Contagious Faith...

 "So when he would not be persuaded, we ceased, 

saying, 'The will of the Lord be done.' " 

Acts 21:14

     A prophecy was declared, Paul would be bound in Jerusalem for the sake of the gospel. In love, Paul's friends were pleading with him not to go to Jerusalem. In desire for his comfort and their own, they wanted Paul to remain. Im sure they even thought, for the betterment of the Kingdom, he could do more if he was kept out of chains. Yet in hearing all these things, Paul was determined to go to Jerusalem. His mind was set, his heart fixed, he was not going to be swayed by their petitions. 

Did Paul desire to be imprisoned? Why was he so set to go to Jerusalem even after a prophecy seemed to come as a warning of what was to happen to him?

I am convinced that Paul lived upon a deep understanding of God's sovereignty in his life. He was confident that nothing ever could happen to him apart by God's loving design. He was assured that God only gives good things. This "good" not to be defined by carnal mind, but through faith. 

Paul was fixed. He was not going to be moved.

This definite boldness not only honored God as a man truly living what he preached, "To live is Christ and to die is gain" (Phil. 1:21), but it caused a beautiful surrender in the lives of those onlooking. 

Read the verse again…when Paul would not be persuaded, "we" all onlooking witnesses to his life and ministry, ceased trying to persuade him, and instead surrendered unto the LORD, saying, "The will of the Lord be done".

Paul's confident faith produced confident faith in the lives of those around him.

When we choose to walk out a life of faith, confident in the God we know, the God we love, and are willing to go where He calls us to go despite the fears, we become witnesses to those around us. Our obedience to Christ, can lead others to obedient surrender as well. 

One candle burning, can light another.

Called...

"And when Peter had come to himself, he said,

 "Now I know for certain that the Lord has sent His angel, 

and has delivered me from the hand of Herod and from 

all the expectation of the Jewish people." 

Acts 12:11

Peter had been called by God to minister to the Gentile people the love of God, and to welcome them into salvation. 

This call, clear, yet was it accepted by the culture of the Jews? No. 

The Jews instead had expectations to see Peter thrown into prison for such an act.

There we find Peter, in a dark cell, a prisoner. Just recently God had spoken to him clearly in a vision of his call to bring salvation to the Gentile people. Just recently he had witnessed the Lord bring many Gentiles into salvation and baptize them in the Holy Spirit, just as he had seen God do for the Jews. All these excellent things he had seen, but now only prison bars and fear of death. 

Do you not think that he had some thoughts circling in his head? Wondering if he had really heard from God of the call? Wondering how he was to fulfill such a call in a cell? Wondering who would carry on the call for the Gentiles? 

Wondering why such a call, then such a wall?

Have you ever been in such a place? Such a cell of discouragement after such a revelation from the Lord? Have you ever wondered why it seems that after such encounters with God we commonly face such harsh encounters with life?

Yet God sent to Peter an angel to lead him out of the prison, through the gates, and into the freedom of the streets. We then read that when Peter had come to himself and realize the deliverance God had done that he then knew for CERTAIN that the LORD had sent the angel, that the LORD has delivered him, but not just from a cell, but from the hand of Herod and from the expectation of the Jewish people. 

What light to his faith Peter had in walking out of the dark prison! Who was to say that he was free from Herod and the Jewish people, did they not still want him behind bars? Yet in Peter's mind he was confident, he was certain that the Lord had delivered him from their desires against him and his call.

Peter walked out of that prison with a renewed mind, no fear to go against the expectations of the society around him, but to follow the call the LORD had placed on his life.

In those hours within the prison, he learned more of the God of the call, because this God who called, also is the God who delivered, and will be the God who keeps him in the way of following such a call. This call was far greater than any calling threats the Jews could make to him as he sought to minister to the Gentile people.

What has God called you to? Could it be that He spoke, but soon after you found yourself in a prison? Hard times or the "expectations" and opinions of others rose up against you, trapping fear to move forward with the call? 

God used the hard hours to produce confidence and certainty in Peter, He can do the same for you.

He whom the Son sets free is free indeed (John 8:36). Walk in the call, His hand is not to short to deliver whenever need be.

Which Path to Take?

"Righteousness will go before Him, and shall make 

His footsteps our pathway." 

Psalm 85:13

"His footsteps our pathway."

His way of walking, our way to go.

How often we wonder, "Which way should I go?", we often ask, "Which way should I take? What should I do?" For the believer this often leads to, "Where is the LORD leading me?" or "What is God's will for my life?".

But the men of old did not seem to ask such questions over and over again, look at Barnabas, a man known for his faith, he would declare that we should "With purpose of heart they should continue with the Lord" (Acts 11:23b ). It should not be a constant question but an aim we are seeking after. A confident walk. How do we find this?

I want to pose a question for thought:

Perhaps it is not that we cannot see the pathway to take, its just that we would often rather find an easier path to walk.

"His footsteps our pathway."

This is clear, He is not hiding the way to take, He paved the way. We are to put on our shoes and follow. I think the questions come to cause hesitations when we allow fear to strap to our sandals instead of faith.,

When we look at His pathway, we can choose fear or faith, for in looking at His path we see:

A path of constant humility, born in a stable, death on a cross. 

A path of submission, He did nothing apart from the Father, he was raised by a father and mother. 

A path of little comfort, He had no sure place to lay His head.

A path of thin privacy, He was rarely alone, but constantly thronged. 

A path of spiritual labor, He worked so long as there was day, and spent many evenings in prayer.

A path of serving, He lived for the preference of others.

A pathway of denial, He was betrayed with a kiss from a friend.

A pathway of accusation, the religious people never ceased their comments.

A pathway of misunderstandings, even they who walked with Him for years knew Him not.

A pathway of loneliness, He was alone on the cross, bearing our sin.

We all know the final step of His pathway…death, He laid down His life for our salvation.

In knowing this, we are reminded of His words, that no servant is greater than their Master, so we know far well that if we should choose to walk in His pathway, we too will find calvary deaths along the way. Areas where we must die to our self, our pride, our desires, our comforts, our privacies, these are inevitable steps along the path.

But we too quickly get carried away with the "deaths" we must die and forget that His death leads to LIFE.

No other death in history accomplished what His death brought in life. The love that has given new life to mankind.

The enemy has deceived us in seeing only the "deaths", but we must see the life beyond the deaths!

He has also deceived us to think that earthly possessions bring comforts, and that to give up these things are "deaths" indeed…but what if we began to look at things through the eyes of faith, what if we began to see that the earthly things we accumulate don't bring fulfillment in our lives, but actually cause distraction, and an appetite for more. These earthly accumulations cause us to become more attached to this life then we were ever designed to be.

Yet to the feet that walk along His pathway, although some earthly things may be lost along the way, each thing left from your hand gives more space for a spiritual blessing to be carried. Each lessening grip on the world gives opportunity to grab hold of more eternal things. 

You will never know until you travel it, you will never travel it if you settle with fear.

Grace and peace mark the goings and comings of those who choose to make "His footsteps our pathway."

A Search for Willingness...

"And Joseph said to his father, "Not so, my father, for this one is the firstborn; put your right hand on his head." But his father refused and said, "I know, my son, I know…" 

Genesis 48:18-19a

     The scene, within culture, the departing blessing. Jacob had come to an end of his life, and he was blessing his children. Joseph presented his two sons. The reason for presenting…blessing. The desired family blessing. However, the verses before these read, that when Joseph saw his father place his hand of blessing upon Ephraim, the younger son, it displeased him.

Have you ever presented yourself before the Lord for blessing, but found that the way He chose to work perhaps "displeased you"?

Perhaps you presented yourself, "Lord, here am I, send me!" A genuine willingness, a heart set upon obedience to His will, yet when He began to place His hand upon your life, and circumstances and situations began to not go as you had expected…perhaps it seems that "Ephriam" the younger, is receiving the blessings that are rightfully belonging to "Manassah", you become displeased. If we are all honest, I think we will agree that we have been there. There have been times when what is "culturally right" seems to not be the way God is working. What are "personal desires" do not seem to be priority.

For some reason, we commonly think that by presenting ourself to the Lord, things will go as expected. The things in our heart, our desires, all of it will be fulfilled. It is true that God desires to give us the desires of our heart, He placed those things there for a reason, but deeper than your desires, is His desire for your growth. That the testing of your faith may spring genuine faith. That your desires would be molded to the Kingdom's desires. The heartbeat of God is found in the cross. The way the Kingdom of God enters a life is through the cross. The way you and I take part in the Kingdom's work is through carrying our cross. 

Genuine faith cannot hold onto its own expectations, its own watch on time, or its own desires, but it must have open hands to carry the cross laid out before.

Genuine faith does not just say, "Im willing" but continually acts willingly despite the changes around. Despite the "flesh displeasing times" of seeing God's hand stretched out upon the "younger" instead of what seemed to be right with the "older". 

We've heard it said countless times, "God's ways are not our ways" but His ways are always perfect.

Jacob's response to Joseph, one you and I can learn from, "I know, my son, I know…"

Jacob, in faith, was going against the culture, and in obedience to the Lord placing his hand of blessing upon the younger son, for God had a plan to raise him up to be a great nation. 

Our God is a God of understanding to his sons and daughters…He knows. He understands the frustrations, the hurts, the confusions that can come when things do not go as we expected, but He also sees far beyond today. He sees the "nation He is building", He sees the spiritual blessings of testing our faith. He sees the way He is using our life as a vessel for the Kingdom. Will you trust Him?

Believing in the sovereignty of God means believing that whatever He has allowed in your life at present is what He desires for His glory, and whatever is lacking in your life today, He has allowed for His glory.

Let us come back to the simplicity of our faith…when we say we are willing, may we be willing. Not for our will, but for His.

He is working something far greater than you and I can see, but in carrying the cross upwards, we will see from the higher view upon the hill, His ways are faithful and true through and through. 

The Lord is WITH us...

Genesis chapter 37-39

Three times within chapter 39, and after much misfortune, 

we read, 

"The LORD was WITH Joseph", "The LORD was WITH Joseph", "The LORD was WITH Joseph".

Have you ever been in a prayer meet ing and heard these words over and over, "Lord be with us, be with this ministry, be with that person, be with this and that." We want God to be "WITH" us, meaning to be there, to be present, to be known, to walk alongside us, to be within what we are doing, to dwell…

Scripture is filled with HIs promise to never leave us (Hebrews 13:5) and to always be "WITH" us (Matthew 28:20) in doing the Lord's work, in being HIs people redeemed by HIs blood. So in all reality, we need not pray that the Lord be WITH us but come to a understanding that He is WITH us.

It is not a request, but a believing that needs to take place.

The LORD is with us. He is Jehovah ROi, the God who sees all things, because He is the God who is with us in all things. HE is sovereign over our lives.

God was WITH Joseph through all the misfortunate events of His life. He was WITH Joseph to ensure that HIs will was done in his life, despite the challenges that came his way. God placed a calling on Joseph's life, HE authored it and He would be the one to finish it. Despite the temptations of Egypt, the bars of a prision, the years of waiting, God was in the working, and God was WITH Joseph. 

In the well, God's presence gave him safety, in being sold instead of killed.

In the selling, God's presence gave him a place in Potiphar's house.

In the temptations, God's presence gave him the way of escape.

In the prision, God's presence gave him favor.

In the dream, God's presence gave him wisdom to interpret.

In the courts, God's presence gave him wisdom and boldness to interpret Pharaoh's dreams.

In the work, God's presence gave him guidance to save and store for the famine.

In the meeting of his brothers, God's presence gave him the strength to forgive.

In the restoration, God's presence gave him blessing in his lineage.

Joseph's life is marked by faith, and marked by the hand of God. His presence was WITH Him, God's anointing made him a testimony of God's faithfulness.

Let us stop praying that God would be WITH us and begin believing that HE is WITH us and instead pray for eyes of faith to see HIm at work in the difficulties, challenges, and blessings in our life…that our life may become a template for a testimony of HIs faithfulness.

Those who desire HIS STORY upon their lives, are those who will see His presence more active in their lives.

HE writes upon the template that has let go, and let God. He writes upon willing templates. He writes upon surrendered templates. What kind of a template are you today? He is WITH you…let Him write.