Walking By Faith (Part 2): Why?

I’m learning that one must be intentional about keeping up a blog, and that it hasn’t come as easy as I thought it would :) It’s all good though; I’m going to continue post as often I can.

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Walking by faith is a concept that spans both the Old and New Testaments. In the Old Testament Abraham had faith that was counted to him as righteousness around 2000 years before Christ came. In fact, all of Hebrews 11 is devoted to this topic of real men walking by faith before Christ came to this earth. Then, as I documented in my last post, this concept also had profound significance in the lives of those living during the time the New Testament was being penned. The steady testimony of walking by faith from the bible must cause us to realize its implications for us today – we too are called to walk by faith.

Before moving on, however, it is important to ask the question that must be on our minds when dealing with this topic: Why walk by faith? This is what I want to focus in on for this post.

First off, and most importantly, God says in the beginning of Hebrews 11:6 that “without faith it is impossible to please Him”. Therefore, we walk by faith because God calls us to. But more than that we need to realize that anything that God calls us to do is for our good – as the rest of verse 6 states, “for whoever would draw near to God must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who seek Him”. So walking by faith not only pleases Him, but it is for our good.

Even with understanding these truths, the problem arises when we fall victim to the lie of ease. Our flesh cries out that it’s easier to live by what we can “see and feel” – or more simply by what we can measure using our human faculties of sight, touch, smell, taste, and hearing. The truth is that all of these faculties are God given, and meant for our good. They can, however, be deceptive if we don’t understand the why behind the what. The reason God has given us these faculties is to enjoy what He has made – in His way (this is another topic for another time perhaps), while faith is given to us in order to enjoy what hasn’t been made – Himself.

Undoubtedly, Satan wants us to believe that it is better to live by what we “see and feel”. But the reality is that it really isn’t. It is God’s design for us to live by faith in Him because it compels us interact with Him during every moment of the day in order to experience His power and benefits. He runs His Kingdom using this wisdom because at the heart of everything God wants relationship with His people – and not just any relationship, but a deep and abiding one. By interacting with Him in every moment by faith, we have what He intended for us to have: relationship.

Also, if we only live by what we “see and feel” then we run the risk of falling into the deception that God feels about us the way that we are feeling about Him in any particular moment. This causes our emotions to become the gauge for how confident we are in God, instead of the gauge being God’s Word appropriated into our lives through faith for how confident we ought to be in Him. There is a huge difference here that must be grasped by every disciple of Jesus. What I am saying is that we can live anchored in the truth of God’s Word – free from the emotional traffic that so often tosses us around – if we would learn to “walk by faith, and not by sight”.

Alright, I’ve typed enough for one post. Stay tuned, more to come!

Be Blessed!

Andrew

Walking by Faith (Part 1)

I’m going for it - my next few entries will mark the first series of posts I’ve done. I don’t have it planned out or anything (except for the topic), but we’ll see how I feel inspired to write each one, as well as how many to write. Feel free to follow along and comment on each/any of them!

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To start, Paul, in his second letter to the Corinthians, makes a statement that has profoundly impacted my life over the past half a year or so. It is a statement that I had certainly heard before 6 months ago, but to my regret had given very little attention to it.

2 Corinthians 5:7 reads, “for we walk by faith, not by sight”.

This theme of walking by faith is much larger in the New Testament than just this verse, but I believe that it gives a succinct description of how Paul lived his life; and I am certain that it is how God expects every disciple of His to live. Paul actually expresses this same principle in a few different ways, and with different emphasis’, throughout His letters:

 “…who walk not according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.” (Rom. 8:4)

“Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.” (Col. 3:2)

Jesus himself speaks to this same principle twice in the book of Matthew (as far as I can tell thus far anyway). I found it rather interesting that both are actually in the context of a rebuke directed at Peter:

“For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.” (Matt. 16:23)

 “The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” (Matt. 26:41)

I think I’ll let you chew on these scriptures for now. If there is anything that you feel lead to share concerning this topic (revelation, more verses, etc.), please don’t hesitate to comment – personally, it will help me out tremendously as I continue to go deeper in this.

3 Essential Elements of Godly Conduct

I want to share something I was thinking about the other day in regards to Godly conduct. It's pretty simple really, but the ramifications are immense when considered.

Every trace of truly Godly conduct that has ever been a part of history, is currently in motion, or will be yet in the future has 3 elements to it:

1. God initiates with grace.
2. An individual responds in humble obedience (by cooperating with grace through faith).
3. God receives glory.

If any one of these three elements is absent, then it will not be something endorsed the day we stand before God and give an account for our lives. God must initiate with grace, we must respond in humble obedience, and finally He must receive glory as a result if something is going to fall under the label of "Godly conduct". 

Speaking candidly, there have certainly been things that I have done in the name of Jesus that have lacked one, if not more, of these elements. Those things will not last on the day I give an account to God. But as I type this today, it is my sincere intention that every aspect of the way I carry myself for the rest of my life would embody these three elements - and by God's grace it will. It is my firm conviction that the bible teaches that the chief aim in Him giving me grace is Him receiving His glory. And His grace given turns out for His glory received when I humbly obey. It's as simple as that.


Romans 11:36, Colossians 1:16-17

Be Blessed!

Andrew

6 Revelations About Revelation

No, not the book of Revelation. I'm talking about revelation given by the Spirit - where God reveals God to you.

1. Revelation is Information with Power.

            *One of the differences between revelation and information is sensation. I don’t ever recall receiving revelation                 about God and not feeling that inner burning on my heart (Luke 24:32). When God reveals God to you, the                         inner burning of the heart will be present.

2. The Spirit of Revelation (Eph. 1:17) operates in 2 primary ways:

            *To reveal God to an individual (as mentioned above).

            *To reveal God through an individual (Eph. 3:9).

                        -When listening to someone teach about God, two people can hear the exact same thing – for one it is just                           mere information, while for the other it is revelation from God. What is received depends wholly on the                               heart posture in the hearers. Receiving from the Spirit of Revelation operating in someone else requires a                           humble heart in you.

2. Revelation is always meant to be a “light-bulb” moment.

            *The root word in revelation is “reveal”. Basically, what once was hidden is now brought to light (Eph. 3:9), or                   found (Pv. 25:2). God gets great glory by concealing things about Himself. And He says it is our glory to search               those things out. He longs to be pursued in the same way He has pursued us. What are you waiting for?

4. Meditation is the pathway to revelation.

            *The heart posture of meditation involves both waiting and trusting.

                        -Trusting without waiting = striving (Ps. 46:10).

                        -Waiting without trusting = worrying (Phil. 4:6-7).

                        -Trusting and Waiting = Peace (1 Cor. 14:33). And peace is your greatest clarity.           

           

5. Everyone has equal access to revelation in the Word of God.

            *The bible makes it clear that we do not have because we do not ask (Js. 4:2). If you are willing to ask for                             revelation, then you must also expect to receive revelation. This is an element of walking by faith (2 Cor. 5:7).                   God wants to reveal Himself - and He promises to do just that for those who seek Him with their whole heart                   (Jer. 29:13, Mt. 5:6)!

6. Revelation is rooted in love.

            *Because revelation is rooted in love, it builds up the hearer. Mere Information, on the other hand, is rooted in                   knowledge - which puffs up the one who speaks. God always speaks with love, from a place of revelation.                           Today’s teachers should do the same.

Be Blessed!

Andrew

Thankfulness

“Enter His gates with thanksgiving, and His courts with praise! Give thanks to Him; bless His name!” (Ps. 100:4)

I’ve been thinking about thankfulness lately - about how much I have to be thankful for. It is a list that would be too long for one blog, let alone one blog-post. I suppose all the books in the world couldn’t contain all that we should rightfully be thankful for! And as crazy as that sounds, it really is true!

“And whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to Him who is seated on the throne, who lives forever and ever..”

Thankfulness is one of the main themes in Heaven surrounding God’s throne. I’m confident that when Jesus prayed that God’s Will be “done on earth, as it is in heaven” (Mt. 6:10), thankfulness was one of the many things He had in mind. God deserves thanks – for what He has done, for what He is doing, for what He will do, and most importantly for who He is!

Thankfulness is a huge topic in God’s Word. God commands that we are careful to be thankful when we pray (Col. 4:2). He commands that it marks our lives in all circumstances (1 Thess. 5:18). And as quoted earlier, that we enter His presence with it (Ps. 100:4).

Here are a few things that I have learned about thankfulness:

1. Thankfulness is an expression of faith (Col. 2:7). Thankfulness is the foremost outward sign of a strong life of faith. Gratitude (thankfulness) left unexpressed is ingratitude. Get it? It stays in you. Let it out!

2. Thankfulness positions us to receive what God already intends for us to have (Jn. 12:38-44). When you are on the precipice of something great, thankfulness for God’s leadership in every facet of it will position you properly to access it. Basically, accessing God’s promises begins with being thankful for them.

3. Thankfulness unlocks a tender heart (Ps. 139:17-18). People with tender hearts receive freely the thoughts God has about them. The same things that move God’s heart move theirs.

I have found that as my eyes have opened up to the truth of a God who is good at all times, thankfulness in my life has increased and opened my eyes even more. “Thank you Lord” has become the most consistent phrase in my devotional language towards God; and I’m still just scratching the surface of all that I should be thankful for. My encouragement for you is to increase in thankfulness towards our great God – and watch what happens to your life when you do!

Be Blessed!

Andrew

Biblical Freedom

Freedom in Christ is a great privilege that we have as disciples of His. It was something that the early church enjoyed to the utmost, and something we ought to as well today! On the other side of things, the enemy hates the idea of you and I being free in Christ. He has, and will continue to do, everything he can in order to lure us into deceptive thinking about the teaching of biblical freedom. It has been on Satan's agenda to mix the idea of biblical freedom with the prevailing definition of freedom (the ability to do whatever you want without constraint) in the culture of the day. This is certainly no different today - therefore, we need to be careful to guard against this happening in our individual lives.


The Bible has a lot to say about freedom. 2 Cor. 3:17 says "Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.", and Galatians 5:1 says that it is "for freedom that Christ set us free", just to name a few.


When considering freedom, we also must understand it's counterpart: bondage (the state of one bound as a slave). Rom. 6 is a great place to identify what freedom in Christ looks like, as well as what bondage to sin looks like. Paul sums it up nicely in verse 16 where he says that "you are slaves of the one whom you obey". Earlier, in verse 14, he says "For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace".


The whole idea of the law and our former position under it is important to understand when considering biblical freedom. I think Paul teaches what it looked like incredibly clearly in Rom. 7:4-6.

"Likewise, my brothers, you also have died to the law through the body of Christ, so that you may belong to another, to Him who has been raised from the dead, in order that we may bear fruit for God. For while we were living in the flesh, our sinful passions, aroused by the law, were at work in our members to bear fruit for death. But now we are released from the law, having died to that with held us captive, so that we serve not under the old written code but in the new life of the Spirit."

These scriptures point to the fact that in Christ, we are no longer under the bondage of the law, but rather serve under grace in the new life of the Spirit. What I find interesting looking at these passages is that this idea of "bondage" is not necessarily a negative word. It actually becomes a positive word when we are bound to the right thing. Therefore, biblical freedom has everything to do with what we are bound to. What I have come to is this: I would rather be bound under that which is free (Christ, grace, the Spirit of God), then free under that which is bound (Sin, law).


What I mean by this is that as a disciple of Jesus I now choose to serve Him; AKA in my freedom, I choose bondage to Christ (Paul would say multiple times throughout His letters that he is a "bondservant of Christ Jesus").


Here are a few other scriptures that confirm these things:

"For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another." (Gal. 5:13)

"Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God." (1 Pet. 2:16)

What I hope you walk away with is this: biblical freedom is not freedom to do whatever we want with our lives; biblical freedom is freedom to serve God with all of our lives. When we make this distinction, we can enjoy to the utmost the freedom Christ has given us - just like the early church!


Be Blessed!
Andrew

Confession of Truth

Lately, the biblical practice of confession has been lighting up inside me. I want to share a few things that I have learned and come to embrace over the past few months that have been changing my life – and hopefully they will encourage you as well.

Note: The Greek word for confess is homologeo, and it simply means to “speak the same as”.

The term “confession” usually is associated with the practice of confessing sin. This is certainly not a bad thing as confessing sin comes packaged with a glorious promise from God (1 John 1:9)! Praise God for giving us this spiritual weapon that exposes any darkness that may be found in us with His purifying light! What I have come to realize, however, is that confession of sin is just one side of biblical confession. The other, much more neglected side, is the confession of truth.

Romans 10 is the clearest picture of this truth when it says “..⁸‘the Word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart’ (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); ⁹because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. ¹⁰For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.”

Upon study of this particular scripture a few conclusions I have come to are as follows:

1.     Faith isn’t faith unless it is vocal.

2.     Confession of Christ (Truth) is crucial to both our justification and our sanctification.

Jesus Himself reveals the connection between the heart and the mouth in Matt. 12:34 where He says that “out of the abundance of your heart the mouth speaks.” He is saying that what comes out of our mouths is the indication of what is found in our hearts. Basically, the words that come out of your mouth give evidence to what God already knows is dwelling in abundance in your heart. I don’t know about you, but I want the fruit of my lips to indicate truth in my inward being (Ps. 51:6)!

A few other thoughts I have come to while meditating and studying this theme of confessing truth:

            1. As we confess the Word of God more and more, we will actually have to confess sin less and less.

            2. Confession of sin brings victory in the moment, while confession of truth will bring consistent victory over a                 lifetime.

            3. We live today (in the present) in the fruit of what we said yesterday (in the past) (Pv. 18:21; Js. 3:6).

            4. All throughout scripture, what we believe is strongly connected with our words (Mk. 11:22-24, Mt. 12:34, 2                  Cor. 4:13).

The most practical way to implement the confession of truth in your life today is to begin to speak back to God any truth in His Word. Maybe start with some of the promises He has for you!

Be Blessed!

Andrew