Having Faith for Today

Jesus replied, "I tell you the truth, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, 'Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and it will be done. -Matthew 21:21

Faith is difficult sometimes. When we're in a tough spot, when things are hard - it's challenging to have faith for situations. Sometimes our problems look so big compared to God, although we know in our minds that God is bigger. That's because our knowledge hasn't translated into faith - into real belief. The Bible says that faith is the substance of things hoped for and evidence of things not seen.
 
Faith is not just saying we believe - it's having a sure conviction in our hearts that this or that thing will be accomplished. It is moving past our natural circumstances and into a supernatural dimension, where God's words resonate. Faith is belief we feel in our hearts when we have decided put our complete and total trust in God.
 
Just as we can't live on other people's faith, we can't expect to live today using yesterday's faith. Each day, situation, problem is different, with its own set of challenges. We need new faith every day, for every situation, to get through the tough spots in life. We need God's words to guide us for today. Have you ever thought about it? The Bible says God's mercies are new each day... and we need our faith to be that way too. "Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day." -2 Corinthians 4:16
 
If you need faith for today, I invite you to pray this prayer: "God, give me faith for _______. I believe that you are bigger than my situation, and you able to do anything!"-and believe in your heart that God is bigger. He will honor your faith - for whatever you encounter!
 
"These (trials) have come so that your faith - of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire - may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed." -1 Peter 1:7

Putting God First

"But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." -Matthew 6:33

One estimate finds more than 4700 covenant promises listed in the Bible.  The funny thing about each of these promises is that, if we put God first in a certain area, He is able to bless our lives because we have set ourselves apart in our devotion to Him. 

It doesn’t mean that getting to know God is a religious, boxed-in formula.  It also doesn’t mean that God is a genie or a microwave.  But, it does mean that when we put God first in our lives, we are adhering to a divine order that makes our lives function as they should.  We receive the supernatural fruits of love, joy and peace in our lives.  We are able to experience a supernatural fulfillment that is beyond compare. 

Our lives work when there is no one or nothing on the throne of our hearts except God.  He is the author and perfecter of our faith. He is the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end  (Revelation 1:8).

J. John in his book “X” says of the First Commandment, "it is this commandment that underpins all the others."  Often we don’t know what it means to put God first in every area.  This first commandment to have nothing else come before Him mirrors Jesus’ golden rule in the Bible – “Love God, and love your neighbor as yourself.”  (Luke 10:27) Putting God first is the simplest, yet most profound thing we can do every day to bring about God’s will for our lives. 

What does putting God first mean to you?  Is it waking up early to have a quiet time?  Is it worshipping in your car?  Is it having a Bible study with a few friends?  Is it giving God your best, all the time?  It is doing your work as if you were doing it just for Him?

The disciplines of our worship to God will show up on the outside, as “fruit” in our lives.  People can tell a difference in us when we’ve been worshipping, or if we haven’t been.  We must first invest in the spiritual work before the fruit and God’s presence will show up in the natural.  This is what it means to put God first in our lives.
 

God's Heart for Us

"I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with unfailing kindness. I will build you up again, and you, Virgin Israel, will be rebuilt. Again you will take up your timbrels and go out to dance with the joyful." -Jeremiah 31:3&4
 
When people think of God, they tend to think of Him in several different ways. Some think of God as a loving Father. Other people believe He is a dictator. Still others believe He is indifferent to us - as if he is too big and important to care what's going on in our lives. Some of us choose to believe that God is good, but we haven't yet believed it in our hearts. We often think of God the same way we thought of our fathers growing up.

Many people believe that God is angry - all the time! To them, God is a God of hell, fire, and brimstone - waiting to punish us with His iron-strong arm whenever they we something wrong. But, this idea is a fallacy - this is not the God of the Bible. God's story is that of redemption - through sacrificial love.

Some may also argue that the Old Testament is full of God's judgment and death due to His righteousness. But, if we do not first look at the reason He created us, His plan, and His unfailing story of redemption, we miss the big picture. God does not want people to suffer - in contrast, he wants them to know His love. "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." -John 3:16
 
If you could imagine the most caring, loving father on this earth, that is God times 1000. So many times God gets blamed for the devil's calamities. Too often He gets blamed for our own sin. Separation from God and His love wasn't his choice - it happened in the garden, by our own. (Genesis 3) Too many times, God is misrepresented by those who say they know Him.

God's heart for us is good. It says it in his word. We may not be kept from negative or difficult things happening in our lives, but we need to know He wants us to have peaceful, abundant lives filled with hope and promise because of our relationship to Him. Most of all, God's heart for us is to know His unwavering, unending, unfailing love.

"And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love." 1 Corinthians 13:3

Guard Your Heart!

 

"Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it." -Proverbs 4:23

Many of us have heard the phrase "guard your heart" before. But what does this mean? Why does the Bible say to guard our hearts? Is this optional for someone who loves the Lord? I would venture to say that we wouldn't survive long in life without guarding our hearts to some degree. 

It's interesting to note that Solomon says, "Above all else..." That must mean the guarding of our hearts is really important! Then he goes on to say, "...for everything else you do flows from it." 

 

Think about that for a moment. Our hearts are wrapped up in our minds and emotions. These are the places where we begin to make choices about things - either positive or negative. The heart is the beginning of our beliefs. It's the creative workshop for our lives. Fear starts there. Love starts there. Doubt starts there. Dreams start there. Resentment starts there. Hope starts there. The heart is the birthing ground for so many things - it can also be the grave too. Our lives are a reflection of what is alive in our hearts. 

We need to be careful what we "feed" our hearts, or what we allow in. Just like we wouldn't eat food that's gone rotten or has worms, we shouldn't taken in rotten words or repeat them! They will make our hearts sick. We also need to be aware of who we develop relationships and emotional bonds with. Are these people good for us? Are they encouraging? It's okay to reach out to people who need it - but it's also important to have a balance of friends that you can depend on, too. All this influences how healthy our hearts will be! 

Are you sensitive to what is in your heart? Are you discerning to what you feed it? Are you able to rest in God's peace and truth? We shouldn't forget how to guard our hearts - God will help us guard our hearts with peace, if we allow Him to. "And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." -Philippians 4:7