Doses of Faith

 A few days back, I became engaged in a controversy on Face Book. A good person posted that it was acceptable to talk about someone who had hurt her. Is it acceptable to tell others how someone hurt you? The person she was talking about did not like her sharing. I posted my view. I did not agree with the sweet, good lady as I saw silence and forgiveness as the best choice. This is a lesson I had learned the hard way in my younger days. I instantly realized that many would not agree with me. I realized I should have listened to myself and stayed silent. What should I have done? Pray. I forgot that I had already promised myself to prioritize prayer over responding on social media. I failed. With the current political environment, we need to be praying for our nation. However, it is hard with all the political chatter. I don't agree with many, and I am easily drawn into conversations. Then, I realized that what I posted was not making any difference to anyone. I thought about the hate...

 How often do we shy away from sharing the gospel? An opportunity arises and we simply overlook the door of opportunity to share the gospel. Why? Are we not prepared? Is it fear of rejection? I have been there. I will never forget that day because of the guilt I felt afterwards. God placed a lady in my path for me to help. I froze. She drove away. I went home and prayed for forgiveness. Yet, it was one who needed kind words from someone who cared. I cared, but didn't act on the opportunity.  Now, as I am reading the book of Acts, I wish we all could have the boldness of those disciples. They boldly obeyed the call to share the gospel to all nations. Many were beaten, bond in chains, and thrown into prison. Then, as soon as they were released, they boldly proclaimed the gospel. Can we have that same boldness? In Acts 1, the disciples watch Jesus go up into the clouds. Their Savoir was gone. Two men in white apparel came to the disciples and said, "You men of Galilee, why stand ...

Today, on most social media, there are posts about end times. It seems many are consumed with the expectation of the end times. Those expectations differ over denominations and the many books written about end times. There are movies about being "Left Behind." Yet, are we more consumed about being knowledgeable about end times than obeying God? What good is it if we are sharing what we imagine will happen instead of sharing salvation? Before Jesus' resurrection, he gave the following command to his followers in Matthew 28:19: Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. In order to make disciples, we have to understand what makes a disciple. God loves all his creation and desires for all to choose him. It is not forced. It is our choice. Some come to God at a very young age while others come later in life. It doesn't matter. We simply have to believe.  If you go to a Bible app and searc...

  Reading 2 Chronicles where King Asa is preparing to go into battle. A prophet comes with a message: "Listen to me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin: the LORD is with you when you are with Him. And if you seek Him, He will let you find Him; but if you forsake Him, He will forsake you." (15:2) If you want God, seek Him. Pray. Call out for God to come to you. In faith, believe.  We have trials and hardships. We have those decisions to make and fear what if we make the wrong decision. We look back on all our bad decisions and failures and wonder what else could we have done. Yet, the scripture tells us to seek Him.  King Asa and his men saw the huge army coming to crush them. The enemy was coming in full force. They feared. King Asa prayed, "LORD, there is no one besides You to help in the battle between the powerful and those who have no strength; so help us, O LORD our God, for we trust in You, and in Your name have come against this multitude. O LORD, You are our God; le...

Therefore, we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip. Hebrews 2:1 As I studied the apostles' letters to the churches, I was challenged by the repeated reminder that Jesus obediently yielded to the cross for our sins. All the writers repeated the message of salvation which came through the cross where Christ's blood was shed for our sins.  Jesus died on the cross, buried in a tomb, and on the third day the tomb was empty. Jesus Christ arose from the dead and lives. He lives! 'After the Lord had spoken to them, he was received up into heaven and sat on the right hand of God.' Mark 16:19 The apostles departed and obeyed Jesus' command, 'Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.' (Mark 16:14) They spread the gospel teaching salvation, the power of the Holy Spirit, and how to live out their faith.  Now, here we are thousands of years later. We have their message. We ...

  Salvation. Born again. What is it? As a child, I heard the story about Jesus telling the young Pharisee what he must do to enter into heaven. He must believe. He must be born again. As Moses had lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so the Son of God must be lifted up. In other words, the Son of God is the sacrificial lamb for all our sins, and all who believe will have eternal life. We have our physical birth. To be born again is our spiritual birth receiving God in us. Are you born again? If not, do not linger too long. Here is what Peter and Jesus had to say about salvation and being born again. From the prophets in the Old Testament to the messengers in the New Testament, the message is about the Messiah, the sacrificial Lamb, who will bring salvation to all who will believe. “Of this salvation the prophets have inquired and searched carefully, who prophesied of the grace that would come to you, searching what, or what manner of time, the Spirit of C...

 James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad, greetings. My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into divers temptations; knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. James 1:1,2 James' letter was not just written to the Church, but to the Jews who believed in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Due to persecution, many believers left Jerusalem. Yet, it appears that persecution followed many of them. In this letter, James encourages and instructs these persecuted churches. They had drifted from faith and God giving in to temptations.  James goes on point in the first words of the letter addressing temptation. Why are we tempted? Where does temptation come? How do we face temptation? As I read James' letter, I see that today's church is no different. Each Christian faces temptations and trials. Each church is filled with many different sets of opinions and challenges. Yet do we react to those trials...

 THERE REMAINS THEREFORE A REST TO THE PEOPLE OF GOD. Hebrews 4:9 Many of us look forward to rest, a peaceful and quiet time. For people with faith in God, we are assured of entering God's rest. This is more than our escape to a quiet place. I see this as when we will peacefully rest in the presence of God. As the writer of Hebrews was addressing Christian Jews, he was reminding them that God's Sabbath is no longer the same Sabbath they have observed for centuries. On their Sabbath, they could do no kind of work. They criticized Jesus for healing and gathering grain on the Sabbath as working on the Sabbath was a punishable offence. The writer was telling them that works will not lead to God's rest.  Again, he tells them to labor: "Let us labor therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief." (4:11)  We must have faith in God. Believe. Share God's Word with unbelievers laboring to show them the wonderful grace and love...

 Just imagine wondering endlessly in a wilderness. A hot and dry wilderness were nothing will grow. No relief and no hope to arrive in a land full of promise and beauty. As I read the words in Hebrews 3, my mind goes to the patchy grass we have due to a dry summer. Yet, the blossoms in my flower bed are a joy to see. The difference between my lawn and my flowerbed is that one is given life with care and watering while the other receives no care. Our hearts and souls are no different. In order to grow, we need to be fed.  What are we feeding into our hearts and minds? As I look around, I wonder if we are living in a spiritual dry season following after the ways of the world. Is this the reason we have leaders who don't know anything about God and faith? Are we wondering in a dry wilderness with no hope?  Are we in a dry season because we place our hope in a man and not faith in God?  I find this interesting that words written two thousand years ago speaks truth to us ...

Take firm hold of instruction, do not let go; Keep her, for she is your life.  Proverbs 4:13   The words came strong, "Hold on! Hold on, I'm coming!" Hanging in fear and holding onto the limb for dear life, the child held onto the limb trusting her father would come in time. A young teen who feels life isn't worth holding on to because the seizures keep coming. She wakes up trembling, goes to kitchen for a sharp knife, goes to the den, and sits in her father's big chair. Her plans were to end it all. With knife in hand, she feels her father's Bible pressing against her. She picks it up and the Bible falls open in her lap. She looks down and these words spoke to her as they looked up at her: "I will praise thee, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made." She drops the knife which fell to the floor beside her. At that moment, she set her mind to hold on to life and her heart to hold on to her faith.  As I read Paul's words to Timothy in 2 Timothy 1:...

 The USA just celebrated its 250th birthday. What a celebration! I have enjoyed seeing how everyone celebrated this milestone in our country. Over and over in the last few months, the United States has been proclaimed to be a Christian Nation founded on Christian standards. This has caused debates, and I'm not going to join the debate. However, many of the first arrivals from Europe came to live out their Christian faiths. There are churches in almost every town. Go for a drive along the country roads of America, and you will see old church buildings along the way. The Christian faith has grown across our country. Yet, how many of us live out our Christian faith? Just how many of us are dedicated to living out what Christians should do? As I read Paul's letters recorded in the Bible, I see where he reminds the churches how they should live and what they should be doing. Paul repeats the message of salvation through faith. God sent His Son, Jesus, to be our sacrificial Lamb. Jes...

 How would you like to be reminded of something that happened fifty years ago? Recently, a lady called me to tell me about something that she had heard that happened fifty years ago. After the call, I wondered why in the world dig up old dirt on someone from their past.  We may never know the trials and pains a person may have endured over their lifetime. People make bad decisions. Some people regret those decisions and change to a better life. Then, along comes the little reminders through the words of a busybody. Words shared to one. The one shares with another. Most of the others continue the cycle. Words. Not words to encourage, but words that reopens a painful season. If only we all consider our words before speaking, because words matter. "But I say to you that every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgement. For your words will be justified and by your words you will be condemned."              ...

Saved by Grace. Just what is grace? Before answering I will consider how broken I continue to be. Yes! I have been saved by the grace of God. I believe it. Why me?  Once I was broken and all the pieces have not been put together yet. I have my faults. Yet, with those imperfections, I continue to learn and grow. With all those imperfections, I was a teacher of the gospel. I didn't ask for it as it was offered to me. I didn't feel qualified, but there was that sweet quiet teacher there to encourage me with every lesson. I studied. I prayed. I reached out to God. He was always there. My words were not mine. As my mind was filled more and more with God's grace, I learned to be more loving, giving, and forgiving. Yet, God is still working on me. Why me?  Just because. No reasonable reason for the intellectual mind. Why not the talkative social butterfly? Wouldn't a talker be better? Why not the Bob Jones University graduate who has studied under Bible scholars? Wouldn't ...

 As I start my day, I am faced with many choices of how to start this day. Today, I wonder how much that choice influences my thoughts, words, and actions. With the little phone within reach, I can see what is happening in the world through the eyes of those on social media or any news outlet. Each has the power to control my thoughts and views. Then, if I avoid that little phone, open the door and simply listen to nature out my back door calming my spirit and lifting my thoughts to the beauty of our beautiful world, I can find joy in God's creation. However, there is another choice. The choice many may never consider. This is seeking the greatest of all Influencers. "... for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them; and that ROCK was Christ." (1 Corinthians 10:4)  People and circumstances will always continue to be the same. When Paul wrote his first letter to the church in Corinth, the church was surrounded in a society of idolatry overflowing with forni...

 "God in Me." Is this possible?  Paul preached the resurrection of Jesus Christ and the baptism of the Holy Spirit. And, Jesus promised to send the Holy Spirit as our Helper. Here is Jesus' message in John 14: 15 - 31.  “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.  “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. Yet a little while and the world will see me no more, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.”  Judas (not Iscariot) said to him, “Lord, how is it that ...

 Lately, I thank God every morning for his wonderful grace. God has given me another day and another opportunity to live in the footsteps of Jesus. Instead of looking at the actions of others, I concentrate more on what I can do to show the way to God. Again, it isn't about theology or concerns with the end of the world. For me, I want to be more like Paul striving to let those in my path know that Jesus, the Son of God, died on the cross for all our sins. Jesus died, arose from the dead, and resurrected into Heaven giving us hope for a better life through our faith in our living God.  "For by grace are you saved through faith and that not of yourselves. It is the gift of God. Not of works lest any man should boast." Ephesians 2:8,9 This is the verse that comes to my mind when I think about God's grace and my salvation. I memorized this verse as a child. It has stayed with me reminding me that I am saved by God's love and grace. It isn't because of the years t...

 Along Paul's mission journeys, he preached salvation through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. His letter to the Romans is no different. In the introduction, Paul makes it clear that Jesus Christ died for the sins of both the Jews and the Gentiles. The gospel is for all nations. As God told Abram in Genesis 17:5, "... your name shall be Abraham, for a father of many nations have I made thee."  God loves all his creation and desires for all to know the way to Him.  Then, don't overlook Jesus' commission to his followers in Matthew 28:19,20: "Go ye therefore and teach all nations, baptizing then in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you; and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.  As Paul continues his letter, he stresses that no matter who you are, no matter the church you attend, and no matter what your ethnic background "there is non...

“Therefore, you are inexcusable, O man, whosoever you are that judge; for wherein you judge another, you condemn yourself, for you that judge does the same things.” Romans 2:1 Here they come. The faithful taking the same seats week after week. As they enter, some greet others and some prefer taking their seats in silence. Every week, the same faithful come sitting in the same spot Sunday after Sunday. No matter what they did during the week, they come because this has been the family ritual for generations. In fact, some take great pride in being from the line of the families who built this church. So, they come. The couple on the fifth center row on the right side, inspect everyone’s clothes as they pass by their seat. The lady’s opinion of some clothes is heard as she gasps. Another couple on the other side of the church notices an elderly lady, so the husband gets up to assist her to her seat. A very sleepy young man with bloodshot eyes slips into the seat beside his parents. Th...