Tag: Life

19.i. “He did not weaken in faith”

Romans 4:12 but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had

Romans 4:13  For the promise to Abraham and his offspring that he would be heir of the world did not come through the law but through the righteousness of faith.

Romans 4:16 That is why it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his offspring—not only to the adherent of the law but also to the one who shares the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all, as it is written, “I have made you the father of many nations”—in the presence of the God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist. In hope he believed against hope, that he should become the father of many nations, as he had been told, “So shall your offspring be.” He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was as good as dead (since he was about a hundred years old), or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah’s womb. No unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. That is why his faith was “counted to him as righteousness.” But the words “it was counted to him” were not written for his sake alone, but for ours also. It will be counted to us who believe in him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification

Faith

Footsteps of Faith

Did not weaken in Faith

Grew strong in his Fatih

Righteousness of Faith

Faith – Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, and the evidence of things not seen. Confidence, certainty, expectation, unwavering belief in what God has declared and proclaimed throughout His Word begins with surrender of self-reliance, self-confidence, self-worth, or any other form of belief in oneself counted as a means to be right with God and is the beginning of faith.  There is no other way to being the walk of faith.  It must start here. 

Footsteps of faith – Jesus gave the parable of the seeds. “ The seed sown on rocky ground is the one who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. But since he has no root, he remains for only a season. If there is no steps taken in faith, there is no root.  Things of this world soon dry up the seed and it withers and dies. 

Did not weaken in faith – When faith steps are immediately taken the root of hope and assurance grows deeper.  Faith weathers the storms of life that threaten it.  It is by faith in God we are able to stand in chaos and confusion with the assurance that God is in control.  He is our rock, refuge, mighty fortress.

Grew strong in faith – Steps of faith must be taken to gain strength.  Faith like muscles needs continual exercise to grow stronger.  Faith does not grow on its own.  Faith does not grow when we neglect or become complacent with God’s Word. The root of faith grows when it is continually and abundantly watered with the Word of God.  Do not think for one second that a casual approach to your walk with God will in any way deepen your root of faith.  The heart, mind, and soul must have a deep desire and seek for the purpose of wanting to honor and glorify Jesus Christ every waking moment.  Without this desire and seeking there is barely enough watering to keep faith alive yet alone strengthen it.

Righteousness of Faith – Remember that righteousness is also more than the absence of evil and guilt. It means that God does not only declare us innocent, but righteous. Our sin is carried away as far as the east is from the west. We are washed clean.  Though we were covered crimson red with sin we are now white as snow.  “No sinner, and try he ever so hard, can possibly carry his own sins away and come back cleansed of guilt. No amount of money, no science, no inventive skill, no armies of millions, nor any other earthly power can carry away from the sinner one little sin and its guilt. Once it is committed, every sin and its guilt cling to the sinner as close as does his own shadow, cling to all eternity unless God carries them away.” (Lenski)  Praise God, through Jesus Christ we have been washed clean, redeemed, and will one day live with Him forever in our new glorious and righteous bodies.  

19.g. “O LORD my God, your wondrous deeds and your thoughts toward us;”

John 21:25   Now there are also many other things that Jesus did. Were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written.

 John 20:30-31    Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book;  but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

 Psalms 71:15   My mouth will tell of your righteous acts, of your deeds of salvation all the day, for their number is past my knowledge.

 Job 26:14   Behold, these are but the outskirts of his ways, and how small a whisper do we hear of him! But the thunder of his power who can understand?”

 Psalms 40:5    You have multiplied, O LORD my God, your wondrous deeds and your thoughts toward us; none can compare with you! I will proclaim and tell of them, yet they are more than can be told.

 Ephesians 3:20  Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us

If it were possible to write volumes of books that contained the works of Jesus, the world could not contain them.  The righteous acts of God and His deeds of salvation exceed our knowledge. Though we have been given God’s Word, it appears to be a vast writing with unlimited knowledge of God.  We could spend a lifetime reading it and our understanding of God would still be but a whisper of who and what God is, let alone His power, might, strength, grace, mercy, wisdom, knowledge, ………..  Understanding of God can not be something that is read and understood, it must be revealed to us by the Holy Spirit.  “To whom will he teach knowledge,

and to whom will he explain the message? For it is precept upon precept, precept upon precept, line upon line, line upon line, here a little, there a little.”

God has given deep in our hearts a beginning knowledge of Himself.  He has revealed Himself to us through creation.  He has revealed Himself through His Word.  He has revealed Himself through Jesus Christ.  He has revealed Himself through mighty and wondrous works of His power.  He has revealed His grace, mercy, and love through Jesus.  When we think of the limitlessness of God, then His Word and what we can see of His Creation speak but a whisper to our minds.  What He has revealed should not be considered a whisper though.  It should be considered a SHOUT, a thunderous SHOUT to each and every soul.  It is a SHOUT of love and of warning.  It is a SHOUT of eternal life and eternal torment and hell.  It is a Shout of the Heavenly and worldly.  It is a SHOUT of righteousness and wickedness, good and bad, faithful and unfaithful, truth and lies.  It is a SHOUT of hope, refuge, power, strength, and courage, and of fear, anger, hate, and confusion. It is a SHOUT of redemption, salvation, and forgiveness, and of judgment, condemnation, and rejection. 

It is a loud thunderous SHOUT to every soul.  On judgment day no one will be able to say I didn’t know or I never heard for it will be clear to them than just how many times in their lives they rejected and denied the thunderous SHOUTS of God’s warnings and love. 

18.r. “And whether they hear or refuse to hear (for they are a rebellious house) they will know that a prophet has been among them.”

John 15:22  If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have been guilty of sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin. Whoever hates me hates my Father also. If I had not done among them the works that no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin, but now they have seen and hated both me and my Father. But the word that is written in their Law must be fulfilled: They hated me without a cause.’

 Ezekiel 2:5    And whether they hear or refuse to hear (for they are a rebellious house) they will know that a prophet has been among them.

 Romans 1:20    For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.

 Acts 17:30    The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent,

 Ezekiel 33:31-33  And they come to you as people come, and they sit before you as my people, and they hear what you say but they will not do it; for with lustful talk in their mouths they act; their heart is set on their gain.  And behold, you are to them like one who sings lustful songs with a beautiful voice and plays well on an instrument, for they hear what you say, but they will not do it.  When this comes—and come it will!—then they will know that a prophet has been among them.”

 2 Corinthians 2:14-16   But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere.  For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing,  to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life. 

 Luke 12:46    the master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know, and will cut him in pieces and put him with the unfaithful.

Because Jesus did come to and speak to the world, they knew something of God that they did not know before. This made them without excuse for hating and rejecting Jesus and His Father in heaven. Jesus did among them the works which no one else did, and they still hated and rejected Him. (Guzik)

People will say and do many things in their lives, some good, some bad, and some irrelevant.  Live has a way of drawing us into things of this world and I guess rightly so.  The hard part is, while in this world, not to be blinded  by its offers of peace, joy, happiness, and purpose.  They are lies.  While we may be part of this world, we live in it, we should not allow it to distract us from humble service, honor, glory, obedience, trust, and reliance in and to Jesus Christ.   

God’s Word is a heavenly scent to those who believe and to those who do not it is either unnoticed or it is a stench to them.  Those that reject the heavenly fragrance from God’s Word reject Him.  Those that reject Him are guilty of sin.  Those that reject Jesus Christ, reject God and are guilty of sin.  Those that reject the heavenly fragrance of the Holy Spirit’s leading to salvation, reject the Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ, and God. They are guilty of sin.  “But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere.”  “If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have been guilty of sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin.”  “ For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.”

With all that is going on right now in the world our prayer should be for the heavenly fragrance of God’s Word be ever so powerful in our lives and also in the lives of those who do not know Him.  

18.j. “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do”

John 14:4   And you know the way to where I am going.” Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.” Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.” Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else believe on account of the works themselves.“Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father.

 “Thus we notice how they speak to him with a natural, easy familiarity; and he talks to them in full sympathy with their weakness, teaching them little by little as they are able to learn. They ask just such questions as a boy might ask of his father. Often they show their ignorance but never do they seem timid in his presence, or ashamed to let him see how shallow and hard of understanding they are.” (Spurgeon)

Jesus didn’t say that He would show us a way; He said that He is the way. He didn’t promise to teach us the truth; He said that He is the truth. Jesus didn’t offer us the secrets to life; He said that He is the life. (Guzik)

“Without the way there is no going; without the truth there is no knowing; without the life there is no living. I am the way which thou must follow; the truth in which thou must believe; the life for which thou must hope.” (a’ Kempis, cited by Bruce)

Jesus explained why He was the only way to God; because He was and is the perfect representation of God. To know Jesus is to know God. (Guzik)

Thomas asked a simple but deep theological question and Philip made a deep theological request.  How can we know the way? And Show us the Father.  They had both been with Jesus for over 3 years.  They had witnessed miracles, wonders, and signs.  They heard the words of truth He spoke, and yet, it is as though the dots were not connecting.  Do you ever wonder if we are any different?  How many prayers have been answered and yet we still harbor room for doubt?  How many blessings have been graciously given and we leave room for unthankfulness?  How many times have we been protected from Satan’s attacks and yet we leave room for the question, is Jesus near?  

I usually say to make sure you stay in His Word every day, but I am consciously thinking that it is understood you must believe (rely on, cling too, and trust in) Jesus and you must exercise heart, mind, and soul-deep faith in line with what you are reading.   We can believe in what we read but if it has no root in our heart then it is meaningless to our soul.  Just imagine what impact God’s Word would have on and in our lives if we truly desired it to change our lives every single day.

18.h. “Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall.”

John 13:36  Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, where are you going?” Jesus answered him, “Where I am going you cannot follow me now, but you will follow afterward.” Peter said to him, “Lord, why can I not follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.” Jesus answered, “Will you lay down your life for me? Truly, truly, I say to you, the rooster will not crow till you have denied me three times.

 1 Corinthians 10:12     Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall.

For the Christians to resist the temptation to be self-reliant, they must first understand they are vulnerable. The one who thinks he stands will not stay on guard against temptation, so he may easily fall. “The highest saint under heaven can stand no longer than he depends upon God and continues in the obedience of faith. He that ceases to do so will fall into sin, and get a darkened understanding and a hardened heart.” (Clarke)

We often want to excuse our particular tempting circumstances as “very unique” and a “special exception,” but God reminds us that our temptation is not unique. Many other men and women of God have faced the same or similar temptation, and have found the strength in God to overcome the temptation. God has promised to supervise all temptation that comes at us through the world, the flesh or the devil. He promises to limit it according to our capability to endure it – according to our capability as we rely on Him, not our capability as we rely only on ourselves.

With Jesus and God’s Word in your heart, when worldly temptations come knocking at the door to your heart from Satan or self, allow Jesus and the Word of God answer the door.  When He is first in your heart and when God’s Word abides in your heart, your eye and ears will be able to recognize these temptations that bombard us every waking moment.  We never know when they will come knocking.  Be in His Word and every mindful of these attacks. 

17.u. “The light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light”

 John 12:30   Jesus said, “This voice was for your benefit, not mine. Now is the time for judgment on this world; now the prince of this world will be driven out. And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” He said this to show the kind of death he was going to die.

 John 5:22-27   For the Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son,  that all may honor the Son, just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him.  Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.  “Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live.  For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself.  And he has given him authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of Man.

 Acts 26:18    to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’

 2 Corinthians 4:4   In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

 Hebrews 2:14    Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil,

 1 John 3:8    Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil.

Now is the time of judgment.  Jesus came to suffer and die to redeem mankind from the curse of sin and of judgment and the penalty of sin. To say there is no God and no sin is to believe a lie.  A lie that Satan has been promoting since creation.  Throughout history, man has either chosen to embrace this lie or reject it.  Embracing the lies of Satan will seem to give a certain amount of self-satisfaction, self-reliance, and self-importance.  Pride, greed, hate, anger, and fear are manifestations of embracing Satan’s lies.  They consume the soul and blind the eyes of our souls to the light of Jesus Christ.  These lies are promoted by “sons of disobedience”.  Those who willing choose to deny and reject God and His Son Jesus Christ.  Satan’s lies will be laced with half-truths and have the ability to water down the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the point of it having no impact in their lives.  This is so sad.  On Judgment Day these people, from across all walks of life and from the beginning of creation, will bow before the One they have rejected and denied.  They will be judged unworthy because of their unbelief and lack of trusting in, clinging to, and relying on Jesus Christ. They will be judge righteously in the light of Him who they have rejected.  They will receive their just reward for this rejection and denial – an eternity in torment – total separation from God,- in total darkness void of anything but unimaginable pain and suffering – for all of eternity.  “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil.”

Today is the day of salvation. Do not delay a second longer.  Do not plan on it for another day or time in your life.  How many people will end up in hell tormented for eternity because they chose to live another day for themselves rather than surrendering to the gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ?

17.s. “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.”

John 12:20   Now there were some Greeks among those who went up to worship at the festival. They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, with a request. “Sir,” they said, “we would like to see Jesus.” Philip went to tell Andrew; Andrew and Philip in turn told Jesus.

Jesus replied, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me. “Now my soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. Father, glorify your name!”

 Isaiah 49:5-6   And now the LORD says, he who formed me from the womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob back to him; and that Israel might be gathered to him— for I am honored in the eyes of the LORD, and my God has become my strength—  he says: “It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to bring back the preserved of Israel; I will make you as a light for the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.”

 Isaiah 53:10-12    Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush him; he has put him to grief; when his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.  Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities.  Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong, because he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors.

 Luke 9:23-24     And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.

Jesus’s thought of the cross just a few days away, His main concern was that God was glorified.  His purpose on earth was to redeem, save, and demonstrate God’s love for mankind.  It is hard for me to come close to understanding the commitment and longing and desire of Jesus to honor and glorify God, knowing what just a few days away would yield great physical and emotional pain.  He knew what He was facing.  He knew His purpose and was willing to die on the cross for it to honor and glorify God and redeem mankind.  

I can wrap my mind around taking a bullet, fast death, for someone you love, but willing to be tortured, beaten, whipped, and nailed to a cross for the sins of every human being is an act of love so humble, pure, and holy it seems beyond understanding. What a Savior we have in Jesus Christ.  In light of this, how should we live our lives?  The writer of Hebrews said: Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,  looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

16.k. “Thus says the LORD who made you, who formed you from the womb and will help you: Fear not”

Psalms 139:13  For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.

Job 10:9-12     Remember that you have made me like clay; and will you return me to the dust?  Did you not pour me out like milk and curdle me like cheese?  You clothed me with skin and flesh, and knit me together with bones and sinews.  You have granted me life and steadfast love, and your care has preserved my spirit.

Psalms 71:6    Upon you I have leaned from before my birth; you are he who took me from my mother’s womb. My praise is continually of you.

Job 31:15     Did not he who made me in the womb make him? And did not one fashion us in the womb?

Isaiah 44:2    Thus says the LORD who made you, who formed you from the womb and will help you: Fear not,

Jeremiah 1:5     “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.”

Isaiah 46:3    “Listen to me, O house of Jacob, all the remnant of the house of Israel, who have been borne by me from before your birth, carried from the womb;

The intelligent design movement suggests that the existence of an orderly, purposeful creation implies the necessity of an organized, purposeful design, and, therefore, a Designer.   Applying that idea to human beings, the presence of humans with the ability to find and fulfill a purpose in their life suggests a Creator who created them with a purpose to fulfill. There are certainly plenty of biblical examples: Abraham was called to create a chosen people; Moses was called to shape that people into a nation; Jeremiah was called to be a prophet to the nation; David was called to be their king; Jesus was called to redeem Jews and Gentiles alike from sin; Paul was called to deliver Jesus’ Good News to Gentiles and their kings…to cite a few examples. Psalm 139:13-16 pictures God forming humans and ordaining the days of their lives.  If you are seeking God’s specific purpose for your life, ask Him to show it to you. And ask in faith, believing He will shine light on your path.  True purpose in life can only be found in a life that is fully surrendered to Jesus Christ and the will of God.

15.r. “The very works that I am doing, bear witness about me that the Father has sent me”

John 5:31  If I alone bear witness about myself, my testimony is not true. There is another who bears witness about me, and I know that the testimony that he bears about me is true. You sent to John, and he has borne witness to the truth. Not that the testimony that I receive is from man, but I say these things so that you may be saved. He was a burning and shining lamp, and you were willing to rejoice for a while in his light. But the testimony that I have is greater than that of John.  For the works that the Father has given me to accomplish, the very works that I am doing, bear witness about me that the Father has sent me. And the Father who sent me has himself borne witness about me. His voice you have never heard, his form you have never seen, and you do not have his word abiding in you, for you do not believe the one whom he has sent. You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me,

Jesus speaks of three trustworthy witnesses who will testify that He is equal to the Father. Jesus found it important to give them a reason to believe beyond what He said about Himself. The Jewish leaders somewhat accepted the work of John the Baptist.  “He said that John was the lamp which burns and shines.” The light John gave off had the function to guide and point men toward repentance and to God.  These Jewish leaders were familiar with a coming Messiah and they expected Him to deliver them out of the hands of their oppressors, the Romans.  Jesus spoke of spiritual deliverance of infinitely greater importance and they rejected it.   The light should expose that which was once dark.  It should reveal that which cannot be seen in the dark.  They obviously saw the light but immediately closed their eyes to it because what it exposed was not what hey wanted or perceived needed to be exposed.

Jesus tells them that they rejected John but there is another witness, the very works that He was doing.  This too is a light shining bright in the miracle of healing the man who had been paralyzed for 38 years.  This miracle done for a needy person out of compassion and mercy was not what they were looking for.  Their hearts and minds were set on military and political deliverer. They obviously saw this light but immediately closed their eyes to it because what was exposed was not what they wanted or perceived needed to be exposed.

Jesus tells them that God the Father testifies of Him.  Jesus Tells them they never saw God or audibly heard Him, but they had His Word.  If His Word was abiding in them they would have believed in Jesus.  They searched scriptures but searched them with a heart, mind, and soul closed to what it said.  They had all the testimony one could have.  “Spurgeon,” said; “Jesus made it clear that having life is found in fulfilling the command “come to Me.” “Christ is a person, a living person, full of power to save. He has not placed his salvation in sacraments, or books, or priests, but he has kept it in himself; and if you want to have it you must come to him.”  The rejection of Jesus will leave the mind and soul open to deception, lies, and delusion.  “Clarke,” said; “The grand obstacle to the salvation of the scribes and Pharisees was their pride, vanity, and self-love. They lived on each other’s praise. If they had acknowledged Christ as the only teacher, they must have given up the good opinion of the multitude; and they chose rather to lose their souls than to forfeit their reputation among men!”  It is a very dangerous oneway road to Hell to seek honor and approval of man where the eyes become blind and the ears become deaf to things of God, rather than living to bring honor and glory to Jesus Christ.