VIDEO The Marks of Faith: The Marks of Trust

How is it that you have no faith? Mark 4:40

In 1874, Horatio Palmer asked Mary Ann Baker to compose songs to accompany his Sunday school lessons. One dealt with the story of Jesus sleeping in the storm on Galilee. Mary had recently gone through her own storm, the loss of her only brother, who had died a thousand miles from home while seeking a warmer climate for his tuberculosis. For two weeks the telegraph wires carried back and forth messages between the dying brother and his loving sister, until finally news came of his death.

With this grief, Mary Ann studied Mark 4 and wrote, “Master, the tempest is raging! The billows are tossing high! The sky is o’ershadowed with blackness, no shelter or help is nigh; carest Thou not that we perish? How canst Thou lie asleep, when each moment so madly is threat’ning a grave in the angry deep.”

The chorus answers, “The winds and the waves shall obey Thy will. Peace, be still.”

We all encounter storms, but Jesus isn’t unaware or unconcerned. He whispers to us, “Peace, be still.” We can trust Him!

Whether the wrath of a storm-tossed sea, or struggles or evil, whatever it be, no water can swallow the ship where lies the Master of ocean and earth and skies. Mary Ann Baker

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A Shelter in the Storms of Life | David Jeremiah | Mark 4

Least Likely

For the Lord your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below. Joshua 2:11

Hollywood gives us larger-than-life spies who are dashing drivers of flashy Aston-Martins and other luxury sports cars. But Jonna Mendez, a former CIA chief, paints an opposite picture of the real thing. An agent must be “the little gray man,” she says, someone nondescript, not flashy. “You want them to be forgettable.” The best agents are those least likely to appear like agents.

When two of Israel’s spies slipped into Jericho, it was Rahab who hid them from the king’s soldiers (Joshua 2:4). She was seemingly the least likely person for God to employ as an espionage agent, for she had three strikes against her: she was a Canaanite, a woman, and a prostitute. Yet Rahab had started to believe in the God of the Israelites: “Your God is God in heaven” (v. 11). She hid God’s spies under flax on the roof, assisting in their daring escape. God rewarded her faith: “Joshua spared Rahab the prostitute, with her family” (6:25).

Sometimes we might feel we’re the least likely to be used by God. Perhaps we have physical limitations, don’t feel “flashy” enough to lead, or have a tarnished past. But history is filled with “nondescript” believers redeemed by God, people like Rahab who were given a special mission for His kingdom. Be assured: He has divine purposes for even the least likely of us.

By:  Kenneth Petersen

Reflect & Pray

In what ways do you feel “in the background”? What do you think might be the mission God has for you?

Dear God, please help me be ready for Your calling, for the mission You might have for me.

The God Who Meets All Needs

Our heavenly Father is concerned about every aspect of our life Ephesians 1:3-10

God’s care for us isn’t limited to spiritual matters. He is interested in the details of our daily life too. We tend to divide life into categories, distinguishing between issues related to work, home, and faith. But our heavenly Father sees us as whole persons.

Scripture shows that God keeps bodies fed (Luke 12:29), minds wise (Proverbs 2:6-7), and hearts at ease (Philippians 4:7). And since believers are in union with Jesus through His indwelling Spirit, every aspect of a Christian’s existence has a spiritual connection. There is not a time in the day when the Christian’s life separates into “sacred” and “secular” components.

The Word of God stresses His commitment to believers’ whole selves: “His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness” (2 Peter 1:3). We need never wonder if He can or wants to meet our needs. El-Shaddai, the all-sufficient One whose kindness never ceases (Lamentations 3:22), gives believers whatever is required to grow their faith—whether that is food, comfort, knowledge, or peace.

The loving heavenly Father sees His children as whole people rather than physical beings with a spiritual life on the side. We cheat ourselves when we think God is interested solely in our spiritual needs. He has many kinds of blessings to offer—all we have to do is ask. 

Bearing and Helping to Bear

“Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ….For every man shall bear his own burden.” (Galatians 6:2, 5)

This is one of the most commonly cited Bible “contradictions,” the apostle Paul commanding us, almost in the same breath, to bear other people’s burdens and yet to bear our own burdens. There is, however, no real contradiction, and both commands are equally valid and important.

The problem is partly one of translation. There are two Greek words used here, baros and phortion, respectively. The first means “heavy load,” the second “responsibility.”

When a Christian friend has been stricken with a great burden—whether sickness, financial need, death of a loved one, or even a grievous sin in his life that he has been unable to overcome by his own strength (see v. 1)—he needs desperately the love and support of his Christian brethren. The Scripture assures us that when we help relieve this burden, we “fulfill the law of Christ.” The previous chapter also notes this: “For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself” (Galatians 5:14).

At the same time, the privilege of having Christian friends who will share and help with an otherwise unbearable load does not at all absolve us from the responsibility of doing our own part in carrying out our God-given responsibilities. There is no place in the Christian warfare for Christian beggars or Christian crybabies. “Study to be quiet, and to do your own business. That ye may walk honestly toward them that are without” (1 Thessalonians 4:11-12).

The preceding verse (Galatians 6:4) had urged that “every man prove his own work.” Since God has both created and redeemed us, we can be sure He is concerned about us and will not allow trials, or place upon us duties, that are greater than we can bear (1 Corinthians 10:13). HMM

Fear

Fear is the opposite of faith, and is displeasing to God:

“My righteous one shall live by faith. And if he shrinks back, I will not be pleased with him… Without faith, it is impossible to please God…”(Hebrews 10:38; 11:6a) Fear:

• Clouds our judgment.
• Paralyzes our actions.
• Causes us to delay. Rationalize. Over-spiritualize.
• Promotes paranoia.
• Induces us to think irrationally; to loose objectivity.
• Destroys our trust in others.
• Diminishes our ability to believe. Risk. Act.
• May be a reason we impute wrong motives to others.
• Is often the product of our pride.
• Refuses to believe God is there; is in control, and can be trusted or taken seriously.

How do we break the bondage and cycle of fear? By choosing to believe God through acting upon His promises. So right now, if you are struggling with fear, choose to believe these promises:

“God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.“(2 Timothy 1:7 – kjv)

“God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea… Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.“(Psalm 46:1, 2a, 10)

“I sought the Lord, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears… The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles.“(Psalm 34:4, 17)

It was amidst the storm that Jesus told Peter to step out of the boat and walk on the water to Him. The moment he looked away from the Master to the circumstances Peter’s faith turned to fear, and he began to sink. And so it is with us. (Matthew 14:22-34)

You and I have a simple choice to make: Either we will allow the demons of fear, doubt, inadequacy etc., to paralyze and diminish us into spiritual midgets, or we will live above life’s crippling circumstances by choosing to believe and act upon His promises.

QUESTION: Today, which do you choose? Faith or fear?

“When I would do good, evil is present with me.”

Romans 7

Romans 7:1

There is no deliverance from its power but by death; but, blessed be God, we were crucified with Christ, and as new creatures we are under the rule of grace and. are not under the dominion of law.

Romans 7:2-4

Jesus is our husband, grace is the ruling principle of his house, and holiness is the fruit of the marriage. Glory be to God for this!

Romans 7:5, 6

Law provoked our old nature to rebel, grace impels the new nature to obey.

Romans 7:7-10

The evil in us resented the divine command, and so the holy law aroused the enmity of our nature, and we rushed on to death. This was not the fault of the law, but of our depraved hearts; yet so it was.

Romans 7:15

Such is our complex condition. We are new creatures, but the old man struggles within us to get the mastery.

Romans 7:16, 17

The new I sins not, but the old nature is sin, and remains what it always was.

Romans 7:21

law or rule

Romans 7:22, 23

This is the believers riddle, which only regenerate men can understand. Do we know what it means?

Romans 7:25

So that on the one hand he agonizes, and on the other hand he triumphs. Loathing sin and glorying in Christ are our daily experience. Groaning after holiness, and finding it in Jesus, we both sigh and sing, repent and rejoice, fight and conquer. This is not a past, but a present experience, and he is a true heir of heaven who feels it within.

Why Do Birds Sing?

And God created… every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good. (Genesis 1:21)

I am thankful I have found a promise from the God of all grace that deals with the “long term” and the eternal. I belong to a body of plain people who believe the truth revealed in the Bible. These are the people who believe that God in the beginning made the heavens and the earth and all things that are therein.

Yes, these plain believing people will tell you that God created the flowers to be beautiful and the birds to sing, so that men and women could enjoy them. We believe that God made the birds to warble and harmonize as though they were tuned to a harp.

But the scientist disagrees, saying, “It is simply biological. The bird sings only to attract a mate.”

Actually, the God who made the birds is the Chief Musician of the universe. He made the harps in those little throats and said, “Go and sing!” Thankfully, the birds obeyed and they have been singing and praising God ever since they were created!

VIDEO Love in Spite of

For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. Romans 5:10

 

“Luv” is a playful, whimsical expression of sentiment. One would never luv one’s enemy or express unconditional luv. One wouldn’t luv someone who didn’t luv one back.

That sets luv apart from the true, biblical meaning of love in Scripture. God’s love—expressed by the Greek word agape—is unconditional love. It is the kind of love that rises above feelings of warmth or affection; it is love based on an act of the will that seeks the best outcome for others. It is a love so strong that it can be expressed toward an enemy (Matthew 5:43-47). In fact, the apostle Paul refers to us as enemies of God who were nonetheless reconciled to God because of His great love for us. We didn’t deserve God’s love, but God so loved us that He sent His Son to reunite us to Himself. That is the kind of love we are to have for one another (Romans 12:10).

Look for opportunities today to love unconditionally—in spite of how others treat you.

Religion that does not glow with love is unsatisfactory. Richard Glover

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The Divine Guarantee of an Eternal Salvation, Part 3 (Romans 5:9–11)

A Giver’s Heart

A generous person will prosper; whoever refreshes others will be refreshed. Proverbs 11:25

On our last day in Wisconsin, my friend brought her four-year-old daughter Kinslee to say goodbye. “I don’t want you to move,” said Kinslee. I hugged her and gave her a canvas, hand-painted fan from my collection. “When you miss me, use this fan and remember that I love you.” Kinslee asked if she could have a different fan—a paper one from my bag. “That one’s broken,” I said. “I want you to have my best fan.” I didn’t regret giving Kinslee my favorite fan. Seeing her happy made me happier. Later, Kinslee told her mother she was sad because I kept the broken fan. They sent me a brand-new, fancy purple fan. After giving generously to me, Kinslee felt happy again. So did I.

In a world that promotes self-gratification and self-preservation, we can be tempted to hoard instead of living with giving hearts. However, the Bible says that a person who “gives freely . . . gains even more” (Proverbs 11:24). Our culture defines prosperity as having more and more and more, but the Bible says that “a generous person will prosper” and “whoever refreshes others will be refreshed” (v. 25).

God’s unlimited and unconditional love and generosity continually recharge us. We can each have a giver’s heart and create unending giving cycles because we know God—the Giver of all good things—never gets tired of providing abundantly.

By:  Xochitl Dixon

The Believer’s Riches

We don’t have to live in spiritual poverty; God offers us His riches—every day. Philippians 4:19-20

Imagine that you’ve saved for a long time to take a cruise. At last, you’re aboard with two carefully packed suitcases. The first evening, when “Dinner is served” is announced over the loudspeaker, you grab peanut butter crackers from your suitcase and sit at the table in your small cabin. Every day at mealtime, you repeat the ritual. It isn’t that you don’t like the ship’s tasty banquets. You simply don’t know that meals are included in the ticket price. For two weeks you enjoy beautiful scenery off the decks but eat dry, stale food in your room.

This sad story is a metaphor for how some believers live the Christian life. God has promised to meet every need of His children—His riches are included in the price Christ paid for their salvation (Ephesians 1:18). Yet many of us are trying to live out of our own resources. We don’t know that the bounty of God’s love, power, and provision is on the menu.

A believer’s relationship with Jesus is one of complete unity. He is our life, and His Spirit lives through us. Therefore, everything that is available to the Lord is also available to us—all power, strength, and endurance.

Spend time in the Word to learn about all the riches you are given through faith. God offers believers everything required for living well and wisely. Trust Him for all your needs.