What would the neighbours say?

When God gives us a job to do, He gives us the means to do it as well. God gave Noah the instruction manual that he needed to build the ark. Noah preached repentance to the people but they ignored or scorned him. How difficult it must have been to remain faithful for so long, when all the circumstances in Noah’s life must have made him think twice about his project. God asks us to look beyond circumstances and look to Him instead. Hebrews 11:1 tells us that this is what faith is, relying on what God tells us rather than what we see. Sometimes God has us do what seems really quite against the status quo. Faith requires trust. Trust produces action. Noah didn't get hung up on what the neighbours were thinking! What about you?

Greatness in smallness

Anthropologist Margaret Mead said, "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed people can change the world. Indeed it is the only thing that ever has." When I read this I think about the group of 12 men who surrounded Jesus on his ministry. I think about all that was accomplished through the fervent passion of the few yet that passion spread throughout the earth and continues to spread to this day. Never stop at your smallness. Ponder His greatness within your smallness. That is pretty effective.

Jumps of faith!

I read something amusing today - "Five frogs are sitting on a log. Four decide to jump off. How many are left? There are still five - because there's a difference between deciding and doing." This got me thinking about James 2:26 which makes the statement - "faith without works is dead". James is examining two kinds of faith: one that leads to godly works and one that does not. One is true, and the other is false. One is dead, the other alive. James is simply saying that if you ‘say' you are a Christian, then there had better be some appropriate works displayed or your faith is false. Can the dead ‘faith' that someone has which produces no change in a person and no good works before men and God be a faith that justifies? Absolutely not. It is not merely enough to say you believe in Jesus. You must actually believe and trust in Him. If you actually do, then you will demonstrate this faith by a changed and godly life. Go on - jump off the log!

Hope is alive...

I came accross a great definition of faith. It said " Faith sees the invisible, feels the intangible, and achieves the impossible". Romans 10:17 declares that faith comes by hearing the word of God. When we truely grasp the promises of God's word our eyes and ears are opened to what is possible with God. God turns our faith into substance. We can touch His promises in our lives. D.L. Moody once said, "A little faith will bring your soul to heaven, but a lot of faith will bring heaven to your soul". Activate your faith today. Keep hope alive in your soul.

...an empty cross?

I read a quote today by Skip Moen that said, "And what words would make the cross worth nothing? How about words like good enough, fair, tolerance, correct, personal opinion, relative, cultural, acceptable or does not hurt anyone? Wherever sin is minimized, the cross is emptied. Wherever God is ignored, the cross is emptied. Wherever you and I refuse to submit to the call of the King, the cross is emptied". Lets never minimise the greatest act of love for humankind. Christ died for sin. Once and for all. He endured to the end and as a result we are saved.

One day

Psalm 84:10 says, "For a day in thy courts is better than a thousand. I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness".
The "house" of the Lord provides eternal dwelling, whereas the wicked dwell in temporary "tents." A single day in His presence is far superior to all of the thousand best days the world can provide combined.

Attitude check

Philippians 2:3-5 says "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:". Andrew Murray said, "Humility is perfect quietness of heart, It is to expect nothing, to wonder at nothing that is done to me, to feel nothing done against me. It is to be at rest when nobody praises me, and when I am blamed or despised. It is to have a blessed home in the Lord, where I can go in and shut the door, and kneel to my Father in secret, and am at peace as in a deep sea of calmness, when all around and above is trouble". Let's ponder humilty again and discover that perhaps it is time we had an attitude check?

What is acceptable worship?

Hebrews 12:28 says "Since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, Let us worship God acceptably with reverence and awe for our God is a Consuming Fire." Still on the subject of worship a recent journal discussed the point that if there is acceptable worship then there is also unacceptable worship. What is acceptable worship? The first portrait of worship casts Cain and Able, the sons of Adam and Eve. Cain was a gardener, botonist, a man of the soil; Abel was a shepherd, a man of the flocks. The time comes when they both bring their sacrifices to the Lord, but only Abel’s was pleasing to the Lord, or acceptable. Why? Remember, what Cain brought to the Lord was a beautiful offering of fruit from the ground, most likely with a proud smile on his face, expecting to impress the Lord with his succulent sacrifice. He’d harvested the fruit, tilled the land, nourished the seeds, and now was presenting an impressive buffet to God! Abel brought to the Lord one of his innocent baby lambs. Undoubtedly with tears in his eyes and hurt in his heart, after having to slit the throat of one of his beloved flock. Both were costly sacrifices, but the approaches were polar opposites: Cain went to God with pride in his heart; Abel went with brokenness. Abel's sacrifice was pleasing to the Lord, because it was obedient to God’s design.

Who gets the glory?

1 Samuel 4(1 - 11) tells us of two consecutive battles that Israel lost to the Philistines. After the Israelites get thrashed in battle on day one they decide to bring the ark of the covenant into the camp with the hope that IT would save them and bring victory. However here we find the mistake that they looked to the ark and not to the LORD of the ark. We must be careful to never put the emphasis on the "tools" of our worship for unless the Lord goes before us we are sure to encounter defeat. Even though the ground shook when Israel recognised the arks presence in the camp they had their eyes fixed on the "thing" and not the "One" who would bring victory over the enemy. God's presence cannot be treated as a "good-luck" charm! God's presence is to be feared and not used for man's glory.