Without Faith...

But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. ~ Hebrews 11:6 KJV

And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. ~ Hebrews 11:6 NIV

Do you have true faith?


Let us see what the Strong's Concordance (Hebrew/Greek Dictionary) has for a definition of faith:

 4102. pistis pis'-tis from 3982; persuasion, i.e. credence; moral conviction (of religious truth, or the truthfulness of God or a religious teacher), especially reliance upon Christ for salvation; abstractly, constancy in such profession; by extension, the system of religious (Gospel) truth itself:--assurance, belief, believe, faith, fidelity.

 3982. peitho pi'-tho a primary verb; to convince (by argument, true or false); by analogy, to pacify or conciliate (by other fair means); reflexively or passively, to assent (to evidence or authority), to rely (by inward certainty):--agree, assure, believe, have confidence, be (wax) confident, make friend, obey, persuade, trust, yield.

Do you fully rely on and yield to God?  
There is no gray area for faith, it must be confident.  


Are you diligently seeking Him?


1567. ekzeteo ek-zay-teh'-o from 1537 and 2212; to search out, i.e. (figuratively)investigate, crave, demand, (by Hebraism) worship:--en- (re-)quire, seek after (carefully, diligently). 

So in essence,  we must have confidence, trusting and yielding to the Father, seeking, worshiping  and craving Him or we will be found unpleasant.  

 Please take this time and search yourself, do you seek and crave the Father with full confidence?  This is true faith.

He Is Calling For A Childlike Faith

Matthew 18:2-4 

He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them.  And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.  

Thinking on this childlike faith, it occurred to me that children have a natural faith in their parents to provide for them in their every need.  Clothes, food, shelter, etc, are items children naturally do not think about, they just know (by a childlike faith) it will be there provided by the parents.  

We too, as children of our Father in Heaven, should by pure faith, know that He will provide our every need.  This should never be a worry or concern of ours.  For He knows before we ask what we are in need of, even when those around us do not know.  

This is the faith he is commanding us to have.  A faith that is whole, pure, and humble, like a child.  This is a saving faith.  May your faith be empowered by His saving grace today.  Be ever keeping yourself humble like a child, unpretentious in all your ways.  For this will ever be keeping you near our Father's heart.  

Blessed are the poor (humble) in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. ~ Matthew 5:3

Detoured

Some days when our plans don't go according to what we had mapped out for the day, we get irritated, frustrated, and sometimes infuriated. This will not  help ourselves or others around us.  In fact, it will likely hinder the plans that our Creator has for us.   We should re-examine our attitudes and see what the scripture says: 

 "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” —Romans 8:28 

 "And do not grumble, as some of them did —and were killed by the destroying angel." -1Corinthians 10:10 

There have been many days that have not gone according to one's thoughtful laid out plans.  You can keep your fruits of the Holy Spirit intact when you "roll with the punches".  
The fruits of the Holy Spirit are: Love, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Gentleness, Faithfulness, Goodness, and Self-Control. When we let anger enter our heart for one moment, we loose all of the above fruits and are a poor witness for our LORD. The Holy Spirit is a gentleman and will not live where there is anger.  

Paul said: "Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, that it may give grace to those who hear. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. And be kind to one another, tender hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you." -Ephesians 29-32


I implore you my friends to free yourself of this bondage and the wall that is built up between you and our Father when you loose your self-control and are irritated, frustrated, or infuriated by the minor or the major.  We must rely on the Holy Spirit of God to handle our detours.  For He knows the plans for the day.

Bold, Off Brand Coffee

I recently have found out some of my favorite coffees are not the name brand that have commercials or even any I have ever heard of.  They are the ones I am finding at the dollar store and the ones that are on clearance because they are not selling.  In other words, they are not popular, tho they are very much an important part of my day. 


This made me think of our walk as followers of the Most High God.  For it is written:  
"Though the Lord is exalted, he looks kindly on the lowly; though lofty, he sees them from afar." Psalm 138:6
But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.” James 4:6


ALSO:


The wicked flee though no one pursues, but the righteous are as bold as a lion.  Proverbs 28:1

After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly. Acts 4:31


We need not be those that stand out and are lifted up by man to be a great asset to God's Kingdom.  Matter of fact the Lord said in many places that the last shall be first and the first shall be last. (Mark 10:31, Luke 13:30) Remember this when you do not think you are making an impact for Christ's sake.

Remember, His people have been labeled as "peculiar" or better translated as "set apart".
2 Peter 2:9-10 says:  "But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light; Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy."

So, walk in the boldness and love of your Heavenly Father today.  His Spirit will lift you up when you feel like an "off brand" and lowly at heart! 

24 Hours Only

Oh, Father, we are only able to bear one day ahead at a time.  We are not able to carry the weight of days gone by nor of the ones coming ahead.  For you told us in Matthew 6:34  “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble."

So I bring it all to you, you know my hurts from the past, you know my on goings of tomorrow.  Thank you for bearing the weight of what I can not handle.  You also said in Luke 12:25   "And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his  span of life?"  

May these doubts and insecurities of this life leave us today with the word of The Lord:

Matthew 6:25-26  “Therefore 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?  Look 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?"

In The Messiah's Holy Name, Amen!

Love In Action

 Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good.   Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves.  Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.  Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.  

 Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.  Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.   Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited. Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone.   

If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.   Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,”  says the Lord. ²⁰ On the contrary. “If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.
In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.”

Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. ~ Romans 12:9-21

Break Free From Bondage

The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me,
because the Lord has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim freedom for the captives
and release from darkness for the prisoners,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor
and the day of vengeance of our God,
to comfort all who mourn,      
and provide for those who grieve in Zion—
to bestow on them a crown of beauty
instead of ashes,
the oil of joy
instead of mourning,
and a garment of praise
instead of a spirit of despair.
They will be called oaks of righteousness,
a planting of the Lord
for the display of his splendor. ~ Isaiah 61:1-3