"Journeys of Faith"

"Journeys Of Faith"                      

   Which is more important, to ask and trust the Lord for His provision, or to receive it?  The answer may surprise us.

   "Now faith is the substance of things hoped, the evidence of things not seen… the just shall live by faith" (Hebrews 11:1; Romans 1:17).   

   The writer of Hebrews reveals that in our present existence, faith is both "substance" and "evidence".  Without discounting or minimizing the blessedness of God's actions on our behalf, the more spiritually substantive aspect of our walk with Him involves His moving within our hearts to motivate our confidence.  "Keep thy heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life" (Proverbs 4:23).  The challenge of walking with our Lord by faith offers to us the personal aspect of relationship with Him.  If God responded to all our prayers immediately with obvious answers, He would be little more than a bellhop whom we might tip, but with whom we would have no real fellowship.  Conversely, when life presents us with its needs, difficulties, and pains, and when we must trust the Lord with no outward evidence of His response, the challenges pave a pathway into the very heart of God.  We thereby discover who He is, as opposed to merely what He can do.  Faith becomes substance and evidence, the spiritually tangible reality of relationship with the Life of our lives.  As Job declared of the great challenge he experienced, and the greater glory he discovered therein, "I have heard of Thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth Thee" (Job 42:5).

   There is nothing wrong with rejoicing when God answers our prayers and manifests His provision.  We raise our voices with the Psalmist on such blessed occasions: "This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him and saved him out of all his troubles" (Psalm 34:6).  However, we will one day look back on our earthly sojourn with the realization that the greater blessedness involved our journeys of faith.  We thereby most genuinely live because when we cannot see God's hand, we must trust His heart.  It is not an easy way, but it is the way.  Again, "the just shall live by faith."  Our Heavenly Father offers us much through Christ, and He faithfully delivers.  The greatest gift, however, is Himself.  Presently, His light shines most brilliantly in the darkness, revealing the wonder of His heart and the opportunity to know Him along the pathways of grace as known by faith.

"Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: by whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.  And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; and patience, experience; and experience, hope: and hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us."

(Romans 5:1-5)

Weekly Memory Verse

   Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ.

(Ephesians 1:3)

  

  

“Strong In the Lord”

"Strong In the Lord"                      

  

  I recently read a message by a popular Christian author who addressed the matter of our human weaknesses.  He rightly depicted the challenges we face in living the Christian life, particularly in times of great trouble.  I agreed with much of what he wrote, and would even suggest that he did not go far enough in describing how weak we actually are.  

 

   "If Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin" (Romans 8:10).

   Note that the problem for even born again believers involves far more than weakness.  We are actually "dead" in terms of independently doing the will of God or living in a manner our Lord defines as life.  "Without Me, ye can do nothing" (John 15:5).  Thus, I concur with the basic intent of the author referenced, at least as far as he went in addressing the matter of our need for God's grace and enabling.  

   I do, however, have a problem with what the well-meaning gentleman wrote.  As proper as it is to acknowledge human weakness, our Heavenly Father would not have us dwell on our need.  In the Romans passage above, the Apostle Paul proceeds to encourage great confidence in our Christ-enabled capacity to live in a manner pleasing to God and beneficial to ourselves and others.

   "If Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the spirit is life because of righteousness.  But if the Spirit of Him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, He that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by His Spirit that dwelleth in you" (Romans 8:10-11).

   Acknowledgment of weakness is meant to serve not as a stopover, but rather as s springboard to trust the Lord and acknowledge His empowering presence in our hearts. The New Testament record does not leave the Lord Jesus in His tomb after the cross.  Nor does it leave believers in the grave of our human weakness.  The same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead now dwells in us to enliven our human faculties for the empowerment of faith and faithfulness.  Any teaching that fails to emphasize the enabling of God as our "strength made perfect in weakness" inevitably leads to failure and an excuse-laden form of Christianity that fails to meet the test of Biblical authenticity (II Corinthians 12:9).  God does not call His children to make bricks without straw.  He rather inhabits and enables us as the very Life of our lives.  "I can do all things through Christ which strengthenth me" (Philippians 4:19).

   Our Heavenly Father is compassionate regarding our human weakness.  "He knoweth our frame, He remembereth that we are dust" (Psalm 103:14).  He does not coddle us, however.  Nor does He accept excuses regarding our failure to access His abundant enabling to live in accordance with His will.  Moreover, the Lord calls us to "exhort one another daily" (Hebrews 3:13).  We should encourage and challenge one another to remember the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit whereby we presently possess "all things that pertain to life and godliness" (II Peter 1:3).  Our weakness is real, and must be acknowledged.  However, the Lord never called us to live in accordance with our own strength.  "Be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might" (Ephesians 6:10).  The risen life of the Lord Jesus supplies our capacity for living as God commands.  "I cannot!  I can!  Through Christ!  This is the Christian life, or rather the life of Christ as revealed in us by grace through faith.

"In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him"

(I John 4:9)

Weekly Memory Verse

   Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ.

(Ephesians 1:3)

  

   

"Nine Bibles"

"Nine Bibles"                      

  

      I am very much a traditionalist, especially regarding spiritual matters.  This means that despite the fact I carry a smartphone with a downloaded Bible, I still want a paper and ink copy of the Scriptures in front of me as I preach and teach (I will admit that this is not the case in writing.  I'm pretty much all electronic in that realm, including these messages).  Yesterday morning, I forgot my Bible (the paper and ink version) as Frances and I left the house to travel to two Sunday morning services.  

    I realized my oversight when we arrived at the first service.  This was no real problem since the meeting is held at a church (plenty of Bibles there!).  A sweet young lady instantly and gracious offered her Bible when I mentioned the situation.  However, we conducted the second service at a retirement community.  This presented a challenge, although in the past I've had no problem finding a copy of the Scriptures in the library of the facility.  On this day, however, I scanned the shelves with no immediate success in accessing a Bible.  This surprised and troubled me.  Again, I really want an old fashioned copy of the Bible with me as I communicate God's Truth (I'm sure you've heard the old saying about "a preacher without his sword!").  I started to turn away from the bookshelves of the library, but paused for a moment.  "Heavenly Father, it sure would be nice to find a Bible on these shelves" I softly uttered as a prayerful request.  Subsequently I scanned the shelves again.  This time, my eye caught a group of books that lay together on the bottom row of the bookshelf.  I couldn't see them well, but knelt down to examine them.  You know the rest of the story, based on the title of this essay.  Not one Bible, but nine Bibles gazed up at me as I gazed down at them!  They were all exactly alike, standing together like a group of soldiers in uniform.  I smiled with gratitude, plucked a copy from the shelf, and smiled even more.  Yes, it was a King James Version, my Bible of choice.  Opening the book stretched my grin even wider.  LARGE PRINT!!!!!!!  Thank You, Lord!!!!

   Regarding God's promised supply, the Bible speaks in superlative terms.  Rather than list them all in this essay, I may later send out a separate mailing with a number of such passages.  For now, Ephesians 3:20-21:

   "Now unto Him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, unto Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen" (Ephesians 3:20-21).

    Every believer who seeks to walk with the Lord experiences the reality of the Apostle Paul's blessed assurance.  Of course, God administers His abundance in accordance with His wisdom and understanding, but He does so in a manner that we know to be His superabundant provision.  Our Heavenly Father calls us to expect such grace, and often bestows or withholds based upon our confidence in Him.  This raises the question: do we perceive our Lord to be so willing, able, and generous?  Is He that present and involved?  Can we really anticipate such undeserved beneficence?  The nine Bibles I found on the library shelves all bear witness to "exceeding, abundantly above all that we ask or think."  The Spirit of God also affirms, and the testimony of believers throughout the ages sounds and resounds with the proclamation of a God who can be trusted to do more than we request, in accordance with His wisdom and eternal purpose in the Lord Jesus. 

   While I don't like forgetting my Bible, I'm glad things happened as they did yesterday.  Yet again, the Lord reminded me of His superabundance, particularly regarding the kindness of His heart.  It overflows with good will toward His trusting children in Christ.  This is the real message of finding that troop of Bibles.  Whatever our Lord does with His mighty hand proceeds from His magnanimous heart.  How good He must be!  How good He is!  May He grant more and more grace that we might know Him as He is, and thus expect Him to grant nine when we ask for but one.

"My God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus."

(Philippians 4:19)

Weekly Memory Verse

   Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ.

(Ephesians 1:3)