Be Firm in Your Faith

This morning I was brought again to a passage that I have been through several times (definitely from the LORD). In my morning prayer, as I have said and continue to say, I as the LORD to bring me to the place and share with me that which I need in the moment, and this morning again He demonstrated His faithfulness to me.

The below, up to the questions at the end, are from January of 2017, and as I read and studied this morning, I thought I would post here. The LORD gave me what I needed this morning, to remember to ask for what we need and know that He will provide.

“¹¹Ask a sign of the Lord your God; let it be deep as Sheol or high as heaven.” – Isaiah 7:11 (ESV)

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“⁹…If you are not firm in faith, you will not be firm at all.” – Isaiah 7:9 (ESV)

I know that I struggle each day with staying true to God. With all that goes on in our lives, it is natural for us as human to look to ourselves to solve. I admit that it is difficult to trust that God has control and has a plan for everything, especially considering that we cannot “see” him. But isn’t that exactly what faith is, “firm belief in something for which there is no proof”, Merriam-Webster.

I am reminded every morning that I sit down and read/study the Word of God that he is indeed there. God has given us the answers to each of the struggles, situations, trials, and questions that arise each day. We must stand with him and he will answer (remember though, we must be prepared to look deeper as the answer we receive may not, and is likely not what we expect).

“²⁰Believe in the Lord your God, and you will be established; believe his prophets, and you will succeed.” – 2 Chronicles 20:20 (ESV)

Where do you stand in your faith? Are you only there when you are in need? What if you were to be faithful in all things and stood firm in your faith, knowing that God will do what He says He will do and is who He says He is?

God Will Provide All That We Need

It is one thing to know that God will provide, it is something else to see it demonstrated. This morning I continue my study on the word “will” and was brought to the passage of “Noah and the Flood” (the title in my ESV Bible). Here is the passage of Noah and his charge from God to be the survivor of the LORD’s destruction of the earth and all that is on it.

“¹³And God said to Noah, ‘I have determined to make an end of all flesh, for the earth is filled with violence through them. Behold, I will destroy them with the earth ¹⁴Make yourself an ark of gopher wood. Make rooms in the ark, and cover it inside and out with pitch.’” – Genesis 6:13-14 (ESV)

God told Noah to build an ark for himself. If Noah is building an ark for himself, that would stand to reason that Noah would survive the destruction. So as I have read and written, God was going to reset and Noah would be the starting point. Noah had found favor with God and he would be spared.

Where this is nice that God tasked Noah with building an ark for his survival, and it does demonstrate God’s provision, it is bigger and more detailed. You see, God provides “all” that we will need. Where there may be times that He gives us the overarching theme of what we are to do and then we are to work it out on our own, God will, when the need is there, provide all the details as He does with Noah here.

“¹⁵This is how you are to make it: the length of the ark 300 cubits, its breadth 50 cubits, and its height 30 cubits. ¹⁶Make a roof for the ark, and finish it to a cubit above, and set the door of the ark in its side. Make it with lower, second, and third decks.” – Genesis 6:15-16 (ESV)

God gives Noah the blueprints to follow in the building of the ark. All of the details are provided and not just the grand plan in this instance. As we go on in the passage, the LORD gives more detail as to what to include in the ark and what purpose it all has. And God guides Noah through the entire process. All the way to when to enter the ark, when the rains would come, and for how long they would be.

I struggle with the plans the LORD has for me in that I am not always sure where to begin, how to proceed, and how things will end. This morning I have been reminded that not being sure is okay. God will provide what I need when I need it and if the details are required, He will provide it all.

What are your thought on God’s provision? Do you expect that you will always have to figure things out? What if you approached God’s provision with the understanding that He will provide all that is needed in each instance?

The House of the Righteous is Blessed

This explains to me the reason for the LORD’s sparing of the lives of the family of Noah, and the David’s prosperity throughout his household. The LORD blesses the dwelling of the righteous.

“³³The LORD’s curse is on the house of the wicked,

but he blesses the dwelling of the righteous.”

— Proverbs 3:33 (ESV)

Wherever there is the righteous, his house is blessed. The immediate household is the provision of the LORD. Where there is this thought that provision is the needs being met, I have to remember that needs are not just the physical. There are the emotional, social, spiritual, and others as well. The LORD ensures that all NEEDS are met.

As an adult educator, I understand that these other needs are important, to the point that I mention to all classes that for the participants in class to get anything out of the class, they have to be present in what I call the “allies”. These are, to name a few, physic”ally”, ment”ally”, emotion”ally”, etc. When one is distracted in any one of these areas, they are not able to focus and grow.

This is where and why I see the LORD blessing the full dwelling of the righteous. The LORD creates contentment in all the “allies” to ensure that the righteous are not distracted and are able to focus on the task of growing the kingdom of God here in this world. It is important for me to know that my wife and boys are doing well. When they are not, I am distracted with what I may have done or not done to cause them to be where they are, and yes, I know they are their own person and make their own choices and have to live with the consequences of those choices. I care for them none-the-less and will see things as though I was partially responsible and get distracted on what I should be doing in the name of the LORD.

The LORD provides and blesses to allow for His will to be done fully. In providing and blessing the house of the righteous, He is investing in the success of His plan and allows the righteous to focus on the task and be less concerned with all that goes on around them.

What are you seeing as you look at the house of the righteous? Are you questioning why they seem to have it all? What if you looked at it from the LORD’s calming the “allies” to allow for them to complete His work without distraction?

Fathers are Good

What a statement, not just from me, from our Father in heaven.

“¹¹What father among you, if his son asks ford a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent; ¹²or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? ¹³If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” – Luke 11:11-13 (ESV)

I am pretty sure that we have all received a gift that was less than underwhelming from our fathers. We expected one thing and got something that we could not really see the value in. But I am also pretty sure that it was not intentionally given with an evil heart (there are those one off instances for sure). The thing is, Jesus has it right. When we ask for something, we are not given the opposite. Yes, it may not be exactly what we asked for, but it is of value to us.

When we receive from our father here in this world those things of value, then how much more value are the things we receive from our Father in heaven. It may not seem like it at the time, as the LORD gives based on need and less on want. I may want a steak for dinner, but only get a ham sandwich. My want was not filled, it was my need that was. The value from the LORD is packed in the provision. I have to remember contentment and then I will value all that I receive.

Fathers are good. They want for us to receive. They want for us to be fulfilled. If this is what we get from our fathers in this world, just imagine how much more we receive from our Father in heaven. Remember that the LORD gives a heavy coat to the animals in winter when they need it and wouldn’t He do the same for me.

What is your view of fathers? Are you looking to them to provide for your wants and when they are not meeting those wants are you disappointed? What if you saw fathers as good and wanting to meet your needs and then what if you saw our heavenly Father as greater than even that?

Rich in Wisdom

Wealth is something that is fully and completely misconstrued in our society today. There is the general thought that wealth is related to what you have in the bank or what monetary items you can display. There is very little thought to the wealth of biblical design.

“³He who loves wisdom makes his father glad,

but a companion of prostitutes squanders his wealth.”

— Proverbs 29:3 (ESV)

This morning I am reading another verse that iterates that which makes a father glad, wisdom. And as I look at this verse, I find myself looking to the last word, wealth. I am thinking of just what is wealth to look like for me as a follower of Christ. Is it what I have the capacity to purchase or how much I have in the bank or what others can see as I display the monetary value of things I have? And then I look at the first part of the verse and see the riches that I should be counting on, wisdom. Solomon, who was extremely monetarily rich, knew that all of that would not last, and as so, asked God to make him wealthy in wisdom.

I have to look at the same approach as Solomon and know that all the money in the world will not last. It can and will be squandered on foolish things. When we look to our monetary wealth as the measure of our success, we are brought to the place of superficial value in the world. Think about what one can do with all the money they have. They have the ability to buy things for people and provide things for people and prop themselves up with all they can give to others. But, what about when the money is gone, what is their station in life then. When that which provided your value, money, dries up, then the prevailing consequence is that one is now forgotten as there is nothing more for them to give to others.

I have read and heard of too many instances where those who acquired great monetary wealth were found to be destitute sometime later as they squandered all of the wealth and do not know how they will provide going forward without that wealth.

Then we have those who have built their wealth on the intrinsic, like knowledge and wisdom. For these never want for anything and are always contributing something. These are those who may not have all the monetary wealth in the world, yet somehow they are always found giving to others. And in those contributions, there is no fanfare or spotlight on them as they give, yet those who receive are better off than they would have been with an extra $20.

This is where the true wealth is found. God provides and blesses. It is from those blessings that we are able to impact. We look to often at what we want instead of what we need and confuse the two. The needs are the provision and the wants are the blessings. When I am seeking for provision of wisdom I am rich with all I need and then when God blesses me with more, I am able to provide as opposed to squandering it all on me.

What is your idea of riches? Are you looking to have all that you want and that will somehow make you better off? What if you were to see your wisdom as the provision that makes you rich and God’s blessings as that which you can share with others?

Break Bread with Believers

“⁴²And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.” – Acts 2:42 (ESV)

This morning I was reminded of the need to break bread with fellow believers. Yes, Jesus ate with sinners as we should as well, but, Jesus also ate and was in regular constant fellowship with His disciples, friends, and family, all of whom were believers and followers of His.

I find it interesting, and I am one of those, that we tend to fellowship with other believers in the church atmosphere. Yes, we may get together with other believers outside of church, yet to me there seems to be a camaraderie in Christ that may be missing. It seems to me that there is less work being done for the glory of God when we get together, and more of the get together and enjoy the world. Shouldn’t we be getting together for the advancement of the gospel.

“⁴³And awed came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles.⁴⁴And all who believed were together and had all things in common. ⁴⁵And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. ⁴⁶And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, ⁴⁷praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.” – Acts 2:43-47 (ESV)

It may just be me in thinking that we are more focused on ourselves and our joy and not on the advancement of the gospel. That is okay as I am here to learn and apply that learning to my own life and not judge others. I would be remiss if I did not say what I see and question.

No, not every interaction with others should begin and end with the gospel. But why could it not. I do believe that I should be wearing my salvation on my sleeve for everyone to see. There should not be a question as to my relationship with Christ and how that relationship impacts me and those around me. Every time I give my mission statement to others, I am hesitant to give the last few words, “as an example of Christ’s Love.” Yet, even in hesitation, I give them anyway to demonstrate where my mission comes from.

I have to remember that fellowship is great, yet fellowship with fellow believers is even greater. As Luke writes in the verses above, we should be in fellowship with others, not just as we go to church, but always and use that fellowship to demonstrate the glory of God and in advancement of His Kingdom in Heaven.

Who is it that you spend the vast majority of your time with? Are you looking to be with the sinners always? What if you focused on your relationship with God and were in fellowship with other believers as you continue to advance the gospel together?

Why do We Always Expect Things Literal

As a man, I expect that things are as they are stated. I tend to believe things to be the way they are there should be no interpretation. I should simply be able to get on with things and know that they are so. This is not lost in the LORD and He knows that He has to explain things so that I am able to understand.

I think of the whole Jesus is the bread of life thing. There was the woman at the well as well as the people of Capernaum as I read this morning in John. I think of the amount of time that Jesus spent explaining to others so that they would understand and then look at myself and see the same in me to a degree. Jesus spoke with the woman at the well and gave her the ins and outs of who He was and she believed. He spoke in the synagogue at Capernaum and the people eventually understood. He did not shy away from telling those who needed to know.

For me, I still read and work to understand God’s Word daily. I am here right now, reading the same verses and passages that I did a time ago. I want to know how to not be so literal. I want to understand and not just gather the information. I have to work through the literal and into that which God wants me to know and then carry that understanding to others who are in need of understanding themselves.

“²⁵When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, ‘Rabbi, when did you come here?’ ²⁶Jesus answered them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. ²⁷Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal.’ ³⁵Jesus said to them, ‘I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.’” – John 6:25-27 & 35 (ESV)

I have to get past the guessing and “read” what it is that God would have me know. I have to listen and not just hear. I have to dig for that which He would have me know and not just expect that it will be learned by my shear exposure.

Jesus is the bread of life in that He provides all that I could ever need. And that is the key, “need”. Too often I believe that it is hard to understand as I am seeking what I want and not what is needed. It is the wants and desires that get in the way of the understanding in that I am seeking my will and not the will of God. God’s will is in the provision for needs and I have to remember to be content with that. When I am, God will bless me with more at His discretion and not my own. I need that which will give me the chance to survive and do the will of God and not that which gets me fattened on the desires of the world. Jesus is the bread of “life”, not the bread of monetary gain.

Yes, God will provide actual bread as He did for the Israelite people in the wilderness. When we look at it for what it was, God only provided for the immediate need and not for the storehouses. He provided life as long as it was needed according to His plan.

I have to remember to look past the literal and understand the bread that God is providing in the moment. I have to look to understand that when God provides, He does so for my needs, regardless of what those might be at the time. He does not generally provide for my gains to be more monetarily, but for my gains in His kingdom to come.

What are your views of the bread of life? Are you looking to literal bread that God provides and how somehow that is going to sustain you throughout your life? What if you looked to God to provide for your immediate needs and that as the bread of life, He meets those needs where they are?

God Provides the Bread We Need

When Jesus teaches us to pray as in Luke’s account, He adds the idea of asking for needs.

“³Give us each day our daily bread,…⁵And he said to them, ‘Which of you who has a friend will go to him at midnight and say to him, “Friend, lend me three loaves, ⁶for a friend of mine has arrived on a journey, and I have nothing to set before him”;’” — Luke 11:3 & 5 (ESV)

Clearly, we should be asking for our needs to be met, and notice as Jesus says, ask for the “daily bread” and not enough to store up for later. I have to remember that God will provide that which is needed in the moment and I will then move on to the next moment where I will rely on God to provide in that moment. In verses 5-6 above, Jesus is showing that we should ask when we need. As noted in the rest of the lesson in this passage, the friend will provide what he can regardless of the time or circumstance.

“¹³If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” – Luke 11:13 (ESV)

Now, if a friend will provide the basic need in the moment, what more will God provide. As God is more vested in me than just my friend and God is with me always. I have to remember that when there is a need I have, I should ask God to fill it. I have to remember that God will not allow for me to go without my needs and will fill them in the moment, every time.

“²⁵Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? ²⁶Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?” – Matthew 6:25-26 (ESV)

Knowing that I have all that I need and will always have all that I need, gives me the chance to simply get on with things. When I find myself in need, I simply need to ask and allow God to fill the need. I have to remember that His filling of my need may not be what I “want” rather He will fill it with what I “need”. I have to remember contentment in all that God provides and be fully grateful for those provisions.

What are your expectations of fulfillment of you needs? Are you just expecting God to give you all you want for now and the future? What if you remembered that you need to ask for your needs to be met and that will be in the moment and not for the storing up for later?

By God’s Word Not Bread

God’s Word is more than enough for my life to proceed in this world. I only need His Word and that which He provides for me.

“⁴But he answered, ‘It is written,

“Man shall not live by bread alone,

but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.”’”

— Matthew 4:4 (ESV)

Here we find Jesus being tempted by the devil. Jesus lets the devil know in no uncertain terms that bread of the world is not enough to live by and that it is the Word of God that we should be hanging on.

I know, but we need nourishment for our bodies. I agree, but that is not what is needed for us to truly live. Living is doing the work of the LORD and not eating a meal. Last night in my home we had a wonderful steak and some potatoes and green beans and honeydew melon for dinner and topped it off with some homemade banana pudding. It was delicious and a wonderful fulfilling meal. Yet, this morning I am hungry again. I have to decide what to have to eat and locate it and cook it. So my living was only for a moment.

Jesus spoke to the Samaritan woman at the well and offered her living water.

“¹³Jesus said to her, ‘Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, ¹⁴but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.’” – John 4:13-14 (ESV)

Jesus made it clear to the woman that we cannot live on the nourishment of the world and that even when received it is only for a short while and we will again be looking for more. Yet with the Word of God, we only need to turn back to Him and we will receive. I only need to pray to the LORD and He will hear me and provide for me.

Now I am not saying that we do not need the nourishment for our bodies, because I do need to be physically well. The thing that I am saying is that it is not the physical bread that gets me through and provides for my ability to serve the LORD and do His will. It is the love, direction, comfort, and guidance that gets me through. He will provide the physical bread as He did for the Israelite people in the wilderness and for Himself and the disciples as they traveled in ministry. I have to look to Him for all and know that when doing so, I will never go hungry for His guidance nor for the food to eat.

What bread are you looking for daily? Are you in constant lookout for the next meal? What if instead, you were to be on the lookout for the LORD and His will and allow Him to provide all that you will need in accomplishing His work?

Remember the Bread God Gives

“³⁹He spread a cloud for a covering,

and fire to give light by night.

⁴⁰They asked, and he brought quail,

and gave them bread from heaven in abundance.

⁴¹He opened the rock, and water gushed out;

it flowed through the desert like a river.

⁴²For he remembered his holy promise,

and Abraham, his servant.”

— Psalm 105:39-42 (ESV)

There are a lot of things that I have been angry with the LORD over. In fact, I feel as though He and I have been at odds for a good long while. The thing is, even with that thought, there is no doubt in my mind that He loves me and provides for me at all times. I may not be excited with that which He provides (I wanted steak and He provides chicken), yet I am content with His provision.

I served as a music minister with a pastor and in our weekly trip to the church where we served, he and I would have great conversation. In one instance he told me of a time when he was less than obedient to his mother’s requests and she asked him to get a switch. In his telling of the story she switched him 30 times, after he started counting. But also in his words and the part that makes the difference, “There was no doubt in my mind that my mother loved me”.

God loves me and provides for me. No matter how much I suffer, there is no doubt that He loves me and provides for me. I have to remember the bread He provides. All of the bread. The chicken, the old car, the house, the job, the family, the church, the community, and yes, the actual bread.

There will always be the ups and downs in my communication with God and frankly, I will get angry with Him as He will get angry with me. But the anger does not change the fact that He loves me and provides for me. I have to remember that He provides the bread for my existence and that I should be praising Him for it.

What bread is the LORD providing for you? Are you thankful for the bread or angry that you did not get what you wanted? What if you were to accept the gift of provision, the bread from the LORD and had no doubt in your mind of His love for you?