The Faith Factor

What is faith?  I realize that most Christians know what faith is according to what Hebrews 11:1 says, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen.”  But what is faith or how do you demonstrate it?

Faith has a lot to do with obeying the Lord and keeping His commandments.  Hebrews is called the faith chapter and it gives us some insight into what faith is and how those who are mentioned in it were blessed because of their faith accompanied with their actions.  Many times we may be tested to see what kind of faith we really have.  It seems like the Christian walk consists of either mountaintops or valleys, going from one to the other.  In the valley is where we will grow the most and on the mountaintop we seem to rejoice the most.  I always thought if we could learn to rejoice as much in the valleys as we do on the mountaintops we would have a breakthrough and the valleys wouldn’t seem so much like valleys.  The Word says in Philippians 4:4, “Rejoice in the Lord always, again I say rejoice.”  

Hebrews 11:6 says, “But without faith it is impossible to please Him: for he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and He is a rewarded of them who diligently seek Him.”  So if you are born-again you were given a measure of faith when you were drawn to Jesus by God, His Father.  Faith is an action word that we have to act on in order to keep it alive in us.  In James 2:18-26, “But someone may well say, ‘You have faith and I have works; show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works.’  You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder.  But are you willing to recognize, you foolish fellow, that faith without works is useless?  Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up Isaac his son on the altar?  You see that faith was working with his works, and as a result of the works, faith was perfected; and the Scripture was fulfilled which says, ‘AND ABRAHAM BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS RECKONED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS,’ and he was called the friend of God.  You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone. In the same way, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way?  For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.”  

This is saying if you say you have faith and are doing nothing to further God’s kingdom then you are just fooling yourself and you have no faith at all.  I have heard it said that only ten percent of people do all the work in the church and from my experience over the years I believe it.  If you are reading this and you are one of the ten percent, praise the Lord.  If you are not, shame on you, you had better examine yourself to see if you are in the faith.  

I would suggest that you don’t take this tidbit lightly.  If you need to repent and confess, do it, then receive Jesus as your Lord and Savior.  You will never be the same again, then start furthering God’s kingdom whether it be in or out of church.  God bless and have a great day.      

Sycamine Tree

The sycamine tree was a very hardy tree that grew in abundance in Jesus’ day and was used for making caskets.  It was very hard to kill and grew very tall.  You could cut into it and it would still grow because its roots went way down in the ground where it would be nourished by the water far below the surface.  It looked much like the mulberry tree and it also produced figs but its fruit was very bitter and hard to eat.  If you were rich you could buy the figs from the mulberry tree which were very sweet and tasty but if you were poor you would have to buy the figs from the sycamine tree which were very bitter and took a while to devour.  When the people ate of this fig they would nibble on it then come back and nibble on it some more, because of its bitter taste it was hard to eat all at one time.  When you know these things about the sycamine tree you can better understand why Jesus used it when He talked to His disciples about un-forgiveness.

Bitterness and un-forgiveness are very serious problems in a person’s life whether he is a Christian or not.  Hebrews 12:14, 15, says, “Pursue peace with all men, and the sanctification without which no one will see the Lord.  See to it that no one comes short of the grace of God; that no root of bitterness springing up causes trouble, and by it many be defiled.”  Bitterness and un-forgiveness defile a person and have a ripple effect on other people as well.  Bitterness and un-forgiveness start gradually and its bitter root, if not nipped in the bud, will go down deep in the soul to the very heart of a person, as the roots of the sycamine tree go deep in the ground where it gets its nourishment.  The deeper a bitter root gets into a person the harder it is to get rid of it.  And like the fruit of the sycamine tree is bitter, its fruit is also very bitter and hard to digest; it just sits within you and festers.  

The sycamine tree was also used to build caskets, which I already mentioned, it encompassed dead corpses.  Bitterness and un-forgiveness are like poison which can make you sick and eventually kill you.  Jails and prisons are full of people that have been angry and bitter resulting in revenge and murder.  Jesus said in Luke 17:3, 4, “Be on your guard!  If your brother sins, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him.  And if he sin’s against you seven times a day, and returns to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ forgive him.”  This is a very important message, Jesus also said in Matthew 18:29-35. “So his fellow slave fell to the ground and began to plead with him, saying, ‘Have patience with me and I will repay you.’ But he was unwilling and went and threw him in prison until he should pay back what was owed. So when his fellow slaves saw what had happened, they were deeply grieved and came and reported to their lord all that had happened. Then summoning him, his lord *said to him, ‘You wicked slave, I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. Should you not also have had mercy on your fellow slave, in the same way that I had mercy on you?’ And his lord, moved with anger, handed him over to the torturers until he should repay all that was owed him.  My heavenly Father will also do the same to you, if each of you does not forgive his brother from your heart.”

Forgiveness is not easy at times but with the Lord’s help it is never impossible, so ask the Lord to help you to forgive and He will, for that is His will for your life.  Don’t put it off, start now!  God bless you and have a great day.             

Zacchaeus

 I was thinking about Zacchaeus this morning and what the Word says about him in Luke 19:1-10.  It says that he was a short man, a chief tax collector and he was rich.  It also says that he wanted to see who Jesus was.  The Word goes on to say that because of the crowd he climbed a tree since He was short in stature.   What got my attention was that even though there was a large crowd there even this little man was important to Jesus.

This reminds me of what God said to Samuel when he was told to anoint one of Jesse’s sons as king because of King Saul’s disobedience.  It is in 1^st Samuel 16:7.  It was when Samuel was going to anoint Eliab, David’s brother, he thought he was the one because of his appearance.  Verse 7 says, “But the lord said to Samuel, ‘Do not look at his appearance or his physical stature, because I have refused him; for the Lord does not see as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance but the Lord looks at the heart.’”  Man looks on the outward appearance but the Lord looks at the heart.  The Lord knew that Zacchaeus had a real interest in whom Jesus was and was willing to climb a tree to see him. 

Another thing I see in this story about Zacchaeus was that he was called a sinner.  It is a shame how self-righteous people see everyone else’s sin but not their own.  “Jesus came to seek and to save the lost.”  This was a child of Abraham and he needed a Savior just like we all do.  The difference was that Zacchaeus knew he was a sinner and it seemed that the other people thought they were righteous and had no need to be forgiven.  They were following Him for the miracles He had done and not for who He was and not for their desperate need.  

Also Romans 2:4-11 says, “Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance?  But because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, who WILL RENDER TO EACH PERSON ACCORDING TO HIS DEEDS: to those who by perseverance in doing good seek for glory and honor and immortality, eternal life; but to those who are selfishly ambitious and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, wrath and indignation. There will be tribulation and distress for every soul of man who does evil, of the Jew first and also of the Greek, but glory and honor and peace to everyone who does good, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.  For there is no partiality with God.”

Salvation had come to Zacchaeus’s house because he had repented and was even willing to make restitution for his sins. The Lord gives us the desires of our hearts at times and Zacchaeus showed a great desire to see Jesus and the Lord honored that desire.  Zacchaeus not only wanted to see Jesus but he wanted to fellowship with Him.  

“Jesus said you will find Me when you seek me with all your heart.”  What about you, are you seeking Him with all your heart or do you follow Him for what He may do for you?  If you are just going with the flow, just trying to get by, you can never please Him that way.  We are close to the New Year, why don’t you commit to press in and seek Him like Zacchaeus did. Seek Him with all your heart and you will be totally blessed and the Lord will be pleased with you.  God bless you and have a great day.                   

Gentle Shepherd

I have mentioned this before about people being related to sheep in the Word of God.  Jesus said in John 10:11, ”I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.”  

Shepherding, at times, was a solitary job when the shepherd would watch over the sheep.  They would protect them from predators and anything else that would try to harm them.  They would lead them to green pastures where there was plenty of food and where there were still waters so they would be able to drink without getting swept away by the current, because they weren’t very intelligent animals.  At times they would wander away from the herd and the shepherd would go and find them and lead them back to the fold.  

While typing this tidbit Psalms 23 came to my mind, which is a very well-known Psalm.  King David wrote this Psalm and who would know about sheep any better than him seeing he was a shepherd himself at one time.  In this Psalm David put himself in the place of a sheep and the Lord in the place of a shepherd.  As a shepherd David was blessed and his faith was built and strengthened.  How do I know this?  Because of what David said when he faced the giant Goliath in 1^st Samuel 17:33-37, “Then Saul said to David, ‘You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him; for you are but a youth while he has been a warrior from his youth.’  But David said to Saul, ‘Your servant was tending his father’s sheep.  When a lion or a bear came and took a lamb from the flock, I went out after him and attacked him, and rescued it from his mouth; and when he rose up against me, I seized him by his beard and struck him and killed him.  Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, since he has taunted the armies of the living God.’ And David said, ‘The LORD who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.’  And Saul said to David, ‘Go, and may the LORD be with you.’”

Being in a solitary place night and day helped David to focus on the Lord and the things of His kingdom without all distractions that take place in every generation.  Over the years I have worked in different positions where I worked pretty much by myself and a good part of my attention and focus was on the Lord and the things of His kingdom and it was great and very fulfilling, praise the Lord!  It is when you have distractions that it is hard to focus on the Lord.  This should be a lesson for all of us with all the distractions we face in our day to be sure to get alone with the Lord and spend some quality time with Him in prayer, Bible study, praise and thanksgiving.  Jesus truly is the gentle Shepherd who loves us with a jealous and compassionate love.  He knows that we are burdened down with responsibilities that sometimes seem to overwhelm us so in His gentle way He says in Matthew 11:28-30, “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” (NASB)

Knowing all this I suggest that if you fall into this category and are burdened down with what feels like the weight of the world on your shoulders at times, go and sit at the feet of the true Shepherd and tell Him about what is going on and let Him minister to you and let Him lift your heavy burdens.  The Lord is gentle and humble, compassionate and loving and He wants to help you.  Then start thanking and praising Him.  God bless you and have a great day!!     

      

Rejoicing in Heaven

Have you ever thought about what happens in heaven when a person gets saved?  Sometimes we read or hear about certain verses in the Word and it sounds nice but we don’t really meditate on what is being said and we miss the beauty of it all.  

Jesus told a Parable in Luke 15 about lost sheep which would include every one of us at one time.  We all know that Jesus came to save the one that was lost.  When the Pharisees and the teachers of the law accused Jesus of eating with sinners Jesus told them this story found in verses 3–7, “Then Jesus told them this parable: “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Does he not leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.”

These Pharisees and teachers were very self-righteous and wouldn’t think of going to a sinner’s house let alone eating with one.  Jesus basically said if one of you loses a sheep you will go and find it and when you find it you will rejoice over it.  Of course they couldn’t understand what Jesus was trying to teach them because spiritual things are spiritually discerned.  Jesus was relating sheep to people teaching that all were sinners in need of a Savior, which was Jesus the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.  Jesus was the only one in the crowd that wasn’t a sinner. The Pharisees and the Teachers of the law needed to repent but they thought they were already righteous walking in their self-righteousness, looking down on everyone else that wasn’t a part of their group.  

I know these things are very important because if we were truthful we would all probably be guilty of self-righteousness sometime in our lives.  But as I was reading this, my focus was on verse 7 which says, “I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety- nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.”  

Over the years I have written some songs, some are praise songs and some are not. One day a while back I was reading this portion of scripture and I was inspired to write a song on the subject of the rejoicing in heaven and what I thought happens when a person repents and receives the Lord.  I am not saying that this is biblical just what I thought of at the time.  I think there is real rejoicing in heaven and I thought about a party going on.  I thought about the angels singing, also the Cherubim being there.  I thought about the sinner weeping and praying and finding redemption.  I thought about the angels shouting and the heavens filling with praise.  I thought about the trumpets sounding and music filling the air and the peace and joy that was everywhere.  I thought about the Christians getting their house in order, for the Lord may call them home, then they will be in that heavenly throng.  How happy the inhabitants of heaven must be when a soul is snatched from the evil one and the fires of Hell.  Praise the Lord for His wonderful grace.  God bless and have a great day.