“The work of righteousness will be peace; the effect of righteousness
will be quietness and assurance forever.” (Isaiah 32:17 NKJV)
The Berean Study Bible says, “…the service of righteousness
will be quiet confidence forever.” That is what righteousness will give
you – enduring quiet confidence, assurance forever!
Faith is confidence in God. Peace is a quiet, calm
confidence that we are living right before God and we are accepted by Him.
The first epistle of John is filled with confidence-building
statements. “By this you know…” and “By this we know…” are found 18 times
in this one epistle! Please take time over the next few days to read through 1
John 1-5 and note these statements that give assurance to God’s children!
When we do the things that John outlines, we can have peace with God! Living
right before God – “keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His
sight” (1 John 3:22) – will result
in “know”ledge
(“By
this we know…”), “confidence” (1 John 2:28), “boldness” (1 John 3:21), “assurance” (1 John 3:19), and “perfection” (spiritual maturity, 1 John 4:12-19).
It is worth every effort to learn what is right and pleasing
to God (Ephesians 5:8-10, 15-17)! You
can experience true peace and quiet,
confident assurance of hope through Jesus Christ! God promises it! He has
provided all we need to know and to
do in order to attain it! Use your time wisely, walk in the light and find out
what is acceptable to the Lord, and come to understand His will so you can
flourish in peace!
Continuing in our study of descriptions of God found in the
Bible, we are beginning to get to the terms that are found only once in the
scriptures, so I may choose to combine them, as I have done this week, as this
series goes on.
“God of my life”
“The LORD will command His lovingkindness in the daytime, and in the
night His song shall be with me – a prayer to the God of my life.” (Psalm 42:8 NKJV)
Psalm 42 depicts the challenge of being patient during
distresses – a portrait of longsuffering with joy. There are pains and hurts
described but the overarching theme is confidence that God will help – that there will
be reason to praise Him.
Lovingkindness is a beautiful way to describe God’s mercy.
God is in command of it; He will be merciful to whoever He chooses to be
merciful (Romans 9:15-16, Exodus 33:19),
and His mercies are new every morning – His lovingkindness will not run out –
God will always be able to show
mercy to whomever He desires (Lamentations
3:22-26).
What is God’s song
that will be with those in distress? I like to think of Zephaniah 3:17 that
says, “The LORD you God in your midst, the Mighty One will save; He will
rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you with His love, and He will
rejoice over you with singing.” (NKJV)And
as we studied last week, God is the “Father of mercies and God of all comfort,”
providing us with such comfort in our tribulations that we are steadied and
readied to comfort others in their troubles with God’s comfort (2 Corinthians 1:3-4).
When the psalmist considers God’s enduring mercy and love,
He cannot help but offer a prayer to the God of his life – the very God who “gives
to all life, breath, and all things” (Acts 17:25) and by His divine power “given to us all things that
pertain to life and godliness” (2
Peter 1:2-4). The God who does not fail (Joshua 21:45, 23:14) and the God who gives us strength to endure (Colossians 1:9-11)! God is in control
and is over all – He will help, and
there will never cease to be reason to praise Him and thank Him in your life
and for your life!
“God of my strength”
“Vindicate me, O God, and plead my cause against an ungodly nation; oh,
deliver me from the deceitful and unjust man! For you are the God of my
strength; why do You cast me off? Why do I go mourning because of the
oppression of the enemy?” (Psalm
43:1-2 NKJV)
This psalm is a seeming continuation of Psalm 42 and its opening
is so pleading, dark, and desperate, but if you continue in it (please do read
it), the confidence the psalmist has in the ‘God of [his] strength’ shines with
such beams of comforting light, that he buoys not only his own soul, but ours as
we read them now! In both Psalm 42 and Psalm 43, the closing statements are a
rebuke against his own soul for doubting God’s help: “Why are you cast down, O my
soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God; for I shall yet praise
Him. The help of my countenance and my God” (v5).
The psalmist was in need of enduring strength and he wisely
went to the only true and proper source: God. He asked the LORD to send His
light and His truth to lead him, to show him the way to His presence – so that
he may praise Him (vv3-4)! We have
access to the very same God today – a God who provides strength so we can stand
and withstand against the wicked one and endure the troubles of this life (Ephesians 6:10-18, 2 Corinthians 4:16, Colossians
1:9-14) – look to His light (John
8:12, Ephesians 5:8-10) and learn His truth (John 14:6, Ephesians 5:15-17, 1 Peter 1:22-25, Romans 2:4-11).
God gave you life, you were born into this world to seek Him
and find Him (Acts 17:26-27). Coming
to the light (John 3:19-21), hearing
the truth (Romans 10:17, 2 Timothy
3:16-17, Ephesians 1:13-14), and baptized into Christ, He granted you newness
of life (Romans 6:1-4)! This
same God is also the source for all the strength we need to endure and overcome
whatever we may face in this world.
Is He the God of your
life? Is He the God of your strength? Do you acknowledge Him as the giver of
life and provider of strength, do you run to Him for all that pertains to life
and find strength in His light and truth?
God has given us SO much and He has SO much more give, if we
but turn to Him and rely on Him to help!
“Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who trusts
in Him!” (Psalm 34:8)
Good morning! I've chosen a new theme for the next few weeks: Nature. This week, as trees are once again flourishing, plants are growing daily in our gardens, and the birds and bunnies are abundant in our hedgerows, we will consider how Nature magnifies God and how it declares His greatness?
"The
heavens declare the glory of God;
And the firmament shows His handiwork.
Day unto day utters speech,
And night unto night reveals knowledge.
There is no speech or language
Where their voice is not heard.
Their sound has gone out through all the earth,
And their words to the end of the world.
In them He has set a tent for the sun,
Which is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber,
And rejoices like a strong man to run its race.
Its rising is from one end of heaven,
And its circuit to the other end;
And there is nothing hidden from its heat."
(Psalm 19:1-6 NKJV)
As small
children, our very first understanding of God comes from our joy of nature -
the feel of the cool grass under our toddling feet, the bright endless sky, the
squint-causing sunshine, the soft breezes that carry bubbles and dandelion fuzz
in swirls around us, and the feel of oh-so-fluffy, furry soft animals.
All of it
declares the greatness of the Master Creator. All of nature magnifies God to us!
"For
since the creation of the world
His invisible attributes are clearly seen,
being understood by the things that are made,
even His eternal power and
Godhead [deity]..."
(Romans 1:20 NKJV)
Step
outside this week, or sit where you can look out a window, and appreciate the
beauty God has created. Let it tell you of His mighty power and His wondrous
creativity!
All of
creation declares God's greatness. We, as part of God's creation - the part He
declared as "very good" (Genesis 1:31) - should make use of EVERY opportunity
to magnify Him to others!
A simple song that reminds us of a vitally important part of our
daily life - giving of thanks to the Lord.
There are
33 verses throughout the Bible that include the term "give thanks." In Psalm 107 alone, it shows up 5 times in this way: "Let them give thanks to the LORD for his unfailing love and his wonderful
deeds for men." In every case, the thanks is directed to the Lord.
"Now
let the weak say, "I am strong""
Paul recounts his pleading three times to the Lord for a "thorn in the
flesh" to be removed, in 2 Corinthians 12:7-10. Jesus answered Paul in
this way, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect
in weakness."
How does Paul respond to this?"Therefore most gladly, I
will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in
persecutions, in distresses, for Christ's sake. For when I am weak then am I
strong." (NKJV)
When we wholly lean on God in our physical troubles, He shows us His strength
and upholds us and helps us. He makes us strong and able to endure!
"Let
the poor say, "I am rich""
James instructs us to not show partiality toward people. In Chapter 2, verse 5
he reminds, "Listen, my beloved brethren; has God not chosen the poor of
this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom of heaven which He
promised to those who love Him?"
"Let
the sick say, "I am whole""
Similar to the account of Paul and his physical ailment, we need to be able to
look past the temporary and see the big picture. If you are a Christian, a
child of God, you are whole. God has made you whole - spiritually. Your body
may fail, but it is only a tent/jar/vessel for your soul. Focus on keeping your
soul healthy and whole by reading, studying, and applying God's word and being
thankful to Him for the hope we have through Jesus (2 Corinthians 4:16-5:10)!
"Let
the bound say, "I am free""
"For you are all sons of God though faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of
you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor
Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for
you are all one in Christ Jesus." (Galatians 3:26-29) This neutralizes/does away with every "class" the world has ever
created to categorize/separate people - religious, social, and gender. God sees
His children. He has told us to see fellow Christians as brothers and sisters.
Equal. Joint heirs (Romans 8:16-17).
All of
these statements can be boldly declared because the Lord has provided us with strength (Ephesians 6:10-18), riches (Colossians 2:2-3, Ephesians 2:6-7), wholeness (1 Timothy 3:16-17, 1 Thessalonians 5:23, 3 John 2), and freedom (Acts 2:38, Romans 6, Galatians 5:22-23, "against such there is no law")!
"The
LORD has done great things for us, and we are glad." (Psalm 126:3 NKJV)
I
encourage you to give thanks to the Lord this week - in abundance! He has blessed
us with so much, let's show appreciation for it!
"The
LORD is my strength and my shield;
my heart safely trusted in Him, and I am helped;
Therefore my heart greatly rejoices,
and with my song I will praise Him."
(Psalm 28:7 NKJV)
Fill your
heart up with praise and thanksgiving and join in singing with understanding!
Over the past weeks we have taken a closer look at only a few of the
life-changing “But God…” verses found in the New Testament. In these
texts we see the dismal downward spiral of man-made circumstances and the
escape which God supplies that can change everything for us! The words “but
God” glow with His marvelous light, drawing our attention to the path that God
has provided to all who seek the Light!
We have learned:
We were sinners… but God, with great love for us, gave us
His Son to die for us! (Romans 5:8)
Jesus died for us… but God raised Him from the dead! (Acts 13:30, Romans 1:1-4)
We were dead in trespasses and sins… but God made us alive
together with Christ! (Ephesians 2:1-4)
The world exalts wisdom, wealth, and power… but God chose
lowly things to put these things to shame (1
Corinthians 1:26-31)
We may try to justify our motives to fool others, even
ourselves… but God knows our hearts! (Luke
16:15)
We will face temptation… but God faithfully makes the way of
escape so we can overcome it! (1
Corinthians 10:13)
The final “But God…”
verse I would like to study in this series is another transformative verse, it’s completelylife-altering!
“But God gives it a body as He pleases… The body is sown in corruption,
it is raised in incorruption… it is sown a natural body, it is raised a
spiritual body. ” (1 Corinthians
15:38, 42, 44 NKJV)
Ever since the gospel message was first preached, people
have likely wondered how we’ll be raised up and what we’ll look like. It is
difficult for us to wrap our minds around the spiritual realm when we are in
the physical realm but God, through the apostle Paul, gives us a wonderful analogy
to help us understand.
When you plant a seed, you understand that the seed
itself will die, and then from within it comes forth a plant abundant with
life. God gives this plant its body (which
is different in appearance than the original seed, 1 Corinthians 15:37) and
He gives it just as He pleases! Consider for a moment a small black and white sunflower
seed in comparison to the gorgeous golden flower that grows from it – God
provided that!
We too, will one day die, and from within us will come forth
our spirit, abundant in life, to which God will give a body (different in appearance than our original),
a body raised in incorruption, glory, and power – a spiritual body suited for
the spiritual realm (1 Corinthians
15:42-44, 2 Corinthians 5:1-5)!
“Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we
should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because
it did not know Him. Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not been
revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be
like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. And everyone who has this hope in Him
purifies himself, just as He is pure.”(1 John 3:1-3 NKJV)
This great and wonderful life-changing transformation will
happen to us all and it will be glorious to all who have hope as children of
God!!
If you have this hope,
continue to purify yourself, just as He pure, always looking forward to seeing
God and Jesus as they are for all eternity!!
“For you see your calling brethren, that not many wise according to the
flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. But God has chosen the
foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the
weak things of the world to put to shame the mighty…” (1 Corinthians 1:26-27 NKJV)
I love these verses because it states that all can find/access God. We don’t have
to worry about whether we were born with great knowledge and wisdom, or had
wealth with which we could readily attain these through higher education. We
needn’t concern ourselves with class or caste systems where birth locks us into
a societal category of standing. We don’t have to work ourselves to death in
the gym to gain might and strength. No, because God chose simple things so that
we would glory in Him – His wisdom, His majesty, His power and might – and not
glory in ourselves.
“Thus says the LORD: “Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, let not
the mighty man glory in his might, not let the rich man glory in his riches;
but let him who glories glory in this, that he understands Me, that I am the
LORD, exercising lovingkindness in the earth. For in these I delight,“ says the
LORD.” (Jeremiah 9:23-24
NKJV)
God made mankind so that we might seek Him and find Him
(Acts 17:26-27). He calls us through the gospel (2 Thessalonians 2:13-14) out
of the darkness of sin and into His marvelous light (Acts 26:17-18, 1 Peter
2:9). The gospel was preached by simple men: fishermen, tentmakers, tax
collectors. It was recorded and preserved on papyrus and it is now in something
completely common, accessible, and simple: a book – the Bible – most every
household may already have one. Side
Note: Consider that the New King James Bible is written at about a Grade 7
reading level, making it accessible for reading and comprehension for most
everyone aged 12 years and older.
Our responsibility is simply to submit to His Word and way.
To read/listen/hear the gospel message (Romans
10:17), to believe it, and to humbly obey God’s instructions (Mark 16:15-16, Acts 2:38, James 1:25)
all the days of our life (Matthew 10:22,
Revelation 2:10)!
If the Lord wills, next week we will look closer at the
“lowly” things God has chosen and how through them He has provided us all
access to hope through Jesus, His Son!!
If the Lord wills, I would like to take a few weeks to look
at the amazingly wonderful, hope-stirring bible verses that express how God,
because of His great love for us, gave us a Saviour and changed human life
forever!!
Through Jesus our lives can be changed from death to life,
from bondage to freedom, from darkness to light, from hopeless to hope-filled
and glorious!!
I hope you will join
me as we look at the verses that give us all the more reason to be
joyful and full of thanksgiving for our great and loving Father!
Let's begin!
“And though they found no cause for death in Him, they asked Pilate that
He should be put to death. Now when they had fulfilled all that was written
concerning Him, they took Him down from the tree and laid Him in a tomb. But
God raised Him from the dead.” (Acts 13:28-30 NKJV)
“But God raised Him
from the dead.”
That one sentence, that one solitary statement, changed everything for
us! That one declaration of fact is the ultimate proof that Jesus was indeed
the Son of God because – God raised Him from the dead!
When God raised
Jesus from the dead:
Jesus was proved to be His Son (Acts 2:32-33, Romans 1:4)!
Jesus became the firstborn from the dead, never to die again
(Colossians 1:18, Acts 13:34-35, Revelation 1:18)
Jesus’ words, everything He had spoken, were proved true (Luke
9:22, 24:46-47)
The prophets were proved true (Acts 2:16-32; 13:32-34)
Jesus became our Mediator (1 Timothy 2:5-6), our Advocate (1 John
2:1), and our eternal High Priest (Hebrews 4:14-16), who makes
intercession for us (Romans 8:34)!
We are justified (brought back into favour with God) and have
access to forgiveness of our sins (Acts 10:40-43, Romans 4:25; 8:31-33,
Ephesians 1:7, 1 John 1:9-2:2)!
He proved He has power to raise us up too (1 Corinthians 6:14, 2
Corinthians 4:14, 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18)!
Consider this beautiful passage:
“…if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is
also empty. Yes, and we are found false witnesses of God, because we have
testified of God that He raised up Christ, whom He did not raise up—if in fact
the dead do not rise. For if the dead do not rise, then Christ is not risen.
And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins!
Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in this life
only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable. But now
Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who
have fallen asleep.” (1
Corinthians 15:14-20 NKJV)
When God raised Jesus from the dead He changed our lives forever! We can
have confident faith in every word, command, and instruction spoken by Jesus.
We now can have access to God, access to His help (Hebrews 4:16) His forgiveness (1
John 1:9), His comfort (2 Corinthians
1:3-4) and His peace (Philippians
4:6-7). Because God raised Jesus from the dead, we can believe it, and have
faith to obey Jesus’ commands and have hope to be raised in the final Day to
life eternal (John 5:25, 28-29, Romans
10:9-13, Ephesians 1:17-23, 1 Peter 1:20-21)!!
“Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!” (2 Corinthians 9:15 NKJV)
“Therefore, brethren,
having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus… …let us draw near
with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from
an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the
confession without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. And let us
consider one another in order to stir up love and good works…” (Hebrews 10:19, 22-24 NKJV)
Side Note on Context: The writer of Hebrews spends his
time encouraging the Hebrew brethren not to return to the old ways (the Law of Moses and its works/rituals),
but to understand who Jesus the Christ was and is and to follow the New
Covenant He established at His death (see
Hebrews 10: 5-10). The writer states that the sprinkling (of blood on the altar, Leviticus 17:6, 11) and the washing in water (for ritual cleansing, Leviticus 16:24) –
rituals the Hebrews were all familiar with - have been replaced with something
better when Jesus offered something greater than the continual sacrifices of bulls
and goats: His own self, once for all (Hebrews 10:10, 10:4, 9:11-15).
Jesus, by His
sacrifice, allowed them, and us, access to the Holiest (consider Hebrews 4:16, John 14:6). The Hebrew brethren would have
known that the Holiest (or Holy of holies)
was the one place that only the High Priest was allowed to go and only when it
was required (see Leviticus 16:1-2,
Hebrews 9:7-8) but Jesus grants us all access wherever and whenever we need
it and we, like the Hebrew brethren, need to cherish and respect that blessed access.
Faith:
Since Jesus has
granted us access to the Holiest (God the
Father), “let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having
our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure
water.” Faith comes from hearing the gospel –the “good news” of Christ
(Romans 10:17). We, like the eunuch
in Acts 8:26-39, can hear the good news and understand that baptism is a
necessary part of salvation; “…having our
hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water”
(see also 1 Peter 3:21-4-2). Baptism
brings us into the body of Christ (the church,
Romans 6:3-4, Galatians 3:26-29, Ephesians 1:22-23). So, we, who now offer
ourselves as living sacrifices (Romans
12:1-2) continue to get closer to God (live
fully inHis light, John 3:20-21,
Ephesians 5:8-14) with sincere intent (not
carelessly or mindlessly, Matthew 15:8, Psalm 78:36-37), in abundance of faith
and trust (“full assurance” means abundant and most certain confidence). When we approach God, as His child, with a
heart and mind motivated by sincere and confident faith we will be prepared to wholly
obey all His commands as we cling firmly to the hope we have through His Son.
Hope:
“Let us hold fast the
confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.” Referring back to Acts 8, the eunuch
made a confession before he was baptized: “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of
God.” (v37) – his hope was
found in believing that Jesus is the Son of God – in believing this he also believed
what Jesus said: “…if you do not believe that I am He, you will die
in your sins” (John 8:24) and “[h]e
who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be
condemned” (Mark 16:16). The eunuch after being baptized
into Christ went on his way rejoicing (v39).
We who have been baptized have all made a confession of our hope – let’s hold
fast to it, bind ourselves to it and never let it go! “Without wavering” means we have a firm hold on it – so much so
that we can share the reason for our hope with others who ask (1 Peter 3:15-16). God is faithful – our
hope is not in vain – all that God has said, He has done and will do (Joshua 21:45, 1 Corinthians 1:9) – let’s
hold fast to our hope, trust God, and remain faithful to Him!
Love:
With our full assurance of faith and unwavering hope, “let
us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works.”Considering one another is more than “being
nice” to those you worship with, it means to be attentive to, fixing your eyes
and your mind on them so that you may stir them up to love and good works. Take
note that “stir up” literally means to jab (cut) someone so that they must respond. Think of a prod or
goad used to push animals in the right direction; it provokes them to action,
incites them to do the work, and rallies them to actively participate. We are to stir up love and good works. The
entirety of the New Testament declares why love is a vital part of a Christian and
in knowing that we are God’s workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works
(Ephesians 2:10) we realize the
importance of action (1 John 3:18, James
1:25, 4:17, Matthew 5:16, Titus 2-3). Love in action = good works! Good
works are defined as actions that are beautiful, honourable, noble, praiseworthy,
pure, virtuous, just, and truthful (think Philippians 4:8 – there are many good
reasons to be meditating on these things!)
Do you have abundance of faith in God that motivates you obey
His commands? Do you firmly cling to your hope
without easing your grip, wholly trusting God? Do you care for your brethren
enough to push them in the right direction so that together you can be actively
doing, with love, what is good and
right? Then “let us be diligent to enter
that rest…” (Hebrews 4:11) and “let
us lay aside every weight, and the sin that so easily ensnares us, and let us
run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the
author and finisher of our faith…”(Hebrews 12:1b-2)!
"For we through the Spirit eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness by faith. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but faith working through love." (Galatians 5:5-6 NKJV)
Last week we looked at the first mention of the vital trio: faith, hope, and love. Let's take some time to look at the next mention (as seen above) found in Galatians 5:5-6.
It is beneficial to this study that you take the time to read the whole of Galatians 5 as the command to "walk in the Spirit" has as much to do with the beginning of the chapter as it does with the end of the chapter.
Christians, those who follow Christ (1 John 2:6), are to "walk in the Spirit" so that "you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh" (Galatians 5:16). It is only when we are so walking by faith - trusting God and His way - that we can eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness!
What is this 'hope of righteousness' that we can eagerly wait for?
It is the confidence and assurance of God's promised eternity with Him if we diligently seek to do what He has declared to be right (righteous).
The apostle Paul was writing to the Galatian brethren who were struggling with their faith (under the New Covenant) because they were being told by others that they needed to become like Jews and keep the Jewish laws (Law of Moses, Old Covenant, see 1:6-10 and chapters 2-4).
Paul declares to them that in Christ Jesus (the body of the Christ, the church, Ephesians 1:22-23), being circumcised in the flesh (Jewish custom from OT Law) or uncircumcised (often used to denote a Gentile, anyone from outside) doesn't matter; what now matters is faith working through love.
We, as Christians, have conviction that there are certain things that are proper for a Christian to do and we do these because we love God first and foremost, and because we love mankind and our fellow brethren. We honour God through obedience and exhibit a good example to those who may observe us (Romans 12:1-2, 1 Timothy 4:12-13, 15-16, Matthew 5:14-16).
Faith leads us to walk in the Spirit (Galatians 5:16-26). The fruit of the Spirit is developed in us when our faith works through love. When we have faith working through love we will diligently seek God and do what God has commanded us to do (and avoid what He has told us to avoid) and we can build confident hope/assurance that we are right and pleasing in His sight!
"But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him." (Hebrews 11:6 NKJV)
Are you flourishing in faith, walking every day in the Spirit, because you love God and those around you? Do you have hope and confidence because you are doing what God has declared to be righteous? If you do, then keep going, keep doing His what He has commanded - live in faith with love and hope!! It is worth every effort to do just that!!
This
statement is made four times in the Bible: Habakkuk 2:4, Romans 1:17, Galatians
3:11, and Hebrews 10:38. It is a statement about how those pursuing
righteousness would live – by faith.
The Old
Covenant, the Law of Moses, was exclusively for the Jews and had to be kept
perfectly; if they transgressed one part of it they were guilty of all (James
2:10, Galatians 2:10) and would need to make daily sacrifices for atonement. The
statement, “the just shall live by faith” spoke/speaks of the New Covenant,
established at Jesus’ death (Hebrews 8:7-13; 10:9), a covenant allowing both
Jew AND Gentile (Romans 10:11-12, Galatians 3:26-28) who believe that Jesus is
the Son of God to have life in His name (John 20:30-31, 1 John 5:13). That is
why Habakkuk was told to prophesy of this, that one day the just would live by
faith – that time began in the 1st century and continues today.
Paul the
apostle, a man of Jewish descent, declared that following the Old Law would not
justify a man in God’s eyes, but rather a man who had faith and believed in
Jesus Christ (Romans 5:1-2, Galatians 2:16). He begged his Hebrew brethren who
had become Christians to not return to following the Old Law, but to continue
in their faith of Jesus and the gospel message (Hebrews 10:36-39).
The righteous
live by faith because without faith it is impossible to please God (Hebrews
11:6)!
Faith comes
from hearing the word of God (Romans 10:17). In God’s word we learn that Jesus
is the Christ, the Son of God, that He died for us, and that God has given us
instructions that we must obey (John 14:15; 23-24, 1 John 3:23). God’s grace
allows we who believe and obey to be saved, to have our sins forgiven, to live
righteously before Him, and have hope of eternal life with Him (Ephesians
2:1-10, 1 Peter 1:3-9)! And EVERYONE in the world has this opportunity! EVERYONE
can come to God through faith in Jesus!
Jesus came to
save us, all of us – that’s how much he loves us! – He desires that you will
have faith in Him, in who He is, and that you, through that faith will be
obedient to God, living just as He lived, in full obedience (Hebrews 5:8-9, 1
Peter 2:18-25)! Believe Him! Believe in Him! Let go of any of your own notions
and fully trust and obey God!
Flee youthful lusts and pursue faith!
Let us have a
heart that speaks as Paul spoke in Galatians 2:20:
“I have been
crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live but Christ lives in me; and
the life that I now live I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and
gave Himself for me.” (NKJV)
Jesus used His scripture knowledge to disarm the devil and nullify the
temptations set before Him (Matthew 4:1-11). He truly exemplified Romans
12:21 in this encounter! In so doing He also teaches us how we too can avoid
temptation: by putting our focus on God and keeping in mind our spiritual growth
(Psalm 119:59-60, Colossians 3), by trusting God’s
love and patience rather than testing them (Romans
6:14, 2 Peter 3:9), and dedicating ourselves wholly to Him, giving Him due honour
and respect through proper worship (John
4:24).
We need to
be prepared to do what Jesus did –
use Scriptures to counteract the devil’s lures – but also hear what these Scriptures teach – prioritize God and humbly
honour and obey Him - so we are wise to temptations! Consider:
Man should live by every
word that proceeds from God's mouth. Prioritize the spiritual over the physical (Matthew
5:6, John 4:31-34; 51, 57)
You should not tempt/test
God.Use
your time in proving God's wisdom through humble obedience, don't waste
your time trying to disprove or question God (His existence, nor His
commands) through man-made doubts and theories (Deuteronomy 6:16, Exodus
17:2, 7)
Worship God and serve only
God. Give your time and devotion to your
holy Creator not anything created by men (consider Matthew 6:19-21; 24,
33, 1 Timothy 6:3-10; 17-19)
Those who work in identifying counterfeit currency
do not study every aspect of the counterfeits, they study the authentic! They
know the genuine article so well that they can spot deceptions and
discrepancies quickly.
The devil is a master counterfeiter. He tries to pass
off his lies as truth so we need to know the genuine article – we need to know
the Truth (John 8:31-32), not a
man-made version of it (Matthew 15:8-9),
not a hearsay version of it (Matthew
7:21-23) – we need to read God’s Word, the Bible (Psalm 119:160, John 17:17); we need to know it so we can understand
it, and use the knowledge we have gained from it to be wise to the devil’s lies
and resist him (James 4:7, Hebrews 5:14)
Jesus knew
the authentic – Jesus was the
authentic! – but we can be like Him
by diligently studying God’s word, to understand Him better, so we can worship
and serve Him more accurately and mindfully! So that we can know the Truth and not be lured away by the lie!
To Be More Like the Son in 2021 let’s do all we can to
increase our Bible knowledge!
From wherever you are right now - BEGIN!
Helpful
Links
Bible Reading Plans:
Classic Read-through-the-Bible (365 days, find it here)
Read through the New Testament (90 days, find it here)
Read Old and New Testament (365 days, find it here)
Stay on Track Plan (364 day, weekday only, weekends can
be used to catch up, find it here)
The Busy Life – 2 year Read-through-the-Bible Plan (find it here)
Note: Six years ago, I followed the classic plan (at
top of list), the next year I followed a chronological reading plan (find it here). I felt well-established in my new daily habit by that time so for the past four years I have made up my own daily reading plan (one chapter from Old Testament and one chapter
from New Testament) that allows me to read through sections of the Old
Testament and the complete New Testament 3-4 times in a year.
Find one that works for you so you can get into God’s
word every day! Do your best to create new reading habits - it is well worth your time and effort!! You can do it! So can I!!
Monday, September 21, 2020
What we have learned in our study, “Building Faith and
Confidence”:
We can have confidence that we know God when we wholly obey
His commandments (1 John 2:3)
Surrender wholly to God because of what you already know
of Him (His power, love, faithfulness, etc.) AND so you can learn MORE of Him (Psalm
46:10)
When we abide in Christ – being part of His body, the
church (Romans 6:3-4, 1 Corinthians 12:12-13, Galatians 3:26-29, John 3:5-7) –
we can have confidence before Him when He comes again (1 John 2:28)
Having faith like the mustard seed, which is willing to
die (to self) in order to live, develop, and grow in stature (John 12:24-26)
will, with determined tenacity, help us to remove great obstacles in life
(doubts, fears, anger, etc.) and strengthen our confidence in God. (Luke 17:5)
Fearing God, giving Him His due reverence and thinking on
His awesome power and ability, gives us confidence in all that He can do. He
truly does become a refuge for those who trust wholly in Him (Proverbs 10:26)!
Faith continues to develop as we continue to serve God. We
will be given many opportunities in life in which we will need to choose
between doing what is pleasing to God or what is pleasing to ourselves – one
results in eternal joy, the other only offers a fleeting feeling of happiness
(Luke 17:7-10).
“Therefore do not cast away your confidence,
which has great
reward. For you have need
of endurance, so that after you have done
the will of
God, you may receive the promise…
…we are not of those who draw back to
destruction,
but ofthose who believe to the saving of the soul.”
(Hebrews
10:35-36, 39 NKJV)
Keep turning to God, keep seeking His instruction from the
Bible, and keep humbly obeying it with determination each day! Surrender to
God’s wisdom and discover the absolute beauty of His way! Keep choosing God and
you will soon realize both your faith and your confidence are growing! Keep on
keeping on!!
Do you want your faith to increase? You simply need to keep serving
God!
In Jesus’ response to the apostles asking for increase of
faith (Luke 17:5-10), we find that a small amount of real faith would put them
on the right path, but it is dedicated service toward God – active and tenacious – that will increase and
strengthen our faith.
Many of us would desire an immediate gift of faith that
would not allow doubt or uncertainty – a strong, secure faith that would not
fail us, but Jesus said that that kind of faith is only developed through
continued service – always choosing to put God’s requirements and commands
ahead of our own (Luke 17:7-10).
“I beseech you therefore, brethren,
by the mercies of God,
that you present
your bodies a living sacrifice,holy,
acceptable to God, which
is
your reasonable service.”
(Romans 12:1 NKJV)
Along life’s journey we will have opportunities to grow our
faith, through active times of raising children, through sacrifice of our own desires,
ideas, and expectations, and through patient submission because of age, illness,
or other long-term stresses, if in these we choose God and His holy ways, having
a complete trust in Him, loving Him, obeying Him, and being fully confident of
His promises, happily saying, “Whatever you need me to do, I will do it”, then
with each opportunity our faith will increase.
As I wrote in an earlier post, how can you have faith in
God’s promise of peace if you never give over your worries (Philippians 4:6-8)?
How can you have faith in His care if you never cast your cares upon Him (1
Peter 5:6-7)? With each opportunity to do things HIS way, our faith has
opportunity to grow.
We love and obey God willingly, eager to serve Him to the
uttermost because we know what He has done for us (John 3:16-17, Romans 5:8-9),
we see what He continues to do for us (Psalm 68:19, Psalm 103:1-5, Ephesians
1:3-14; 2:1-10), and we believe that what He has promised He will do for us (Hebrews
11:6, 1 Peter 1:3-9, 1 John 2:25)!
In the end, we will only be able to say, “We are
unprofitable servants, we have done what was our duty to do”, knowing we would
never, even if we lived for a million years, we would never be able to repay
God for what He has done for us!
The joy we feel in trusting God’s grace is part of what
propels us in our active, willing duty! So keep trusting, keep choosing God and
HIS way, and keep serving – it is worth EVERY effort!!
“In the fear
of the LORD there is strong confidence,
and His children have a place of
refuge.”
(Proverbs 10:26 NKJV)
Why is there
strong confidence in the fear of the Lord? How does this fear supply a place of
refuge?
When we
truly and properly fear the Lord, reverencing and respecting Him, we will take
Him at His word and obey His word; what He has told us to do, we will do. When we live in this way we can have strong
confidence, just as Paul had in 2 Timothy 4:7-8, we can have a hope of rest,
and reward for doing what was our duty to do.
When we live
in fear of Him, remaining zealous in our admiration of His magnificence, God grants
us refuge during the trials of life. Through humble obedience of God’s commands
we will kept from wayward living, but there will still be trials of temptation
and sin, health, age, and loss and in all these we have refuge through prayer!
Knowing of God’s greatness, that He is BIGGER than anything we may ever face
encourages us to boldly approach God’s throne of grace to obtain mercy and find
grace to help in time of need (Hebrews 4:16, 1 John 5:14-15)! We also receive a
vital refuge in the form of protection from the devil and his schemes (Ephesians
6:10-18, Proverbs 14:27)! And when our lives are finished here we have the
final refuge of life eternal, when we may rest from our labours (1 Peter 1:3-9)!
Do you want
a stronger confidence? Do you desire a place of refuge?
Find both these
blessings by fearing the Lord and keeping His commandments – for this is our
all (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14)!!
