your eyes upon the author and finisher of your faith and you stand, and walk over the waters of the surety that you will be destroyed by the ravages of this illness. You ignore the shouts from the disbelievers and you believe the words of Jesus who says that all things are possible to him that believes and you disregard the storm that the devil has kicked up around you that in your knowledge and experience would mean certain death, and you walk through the storm, fearless, certain and fully believing in the promises of a supernatural law that supercedes the laws of nature and into the arms of the author and finisher of your faith...the substance of all that you hope for.
You hear of stories everyday where someone has beaten cancer, or heart disease, or any number of other fully defined causes of a sure death, and you say "wow that was a miracle!" And you fail to realize that God has promised that He is no respecter of persons and that what He has done for one He will gladly do for another, never realizing the potential that you have for that same miracle. All it takes is faith.... that title deed.
So when you are approaching what seems to be an impossibilty, when the Dr's tell you nothing can be done, that you will surely die, remeber Peter walking on the water. Fix your eyes on Jesus and remember that He has the power...all the power, and that believing Him is all that He asks of you. Walk boldly, unafraid, ignoring the storm around you into the healing of your body, your broken relationships, your poverty into the waiting arms of your Lord and Saviour. Be an overcomer...have faith...it's the title deed to all that you hope for.
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