Evaluating Your Faith

Mark 11:20-24 ²⁰ In the morning they passed by the fig tree. They saw it was dried up from the roots. ²¹ Peter remembered what had happened the day before and said to Jesus, “Teacher, see! The fig tree which You spoke to has dried up!” ²² Jesus said to them, “Have faith in God. ²³ For sure, I tell you, a person may say to this mountain, ‘Move from here into the sea.’ And if he does not doubt, but believes that what he says will be done, it will happen. ²⁴ Because of this, I say to you, whatever you ask for when you pray, have faith that you will receive it. Then you will get it.

It’s a good idea to pause every now and then to evaluate our spiritual development. Although we will experience different phases of faith throughout life, our goal should be to continue growing. Which phase sounds like you? 

Hesitant faith is characterized by struggling to believe God: We hope He’ll answer our prayer, but we’re just not sure. Sometimes doubts creep in because we’re looking at the situation, not at the Lord and His Word. Or maybe our problem is that we just don’t know what God has said in the Bible, so we have no real anchor.

Courageous faith involves stretching to believe the Lord more and more. Christians in this phase take steps to follow God and discover He is faithful to His Word.

Perfect faith is characterized by resting in the Lord, with confidence in Him and a heart aligned with His will. We are thankful as we watch His promises become a reality. Though we hope to practice this kind of faith every day, we won’t truly perfect it in this lifetime.

No matter which description best fits your faith today, the best way to grow is by regularly feeding on the Word of God. Cling tightly to His promises.

The Call to Contend for the Faith

by ThePreachersWord

Several years ago Christianity Today featured a story about Rob and Kristen Bell, who founded a church in Grand Rapids, identified with a movement known as the “Emerging Church.”

The article relates the Bells increasing discomfort with their faith and the church. “Life in the church had become so small,” Kristen says. “It had worked for me for a long time. Then it stopped working.”

Furthermore, they questioned their assumptions about the Bible itself– “discovering the Bible as a human product,” as Rob puts it, rather than the “product of divine fiat.”

Andy Stanley: This Is What James Meant by ‘consider it pure joy’

Andy Stanley: This Is What James Meant by ‘consider it pure joy’

Why does James tell us to “consider it pure joy” when we face trials of any kind? Andy Stanley contends it’s because these trials will show us something about ourselves that nothing else can.

Watch Video »

Tips in Dealing with Disappointment with God and others

https://chab123.wordpress.com/2021/07/16/tips-in-dealing-with-disappointment-with-god-and-others/

Focus! Keeping Your Eyes on Jesus in a Near-Sighted, Distracted World! (The Blind Man in John 9 – Part 1)

It is very hard to focus when one has no sight. In our passage for the next several posts, we get to examine the most extensive miracle story in all the Bible. This story of the man born blind proclaims with utmost clarity some of the most critical truths upon which we are to FOCUS.

In this series of blog posts I want to examine my own vision and ask if my spiritual eyesight is getting dim, distracted, or damaged by choices I make. We will be looking at a number of key biblical passages which emphasize this sense of sight. I am particularly looking forward to pondering the healing miracles which turned blind people into sighted people.

I wonder how Jesus knew this man was “blind from birth” (v. 1)? As God the Son He knew all things, of course. However, one explanation that I find possible is that this man had a particular begging call. Perhaps his begging call was, “Blind from birth! Please help me! I’m blind from birth!” The text doesn’t tell us, but what we know is that this man had never seen anything in his life. He did not lose his sight from an accident or injury. He was born that way. Sightless.

There is more at: https://larrydixon.wordpress.com/2021/08/18/focus-keeping-your-eyes-on-jesus-in-a-near-sighted-distracted-world-the-blind-man-in-john-9-part-1/

Can We Know Truth?

A Broadcast with John Gerstner

Is it truly possible to know that God exists, even though we do not see, hear, or touch Him? Today, R.C. Sproul and his mentor John Gerstner begin to square off in a mock debate to test the truth claims of the Christian faith.

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The Father’s Resources

Luke 11:1-13 Jesus had been praying. One of His followers said to Him, “Lord, teach us to pray as John the Baptist taught his followers.” ² Jesus said to them, “When you pray, say, ‘Our Father in heaven, Your name is holy. May Your kingdom come. *What You want done, may it be done on earth as it is in heaven. ³ Give us the bread we need everyday. ⁴ Forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us. Do not let us be tempted.’”

⁵ Jesus said to them, “If one of you has a friend and goes to him in the night and says, ‘Friend, give me three loaves of bread, ⁶ for a friend of mine is on a trip and has stopped at my house. I have no food to give him.’ ⁷ The man inside the house will say, ‘Do not trouble me. The door is shut. My children and I are in bed. I cannot get up and give you bread.’ ⁸ I say to you, he may not get up and give him bread because he is a friend. Yet, if he keeps on asking, he will get up and give him as much as he needs. ⁹ I say to you, ask, and what you ask for will be given to you. Look, and what you are looking for you will find. Knock, and the door you are knocking on will be opened to you. ¹⁰ For everyone who asks, will receive what he asks for. Everyone who looks, will find what he is looking for. Everyone who knocks, will have the door opened to him.

¹¹ “Would any of you fathers give your son a stone if he asked for bread? Or would you give a snake if he asked for a fish? ¹² Or if he asked for an egg, would you give him a small animal with a sting of poison? ¹³ You are sinful and you know how to give good things to your children. How much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?”

When you were a child, where did you go when you needed a snack, a bike repair, comfort for a skinned knee, or a referee for a dispute with a sibling? More than likely, you sought out your mom or dad or a trusted guardian, because God gave them the responsibility of caring for your needs.

But no human can parent perfectly, as all mankind is affected by brokenness. However, if you have trusted in Jesus Christ as your Savior, then you are a child of God. So when you pray, you’re bringing whatever’s on your mind to the heavenly Father, who always gives what it right and best.

How much do you truly rely on God for all your needs? When you are feeling lonely, rejected, or discouraged, is your first response to read His Word and pour out your heart to Him? Instead of worrying about financial struggles, do you ask for Jehovah Jirah (the God who provides) to give what you need? (Abraham gave that place the name “The Lord will give us what we need.” And it is said to this day, “On the mountain of the Lord it will be given.” Gen. 22:14.) If you’re suffering from a health problem, do you cry out to Jehovah Rapha (the God who heals)? (He said, “Listen well to the voice of the Lord your God. Do what is right in His eyes. Listen to what He tells you, and obey all His Laws. If you do this, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have put on the Egyptians. For I am the Lord Who heals you.” Ex. 15:26.) Since God the Father gave you the greatest gift of His Son, He will certainly give you everything else you need. So come and ask.

The Fruit of the Spirit Are Ingredients of Happiness

Randy Alcorn

What’s our greatest source of joy? Paul pointed to the Holy Spirit: “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control” (Galatians 5:22-23).

Commenting on chara, the Greek Word usually rendered “joy” in this passage, the United Bible Societies’ translation handbook advises, “In some languages joy is essentially equivalent to ‘causes people to be very happy.’ In order to indicate that this joy is not merely some passing experience, one may say ‘to be truly happy within their hearts.’ In some languages joy is expressed idiomatically as ‘to be warm within one’s heart,’ or ‘to dance within one’s heart.’”

Translating the fruit of the Spirit as adjectives rather than nouns, the Contemporary English Version reads, “God’s Spirit makes us loving, happy, peaceful, patient, kind, good, faithful, gentle, and self-controlled.”

If it seems that the translators are taking liberties by saying “happy” instead of “joyful,” note that the other eight adjectives perfectly correspond to the nouns used in the English Standard Version and the New American Standard Bible. Chara is the only Greek word in this passage rendered differently by the CEV translators. Their goal was faithfulness to the original language. “Joy” is a good translation of chara, but so too is its synonym “happiness.”

Some suggest that the order of the ninefold fruit of the Spirit is significant and that love is named first because “the greatest . . . is love” (1 Corinthians 13:13). If this is true, then joy’s position as the second listed might imply it’s the second greatest.

Why does Paul emphasize joy and the other eight components of the Spirit’s fruit in the context of his attack on legalism in Galatians? Reading between the lines, we might surmise that joy was too rare among the Christians there, as it often is today.

Paul’s argument in Galatians suggests that self-righteous legalism chokes out the fruit of the Spirit, leading believers to become killjoys. Killjoys find pleasure in always being right and showing that others are wrong. Their false joy comes from thinking, I’m the smartest, purest, and most doctrinally, behaviorally, or politically correct person in the room. Unfortunately, no one wants to be in the room with them . . . including Jesus.

Finish at: https://www.patheos.com/blogs/randyalcorn/2020/08/fruit-spirit-ingredients-happiness/

Becoming a Patient Person

Acts 25 Three days after Festus had become leader in the country, he went from the city of Caesarea to Jerusalem. ² The head religious leaders and the leaders of the Jews told Festus what they had against Paul. ³ They asked Festus for a favor. They wanted Paul to be brought to Jerusalem because they had plans to kill him on the way. ⁴ Festus told them that Paul was to be kept in Caesarea and that he would be going there soon. ⁵ Festus said, “If Paul has done anything wrong, let your leaders go along with me and say what they have against him.”

⁶ After staying with them about ten days, Festus went down to Caesarea. The next day he sat in the courtroom and asked for Paul to be brought in. ⁷ Paul came into the courtroom. The Jews who had come down from Jerusalem stood around him. They said many bad things against him. But they could not prove any of the things they said. ⁸ Paul spoke for himself, saying, “I have done nothing wrong against the Law of the Jews or against the house of God or against Caesar.”

⁹ Festus was hoping to get the respect of the Jews. He asked Paul, “Will you go to the court in Jerusalem and let me say if you are guilty or not about these things?” ¹⁰ Paul said, “I am standing in front of Caesar’s court where I should be told I am right or wrong. I have done no wrong to the Jews. You know that. ¹¹ If I have done wrong and should die, I am not trying to keep from dying. But if these things they say against me are not true, no one can give me over to them. I ask to be taken to Caesar.” ¹² Festus talked to the leaders of the court. Then he said to Paul, “You have asked to be taken to Caesar. You will go to him.”

¹³ After a few days, King Agrippa and his wife, Bernice, came down to Caesarea. They went to Festus to greet him. ¹⁴ They stayed there a few days. Festus told them about Paul. He said, “There is a man here who was left in prison by Felix. ¹⁵ When I was at Jerusalem, the head religious leaders and the leaders of the people told me about him and asked me to say that he is guilty. ¹⁶ I told them it was against the Roman law to hand over a man to be put to death before he stood face to face with those who had something against him and could speak for himself. ¹⁷ When they came here, I took my seat in the courtroom at once. I had the man brought in. ¹⁸ When the others spoke, they had nothing against him that I thought they had. ¹⁹ They did not agree with him about their own religion, and they argued about someone called Jesus. He had died but Paul kept saying He was alive. ²⁰ I did not know what to do. Then I asked him if he would go on trial about these things at Jerusalem. ²¹ But Paul asked to go on trial in front of Caesar. I said that he should be kept in prison until he could be sent to Caesar.” ²² Agrippa said to Festus, “I would like to hear this man.” Festus said, “Tomorrow you will hear him.”

²³ The next day Agrippa and Bernice came into the courtroom. They were dressed to show their greatness as king and queen. Army leaders and leading men of the city came in with them. Festus had Paul brought in.

²⁴ Festus said, “King Agrippa and all of you who are here with us, you see this man. All of the Jews both here and at Jerusalem are saying that Paul should be put to death. ²⁵ I have heard nothing against him that would be reason to put him to death. But he asked for a trial in front of Caesar. I have agreed to send Paul to him. ²⁶ When I write to Caesar, I have nothing to say against him. For this reason, I brought him in front of you all and in front of you, King Agrippa. After we ask him questions, I may have something to write about. ²⁷ It is foolish for me to send a man up for trial without writing what is against him.”

Continuing our discussion on patience, we can learn a lot about the topic from the story of Paul’s trial. Instead of letting his accusers stir him up, the apostle patiently went through the legal process. He refrained from attacking the opposition or decrying the injustice of the charges. And eventually Paul’s peaceful manner won favor with the governor and earned him a hearing for the gospel (Acts 25:24-25 above).

We need the Lord’s help to grow in patience like Paul. This will involve our …

• Thoughts. We should try to shift our attention away from circumstances and onto our heavenly Father. His Spirit will help us gain the right perspective.
• Emotions. When we notice negative feelings, it’s good to pause and ask the Holy Spirit to guide our reactions. Then we can request that He empower us to respond in a godly manner.
• Speech. Pray for self-control over your tongue. A timely word can defuse a situation (A man with a bad temper starts fights, but he who is slow to anger quiets fighting. Prov. 15:18).

The Lord will answer our prayers and provide what we need, just as He did for Paul when the apostle faced Festus and King Agrippa. Despite the injustice of those situations, Paul remained unprovoked. Imagine what God will do through you as you grow in the virtue of patience.

Help First

We were crushed and overwhelmed beyond our ability to endure, and we thought we would never live through it…. You are helping us.
2 Corinthians 1:8, 11, NLT

Paul occasionally felt overwhelmed, yet he wrote the Corinthians to encourage them, and they helped him by their prayers. There was mutual support.

Justin Bariso wrote about a day when he was overwhelmed and at the end of his fuse. Emerging from his home office, he found his wife overwhelmed too. Their kids were all over the place, and Justin gave into frustration and started yelling. Later he reviewed his own reaction and said, “I can’t do this again.” He developed a two-word strategy: “Help first.”

A few months later, Justin and his wife again felt overwhelmed, but this time he took a deep breath, told himself to help first, and got his wife out of the room for a break. He set the kids up with something to do, gave them something to eat, cleaned up a little, and gave his wife a hug. It totally changed things.[1]

Maybe those two words are a good strategy for us all.
Help first.

By helping first, you break the cycle of misunderstanding…You feel better about yourself, and you get others to feel better about themselves. 
Justin Bariso