"A Saving Faith"

Guilt eats at the heart of many of those in Christ Jesus. Guilt drives people into faking their lives and covering up who they are. Guilt brings memories of shame and failures. Guilt is like a wave that rolls over the top of a person, making their esteem little to nothing. Guilt drives many to depression. Guilt is powerful and can be good, provided the response in our guilt to our Lord is by faith.

Faith, saving faith is a personal commitment to the death and life of Jesus. Without this saving faith, this complete trust in His work on our behalf, we can't be saved. Read Mark 16:15-16 and see the saving faith Jesus spoke to His own apostles He sent into all the world. Saving faith is more than believing in the Lord, it is a commitment to Him! We commit ourselves to Him because we trust Him 100%.

That means there is no no cause for guilt feelings unless they reflect our indifference and lack of commitment. Take some time and read II Peter 1:1-11 followed by I Thessalonians 5:23-24 and you will see the point. To have a saving faith in Jesus means we believe with all our heart that Jesus can and does forgive sin, our sin completely!

Jesus not only forgives the "little" sins but also those "big" sins we have committed. Saving faith believes that Jesus does not just denounce our sins or uncover them in us but He forgives, wiping them completely off our slate because His blood removed them. It's not that He CAN forgive but to the humble and sincere confessed sinner, He forgives completely. To have a saving faith means we embrace these things about our Lord and have committed our lives back to Him.

Saving faith means we live our lives, in every thing we do, to the glory of the Father. We live to reflect His salvation in our lives. We rejoice, even in pain, because of His marvelous grace we received when we were baptized into Him (Rom. 6). That saving faith means we realize Jesus destroyed sin and is working to keep it out of our lives as we live in a trusting relationship to glorify Him. Saving faith is embracing Him as our Savior and living under His Lordship. That removes us out of the way and exalts the heavenly Father.

"Hope"

People need hope! I am not speaking of the hope that wishes: "I hope everything goes well!" The hope I am speaking of is a God-given hope. A hope of assurance. A hope that not only desires but expects God to do as God said He would. Any other type of hope will disappoint.

Our hope, if one is in Christ Jesus, is tied to two elements: (1) God is faithful! (2) God is able! Listen to His word carefully: "No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it." (I Cor. 10:13)

We want to believe that God is faithful. We say the words but somehow, we really don't trust Him to do as He says. When we encounter difficulties, the question arises in our hearts, "Will He be faithful to me?" which leads us to doubts and fear arise in our hearts.

To some, the struggles in life seem like mountains. Fears, anxieties and sense of hopelessness settle into the heart. We find ourselves reaching, looking for security in our time of need because we don't know or trust our heavenly Father. For us to have hope in God is to have a confident expectation! How can one be sure He will aid in the midst of difficulties? Why don't we start by looking at the cross, the death of Jesus on our behalf? Isn't that the direction God is trying to move our hearts? Take some time and read Rom. 8:31-34 and there you will see the confidence that God is for us! And if He is for us, will He make sure we have every thing we need to make it to the end, not matter what we encounter? Hope, real genuine hope, has God at the center because He is faithful and is able to do as He says. We expect little because our faith does not have God at the center many times.

When does hope disappear? When God is not the center of our faith. We look and listen to everyone else while God sits the sideline. Then we wonder why we fail so miserably. God has the resources (He is able) and will do exactly what He says He will do for our well-being (God is faithful). We tend to focus on us and our problems, our defeats and God gets pushed into the background. The result: hope is lost because faith is lost (Heb. 11:1)! (Some head to the nearest bookstore to find a book for hope.) It's easy to speak of God, talk of His love and mercy but it's another thing to place our hope in Him. Our hope must be based on His ability and His faithfulness in every circumstance. That does not eliminate our suffering and pain but brings God's faithfulness and ability in the midst of our suffering. And hope...it does not disappoint (Rom. 5:5)

"On the Road Again"

I am leaving for New York so this will be my last blog writing until I return. I will begin writing again on Sept. 21.

I was recently reading about a cave in Southern Mexico called the Cueva de Villa Luz or "Cave of the Lighted House." The path to the cave winds through a wonderful paradise of tropical birds and lush rain forest. The cave is fed by 20 underground springs which are beautiful watercourses that team with tiny fish. The cave itself is home to a spectacular rock formations and beautiful ponds. The environment is so beautiful, so inviting and almost like a dream world. There is one problem - the Cueva de Villa Luz is filled with lethal poisonous gases!

As I read about this it struck me that's the way sin operates. It presents itself to us as something inviting, attractive and at times, life giving. Yet in reality, it is poisonous, toxic and deadly! Sin can be pleasurable! Moses realized this when he was called the son of Pharaoh's daughter (Heb. 11:25). That's what makes it so destructive. Songs are written about sin being so good that it can't be wrong! Before long, people are taken captive and held in its cord. Once enslaved, only through the power of God will one be able to find their way out.

Don't be deceived by the appearance of things. Sin is deadly and in the end, it will cost you your soul.

"Noah...God"

It never ceases to amaze me the impact parents have on their children. I was sitting reading a book to my youngest granddaughter (she is 1 1/2 yrs. old), we came to a page with a rainbow on it. Immediately she spoke up, "Noah...God". The book had nothing to do with the Bible account of Noah but in her mind, the moment she saw the rainbow, the two names came out. I sat in gratitude and wonder. Such an innocent little girl, with a limited vocabulary yet in her heart she tied Noah and God together.

My mind shifted to godly fathers and mothers who train their children. It has such an impact at such and early age. Children take things in and eat it up. When parents are more involved in the world and the things of the world, it will eventually be reflected in the attitudes and lives of their children. I was listening to a little girl (around 6) the other day and she spoke of how she was bored with "church stuff". It was heart breaking to hear at such a young age, the heart was set. It comes from the training in the home. It's not about 'Bible stories' but the reality of a relationship internally with the Lord. When parents have it, children will follow suit. If parents are just pretending, it will come out.

I want to encourage each of us, train our children to love the Father of our Lord. They need Him for the daily breath, for life and one day for their salvation. What a blessing to have godly fathers and mothers!

"Fact or Feelings"

Have you ever been at a place where your senses fail you? Take for instance where there is an illusion that the law of gravity is askew? Near Los Angeles, Ca. it is said that motorists stop their cars at a certain point on the side of a hill, shut off their engines and release the brake. Their car seems to roll up hill! But a plumb level placed on the ground where the cars begin shows that the cars are actually rolling downhill. The eye can be deceived while the level cannot.

In our lives, we have to make determinations about things. How do we go about those determinations? Many make them on their natural senses of feelings and emotions. When people form statements and beliefs based on how they feel or are emotionally moved at the moment, that is not a safe thing to do. God's word tells us, "But examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good; abstain from every form of evil." (I Thes. 5:21-22) How does one go about examining and what standard of that examining is to be used?

It has to be based on the word of God, not our feelings. Too many are basing things on their emotional state at the moment. That is why parents fail in dealing properly with their children because there is such a strong sense of feeling and love for their child, that becomes the basis of their reasoning's and thoughts in dealing with them. The same is said of our salvation. Too many base their relationship with the Lord on what they feel. They feel the Lord's nearness or feel Him in their heart. Listen carefully to these words from the Lord: "He who trusts in his own heart is a fool, but he who walks wisely will be delivered." (Prov. 28:26) Jeremiah speaks that the heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick (Jer. 17:9). What is one to do? Follow the Lord and His word and not your feelings or some catchy phrase from the world.

"Thus says the Lord, 'Cursed is the man who trusts in mankind and makes flesh his strength, and whose heart turns away from the Lord." (Jer. 17:5) Our determinations and walk with the Lord must be based on the Lord and nothing else. Sometimes it is difficult to accept but it is always the best thing to do. By following the Lord you will not have to worry about a harmful decision made that will make matters worse down the line. It might hurt at the moment but it will lead you to peace and will deliver you from fleshly, wrong moves. Too many walk with their emotions and senses and the word of God is left inactive.

"Feelings come and feelings go, and feelings are deceiving;

My warrant is the Word of God, nothing else is worth believing.

I'll trust in God's unchanging Word, till spirit and body sever;

For though all things shall pass away, His Word shall stand forever."

"Despising the Word of the Lord"

"But the person who does anything defiantly, whether he is a native or an alien, that one is blaspheming the Lord; and that person shall be cut off from among his people. Because he has despised the word of the Lord and has broken His commandment, that person shall be completely cut off; his guilt will be on him." (Num. 15:30-31)

"Therefore the Lord God of Israel declares, 'I did indeed say that your house and the house of your father should walk before Me forever'; but now the Lord declares, 'Far be it from Me - for those who honor Me I will honor, and those who despise Me will be lightly esteemed.'" (I Sam. 2:30)

"Why have you despised the word of the Lord by doing evil in His sight? You have struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword, have taken his wife to be your wife, and have killed him with the sword of the sons of Ammon." (II Sam. 12:9)

In the above verses, if you read them carefully you will see the word "despise"used. These are just a few verses speaking of despising God and His word. What does it mean to "despise" the word of the Lord? "Despise" means "to look down on with contempt and scorn, to regard with dislike or repugnance." Who in their right mind would "despise" the word of the Lord? In reading the above verses, the Lord Himself says that when people sin, they are despising the word of the Lord. Go back and read the context of these verses and see what situation surrounded them. In the last Scripture above, guess who "despised" the word of the Lord? It was David when Nathan the prophet came to him confronting him with the sinful actions against Bathsheba.

How bad is sin? How utterly sinful is sin? We live around sin and think little when sin is carried out. We think nothing of having a bad attitude or being hateful to someone. God paints a vivid picture to help us see what He thinks of sin. God says sin is despising His holy word! Now that should get our attention.

"Sin Is A Power" (2)

Sin is a power that is waiting for every man and woman to open the door so it can master us. "Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned." (Rom. 5:12) From the beginning, man chose to sin and as a result, sin entered into our world and spread to all. All have sinned (Rom. 3:23). The result of sin? Death. When one sins, they die spiritually. There is a separation between them and God. Until there is a changing of masters, one cannot overcome their state of death. Jesus is the master that we must come to.

Let's take this a step further. "Let no one say when he is tempted, 'I am being tempted by God'; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished,it brings forth death." (Jam. 1:13-15) Notice we learn from God that "each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust." It is our own lust, our personal desires that leads us into sin. The word "lust" is the Greek word epithumia which means a longing for, especially for what is forbidden.

Adam and Eve in the garden from the beginning were led into sin by their lusts. "When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate." (Gen. 3:6) Look carefully at "she saw, a delight to the eyes, desirable". Adam followed suit.

When David committed adultery with Bathsheba (II Sam. 11:1-2), we find the same principle at work. He saw, she was beautiful (delight to the eyes) and his lusts pursued her and sin was accomplished. What have we learned? Sin is a choice that comes from our lusts and it always ends in one place: death! Sin accomplished will separate one from God and that's the state of death. We see or want and it stirs us further. At first we might slowly move, but the thought of our lusts stay in our heart and mind. A little movement here, a little there and we draw closer to what we desire. Then, we give ourselves to our lusts (desires) and act upon what we wanted all along. Sin is born and death results. We might not realize it at the time because we find pleasure in fulfilling our lusts, but God has no part of sin, is not the cause of sin and will not fellowship sin. Sin becomes the master and from that point sin controls our thinking, our actions and outcome. Sin is a power and its desire is for us. Only in and through Christ can one overcome sin and its desires.