Saturday, January 13, 2018

#faithwalking

#faithwalking

Steve and I have talked about this so many times. 
We've talked about how "we/people" say that we trust God and that we are walking by faith, 
but are we really? 

I think the answer is......
when we're REALLY doing it, you KNOW it!
And the rest is just "church talk."

Here's what I mean......
We say we "trust God" with our finances, 
but put the light bill on a credit card before the payment is late.
We say we "trust God" with our kids, 
but barge in to solve their problems before we let God do the work that HE would choose.

So many of us (yes, me) take matters into our own hands
before we allow God to do HIS work,
to complete HIS plan for us.
We put our faith in earthly things like credit cards and other people.

Everywhere I turn lately, I run into Abraham.
Abraham trusting God,
leaving his homeland,
leaving the familiar, the comfortable, the planned,
not knowing where he was going,
going with only the assurance that God would be with him.
Abraham truly did some faithwalking.

Abraham (for the most part) walked with God,
waited for God to give direction,
waited for God to provide.
Even though Abraham had periods of waiting
(for the promised son),
times when it looked like God would be late
(almost sacrificing Isaac),
God did not fail him.
God provided (a new land, a son, a lamb).

I want to be like Abraham, I want to trust God like that.

Right now, Steve and I are truly faithwalking.
We have some things in our life that we are waiting on God to solve.
For some of those things there are no earthly solutions.
Only the intervention of God will do.

But for others, I can see how WE could fix them.
But where is the faith in that?

So my prayer is to not crack during the faithwalking.
I don't want to cave in and run to earthly solutions.
I want to hold steady until God shows HIS way and not mine.
I want to wait patiently for God, who is faithful.
HE will come through.

#faithwalking

Tuesday, January 2, 2018

DO NOT!

How many times have we read this verse?
How many times have we been obedient to it?
Yes, obedient.
Did you catch the key word in the first line?
COMMANDED

I usually take this verse as a cheer,
a coach's pep talk at half time,
"you can do it, now go show me what you've got!"

But that key word in the first line is not just an encouraging word,
not a word to rally the troops.
It says....COMMANDED.

What's the COMMAND in this verse?
be STRONG
be COURAGEOUS
do NOT  be terrified/afraid
do NOT be discouraged.

How's everybody doing with that?
Me?
Well, I do great with that when things are going well,
when things are going my way.

But how are we doing when things are not going "well"?
No place to live in 30  29 days?
No deposit?
Just lost your job?
No money to pay the light bill?
Kids running wild?
Someone you love is sick?
How are we doing with that command during those times?

Because the truth is.......that's when it counts,
that's when we really find out where our faith is.

But let's be honest.
When those hard times come most of us can be found with our heads hung down,
whining to anyone who will listen, crying, complaining,
wringing our hands, worrying, the list goes on......
All of those things are bad for us,
but they are also bad for those who are watching us.
What does it say to lost people when they see us falling apart?
I think it says that we were trusting in earthly things, earthly security.
I think it shows them that we say we trust God but we don't really mean it.

So how do we fix that?
We do what God told Joshua to do in these verses.
Obey the law, keep it always on your lips, meditate on it.
(Joshua 1:7-9)
The answer is the Word.
We need to be in the Word.
How's our quiet time? Our Bible study?
Are we spending time with HIM in HIS Word?
That's where our strength comes from. Instead of looking at our problems and seeing problems,
let's look at them and call them opportunity.
Opportunity to draw closer to HIM.
Opportunity to trust HIM.
Opportunity to point others to HIM.
Opportunity to prove to anyone who is watching that our God is real,
that HE will come through, in HIS time and in HIS way.

And remember,
HE PROMISED TO BE WITH US.
What else do we need?
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