Do Not Ever Lose Your Faith in the Lord

These last set of verses are now going to drive home one more major point. And that one major point is – that we never, ever lose our faith in the Lord and bail out on Him with what He wants to do with our lives. As the last set of verses have showed you, this has to be a faith walk to the death with the Lord.

The very last verse below has some very specific wording in it that is just bone-chilling to read. This last verse is using the vine and the branch analogy, with us being the branches and Jesus being the vine. This last verse tells us that if we ever lose our faith in the Lord, that we can then be cut off from the Lord just like a branch can be cut off from the vine. And you know what happens to a branch once it gets cut off from the tree. It will then fall straight to the ground, and from there, it will wither and die.

Everything is Possible for Her who Believes

Sharon Jaynes 

 

Everything is possible for him who believes, (Mark 9:23 NIV).

Once, a distraught father had an unruly son with multiple physical and emotional problems. Many people even said the boy was possessed by a demon. The dad had tried everything, but the boy continued to demonstrate anti-social behavior: throwing himself in the fire and then in water.

That sort of behavior, on top of frequent seizures, rolling on the ground, foaming at the mouth, and an inability to talk, made the dad desperate to find a solution. He even took the boy to some faith healers who were traveling through his hometown. But nothing seemed to work.

Mighty Things Through Faith

Written by Dr. Bill Bright

“And so [Jesus] did only a few great miracles there, because of their unbelief.” Matthew 13:58

It was my first visit to Nazareth, and through a series of fortuitous circumstances, I found myself enjoying lunch with one of the city’s prominent leaders. As we talked together in the crowded dining room our conversation turned to Jesus Christ, and ultimately this gentleman bowed his head and began to pray aloud, inviting Christ to be his Savior and Lord.

The change seemed to be immediate and dramatic, and follow – up has proven that God did meet him and change his life. During the course of our conversation, he indicated that what I had shared with him was a new truth. Though he was religious and active in his church, he never had been told that he should receive Christ.

His will for every problem and every situation — without exception

Read Psalms 106 -- 107

Highlights:

Want to take a 40-year trip? Travel with the people of God as they relive their desert wanderings. They confess their sins, including when they lusted (Ps. 106:14), murmured (106:25), mingled among the heathen (106:35), and shed innocent blood(106:38).

The magnificence of Israel's history was not the result of her heroes, priests, or prophets, but rather it was the fulfillment of the Word of God (Gen. 12:7). 

All failures which were written in their history — all losses, defeats in battle, famines, and exiles — to be seen as consequences of disobedience to His Word for they believed not His Word (Ps. 106:24). 

Finally, they praised God for their deliverance (107:19-20). 

Get Your Healing In 2013

by peacefulone

This is for faith people. If you are not leave this alone. The interesting thing is that faith is a very simple thing, but for human reasoning it won’t work. Really smart people who have a lot of confidence in their own abilities have a really tough time with faith. God knows this; yet because He is so good and loving He has given every man a portion of faith and you don’t need much!

Does Athiesm Require Faith?

"The fool has said in his heart that there is no God." - Psalm 14:1

One day, someone caught the comedian W.C. Fields reading the Bible and asked what he was doing. His reply was "just looking for loopholes."* There are a lot of people who read with the same intention of disregarding any evidence.

There are only three options to explain our existence, one is to believe in God, another is agnosticism which states there may be a God but I haven't found proof. The last is atheism where one will state they know God does not exist. Atheism is not just a non-belief in God but a willful denial of his existence. Agnosticism is where one admits that they do not know if God exists.

Survey finds record 19 percent of religiously unaffiliated Americans

Posted on 21 July 2012

(RNS) Unbelief is on the uptick. People who check “None” for their religious affiliation are now nearly one in five Americans (19 percent), the highest ever documented, according to the Pew Center for the People and the Press.

The rapid rise of Nones — including atheists, agnostics and those who say they believe “nothing in particular” — defies the usually glacial rate of change in spiritual identity.

Barry Kosmin, co-author of three American Religious Identification Surveys, theorizes why None has become the “default category.” He says, ”Young people are resistant to the authority of institutional religion, older people are turned off by the politicization of religion, and people are simply less into theology than ever before.”

Kosmin’s surveys were the first to brand the Nones in 1990 when they were 6 percent of U.S. adults. By the 2008 survey, Nones were up to 15 percent. By 2010, another survey, the biannual General Social Survey, bumped the number to 18 percent.

Commit to Clicking Away from Internet Porn

Whitney Hopler

Editor's Note: The following is a report on the practical applications of Tim Chester's recent book, Closing the Window: Steps to Living Porn Free, (InterVarsity Press, 2010).

Pornography is all over the Internet. Even when people aren’t looking for porn, they can still encounter it unexpectedly because it’s so prevalent online. Many people in our culture give into porn’s temptations and experience pain as a result, and Christians aren’t immune to the problem. In fact, statistics show that about one in three Christians – men and women alike – reports being addicted to pornography.

If you’re one of them, you may feel as if you simply can’t give up your porn habit. But you can, with God’s help, because God’s grace is always greater than your sin. Here’s how you can click away from Internet porn, for good:

Seven reasons why you should learn the principles of God's Economy nowG

1. Your true potential is hidden from you by the forces of evil to reduce your impact to do good in the world.

2. Our environment has conditioned us to accept lack and unbelief in our true creative ability.

3. We don't see the potential we have due to our natural reasoning. It is hidden from us.

4. The principles taught in this book are bible based from our Creator.

5. Anyone can rise to greater potential by learning these principles.

6. God's economy is abundance.

7. God's economy is based upon multiplication.

STRIVE TO REST

 Amy Layne Litzelman

“Let us therefore be zealous and exert ourselves and strive diligently to enter that rest [of God, to know and experience it for ourselves], that no one may fall or perish by the same kind of unbelief and disobedience [into which those in the wilderness fell].” (Hebrews 4:11, AMP)

Resting is a very interesting concept. You could probably ask a hundred people what it looks like to them and get a hundred unique answers. At different points in my life I might have pictured reading a good book while the kids were asleep, a week at the beach, or waking up refreshed. Others would say, “A day off of work,” or “The feeling after a project is finished.” All of these would fit into the definition of rest, in both the English dictionary and in the Bible.

Our human bodies need consistent blocks of time to recuperate after a day or season of activity. When Jesus walked the earth, He regularly took time away from serving the crowds and urged His disciples to do the same. This anapauō type of rest is a ceasing from labor in order to recover and regain our strength.

There is a rest, however, which far surpasses a physical recuperation. Katapausis (pronounced kä-tä'-pau-sēs) does not depend on our level of activity, remaining constant even when the body is exhausted. This rest does not hinge on governmental peace or if we live in abundance or lack. Katapausis is a resting place during the greatest storm; a peace unshakable.

I recognized glimpses of it as I read the words of Katie Davis in her book Kisses From Katie this week. In the midst of thousands of starving, hurting people in Uganda, this young lady strives to look past the vastness of the task, beyond the impossibilities that surround her, and into the truth of Who Jesus is. She walks out one day at a time, obeying His leading while trusting in and relying on His goodness, His strength, His wisdom, and power. And at the end of each day, she looks back to see all of the mighty things He has done and knows joy beyond understanding.

As the world seems to be going faster and faster and the trials and tribulations increase with each passing year, having a higher level of rest available to us is of irreplaceable value. Yet, it does not come without cost. The author of Hebrews urges us to strive diligently to enter this rest. What does that mean? How do we strive to rest?

• First, one of our highest priorities should be to have a soft heart before God.

“Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says: Today, if you will hear His voice, do not harden your hearts, as [happened] in the rebellion [of Israel]…” (Hebrews 3:7-8a)

A soft heart is an open heart. A soft heart is vulnerable and honest, allowing God to show us the truth about Himself, ourselves, and our circumstances. It is often painful, but only in this place can we avoid devastating lies and snares of our enemy and walk in the joy and freedom God desires for us.

On the other hand, if we push certain sins and issues back in the corner in an effort to not deal with them or keep them hidden, our hearts will become more and more hardened and deceived by sin. We will begin to think we know how best to live out our lives. This pride and rebellion will separate us from the One Who is our only hope of freedom.

• Second, we must obey what the Father tells us through His Word and by His Spirit.

“So God’s rest is there for people to enter, but those who first heard this good news failed to enter because they disobeyed God.” (Hebrews 4:6)

Obedience is the litmus test of humility. A step of obedience reveals that our heart has not completely hardened against God and opens us up to see the loving sovereignty of our Maker. In obedience we come to understand that God knows all things and moves in perfect wisdom, power, and love.

I John 3:24 tells us that those who obey God’s commandments remain in fellowship with Him. I love the picture the Amplified Bible paints: “They let Christ be a home to them and they are the home of Christ.” In this close communion, katapausis can be found.

• Third, we must come to a place of absolute trust in God alone.

“For only we who believe can enter his rest…” (Hebrews 4:3a)

God does not ask us to have blind faith. He constantly shows Himself to be perfectly wise and powerful. Although the Israelites left slavery in Egypt with many great signs and wonders, they failed to enter into the rest God desired for them because they did not come to a place of trust. When difficult circumstances arose, they quickly fell back on their own understanding instead of placing their faith in the faithfulness of their Savior. They believed in their weakness more than they believed in the power and goodness of God.

We are faced with the same dilemma today. To enter into the fortress and hiding place of peace, we must choose to look beyond physical circumstances to the truth of Who God is. We must choose to rely upon His goodness, wisdom, and power when all of the facts around us yell out that failure is imminent. We must choose to put our faith in God over the cries of our emotions or weaknesses.

This choosing may start out as a gritting of the teeth and a holding on with all we have, but as our God reveals His faithfulness over and over again, we learn to lean back into Him and truly rest.

Now, before we get too overwhelmed at what we must strive to do, read further in Hebrews 4. Our Father does not leave us to work these things out on our own.

→ First, He gives us His Word – alive and full of power, sharper than any two-edged sword – to expose, analyze, and judge the very thoughts and purposes of our heart. We don’t have to wonder what is right or wrong. When we read the Word of God in humility and hunger, the Word itself will penetrate into our hearts and reveal within us what must remain and what must be changed.

→ Second, God gave us His Son, Jesus, Who has shared in all of our weaknesses and assaults to temptation, and so understands what we are walking through. Because He walked in perfect relationship with the Father and without sin, He is able to give us mercy in our failures and grace to help with every need. And, He beckons us to come fearlessly, confidently, and boldly to His throne.

“Striving to rest” seems like an oxymoron. But as we lay aside our pride and live before our God with a soft heart, as we exchange our sin and rebellion for His plans and purposes, as we believe that He loves us perfectly and can be trusted explicitly even in the things we don’t understand, we find a place of rest that no one can take away. A rest that cannot be shaken.

It was in this rest that Paul was able to write letters full of hope and thanksgiving even while sitting in prison. It was to this rest that David returned in Psalm 55:23 after wrestling with his fears. It is into this rest that our Father calls us today. Amazing. Be zealous to enter in.

* * * * *

How have you experienced katapausis? What do you do to remain in His rest?

---

Amy Layne Litzelman writes, sings, and teaches biblical truths from a clean, simple, yet profound perspective. More than anything else, she longs to know her creator-God and emit His fragrant life. This desire led her to parner in a worship, discipleship, and teaching minitry for over eight years.

She has written over 70 songs, recorded four CDs, and traveled to teach and lead worship across the US and in the Philippines. Amy released her first book, This Beloved Road: A journey of Revelation and Worship in January 2011. She continues to write music, as well as private journaling, letters of encouragement to Filipino pastors and churches, and a blog.

Amy and her husband, Matt, currently live in Jackson, WY, and have two adult sons. You can follow her at: Facebook, LinkedIn, at her blog or at Goodreads. You may also visit her website or Book page

http://www.srlministries.org/index.php/blog/postname/178

The Mentally retarded and the image of God

by Prof. J. Rendle-Short

Because I am a pediatrician and constantly see mentally retarded children and their parents, I must contribute an addendum. From time to time I visit a home for such children. Indoors I see little motionless bodies lying in cots or on beanbags. Outside, in the garden, those with slightly higher intelligence wander around in the sunshine stirring the earth or flicking leaves. Most cannot talk. They have no creativity or desire for immortality. They lack the very essential: minds.

Do such children possess the image of God? Of course the answer is “Yes.” Christians may not deride any human being by calling him a vegetable (Proverbs 14:31). Such children have been conceived by human parents but are a sad commentary on our fallen world.

I believe these children, along with those who die in infancy, occupy a special place in the economy of God. You remember that because of unbelief, the children of Israel on the brink of entering the promised land were turned back and compelled to wander forty years in the desert. All except Joshua, and “your little ones who you said would become a prey, and your sons, who this day have no knowledge of good or evil, (they) shall enter there, and I will give it (the promised land) to them, and they shall possess it” (Deuteronomy 1:39, Isaiah 7:15).

You will also remember that King Herod, thwarted in his effort to find the Baby Jesus ordered that all male babies under the age of 2 years living in the vicinity of Bethlehem should be killed. But Joseph and Mary, warned by the Holy Spirit, fled with Jesus to Egypt. The ecclesiastical calendar each year commemorates the event as Innocents day. The Scripture passages prescribed to be read on that day are Matthew 2:13–18, which records the story, and Revelation 14:1–5. I suggest you read the latter verses in full. Here are some excerpts:—“And I looked, and lo, a Lamb stood on Mount Zion, and with him an hundred and forty-four thousand, having his Father’s name written in their foreheads. . . . These are they which are not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from among men, the first fruits unto God and to the Lamb. And in their mouth was found no guile; for they are without fault before the throne of God.”

Reformation theology evidently considered that this passage referred to those who had died young. Since then many sects have taken it as referring to their own peculiar group. But none fit the description except those who are mentally or physically infants. All such children are members of the human race, they have human bodies such as Christ honored; true, they may be deformed. Also they are sinners, as are all humans. But they have no knowledge of good or evil and therefore have not committed actual sin, and will not do so (Romans 7:9). They are God’s specials without guile. They follow the Lamb whithersoever he goes. He can, and often does, use them to bring others close to himself.

http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/cm/v4/n1/man-image-of-god

Jesus Came And Is Coming Again

By Bruce Collins

“And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. Then the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.’” Luke 2:9-12NKJV

There is usually joy when a healthy baby is born into this world. When the Lord was born, there was the manifestation of the glory of God. I wonder if that glory looked like a superb display of the northern lights coming from the angel. There were angels, and there was joy. This was the event for which Israel was supposedly waiting. But wait a minute! God didn’t do this right, did He?

In order to be the mother of the Lord, Mary had to appear to be a “loose woman” since she was not married. Isaiah was clear that a virgin would conceive (Isa. 7:14), but how many unmarried women have children out of wedlock without committing sin? Even though her husband Joseph and others accepted what God had done, I have no doubt that the stigma of being conceived before His folks married was something the Lord had to live with as He grew up. I’m sure His miraculous conception was something Mary and Joseph told others, but I’m sure most who heard their story snickered and said, “Sure! Sure!”

Born To Us

The Messiah was to be born a King, but Jesus came from a humble family. One would expect a king to grow up in Jerusalem, not in Nazareth. The Messiah’s family should have believed in Him, but they did not, until after His resurrection (Jn. 7:5). The nation did not understand that their Messiah was to suffer and die before He came to reign, so even though there was joy at the Lord’s birth there was also sorrow. Mary was told that a “sword would pierce her soul” (Lk. 2:35). This child would suffer. So would His mother. He was to be rejected and ridiculed. He was not accepted by the Jews as the promised Messiah. How could this be God’s will? How could this bring joy?

When we understand that the baby at Bethlehem was destined to be the Christ of the Cross because He was born to be the Savior, then and then only will we understand why there was joy “to all people.” This time of year we see a lot of manger scenes. I’ve been thinking that I should put three crosses in my yard with a light on the middle cross and a sign that says, “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” (1 Tim. 1:15). True joy comes when we realize that death could not hold the Lord in the grave. He lives, and He’s coming again. The joy of the angels when one sinner repents and believes (Lk. 15:10) is the true joy of this season.

Coming For Us

Just before His crucifixion, Jesus said, “If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also” (Jn. 14:3). Unbelief caused Israel to miss their Messiah when He came the first time. Unbelief will cause those who reject Him to be deceived when He comes again. In 2 Thessalonians 2:11-12 we read, “For this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.”

The Lord’s second coming will be much like His first. Most will be convinced that His coming didn’t really happen, and that those who suddenly disappeared were not really caught away by the Lord (1 Th. 4:17). Not only will they miss out on the joy of going to heaven without dying, but also they will miss out on the joy of spending eternity with this One who was born in the City of David, announced by angels, foretold in the prophetic Scriptures, proven to be the Messiah by His miracles and teaching, crucified on a cross, raised from the dead and is coming again.


http://www.gtpress.org/gtweb/gtmag/mag06/apr06/feature2.html