Faith is a Learned Discipline

Luke 17:6 KJ"And the Lord said, If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye might say unto this sycamine tree, Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea; and it should obey you."

NIV "He replied, "If you have the faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, 'Be uprooted and planted in the sea, and it will obey you." 

NKJV "So the Lord said, “If you have faith as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be pulled up by the roots and be planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you."

George Muller cared for more than 10,000 orphans in his lifetime in England and was a man of astounding faith. But not everybody knows that he was not always such a faithful man. 

His early life in Prussia was marked by lying, gambling, drinking, and imprisonment for fraud. At age fifteen, he gave his attention to cards and drinking with friends, while his mother lay dying. This is also the same George Muller who, later in life, would sit his orphans down at a table with empty bowls and thank God for the food He would provide in the future. And God always did. 

George Muller's life goes to show that faith is a learned discipline. Faith does not come naturally but supernaturally. The natural man believes when he sees, but the supernatural man sees when he believes. And Jesus taught that it does not take as much faith as we might think. Faith as small as a tiny seed can see mountains moved. If you are lacking great faith today, exercise the faith you have, and then ask God for more.

Faith produces fruit, more faith produces more fruit because believing God is a self-perpetuating experience.

Ask the widow of Zaraphath if you don't believe me.

1 Kings 17: 11-16 "And as she was going to get it, he called to her and said, “Please bring me a morsel of bread in your hand.” So she said, “As the Lord your God lives, I do not have bread, only a handful of flour in a bin, and a little oil in a jar; and see, I am gathering a couple of sticks that I may go in and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it, and die.” And Elijah said to her, “Do not fear; go and do as you have said, but make me a small cake from it first, and bring it to me; and afterward make some for yourself and your son. For thus says the Lord God of Israel: ‘The bin of flour shall not be used up, nor shall the jar of oil run dry, until the day the Lord sends rain on the earth.’ ” So she went away and did according to the word of Elijah; and she and he and her household ate for many days. The bin of flour was not used up, nor did the jar of oil run dry, according to the word of the Lord which He spoke by Elijah." 

Don't Give Up This Close To Your Miracle

Have you ever thought or said to yourself, “Something's gotta give.” Your spirit is saying, "This is too much for me, God. I can't take this anymore. If it is not one thing, it is another and if something does not give, I'm going to give up!"

I believe there are times that life will give you reasons to give up.  There will be moments when you want to quit church, quit the ministry, quit the job, quit the business, quit the family, sit down and do nothing, but you can't.  God's word tells us to fight the good fight of faith in 1 Timothy 6:12.

Don't give up. You are on the brink of a miracle. More importantly, the Lord wants you to be strong in the day of adversity.

Proverbs 24:10 reads, "If you faint in the day of adversity, your strength is small.” This scripture declares that your spiritual strength is revealed in the way you cope with adversity. On that note, you should not become discouraged and give up when you face challenges. When you are strong in the Lord, you can bear your burdens easily. But if you are weak in your spirit, even a small burden can be too heavy for you. Therefore, you must seek to be filled with the strength of God everyday. You must persist and persevere in order to experience the fullness of God's blessing in your life.

So enter today with a voice of triumph! The fact that you are a believer means you will suffer because all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution  according to 2 Timothy 3:12. Remember in the midst of your ordained suffering that God is moving even in the emptiest and darkest places of your life to lead you to victory. 2 Corinthians 2:14 says that God always leads His people in triumph.

I know you may not understand why God chose you for the trial you are facing right now, but God does. God is fully aware of where He has ordered your steps. And when your appointed time has come, your change will come. Be strong in Jesus’ Name. Don't give up this close to receiving your miracle.

But You Promised!

"But you promised!"

How many times, as parents, have we heard those words? Our memory of our promises often isn't as great as our kids' memories, and they can be deeply disappointed when we forget. All children crave promise keeping from the significant adults in their lives. They want to trust that we will do what we say.

I'm glad God doesn't forget His promises. He keeps His Word. When He makes a promise, He will deliver. Faithfulness is a biblical word describing those who keep their promises. It does not mean "full of faith," but rather "worthy of faith." Faithfulness says, "I will keep my word. I will not fail you. I won't quit on you." Faithfulness is the glue that keeps our actions adhering to our promises.

The faithfulness of God is foundational to our faith. If we can't trust what He says in His Word, we have no reason to believe. If He doesn't keep His Word, then our salvation is shaky and our hope is empty. But if God does fulfill His promises, then our faith is meaningful and our eternal destiny is secure.

Faithfulness is foundational to a happy, God-honoring home as well. Promising ice cream and then forgetting, threatening punishment and not following through, or singing "I Love You, Lord" in church and forgetting Him through the week all affect our children and can undermine trust. Children who have to deal with continual broken promises may find it difficult to trust the significant people in their lives including God.

Practice faithfulness and you will provide stability, security and confidence for your children. You will reflect God to them and you will instill in them the importance of being true to their word.

When your children develop faithful hearts, they will stay in a close walk with God. They will also find more success in their schoolwork, their friendships, their marriage and their career.

Remember Faithfulness is a fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22) empowered by God. 

-So pray for it. 

-Model it. 

-Teach it. 

-Celebrate it.

God Is Faithful!

Are you tired of waiting for God to do something for you?  I too struggle with waiting on God’s timing in different areas of  my life. Some days, it is a lot harder to be patient. When we’re bringing our concerns to the Lord again and again, we grow tired of waiting. It soon begins to feel like our prayers are falling on deaf ears. Often our desire is to take control and just “do the best we can”. That is our fleshly reaction to the silence. We know Galatians 5 lists patience as a fruit of the Holy Spirit so we confess our desire to rule our own lives. We ask the Spirit to fill us, empowering and directing us even as we continue to wait on the Lord.

When you begin to feel the pressure to quit, your attitude must be as the Psalmist David who wrote in Psalm 62:5, 6, ‘’ My soul, wait silently for God alone, for my expectation is from Him. He only is my rock and my salvation; He is my defense; I shall not be moved’’. Since all of your hope and expectation is from Him, determine now that you are willing to wait as long as it takes for His promises to manifest. When David says, ‘’ I shall not be moved’ ’ he is declaring: ‘’ I will not allow anything to discourage me nor distract me. I’ll keep on trusting Him until I see with my eyes the fulfillment of what He promised He would do.’’

Waiting is a common experience. All your brothers and sisters in faith, as well as all of creation know what it is like to wait on the Lord. Consider those who have waited before you. There is plenty of encouragement in the Bible concerning a need for patience and those who have excelled in it. James 5:7, Colossians 1:10-12, Psalm 40:1 and Revelations 14:12 are just a few examples of the subject.

Never stop expecting God to fulfill what He said He would do. You and I can have confidence in God to fulfill His promises. Why would you want to give up if God is the one who promised it? Since God is not an ordinary man that He would lie (Numbers 23:19), and He has never  broken His word, then  why shouldn’t  we be willing to wait for Him to fulfill what He has said no matter how long it might take?

God is Faithful! Faithful means “true to one’s word. It carries the idea of being trustworthy, dependable, and reliable. Over and over in the Scriptures, God and His Word are both declared to be faithful. Count on Him, not on your own ability.

Lord, I speak Your Word over my situations and over others. This is what YOUR WORD says:

Numbers 23:19 “God is not a man that he should lie, neither the son of man, that he should repent:  hath he said, and shall he not do it?  Or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?

 Malachi 4:6 “I am the Lord. I change not . ”

Deuteronomy 7:9  “Know therefore that the Lord thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations;”

Romans 4:20, 21 “He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strong in faith [believing] giving glory to God; and being fully persuaded that, what he had promised he was able also to perform.”

II Thessalonians 3:3 “But the Lord is faithful, who shall establish you, and keep you from evil.”

I Corinthians 1:9  ”God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord.”

I Corinthians 10:13  “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man:  but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape.”

God is still fulfilling His promises today in your life. Continue to stand in faith and proclaim His Word as you wait on our faithful God.

A Little Medicine for the Soul's Sake-It's July in South Carolina

It's July in South Carolina. It's so hot that...

-The radiator on your car is boiling over and you haven't even started the engine yet.
-The birds have to use pot holders to pull worms out of the ground.
-Farmers are feeding their chickens crushed ice to keep them from laying hard-boiled eggs.
-The cows are giving evaporated milk.
-You learn that a seat belt makes a pretty good branding iron.
-The temperature drops below 100, you enjoy the cool spell.
-You discover that it takes only 2 fingers to drive a car.
-You discover that you can get a sunburn through your car window tinting.
-You notice the best parking place is determined by shade instead of distance.
-Hot water now comes out of both taps.
-It's noon, kids are on summer vacation, and not one person is out in the street.
-You break a sweat the instant you step outside at 6:30 a.m. to head for work.
-The local bakery hasn't had to turn on their ovens for a week.
-You can cook breakfast on your driveway instead of in the kitchen.
-You have no idea whey they call it "Dry Idea" Deodorant.
-You don't have to go to KFC to get Fried Chicken, just put it on the hood of your car on the way home form the supermarket.
-The temperature in your house is 105 degrees, but your H/VAC service guy says your air conditioner is functioning properly.

Purpose

Philippians 3:7-14 "But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. Brethren, I do not count myself to have 4apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus."

Can you remember a time when you were consumed with purpose about something or someone?

Here is the Apostle Paul near the end of his walk with God and he is still passionately driven in his relationship with God. How is that possible?

(1) He kept his purpose before him.

-Purpose brings clarity and focus

-Purpose determines what is of value and importance

(2) Paul had determined that his relationship with Christ was more important to him than anything else.

-The dynamics of this relationship included passion, intimacy, and commitment. All these elements must be present, though in various degrees at different times. If you loose one through neglect you are in danger of loosing the relationship or damaging the purpose for which you were intended.

(3) Paul knew Him and the power of His resurrection.

-To know him-Experiential-Greek word  here means passion.

John 10:27 "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me." 

John 17:3 "And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent."

-To know Him-Relational-An intimate walk with Him.

Galatians 2:20“I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.” 

(4) Purpose helps us to remove what is extraneous and cumbersome.

-Every garage starts out empty and clean, but things accumulate. Sometimes we must clean out the garage. Everyday before the end of the day we must take time to clean up, sort out and put things in order. Regular attendance at church, reading of the scripture, and times of prayer help us keep things in order and also maintain the passion, intimacy and commitment in our life with Christ.

(5) Purpose keeps us moving forward.

-It would be hard to keep going forward if you are always looking over your shoulder. Paul keep pressing on rather than going back. That's what purpose gives you in the long run. A desire to keep moving ahead rather than to lag behind.
(6) Purpose reminds us of the prize at the end of the journey.
-There is a prize waiting for those who fulfill their purpose in life. Not only will affect generations that follow by setting a great example for them, but it also ends with a heavenly promised fulfilled for the believer who doesn't falter in their way.

Are you a survivor or a reviver?

Are you a survivor or a reviver?

The American church has been in survival mode long enough. What do I mean by that?

-The majority of our growth comes from disenchanted members from other churches who have left other pastors and churches because of finding fault, impure living, or a spirit of control.

-We turn our heads away from sin because we need bodies in the seats and money in the plate. Numerical reports become more important than living and doing right according to the Word.

-We are more concerned about somebody sitting in our seat or on our pew than we are about welcoming in visitors who don't have a clue that you sit there.

-We only want the kind of people that will fit in with our group. The different people need to go down the street to that other church because they don't look like the people we need.

-The line, "I've been in this way a long time" actually becomes true in regards to reaching the lost and untouchable with the gospel. Standing in the way of spreading the gospel of truth will make every person think like a survivor.

-The pastor says we need people to give more, but my dollar stretches further than he thinks.

-God wants the pastor to be humble so we will keep Him poor.

-The "I've been here longer than dirt" mentality that becomes a stumbling block rather than a stepping stone because change causes too many to do differently for the betterment of the whole.

Too many men and women who believed in freedom faves their lives for this nation to fail. Too mant soldiers of the cross dis as well so the church could be preserved for the present, not pickled for th future. 

I am tired of just surviving. I want to see real revival again throughout this nation. On this 4th of July let's declare the glory of God anew and afresh and believe for revival throughout our churches. Get the churches revived and America will follow.

Let' believe for revival and not just survival.