A Measure Of Faith

For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith.

 

Romans 12:3

 

 

Some say that when prayers are answered and miracles happen in their life—"Wow, what great faith! Things happen for them because they have such a strong faith."  What does that understanding of faith do to the promise that God has given to each one of us?  God did not give one person more faith than another, or stronger faith, or one person faith for healing and another faith for prosperity.  He gave each of us a measure of faith.  

 

We can no more live without applying faith than we can live without breathing or thinking. 

 

Faith is at work within us every moment of every day. No matter what the situation our measure of faith is at work. We wake up and crawl out of bed and we "believe" that the floor will hold us up, our legs will carry us, and there will be oxygen flow through our bodies. 

 

We sit in a chair and believe it will hold us. 

We get in our cars and drive believing that we will safely get from one destination to the other.  

We see rain and believe the ground is getting the water it needs.

We see snow and believe the air is cold.

  

The exercise of faith is a constant process in our lives. 

 

We either believe God's Word or we are choosing not to believe what He has promised—when it comes to faith there is no middle ground.  We cannot say we believe what He said but then not trust Him.  In Matthew 12:30a it says, He who is not with Me is against Me.

 

When we choose not to place God's Word above all else we cannot expect to receive the fulfillment of the promise, but we can expect to see the manifestation of what we believe and say. 

 

If we agree with God we must act like it, talk like it, and expect the manifestation of the promise.  

 

If you are given a gift and you lay it aside, forgetting about it or thinking it was meant for someone else, and then you continue to ask for that same gift over and over you have not received the gift you were already given.  In a sense, that is what we are doing with the faith God has given us. 

 

God has given us every good and perfect gift and what He has done for one He does for all who believe in Him. 

 

Are we laying the precious gifts aside in unbelief? 

 

Are we waiting until our natural senses confirm what is already done in heaven before we believe? 

 

Faith believes before the manifestation. 

 

Faith is acting on what God says and not on what our emotions say. Let go of everything that questions God's Word and determine in your heart to trust Him and only Him. Don't wait until you see something you can relate to in the physical.  Agree with the Word of God and accept what Jesus has already bought and paid for—receive the gifts God has promised.

 

Check your "believing".  As you go through the day stop and think about things you do and say—consider the beliefs you have developed that cause you to do and say those things. This means everything—every move we make every word we speak is based on something we believe.

 

How are you using that God-given faith? 

Come Follow Me

Come, follow Me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men."

 

Matthew 4:19

Our calling has three distinct stages, which we can see in the lives of many called before us, to become mature fishers of men who greatly impact God's Kingdom.

 

First, there is the gestation period.

 

This is the development stage of our lives. It may involve years of normal work experiences. You may be a Christian during this time, or you may be following after worldly success as a non-Christian. Paul spent years in religious and political training, persecuting believers most of his early life. Moses spent years in the court of Pharaoh and 40 years tending flocks in the desert. Jesus spent 33 years living at home and working in His father's carpentry business. However, all these years were part of their preparation.

Next is the stirring stage.

 

Sooner or later, God calls you into relationship with Him. For many, like Paul, it comes through dramatic encounters like being knocked off a horse, blinded and spoken to personally by God. This is a time when God requires major changes so that you follow Him fully. It can be a time in which God harnesses years of experience for a new life purpose. Paul's earthly experiences would be used in his calling to the religious and political leaders of his day. For Moses, the burning bush experience would begin his journey in which he would discover his ultimate calling after years of preparation. For Jesus, it was the cross. These were the benchmark turning points for men who made an impact on their world.

Last is the fruit-bearing stage.

 

In it, God's power is manifested in your life like never before. God takes all your experiences and uses them to build His Kingdom in and through your life. Your obedience to this final call results in fruitfulness you could never imagine without the long preparation process. For Paul, it resulted in bringing the gospel to the Gentiles. For Jesus, it was salvation for the entire world.

What does God want to accomplish through your life?

 

God has a plan that is so incredible you cannot comprehend it… follow Him and you will become fishers of men like the world has never known.

As Iron Sharpens Iron

As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.

Proverbs 27:17

This is a very short verse of scripture, but it packs a strong punch.

Everyone knows, two heads are better then one. A good friend will encourage you to grow in the Lord and develop Godly character. Although you may not have the same personalities, they will always help you see life from a different perspective and help you to grow in a positive way.

However this verse is also a doubled edged sword.

When you watch someone sharpen a knife, you watch in fascination as steel scrapes steel until the knife is razor sharp. And you know that it is important that no one else sharpens the knife—accept the one who owns the knife.

When you sharpen a knife, you use a unique rhythm that wears away the metal, making the blade sharper and sharper. If you let someone else sharpen the knife, they have a totally different rhythm that will dull the knife instead.

Some people may do a real good job sharpening you, but others may just dull your blade.

Do your family and friends help sharpen or dull you?

Do you help sharpen your family and friends or do you dull them?

Waiting On God

For we were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees?

But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance.
Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses.

For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God.
And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.

 

Romans 8:24-28

 

 

Just a minute...

I'll be right there...

Please hold...

One minute please...

Hang on...

Just take a seat...

Take a number...

Please leave a message...

Call back later...

Not right now...

 

We hear these statements daily and at times they do put us in a temporary state of inactivity. 

 

Our momentum is broken—our stride halted—our voice silenced.

 

But what is really going on inside? 

 

Irritation? 

 

Impatience? 

 

Anger?  

 

Indignation? 

 

Frustration? 

 

We have all had these moments whether we want to admit it or not. Our lifestyle has become so fast paced that the time spent waiting is considered wasted time.  And that belief is reinforced when we view waiting as an imposition. If we cannot see waiting as a natural and productive part of life—then how can we see waiting on God as productive?

 

Waiting on God and His timing is the right thing to do and it shows God we value His best for our lives!

 

Waiting forces us to take the focus off of self and become submitted to the will of another—God. Stop and think about why you become so impatient. The emotion is born out of the attitude that what I have to say or do is more important—why must I be kept waiting?

 

Waiting with patience is something we must learn; it is not a natural talent that we have.

 

Waiting time can be a productive time rather than a time of aggravation.

Waiting time can be used to organize thoughts in a positive manner.

Waiting time can be a time to step back and see a situation more calmly.

Waiting time can provide time for study, research, and learning more about what is ahead.

Waiting time can be a time of reflection and increased understanding.

Waiting time can be a time of being in prayer and in the Word—true communication with God.

 

If we can master the art of waiting with patience in our daily life we will be able to see the profit in those "waiting times".

 

Our lives are based on instant everything… everything we want the instant we demand.

Do we expect an "instant God" too.  Do we spew out our demands like little children and expect our answers immediately—just because we asked!?

 

Waiting time is a growing and learning time. 

 

Have you asked and not yet received? Perhaps there is something you must learn and maybe something in you needs to change. Or it may be that the time is not right.

 

Let's use the waiting time productively. 

 

Now is the time to use the waiting time productively learning and growing in the finer things of God—becoming more mature opulent men and women of God. If we believe that He works all things together for good to those who love Him—than the waiting time can be a productive and enriching time.  Let us use it joyfully and fill it with praise—knowing and trusting that God's ways are always best!

Joseph And His Dreams

Joseph's father Jacob favored him and gave him a coat as a gift; as a result, he was envied by his brothers, who saw the special coat as indicating that Joseph would assume family leadership. His brothers' suspicion grew when Joseph told them of his two dreams (See Genesis 37:11) in which all the brothers bowed down to him.

 

The narrative tells that his brothers plotted against him one day when he was 17, and would have killed him had not the eldest brother Reuben interposed. He persuaded them instead to throw Joseph into a pit and secretly planned to rescue him later. However, while Reuben was absent, the others planned to sell him to a company of Ishmaelite merchants. When the passing Midianites arrived, the brothers dragged Joseph up and sold him to the merchants for 20 pieces of silver. The brothers then dipped Joseph's coat in goat blood and showed it to their father, saying that Joseph had been torn apart by wild beasts.

 

But the story does not end there…

 

In the land of Egypt Joseph was sold as a slave to an Egyptian named Potiphar. Potiphar was wealthy and the captain of the King of Egypt's guard. As time passed, Potiphar was more and more impressed by Joseph's wisdom. He turned over to him the management of his home and property.

From a mere slave, Joseph became an important person in the Land of Egypt.

Joseph had grown into a wise and handsome man and Potiphar's wife became jealous of Joseph's success. She was a very vain woman. She wanted Joseph to admire her beauty. But Joseph would not betray the trust Potiphar had placed in him. In her anger, Potiphar's wife accused Joseph of turning against his master. Joseph could not prove this was untrue, so Potiphar had him thrown into prison.

 

But even in prison Joseph's wisdom left an impression on the prison guards.

 

They came to value Joseph greatly. He was the kind of man people turned to for help and advice. When the King of Egypt's chief butler and baker were thrown into prison, they became Joseph's friends. One night the chief butler and the chief baker each dreamed a dream. They asked Joseph whether he could tell them what the dreams meant.

All Joseph's hardships had made him modest and gentle.

 

He inquired of God of the meanings of these men's dreams and said that the butler in three days he would be released from prison and restored to his high place. But he told the poor baker that in three days he would be hanged. What he told them came to pass. In three days the butler was released and restored to his place in the King's court. But on the same day the baker was hanged.

  

The King of Egypt was called Pharaoh. At this time Egypt was the most powerful nation on earth. But Pharaoh had dreams like other people—dreams which troubled him. He dreamed he stood on the bank of the River Nile. Out of the river came seven fat cows and they began to graze. Then seven lean, wretched cows came out of the river and they swallowed up the seven fat cows. Then Pharaoh had a second dream. In this dream he saw a tall stalk of wheat, and on it were seven fat, healthy kernels. Then a thin, wretched stalk of wheat sprang up from the ground. There were seven dry kernels on this thin stalk, and they devoured the seven fat, healthy kernels.

 

Pharaoh was very troubled by these two dreams, and he called in his wisest magicians to tell him what they meant. In those days magicians were important men in Egypt. But none of Pharaoh's magicians knew what the dreams meant. Then the King's butler remembered how Joseph had explained his dream in prison. He told Pharaoh about this and Pharaoh asked that Joseph be brought to him.

Joseph was taken from prison, washed, given clean clothes and brought Pharaoh.

The King told Joseph his dream.

"Can you explain it to me?" he asked.

"God will give me the power to understand it," Joseph answered.

He told Pharaoh that the fat cows and healthy kernels of wheat stood for seven years of good harvests in Egypt, with plenty of food. The lean cows and the lean kernels of wheat were seven years of poor crops and famine, when no food would grow in Egypt. Joseph told Pharaoh this was a warning to Egypt, so there would be time to prepare.

 

Pharaoh and has magicians were amazed at what Joseph had told them. They believed him and asked him what to do. He told them that for seven years food must be set aside and stored. Then, when the seven years of famine came, there would be enough food and the people would not starve. He said Pharaoh must find a man wise enough to take charge of all this. Pharaoh decided Joseph was the wisest man in Egypt, and he appointed him to take charge of the storing of food.

 

Only the King himself had more power now than Joseph.

 

Now in the Land of Canaan where Jacob, Joseph's father, still lived with Joseph's eleven brothers, there was famine and hunger. It was known everywhere that there was food in Egypt, so Jacob sent ten of his sons to Egypt to buy food. But he kept his youngest son, Benjamin, with him, because he loved him so much. He was afraid something might happen to Benjamin on the long journey into Egypt.

The ten brothers of Joseph came into Egypt and appeared before him. They said they wanted to buy food. Joseph knew them at once, but he was not angry at them. He remembered how vain he had been with his coat of many colors. Now his heart filled with love for his brothers, and he sold them the food they needed, but he could hardly talk to them without weeping.

 

There is yet more to be told about this story in order to get the complete ending, but the questions that are to be posed are this:

 

• Do you have a dream?
• What is keeping you from fulfilling the dream God has given you?

The Word of God must be the foundation of everything we do in order to stand strong and not falter in the pursuit of our dreams, which God has made known to us. Without God and without being saturated with the Word of God throughout every area of our lives we have no base—solid ground to keep us on the path that God would lead us on.

 

The following are 10 points to keep in mind when following through to reach the dream(s) which God has purposed in you:

 

1. Know your dream is from God
2. Step out
3. Expect obstacles
4. Watch for detours
5. Don't hide your faith
6. Faith without works is dead
7. Slow and steady is sometimes best
8. Don't quit
9. Make prayer a way of life
10. Stand on solid ground 

Don't just try to fulfill the dream(s) God is leading you in or run ahead, but wait on Him to direct your path and follow where He is leading you. Learn to have faith that you will reach your goal, and you'll get there. You might not reach your goal as quickly as you'd like, but as you follow God's lead the dream will come. If something comes slowly it builds a foundation in your life. Nobody can take it from you and you know how you got there. Overnight success may be exciting, but it won't last and you may not be able to hold onto it. But when you get there, you'll know it.

 

Keep in prayer and in the Word, because doing so keeps you focused. It refuels you as you work toward the dream(s) God has given you, keeping the lines of communication open for His guidance in your life as well. Also, look for opportunities to glorify God with your dream, and don't keep what He's done and is doing for you a secret.

 

Once you have a vision of where God is leading, it's time to step out—most people won't do that. Instead they hide their dream or they get scared and only go as far as they can control. God is the God of the impossible. He doesn't give you dream(s) you can do on your own. You've got to go beyond your limitations into God's territory. Take a step that brings you out of your own power and into God's—where all things are possible.

 

Yet Joseph felt his brothers must be punished a little. So he made them leave Simeon as a prisoner in Egypt. And he told them not to come back unless they brought their youngest brother, Benjamin, with them. When they returned to their father without Simeon, Jacob's heart was truly broken. This was the second son he had lost. He was an old man and this new loss was almost more than he could bear.

When the food was finally gone, he told the brothers they must go back to Egypt and buy more. But they said it would be useless unless they took Benjamin. The great master of Egypt's stores of food had warned them. At first Jacob refused. But at last their hunger was such that he gave in and Benjamin went to Egypt with his brothers.

When Joseph saw Benjamin, his little brother, he had to turn away to hide his tears. Yet he felt his brothers must be punished a little more. So, after he sold them food, he hid his favorite silver cup in Benjamin's bag. Then he sent soldiers after the brothers. When they brought the brothers back to Joseph, he told them that as Benjamin had taken his silver cup, he must stay in Egypt.

 

He would be Joseph's slave.

 

The brothers pleaded with Joseph to take any one of them instead. They told him that Jacob, their old father, would die if they came back without Benjamin. At this Joseph could hide himself from them no longer. He burst into tears and told them who he was. He told them how he loved them. He took them into his great house and gave them gifts of clothes and silver. He told them they should return to the Land of Canaan and bring Jacob and all his family to live in Egypt. He promised they would be given a wonderful place to live.

 

How great was Jacob's joy when the eleven brothers returned to Canaan!

 

When they told him that his beloved son, Joseph, was alive, he could not believe his good fortune. Then the whole family took their tents and their camels and their herds of cattle and traveled down to Egypt. Joseph embraced his father, Jacob, and gave him many beautiful gifts. He also gave him land on which to live. For many years after that, the Jews, the people of Jacob, or the Children of Israel as they also were called, lived contentedly in Egypt.

 

So ends the story of Joseph and his dreams… won't you follow in the steps of Joseph and reach the dream(s) God is leading you in for your own life?

Divine Setups

Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift you as wheat.

But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail.

And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.

 

Luke 22:31-32

Have you ever perceived yourself to be at one place spiritually only to discover that you were actually far from this place? Peter perceived himself to be so spiritually strong that he was prepared to suffer greatly for his Lord.

 

Yet Jesus knew where Peter really was in his own pilgrimage. He knew that Peter's enthusiasm did not match his reality. He was suffering from an attitude of self-righteousness.

 

So, how did Jesus help Peter match his perception to his reality?

 

Peter was the object of a divine setup.

Notices that Satan asked permission to sift Peter as wheat and Jesus determined that Satan would be used to bring Peter to the maturity level that both Jesus and Peter really desired. Jesus told Peter that he would deny Him three times that very day, but Peter could not believe what Jesus was saying.

Sometimes the lessons we must learn are painful or unpleasant for a time.

 

This experience was necessary in Peter's life, because it was necessary to purge Peter from his sin of self-righteousness. This very lesson would allow Peter to come face to face with his own misperception of where he was in his relationship and devotion to Jesus. When he was forced to confront this, it nearly broke him apart. He wept bitterly once he realized he had done just as Jesus had predicted.

This confrontation with reality is necessary at times in our lives.

 

Do not be surprised if Jesus allows you to experience some painful circumstance. You may be the subject of a divine setup designed to bring you to a greater maturity level in your walk with Jesus. It may not be a fun experience when you go through it, but you will, like Peter, become stronger and more Christ-like able to strengthen others.

Proclaiming Truth Courageously

"A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. It is enough for a disciple that he be like his teacher, and a servant like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more will they call those of his household! Therefore do not fear them. For there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, and hidden that will not be known. "Whatever I tell you in the dark, speak in the light; and what you hear in the ear, preach on the housetops. And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father's will. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.

Matthew 10:24-31

So let's get to the point of the passage:

Don't be afraid to speak clearly and openly what Christ has taught you even if it costs you your church, your friends, and your life. Or to put the point positively, be courageous to speak the truth of Scripture clearly and openly for all to hear even if it is unpopular and dangerous.

The rest of this text is motivation: There are five reasons given for why we should have courage to speak all that Jesus taught—the popular parts and the unpopular parts—no matter what.

Here they are:

1. Notice the "therefore" at the beginning of verse 26: "Therefore have no fear of them." In other words, fearlessness flows from what Jesus just said, namely, "If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more (will they malign) those of his household." Therefore have no fear of them.

Does that help make you fearless?

It should.

Jesus is saying, "Your mistreatment for speaking the truth clearly and openly is not some unexpected, accidental, random, meaningless experience; it's just the way the way they treated me, and so it's a sign that you belong to Me and you are part of Me—I am the same yesterday, today, and forever (See Hebrews 13:8). So don't be afraid of the names they call you when you speak out plainly, those very names bind you and me together."

2. Notice the word "for" in the middle of verse 26: "So have no fear of them. For (here comes the second reason not to be afraid) nothing is covered that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known."

How does that help us overcome fear and be courageous in the cause of truth?

It helps us by assuring us that the truth we are speaking will triumph. It will be vindicated in the end and people may reject it now. And they may call it the word of Beelzebul and cast it out.

Plus they may try to bury it and hide it from the world and pretend that it does not exist. But Jesus says in a sense, "Take heart in the cause of truth, because in the end all truth with be revealed, all reality will be uncovered." And those who spoke it with clarity and openness will be vindicated—do not fear.

3. Notice in verse 28: "And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul." In other words, the worst thing your opponents can do to you when you speak the truth is to kill your body. And that leaves the soul untouched and happy in God forever and ever.

But if you keep silent, if you forsake the path of truth and fall in love with the praise of men you could lose your very soul—that you ought to fear—but don't fear what man can do to you. All he can do is dispatch your soul to paradise—do not fear.

4. Notice in verse 30 what Jesus says, "Even the hairs of your head are all numbered." In other words, the suffering you may undergo in speaking the truth is not because God is disinterested in you or unfamiliar with your plight. He is close enough to separate one hair from another and give each one a number.

So fear not:

He is close.

He is interested.

He cares.

Be of good courage and speak the truth come what may.

5. Finally, fear not because God will not let anything happen to you apart from His gracious will. The logic of Jesus is plain and precious. Notice verse 31: "you are of more value than many sparrows." And back up to verse 29: "And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father's will."

The courage-giving conclusion:

As the young missionary Henry Martyn said, "If [God] has work for me to do, I cannot die."

So, don't yield to the spirit of the age.

Love the truth.

What you learn of Christ in the quiet speak in the light.

What you read and see illuminated by the Holy Spirit to you through God's Word proclaim from the housetops.