How's your faith?

"Who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did."      

                                                                                    Romans 4:17-21    NKJV 

God promised Abraham and Sarah a child of their own and yet, it never seemed as if it would happen. At this present time, Abraham was almost 100 years old and Sarah was 90. Can you imagine this happening? Can you imagine if a lady of this age in your church, came up to you and said she was pregnant? It would be incredibly difficult to be believe her; and this is how it was in Abraham's time, yet, he was absolutely determined that this was God's word to him and it would happen. Sarah, had her doubts. Wouldn't you? But it happened, Sarah gave birth to Issac.

Abraham's faith is one that we need to emulate; just look at what the scripture says about it: 

'Contrary to hope, in hope he believed' v18. 'Not weak in faith' v19, 'He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief but, was strengthened in faith' v20 and Abraham was, 'fully convinced that what He had promised, He was able to perform.' This is how faith works.

Abraham didn't walk by what he could see around him, he walked by faith as Paul mentions in 2 Corinthians 5:7: 'For we walk by faith, not by sight'. The things around us that we can see are temporary, but the invisible things are eternal 2 Corinthians 4:18. This is how it is with Jesus and heaven. We can't see them but, we know, by faith that they are there. Like Abraham, we simply take God at His word knowing that, He would never mislead us.

William Barclay said, 'Jewish Rabbis had a saying to which Paul refers. They said, "What is written of Abraham is also of his children." They meant that any promise that God made to Abraham, extends to his children also. Therefore, if Abraham's willingness to take God at His word brought him into a right relationship with God, so it will be with us.'

It is God's desire that we walk by faith; without faith it is impossible to please Him (Hebrews 11:6). What has God promised you? If it was recent then you may be in exciting days. However, it may have been some time ago and it seems like it will never happen. Don't give up; fly the flag of faith because the fulfilment of God's promise may be just around the corner. If you give up on it, you are negating it and you may never see it. It may be difficult but, keep on thanking God for the promise and NEVER GIVE UP ON WHAT HE HAS PROMISED.

God's timing is always perfect. He works on a much different time-basis to which we do. To Him, it may be only a few minutes, to us it may be years. There really is no time as we know it, in heaven. You're on God's time and His timing is always bang on time. So don't lose heart: 'And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.'   Galatians 6:9. Your 'due season' will come, that's a promise.

Copyright 2021 Grahame Howard.                                 

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What is Truth?

"Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth."     Ephesians 6:14   NKJV 

The word 'Stand' in this verse, means to stay in the area where victory has been achieved under the cover of God's armour, God's Word is truth. When dealing with the truth, the things that we may struggle with, can be in the mind - what you believe to be true. The problem you may be struggling with or facing, may show up anything, but the real problem may be in your mind, what you believe to be true. This is the root, and what can cause a lot of damage through thoughts that appear true but are just lies from the devil. This is why we need God's armour, particularly the belt of truth.

We need to remember that, we can't trust our thoughts or our feelings at times, because our mind, will and emotions - which make up our soul - may have become distorted. We need to be on full alert and deal with these thoughts as soon as they come into our mind (2 Corinthians 10:3-6). Therefore, we need the Holy Spirit. He always leads us into the truth, as Jesus told us:

'However, when He, the Spirit of Truth has come, He will guide you into all truth, for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever he hears He will speak and He will tell you things to come.'    John 16:13   NKJV

The belt that a Roman soldier wore around his waist helped him to tuck in his tunic when he went into battle. This allowed him the freedom to move properly and be ready for action. He also used the belt to support his sword, dagger or any other useful weapon. This belt was very important to him and the belt of truth is also important to each one of us.

Jerry Vines says, 'Truth serves as the central point of battle at hand. If truth is lost, the battle is lost.' These are very profound words and one's we need to take on board. Truth is a reference to integrity, a life of practical truthfulness and honesty. Victory in spiritual warfare stands with the truth. Don't ever take off your belt. It serves the purpose of allowing you to see, 'What is truth'.

Copyright 2021 Grahame Howard.                                 

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Who do you serve God or man?

"I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His Kingdom."     2 Timothy 4:1    NKJV 

Paul was still very much looking to the Second Coming of Christ when he wrote this letter to Timothy from his damp, cold and dirty cell. However, he would still have had in mind the fact that each one of us will have to face the judgement of Christ at the end of time.

It is well documented in the bible that we will all face God and our works will be judged. This can be a scary thought as we can automatically begin to feel that we are not worthy and will not make it. We will, as long as we remain in Jesus. However, this surely encourages us to carry out our work carefully and faithfully. One of the things that has to change is our fear of people. Our final judge will be Jesus, not those who feel we didn't do this right or, we should have done this instead of that. After all, at the end of the day, we are serving Jesus not man or ourselves.

Criticisms from people can offend and hurt us but, it is what we do for Jesus that matters. If He is satisfied then it really is satisfactory, despite what people think. We should never seek the approval from man, over God. We all like to be told that we have done a good job but, that is where it should end. God is the one who is our ultimate satisfaction.

Actually when we begin to seek the approval of man it demonstrates our insecurity. Constantly asking if this is all right and if we did something ok is a weakness that we need to overcome. It is honourable to do the very best for someone, this is what Jesus would want us to do. But, if we continually need to go and demonstrate what we have done for someone, we are seeking approval. Our strength is in Jesus; He is the one that says, 'Well done'. In fact, this should always be our goal. To do something for Jesus that brings Him pleasure is our aim.

At the end of each day, wouldn't it be nice to hear Jesus say to you, 'Well done'. There is nothing greater than knowing that we have pleased Jesus and it is not hard to accomplish this. As long as we live for Jesus, we are on the right road to hear this daily; and one day, when we stand before Him, hear the phrase once again when He opens the book with our name on it.

Copyright 2021 Grahame Howard.                                 

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A Lesson in controlling self

"Let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath; 20 for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God."         James 1:19-20    NKJV 

These two verse are probably read over and over by many people but, do they reach the mark; or do they just go over your head? Think about your conversations with people, do you always listen to them or, do you keep chipping in with your own point of view? Sometimes people say things that we don't wish to hear; whether they are right or wrong, we refuse to take it on board and if the subject is pushed, it can end up an argument.

When we are having a conversation with someone, we need be swift to hear, or quick to listen. This means that we need to concentrate and sharpen up our attending skills by listening properly.  Now this takes self control, honour and respect. We may not agree with what the person is saying but, we show them honour and respect by allowing them to get things off their chest, otherwise we can have an argument on our hands. Along with this, self-control is required to keep quiet while they are speaking to us. If we are not in control of our mouth, pretty soon we are going to jump in and say the wrong thing, or the right thing but at the wrong time. This again is where honour and respect play a big part. If we don't take control of our emotions, wrath will set in and angry words may be spoken and our witness goes out of the window. People say, 'count to ten' or 'bite your tongue', however, it is ok to say this but, when we're in the thick of it, this all gets forgotten. 

But it has to be possible because God's word tells us that nothing is impossible (Matthew 9:26). However, it takes training and commitment on our part. If you don't put something in, you can't take it out. We have to practice and train our minds on God's Word. We all want to get our own point of view over; but we may be wrong and we need debates to tackle this. You may not like what someone else says but, if they are right, you need to hear and receive it, or it will go wrong and you'll have a reputation of being difficult to speak with. 

It's the same with God, we talk to Him and He listens until we are finished. However, He doesn't always agree with what we say and this is where friction can rear its ugly head. We can't always expect to be right, especially with God. He won't change His mind no matter how long we argue with Him. 

What are your reactions like? Can you receive criticism or does your back go up and you get the war drums out? Being swift to hear, slow to speak and slow to wrath is all about reactions. It is something that many people have to address and this may include you as well. Don't be ashamed, none of us are perfect, we all have defects but nothing is impossible for God to change. Study these two verses. Play the video back on areas where you fall down on. Perhaps you blew it today. Take a look at the video, analyse where you went wrong and what you could have done better. Then keep doing this, and pretty soon, your coping skills on this subject will improve. However, it won't happen overnight, so get training.

Copyright 2021 Grahame Howard.                                 

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Rest in the LORD

"Rest in the LORD and wait patiently for Him; do not fret because of him who prospers in his way, because of the man who brings schemes to pass."    Psalms 37:7    NKJV

We should not fret neither, should we fear because God understands our position. Rest describes a calm surrender. Warren W Weirsbe writes: 'Creative silence is a rare commodity today, even in church worship services. People cannot tolerate silence, but unless we learn to wait, silently before God, we will never experience His peace.'

God has faithfully promised to take care of us when we put our trust in Him and wait patiently for Him; instead of fretting and believing He has forgotten us. This should be a 'rest of silence', as Weirsbe says. When we're silent we avoid coming out with negative words that are a waste of time and will probably negate all of our faith and progress. So, be silent and refuse to moan or complain. All this does is open the door for Satan to come in and say, 'I told you God didn't care and would let you down'. 

In George Home's book, 'Commentary on the Psalms' 1997, he writes:

'If the spotless Lamb of God was silent, before those who were divesting Him of His honours, and robbing Him of His life, "silent" resignation cannot but become one who suffers for his sins'

Therefore, we have a challenge - silence. It is so difficult to remain quiet, even for a moment. Our brain races ahead of our thoughts and instead of controlling our mouth, we let rip with something that would have remained better unspoken. So therefore, we need to practice the art of being silent before God when it is called for. Many is the time when we do all the talking anyway and God can hardly get a word in. So be quiet.

Over the past few days, we have looked at ways to help prevent us being fretful and worrying all the time. We have discussed the first 7 verses of Psalm 37 which covers:

Trust in the Lord

Delight yourself in the Lord

Commit your way to the Lord

Rest in the Lord.

These four topics can act as a replacement for worry and as the Amplified Bible puts it:

'Be still before the LORD; wait patiently before Him and entrust yourself to Him. Do not fret,(Whine, agonise) because of him who prospers in His way.'  Psalm 37:1 Amplified Version

Copyright 2021 Grahame Howard.                                 

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Commit your way to the LORD

"Commit your way to the LORD, trust also to Him, and He shall bring it to pass. 6 He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your justice as the noonday."   

                                                                                      Psalm 37:5-6    NKJV

The word 'commit' is very interesting and its meaning is to 'throw your burden'. In the Hebrew, the word for commit is Galal, which is translated 'roll'. This describes, in picture language, a camel heavily loaded coming to the end of its journey. When it reaches its destination it does a very interesting thing. To be able to unload the burdens on its back, it has to get down on its knees and roll over. Do you get the point of this? The camel gets down on its knees to unburden itself and, so should we. We need to kneel before the Lord and roll our burdens over to Him. This is underpinned in 1 Peter 5:6-7 where the scripture reads: 'Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, 7 casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.'

God helps us with our burdens in order for us to be better servants and ambassadors of Him. This doesn't mean we can give them to Him and get on with our lives without accepting responsibility for them. When we roll the burdens over to Him, He provides the assistance we need to overcome them. If we entrust our entire life to God, He will act on our behalf with righteousness and justice. 

Worries and cares equal burdens. They cause us to fret and this is where the stress is triggered and the sleepless nights, frustration and irritability is manifested. We can spend much time attending to things that take all of our focus, ruining our days and bringing upset to those around us, when all we need to do is be obedient to Jesus. He tells us in Matthew 6:25-34 not to worry, so when we do, we are disobeying Him. Yes, things do alarm us; they do have the power to disable our whole thinking. However, this is the time when we need to put into action God's Word. Jesus didn't speak empty words; He knows what it is like to tread the road we walk on; He knows the anxiety that comes upon us. Let us not forget that in the Garden of Gethsemane He actually sweat drops of blood. Now that is something He wants you to avoid. So therefore, do what He says and commit your way to the Lord.

Copyright 2021 Grahame Howard.                                 

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Delight yourself in the LORD

"Delight yourself also in the LORD, and He shall give you the desires of your heart."          

                                                                                             Psalm 37:4    NKJV 

The word translated 'delight' comes from a root that means 'to be brought up in luxury, or to be pampered.' It speaks of the abundance of blessings we have in the Lord Himself, totally apart from what he gives us. If we are to enjoy the blessings but ignore the 'Blesser,' we're committing idolatry. In Jesus we have all the treasures we will ever need, we don't need any other to take care of us. We need to seek the giver, not the gift!

When your expectation of God's movement in your life causes your thinking and desires to match His, you will be blessed. Keith Moore says, 'When you want what God wants, for the same reason He wants it, you become unstoppable.' He desires to bless you more than you could ever wish to be blessed; so enjoy Him. Replace worry, anxiety and envy with a conscious delight in the Lord - living for Him; being sold out for Him on a 24/7 basis. The rewards will be amazing. Expect great things from Him; re-direct your thinking to focus on Him. It takes effort - it's a spiritual workout. Many people go to the gym to workout and have a healthy body. This is good. But, why not consider doing this with your spiritual life - getting into the Word, praying, praising and just enjoying God. It will not only benefit your body, but your spirit as well. 

When we read our text above, there's a tendency to believe that God will give us anything that we want and ask for because He wants us to be happy. However, this verse goes much deeper. When we delight in God, He plants within us godly desires that He delights to fulfil. These desires bring us peace and satisfaction. They also bring us confidence and a boldness to know and declare that we belong to Jesus and nothing can stop us praising and living for Him

Delight yourself in the Lord.

Copyright 2021 Grahame Howard.                                 

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