FAITH: The Difference between Seeing and Believing and NOT Seeing, yet still Believing.

19 Nov 2024 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Hebrews 11:6a.        But without faith it is impossible to please him (God):

And as Monday morphs into Tuesday, and the life cycle continues to spin the way Almighty God, it’s creator intended, we created beings ought to be ramping up our spiritual maturity through Bible reading, meditation, prayer and thanksgiving, and not the ungodly and fleshly stuff that so many of us busy ourselves with. Now, here is an interesting prayer from the Prayers Through the Ages Pamphlet recently put out by the Anglican Diocese of Toronto, that helps us to improve in our godly walk. This prayer was written by one Richard Foster, a theologian and author in the Quaker tradition. 

Please pray with me. ‘O Lord, my God. Form me more fully in your likeness. Use the circumstance and interactions of this day to form your will in me. From the frustrations of this day form peace. From the joy of this day form strength. From the struggles of this day form courage. From the beauties of this day form LOVE. In the name of Jesus Christ, who is all peace and strength and courage and LOVE. Amen.’ 

Oh friends, that’s indeed a marvellous prayer for handling the trials and tribulations of this world. And I like how the author lays it out so that the Lord can use the trials and frustrations of this world to enable us to end up with all that Jesus is; peace, strength, courage and LOVE. But it’s like Jesus said, we will have trials and tribulations in this world, but we can have His peace and be of good cheer, because He has already overcome the world. (John 16:33) 

problem though, is that we have to acknowledge and accept those promises in order for them to be of benefit to us. However, too many of us supposed believers ignore the promises, and simply look on the dark and negative side, so obviously the promises won’t work in our lives. Oh my people, the Christian life is all about FAITH; ‘that substance (realization) of things hoped for, the evidence (conviction) of things not seen.’ (Heb. 11:1) That basically means believing so strongly in the promises of God, that we believe for what we need without seeing it. In the world they talk about seeing is believing, but in God’s economy, it’s the other way around, believe it before you see it. 

Or as the scholars explain, re of things hoped for and of things not seen. ‘The first involves future hope; the second involves present realities that are unseen. The first includes the hope of the resurrection, the return of Christ, and the glorification of the saints. The second involves unseen realities, such as the forgiveness of sin through Christ’s sacrifice and the present intercession of Christ in heaven. Hope is faith relating to the future; conviction is faith relating to the present.’ 

That’s why the author of Hebrews also informs us: ‘But without faith it is impossible to please him (God): for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.’ (Heb. 11:6) Yes friends, to enjoy the kingdom of God and all its benefits, one must believe that God exists, and that He rewards those who diligently seek Him. 

And that faith experience of not seeing and believing is fully brought out by this next verse from Hebrews. ‘By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear (reverence), prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.’ (Heb. 11:7) 

And believe me, that was no small faith on Noah’s part. For the Lord told him to build an ark because of an upcoming flood. But Noah had never seen rain, (Gen. 2:5) nor a flood, however, He listened to God, showed great faith, and did things that, as the scholars put it were; ‘incongruous with (contrary to) his former experience.’ 

Now that’s the kind of faith we believers need to exhibit in these disastrous, chaotic and ungodly times. Times when we should be rising up in faith and proclaiming the gospel of Christ, sincerely carrying out His Great Commission, being the salt of the earth and the light of the world, so that the ungodly can see the goodness, mercy, grace and LOVE of God shining in and through us, and thus decide to enter into His wonderful fold. 

That’s the only way we will ever truly win others to Christ my fellow believers. If we don’t show the fruit of His Spirit; (LOVE, joy, peace, patience, goodness, gentleness, kindness, faithfulness and self-control) flourishing in us, then others won’t want to come to Him. Remember, we are His disciples, His ambassadors, and agents in the world, and He’s depending on our good conduct and behaviour to draw others to Him, otherwise His sacrifices down here on earth would have been a wasted effort. And we certainly cannot allow that to happen. 

So please, let’s wake up and see the dire state of our world nuh, because we are not doing a good enough job for Christ, and let’s take the bull by the horns and start turning things around to the way they ought to be. And for those of us who are willing to take up that challenge, let’s go home  declaring (ah Lord eh!!!) our Tuesday Mantra, letting the whole world know to whom we belong, lock, stock and barrel. 

As one strong and sincere voice: ‘In God’s eyes, I’m not what I do. I’m not what I have. I’m not what people say about me. I am the beloved of God, that’s who I am. No one can take that from me. I don’t have to worry. I don’t have to hurry. I can trust my friend Jesus and share His LOVE with my immediate neighbours, as well as with the whole wide world! Glory be!’ 

And having made that declaration (yesss!!!) we are now obliged to go out and share the amazing LOVE and friendship of Christ with others, so that they too can come to know and LOVE him like we do! Much LOVE!

…to have true faith in Christ…one must be willing to believe things…one has not seen…

Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien

Today’s Scrip-Bit 15 July 2021 Matthew 14:31b.

15 Jul 2021 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Matthew 14:31b.     O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?

And what’s going on this Thursday morning in mid-July of this blessed year of 2021 my friends? I know some of you will sneer and angrily ask what kind of blessed year are you talking about eh? Haven’t you seen what the pandemic and all the other negative stuff has done to our world? Yes. So how can you call the year blessed? 

Simply because we are still alive and kicking! Just waking up every day with enough strength in our body to talk and move and LOVE our friends and family is more blessing than we truly realize. It means that once we are alive, the Lord has not finished with us. He still has plans for our lives, otherwise He would have taken us home already. Remember what He said in Jeremiah? ‘For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil (calamity), to give you an expected end (a future and a hope) (Jer. 29:11) Glory be, mih people! 

So that cliched saying is quite true: while there is life, there is hope. And with true faith in Almighty God, ANYTHING is possible once His awesome breath of life is still flowing through our mortal bodies. Consequently, regardless of what life might throw our way, we cannot lose hope or give up, because today might just be the day that our life and circumstances turn around through God’s amazing help. 

The problem there, is that we have to believe without seeing any real improvement or receiving any real encouragement. In the world, we accentuate that seeing is believing, but in God’s economy it’s the opposite; believing without seeing. With God, when you believe, then you’ll see. Most likely not before. And I think a particularly good example of that is when Jesus came walking on the water towards His disciples in the boat that was being tossed by the storm on the Sea of Galilee. 

The Good Book tells us: ‘And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit (ghost); and they cried out in fear. But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer (take courage); it is I, be not afraid. And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water. And he (Jesus) said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus.’ (Matt. 14:26-29) 

Now friends, that’s what faith, hope, and belief can do for you. Peter apparently was the only one bold enough, with enough faith in Jesus, to venture out on the water. But unfortunately, the situation changed very quickly when Peter’s hope and bravery failed, and his fear took over. The Good Book continues: ‘But when he (Peter) saw the wind boisterous (violent), he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me. And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?’ (Matt. 14:30-31) 

And that’s the crux of the problem right there my brethren, our doubt. We talk a good talk, but when the chips are down, our doubt and fear takes over, and that’s when we begin sinking. If Peter had not doubted, or become afraid, he would have kept on walking on the water with Jesus. But it’s our fears and doubts that keep us from achieving what God truly has in store for us, that stop us from receiving all the blessings He has set aside in our name. 

And it’s important to note what happened after that incident. Turning to the Good Book again, we read: ‘And when they were come into the ship, the wind ceased. Then they that were in the ship came and worshipped him, saying, Of a truth thou art the Son of God.’ (Matt. 14:32-33) Yuh see friends, it’s only after the disciples had seen Jesus’ power, that they conceded that He was truly the Son of God. And that’s how we still behave, although we know better. 

And before I forget, here is some interesting info from the scholars on the subject. ‘14:28-32. Peter answered him in his characteristically impulsive manner. This part of the story is recounted only by Matthew, who was in the boat and on whom it must have made a deep impression. The incident is not presented as a parable, but as an actual event involving three miracles. Jesus walks on the water. Peter temporarily does so, and the wind ceases immediately.’ 

Unfortunately, today, we too only believe when we see big miracles. But God doesn’t do that many big ones again. He now specializes in many small ones in our individual lives. But we either ignore them completely, or simply chalk them up to chance or coincidence. But people, there is no chance and/or coincidence in our lives. Everything that happens is vetted by our heavenly Father, whether He begins it or not. And He doesn’t allow us to handle more than we can bear. So, let it be known, that whatever comes against us, we have the heavenly, the divine power to handle it. So there is no need to fear whatever the world throws at us. 

That in a nutshell is our message today my faithful saints in Christ. Let’s stand up strong and fight life through, because our God is always with us to help us, and there is none as powerful, as Him in this universe that He has created. Let’s believe that today, and every day, so we can be divinely empowered. And here is one of the ways God empowers us; through generously bestowing what we call our Thursday Blessings on us, blessings that enable us to do His earthly work diligently and excellently. 

So let’s go home declaring (yeahhh!!!) them now nuh, so that they can be made manifest in our lives. Altogether now: ‘I declare that I am blessed with God’s supernatural wisdom and receive clear direction for my life! I declare today that I am blessed with creativity, courage, talent and abundance! I am blessed with a strong will, self-control and self-discipline! I am blessed with a great family, good friends, good health, faith, favour and fulfillment! 

I am blessed with success, supernatural strength, promotion and divine protection! I am blessed with a compassionate heart and a positive outlook on life! I declare that any curse or negative word that’s ever been spoken over me is broken right now in the name of Jesus! I declare that everything I put my hands to, will prosper and succeed! I declare it today and every day! Amen!’ 

Now, let’s go out and share those awesome blessings just as generously with others, so that they too can come to know Christ and also get to enjoy His benefits. Much LOVE!

…if you want to see God…yuh better had first believe that He’s there… (smile) 

Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZJ8