... why did you doubt?
A great story of Peter walking on water with Jesus. Imagine great anticipation when Peter asked "Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.”
Peter's faith was ever increasing. He knew there were no boundaries and anything was possible in the midst of Christ. What tremendous trust it would take to desire to walk on water.
29 So He said, “Come.” And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. 30 But when he saw that the wind was boisterous,[b] he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, “Lord, save me!”
31 And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” 32 And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased.
When Peter began to sink, his focus was drawn from Christ and refocused on the turbulent seas. He began to waver. When he began to fear, he started to sink. This is very much like to trials we go through. When we begin to devote our lives on a daily basis, are we not walking on water with Christ? Maybe, not literally, but we are walking w/ Him (it is amazing that God has made Himself known to us so we can fellowship with Him). If I am to say that He is in charge of our lives and puts us through many trials, why do we begin to waver once it begins? It is because we are not anticipating the battle that is surmount.
Do you put on the armor of God? Don't you think that Romans wore armor to wage their wars? They put on a belt, they put on a breastplate, they put on a helmet, they put on combat boots, they had a shield and a sword. They put it on as part of their duties, they put it on even if they new they didn't even need it. They wore it to be prepared against attacks from the enemy.
In our endless trials, how often do we waver by not being prepared for them. Do we not know that they are coming? Well, they are... But we just sit there w/ a bulls eye on our chest, waiting for something to knock us down. We are not expecting an attack and we are not prepared. When the attack begins, we respond to it by our own fleshly actions as it strikes- and we strike back in anger. The Romans would be vulnerable w/out their armor on and so are we.
When we put on the armor of God, we can be assured of ourselves that we are anticipating spiritual warfare. There are many scriptures that we can rely on to defeat the enemy. Thats when we use the sword, which is the word of God. We put on the belt of Truth- which tells me that there are lies in our battle. We put on the breastplate of righteousness, which encourages us to make the right decision. We put on the helmet of salvation- knowing that we are saved from this world. We put on the gospel boots- to ensure that the gospel of Jesus will be know. We put on the shield of Faith, of which we can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the wicked one.
If we put on this armor EVERY-DAY, we can be assured that He is empowering us to endure the trial to the very end. But, we must learn to trust Him, trusting that He is going to pave the path to victory- not defeat. It is not easy by any means. But that trial will carry out until you begin to trust in the Lord and be delivered according to His ways, not ours. We have to call out to Him, discern all our thoughts. You will hear His voice- maybe not literally, but you will know the direction He is guiding you towards.
You need to ask Him for His help and that You need Him.
You need to discern all you actions and thoughts... are these from the adversary? Will it do good or cause destruction? If you have reacted wrongly, you need to confront it right away and repent. You need to object to your actions. You need to rebuke satan for his lies. You need to praise the Lord and thank Him.
It all takes time to change.
The more we feed the fire, the more intense it gets. But, if we begin to starve all the negative thoughts, the weaker they become and the stronghold gets released. Thats how a battle is won through Christ.
Instead of falling through the water as Peter did, we need to learn how to endure the battles. And that takes practice. It is not impossible. You can have the faith to move and cast a mountain into the sea..
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Friday, September 17, 2010
Prayer warrior
Philippians 4:6-7 (New American Standard Bible)
6(A)Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by (B)prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.
7And (C)the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will (D)guard your hearts and your (E)minds in (F)Christ Jesus.
Through Christ Jesus...
... because He had victory over all trials of anxiety. My current issues I have dealt with in my own manner; in a worldly fashion that is natural in our reactions. Christ dealt with things by His own way. If we are to model ourselves after Jesus, then we need to look to Him in His teachings and guidance from the Holy Spirit. We will also have to find a way for us to trust in Him, letting go of our judgments and our convicting tongue. Instead, we should be forgiving regardless of the case. I will be first off to say that is very unnatural and very tough to do- BUT NOT IMPOSSIBLE, BUT POSSIBLE.
There are a few hinderances that keep us from relying on our faith. Shame, embarrassment, pride. We are here to fight the good fight of faith. Not to accept the ways of our adversary. Do you not feel the attraction to sin, of which, draws us away from God?
Imagine if Christ came and raptured us up tomorrow, how would you feel about how you handled things in recent past. I certainly would feel ashamed as I am going up, knowing that I reacted on my own feelings and not giving it to the Lord in prayer.
When we take the opportunity to pray, we are abiding in the word of God- through Christ. We are letting go our problems and seeking help where we cannot- through Christ. We are letting go of the pain instead of accepting it- through Christ. We are fighting against it as well; fighting through Christ Jesus- not through our own thoughts. We are also hoping the situation will change- through Christ.
... with thanksgiving. No, its not turkey day, it saying thanks for something that will happen. Its saying thanks in your trial, instead of grumbling about it like how the Israelites did traveling to the promise land. OF WHICH CAN BE ANOTHER WHOLE STORY RIGHT THERE (They did not receive what God had promised them- think about that).
7And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Sometimes I try and even fathom this line, but I gotta say that this is surpassing my comprehension. When certain things are not bearing down on you like they used to, after praying for it, that is the peace of God guarding our hearts and our minds. And you very will may know that is happening by the prompting of the Holy Spirit... only then you will be very thankful that the pain is not there- but you will recognize the scenario is still carrying out. Thats call faith.
6(A)Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by (B)prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.
7And (C)the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will (D)guard your hearts and your (E)minds in (F)Christ Jesus.
Through Christ Jesus...
... because He had victory over all trials of anxiety. My current issues I have dealt with in my own manner; in a worldly fashion that is natural in our reactions. Christ dealt with things by His own way. If we are to model ourselves after Jesus, then we need to look to Him in His teachings and guidance from the Holy Spirit. We will also have to find a way for us to trust in Him, letting go of our judgments and our convicting tongue. Instead, we should be forgiving regardless of the case. I will be first off to say that is very unnatural and very tough to do- BUT NOT IMPOSSIBLE, BUT POSSIBLE.
There are a few hinderances that keep us from relying on our faith. Shame, embarrassment, pride. We are here to fight the good fight of faith. Not to accept the ways of our adversary. Do you not feel the attraction to sin, of which, draws us away from God?
Imagine if Christ came and raptured us up tomorrow, how would you feel about how you handled things in recent past. I certainly would feel ashamed as I am going up, knowing that I reacted on my own feelings and not giving it to the Lord in prayer.
When we take the opportunity to pray, we are abiding in the word of God- through Christ. We are letting go our problems and seeking help where we cannot- through Christ. We are letting go of the pain instead of accepting it- through Christ. We are fighting against it as well; fighting through Christ Jesus- not through our own thoughts. We are also hoping the situation will change- through Christ.
... with thanksgiving. No, its not turkey day, it saying thanks for something that will happen. Its saying thanks in your trial, instead of grumbling about it like how the Israelites did traveling to the promise land. OF WHICH CAN BE ANOTHER WHOLE STORY RIGHT THERE (They did not receive what God had promised them- think about that).
7And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Sometimes I try and even fathom this line, but I gotta say that this is surpassing my comprehension. When certain things are not bearing down on you like they used to, after praying for it, that is the peace of God guarding our hearts and our minds. And you very will may know that is happening by the prompting of the Holy Spirit... only then you will be very thankful that the pain is not there- but you will recognize the scenario is still carrying out. Thats call faith.
Thursday, September 16, 2010
... that You, my King, should die for me
What it means to be crucified. As I am getting a taste for what it meant for the God of Love to send His only begotten Son to endure such a tremendous death to the point of satisfying the wrath of God. To take on the worlds sin, what a tremendous responsibility. If we have accepted Christ as our Savior, how much suffering do we endure ourselves for His sake?
Imagine the onslaught of hatred Christ endured during His crucification. All the hatred and destruction of darkness was finally released upon Him with such virtuosity. To suffer the consequences of our sin in a payment by receiving an onslaught of relentless punishment, shame, guilt, pain, rejection, inflicting such pain. This is what Christ gets for coming and spreading the Truth of God to those amongst us? One of my favorite songs says, "Amazing love, how can it be... That You, my King, should die for me?".
But at what price.
Imagine the God of Love allowing such a gruesome death to happen to His Son. To His Son. For those fathers, imagine sending your son somewhere to suffer. What was it like for God to sit there until the very end when Christ said "it is complete".
Christ was a man who KNEW NO SIN, until that day when He... paid the price. He paid the price for OUR SIN, THAT 'WE' CAUSE. He paid the bounty of our death, on the cross; is that is to say that the penalty for sin is death, and He did that for us. Now, through Him, we have the forgiveness of sins and everlasting life. He paid the price by not even offering any form of currency; He only paid the price by turning Himself in. Exchanging Himself for us. Exchanging Himself for Barnabas, whom Pilate released as he gave a choice to the Pharisees to release Christ or Barnabas??? Are we not Barnabas?
He pretty much said: Here I am.
After thoughts:
Imagine all the coordination that God orchestrated for all of this to happen. For the gospel of Jesus to unfold. For Judas to lead the romans to Christ. For Pilate to wash his hands in his bowl from this situation and not judge Him, but to let the Pharisees have their way with Him. Everything happened perfectly. What does that mean. It means, that all the trials we go through... in the end we can say "it is complete" as Christ said just before He died. He was sent as a sojourner, just as we are- this is not our home. God authored Christ's journey here on earth, and God is authoring our lives. Christ wants us to trust Him in our trials because He endure them all and knows what the answer is. We have to tune in through our counselor the Holy Spirit to listen to God's plan for us.
Don't battle these trial by yourself, I can do all things through Christ. Without Him, I can do nothing. He is our Savior. Acknowledge all your ways before Him and He shall make your path straight.
Imagine the onslaught of hatred Christ endured during His crucification. All the hatred and destruction of darkness was finally released upon Him with such virtuosity. To suffer the consequences of our sin in a payment by receiving an onslaught of relentless punishment, shame, guilt, pain, rejection, inflicting such pain. This is what Christ gets for coming and spreading the Truth of God to those amongst us? One of my favorite songs says, "Amazing love, how can it be... That You, my King, should die for me?".
But at what price.
Imagine the God of Love allowing such a gruesome death to happen to His Son. To His Son. For those fathers, imagine sending your son somewhere to suffer. What was it like for God to sit there until the very end when Christ said "it is complete".
Christ was a man who KNEW NO SIN, until that day when He... paid the price. He paid the price for OUR SIN, THAT 'WE' CAUSE. He paid the bounty of our death, on the cross; is that is to say that the penalty for sin is death, and He did that for us. Now, through Him, we have the forgiveness of sins and everlasting life. He paid the price by not even offering any form of currency; He only paid the price by turning Himself in. Exchanging Himself for us. Exchanging Himself for Barnabas, whom Pilate released as he gave a choice to the Pharisees to release Christ or Barnabas??? Are we not Barnabas?
He pretty much said: Here I am.
After thoughts:
Imagine all the coordination that God orchestrated for all of this to happen. For the gospel of Jesus to unfold. For Judas to lead the romans to Christ. For Pilate to wash his hands in his bowl from this situation and not judge Him, but to let the Pharisees have their way with Him. Everything happened perfectly. What does that mean. It means, that all the trials we go through... in the end we can say "it is complete" as Christ said just before He died. He was sent as a sojourner, just as we are- this is not our home. God authored Christ's journey here on earth, and God is authoring our lives. Christ wants us to trust Him in our trials because He endure them all and knows what the answer is. We have to tune in through our counselor the Holy Spirit to listen to God's plan for us.
Don't battle these trial by yourself, I can do all things through Christ. Without Him, I can do nothing. He is our Savior. Acknowledge all your ways before Him and He shall make your path straight.
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Deny yourself
Are we empowered to do stuff???
Are we empowered to rebuke the enemy?
How can we do certain things without the filling of the Holy Spirit??? I think this is the main question.
It is not as I will, but as You will.
The Lord prays for us. The Holy Spirit prays for us. How often do we claim our own prayers as our own? How is it that the Lord knows what we are going to pray before we pray???
Sure there are times when I try and think of things to pray for, mumbling out requests. But, I think, more of it as seeking Him in prayer. Then there are times when prayer just takes off on its own as it comes out of our mouths. This is what I believe as "praying in the Spirit".
Often times I fathom at the prayers and scriptures that are recited. Those of which I cannot claim and give all glory to the Father, whom gives me what to say at the time it is needed. It is His will, not mine. He is the Author, not me. Sure, I have my times of crying out as David so often did, but it is the faith that has been given, it is the wisdom that has been given, it is the understanding that has been given. It is the righteousness that has been given. But, only when it has been requested, then it is given.
I just want to glorify God in this manner. Stating that we must act upon His will when the Holy Spirit checks our spirit. We must pray when He wants us to. We must share when He wants us to. We are His vessels and we can only do this when we deny ourselves from our feelings and thoughts and actions.
Are we empowered to rebuke the enemy?
How can we do certain things without the filling of the Holy Spirit??? I think this is the main question.
It is not as I will, but as You will.
The Lord prays for us. The Holy Spirit prays for us. How often do we claim our own prayers as our own? How is it that the Lord knows what we are going to pray before we pray???
Sure there are times when I try and think of things to pray for, mumbling out requests. But, I think, more of it as seeking Him in prayer. Then there are times when prayer just takes off on its own as it comes out of our mouths. This is what I believe as "praying in the Spirit".
Often times I fathom at the prayers and scriptures that are recited. Those of which I cannot claim and give all glory to the Father, whom gives me what to say at the time it is needed. It is His will, not mine. He is the Author, not me. Sure, I have my times of crying out as David so often did, but it is the faith that has been given, it is the wisdom that has been given, it is the understanding that has been given. It is the righteousness that has been given. But, only when it has been requested, then it is given.
I just want to glorify God in this manner. Stating that we must act upon His will when the Holy Spirit checks our spirit. We must pray when He wants us to. We must share when He wants us to. We are His vessels and we can only do this when we deny ourselves from our feelings and thoughts and actions.
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