Tag: Faithfulness

Have Faith in God

On By TimIn Faithfulness, Mark 11;, Prayer, Salvation1 Comment

Jesus answered them, “Have faith in God. For truly I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, he will have whatever he says. Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you will receive them, and you will have them. And when you stand praying, forgive if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father who is in heaven may also forgive you your sins. But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father who is in heaven forgive your sins.”

Mark 11:22–26 — Modern English Version (Thinline Edition.; Lake Mary, FL: Passio, 2014)

The things Jesus says have depths of meaning. The one thing that we can glean is we do everything here and now by faith. That is, we believe what Jesus said is true.

Here He is speaking about asking for things in prayer. If we believe we will receive them we will have them. Could this apply to salvation?

I think so.

If you believe you will receive it, you have it the moment you ask.

Consider what Calvinism offers, God must regenerate a person before they can have faith to believe. Yet here, Jesus makes no mention of waiting for regeneration first. I don’t think in anything He said to folks that they had to wait for regeneration before they could respond in faith to His words. In other words, that system teaches that salvation is possessed by a person before they can even ask for it. In fact, they must be regenerated (saved) first in order to ask for it.

But what if you believe salvation is a transient thing. Could you really have it at all if you believe it can be taken away?

I think that is a fair question to ask. And wouldn’t the idea of losing salvation be considered a doubt when Jesus promises to be with us always?

Jesus says things like this…

He who believes in Him is not condemned. But he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God..

John 3:18 — Modern English Version (Thinline Edition.; Lake Mary, FL: Passio, 2014)

Jesus didn’t mention regeneration as necessary for one to believe. He also said the believer is not condemned. It’s not a future promised state, but a current state. The unbeliever is condemned already.

The simple emphatic statement “is not condemned” demands that the state be permanent, because if it can change at some point in the future, the believer is then not “not condemned.”

Jesus’ words are simple. Believe what He says. Ask for things in faith and you will have them. You don’t need to wait for regeneration to be saved. You can believe Jesus right now and ask Him to save you right now, and have salvation right now.

Move from the state of “already condemned” to “not condemned.” These aren’t two points people bounce between. But those “already condemned” can become (permanently) “not condemned.”

Live Honorably Even When Your Beliefs are Called Evil

On By TimIn 1 Peter 02, Daily Walk, Encouragement, Faithfulness, Sanctification1 Comment

Live your lives honorably among the Gentiles, so that though they speak against you as evildoers, they shall see your good works and thereby glorify God in the day of visitation.

1 Peter 2:12 — Modern English Version (Thinline Edition.; Lake Mary, FL: Passio, 2014)

Though this was written to Jewish believers, it stands with very poignant encouragement for today. The news is rife with the pressure being put on Christians to conform to society.

People call Christians evil because of perceived “intolerance.” (I need remind all, tolerance is the last bit of virtue to be championed in a decadent society.)

Amongst other instructions, these are given:

Do not repay evil for evil, or curse for curse, but on the contrary, bless, knowing that to this you are called, so that you may receive a blessing.

1 Peter 3:9 — Modern English Version (Thinline Edition.; Lake Mary, FL: Passio, 2014)

By blessing others, it may seem as if we are giving the best stuff away to the least deserving. Yet, the promise still stands for those who give… Such receive a blessing.

They are surprised that you do not join them in the same excess of wild living, and so they speak evil of you.

1 Peter 4:4 — Modern English Version (Thinline Edition.; Lake Mary, FL: Passio, 2014)

This is exactly what is happening today. There pressure will continue to wax worse as the boundaries of decadence normalize what was once called perverse.

Peter also tells exactly why they speak evil. We do not join in with the decadence. We are called to bless and receive the sure reward. The promise still stands for them, also.

They will give account to Him who is ready to judge the living and the dead.

1 Peter 4:5 — Modern English Version (Thinline Edition.; Lake Mary, FL: Passio, 2014)

If you are waiting to be judged, you’re already on the wrong side. There is Hope for all of us. Email me, and we can chat privately.

For Such a Time as This

On By TimIn Daily Walk, Esther 41 Comment

For if you remain silent at this time, protection and deliverance for the Jews will be ordained from some other place, but you and your father’s house shall be destroyed. And who knows if you may have attained royal position for such a time as this?

Esther 4:14 — Modern English Version (Thinline Edition.; Lake Mary, FL: Passio, 2014)

If there is anyone who can understand what it is to be awkward in every facet of life, it’s me. I don’t know if I really fit in anywhere. Perhaps it’s part of my experiences that have made me who I am.

One thing I know, is there are those things that I don’t quite get. I am laying in bed, it’s late, in fact early into the next day. The cares of the day weigh heavily. What would it be like to not care?

I don’t know. I don’t know if I will ever really know.

But here is Esther. She was a misfit in the King’s court, in that she was Jewish. Granted, what I think I am pondering is nothing as monumental as what she was thinking. But it does bear some similarities, on a vastly smaller scale. Nevertheless, they are everything for the other souls involved.

Like Esther, the easy choice is self-preservation; to stay with what I know is safe. Yet, it is selfish.

In that time before Esther entered the king’s presence, she would ponder many things. When she purposed to pursue what was right, she set about to do it. In that moment she is a perfect representation of Jesus Christ. She had set aside self-preservation to look beyond the what-ifs and lay down her own life for the lives of her people. She found favor from her king.

It’s not unlike another person.

Consider the apostle Paul. He was on his way to Damascus to persecute saints when he was stopped by his Lord. Paul knew Who it was Who stopped him on that road. Asking Jesus, “What will you have me do?” (Acts 9:1–6)

Think about it. It’s rather unsettling to be struck blind by a bright light and brought to your knees. Jesus told Paul to go into Damascus and await instructions. Ananias was then called by Jesus to visit Paul. Even amidst the disorientation, Paul chose to do the right thing.

Ananias had his Esther moment, too. He set aside his own concerns to do what appeared as an awkward encounter. Setting aside concerns for his own safety he went to Paul with the instructions Jesus gave him.

Paul assents to the instructions of his Lord and was waiting in Damascus. Ananias came, we know what happened. Paul was shown he was called to serve the Lord by ministering to the Gentiles. By taking up the call, he was also shown what he must suffer for Jesus’ name.

For such a time as this Paul had obtained much favor from God. It is only in one of his first epistles did he give a hint of his mindset at his appointment with Jesus and the days that followed.

After giving a list of those who were eyewitnesses to the resurrected Jesus… He spoke of his own testimony.

Last of all, He was seen by me also, as by one born at the wrong time.

1 Corinthians 15:8 — Modern English Version (Thinline Edition.; Lake Mary, FL: Passio, 2014)

It was an awkward way to become an apostle, and an eyewitness to Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection. Yet like one born at the wrong time.

I can imagine the self-doubt coupled with the instinctual self-preservation, and maybe the idea that someone else will do it instead.

Yet there are those people, real heroes like Esther, Ananias, and Paul, who considered their own personal well-being to be of inconsequential value compared to the panorama of others whose lives would be impacted for the good.

I don’t care who you are or where you are in life. If you’re placed in an awkward position as a misfit, that’s perfect! When faced with some really gut-wrenching decision, choose rightly. I know it may be potentially detrimental to you personally, forego that. Look beyond your own self and into the people that will be impacted for the good by your selflessness.

And who knows if you may have attained your awkward position for such a time as this?

Run Away

On By TimIn Faithfulness, Jonah 1Leave a comment

But Jonah got up to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. He went down to Joppa and found there a ship going to Tarshish. He paid its fare and went down into it to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord.

Jonah 1:3 — Modern English Version (Thinline Edition.; Lake Mary, FL: Passio, 2014)

God had called Jonah to go to Nineveh, the great city. He was to warn them of their wickedness, and impending judgment. The wickedness of the Assyrians was renowned, they were a formidable people. I am almost certain that Jonah considered this service to God a sentence to his own demise.

Jonah instead chose to flee, in the exact opposite direction from Nineveh. As he writes it, to escape from the presence of the Lord.

Great calamity fell upon the boat Jonah booked passage upon. He tried to rest, but the sailors awoke him to help and to seek favor from his God. If they only knew the grace of God, and there was a man present who could tell them of it.

Jonah admitted his heritage to the sailors, and the real reason he was in their company. He implored them to throw him overboard… After their situation became direr they eventually did.

Before they did, they pleaded for grace from Jonah’s God.

Then they cried to the Lord and said, “Please, Lord, do not let us perish for this man’s life, and do not make us guilty for innocent blood, for You, Lord, have done as it pleased You.”

Jonah 1:14 — Modern English Version (Thinline Edition.; Lake Mary, FL: Passio, 2014)

Jonah was tossed into the sea. The sailors sought reconciliation to God. The waves calmed for the sailors. And the ship continued to Tarshish without Jonah.

In the meanwhile, Jonah was swallowed by a fish sent by God.

Run!

In Jonah’s mind… Going to Nineveh would be a fatal danger for him. Who could really escape the presence of God?

The fatalism we encounter is stark. It weaves its way through the entire book. That is probably why he resigned himself to the watery grave. He was better off dead. (He attests to this later.)

Jonah is often called the reluctant prophet. In my opinion, he ought to be called the fatalistic prophet. Still, Jonah knew of the grace of God and sought it.

“When my life was ebbing away,
I remembered the Lord;
and my prayer came to You,
into Your holy temple.

“Those who follow vain idols
forsake their true loyalty.
But I will sacrifice to You
with the voice of thanksgiving;
I will pay what I have vowed.
Salvation is of the Lord!”

Jonah 2:7–9— Modern English Version (Thinline Edition.; Lake Mary, FL: Passio, 2014)

Jonah learned a valuable lesson. One that is for us. We can trust God, even when He calls us to do something daunting. Something that makes us so fearful we run the other way, and may even reckon ourselves as good as dead if we follow God.

What’s wrong with that?

Perhaps… a lot if done the wrong way.

Jonah instructs us that we ought not to live for ourselves, but for God. Seeking to relieve himself of selfishly perceived calamity, he brought himself right into it! He didn’t believe God. I mean, he didn’t trust God. Believe, put your faith to action and trust God. Trust that He has a plan.

Reckoning our lives as not our own is the very essence of Christianity. We have a reasonable service to worship… Doing what God asks us to do. We are not our own.

I urge you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy, and acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service of worship.

Romans 12:1 — Modern English Version (Thinline Edition.; Lake Mary, FL: Passio, 2014)

Jonah learned the hard way. If God has a call on us, He means it. Jonah’s exploits are recorded for us.–they’re a quick read. Jonah couldn’t check out of this life without God’s permission. He was preserved by God explicitly for that mission of service assigned to him by God.

Instead… Jonah ran. He even tried to end his life on his own terms. God still had a purpose for him and sent a fish to intervene.

What are you afraid of that keeps you from serving God… Fear of dying?

Come on! Stop it. Stop thinking of yourself. Set your mind on serving God and others, it’s reasonable service.