Working Your Faith

"Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?" (Luke 18:8)

It is the work of the interior that matters most to God, for the Kingdom of God is within us. Faith is serious business to God, and it ought to be more serious to us. Walking by faith is the work we are called to do, but it is also the work most neglected. If we are not careful, we will find ourselves immersed in a myriad of worldly enterprises and poorly invested in the Kingdom of God.  We are to walk by faith and not by sight. 

 

What is this faith the Lord hopes to find when He returns? It is the conviction that God's Word is true, and He is Lord regardless of the sin that dominates the world around us. Even if some of the elect falter, God's faithful ones look to Jesus, refusing to look to another.

 

Faith triumphs over fear, and faith-filled saints wait on the Lord and renew their strength. Faith rejects the chains of law and religion, and it walks in the liberty of the Spirit. Faith and grace alone save and keep us, and may Jesus find us full of that grace and faith when He returns. 

 

Let's Pray - Dear Lord, may I be found in You. I realize I cannot work for You, but I must surrender my life that You might work through me. Help me keep the attitude of a servant. Use me as You see fit. Amen.

Love Never Fails, pt. 2

Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails. (1 Corinthians 13:4-8a)

 

Love does not look and act like we think or expect, but like God thinks and expects. It always supersedes, always succeeds, always overcomes, and always wins. The reason every other person pales in comparison to Jesus Christ is His flawless expression of love. Pure love can only be found in Jesus, for God is love, and Jesus is God.

 

Jesus was not the Messiah Israel expected, and they rejected Him out of hand. The same is true today, as Israel still rejects her King — but God's love is undeterred. He has a plan for Israel, and that plan will succeed, because it is rooted in His love.

 

There is nothing anyone can do to keep God's plan of redemption from succeeding, because His love is everlasting, it overcomes, and it endures forever. He has the same love for us all, and He will not stop until the Gospel is preached for all to hear and receive. He is willing to bear, believe, hope and endure all things, by the power of His enduring love. God's love overcomes, no matter what might hinder and oppose — and yes, it wins every time.

 

It's true. God’s love never fails.

Let's Pray – Father, help me to meet the unwavering standard of holy love that I see in Jesus Christ. I realize only the Holy Spirit can give me that kind of love, so I ask You in all humility to pour out Your Spirit on me today, so I can love like I have been loved. Amen.

Love Never Fails, pt. 1

Love never fails. (1 Corinthians 13:8) 

God is love, and therefore love never fails and is never bested, or defeated. Love cannot be bribed or compromised, for it is the purest of all motivations. Love is the only absolute proof that we know God and that the Holy Spirit abides in us, our families, and our fellowship.

 

Love is the most universally valued and respected currency in the world, and the Church of Jesus Christ should do more and more to spend it at every opportunity. Love is how we are known. So, let your love shine brightly today, because God is love and you are God’s.

 

Love is the best revenge, because it wins every time. Love always exudes the fragrance of Jesus Christ, and that is its truest test. Christ is glorified when we love, and He is not when we don't. Therefore, He is exalted by love, and when He is truly lifted up, all men are drawn to Him by His sacrificial love.

 

God's love is honest and enduring, spiritual and gracious, extravagant and holy. It is not reckless, romantic, or emotional, for Christ is none of those things. His love is holy and true — and remember, His love never fails.

Let’s Pray – Father, thank You for loving me more and better than I can repay or comprehend. I will love others according to the Holy Spirit who lives in me, and may You be pleased and glorified in that love. Amen.

 

Seeking the Loss

“. . . for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.” (Luke 19:10)

Could it be that God is reaching out to the sinners we reject? Could He be moving among people we've disdained? Could it be that God wants to use us to touch the people, neighborhoods, and nations we've abandoned? Was Jesus Himself not accused of consorting with prostitutes, hated tax-collectors, and a whole assortment of undesirables? Are we, then, right to condemn and refuse to even show kindness to those He loved and died for? Lord, forgive us!

It is a sad thing to witness a church which as lost its first love — that is, its ability and willingness to love the way Jesus loved. Without love, the church is a sad caricature of herself, having strayed far from the One who called her and keeps her.

The true church is the body of Christ, with arms outstretched to a lost and dying world — where the least and last find a place of refuge and security.

As long as we are mired in worldly culture and controversy, we cannot fulfill the Great Commission; for we cannot make disciples until we are disciples — disciples of Jesus Christ. We must remember that we are the exclusive messengers of the New Covenant, and Jesus seeks and saves the lost by His ministry through us!

May we turn back to Him, and may He once again find us faithful and useful for His divine enterprises, not our religious ones. Amen.

Let's Pray - Dear God, please forgive me for a judgmental attitude toward others. I long to take advantage of every opportunity to show the love and compassion You showed me. Thank You for Your Holy Spirit. Amen

Manner of Spirit

But He turned and rebuked them, and said, “You do not know what manner of spirit you are of. (Luke 9:55)

 

Jesus Christ is not a conservative, a moderate, or a liberal. He is not an American, nor is He limited to or by any nationality. He is not pro-this or anti-that, for the Kingdom of God is not a matter of pros and cons — but a Kingdom of righteousness and truth. He is God Almighty, who cannot be contained in any of the politics, principles, theologies, doctrines, or systems we build.

 

The Lord simply won't conform to our constructs, our religion, our buildings, denominations, or programs — and certainly not our principles or convictions (no matter how sincere). Beware of the temptation to mistake your passionate beliefs for His. His ways, His thoughts, and His words are higher than ours, and that will never change.

 

Jesus did not come to give us Christian principles or convictions, but to give us abundant life — and His life does not flow to us from laws and rules, but from the Holy Spirit. We do well to remember that.

 

Let’s Pray — Lord, teach us what it means to come to you sincerely and worship You in spirit and in truth. In Jesus alone, Amen.

Our God and His Word

For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. (Hebrews 4:12)

 

The Word of God is the only defense we have against our tendency to create our own god and our own spiritual narrative. God's Word alone gets to the true heart and spirit of every issue; and if we are to get to the truth, we must get there by His Word. 

We sometimes do not know what manner of spirit we are of, because we have strayed from the Bible. This is a trap that so many have fallen into in this ambitious religious age, and it has resulted in the perverted form of godliness we too often witness. Some are consumed with their own good works and programs, while possessing none of the raw power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ; and that is why Christians are known by everything except love.

 

If Satan can get us a few degrees off the center of God's Word, he has succeeded in robbing us of the fullness of God in Christ, and we become the blind leading the blind. Unfortunately, he has been far too successful in doing so. May the Lord open our hearts and eyes to the scriptures again, and may He pour out His Spirit upon us afresh and anew.

 

Let’s Pray – Father, forgive us for making things about us, and not about Jesus. We need Your Holy Spirit, if we are to have abundant life. Refresh and renew us today! In Jesus, Amen.

Do Not Doubt

So Jesus answered and said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but also if you say to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ it will be done. And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.” (Matthew 21:21-22)

When Jesus speaks, He speaks out of faith in His Father. Therefore, His words move mountains and accomplish His will — and if we believe, so will ours. Jesus is not telling us to have faith in our words, or to have faith in our faith (as so many erroneously teach). We are to be one with the Father, as He was, and the Father will give us the same Spirit He gave Jesus. We have what we ask, because we ask in Jesus' name, and all authority, power, and dominion has been given to Him. So, ask again — and this time, truly ask in faith and in the name of Jesus.

 

Some of us never rise above asking for things from God, and our prayers center on ourselves — "me, me, me." But the Lord longs for us to draw near to Him, and He answers the prayers of everyone who desires to see His will done on earth as it is in heaven. Jesus knew the Lord would give Him what He asked, and His prayers reflected that confidence — "And I know that You always hear Me . . ." (John 11:42) If you are in Christ, the Father will always hear you, too. Are you in Him? When it comes to prayer, that is the only question that matters.

Let’s Pray – Father, we know that there is power in the name of Jesus, and it is in His name we pray. Let it be granted to us accordingly, and we will give You the glory and praise You deserve. Amen.