“But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind.”
Do you believe that God wants to give you good things? Do you believe the Bible when it says that God will answer prayers? Then why do we doubt?
Doubt is born of unbelief. It is a sure sign that there is still unbelief in us.
Remember the man who brought his son before Jesus for healing. Remember the man’s plea: “Lord, I believe. Help my unbelief.”
James is specifically referring here to asking for wisdom in prayer. He says that you should ask in complete confidence that it will be given to you. When we ask for things that are in God’s will, He will be faithful in giving them to us.
And always remember, God always answers our prayers. We may not get the answer we like, but there is always an answer. “No” is an answer. So is “not now.” We may not want those answers, but we often get them. When God seems silent to your prayer, have faith; He has answered.
James goes on to say that anyone who asks in doubt will not be answered. Why is this? Because God deals with us when we treat Him for who He is: God. The Creator of the universe. Doubting Him or His answer shows how much faith we have in Him. He answers the faithful.
CHRISTIAN LEADERSHIP PRINCIPLE: When we pray, we should do so with complete faith. Pray knowing that God will answer.
Here’s a set of verses to meditate on Today: Matthew 7:7-11
Prayer: Lord, I believe, help my unbelief. Increase my faith, Lord. In Christ’s name, amen
Showing posts with label sincere faith. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sincere faith. Show all posts
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Day 39: 1 Peter 1:13
“Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”
I know this is going to be harder for some more than others but here goes.
What is the end-game of our faith? Jesus. In heaven. Right?
Peter is reminding us that we need to keep that end-game in mind as we set about our daily lives. He reminds us that it’s not just about us. We may be saved, but how about your neighbor? How about your family? How about your friends?
Being a Christian isn’t always easy. It’s not always fun and games. Sometimes it’s serious life-and-death stuff.
Because of this, Peter tells us to prepare our minds for action. What does that mean, exactly? It means that at all times, we should be ready to share the gospel, or help someone who needs it, or serve God in whatever way He is telling us to do so. It’s hard to do that when we are goofing our way through life, not being serious about anything.
It can be easy, once we are saved, to relax, knowing that we are okay. Jesus never meant for it to be that way, but it’s one of Satan’s best tools. If the devil can’t keep us out of the kingdom, he’ll make us as ineffective as possible. Don’t let that happen. Prepare your mind for action.
Peter says that by doing so, we’ll have an easier time setting our hope on the final grace that awaits us. Remember, grace is getting something that we don’t deserve; in this case, eternal life, and a declaration of “not-guilty” from the judge of judges, God almighty.
Think about it this way: if we are concerned with the eternal and worldly state of the people around us, it helps us focus better on God and eternity. If we focus on things that don’t matter (screwing around with the things of this world) than we have a hard time focusing on God and what awaits us.
CHRISTIAN LEADERSHIP PRINCIPLE: The Christian Leader thinks seriously on matters of faith and sharing that faith with those around them, knowing that it helps them focus on the grace that Jesus gives us.
Here’s a set of verses to meditate on today: Matthew 6:19-24
Prayer: Father, help me to be more serious and focused on things that are eternal. I pray that you ready my mind for action, showing me the need of people around me. Help me to stay focused on your kingdom by staying focused on your love for those around me. In Jesus’ Name I pray, amen.
I know this is going to be harder for some more than others but here goes.
What is the end-game of our faith? Jesus. In heaven. Right?
Peter is reminding us that we need to keep that end-game in mind as we set about our daily lives. He reminds us that it’s not just about us. We may be saved, but how about your neighbor? How about your family? How about your friends?
Being a Christian isn’t always easy. It’s not always fun and games. Sometimes it’s serious life-and-death stuff.
Because of this, Peter tells us to prepare our minds for action. What does that mean, exactly? It means that at all times, we should be ready to share the gospel, or help someone who needs it, or serve God in whatever way He is telling us to do so. It’s hard to do that when we are goofing our way through life, not being serious about anything.
It can be easy, once we are saved, to relax, knowing that we are okay. Jesus never meant for it to be that way, but it’s one of Satan’s best tools. If the devil can’t keep us out of the kingdom, he’ll make us as ineffective as possible. Don’t let that happen. Prepare your mind for action.
Peter says that by doing so, we’ll have an easier time setting our hope on the final grace that awaits us. Remember, grace is getting something that we don’t deserve; in this case, eternal life, and a declaration of “not-guilty” from the judge of judges, God almighty.
Think about it this way: if we are concerned with the eternal and worldly state of the people around us, it helps us focus better on God and eternity. If we focus on things that don’t matter (screwing around with the things of this world) than we have a hard time focusing on God and what awaits us.
CHRISTIAN LEADERSHIP PRINCIPLE: The Christian Leader thinks seriously on matters of faith and sharing that faith with those around them, knowing that it helps them focus on the grace that Jesus gives us.
Here’s a set of verses to meditate on today: Matthew 6:19-24
Prayer: Father, help me to be more serious and focused on things that are eternal. I pray that you ready my mind for action, showing me the need of people around me. Help me to stay focused on your kingdom by staying focused on your love for those around me. In Jesus’ Name I pray, amen.
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Day 35: James 1:2-3
“Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.”
The crap will hit the fan. It’s inevitable. Nobody leads such a charmed life that they never face any troubles. Sadly, some people think that because they are a Christian, they will never have to go through hard times. They believe that because they are obeying God, going to church, tithing, and all that Christian stuff, that God owes them an easy life. Boy, are they wrong.
God didn’t spare His Son, and He didn’t spare any of the prophets, or even the apostles, from some pretty stormy seas, even death in terrible unusual ways. If God didn’t spare them, why would He spare you?
In fact, James tells us to treat troubles differently. He says “find joy in trials.” Now, that’s easier said than done. Why would we take joy in trials?
First of all, lets come at this from a biblical viewpoint. At the time that James wrote this to his congregations, they had faced and were facing massive persecution at the hands of Judaism. The dispersion of Christ-followers that followed the martyrdom of Stephen led people into strange new areas, new cities, and new jobs. This created all sorts of problems as unemployed Christians came racing into new towns to escape persecution. Unfortunately, persecution followed or started up afresh in these new towns.
James is telling his congregants to take heart in their troubles because it is teaching them something: perseverance. Our human nature is to give up at the first sign of trouble. We don’t like trouble, we don’t like to be in trouble. We would rather crawl under a rock and hide. James says that this trouble is teaching you how to stand under fire while God sees you through it.
As we look at this from our perspective, we see some similarities. As we take a stand for our faith in this world, or strive to work for Christ in this world, we are going to face troubles. Sometimes they come from outside sources, and sometimes they come from our friends and families. The overriding factor here is that we are to find joy in these circumstances because we are being taught and trained how to stand in the face of the enemy and not waver. And it isn’t just anyone teaching the lesson, it’s God.
CHRISTIAN LEADERSHIP PRINCIPLE: When we find ourselves in a rough spot, in trouble because of our faith, or under fire while working for God, take heart; God is using these circumstances to strengthen you and help you to stand.
Here’s a set of verses to meditate on today: Philippians 4:10-13
Prayer: Father, help me to stand in the face of opposition. Give me courage, and teach me to persevere. Give me joy in the face of my enemies. In Christ’s name, amen.
The crap will hit the fan. It’s inevitable. Nobody leads such a charmed life that they never face any troubles. Sadly, some people think that because they are a Christian, they will never have to go through hard times. They believe that because they are obeying God, going to church, tithing, and all that Christian stuff, that God owes them an easy life. Boy, are they wrong.
God didn’t spare His Son, and He didn’t spare any of the prophets, or even the apostles, from some pretty stormy seas, even death in terrible unusual ways. If God didn’t spare them, why would He spare you?
In fact, James tells us to treat troubles differently. He says “find joy in trials.” Now, that’s easier said than done. Why would we take joy in trials?
First of all, lets come at this from a biblical viewpoint. At the time that James wrote this to his congregations, they had faced and were facing massive persecution at the hands of Judaism. The dispersion of Christ-followers that followed the martyrdom of Stephen led people into strange new areas, new cities, and new jobs. This created all sorts of problems as unemployed Christians came racing into new towns to escape persecution. Unfortunately, persecution followed or started up afresh in these new towns.
James is telling his congregants to take heart in their troubles because it is teaching them something: perseverance. Our human nature is to give up at the first sign of trouble. We don’t like trouble, we don’t like to be in trouble. We would rather crawl under a rock and hide. James says that this trouble is teaching you how to stand under fire while God sees you through it.
As we look at this from our perspective, we see some similarities. As we take a stand for our faith in this world, or strive to work for Christ in this world, we are going to face troubles. Sometimes they come from outside sources, and sometimes they come from our friends and families. The overriding factor here is that we are to find joy in these circumstances because we are being taught and trained how to stand in the face of the enemy and not waver. And it isn’t just anyone teaching the lesson, it’s God.
CHRISTIAN LEADERSHIP PRINCIPLE: When we find ourselves in a rough spot, in trouble because of our faith, or under fire while working for God, take heart; God is using these circumstances to strengthen you and help you to stand.
Here’s a set of verses to meditate on today: Philippians 4:10-13
Prayer: Father, help me to stand in the face of opposition. Give me courage, and teach me to persevere. Give me joy in the face of my enemies. In Christ’s name, amen.
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Day 28: 1 Timothy 1:5
“The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.”
As a leader, you will probably do a lot of teaching, mentoring, and give a lot of advice. If you’re a particularly effective leader, you’ll do this a lot. Many times, a leader will approach the advice they give, the teaching they do, and the mentoring they do without any kind of a plan or reason. Pressed for time or backed into a corner by a desperate co-worker, they shoot from the hip and may end up doing more damage than had been inflicted before.
Why is this? Because when you don’t have a plan or even a goal your advice or teaching is usually what the other person wants to hear. Because of our selfishness, because of our time constraints, and because of our lack of forethought, we will automatically tune our responses to what the other person wants to hear, both to please them and to get them out of our way.
Paul takes a different tack, and he’s teaching Timothy this method. That makes it important to us. Paul was Timothy’s mentor. In fact, Paul was a father figure to Timothy. He taught Timothy about the Bible and how to be a biblical leader. That means that if Paul was teaching this to Timothy, it has particular importance for leaders today.
Paul says that everything that we do should be for the sake of love. Here again is that unconditional love that Jesus modeled for us in His life and death, and that we are supposed to show to others. He goes further and shows the motivation that this love comes from:
1. A pure heart
2. A good conscience
3. A sincere faith
You’ll note that these are all things that God gives us at our conversion. You might also note that love comes from each of these things.
Paul is telling us that everything that we do must be in love. That means that we give up our selfish motivations and really teach, act, give advice, and mentor with an eye of truly helping the other person. We can accomplish these things because we have the Holy Spirit indwelling us. It still takes some forethought, though. It takes being prepared to answer questions and really helping people. It means setting aside some of your day to deal with pop up issues so you don’t blow them off to save the time.
CHRISTIAN LEADERSHIP PRINCIPLE: Everything we do must come from love. All advice, teaching, and leading we do must be for the good of the other person, rather than our edification.
Here’s a set of verses to meditate on today: Hebrews 12:1-3
Prayer: Father, help me to speak in love, and to truly help those in need, in whatever circumstance they or I are in. Help me to love people so much that everything I do is for their benefit, rather than mine. Thank you, Father, In Christ’s Name I pray, amen.
As a leader, you will probably do a lot of teaching, mentoring, and give a lot of advice. If you’re a particularly effective leader, you’ll do this a lot. Many times, a leader will approach the advice they give, the teaching they do, and the mentoring they do without any kind of a plan or reason. Pressed for time or backed into a corner by a desperate co-worker, they shoot from the hip and may end up doing more damage than had been inflicted before.
Why is this? Because when you don’t have a plan or even a goal your advice or teaching is usually what the other person wants to hear. Because of our selfishness, because of our time constraints, and because of our lack of forethought, we will automatically tune our responses to what the other person wants to hear, both to please them and to get them out of our way.
Paul takes a different tack, and he’s teaching Timothy this method. That makes it important to us. Paul was Timothy’s mentor. In fact, Paul was a father figure to Timothy. He taught Timothy about the Bible and how to be a biblical leader. That means that if Paul was teaching this to Timothy, it has particular importance for leaders today.
Paul says that everything that we do should be for the sake of love. Here again is that unconditional love that Jesus modeled for us in His life and death, and that we are supposed to show to others. He goes further and shows the motivation that this love comes from:
1. A pure heart
2. A good conscience
3. A sincere faith
You’ll note that these are all things that God gives us at our conversion. You might also note that love comes from each of these things.
Paul is telling us that everything that we do must be in love. That means that we give up our selfish motivations and really teach, act, give advice, and mentor with an eye of truly helping the other person. We can accomplish these things because we have the Holy Spirit indwelling us. It still takes some forethought, though. It takes being prepared to answer questions and really helping people. It means setting aside some of your day to deal with pop up issues so you don’t blow them off to save the time.
CHRISTIAN LEADERSHIP PRINCIPLE: Everything we do must come from love. All advice, teaching, and leading we do must be for the good of the other person, rather than our edification.
Here’s a set of verses to meditate on today: Hebrews 12:1-3
Prayer: Father, help me to speak in love, and to truly help those in need, in whatever circumstance they or I are in. Help me to love people so much that everything I do is for their benefit, rather than mine. Thank you, Father, In Christ’s Name I pray, amen.
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