Rhythm of Faith

Galatians 4:27 27… “Rejoice, O barren, you who do not bear! Break forth and shout, you who are not in labor… Barrenness. What a painful and frustrating condition. Yet, in Isaiah 54, God’s Word to those who are experiencing barrenness is to rejoice — “Sing O barren”! Why? Because in the previous chapter, it tells us that the chastisement for our peace fell upon Jesus. (Isaiah 53:5) The word “peace” here in Hebrew means completeness, soundness, health, safety and provision. In other words, all these benefits are yours today because Jesus has already been punished at the cross for your peace. That is why you can start rejoicing. So God wants you right now, in whatever area you are barren, to start rejoicing as if the fruit or yield you want to see has already come. He wants you to start thinking, speaking and acting as if the barrenness is no more. If you are financially barren, start planning for what you would do when your finances increase. I am not saying that y...

Luke 22… This week as I read the verses through the lens of “Loving Like Jesus” I first noticed that Jesus, even though He knew Judas would be the one to betray Him, must have treated Judas the same as all the other disciples because we see in verse 23 that after Jesus said one of them would betray Him “they began to question among themselves which of them it might be who would do this.” I also noticed it was Judas who went to the chief priests and officers of the temple guard to betray Jesus and make a deal with them…..all for money. For those of you who have felt “sold-out” or betrayed by a close friend, just realize Jesus understands what you are going through…..He was betrayed, too. In the beginning of this week’s passage, my heart goes out to Jesus. Here He is trying to tell the disciples that He is the Passover Lamb…that it’s His blood that is going to be poured out for them and what do they do? They get in an argument over who is the greatest! Oh my! After spendin...

In union with Christ and through our faith in him we have the boldness to go into God's presence with all confidence. Ephesians 3: 12 God has given us permission to fearlessly, confidently, and bodly draw near to His throne of grace. In fact, we are encouraged in Ephesians 3:12 to approach Him freely. This means we can go into the presence of God anytime we feel like it. We can go 200 times a day if we want to go, with an "in and out" type of privilege. God doesn't even tell us we have to knock on the door or wait for someone to say, "Come in." Suppose you have a friend who says, "You know what? You can come over anytime you want to come. You don't even have to knock because you are welcome anytime, day or night. Just come on in!" Now just think...God is saying that to you, unreservedly, which means you don't have to be careful or hesitate or wonder if you've worn out your welcome. It means even if you make some mis...

The three hardest tasks in the world are neither physical feats nor intellectual achievements, but moral acts: to return love for hate, to include the excluded, and to say, "I was wrong." - Sydney J. Harris.Before we get into the study of virtues--before we dig any deeper--let's start out by examining what virtues are, and why they are important to our walk with God. First and foremost we're saved by grace. There's nothing that we can do to earn our salvation. Salvation has been imputed to us by God through faith in His son, Jesus Christ. The thing is however that those who believe in Jesus, believe He is Lord. Lord of the universe and Lord of our lives. His wisdom exceeds ours, when it's both comfortable and uncomfortable. On the good days and the bad. Those who love God are willing to give up every selfish ambition and every sinful desire to follow His will. Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself,...

Let me tell you, my friends, that the gospel I preach is not of human origin. 12 I did not receive it from any human being, nor did anyone teach it to me. It was Jesus Christ himself who revealed it to me. Gal1.11-12 In telling the story of his conversion, Paul explains the drastic change he made. Paul became a nonconformist, despite the fact that his nonconformity cost him everything his culture valued. Our culture pushes us toward uniformity. Wear the right clothes, have the right job, spend money on the right things, and you are acceptable. But, conforming to the world forces us to sacrifice our uniqueness in Christ. Francis Asbury, the first bishop of the Methodist Church in the USA, once prayed, "0 Lord, grant that these brethren may never want to be like other people." Have you met someone willing to be themselves in the will of God? They face the danger of being criticized by those who value conformity, but they have the ultimate freedom. They ar...

    Speaking of perseverance …  that is the very thing that Jesus points us to in Luke 21 as He discusses the end times.  Jesus doesn’t shy away from the fact that in this world we will have trouble.  He warns that destruction is coming: first in the end of Jerusalem, and then the end of the world. War. Catastrophy. Heartache. Deception. Persecution. Desolation. Sounds a lot like what we can find in the news today, huh?  While God has not revealed the specific timing of events in regards to Jesus’ second coming, He does warn us about future events, and teaches us how to persevere in this world while we wait for His return.   We have a choice to make.  Will we run and hide, letting the world depress and defeat us?  Or will we persevere and look up, placing our trust in the One who is coming to make all things new (Revelation 21:5)? Take-aways from Luke Chapter 21: 1.  Don’t be surprise...

1 Corinthians 1:31 31… “He who glories, let him glory in the Lord.” If someone asks you, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” you would probably tell him, “Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved,” wouldn’t you? Well, a rich, young ruler asked Jesus the same question, but instead of telling him to believe in Him, Jesus gave him the law. (Mark 10:17–22) Jesus saw that the young ruler lived his life taking pride in his ability to keep the law to earn salvation and the favor of God. But because of His love for the man, Jesus had to show him that those who live by the law must realize that their self-efforts cannot save them. He therefore reminded him, “You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery…‘Do not steal... ‘Honor your father and your mother.’” The young ruler showed that his trust was in his law-keeping when he replied, “Teacher, all these things I have kept from my youth.” So Jesus had to tell him, “One thing you lack… sell whatever you ...

But we do see Jesus, who for a little while was made lower than the angels, so that through God's grace he should die for everyone. We see him now crowned with glory and honor because of the death he suffered. Heb2.9.GNT The Bible says that Jesus experienced death for us. So you and I do not have to experience eternal death because He has paid the penalty for our sin and given us the gift of eternal life. Now that is something to rejoice about! Because of Christ's resurrection and victory over death, what happens when you wake up in the morning? I believe that when Christians put their feet on the floor in the morning, hell ought to shake. Demons should tremble when they realize we're up! That's exactly what will happen when we realize who we are in Christ and understand the authority we have in Him. We are soldiers in the army of God. We have authority in Him! Jesus has defeated sin and death. Now we need to consistently walk in the authority and...

   The question we should look at is this: If self-control is a fruit of the Spirit, wouldn't it automatically come natural to those who belong to God? The Bible tells us that those who belong to God have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. (Galatians 5:24) Those who walk in the Spirit walk according to the wisdom they've been given. In other words they make choices day after day to put away sin. With that said, let's praise God for His unfailing grace. Putting down my flesh is a daily process, and I'm no where near completion.  Putting away sin is more than a decision, it calls for a measure of self-control. Without conviction however, that self-control won't be worth much. The Spirit gives us strength for the journey. Let me give you an example. During my twenties I started struggling with my weight. I went from a 98 pound bride to a 150 pound 30-something-year-old within ten years. I'm short so the extra bit of weight was uncomfortable...

All of Christ’s suffering and his death would have been meaningless if he had not risen again. The resurrection completes Christ’s work of salvation. But it is also very practical for our lives.   Here are a few things we gain from his resurrection:   1. A completed salvation “[Christ}  was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification . Romans 4:25 Through the resurrection God validated our forgiveness and showed to all Christ’s dominion over life and death, heaven and hell, the works of man and our sin.   2.  Death defeated but now has been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, 2 Timothy 1:10 We no longer need to fear illness and death. Christ knows what it is like to suffer in our bodies and he has perfect compassion so we are never left without a comforter. Death marks the beginning of life for a Christian because we have...

    Years ago we had “game night” with another couple when the husband called his wife out regarding her attitude about the game. Let’s just say she was not a gracious loser and he addressed it. Awkward!! Now, maybe he should have done that in private, but nevertheless I imagine that some of the people and disciples of Jesus felt pretty uncomfortable when Jesus called out the Scribes and other religious leaders. And in the hearing of all the people he said to his disciples, “Beware of the scribes” (Lk 20:45,46a) Let me say first that it was totally appropriate for Jesus to take these Pharisees to task in public because they were figures of authority whose sins were public and in some cases against the public. Jesus is on a roll, he confronts their cold hearts, their wrongful interpretation of the scriptures and now their hypocritical lives. And he does this straight to their face. Can you feel the tension crackling in the air? But it isn’t enough to feel awkwar...

    Shame, guilt, failure…despair How could he have been so proud and joined the other disciples earlier in the day arguing with them about who would be the greatest… How could he be so zealous before, willing to protect Jesus to the point of drawing his sword and cutting off the servant of the high priest’s ear… (vs 50) In Luke 22:33 we see Peter telling Jesus that he was: “willing to go to prison and even death.” How could he go from one minute being so confident in himself, his abilities, his commitment and within a few hours, a few changes and a few questions find himself sitting around a fire in the courtyard of the high priest watching Jesus being interrogated from afar? (vs 55) Hours later, Peter was drowning in the despair of his choices, his actions, his responses…..his lack of bravery. Ever been there? I know I have. The regret. The poor decision that washes over you as your mind replays the event over and over again, each time etching the me...

  The terrifying, cruel and wonderful work of Christ, which will rescue us from our own sin and destruction, has begun. He has been betrayed by Judas and denied by Peter. After Christ’s arrest the rest of the disciples ran away to hide. Christ is taken into custody and the men who are holding him begin to play a cruel game of blind man’s bluff. They blindfolded him, made fun of him, and punched him saying, “Prophesy! Who is it that struck you?” (You can read in the other Gospels that they hit, spit, and slapped him as well – Matt. 26:67,68; Mark 14:65). In the morning he is taken before the Sanhedrin where all the religious leaders had gathered. The man they had been trying to trap and arrest for 3 long years was finally at their mercy. During his time with the Sanhedrin three of his titles are mentioned. The Christ   “If you are the Christ, tell us.” But he said to them, “If I tell you, you will not believe, Luke 22:67 The word “Christ” and Messiah both mean...

Over the past 2 years I’ve stepped out in faith and done various things. I’m the type of person that likes to try things out. I’m still doing a few things and some other projects I’ve quit doing. Do I feel like a failure because I quit? No. Not at all.   There was one particular thing that I had prayed about. I prayed for a year, and that desire kept building up. Then God opened the door for me to walk through. He gave me confirmation upon confirmation. He provided and did everything for me. It was pretty awesome! 3 months into it, I decided to quit because that desire was no longer there, it quickly evaporated.   You know what? God is so good like that. He allows His children to step out in faith and try things, knowing full well that it’s not His will. I was able to get it out of my system and know for sure, without a doubt, that it was not of God. Now, I can stop asking Him about it. lol. I thank God for that opportunity because it taught many things, especially ...

                              Sounds harsh? It’s simply the truth. Read on and you’ll see why. The LORD our God has secrets known to no one. We are not accountable for them, but we and our children are accountable forever for all that he has revealed to us, so that we may obey all words of this law. Duet. 29:29 Paraphrasing here, there are many things God has already made known to us. And there are also things that only He knows and probably would never be revealed to us. No one likes to hear that. Therefore, in this season… Trust Him. We do not need to know everything. Wanting and needing to know is a form of control. Why do we want so much control? Then we wouldn’t have to put our faith into action and trust God. I mean, life would be much easier right? God’s not having any of that. There’s no shortcut in Christianity. He wants us to matur...

Are apps a threat to God-focus? Yes. But it works both ways. Fight fire with fire. If you are reading your Bible on your computer or your smartphone or your iPad, the presence of the email app and the news apps and the Facebook app threaten every moment to drag your attention away from the word of God.   True. Fight that. If your finger offends you, cut it off. Or use any other virtuous violence ( Matthew 11:12 ) that sets you free to rivet your soul on God.   But don’t take mainly a defensive posture. Fight fire with fire.   Why should we think of the Facebook app threatening the Bible app? Why not the Bible app threatening the Facebook app, and the email app, and the RSS feeder, and the news?   Resolve that today you will press the Bible app three times during the day. No five times. Ten times! Maybe you will lose control and become addicted to Bible!   Again and again get a two-minute dose of life-giving Food. Man shall not live by Face...

Rhythm of Faith: LOVE. :                           Of these three things, faith, hope and love, the greatest is love.                   What is Love? Love is ...

The Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost. ( Luke 19:10 ) Christianity is summed up in these words: Jesus came to seek and save the lost . If we were asked to describe in a sentence the heart of the gospel, there it is. There is no other news like this. Every other religion says it backwards. Every other religion tells us to seek. We are advised to climb trees like Zacchaeus, to depend upon our own exertion for any hope of ascending to the divine. We are told to bridge the gulf by our effort. If you want salvation , they say, then seek it.   In a sense, that is the world — we live in a planet full of seekers. We are, in one way or another, tree-climbers, maneuvering ourselves to gain some advantage, to achieve some perspective, to find personal peace. And then Jesus comes. We are lost in our own seeking until Jesus comes and says to us, “Hurry and come down” ( Luke 19:5 ). Stop your searching. Stop trying to save yourself. I have come to seek and save the lost...