Righteous faith

Abraham was credited as a man of great faith (Hebrews 11:11-12, 17-19; Romans 4:3; Galatians 3:6-9). Yet he was not a man of perfect faith. After God called him to leave his country and go to the place God chose for him to go, at least twice he took matters into his own hands by saying that Sarah was his sister, instead of trusting God to keep him safe (Genesis 12:10-20, 20:1-18). And instead of trusting God to allow Sarah to have a child, Abraham listened to Sarah and had a child with her maidservant, Hagar. Yet God did not hold these misgivings against him. We will never live perfectly and trust perfectly in God. But, like Abraham, we can be sure that our focus is constantly on Him, and we too can be credited as ones of great faith.

Cain's downfall

"If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it." - Genesis 4:7

Cain's biggest problem was not that he did not present an offering that pleased God, but that he allowed this rejection of his actions to cause him to become downhearted, instead of using it as a wake up call to change his ways. Cain could have repented, and found favor with God. Instead, he let his anger take over. Yet God did not give up on him. Even though Cain turned his back on God, God promised to grant him protection (Genesis 4:15). This is a great demonstration of God's love for all of us, even those who reject Him and refuse to acknowledge who He is.

Inspired by Steve's sermon

In Matthew 14, Jesus was saddened by the news of John's beheading. he tried to go off into a solitary place to mourn and to be alone. But instead of that happening, the crowds followed Him. Instead of sending them away, He paid no mind to His desires, but only of the desires of those who came to Him.

Matthew 14:29-30 - Peter's focus was solely on Jesus, and because of this, he was able to walk on the water. But then he noticed the winds and the waves - his circumstances. By shifting some of his focus to these things, his sights were taken off of Jesus, and that is when he began to sink. but when he cries out for help, immediately Jesus reached out His hand and caught him.

Hebrews 12:1-2 - We can overcome trials when our focus is on Jesus (Proverbs 3:5)

Matthew 14:29 - Peter stepped out of the boat. Are we - am I - willing to defy the odds and do what goes against logic?

1. Peter went against popular opinion - Are we more influenced by the world, the church, friends, family, than we are Jesus?

2. Peter defied modern wisdom - Are we too analytical? Do we rely more on logic? (Gideon, Joshua @ Jericho)

1 Corinthians 1:18-31

3. Peter stepped out of the boat, into the storm - He left what was safe, went into the midst of their problems. 

Jesus left the comforts of heaven into the turmoil of this world so that God's will can be done.

Peter asked, received and acted. Often we ask for God to work, and when He shows us His will, we make all sorts of excuses as to why we can't do them. Things didn't work out perfectly for Peter. But the worked out. And he walked on water.

"Why do you care so much?"

"You see, at just the right time, while we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly die. But God demonstrated His own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since we have now been justified by His blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through Him! For if, when we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to Him through the death of His Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through life!" - Romans 5:6-11

When I worked at camp, there was a kid there that I loved a lot. Sadly, I can't remember much about him, other than he was, in most rights, a "problem child." He was always getting into arguments with other campers, always in trouble with his counselors. But when I came around, he was always on his best behaviour. Well, the best you'll get from an 11 year old. We played and joked around, and I encouraged him to participate (fairly) in the activities they were doing. But I also rebuked him when he needed it, taking care not to yell and scream at him, but to use reasoning and speak to him with respect. And it seemed to work well. 

One night I was on my way to visit a friend who was on duty to sit with his cabin. When I walked by this kid's cabin, he was sitting outside on the porch, sulking. I walked up and sat with him while his counselor went back inside to deal with the rest of the cabin. I asked him what he did to be sent out here and he told me. And I asked him if he knew that he should have been sent outside. We talked a bit more, and then he looked at me and asked "why do you care so much?" It was a sincere question. And one I didn't know the answer to. I just knew that I had a lot of love for that kid, and he needed to be shown a lot of love.

As I've grown, that quality in me seems to have all but disappeared. Now I can't be bothered to go out of my way to even be nice to people, let alone go out of my way to show them that someone cares, even though it may seem the rest of the world has given up on them. And perhaps not everyone is like my camper, they don't have the same situation or the same rebellious nature that needs to be diffused. But they still need that extra bit of attention. Yet now I become exasperated and write them off as hopeless. When did I become so uncaring and bitter? I suppose this is not the time to get into some Freudian psychoanalysis of myself, as it is not important. What is important is that I get back to loving others.

"Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another." - John 13:34

This story is also a good lesson in the love God has for us. We are sinners, we are troubled. We are people about whom God could just raise his hands and say "it's hopeless!" Yet, even though the world may have given up on us, God is always there, always loving us, always showing He cares. It's something we'll never understand. But with God, we can always look up when we've gotten ourselves into a mess, and He's there. And we will constantly wonder "why do You care so much?"

Turn around...

Repent. According to the Amplified Bible, it means: Change your mind for the better and heartily amend your ways, with abhorrence of your past sins.

I think that's a pretty interesting definition. "With abhorrence of your past sins." I'm usually ashamed of myself for sinning, some times much moreso than others. But do I abhor them? Most often not. Usually I feel bad because I know it's a sin and, as a "good Christian", I shouldn't do it. But I don't think I ever hate them as God hates them. Not the things I do. Because I don't do detestable things. Or so I like to think...

So where does the truth lie in repentance? Is it enough to just ask for forgiveness? Is it enough to ask with a sincere desire to change? Some things to ponder, I guess.

They say that faith can find a Savior

"Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see" - Hebrews 11:1

It's fairly easy to have faith as a child. It's not as simple to have a childlike faith? Often I feel God's presence so close to me, I know without a doubt that He is there. But what about all those times when God seems so far away, when it seems as if He's not even paying attention to me? God speaks to us in a whisper, in His still quiet voice. But often times I want Him to just scream and shout, and demand my attention. Anything to let me know He's there.

So why doesn't God do that? Why doesn't He do whatever He can to make His presence known? "Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed." (John 20:29).

Why doesn't He rescue us from all our trials and hardships? As our Father, shouldn't God want to keep us from suffering? "For his Holy Spirit speaks to us deep in our hearts, and tells us that we really are God's children. And since we are his children, we will share his treasures--for all God gives to his Son Jesus is now ours too. But if we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering. Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will give us later." (Romans 8:16-18)

It has been said that if you want something, you have to work for it. "No pain, no gain". To become a good soccer player you must suffer through years of training and practice. To become a doctor or lawyer you must suffer through of schooling. To be a Christian you must suffer through the pain of humanity.

Life is not easy for Christians and non-Christians alike. God's love is not charity. He doesn't see as us poor souls who are suffering, and decides to take away all our pain. Five times in the book of Luke, Jesus tells his disciples that He must suffer and be rejected. As Christians, those called to be Christ-like, we must also "share in his suffering." And herein comes our faith.

It's easy to follow God and to profess our love for Him when things are going our way. Easy to say "I know God loves me, because He's providing all this for me." That assurance is not so easy to have when we are going through all sorts of struggles and difficulties. 


"Our hope for you is firm, for we know that as you share in the sufferings, you also share in the encouragement." 2 Corinthians 1:7

God's fullness

[Live] full in the fullness of God." Ephesians 3:19

The word "full" could be defined as "not lacking anything." Or, as a synonym, "complete." So, this verse, by that definition, could be read, "live completely in God's completeness." 

And what an amazing thought that is. God's completeness. God's full provision. God, who lacks in nothing. And we, too, can have a part in this. We can be fully encompassed in everything we need, never for want of anything. And all we have to do is choose to live this way. To live full in the fullness of God.