TRUST = RIGHTEOUSNESS

Scripture: Deuteronomy 1:32-36

“In spite of this, you did not trust in the LORD your God, who went ahead of you on your journey, in fire by night and in a cloud by day, to search out places for you to camp and to show you the way you should go.

When the LORD heard what you said, he was angry and solemnly swore: "Not a man of this EVIL generation shall see the good land I swore to give your forefathers, except Caleb son of Jephunneh. He will see it, and I will give him and his descendants the land he set his feet on, because he followed the LORD wholeheartedly."

Observation:

These people were not Sodom & Gomorra. They were not involved n “gross” sin - in the way we would define it. They were not involved in sexual perversions, they were not committing murder, nor were they stealing.

What was their sin that made them evil in God’s sight? They did not trust Him. After a history of God’s goodness, miracles, protection, etc., they could still not trust God.

Sometimes you can figure out the character of God by a study in opposites. If it is true that a lack of trust is so huge that it is defined by God as EVIL, then it must be true that trust in God would be defined as RIGHTEOUSNESS. In fact, the Bible said that Abraham’s belief/trust in God was credited to Him as righteousness.

Application:

I wonder how many times I was less than righteous before God - what promises have I dismissed, what commandments I reasoned away, what trouble did I borrow, where have I expected the worst, instead of trusting God to be good to me?

I want to live a righteous life so I must live a life of hope, faith, belief, and trust in God. Anything else relates more to my flesh (evil) than my spirit (the part of me that connects to God). “Without faith it’s impossible to please the Lord your God.”

Prayer:

Father, Thank you that I have a history that is marked by your goodness. Through all the “impossible” situations you have shown yourself strong and good. The lines in my life have fallen for me in good places. Help my history with you empower my future by building my trust in you. In Jesus name, AMEN!

The Peculiar Feel Of Faith

Scripture: Mark 5:27-34

“When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, because she thought, ‘If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed.’ Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering.

At once Jesus realized that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and asked, ‘Who touched my clothes?’

‘You see the people crowding against you,’ his disciples answered, and yet you can ask, “Who touched me?'”

But Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it. Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and, trembling with fear, told him the whole truth. He said to her, ‘Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.’”

Observation:

The question the disciples had was a good question. Hundreds of people were pressing in to get a glimpse of the miracles and the “miracle man”. How could Jesus even ask such a question? “Who touched me?” It would have been easier to answer, “Who hasn’t touched me?” This was no ordinary touch - it was the touch peculiar to faith.

Hundreds pressed in with a desire, a need, a hope, or a curiosity, but the touch that was identifiable, the touch that Jesus could pick out of the crowd was the touch of faith. It had a peculiar feel. “If I just touch His clothes, I will be healed.”

Application:

I wonder how many people press in with a desire, a need, a hope or a curiosity in these days? Maybe millions of people pressing into church, or nature, a book, or even a prayer. Curious to see if God is real, and if He is will He help me. I am positive that God responds to all of those motivations. He will take any opportunity to, any type of seeking, to make himself known to man. However, there is something about our faith that grabs the attention and heart of God.

I don’t want to be curious about God, I want to be confident. I want to know that “If I just touch God I will be healed.” “If I spend time in prayer my day will get better, my problems will be taken care of, my future will be secure, my struggles will be doable.” “If I call on Jesus, He will help me.” I want God to recognize that peculiar feel of faith in me.

Prayer:

Father, thank you for this day that you have made. It is a good day and my life is blessed. The lines have fallen for me in good places. Help me to have faith today for the days tasks and my life’s ambitions. Help me to believe in you with all faith. May you feel that peculiar feel of faith from my life today. In Jesus Name: Amen!

Mighty People Know Their Source

Scripture: Psalm 29:1-2

“Ascribe to the LORD, O mighty ones, ascribe to the LORD glory and strength. Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name; worship the LORD in the splendor of his holiness.”

Observation:

For the first time, I’ve read this and noticed that the one’s who are attributing to the Lord are the mighty. It’s not the weak, the incapable, tht inept, etc.. We are all mighty in one one way or the other - some of us are mighty in our ability to organize, others in their ability to negotiate, some in their ability to befriend, other are mighty in their physical strength, and others in their financial strength.

Application:

God has called us to no only acknowledge His ability to do what we can’t, but to acknowledge that He is even mighteir than we are in the areas that we excell in. He’s called us to complete dependency upon Him. He’s called us to worship Him on the basis that He is bigger and even better. He is mightier!

The cool thing is this acknowledgement doesn’t result in deflated person. As God is glorified in every area of our lives we become grateful people. Grateful that in all of His greatness, in all of His splendor, He has been good to us. He has made us mighty if only in an area of lives. As we walk in His greatness instead of ours, somehow we live an exalted life.

Prayer:

Lord, help me to always live my life under your greatness. There is great protection, provision, and promise their. My might is limited but your has no end. Help me to live the limitless life that I have promised to me in Christ. You are strong - let your strength be shown in my life. In Jesus name - AMEN!

A Transformed Life

SCRIPTURE: Mark 3:20-21

“Then Jesus entered a house, and again a crowd gathered, so that he and his disciples were not even able to eat. When his family heard about this, they went to take charge of him, for they said, "He is out of his mind.”

Observation:

Can you imagine the thoughts that are going thru Jesus’ family’s minds. Jesus is causing a scene in the neighborhood. He’s provoking their spiritual leaders to anger, he’s drawing lots of attention from the people they do life and business with. “What are they gonna think of us?” “What questions are we gonna have to answer?” “How embarrassing!”

This is not the Jesus they had known and grown up with. Mary knew the promise of God, but not necessarily the step-by-step plan. His brothers knew He was a little different - He was a good kid and had become a good man, a little strange in the sense that he didn’t seem interested in women, always seemed to be right, didn’t fight back with them, never wanted to join in the trouble, etc - but overall He was normal. But the Jesus they had grown up with had not yet been to the desert, been filled with the Holy Spirit, or baptized by John the Baptist.

This Jesus was flying in the face of an entire political, religious, and cultural system. This Jesus was shaking things up, and the entire family would be be suspect. This type of judgement, scrutiny, and attention would only be worth it if what He was standing for was true. At this point they are not sure.

Application:

I think of those who begin their new life in Christ whose family has thought the same of them “He/She is out of his/her mind.” As they give their life to Christ and their lives begin to transform - their values, purpose, attitudes, behaviors, and talk, begin to change - those whom they do life and business with begin to say “This isn’t the person that I know and love.”

Bitter-sweet! Bitter because relational strain is difficult. Bitter because some will never understand. Sweet because this is evidence that your life has truly been impacted by Jesus. Sweet because some will eventually understand and desire the same life that you have chosen. A life in Christ filled with all the fruitfulness that the Holy Spirit has to offer: love, joy peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control.

Prayer:

Father thank you for the great transformation that has taken place in my life. Let me continue to experience it in all of its fullness. Help me to resemble you more and more! Let my life speak life those I do life and business with. In Jesus name. AMEN!