I Still Believe (The Great Design)

"I do believe, help me overcome my unbelief!"  Mark 9:24

The above proclamation of the demon-possessed boy from the Gospel of Mark is something I have incorporated into my prayers quite often.

The attitude of trust and complete confidence that the Bible calls belief or trust is not something that we can obtain without help.  Faith is a gift given to us from God.  No matter how much faith we have, we can never reach a point of self-dependence apart from God-even when things seem to be going our way.

Faith is not something that we can hoard and store away like money in a bank, either.  The process of going our faith is a constant process, one that needs to be renewed daily by renewing our trust in Jesus.

We must stay on our knees, in prayer with God each and every day, during both good times and bad ones.  Not only will we have stronger spiritual lives, but we can do great things in the name of our loving Father!

Stairway To Heaven

 

Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.  No one can come to the Father except through me.” John 14:6

In all of Jesus’ great teachings during His short time on this earth, the most radical was the above statement from John 14:6.  There are some things that we often try to rationalize, but Jesus clearly stated that the only way to heaven was through Him.  Much like today, the people who heard Jesus speak those words either whole-heartily believed Him or thought He was a mad lunatic.

Regardless if we want to buy our way in, work our way in, or think our way in, the Bible is clear-Jesus Christ is the only way into heaven.  Believing and gratefully accepting this truth is the only way to your most important destination.

Have you been counting on something other than Christ to get you into heaven? This Christmas season, there is no more important gift you can offer someone other than the love of Jesus Christ.  Praise our loving Father!

Pray

 

The disciples asked Jesus "Why could we not drive it (the demon) out?" He replied, "This kind can come out only by prayer." Mark 9:28-29

We all have been given a direct line to communicate with God though prayer.  The disciples would often face difficult situations that could only be resolved through prayer.

It's hard to sometimes grasp the values of God's eternal kingdom, especially when we are facing trials and suffering in our own lives.  Jonah said, "When my life was ebbing away, I remembered you Lord" (Jonah 2:7)  We often act the same way.  When life is going well, we tend to take God for granted, but when lose our hope, we cry out to him.  This kind of inconsistent and fair-weathered relationship with God can only result in an inconsistent spiritual life.

We must constantly stay on our knees, in prayer with God each and every day, during both good times and bad ones.  Not only will we have stronger spiritual lives, but we can do great things in the name of our loving Father!

No Compassion

 

The Lord is like a father to his children, tender and compassionate to those who fear him.  Psalm 103:13

As we finished our decorating our home and hung the final strands of lights on the front porch over the weekend, I was eager to see our children’s amazement and fascination with all of the beautiful Christmas lights that now decorate our home.  I also couldn't help but think about the countless number of people who dread the Christmas season and how all of the Christmas lights serve as painful reminders of a difficult home situation, a dispute with a family member, or simply not being able to afford to purchase gifts for loved ones.

God has laid this heavy on my heart and has shown compassion to me by caring for me, providing for me, loving me, and blessing me.  He has forgiven me too many times to recall, and I while I try my best to honor him out of love by fearing him and obeying him, I still continue to come up short.  By his never ending mercy and grace, he continues to love me and forgive me and that is something that will never change.

This Christmas season, there are people all around you who are either hurting or in need.  What better time to show them the same compassion and caring that God has shown us!

Here and Now

 

She will have a son, and you are you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.  Matthew 1:21

Both of our boys look forward to counting the days down until Christmas on our Advent Calendar.  It has actually become an annual tradition in the Fisher household.  

Just like a child’s eager excitement and wonder about Christmas, we too have a great hope in knowing that we will live forever in heaven with God because of Jesus Christ.

Until our hopes are fulfilled, we must live out the plan that God has laid out for each of our lives, here and now.

We must follow God’s lead so that we don’t go astray and fulfill his great plans, just as Jesus fulfilled God’s plan for Him.

We Win!

 

Behold, I will create a new heavens and a new earth.  Isaiah 65:17

In the novel, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, author C.S. Lewis described the curse as "always winter and never Christmas."  We live in a fallen world which is enslaved by sin and corruption and cannot be improved.  This may sound depressing, but for Christians, we must realize that improvement is not what is needed, instead we should long for “re-creation.”  This re-created world is hard to fathom as it will be the exact opposite-"always spring and never Good Friday."

As a believer, this is exciting to me and something that I wish I could cling to more on the days when life seems to be getting the best of me.  We could all stand to live with the celebration and joy of what's coming with the promises of God's kingdom.

If this weren't possible, it wouldn't make sense that Jesus told His disciples to be joyful even when they were facing difficult trials and tribulations. 

Jesus knows the end of the story and He wants us to know it too-we win!  Not only does He want us to know it, but He wants us to live every day knowing that it is real.

Praise be to God!

Longer

 

Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. Ephesians 1:4

I was in my hotel getting ready for a meeting this week and was feeling a bit down on myself for eating so much junk food over the past few days of travel weeks.  It's hard to make healthy food choices when you are on the road so much, entertaining clients over lunch or dinner, or having to eat fast food as you are making your way through a crowded airport.   If I am being totally honest, my fear is that I will revert back to weighing as much as I did while in college, when I weighed an astounding 226 lbs.  I know that won’t happen as things were much different for me back then-physically. mentally, and spiritually.

I did not feel downtrodden for too long as I came across the above scripture from Ephesians, where God reassures us all that he indeed loved us, even before he created the world.

Because He first loved us, he sent Jesus to earth to live a sinless and blameless life to atone for our sinfulness on the cross. If you are like me and sometimes need reassurance, just know that you are indeed loved by God; he paid the ultimate price for our Holiness and the eternal promise of heaven!