faith – BibleJournal.net

Receiving The Gift..

Today’s reading is Psalm 37.

This last week has brought under the microscope the actions of Dr. Anthony Fauci. Regardless of where you stand on his actions, it is very clear that that those in the government, large corporations, and in high places (he did not act alone) have lots of power and control and may not always have the best intentions of those they lead and supposedly “serve.” It seems like constantly in the news someone in authority is being questioned on the legitimacy and intentions of their actions and decisions that effect those they lead or oversee.

While we will many times not know on this side of eternity whether the action of those in authority are good..in fact I’m confident there are many we hold in high regard and put on pedestals as heroes who actually were doing harm…the Bible is clear that evil doers will be brought to justice. Here in Psalm 37 alone we see it the following verses; Psalm 37:1-2, Psalm 37:9-10, Psalm 37:13, Psalm 37:15, Psalm 37:17, Psalm 37:20, Psalm 37:22, Psalm 37:35-36, and Psalm 37:38.

On the flip side, Psalm 37 is also clear the righteous will be rewarded in the following verses: Psalm 37:3-4, Psalm 37:5-6, Psalm 37:9, Psalm 37:11, Psalm 37:18-19, Psalm 37:22-24, Psalm 37:25-26, Psalm 37:28-29, Psalm 37:30-31, Psalm 37:33-34, Psalm 37:37, and finally Psalm 37:39-40.

The salvation of the righteous is from the Lord; He is their stronghold in the time of trouble. The Lord helps them and delivers them; He delivers them from the wicked and saves them, because they take refuge in Him.

‭‭Psalm‬ ‭37‬:‭39‬-‭40‬ ‭

So, how do we become righteous? Is it through our actions? The Bible is also very clear in Romans 3:23 that “all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” This is also told in Romans 3:10-12 and Psalm 53-1-3 that none of us are righteous on our own through our own actions. Romans 6:23 says His justice would condemn us, but the “free gift of God is eternal life in Jesus.” We don’t earn his mercy, we receive it.

How do we receive this gift?

In his recent Live Free podcast, Pastor Josh Howerton describes there are 3 types

of faith theologians discuss in Latin.

Noticea: having knowledge of a fact about God.
Assensus: agreeing the fact is actually true, not just knowing it.
Fiducia: putting your trust and one’s life in that fact…not just knowing and agreeing with it.

This last one, fiducia, is what we must do to receive God’s grace and mercy to become righteous. Josh notes that even the demons acknowledge who Jesus is in the Bible and have the first 2, but they don’t possess the 3rd necessary saving faith. They don’t put their trust in Him and make Him the Lord of their life. Again, this how we become righteous, to actually receive the gift of His mercy by trusting Him.

“Commit your way to the Lord; trust in Him, and He will act. He will bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your justice as the noonday.”

‭‭Psalm‬ ‭37‬:‭5‬-‭6‬ ‭

Conflict

Today’s reading is Galatians 2.

Galatians 2 is most famously known for Galatians 2:15-21 where Paul’s letter to the church in Galatia focuses on being saved by faith and not by works. Let’s talk a little bit more though about what led up to this in Galatians 2:11-14.

Here in these verses, Paul is upset with Cephas (Peter) at Antioch because he’s eating foods Jews don’t eat with the Gentiles (non-jews) and then as soon as other strict and influential Jews show up, he stops doing so. Although Peter knew the Gentiles were saved by faith and not by what food they eat, his pull back and return to only eating food Jews were allowed to eat seemed to imply again that someone can be saved by the law (works) and that you are not only saved by faith alone. Not only did Paul believe this was hypocritical and tore down the truth of the Gospel, you are saved by faith and not by works, but it also negatively influenced Barnabas to follow him. Our actions matter and lead others in a positive or negative direction.

Paul teaches us a great lesson here in Galatians 2:11.

But when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned.

One of my mentors shared with me something he learned which was that you should “seek conflict.” This may seem sound strange, but there is a difference between “creating conflict” and seeking it. What he meant is that when there are conflicts, talk about it and discuss it. Face it head on. Don’t let it fester..that will only make it worse. Also, don’t just talk about someone or something you don’t agree with behind their back..address it directly with them. Conflicts and disagreements will undoubtedly occur, and this is how you solve them. Paul models this and teaches us this important lesson.

Jesus also teaches us to face conflict with someone else directly.

⁵“If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. ¹⁶But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. ¹⁷If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.

Matthew 18:15-17

Here Jesus not only tells us to face conflict with others, but He also tells us a 3 step process on how to do it. You face it with them privately, then with one or two others if they don’t stop, and thirdly, address it with the church.

Let us pray for wisdom for the courage to face conflicts head on and to do so in the manner Jesus outlined.

Unwavering Faith

Today’s reading is Daniel 2 where we read of Daniel interpreting King Nebuchadnezzar’s dream which saved the lives of him others who the king was going to kill because they could not interpret his dream, as well as which led to the king declaring Daniel’s God to be the one true God (Daniel 2:47) and led to him giving Daniel and his friends rulers over provinces in Babylon (Daniel 2:48-49).

In Daniel 1, we read things were very bleak for Daniel and those jews who were of royalty or with a great physical appearance or knowledge, and really all jews for that matter, because King Nebuchadnezzar and Babylon besieged Jerusalem and brought many like Daniel and his friends in exile to Babylon. We see in both Daniel 1, and here in Daniel 2, that Daniel was convicted in his faith and trusted in God’s sovereignty despite circumstances.

Daniel’s trust and belief in God’s sovereignty is apparent in Daniel 2:16 where he made a request to the king that he would interpret the king’s dream before he actually had interpreted it. Then, he gives us another great example of what to do under the most dire circumstances, he asked his friends to seek God’s mercy, presumably through prayer, in Daniel 2:18. In Daniel 2:19, only after Daniel shows conviction and faith in God’s control and protection and has them come to God in prayer, the dream is revealed to him.

How does Daniel then respond once God reveals the interpretation of the dream to him? He gives glory to God in Daniel 2:21-23 and gives all the credit to God to King Nebuchadnezzar directly in Daniel 2:28 saying, “but there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, and he has made to know to King Nebuchadnezzar what will be in the latter days…” As a result of this, King Nebuchadnezzar, a pagan, glorifies God, “The king answered and said to Daniel, ‘Truly your God is God of gods and Lord of kings, and a revealer of mysteries, for you have been able to reveal this mystery.’”

Daniel gives us a great example of faith and trust in God’s sovereignty and goodness in the most dire of circumstances, as well as an example of giving Him the credit and the glory.

This causes us to reflect and ask ourselves, what are circumstances I am facing now where I need to come to God in prayer and trust in God’s power and sovereignty in the outcome?

“To Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations for ever and ever! Amen.

Ephesians 3:20-21

An Epic Wrestling Match

Today’s reading is Genesis 32.

After reading this, couldn’t help but think of the question I heard asked by another kid at school when I was a child..

“Can God make a rock so big he can’t move it?”

Of course it’s a trick question, if he’s God he can make anything, but if he’s God he should still be able to move the rock no matter how big!

In this chapter we read about Jacob physically wrestling with a man later referred to as God, but God doesn’t quickly put Jacob in a chokehold or full nelson and make Jacob tap out and give up when God presumably could. The question is, why?

Jacob was a deceiver, con man, and liar. And specifically he was after worldly status and blessings. In Genesis 25 he took advantage of his older brother’s deep hunger to take his birthright and then in Genesis 27 went even further to steal his father’s blessing from Esau. Jacob also was so infatuated with Rachel that he was willing to serve her Dad Laban for 7 years so he could marry her, and then after that another 7 years for a total of 14 until Laban finally gave Rachel to him for marriage. To reiterate, Jacob, like us often times, was after worldly blessings and status.

So back to our question, why didn’t God defeat Jacob quickly in their wrestling match? I believe it’s because God wanted to see if Jacob would continue to wrestle him until Jacob finally said in Genesis 32:26, “I will not let you go until you bless me.” Even after God put Jacob’s hip out of joint (Genesis 32:25), Jacob did not let go. Finally Jacob as willing to fight for something without resolving to deception and most specifically he was finally willing to cling to and go after the only blessing that mattes, God’s blessing, which he received (Genesis 32:29).

I believe we can learn a lot from Jacob’s life prior and his experience here. We can be critical of Jacob, but we are probably more like him than we care to admit. And like with Jacob, what God is really after is our heart and for us to seek after and cling to him in a manner that we only care about God’s blessings.

And just like God did not let go of Jacob and defeat him, Jesus not let go and come down from that cross even though he could have. He stayed to give each and every one of us an opportunity to be saved from our sins and to have eternal life with him by finally saying “yes” and giving our life to him. Ironically, we don’t have to ask for his blessing, he’s already given it. We only must be humble enough to realize it and receive it.

“But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

Romans 5:8

“The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.”

2 Peter 3:9

The Upside Down Kingdom of God

Today’s reading is 1 Corinthians 4 where Paul writes about the ministry of the apostles.

Merriam-Webster defines the word apostle as “one sent on a mission: such as one of an authoritative New Testament group sent out to preach the gospel and made up especially of Christ’s 12 original disciples and Paul.”

These are God’s chosen people to deliver the truth of God and the gospel of Jesus to the world and what does Paul tell us about them. In 1 Corinthians 4:9 he says they are “last of all, like men sentenced to death.” He says in 1 Corinthians 4:10 they are “fools for Christ’s sake” and “weak,” as well as in “disrepute.” But it doesn’t stop there, he goes on in 1 Corinthians 4:11 to say they “hunger and thirst,” and they are “poorly dressed and buffeted and homeless.” Lastly, he says in 1 Corinthians 4:13 they are “like the scum of the worlds, the refuse of all things.”

Despite all of this in in 1 Corinthians 4:12-13, “When reviled, we bless: when persecuted, we endure, when slandered, we entreat.” Above all though he begins in 1 Corinthians 4:1 by saying..

“This is how one should regard us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God.”

What an example these apostles, chosen by God, give us. One would typically think those chosen by God should be put on a pedestal and held in high regard, yet it is exactly the opposite. Remember, there was time where James and John ask Jesus in Mark 10:37 to sit on each side of Him in Heaven. But now, after seeing the pain, the agony, and the suffering that Jesus, the Son of God, did on their behalf on the cross to do what they could not do for themselves to make them right with God through the forgiveness of their sins, their priorities were different. Their perspective is different because they saw firsthand the sacrifice He made and now consider it an honor to suffer in a similar manner so long as they are being used by Him to spread the Gospel so others may be saved like them.

So, what does this mean for us and our everyday life here today? I’m not certain I know, but at a minimum we should respond by being more in tune with what God wants of us in our lives and in certain situations which may differ from what we want or what the world says we should want and get. And above all, we should strive to live in a way to be regarded like the apostles who are viewed as “servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God” as he says in 1 Corinthians 4:1 which he also says in 1 Corinthians 4:2 is because “it is required of stewards that they be found faithful.”

Let us start by being faithful….one moment and one day at a time.

Spiritual Formation

Today’s readings are Jeremiah 22-23,26, Psalm 77 and James 2. We will focus on James 2:14-26.

Most Christians agree the Bible is very clear that works do not get you into Heaven and only the grace of Jesus dying on the cross can (Romans 3:23, 6:23). When you first read James 2, it can be confusing by making it sound like faith alone does not get you into Heaven. So, do works actually get you into Heaven then?

Diving in deeper can help us get a better understanding what James is saying. Check out James 2:19 where James tells us believing Jesus was who He said He was is not enough. Why?

You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe – and shudder!

James 2:19

Knowing Jesus is the Son of God does not gain you eternal life in Heaven…even the demons know.

We are currently doing an all-church study which is based off the book, Practicing the Way by John Mark Comer. Jesus told us to go and make disciples (Matthew 28:19-20). The word disciple can be confusing because it’s not used much outside the church. John Mark tells us we can gain better perspective for its meaning by looking at the Hebrew word which is talmid, and it can be translated as a student of a teacher. John Mark contends a better word for us to translate talmid into is actually apprentice. As an apprentice, your job is to be with your teacher, become like your teacher, and do as your teacher does.

So, John Mark says Christians should have 3 goals as an apprentice of Jesus.

Be with Jesus.
Become like Jesus.
Do as Jesus did.

He argues spiritual formation is not an option. We are all following someone or something whether we realize it or not, and we are being spiritual formed by whoever or whatever we are following.

This gives us better context for James 2:14 which might initially have us raising our eyebrows when James says…

So also faith by itself, if it does not have works is dead.

James 2:14

To be saved by Jesus, you can’t just believe..the demons believed as James 2:19 says. If you are truly a follower and apprentice of Jesus spending time with Him..then you will become more like Jesus and do as he did. It is by works that your faith becomes active and fully complete. James speaks to this and gives the example of Abraham in James 2:22.

You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works.

James 2:22

He expands as we read on…

For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead.

James 2:22

There you have it. You do not really have faith in Jesus if you are not completing works that demonstrate you are becoming more like Jesus and doing like He did.

Who or what are you following most closely that is shaping you?

Are you spending time with Jesus so that you are becoming more like Him and doing as He did?

Are you becoming an apprentice of Jesus?

I pray we will all reflect on these questions and let God speak into our hearts, telling us what He wants us to know.

More Jesus. More Faith.

Today’s readings are 2 Chronicles 24, 2 Kings 12, and Matthew 9. Our focus will be on Matthew 9.

What are you praying and asking God for right now? Do you believe it can happen? More importantly, you believe it will happen?

James 1:6-8 says…

⁶But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. ⁷For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; ⁸he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

God instructs us here to ask in faith. So, what is faith?

Here is what Hebrews 11:1 says faith is..

¹To have faith is to be sure of the things we hope for, to be certain of the things we cannot see.

Are you sure of things you hope for and certain of things you can’t see? I wish as a Christ-follower I could consistently say yes.

In Matthew 9 we see 5 miracles Jesus performed with all 5 of them showing the person who the miracle was performed for or someone close to them showing faith.

Jesus Heals a Paralytic (Matthew 9:1-8) – A paralytic was brought to Jesus by his friends, and it specifically states Jesus healed him when he saw their faith in verse 2.
Jesus Heals a Ruler’s Daughter (Matthew 9:18-19, 23-26) – The ruler came to Jesus with his daughter dying and explicitly tells Jesus he knows she’ll live if Jesus lays hands on her in verse 18.
Jesus Heals a Woman with Blood Discharge (Matthew 9:20-22)- The woman had this problem for 12 years but states in verse 21 that if she just touches his cloak only..she believes she will be well.
Jesus Heals Two Blind Men (Matthew 9:27-30) – Jesus actually asks them if they believe he’s able help them see, and they say yes.
Jesus Heals a Man Unable to Speak (Matthew 9:32-34) – This one is a little more obscure but we see in verse 32 that the man was brought to Jesus. He wouldn’t have been brought to Jesus if someone didn’t believe Jesus could and would heal him.

There are 2 common denominators in these miracles. The first is Jesus. How many times do we pray for things but then not involve him and try to do it ourselves? The 2^nd common denominator is the faith that the miracle would be done. How many times do we pray for something without being sure God will do it?

What do our prayer requests need? More Jesus. More faith.

Where is Your “Prison?”

Today’s readings are 1 Samuel 23-24, 1 Chronicles 6, Psalm 54, and Acts 16.

Have you have had a dream or felt God lay it on your heart to do something specific and make a big change or take a big step in your life? Did you take that step only to find out things didn’t pan out like you expected? Maybe you moved to a new city to take a different job and then shortly thereafter you were laid off, or maybe you took the risk to start your own business…only to have the business not succeed. We may not have all had a dream or heard the audible voice of God tell us to do something but most of us have probably prayed about something or done something that just felt right only to have it not work out the way we thought it was intended. Here in Acts 16, we read about the same thing happening to the apostle Paul.

Paul had a dream telling him to go to Macedonia (Acts 16:6-10). His traveling there seemed to make sense at first as shortly after arriving in one of Macedonia’s leading cities, Philippi, we are told on possibly the first Sabbath there, he was preaching to many women and a woman named Lydia was baptized (Acts 16:11-15). Can we relate to this feeling of things falling into place quickly when we take a risk, and we grow confident that we were correct in our interpretation of God’s prompting and plan for us with this being affirmation? However, things changed quickly for Paul and his preaching friend Silas. A slave girl who had to gift of divination and fortune telling followed them everywhere and was yelling continuously in support of them to the point that it was possibly a hindrance and Paul being annoyed commanded it to come out of her (Acts 16:16-18). Now that her “gift” was gone, she was of no value financially to her owners and they were so upset that they had Paul and Silas beaten and thrown into prison (Acts 16:19-24).

At this point, what would you be thinking? For one, I would likely be scared. They were just beaten and wrongly imprisoned and Jesus who they preached about was just unfairly captured and beaten only to then suffer one of the cruelest deaths possibly dying on the cross. Would their outcome be the same? At a minimum, I would be questioning whether God was wrong, or I was wrong by coming to Philippi. You wanted me to preach the gospel God, but how can I be out preaching to people while I’m in these chains? We learn in Acts 16:25-34 what Paul and Silas actually did. They began to sing songs of praise to God…maybe similar to Psalm 54 from our reading today. Really? Praising God when I’m in prison?! Then, an earthquake came and their chains were broken and doors opened! Waking up and supposing everyone was gone, the jailer planned to kill himself before he was killed for not doing his job. But instead, Paul and Silas stayed there and shared to gospel with him and then traveled to his home with him to share it with his family leading them all to be baptized! Paul trusted in God and His purpose, regardless of his physical circumstance and environment, which led to others accepting Christ.

God’s plan for this journey didn’t stop there though. Not so ironically, I was supposed write this last week but our biblejournal.net was down. This Sunday on 5/5/24 at Eastview Christian Church, Pastor Steve Carter spoke about Acts 16 in his sermon (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_1TFw-uEjwU). He shared this happened around 47-50 AD and then somewhere around 60-63 AD while Paul was imprisoned again in Rome, he wrote a letter to the people in Philippi which we now know as the book of Philippians in the Bible. This letter which may not have been written if Paul had not gone to Philippi and been imprisoned there has impacted millions, if not billions, over the last 2000 years. God cares so much of each one of us and our eternal souls that Lydia’s conversion to following Jesus alone would have been worth Paul’s travels to Macedonia, but because Paul remained faithful, that was just the start. We can see Paul’s trust in God’s plan and his past experience in Philippi echoing in his letter to them years later as we read it. In fact, check out Philippians 1:6, “being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” It is mind blowing the impact Paul has now had two separate times while in prison. What is your “prison” now or in the future where you can still make an impact on others and God can do a great work in and through you when you stay faithful to Him and His purpose?

Consider taking some time today to reflect on this, and also take a listen to this song called Holy Ground by Passion featuring Melodie Malone.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xU771D5AYWE

Freshness

Today’s readings are Genesis 47-48, Psalm 25, and Galatians 3.

While the new year starting can sometimes bring anxiety about what the coming year may hold, most of us get excited about the calendar turning over and the opportunity to hit the reset button on some things in our life. This year will be better we believe…better discipline on our workouts and diet, sticking to our budget, new business goals we plan to accomplish, being in the Word more, and an increased focus on our blessings and living with gratitude to name a few. So now that we are just over 3 weeks in…how are you doing?

Personally, I would say there has been some good and some bad for me, but in transparency I’ve failed in my patience, and I’ve been a little short tempered at times with those I love the most. I feel terrible about it. While many may say my actions have been very minor and just a quick overreaction, it makes my heart ache that I have caused hurt in any way…even if for just a moment…to those I love the most. I’ve asked for forgiveness similar to what we read in Psalm 25 in prayer and have apologized to Shannon and promised to do better. Why I have been this way? I don’t know..I wish I could say. I have so much to be grateful and happy for.

Reading Galatians 3 today makes thankful and is a good reminder that we are justified and saved by our faith, not the Law or our works. I want to do better, and I must do better..but I’m not perfect and am destined to fail again…if not in this way…then in another way.

For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law and do them.”

Galatians 3:10

No one is capable of doing “all things” of the Law and not making a mistake as we are also told in Romans 3:23. But we can be grateful for more clarity on how we justified in the following verses in Galatians 3.

Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for “The righteous shall live by faith.”

Galatians 3:11

And then a few verses later..

Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us- for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree-“

Galatians 3:13

We are fully redeemed and can be with God when our life here on Earth ends because of what Jesus did for you and for me. He took on the curse of death that should have been mine and yours.

Does this give us an excuse to sin and do what we want? No..absolutely not. We are told in Romans 8:9 and 1 Corinthians 6:19 that the Holy Spirit is in us when we believe.

This year I’m reading through the devotional My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers. On January 20^th it reads the following, “Freshness is not the result of obedience; it comes from the Holy Spirit. Obedience keeps us ‘in the light as He is in the light’ (1 John 1:7).” A little bit later it also reads, “Being born of the Spirit means much more than we usually think. It gives us new vision and keeps us absolutely fresh for everything through the never-ending supply of the life of God.”

This serves as a reminder for me, and I hope for some reading this, to stay close to Him so that we can find forgiveness, peace, joy, life, and “freshness” from the Holy Spirit who lives in us to start over today and everyday…regardless of what we’ve done or what day it is on the calendar.

Thy Will Be Done

Today’s reading is Job 4-7, Psalm 99, and Revelation 11.

I am someone who writes in my Bible. There are many times I’m thankful I do because it allows me to be reminded of a takeaway I had in the past or something a pastor said which impactful related to verses or a chapter. When reading Revelation 11, I had underlined in the past the last part of Revelation 11:15 and written down next to it, “Matthew 6:10.”

¹⁵Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever.”

Revelation 11:15

When I flipped back in my Bible to Matthew 6..I found Matthew 6:10 is part of the Lord’s Prayer and reads….

¹⁰Your kingdom come,
your will be done,^[a]
on earth as it is in heaven.

Matthew 6:10

When I say the Lord’s Prayer, I think of this part in the context of that I’m wanting and asking Him for His will to be done. However, when I read Revelation 11:15 and I say the Lord’s Prayer with it in mind…I’m reminded this part could really be said in the context of a statement. It is not necessarily asking, but a reminder that is what actually will happen. He’s in control. “His will” in fact will happen. And He will in fact make Earth as it is in Heaven. As I say the Lord Prayer the next time, it can remind me to go forth with my day in confidence and faith. I don’t have to be nervous or wonder about the future at all. He wins. It’s for certain. This can give us a peace that passes human understanding to live life differently.