Table of Contents

Dedication

Acknowledgement

Foreword

Preface

Introduction

My Little Faith

The First Evidence of Faith

God is Absolute

I Bring You Jesus

Impossibilities in the Light of Possibilities

Our Bigger-Than Lifestyle

Our Identification

You are Accepted

The Stripes were Laid

Written on the Canvas of Flesh

Wreaking Havoc in Hell

Without Faith

A Sound Mind

Now Faith Is

Our Expectations or Faith

Faith Comes by Hearing

Faith Works by Love

Faith Without Works is Dead

Tried Faith

Forty Stripes less One

Behind the Scenes

Growing Strong Faith

You are Healed

Concepts from Romans Eight

The Redemption of Time

Let Faith be Enough

Fasting in Celebration

Great Faith, Radical Faith

Abiding Faith

Born to Die

By the Grace of God

Sample Chapter

Beyond the Colorful Coat

The Robe of Righteousness

BIGGER THAN IMPOSSIBLE

Keys to Experiencing the Impossible Through God

Lydia Chorpening

LIFE SENTENCE Publishing

Dedication

Knowing that perilous days are upon us,

I lovingly dedicate this book

With it’s collectable gems of faith

To the grandchildren I hold dear today,

and to all my offspring of the future:

Micah Hayes Peters

Karis Faith Peters

Logan Russell Jerome

Eliana Christine Damsgard

Sierra Lorraine Jerome

Seth Christopher Damsgard

Moriah Kate Peters

Ashley Katherine Damsgard

Vayla Lydia Jerome

Judah Hayes Peters

Gracia Harmony Damsgard

The “i am” of “impossible” is unimportant

Remove “i am” and replace it with the Great “I AM”

You will have “God-Possible!”

Acknowledgement

Special thanks to my daughters

Bonita, Valencia, Lacinda

For their emotional support,

to my son-in-law, Chris

for his technical support,

to my husband, Russell,

for his patience with me during

my long hours of writing,

And to my many friends who

prayed for me and helped

by sharing their gifts

of encouragement.

Foreword

How big is a big enough God? How about BIGGER THAN IMPOSSIBLE! This is Lydia Chorpening’s assessment and she is no theorist, no mere philosopher and no novice!

Lydia is a practitioner of faith who has fought for every level of knowledge and understanding she so freely shares with those desiring to tap into such wealth. She has put in the time and done the work to cross decades from her childhood in the closed and sequestered Amish farming culture to far-flung mission fields of the world, including many years in the Philippines requiring extreme adaptation, stretching and change. The challenges of being a wife, mother and minister of the Gospel of Christ drove her into an ever growing pursuit of God that continues to this day! She now stands in the office of teacher/educator as she articulates the truths she has herself been accountable to in the experiences of her life and journey of faith. I’m the kind of person who wants to hear somebody say, “here’s how I’ve done it and here’s how I’m still doing it!” Lydia Chorpening is first a demonstrator and then an explainer as exemplified by her Lord! Through faith, she has overcome huge obstacles! She is modeling Hebrews 6:12 to “…imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.”

The God who is BIGGER THAN IMPOSSIBLE has never failed Lydia and has made many appearances in all sorts of ways in her world. I have been greatly enriched by the gold in this book…this resonates!

Thank you Lydia, for taking the courses and paying the tuition!

–  Gordon Jensen, Country Gospel Songwriter and Author of Bigger Than Any Mountain

Preface

This is a bigger than… book.

- Let human philosophies remain where they stand.

- Let man’s wisdom abide and even expand.

- Let medical science progressively move forward.

- Let wealth and human resources endure.

- Let the development of weapons of war be long-lasting.

But

Let the truths in this collection of writings help you make God and His Word bigger than your impossibilities. Utilize the natural abilities that God has given you, to avail yourself of His supernatural power.

You Can

- Make God bigger than your physical resources.

- Make His absolutes greater than scientific discoveries.

- Make His wisdom superior to theories of educated persons or human reasoning.

- Make your heart embrace the bottom-line authority of God’s Word even when physicians and the drug industry disbelieve His wisdom.

- Make God’s plans for you reach beyond status quo.

- Make every day a God-filled day that surpasses mediocrity.

- Make God’s faithfulness your focus even when He seems far away.

As you read this book, think bigger than humanly possible! The child of God is not limited to human possibility, resources or affluence.

Remember that He Is The

- God who is bigger than our mountains. He is the mountain-creator!

- God who is greater than our burdens. He is the burden bearer!

- God who is more powerful than our afflictions. He was afflicted for our comfort!

- God who is more abundant than man’s affluence. He owns the earth and its fullness!

- God whose faithfulness exceeds our unbelief. His ability is not limited to our faith or faithlessness!

- God who is more understanding than we are when things don’t make sense. He knows everything!

- God whose wisdom and justice supersedes our emotional upheavals. His perspective is above all things!

- God who is more than enough for anything we need. He is all sufficient, ever present and Almighty!

As your faith becomes enlarged and strengthened through the consumption of these Biblical revelations, you will find there is no need to put anyone down. Allow the human resources that God has endowed men and women with to remain in His hands. The concepts of this bigger than book are bigger than being a ‘put-down’ to any human ability. By allowing man’s creativity to abound, and by utilizing the Scriptural concepts from this book, you will be able to avail yourself to any of the following concepts that you need.

You Will Learn how To

- Move Him from being untouchable to being your intimate friend.

- Move Him from faithlessness to the perspective of fullness of faith.

- Move Him from being barely enough to more than enough.

- Move Him from dependency on human resources to divine supply.

- Move His Word from being abstract to being well focused and understood.

- Move Him from the mentality of coming ‘later on’ to first place in your life.

Give Him the place of highest honor, glory and magnitude humanly possible! This will make Him bigger than your competitiveness, your weak excuses, your short-sightedness and any other struggles and limits in your life.

God is already and completely bigger than impossible! Check out the following Scriptures about God.

Deuteronomy 3:24: “O LORD God, You have begun to show Your servant Your greatness and Your mighty hand, for what god is there in heaven or on earth who can do anything like Your works and Your mighty deeds?”

Psalm 95:3: “For the LORD is the great God, And the great King above all gods.”

Psalm 104:1, 2: “Bless the LORD, O my soul! O LORD my God, You are very great: You are clothed with honor and majesty, Who cover Yourself with light as with a garment, Who stretch out the heavens like a curtain.”

Psalm 145:3: “Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised; And His greatness is unsearchable.”

Jeremiah 32:26, 27: “Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah, saying, “Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh. Is there anything too hard for Me?”

Jeremiah 32:17: “Ah, LORD God! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and outstretched arm. There is nothing too hard for You.”

Romans 3:3-4a: “For what if some did not believe? Will their unbelief make the faithfulness of God without effect? Certainly not! Indeed, let God be true but every man a liar.”

Introduction

What will you do when you cannot find any Band-Aids to put on your scrapes and bruises? What will you do when you don’t have an emergency room to run to in the face of high fevers, broken bones or life threatening circumstances? What will you do when the doctor is out…washed away by flood waters? What will you do when the immediate fix is no longer available to you?

What will hold you when the very institutions that are meant to preserve life are turned into chambers of death? Where will you turn when your whole world has been turned upside down by natural disasters or ferocious attacks of an enemy?

The week before Hurricane Katrina invaded the coastal area of our great nation, the Lord spoke to me as I drove down the road. He said, “You know that I can take the skies and crumple them like a brown paper bag, and I can take the land and break it off like bread crumbs fed to the birds.” I was shaken by the revelation of His almighty power, and then Katrina hit just a few days later.

I was personally challenged to make God bigger than the disheveled catastrophe I encountered on a ministry trip to Slidell, Louisiana. There our team saw a tiny portion of the thousands of square miles of devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina. Though we didn’t go down into the hardest hit area of New Orleans, we saw more ruin than my mind could comprehend.

Consider this: Our work team of ten members was the fourth team to work on the M’s home. Their home was located approximately five miles inland, a place where no flooding had ever been recorded, yet their property was suddenly invaded by five to six feet of water.

Our team spent four intense days of sheetrocking, painting, hanging doors and installing a new bathroom and kitchen. Members of our team were on ladders, under the house, behind doors and under kitchen sinks. Some waited for hours in line in the understaffed stores while others ripped boards with a table saw. The sound of the workers’ tools was deafening at times, while the acidic smell of freshly stained doors mixed with sheetrock dust brought out the face masks.

Team members were both challenged by things we had to leave unfinished and exhilarated by the tasks accomplished. We left the house completely void of furniture with only a Christmas tree in the corner of the living room and some ornaments placed beneath it.

We said our good-byes through tears, a circle of prayer and the resounding song of We Wish You a Merry Christmas. After hugs and last words of whispered hope, we drove away through streets narrowed by piles of debris.

A few weeks prior to the teams’ arrivals, the M’s house and situation seemed totally helpless to this family. Faith had kept this hopeless family of six as they waded through trash, prayed for insurance money and crowded into a motel room.

Times like these are when we must make our faith bigger than resources of comfort, job security and daily provisions. This hopeless family had these needful resources totally removed from their grasp in one fateful night, yet their faith remained.

After Katrina first hit, I found myself wiping the sweat from my forehead and sighing a breath of relief as if nature’s fury was over. The Lord, however, immediately corrected me, telling me that this was not the end of destruction, devastation and ruin. Hurricane Rita was confirmation to what God had just told me.

Typhoons, tsunamis, hurricanes, wars, fires, droughts, earthquakes and floods will only accelerate in this end time. We are living in the days when God will show His wonders like never before. For the people of the world, frightening times await them; but for God’s church, these are days of making God bigger than perils and plights. This is our finest hour to manifest faith in the earth.

Many Christians have expected the rapture to whisk them off to heaven before they experienced the vast destruction that we’ve seen in the past years. This book is not a discourse on when the rapture and Christ’s return will take place, but rather a help to support and grow in grace and the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ. Genuine faith doesn’t seek an easy-out but stands firm in the face of invasion by enemy forces.

I’ve found myself trying to skip over Christ’s description of future destruction in Matthew 24. Take, for example, verse six where Jesus declares that there will be wars and rumors of wars. My refusal to embrace Christ’s foretelling of end-time destruction is not changing Scriptures. I can do nothing to hinder God’s plan by trying to dodge my own faithless issues and ignoring signs of the times.

My Personal Challenges

It is in the face of defying circumstances in my own life that I speak this message of faith. As I face my own personal challenges—one of which is a severely disabled husband—I will write what has been written by the author and the finisher of my faith. I must build up my own faith now, more than ever, making God bigger than my assumptions or challenges.

The enumeration of these fresh concepts on faith challenges my own faithlessness. I am speaking renewed hope into my own soul. I am commanding my own thought patterns to line up with Scripture’s bigger than teachings.

As you experience the challenges in your life—sickness, death, financial strain, relationship problems or any other dilemma, come walk with me. Take my hand and step by step we will learn an overcoming lifestyle. We will not wimp out along the journey, but we will command our faith to become the foundation holding us secure.

God is calling for His church to arise in the hour of crisis. We must invade enemy territory through prayer, and by exercising faith that manifests the peace of God in our lives. Matthew 24:6b also states “See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.”

Growing strong in faith is attainable because every man has been given a measure of faith (Romans 12:3). God has placed into the heart of every human being an allotted portion (a seed) of faith. God intends for our faith to grow by hearing His Word (Romans 10:17).

Faith’s venture lies before us! It’s time for us to put on our spiritual hip boots and begin to wade through Scriptures.

ONE

My Little Faith

As the traffic on loop 410 turned into mere matchbook- sized vehicles, which moved lazily along on the ribbon-fine streets, our Continental 737 nosed its way upwards into the clouds that scattered westward of San Antonio. I gripped the handle on my seat as our plane dipped downward then rose again. I breathed deeply, trying to suppress my fears, especially since I didn’t want our three daughters to know how scared I was.

“How high can this plane go?” I whispered to my husband, but he was off in his own world and I never received his answer.

The pilot’s announcement cut through the silence: “Ladies and Gentlemen, I am sorry for the turbulence. I’ll climb to a higher altitude in an effort to lose some of the disturbance. Please remain seated until the ‘fasten your seatbelt’ signs are switched off.” Now I was completely unnerved!

“Can this plane stay in the air with all this shaking?” I again questioned my husband, but still no reply. He is just recovering from walking pneumonia and perhaps he is still at low ebb, I reasoned.

I fretted inwardly, If only he had taken me for a plane ride before this long journey to the Philippine Islands, I wouldn’t feel so scared. Anxiety gripped my heart, squeezing out the little faith I was going on. Resolvedly I decided to leave our loved ones, our families and stored items behind. We had our five large suitcases and our five carry-on bags.

The voice of my little faith screamed, You’ll never return to the USA again.

I answered, yes, sir, I’ll never see my friends in San Antonio or our families in Iowa again.

Why This Journey?

Though this flight began in March, 1982, the journey to this point started much earlier. Blazes had speared heavenward in 1970, consuming our large Iowa farm house in a matter of minutes. Our quest for change and the pursuit of knowing God’s will led us through several years of unsettledness. In the summer of 1978 we sold our home in Sarasota, Florida to move into an on-campus mobile home in desert-like San Antonio, Texas.

Moving our three young daughters into that well-worn home was a large step in our preparation for overseas missions. Here we were introduced to night creatures that scurried into hiding at the flip of a light switch. Roaches left their marks wherever they’d been.

Our continued quest for God’s directions led us on several trips into Mexico, but we didn’t feel the call to go there. Upon inviting our pastor, the late John Bell, and his wife, Ruth, to dinner, Pastor Bell spoke into our lives: “You folks should seriously be considering going to the Philippines as missionaries. You would fit in well with the culture there.”

Whoa! What was this all about? The Philippines? We’d heard of that vast assortment of islands, but where were they?

Were Pastor Bell’s parting words prophetic?

They left and we stood on the front steps silently staring into the darkness. Being left with this barrage of unexpected counsel was like picking our way through our dimly lit campus at night. Should we step this way to avoid a mud puddle, or that way to find a better lighted path?

“This may be God’s direction for us,” Russell said as he reached for the small globe to find the islands’ location.

Finally, spotting the tiny series of dots on the other side of the world, I knew I couldn’t ever go there. “I’ve never even been up in an airplane!” I blurted out.

In my mind that settled it. God would understand why I couldn’t pull up, pack up and fly away in an (unproven by me) aircraft to the other side of creation! It seems my husband was unable to dismiss Pastor Bell’s admonition as easily as I had.

Later as a missionary couple from the Philippines spoke at our midweek service, my carnal mind took over again. I took one look at them and was totally unimpressed. I brushed off the thoughts of going so far away as I would brush crumbs off a table. I licked my lips with soulish satisfaction!

While I went home and to bed, Russell stayed up reading one of the missionary’s booklets he’d picked up. He felt compelled by Romans 10:13-15, 17.

“For ‘whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved.’

“How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written:

“‘How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, Who bring glad tidings of good things!’

“So then faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God.”

My husband spent a sleepless night pacing up and down the hallway of our small trailer. By morning he had resolved that we were going to the Philippines!

True to my husband’s nature, he pressed ahead in his studies like a steamroller! Straight forward was the only gear Russell knew. He finished his four-year ministerial degree in three and a half years.

I used Ephesians 5:24 as a rope of submission to bind myself to my husband’s pursuits. Though I knew God would lead us through my husband’s decisions, my unsurrendered soul coddled fear and anxiety.

Without taking time for a whiff of fresh air, we were on our way overseas.

As we departed the airport with our girls dressed in their look-alike dresses, we appeared to be the perfect family. I, however, was bringing more with me than just my baggage stuffed under the seat in front of me. My soul was laden with heavy weights that didn’t meet the eye. I had stuffed plenty of unresolved issues into my unsurrendered soul. Now on the first lap of our journey they had surfaced, through monster-like eyes of fear!

Amid all the shuffle of packing, unpacking and repacking I had displaced my urgently needed aspects of bigger than faith.

Looking Back From Now

Did you notice how my unregenerated soul made assumptions that were not based on faith? By knowing wives are to be submissive to their husbands, I’d heard from God indirectly. I, however, had not contended in God’s presence until I had the defining moment of hearing God speak directly to me. Because of this, I felt I could wimp out of these hard places by blaming circumstances or other people. Instead of trying to justify myself through comparison and blame, I should have been dealing with my own faithless issues.

With the understanding that God has now given me, I would say that I was walking (or flying) in little faith. Without the bigger than type of faith that I needed for this journey, it is not surprising that I clutched the handles of my seat as we nosed into the vast blue skies.

Faith and Fear Cannot Coexist

A bigger than faith will not coexist with fear. I cannot count the times that God spoke to me saying, “Fear thou not. Fear thou not!” I struggled with that command. Sure, I wanted to be free from fear, but how was that possible?

Being raised with many elements of fear imprinted me deeply with worry and anxiety. The unpredictable challenges of my childhood kept me peeking around tomorrow’s corners expecting to find some evil waiting to pounce on me. My dad’s mood swings and slave driver’s mentality along with my mother’s frequent screams of terror only added to my lifestyle dominated by fear.

I was afraid to be alone and I was afraid of being in crowds. I was worried that our family was going to starve and that I would fail my grades in school. I feared the dark and was always on the lookout for snakes. I was afraid to speak up but also afraid of the consequences of my silence. Fear froze me as I lunged under the cold covers in our darkened bedroom at night. I was paralyzed when spoken to or when I was outside of my tiny country setting.

I brooded over eternal matters…trying to find an end to eternity, thinking this would be my escape from hell. Realizing my doomed spiritual state, I agonized over my lost plight. Anxiety consumed my energy and imposed physical sickness on me.

The elements, the virtues, the strength, the understanding and progression of faith had totally eluded me. I didn’t realize there was a bigger-than-impossible type of faith that would dispel all these dreadful fears.

Finally, as a teenager, I understood that it took faith to appropriate God’s saving grace. I embraced faith for my salvation, but faith for my everyday life often evaded me. I carried much of this faithless baggage with me to the Philippine Islands where I was to teach God’s Word through a lifestyle of faith.

The various demands of adjusting, facing a strange culture and languages, and home schooling our daughters had caught me in a relentless grip of fearfulness. Of course, I remembered God’s admonition not to fear, but how was I to implement that into my daily schedule?

The “Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God” concept is the truth we appropriate as we learn a lifestyle of bigger than type of faith. As we appropriate this, we will effectively withstand our enemy, the devil.

Aspects of Spiritual Warfare

Since this is a bigger-than-the-lies-of-Satan type book which exalts the Lord to the highest of our ability and embraces the absolute truth of His Word, we know that Satan, who vaunts himself against the Almighty from the very foundation of the world, will not be happy.

We may not think of this book as one being on “spiritual warfare,” yet it is one of our most powerful forms of “spiritual warfare.” By making God bigger than anything else that exists in heaven, on earth or under the earth, we will reach into areas of effective and glorious warfare. We will come into agreement with Spiritual understanding that will exalt God above the feigned throne of our enemy, the devil.

From the beautiful Garden of Eden (Genesis 3) to the time when the curse is removed in Revelation 22, Satan is always present and filled with every wile of evil intent imaginable. Listed here are only a few references to his scheming and demise.

- He deceived Eve in the garden in Genesis 3:1-6.

- He sought to exalt himself above God in Isaiah 14:12-15.

- He accused Joshua, God’s high priest, and God rebuked him in Zechariah 3:1.

- He stripped Job of all his resources except for his faith in Job 1:21.

- He tempted Jesus in the wilderness until the Lord rebuked him in Matthew 4:1-11.

- He sows tares in the lives of the believers in Matthew 13:38-39.

- He ruins the bodies and souls of humanity in Luke 9:42.

- He speaks lies to any who will listen to him in John 8:44.

- He persuaded Judas to betray Christ in John 13:2.

- He preys upon men in I Peter 5:8.

- Finally there will be war in heaven where he will be cast out in Revelation 12:7-9.

Though Satan doesn’t know it, God already has the final say of things. By bringing ourselves into total agreement with God’s Word, Satan will automatically be renounced, rebuked, withstood, defeated, and ultimately overcome in our lives!

We don’t have to spend a lot of time being Satan-conscious, or focusing on our own lack of faith, but we must focus on God, His goodness, His greatness and His grace! Satan is defeated by Christ’s resurrection power! God reigns!

In Matthew 16:18 Jesus said, “…I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.” This means that the church is greater than, more powerful than and triumphant over the gates of hell! God’s Word will activate our faith and make us a part of this victorious church.

In John 16:33b, Jesus tells His disciples that they will experience tribulation, “but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” By allowing God’s Word to rule in our lives, we have Him who has overcome abiding in us. If Satan has been unable to overcome Christ, consider the Christ in you as being your hope of praise and rejoicing (Colossians 1:24-28).

TWO

The First Evidence of Faith

It had been a rough day in school as I struggled with understanding the instructions directed at me in the English language. The words constitution, multiplication, liberation, and emancipation were all tongue-twisters that pled for interpretation. How could I ever do my school work if I couldn’t understand the concepts my teacher tried to convey to me?

I was wearing my frown again. It was the kind of frown that forced my shoulders to droop and my feet to shuffle in the loose gravel of the road that seemed to stretch endlessly before me. Dust from the school bus had just engulfed me as students targeted me with their leftover lunches.

The frown that I wore during much of my childhood stemmed from a heart that was desolate of the kind of wisdom that led me to faith. It is a shame that I didn’t exercise enough common sense to connect the God of creation to my own life. However, today as the sun pushes aside the curtain of night’s darkness, the profound concepts of creation brighten every morning for me.

I invite you to move backward through time and stand here beside me as we balance on the brink of time’s inception. Do you sense the expanse encircling us? We are high up, above all else—the earth, the stars, the dark of night—as high as God is! As we view the fast-changing elements of creation, we will be engulfed by peace, confirmed by the Word of God’s power and strengthened in our own faith.

We must reprogram our minds to enter this preexisting world. Since faith had not yet been manifested, it will increase our faith to enter this world without the existence of light and air or the discovery of modern conveniences as we know them—electricity, cell phones, television, computers, movies, recorded music, automobiles, rail transportation, palm pilots, elevators, escalators, hydraulic power, aerodynamics—just to name a few.

We are unveiling a world that existed prior to the first Biblical recording of time when Abraham received God’s promises in 1921 BC. (This date is taken from Genesis 12 notes in the Thompson Chain Reference Bible.) The precipice of time on which we’re grounded is a time before Adam and Eve were created. The pyramids of Egypt, the tower of Babel and Solomon’s temple were not yet thought of.

What was Pre-Creation Like?

“In the beginning God (prepared, formed, fashioned, and) created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and an empty waste, and darkness was upon the face of the very great deep. The Spirit of God was moving (hovering, brooding) over the face of the waters” (Genesis 1:1, 2 AB).

Having been one who has seen a tiny portion of the mass destruction caused by Hurricane Katrina, I may have an advantage of understanding the Scriptural concepts of “The earth was without form and void.” The words “without form” and “void” mean: “to lie waste, be desolate, a worthless thing, confusion, vacuity and to be an undistinguishable ruin.”

You may have seen results of tsunamis, earthquakes or other devastations around the world. In these areas, debris of all sorts—dirt, water, oil spills, vegetation, poisonous varmints, human flesh and live electrical wires—are all mixed into an unsafe and repulsive environment. These are areas where people’s amassed wealth lies entangled in a hopeless mountain of desperation. Yet the vastness of the pre-created earth’s barrenness exceeded any of these horrific tragedies.

Try to imagine a darkness that had never known light, or an earth that had never been impregnated with seed. It was the spiritual blackness of the preexisting world that brought the greatest degree of chaos to the pre-created earth! Faith had never touched the mess.

In light of humanity’s inabilities to restore newness in war zones and climatic catastrophes, we will view the results of our Creator’s Word power. We will see these as bigger than the possibilities of human effort or ability.

The Creation

In later chapters of this book, we will see the ultimate authority of Who God is. In this chapter I want us to realize that, since God is ultimate truth, and since I cannot find an adequate description for the Words He speaks, I have chosen to cite the words He spoke at creation as uncontaminated and pure manifestation of faith. If God had not known Himself as truth, He would not have spoken the incomparable faith-filled words of creation. No Word that God has ever spoken will fall to the ground and be wasted.

God utilized the mangled mess of unmined iron ore, minerals, water, land, seeds with their potentials, electrical power, darkness and light, with the elements of time and His ultimate authority to divinely create our fathomless world.

Because of this substance, which I refer to as Supreme or unequalable faith, all the orders God gave were carried out to the last detail. God spoke forthright from the authority of truth and every command of God was performed. The first evidence that inspires our faith was born!

God had a plan for creation and He knew it intricately. He didn’t raise His voice in frustration, as if He was demanding authority. He is Authority! His voice rippled with loving strength that even the elements of formlessness and void were unable to withstand!

“Let there be light!”

The very next statement declares, “And there was light!” God threw on the power switch of a world that, according to Hugh Franklin’s satellite measurements of the earth, has an equator of 24,901.46 miles in circumference.

The mass of void heard God’s command. There was no doubtful voice oozing out of the darkness—questioning, “What did You say?”

Light exploded through the darkness! Suddenly the earth was illuminated with an element that darkness could not withstand. The command, ‘more powerful than darkness,’ had been given! Light erupted, then sparkled, shimmered and twinkled throughout God’s whole creation!

The first phase of creation is complete and the second day awaits us. It is time for the waters beneath to be separated from those above. God calls for sky to appear. Again the authority of faith is manifested in creation as the firmament appears. As God ended His work on the second day of creation, He called the firmament “Heaven.”

The third day awakens as we hear God’s faith-filled voice: “Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear.”

Immediately it was finished! God named the land “Earth” and the waters He called “Seas.”

Before God gave His next command, He took a deep breath of satisfaction. “This is good!” He declared. He knew that the earth was ready to conceive vegetation, so He called for grass, herbs, and fruit trees to grow out of the naturally fertile soil.

Each plant that He created had the potential to reproduce seed after its own kind. God’s insight and wisdom gave Him the understanding of reproduction’s importance. Everything He created was formed to reproduce its own kind.

In God’s plan He knew that the plant world would need light to survive, so on the fourth day He created the lights of the heavens. These lights were rulers over day and night; they were set in the heavens for signs, for seasons and to measure days and years. They still provide us with division of day and night, reminding us of God’s continuous faithfulness.

See, everything is set! We have seen void, devastation and formlessness turn into an earth ready for inhabitation. There is air to breathe, water to satisfy the thirsty, land to explore, fruit trees to eat from and the sun and moon to rule days and seasons.

Day five arrives. With mountain peaks of expectation, all of nature awaits the next command.

“Let the waters abound with an abundance of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the face of the firmament of the heavens.”

It was that same, unsurpassed, faith-filled voice of wisdom and authority! As the Creator had commanded, so it was done! The waters were filled with an uncountable assortment of fishes gliding through the brand new oceans and seas! The waters laughed with delight as the bass and walleye splashed gleefully.

Where the eagle soared overhead, the song birds thrilled the heavens with songs that had emerged from void and mass upheaval. Tree tops were filled with flittering colors of bronze, violet, azure and crimson. Earth rejoiced and so did God!

This manifestation of faith is awesome as it pulls down the curtain on the fifth day. God Himself awaits the sixth day, for this will be the day that will crown all other days of creation. He keeps his vigil until midnight passes so that He can produce what His heart has really longed for. Now with the passing of midnight He has only one other spectrum of creation to complete before He can make man in His own image.

“Let the earth bring forth the beasts and cattle after their own kind, and let the creeping things and living creatures come into being!”

By now creation was familiar with this indescribable voice…the voice of faith! Immediately the earth was filled with creatures and critters! The cow stood ready to be milked and the hen was ready to lay her eggs to furnish food for those who were yet to come.

I know that we are both enthralled with all the marvelous creation of the Lord, but the most intimate, the most sacred creation still awaits us. God has spoken everything into existence up to this point, but this is about to change. Genesis 1:28 tells us that God “created” man and woman. Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance tells me that the word “created” is a “formative process.” I have always seen this as God, because of His great love for mankind, rolling up His sleeves for his creation. Dare we watch this intrinsic display of one of heaven and earth’s most intimate moment?

We, in modern today, will surely be unable to fully discern the holy intent of our Heavenly Designer. Because we have invaded our own private worlds of intimacy with every imaginable and sensual tool, we have lost the privy concepts of things God created for and in sacredness. However, we who have been redeemed by Christ’s work on Calvary, have the legal and spiritual right to view this passionate display of love in God’s most sacred chamber.

I envision God’s Almighty arms reaching into the dirt of earth, not being denied the formation of what His heart has longed for all during creation. With insightful wisdom and infinite love He shapes a man with all his internal organs and outward appearance. He prepares the eyes to receive sight, the ears for hearing, nerve endings for touch, and the mind for thinking. Muscles and joints are all in place.

Now the Creator Himself, in all His supernatural deity, bows to earth and kisses the man He had just formed. In this kiss the issue of eternal life was transmitted to man. Man opened his eyes and blinked. He flexed his muscles and they bulged like a heavyweight champ. He sat up and the muscles of his face drew his mouth into a smile. He was the first man, Adam, and he was created by pure, sacred and undiluted love!

If the laboratories of today could produce this creation, we would credit it to advanced scientific efforts. However, since human resources have been unable to recreate a spiritual being, this modern age has come up with terms to deny creation. We all know what they are…Darwinism, evolution or the big-bang theory!

The element missing in all this is faith. What measure of faith does it take to dig around in dirt or make man-made materials to resemble bones of ancient creatures? How much faith are the scientific experts utilizing in drawing rough drafts of what evolution’s theory declares?

Stepping back into time, through faith, to partake in the recreation of heaven and earth, makes it easier for us to believe the Word of God. This, I believe, is the first display of faith in the earth! Just as each day of creation was designed to bring forth fruit after its own kind, so we are recreated to bring faith into the hearts of others.

We were created, by God’s supreme acts of faith and unconditional love, on the sixth day of creation. On the seventh day as God reflected with joyous satisfaction, on all His creation, He rested. The completion of that task brought Him rest.

As we revisit this place of God’s miraculous creation, it should wipe the frowns from our brows. Although we will never attain to the plain of faith that God is enthroned with, this should encourage us to live in faith, and with joyous exuberance impart the same to others.

THREE

God is Absolute

Daylight lingered after our chores were done, and for a change our evening was free. My brother pulled down a worn copy of Grimm’s Fairy Tales and started reading. I listened to some of the tales of Beauty and the Beast, Cinderella and Little Red Riding Hood, but left the circle of listeners before we were called to go to bed.

I hated reading about thorns that captured kings’ sons and held them captive until they died. I didn’t like to hear about a witch putting a spell on someone, or a wolf disguising itself in night clothes to catch a young lassie. My stomach churned from listening to these warped concepts woven into children’s stories. While others may have been attracted to those stories and intrigued by the fictional characters, I’ve never been.

Although I was curious about the spirit-realm and often observed my dad as he practiced various forms of occultism, I wanted something that satisfied life’s quests. I longed for peace. I wanted deliverance for my feelings of rejection, fear, dread, legalism, worry and fretfulness. I did not find my desires in Mr. Grimm’s weird stories or in my dad’s dabbling in the dark supernatural realm.

Jesus Christ, our link to God’s absolute authority, was missing in these activities. Later in life, after I was born again and Holy Spirit filled, I battled with supernatural manifestations that vaunted themselves against the awesome, magisterial truth of God! However, I am here to report that He that is in me is greater than he who is in the world. (See I John 4:4.)

God is Absolute

As I learn daily about the absolutes and sovereignty of God, I am enriched in my peace and find wisdom sinking its roots deeper into my way of life. In this chapter I want each one of us to get an awesome revelation of who God is.

Focus on the truth of Revelation 21:6 which declare Him to be the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. He was, He is and He is to the endless eternity! Our mind is finite; His is infinite. Our life on earth is but a vapor; He lives in infinity.

He takes all our sins, all our ills, all our tests, all the things we don’t understand, all the things that bother us, along with all of Satan’s evil wiles and shapes them into elements that will declare His supremacy and glory! He has created us as creatures of our own choice who exercise our own will, yet He also declares that He (and nobody else) will be sitting on His throne, ruling all His creation forever. (See Revelation 7:14-17.)

In Ephesians 1:22 we see God has put everything under the feet of His Son, Jesus. Listen to what the apostle John hears a great voice from Heaven say: “…See! The abode of God is with men, and He will live (encamp, tent) among them; and they shall be His people, and God shall personally be with them and be their God.” (See Revelation 21:3 AB.)

My mother taught me to always wring out my dish rags with all the strength I could muster. That way the cloth dries more quickly and smells fresher. My intention here is to wring out our humanistic impressions from the awesome and majestic attributes of the Almighty God! In that way we can embrace the absolutes of God and peacefully advance in faith.

Everything about God is absolute. His very nature cannot be confused with men’s theories and imaginations. The loftiness of men is foolishness to God. The strengths of the strongest humans are only weaknesses to God! (See I Corinthians 1:25.)

Everything about God is outstandingly superior to the entire world’s wisdom put together in one gigantic mixing bowl of human reasoning. He takes the bad and turns it to His good and praise. He takes evil and rides on its boisterous waves in triumph! He takes the crude and despised creatures of the human race and uses them to bring destruction to things that are. He takes our “nothings” and builds His unfading shrine of glory on them (read I Corinthians 1:25-29).

God Cannot Lie

Have you ever noticed how lying is a byproduct of our sinful human nature? Many children lie about taking a cookie from the cookie jar especially after their mother has told them not to. Parents need to appropriate the ever-truthful nature of God into their own lives. They need to exercise righteous reprimand in the cases when lies are told.

God couldn’t lie if He wanted to! Wow! Imagine that! He is truth. His whole being is made up of truth. He “is the true God and Life eternal” (I John 5:20b AB). The very nature, the absolute truth in God, is easily seen through the promises He made to Abram in Genesis 15. God promised that He would bless Abram and his descendents, but Abram was like any of us would be. He questioned God: “How can this be, Lord, since I don’t have any sons?”

Hebrews 6:13 shows us that God made an oath to confirm His promise. “For when God made [His] promise to Abraham, He swore by Himself, since He had no one greater by whom to swear” (AB).

The writer of Hebrews continues in verses 16-18: “Men indeed swear by a greater [than themselves], and with them in all disputes the oath taken for confirmation is final [ending strife]. Accordingly God also, in His desire to show more convincingly and beyond doubt to those who were to inherit the promise the unchangeableness of His purpose and plan, intervened (mediated) with an oath. This was so that, by two unchangeable things [His promise and His oath] in which it is impossible for God ever to prove false or deceive us, we who have fled [to Him] for refuge might have mighty indwelling strength and strong encouragement to grasp and hold fast the hope appointed for us and set before [us]” (AB).

If we are asking what the promise was, we will find our answer in verse 14. “Surely blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply you.” (See also Genesis 22:16, 17.) God clearly declared His blessings on the life of this great patriarch. The second part of the unchangeableness or immutability of God is that He made an oath, swearing by Himself that the promise would be fulfilled.

God, swearing by His promise, staked down His own person and blessedness. No greater power could ever ratify a promise. Until this day, God, who is invincible, has spoken words that are incapable of being conquered. His Word is unassailable by doubt. His oath is invulnerable and undefeatable.

Though Abram had to wait for “the due time” for God’s promise to be fulfilled, he eventually obtained the promise. In like manner, we who have received God’s promises will experience their fulfillment if we hold fast to the hope that God has set before us. We can believe the promises because God cannot lie!

God Knows no Other gods

God, manifested in the earth through Jesus Christ, is the only God there is. He doesn’t know any other gods! My purpose here is to focus on exciting scriptural concepts of God and His preeminence.

One of the clearest descriptions of what God says about Himself is found in Isaiah 44: 6, 8:

“Thus says the LORD, the King of Israel, and his Redeemer, the LORD of hosts: I am the First and I am the Last; besides Me there is no God. Fear not, nor be afraid [in the coming violent upheavals]; have I not told it to you from of old and declared it? And you are My witnesses! Is there a God besides Me? There is no [other] Rock; I know not any” (AB).

When God called Moses to lead the children of Israel out of Egypt, Moses asked, “Who shall I say sent me?” Exodus 3:14 gives us God’s answer:

“‘I AM WHO I AM.’ And He said, Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’” In essence God is saying here, “I am who you need me to be in whatever situation you’re in.”

The following Scriptures confirm these ‘I AM’ aspects of God. Deuteronomy 4:35, 39:

“To you it was shown, that you might know that the LORD Himself is God; there is none other besides Him… Therefore know this day, and consider it in your heart, that the LORD Himself is God in heaven above and on the earth beneath; there is no other.”

Solomon prayed in awesome respect to the Name of the Lord at the dedication of the temple. 1 Kings 8:27 records this.

“But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain You. How much less this temple which I have built!”

To ascribe to God the attributes of His mercy and grace is the most powerful way to begin our times of intercession. Nehemiah knew this and started his prayer for help and deliverance in just that way. It is recorded in Nehemiah 9:6.

“You alone are the Lord;

You have made heaven,

The heaven of heavens, with all their host,

The earth and everything on it,

The seas and all that is in them,

And You preserve them all.

The host of heaven worships You.”

The Bible is full of Scriptures that urge us to understand God’s position of being exclusively supreme and unquestionable. We dare not make ourselves God or bow down and worship other man-made gods. He is the Almighty!

God Sets up Boundaries

Have you noticed how many young parents now let their children have the run of the house, yard and even the streets? Their timidity in defining absolute boundaries may stem from a lack of their understanding that God is a God of boundaries.

In creation, God set up limits so that the oceans would not overflow their banks and the rivers would be guided in their places. Job chapters 38-40 establish these concepts.

One example of this is in Job 38:8 where we see God draw a line on the sandy beaches and says, “You can come this far but no farther. Your proud waves have to stop right here.” Jeremiah 5:22 is another example of the prophet declaring that God sets up the sand for a boundary to the sea and for a perpetual barrier beyond which it is unable to pass. David too expounds on this in Psalm 89:9.

God not only sets limitations on nature, but He also restricts Satan with certain limitations. An interesting story unfolds in the first chapters of Job. The sons of God came before the Lord for reckoning. Somehow Satan was among them and God addressed him personally,

“Have you considered My servant, Job?”

“Sure I’ve seen him prosper, and why wouldn’t he? You’ve built a hedge around him that I can’t penetrate,” Satan raged.

God pulled back the boundaries to let Satan attack his possessions (which were many) and his children (ten of them). He still kept Job’s person safe with His restrictions.

Plotting and plating, Satan’s voice boomed as he returned to hell, “Destroy all of Job’s possessions and his children too! Now hurry!” In a day Job went from being a rich man to a pauper.

At the next meeting God had with His sons, Satan again attended. “Have you taken account of My faithful servant, Job? You destroyed all his possessions yet he has not denied me.”

“It’s a fact that man will give all he has for his life. He’ll turn against you if you’ll let me afflict his body.”

God, still being in control, granted the request with the restriction to spare his life.

Many of us know the story of Job’s boils and his miserable friends, yet God was in control when He said, “You can go this far, but you may go no farther.” Job, not realizing the conversations Satan was having with God, held onto his faith and patience. In the end he received blessings that far surpassed his first blessings!

No fable or human wisdom can ever overwhelm God’s supernatural laws. He is bigger than our reasoning and philosophies. Because of God’s absolute love, power and wisdom, the greatest faith-filled and most challenging prayer for us to pray is Christ’s prayer found in Luke 22:42 “…not my will, but Yours, be done!”

FOUR

I Bring You Jesus

My religion had taught me that there was a God, a devil, heaven, hell and eternity, but something was missing! I was terrified of God, thinking He was out to strike me with lightening. I was sure the devil was real and I was frozen by my fear of him. I also felt that heaven existed but that I was totally unable to ever get there. I knew hell was the place I was headed for. All of these dreadful realizations left me with horrible, tormenting and unbearable feelings!

I knew that heaven and hell were both eternal places where no one got a second chance after arriving at their destination. My dad told me that eternity was like a circle that has no end. Panic struck me and accelerated my heart rate as I used the steel rim of a buggy wheel for a mental projection. I cried, “If I can find an end to a circle, I may be able to reverse my curse of going to hell.”

Even though I made myself dizzy and physically sick from forcing my mind to continuously encircle the rim, I couldn’t find an end to the circle. It just didn’t work! What I didn’t realize was that even if I’d found an end to this unending circle, that wasn’t what I needed to prevent me from going to hell.

Do you know what was missing in my belief system? It wasn’t the end of a circle I needed to find. I needed to find the bridge that spanned my dysfunctional childhood to the God of my salvation. I needed to find the One who is bigger than the impossibility of finding a circle’s end.

I have found Him and I am here to declare Him to you. This is Jesus Christ who gives you the basis for the faith you must have in order to utilize the message of this book.

I Declare to You Jesus

I assume that many of us know or have heard the Apostle’s Creed that states the belief in God the Father, Almighty Maker of heaven and earth and in Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God. The creed states that Jesus was conceived by the Holy Ghost and born of Mary. It also pronounces His crucifixion, burial, descending into hell and His resurrection on the third day. His ascension into heaven, where he is seated with His Heavenly Father, is also verified, among other things, in this religious recitation. Though the forgiveness of sins and our body’s resurrection are part of this creed, I want us to look into the Scriptures and see the marvelous mystery of Jesus Himself.

We read the account of Paul being in Athens in Acts 17. The Athenians were very superstitious and spent their time in nothing else but either to tell or hear some new thing. (See verses 21-23.) They served various gods and Paul even found an altar inscribed with the words, “TO THE UNKNOWN GOD.”

When the apostle was called before Areopagus and the men of Athens, he told them that he perceived that they were very religious but lacked understanding of the true God. Then he introduced them to their “unknown God.” He told them that this God is the God who made the world and everything it contains. This is the God that we must know and declare when we are confronted with the vagueness of Darwinism, evolution, the big-bang theory and other humanistic philosophies.

The theories of the human mind cannot comprehend the wisdom, the insight, the creative and redemptive design of the Lord. This is why I declare Jesus to you, so that you too will take Him and declare Him to others that you contact. This is the concept that Paul teaches his spiritual son, Timothy in II Timothy 2:2.

Consider also my paraphrased version of Colossians 2:1-3. Through this paraphrased version you, the readers, and I, the writer, can make personal application of this Scripture.

“I want you to know how great a concern I have for you even though you may not have seen my face. I want your hearts to be encouraged. I want us to be knit together in love. This will give us the full assurance of understanding, which is the attainment of great riches. I long for us to realize the knowledge of the mystery of God and of His Christ, because it is in Christ that all the hidden treasures of wisdom and knowledge are found.”

As we move down to verses 9 and 10 we find these words, “For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power.”

Peter said on the day of Pentecost in Acts 2:36b, “God has made this Jesus, whom you have crucified, both Lord and Christ.”

Doctor Luke knew about this intimacy with the Lord Jesus Christ for he wrote in Acts 17:28, “In Him we live, and move, and have our being.”

Peter and John had cured the impotent man in Acts 3. In Acts 4 they were being questioned and harassed by the high priest and his associates. They answered in verses 9-12,

“If we this day are judged for a good deed done to a helpless man, by what means he has been made well, let it be known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by Him this man stands here before you whole. This is the stone which was rejected by you builders, which has become the chief cornerstone. Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”

The boldness and the confidence in Peter and John made the high priests realize that these two disciples had been with Jesus. Their encounter with Jesus and the intimacy of their relationship with God set them apart from the status quo. This is the boldness God wants each of us to possess and proclaim.

Godliness is a Mystery

In I Timothy 3:16 Paul explains the mystery of godliness to his son in the faith. “And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness:

- God was manifested in the flesh,

- Justified in the Spirit,

- Seen by angels,

- Preached among the Gentiles,

- Believed on in the world,

- Received up in glory.”

Is it any wonder we can’t comprehend this great mystery today when many try to understand spiritual concepts through “Harry Potter-type books,” witchcraft, divination and deception, rather than coming into the spiritual realm by Jesus Christ? The call to proclaim the Lordship of Christ is urgent. We must understand who He is, and we must find our identity in Him.

Review and embrace with me these six concepts that make godliness a mystery. The first one is the manifestation of God in the flesh. This has everything to do with Christmas! I didn’t say December 25th, but I said Christmas—the time of Christ’s birth.

It doesn’t matter what arguments surround Christmas, Christ was born and that’s Christmas! No matter how hard the liberals try to scratch “Christmas” from our calendars and replace it with the “holiday season,” Christmas cannot be removed from the earth. Christ’s birth into the world delineates time. This life-changing event separates BC from AD.

In John 1:14 we read that the Word was made flesh! Simply put, this means that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, was born, as a human, on earth! Bethlehem experienced it, King Herod tried to reverse it, prophesies had already proclaimed it and God fulfilled it.

As an extra bonus, let me urge you to go ahead and celebrate Christmas as you have never celebrated before. You can experience your own Christmas by inviting Jesus to come into your life as your Savior and as your Lord.

Then keep Christ in focus, and give gifts to those who cannot return them. Spend time in God’s presence just because you love Him. Teach your children and grandchildren the true meaning of Christmas, and don’t cower down when your faith is challenged! Christ was manifested in the flesh!

The second aspect of this mystery is that Christ was justified in the Holy Spirit. Do you remember what happened in Matthew 3 when Jesus was baptized?

The heavens opened and the Spirit of God descended on Christ in the form of a dove. It perched on the Lord as God’s voice from heaven declared, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” This appearance is the confirmation that affirmed Jesus as the Redeemer of mankind, the King of Israel and Messiah! However, the thing that justified His claim was His resurrection.

The third aspect of this mystery is that Christ was seen by angels.

When I was a little girl we used to sing “It Came upon the Midnight Clear” in school. This Christmas hymn was written by Edmund Sears. I loved the story of angels descending over Bethlehem and singing their songs of praise. Here are the words to the angels’ song as recorded in Luke 2:14.

“Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!” What glorious concepts the angels wafted on the winds of that midnight hour! This is the message that angels sang as they witnessed Christ’s mysterious birth!

The fourth step in the progression of this mystery is that Christ was preached among the Gentiles. This is a personal and incomprehensible gift for me. I was not blessed to be born as a physical Jew, but because of Christ, I still obtain the spiritual blessings of Abraham through faith.

In the early church there was controversy over the Gentiles being allowed to partake of salvation. Acts 10 records a heart-changing account of God’s grace to the Gentiles. God heard Cornelius’ prayers and changed Peter’s heart so that he brought the Gospel of Christ to the Gentiles. Cornelius and his household received this message with gladness.

If you have any question as to whether you’re included under God’s plan of grace, I urge you to read Acts 10. Take special notice of verse 15 where God tells Peter not to call those whom He has cleansed “unclean.”

Aspect number five is that Christ was believed on in the world. Regardless of the media’s biased slant on news, no matter who turns their back on Christ or tries to annihilate Him by threats, Christ is still being believed on today. The report in Acts 2:41 tells us that about 3,000 people were added to the church in a single day. Since that day, the church has continued to expand and grow. Today thousands of people are still coming to Christ as Savior and Lord. The fact that many are experiencing tremendous persecution for their faith is not hindering them from turning to Christ!

In the day in which we’re living, persecution of the Christian is accelerating, but do not let go of your faith. We have a God who is bigger than impossible! He lives inside of you, so spread the good news!

The last point Paul makes concerning this mystery is that Christ was received up into glory. We read of His ascension into heaven in the last chapter of Luke. At the chapter’s end Doctor Luke records Christ leading His disciples out to Bethany, blessing them and then being parted from them as He was carried up into heaven!

By utilizing God’s redemptive grace, endeavor to contemplate retrospectively the person you are in Christ. Imagine the view He has of you, of us, of the whole world! As mysterious as it seems, and as impossible as it seems, Christ is in Heaven, but He also lives in the hearts of those who have invited Him in. He is the bridge I was looking for in my youth.

FIVE

Impossibilities in the Light of Possibilities

It was springtime and the soft breezes whispered urges for flying a kite. Finding a few pieces of wood, my oldest brothers and I made our own kite of sorts. The wood, tied together in the shape of a cross, was then covered with brown paper and a rag tail was attached. The strings that we reserved from opening our 50 pound flour sacks were knotted together to make our string as long as we could.

Now that our creation was completed we hoped for a gust of wind that would take our kite up into the warm, blue skies of April. Sometimes the tail would have to be modified in order to get it to glide gracefully over the newly planted corn field. Usually our kite-flying season was cut short by tangled string in tree branches.

“Shucks!” my brothers exclaimed as they clamored up the tree to get the string untangled. The time it took to recruit and repair the kite usually consumed any remaining play-time before chores demanded our attention.

Don’t you just love when that happens—gale-strength gusts of winds tangle your kite with the branches of the one lonely elm at the edge of your field? You had finally gotten your kite in the air, but now it is entwined with the elm’s new foliage!

What do you do now? Do you go off and leave it dangling? Do you leave it there and make an inward resolve never to fly a kite again? Or do you persevere until you find a way to untangle it and use the same spring air to fly it once again, even if you had to do some major repairs?

My reclusive attitude often demanded that it was useless to try doing anything again that didn’t work the first time. My mindset put me into a failure—it’s no use—mode. I adapted the attitude that hard circumstances were impossibilities. My mind said “impossible!!!” and punctuated it for emphasis! It took a complete change of attitude and perception to change the impossible to the possible. However, because God gave us faith, He made the possible bigger than the impossible.

The ‘I’ and ‘M’ in Impossible

In the face of eternity all human resources or efforts become impossibilities. When we compare human ability to eternal worth, values and achievements, they are nothing. Yes, by human efforts eternal matters are impossible, but we are not limited to our human efforts when our lives are aligned with God’s will.

We can build man-engineered weapons. We can design sky-piercing high rises and skywalks that jut out over the Grand Canyon. We can scale the oceans with one tank of fuel in our great jet-powered airplanes, but we cannot prevent eternity, nor can we change the truth that we are designed for eternal purposes. We still remain needful of someone ‘bigger than’ ourselves.

Man has discovered wealth in the depths of the earth. They have scaled the heights of the loftiest mountains. Human efforts have split the atom and explored the cells of our earthly anatomy, but by our human exertions we have failed to prevent, change or impress God’s eternal values.

But this is only one side of impossibility. The other side of impossibility is possibility. Possibility’s side has “through Christ Jesus, by Christ Jesus, in Christ Jesus and with Christ Jesus” written all over it. On the side of possibility, our human ambitions are changed into God-ambitions, and in this manner making all things ‘God-possible’ through us!

The proverbial coin of the impossible flips to possible when we avail ourselves of God’s saving grace which is freely given to us by Christ Jesus. By omitting the ‘I’ and ‘M’ of ‘impossible’ we can make our goals in life ‘God-possible’. Since all things are possible with God according to Matthew 19:26 and Mark 10:27, and since we now live and move and have our being in Christ Jesus (Acts 17:28) we now have impossibility converted to possibility.

God is wiser-than we are, but He wants to give us His wisdom (James 1:5). God is stronger-than our strength, yet He wants to give us His ability and strength (Philippians 4:13). With the anointing God places in us, He expects us to allow Him to manifest His miracle-working power through us.

John 14:12-14 records exciting promises from the lips of the Savior. He says,

“Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father. And whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything in My name, I will do it.”

To ask in the name of our Lord, Jesus Christ involves two components. Those are: 1. to ask through the character of Christ and 2. to ask according to His authority. If we have the nature and characteristics of the Son of God, then we will know the greater plans of God, and will ask accordingly. If He has decreed it when he wrote the chronicles of eternity, then ask for that decree.

The miracle-workings of God will only come by His grace and powers that are etched into eternity. ‘God-possible’ is ‘greater-than’ our human efforts which we call impossibilities. But compare these to the creative truths of eternity and you will walk away with limitless possibilities. This is why we must never look at our circumstances through eyes of human limitations. We are in Christ and He is in us. He is working in us so that He can do His good pleasures through us (Philippians 2:13).

A Look at Colossians Chapter One

I will be quoting from the Amplified Bible (AB) so that we will have a broader frame of reference to see ourselves in Christ.

Philippians 2:13 tells us what God the Father has done for us. “[The Father] has delivered and drawn us to Himself out of the control and the dominion of darkness and has transferred us into the kingdom of the Son of His love.”

God has drawn us out of the impossible. He has delivered us from the control and dominion of darkness. We are now transferred into kingdom living. This kingdom is ruled by the Son of His Father’s love.

As we read further into this Scripture we’ll see more of Jesus, more of His characteristics and more of His deeds. Read verses 16-19 with me.

“For it was in Him that all things were created, in heaven and on earth, things seen and things unseen, whether thrones, dominions, rulers, or authorities; all things were created and exist through Him [by His service, intervention] and in and for Him.

“And He Himself existed before all things, and in Him all things consist (cohere, are held together).

“He also is the Head of [His] body, the church; seeing He is the Beginning, the Firstborn from among the dead, so that He alone in everything and in every respect might occupy the chief place [stand first and be preeminent].

“For it has pleased [the Father] that all the divine fullness (the sum total of divine perfection, powers, and attributes) should dwell in Him permanently.”

This Scripture etches profound truths into our human hearts. It proclaims Christ as the great Creator who created “all things” for His own plan and purpose. As we view world events, we see evil abounding in every land, nation and country. Yet verse 17 assures us that Christ is the Creator of all dominion and power. He knows how He will manifest the possible even when the flip-side of the coin is gross darkness.

Jesus lived with the assurance of supreme possibility. Even at the point of death He prayed to His heavenly Father and said, “Abba Father, all things are possible unto you…” (Mark 14:36). Even here Jesus realized that resurrection life was still forthcoming. He knew He needed to yield himself to the death on the cross so that resurrection could follow.

If Jesus did not question His ability or the ability of His Father, when He knew blood-thirsty humanity would nail Him onto the cross, why do we question the seemingly impossible?

Sure, we know Christ died on that cross, but we must also focus on the truth of His liberating and triumphant resurrection power. This proved His Father’s ability! This manifested His own willingness and ability!

Consider These Concepts

Recently on my way home from an overseas missions trip I contemplated some of the things I had thought were impossible, but they had been accomplished by the hand of the Lord. Why had I ever thought that I would be unable to travel overseas by myself? What was the big deal? God had called me personally and exclusively to go and do what He knew He would enable me to do. In obedience I had moved out and on the way home God began to speak to me concerning the lies of impossibility. I penned the following golden nuggets of inspiration.

God started by asking me the question: “How impossible can a situation seem and still be possible?” As I traveled homeward His inspiration kept flowing.

Nothing can prevent possibility, for with God all things are possible.

We are called to fulfill the impossible not the possible.

The seemingly impossible is only meant to bring those impossibilities into alignment and the fulfillment of possibility.

The challenge of impossibilities is just that—the challenge, not denial!

Impossibilities are only logics and limits conceived by our human mind.

Our seemingly impossible circumstances were not meant to bring us to the prison of limitation, but to provide us with perceptions for the possible.

Impossibilities, when dealt with in the light of God’s Word, will broaden our vision, enlighten our eyes and bring new growth to our faith.

Highlight life’s seeming impossibilities and let these bring you to courageous achievement and the fulfillment of your destiny.

Impossibilities vie for our attention through deceit. They have not considered that all things are possible with God.

Truth is designed to empty impossibilities of their supposed prestige.

Can the night prevent the day from returning? No, but we can place our own limitations on the possible.

Impossibilities consider themselves to have the final say, without considering the truth that God’s Word is the final resource in the life of the believer.

No virtue is found in ‘impossibility’.

It takes faith to remove the “I” and the “M” from impossibility and turn it into possibility.

The “i” and the “m” of who we are in “impossible” must be replaced by the true “I AM,” thus turning “impossible” to “I-AM-POSSIBLE.”

Impossibilities plant doubt in the heart, deceit in the mind and failure in the soul.

When considering impossibilities, consider also Jesus, who for the joy laid out before Him, endured the cross, being raised from the dead to demolish all the bondages of the impossible.

The course of the impossible leads us nowhere. Jesus said, “I am the way.” He will lead us to our final destiny.

The pretense of impossibility is only an invasion made on faith. It must be annihilated along with its negative thinking.

The “it’s impossible mentality” blocks God-given inspiration and crowds our thoughts with unbelief.

Concepts that agree with impossibilities are lies. Jesus said, “I am the truth.” As we know Him these impossibilities will vanish.

The insurgencies of the unsurrendered soul predict defeat and impossibilities.

The insurrection of the defeated attitude does not exist where faith is thriving.

Concepts are denied by impossibility and wisdom cannot find a way to achieve.

Impossibilities have their roots in the soil of the unsurrendered soul.

The natural mind’s perception of difficult situations cuts itself a tiny piece of ‘possibility’s pie’ rather than taking the whole thing.

In light of the truth that the natural mind is an enemy of God, we realize that when that natural mind approaches situations that demand conquest, that mind will choose rather to wimp out than to seek the mind of God until the possible comes into focus, and faith’s concept becomes its triumph.

What is more impossible than death and the grave? Resurrection! In Christ Jesus the impossibility of death has lost its sting and the grave its victory!

Impossibilities scream out, “No way,” but Jesus said, “I am the way…follow Me!”

Use these inspiring concepts of possibilities, untangle any kite you may have up in your tree of doubt—and go fly it today!

SIX

Our Bigger-Than Lifestyle

Have you ever tried to squeeze half a dozen pairs of shoes in the same shoe-box at the same time? It just doesn’t work, does it? Even if there was a way to stuff one pair inside another, it just would not work. Shoe strings, tongues of the shoes, heels and toes would protrude from all angles. You could never keep the cover on and it would create a lot of friction, wouldn’t it?

In my home there were half a dozen of us, and we were all expected to be content and live useful lives by the same vision that my eccentric father possessed. Girls never grew up to be anything other than wives, mothers and keepers on the home front. My brothers were all expected to live in my dad’s shadow. There was no room for the diversity that book learning would have brought, expression through book learning, experimentation or art. Reading and art were usually considered a waste of time.

I yearned to have paints and take lessons in art. I was told I would never use it in life and it was foolish for me to even think of wasting money on oils or canvas. There were always chores to do, dishes to wash, eggs to gather, potatoes to dig or strawberries to pick and can. Any complaints only confirmed to my dad that I was idle and needed more work, so that didn’t help my cause.

Status quo was what was expected of us, but it was also ALL that was expected of us. There was no room for straggling shoe strings outside my dad’s tightly built box expectation and restrictions. It seemed to me that ambition was only appreciated if it fulfilled one of Dad’s dreams, and that creativity was insulted in our home.

Choices were not mine to make. They were made for me. The venture of faith was unnecessary because work, rules and aspirations were hemmed into that prefabricated box that squeezed the spontaneity out of me.

Some Bigger-Than Aspects of A Faith-Based Lifestyle

The bigger than aspects of a faith-filled lifestyle are founded on Him who laid the foundations of the world—He who was free from restrictions and limitations. God’s faith-filled life has no lines to color inside. His only limitation—His only guidelines—are love! If love ends, God ends! Jeremiah 31:3 assures us that God loves us with an everlasting, never-ending love!

The heartbeat of God is captured in the concepts of God’s desires to have communion with His most precious creation…mankind.

These bigger than truths are heard in the sweet tones of God’s voice when He said, “Let there be light” (Genesis 1:3), and light displaced the darkness.

These light-giving words are brighter than our darkened world of faltering faith.

The bigger than stair steps that lead to a peace enriched lifestyle are better directed than the fatalistic doctrines of theology. They deliver the soul from emotional suppression or the dilemma of allowing selfhood to be in charge of our lives.

These bigger than conclusions are God-ordained, thus superseding the philosophies of brilliant minds. They are manifested in the lives of:

- Faithful Abraham (Galatians 3:9).

- God-led Moses (Exodus 3:1-18).

- Worshipping Miriam (Exodus 15:20-22).

- Conquering Joshua (Joshua 6:1-20).

- Daring Rahab (Joshua 2).

- Israel’s sweet psalmist, David (II Samuel 23:1, 2).

- Wise King Solomon (I Kings 3:5-12).

- The lamenting prophet, Jeremiah (Jeremiah 49:3).

- Daring Daniel (Daniel 6:10).

- The triumphant Job (Job 42:10).

- Idolatry-destroying Elijah (I Kings 18:21-40).

- Judge Debra (Judges 4:4-24).

- Warrior Jael (Judges 4:18-24).

- Samuel, the prophet (I Samuel 3:19-21).

- Isaiah, the foreteller of the Messiah (Isaiah 53).

- Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who withstood the fire of the fiery furnace (Daniel 3:16-28).

- John the Baptist, the forerunner of Jesus (John 1: 19-23).

- Mary, the virgin who gave birth to Messiah (Luke 1:38-2:7).

- Paul, the persecutor of Christians (Acts 9:1, 2).

- Peter, the prisoner (Acts 12:1-10).

- Lydia, the seller of purple (Acts 16:14, 15).

- Dorcas the seamstress (Acts 9:36-43).

- Andrew, the evangelist (John 1:40-41).

- Phillip, the teacher (Acts 8:26-35).

- John, the revelator (Revelation 1:1).

The lifestyle that God is requiring of His end-time church has to be better than status quo. God is the God of the impossible. If He is alive within us, then we need to believe for the impossible, even when it seems not to be manifesting itself!

The heartbeat that God possesses for us is more focused than a “well, whatever” mentality. “Well, whatever” never drives us in the direction of God’s deliverance and purpose. “Well, whatever’ has no vision. It has no dreams or ambitions. “Well, whatever” is nothing more than a drop out mentality. It is not in for the duration of life’s marathon.

The church that Christ is building is more forceful than the nominal Christian mindset. This is the day of extra-ordinary and completely unheard of degrees of faith.

The victories that God promises us far surpass boredom, pleasure seeking or keeping up with the elite in society. God doesn’t call the elite; he takes the called and makes them elite in His kingdom. God doesn’t call those who are consumed with pleasures of the flesh, but He calls those who are consumed with a love for Himself and gives them eternal pleasures in the Holy Spirit. Talk about adventure—talk about faith!

The faith that we must exercise through testing is much more precious than great riches. Riches have a way of growing wings and flying away, but faith abides forever.

The wisdom that God has for us is more accessible than legalism, false doctrine and a cop-out lifestyle. Solomon, the writer of Proverbs, pleads with us to take wisdom as our free guide through life.

The thoughts that God thinks toward us are more penetrating than our fear factors, acclaimed honor or imbalanced self-esteem. God’s thoughts are lavish in love and compassion toward all His children.

The worth that God places on us is richer than our good works, our sensuality or our high acclamations. The worth He places on us is manifested through His eternal investment in us.

The humility that Christ embodied on our behalf overrides our pride, worry or arrogance. His humility overshadowed His ability to release Himself from the cross. It elevated Him to subjecting Himself to the grace of dying for our sins.

Gems of Faith

These gems of faith lay the foundation for a shrine built in God’s honor.

They sculpt glory out of our emotional debris.

They articulate the directed progress of building a hell-withstanding church.

They proclaim “LIFE” to the valley of dried-up, dreamless bones.

They lay hold of and tenaciously abound in impossibilities which only prove to be challenges.

These gems of faith grow their roots down deep, through dry places of life, until they reach the life-giving moisture of God’s encouraging truths.

They abound in mercy and bring hope to the down trodden.

They accelerate in love, bringing grace to the hated and hateful.

They press forward in triumph through every barrage of testing.

They realize that testing makes heaven more powerful than hell and God mightier that Satan and his vices.

God’s Love is Divine and Everlasting

Recently I met a five-year-old who was sitting alone in her yard with a piece of paper on which she’d scribbled with colored pencils. The minute she saw me walking on her street she ran toward me, waving her paper. Her sweet little face was smeared with leftover breakfast mixed with mud pies. Caked-on food coated the front of her shirt, but she was ready to talk. “My baby sister is in the house with uncle and my mommy lives with Billy.” The rest of the story I could only guess.

What was it that drew her to me? I am sure it was love.

Love is a must if we will have a bigger-than-the-usual church-goer’s lifestyle. Love perpetually tugs on our hearts. When someone loves us we want to be with them. Although love draws like a magnet we often draw our love-circle too small. Girlfriends often tend to get in each other’s way because of jealousy and then they leave someone else out.

Have you ever found yourself outside that cliquish circle you longed to belong to? I have had that happen many times in my life and it hurts! However, that rejection and the hurt that is associated with it does not have the final say in the life of God’s children. The key is God’s love.

Love Is Who God Is!

God’s love draws a circle, big enough, to include the cliques that have disallowed Him and us. His love covers a multitude of sins (I Peter 4:8). Consider the security of God’s love.

- It proves itself to be trustworthy.

- It is built on unconditional commitment.

- It is like God…everlasting.

- It is never a tattle-tale and never eliminates.

- It defines us as worthy in the sight of God.

- It delights in our varied and unique characteristics.

- It embraces our flaws, freckles and flab.

Since God is love (I John 4:7, 8) and He loved us before we loved Him (1 John 4:19) then the natural out-growth should be the fulfillment of Matthew 22:37-40. This is the greatest commandment we have ever been given. It is to love God with everything that is inside of us, heart, mind, soul and potential…all that makes us who we are!

Look at some other facets of God’s love. According to Psalm 119:165 we will have a marvelous peace and we won’t be offended if we love God’s law. Tough love is another dimension of God’s love. Hebrews 12:6 tells us He will chasten us if He loves us. His love is everlasting (Jeremiah 31:3).

Other aspects of God’s love are aspects that confirm God’s supremacy, making Him bigger than other loves. God knows He is love! He wants us to identify with Him by knowing His love and by showing it to the world. When our heart beat is one of love, we will prevail in the pursuit of becoming Christ-like.

Some of the greatest tests to our faith come because of our relationships with others. Break down the sides of your shoe box and let your love spill out on the unlovely as well as on your friends. By faith allow God to judge, sort and connect you to His choice of friends.

Let faith and love work together to bring broken relationships to the point of God’s healing. As you pour out love, allow God to change you until you attain to that bigger than status quo, hum-drum existence. The Bible is stuffed with gems of faith and love. Collect them. Lay hold of them. Study Scriptures to enhance your faith.

He has plenty of shoe boxes for others of various levels of faith. He never uses “one-size-fits-all” slogans for our faith. Be filled with faith! Grow in faith! Be encouraged in your faith! As your level of faith is, so shall it be unto you.

God will give you your own shoe box that you can fit into with room for your tongue and soul!

SEVEN

Our Identification

Talk about “dual identification”—that was me!

One of the earliest Scriptures that I remember memorizing is found in Galatians 2:20: “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me” (KJV).

At the same time that I was quoting, “Christ liveth in me,” I was also screaming, “I hate myself! I hate myself!” What was causing my dilemma? Why was I so torn apart?

My “spirit-man” (the person of Christ in me) was saying, “Christ lives inside of me,” but my unsurrendered soul was identifying me by my legalistic training. While I truly had a heart for God, I was also taught to live religiously by the “thou-shalt-nots” of legalism.

Despite the dyslexia that I have always struggled with, I have been a very visual person. As a young woman, the perception of my world entered my eye-gate and focused on the ankle-length dresses I wore. I was preoccupied with the legalism of my long hair and the high-top black shoes that I hoped would get me to heaven.

Legalism was as ingrained in my young mind as Dad’s deeply drilled oats in the damp soil of spring. They both yielded a harvest. Dad’s harvest yielded golden, sweet-smelling oats, while the harvest of my legalism yielded an undesirable and binding lifestyle. These seeds yielded fruit of bondage and self-condemnation.

Although I didn’t have any idea at that time, I had to make a choice between finding my identification in Christ Jesus or in keeping man-made traditions. The series of choices I made finally led me to my new identification in Christ Jesus.

One Example

The following is not a discourse on whether women should wear long hair or whether they should cut their hair. It is an example of what I personally dealt with and is focused on issues of the heart.

I had beautiful long, dark hair that I not only liked a lot, but which I used for justification of my self-righteousness. With one breath I cried, “Lord, use me to prophesy in the church” (See I Corinthians 14:1, 39), while in my next breath I criticized my sisters who prophesied with their hair cut. It was a real battle—a tug-of-war between my Spirit-birthed man and my unsurrendered soul.

For years I struggled with my dilemma of not allowing God to be bigger than my traditional thinking. I wanted freedom but I hadn’t identified myself through the Christ inside of me. I was not allowing the Holy Spirit to flow through me because I was boxing Him up. I tried carrying Him in my homemade suitcase of traditions.

It was not until I was in my mid-thirties that my dilemma was resolved. Because of my pride and legalism the Lord dealt with me severely about cutting my hair. With stubborn tears I cried, “No, Lord!” There’s a song we used to sing that says it this way: “If He’s not Lord of everything, then He’s not Lord at all.” That’s where I was. He truly wasn’t my Lord!

Resolve came one day after I’d spent the day struggling against cutting my hair. Finally I washed my face, let down my hair and waited for my husband to return from work. Peace was in my heart as I handed him the scissors and told him to cut! I had no idea what would happen or how I would look, but I didn’t care. My hair was no longer an issue with me, but my obedience to God was what mattered.

Russell took the scissors in hand with great hesitation. Then he said, “This is like Abraham offering his son, Isaac, up on the top of mount Moriah. Just as Abraham’s obedience was fulfilled in his heart before the sacrifice was offered, so it is done in your heart. Your hair is already cut and I don’t have to do a thing!”

Genesis 22 gives us a closer look at Abraham’s situation. It could seem absurd to think that Abraham thought he could get by with the cold-blooded murder of his son. He knew that Cain was cursed after he murdered his brother Abel (see Genesis 4: 1-14).

The issue here wasn’t about murdering Isaac, but the issue was about Abraham’s obedience to the Lord. Because God is God, He can ask us to do things that many may not understand. Even as Abraham was asked to slay his son, in like manner, my issue didn’t have a thing to do with Scriptural references to long hair or short hair, but it was about my obedience to the Lord. From that time forward my hair was no longer an issue. I don’t remember when, where or how I first got my hair cut.

God Looks on the Heart

In I Samuel 16:7 we see what God looks at when He looks at us, His children. In this account God had sent Samuel, the prophet, to anoint one of the sons of Jesse as king over Israel. God had instructed Samuel to take a heifer for a sacrifice. Having called Jesse and his seven sons to the sacrifice, he sanctified them to be with him.

He called for the sons to pass before him so he could anoint the one God had chosen. As Eliab, Jesse’s oldest son, passed by Samuel, the prophet was impressed and thought, “Wow! This guy is a dude. I’ll go ahead and anoint him!” But before Samuel could anoint Eliab, the Lord spoke the following words:

“…Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him. For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

I shared my personal story to help you realize that the heart issues are what matters. It’s not the hair issue. Since wearing my hair long or short was no longer an issue, I had no need to recall when or how I actually had it cut. If you still have a conflict with this concept, ask God to show you if there is any legalism, pride or self-righteousness in your heart.

We can only enjoy our identification in Christ by being sensitive to His voice and by walking in quick obedience to Him. My many fears and self righteous works kept me from a full surrender to the Lord. Obedience to Christ is a prerequisite to the appreciation of our identification in Him.

This is What Scriptures Tell Us

Skinny-dipping was not an unusual practice among young boys back on the farm. A pond or a secluded spot on the creek would be a fine place to go to get a refreshing dip on a hot summer evening. By delving into the water the guys were somehow severed from the vicious demands of a grueling day. Dust that had collected from a day in the hay field was washed away by their plunge into the water.

I am going to challenge you to do some skinny-dipping into the Scriptures with me. No, no, you don’t have to take anything off except for what Paul tells the Ephesians to take off in chapter 4 verses 22-24. Read Ephesians 4:22-24 from the Message New Testament with me.

“But that’s no life for you. You learned Christ! My assumption is that you have paid careful attention to him, been well instructed in the truth precisely as we have it in Jesus. Since, then, we do not have the excuse of ignorance, everything—and I do mean everything—connected with that old way of life has to go. It’s rotten through and through. Get rid of it! And then take on an entirely new way of life—a God-fashioned life, a life renewed from the inside and working itself into your conduct as God accurately reproduces his character in you.”

Although this portion of Scripture strongly emphasizes that we must put off the old to put on the new, I want us to fully understand the importance of the “put-on-Christ” process.

Jesus, in Luke 11:24-26, tells the story of a demon that is cast out of a person. That demon wanders about in dry and barren deserts to find a place of habitation. He can’t find any so he returns to his former residence. He finds it all uncluttered, unoccupied and unlocked. He calls seven worse-than-himself demons. “Hey, guys, look what I’ve found. Free rent! The place is immaculate. Come, move in with me.”

They all moved in and Jesus says that the last state of that person is worse than the first. What went wrong?

This person failed to fill his house with godliness. He failed to find his identification in Christ. He should have put the Lord in charge of his heart. If this man had “put on Christ” as Paul commanded in Ephesians, then he would have had his house furnished with kingdom principles—love, joy, peace.

Paul speaks in the same vein of thought to the Colossians in 3:9-11.

“Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds, and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him, where…Christ is all and in all.”

We receive renewed knowledge in exchange for our former lifestyles. This knowledge is based on the image of Christ who is all—all that we will ever need—all that we will ever be. To find our true identification in Christ, we must make scriptural truths bigger than, more important than, and supreme over our own mindsets.

Isaiah rejoiced in his salvation and his true identity. Look at Isaiah 61:10.

“I will greatly rejoice in the LORD,

My soul shall be joyful in my God;

For He has clothed me with the garments of salvation,

He has covered me with the robe of righteousness,

As a bridegroom decks himself with ornaments,

And as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.”

Humanity’s Only True Identification

Life is not about us; it is about Christ in us. We are created to fellowship with God. We must give priority to this fellowship. It doesn’t matter if no one ever sees us, but they must see Christ as He manifests Himself through us.

Paul explains in Colossians 2:9 that all the fullness of the Godhead (His Deity) lives in Him, giving expression of all His divinity.

Now think about what verse 10 is telling us. We are complete, having come to the fullness of life in Christ Jesus. This places us into the position of full spiritual stature to be filled with that Godhead—Father, Son (Jesus Christ) and Holy Ghost. Wow! Did you see that? We are complete in Christ Jesus. That means there is nothing left to finish. Christ concluded the task on Calvary. This then is our true identity.

We cannot remain in Him without undergoing change. II Corinthians 5:17 makes this point clear. It tells us that the old is passed away and all things are become new.

We must no longer look at ourselves in the mirror of self-hatred. We must stop comparing ourselves with those who flaunt their cheapness through pride and arrogance. We dare not become prey to those who insult the grace and liberty that we have in Christ. Discouragement, worry, defeat and bitterness are no longer a part of our identification. We have a better identity! We are in Christ and He is in us. He is our hope of glory (Colossians 1:27).

Colossians 3:3 pronounces our old nature dead, but Galatians 5:22, 23 lists the fruit of the Spirit which is proof that there is now new life in us and something to live for:

- Love

- Joy

- Peace

- Longsuffering

- Kindness

- Goodness

- Faithfulness

- Gentleness

- Self-control

The last part of verse 23 says, “against such there is no law.” When these products are manifested in our lives and Satan comes to arrest us, he has no legal grounds before our Heavenly Father. Christ has become our true identity. By manifesting the fruit of the Spirit we are being finger printed by God’s Holy Spirit. This means we can never be found guilty of breaking any law because love, joy and peace, along with their brothers, are products of God’s grace. They’re the proof that pronounces us guiltless.

EIGHT

You are Accepted

Morning had come far too early. I was not ready to crawl out of bed and face another day with the group of people in my home…my family. My perception of who I was and how I fit into my family was distorted. I am sure that, in their way, my parents valued me, and my siblings cared about me, but somehow I grew up not being aware of this.

The few times I tried to express myself I felt I was laughed at, or at the least, ignored. My self-esteem was about as high as the knee of a grasshopper and my communication skills lingered around zero percent. When I felt unsure of myself, which was most of the time, I had to sort through half my vocabulary to find words that I might use if I spoke up.

Besides having a low self-esteem, and lacking skills in communication, I added other barriers to my self-made limitations. It was not unusual for me to hide in the corner of some dark shed among empty boxes and indulgently lavish dejection onto myself in these self-pity sessions.

It’s a miracle that I didn’t get more splinters in my bare feet than I did. I literally dragged them across our unpainted wood floors and once had to go to the doctor to have a splinter removed. Talk about dragging your feet—I took the cliché literally. Our extended table sat against the back wall of the kitchen. My place at the table was to my dad’s right side and at the far end. Our kitchen had no direct light from the outside and we often ate in the semidarkness. I was in the darkest corner and was often missed when food was being served.

I had not learned to speak up and simply say, “Please, pass me the bread.” I didn’t know if it would be acceptable for me to speak up like that or not, so I sat and sulked, hoping someone would finally discover me and feel sorry for me.

There were times that I should have been able to join into group participation, but because I really didn’t understand my position, my importance, my worth, my contributing abilities, and that I really was a part of the Borntreger clan, I often withdrew into self-pity.

Because of the strong authoritative personality of my father, our family knew little about team work. I suppose most of us struggled in our own ways for survival and finding our self worth. Where I withdrew and became timid and afraid, others became aggressive, confronting their world without consideration of each other’s emotions.

Growing up with five siblings could have made us a group of achievers, knowing how to team together and progressively achieving goals that each of us yearned for. But because of the dysfunctional nature of most of us, we waned and grew pale in the light of what we might have been early on in life.

Why is it that so many people try to put someone else down in order to make themselves look good?

It could only be because of a lack of self worth and godly self esteem which God has planned for each of us to have.

What Is Legalism?

My Random House dictionary tells me that legalism is a strict adherence to law or prescription. It also uses a Scriptural concept of adherence to the letter rather than to the Spirit. We judge people’s conduct according to their good works or the appearance we approve as acceptable or unacceptable.

As a young girl, I remember people arguing over how evil it was for someone to lay their Bible on the floor. They missed the whole point. God was looking for respect in the heart of the person who put it on the floor. He wasn’t concerned about the Bible laying on the floor. If the person who put the Bible on the floor did it out of disrespect, then that was a disgrace to God and should never have happened. However, if this person was lying on the floor before the Lord, seeking His face, there is no way that this person should have been faulted.

We are commanded to study God’s Word, but if we miss a day of Bible reading the Lord isn’t just looking for a reason to strike us down. If things get in our way of always praying, fasting and devoting our time to God, He looks on our heart.

We can be so thankful that God judges righteously and allows for our humanity. I am grateful for His graciousness and mercy because He has not rewarded me according to my iniquities (Psalm 103:10).

You Are Accepted in Christ Jesus

Talk about rolling out the red carpet! That’s exactly what Jesus did for us. Ephesians one tells us about this. He rolled out a carpet so plush that one can sink into it like the glorious luxury of a down-filled comforter. Christ’s shed blood furnishes us with the rich color of welcome into His family.

Verse three of this chapter tells us that God has blessed us with ALL spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. As we look at this Scripture we will note that we are already in the house! We are in heavenly places which are found in Christ Jesus. We have come in through a magnificent setting—into the vast and lavishly laden dining room—where we find love, welcome and acceptance.

Our position is in Christ Jesus. As we continue down this corridor of plush carpeting, we will find that we are here because He has chosen us before the foundations of the world were ever laid. Talk about a long wait for something that God longed for! This is it! He chose us to come into His family and be a part of His plan before the foundation of Eden was ever spoken into existence.

The choice God made in picking us was so that we could be formed into what we were created to be, the very things that will satisfy and fulfill our inner longings. This transformation provides us with an identification of holiness and blamelessness. It is our predestination in the heart of God. This adoption will not only fulfill us, but will also lead to God’s fulfillment and pleasure.

With all this fanfare over us—with the sacrifice that Jesus willingly made for us—the price God paid to provide Christ as the victim of our sins—the fact that God chose us from the very beginning of all things—the least we can do is to live our lives to the praise and glory of this undeserved grace.

We have stepped into the heavenly realm now. We are already accepted in the household of faith. We have entered by the way of Christ’s cross, stepped onto the luscious carpet of welcome and have been ushered up to the table laden with the fruit of the Spirit.

We are adopted by the greatest adoptive parent—God, our heavenly Father. We are adopted into the most diverse yet the most closely united family that ever existed. We are adopted and we are accepted into this family.

Ephesians 1:6 declares that we are “accepted” by God through the blood of Jesus. Paul uses the same Greek word “charitoo” for “accepted” that Luke 1:28 uses to describe the Virgin Mary. In Luke this verb declares Mary to be highly favored and “approved” by God to conceive the Son of God through the Holy Spirit. This Greek word, “charitoo,” is only used two times in Scripture, but these references are powerfully used to link us to the favor of God. (Reference from The Complete Word Study Dictionary of the N. T., Pg. 1471, #5487.)

Think about this. Let the luxury of this concept envelope you with comfort, approval, and eternal delight. Through God’s choice, the willingness of Jesus to become the sacrifice for our sinful nature and our acceptance of God’s grace, we are now fully accepted of God. We are on the same plane as Mary, the mother of Jesus.

Should we be proud because of this concept? If so, then we have not understood the full impact of what I am saying here.

No, we must not be proud, but rather humbled by the revelation knowledge of our approval in the sight of God.

Christ became sin for us so that we could be righteous.

Christ died for us so that we could live eternally.

Christ sacrificed Himself for us so that we could triumph through Him.

Christ left Heaven for us so that we could enter there.

Christ suffered on our behalf so that we could be healed, whole and victorious.

Who can walk away from that understanding with a chip of pride on their shoulder? Lord, have mercy on us if we dare!

The humility by which we serve in the kingdom or family of God must be so great that no offense can humiliate us. The grace that rules our lives must be so strong that we will not be offended. The virtues of righteousness must be so dominant in us that all uncleanness will be gone from us. The realization that we are accepted gives us freedom to rule and reign through all the promises that God has given us, yet without pride.

Our Position in the Family of God

Pushing and shoving, stomping on each other’s feet and vying for another’s position is totally unacceptable in the family of God. There is room for each of us to be all that we are meant to be without begrudging another’s position. God knows how much elbow room we need to execute our full potential. If our space seems crowded for a while it is because God has lessons of patience, tolerance, grace and perseverance to teach us.

God, our heavenly Father, is in charge of His family, but not without careful insight and encouragement for our individuality. If we listen to Him we will find a balance between elbowing our brother or sister for space and fluttering off like a flock of chickadees that scatter at the slightest emotional upheaval or perceived danger.

Accept God’s Approval of You

Since we have entered into the household of God through the shed blood of Jesus, we are totally welcome in the home. We are accepted and we are approved by God. We enter as a newborn baby, a helpless child, but then we begin to grow, to crawl, to explore and discover our surroundings.

This discovery of the family of God expands as we read, meditate on, and obey God’s Word. It will affirm us and let us know that we do belong. There is no need for withdrawing and pouting and wishing to belong. God’s Word will lift us up and give us purpose. It will give us the encouragement, affirmation and directions we need.

In God’s family there is security. We belong to each other, because we belong to Christ Jesus our Lord. We are linked together. We all obtain the same promises even though we have varied purposes and pursuits in life. We are accepted of the Lord, now we must accept ourselves in the light of God’s love.

God’s Word tells us why we are alive. We need to learn how to fit together in Christ’s family. As we grow in Christ we become willing to submit to our loving heavenly Father and to one another. If any of us shuffles off to the side and sulks, it is because of our own unresolved issues and not the fault of our heavenly Father.

God has done everything for us that we could possibly need. He banded us with His band of identification before we ever left the hospital where our new birth occurred. He has brought us to His house proudly proclaiming, “This is my newborn child. He or she belongs to my family!”

Until we receive that acceptance and lavish love we will never be what we were meant to become. However, the moment we receive, accept and embrace God’s acceptance of us, it will release us into a fountain of delightsome living!

The apostle Paul challenges us in Galatians 5:1; “Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.” This liberty will free us to eat at God’s table of Scriptural promises. It encourages us to open His refrigerator, called His promises, and help ourselves!

NINE

The Stripes were Laid

Dad lifted me into the back of his empty grain wagon where my brothers had preceded me. Pat and Mike—dad’s team of work horses—stood patiently swatting flies with their long hairy tails. Anticipation and excitement vied for my attention as Dad replaced the end-gate. My anticipation over the bumpy one-and-a-half-mile ride increased when Dad sternly told us there was to be no rowdiness at his sister’s house. I heard my dad and thought I knew what he meant; however, my excitement must have made excuses for me. I would get to see a couple of my cousins—a rare occasion!

My dad’s mission was much too serious a matter for us to be given the liberty and enjoyment of leaving the wagon. As the adults conversed, my cousins ran about the horses and wagon. I remember darting from one side of the wagon to the other so I could peer over the sides and watch their antics. I’d carefully suppressed the squeals which I bottled up inside.

Upon arriving back home we were severely reprimanded for our rowdy conduct as the hickory stick was applied, without reservation. My backside hurt, but my heart was crushed by what I considered to be undeserved punishment. My innocence is my reason for remembering this whipping.

Our Dilemma Doesn’t Compare With Christ’s

To remember this triviality helps me to better appreciate the innocence of our Lord and Savior when he was mercilessly beaten, mocked, stripped bare and hung on the cross. The chastisement I experienced may have helped me remember to dot every “I” and cross every “T” in “obedient,” but Christ’s undeserved chastisement reaches much further than just dotting “I’s” or crossing “T’s.”

If we let the scars on Christ’s back, that now grace the throne room of Heaven, be our focus we will understand His innocence. He was and is in every sense of the Word:

- Divine in His origin (II Peter 1:3, 4).

- Subject to His lowly birth (Matthew 11:29).

- Sinless and holy (I Peter 2:21, 22).

- Obedient to His father (Hebrews 5:8).

- Tempted as we are (Matthew 4:1-10).

- Compassionate toward the multitudes (Matthew 23:37).

- Touched by our infirmities (Hebrews 4:15).

- Calling for the lost to find their hope in Him (Matthew 11:28).

- Vigilant in prayer (Luke 6:12).

- The faithful servant to all humanity (Revelation 19:11).

- The healer of the sick (I Peter 2:24).

- Mending the broken hearted (Isaiah 61:3).

- Willing to lay down His life for the sins of the world

- (I John 3:16).

- Manifesting humility by His death (Philippians 2:8).

Christ, the innocent sacrifice, is a total contrast to His oppressors who were cruel in their hearts, careless with their accusations, barbarously motivated, savage as beasts, hateful, merciless and grimly heartless. These were mean-willed, detestable and contemptuous men, giving an invalidated verdict to their victim. No man has ever suffered such discrimination, shame and injustice as our loving and innocent Savior.

Understanding the Depth of Christ’s Sacrifice

All Scripture is centrally focused on Christ’s birth, life, death, resurrection and ascension. This theme brings Old Testament characters forward to Christ. It draws New Testament citizens and today’s world into one focus. Christ’s crucifixion and His resurrection cement us into eternity. Every soul that has ever been born into this world is or will be touched by that event. Take a careful look at the following Scriptures.

Luke 3:6 states this, “And all mankind shall see (behold and understand and at last acknowledge) the salvation of God (the deliverance from eternal death decreed by God” (Amp). This Scripture is a confirmation of the words spoken by the prophet in Isaiah 40:5.

Philippians 2:9-11 declares Christ’s position and the respect which He will receive for His obedient sacrifice for us.

“Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

By this we understand that people who lived before Christ’s death, burial and resurrection will move forward in time and pass by the cross, viewing the sacrifice of God’s innocent Lamb. Those who were born after Christ’s resurrection will move backward in time to view that sacrifice and fulfill these Scriptures.

The sacrifice of Christ’s life is bigger than, greater than, more powerful than and more life changing than just a movie screen with blood splattered all over it! I will say that it is possible to produce a world-renowned film on Christ’s sacrificial sufferings yet remain unregenerated by its truth. We can graphically describe Christ’s sacrifice yet fail to avail ourselves to His atoning work. It is imperative that we appropriate the lifestyle that the sacrifice of Christ’s life makes possible.

The true message of Christ’s sacrifice urges us to embrace the salvation of God. It prods us to live a life of holiness to the Lord. It compels us to move away from living like the Joneses who don’t know Christ in a personal way, and to cash in our “status quo” lifestyles for a Christ-centered one. It beckons us to bring our lives into synch with Christ’s.

Our Tested Faith In The Light of Christ’s Sufferings

In II Corinthians 12:7-10 Paul makes the grace of God bigger than his infirmities. He says that it’s because of this grace that he takes pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake, “…For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

I don’t know how long it will take my faith to reach the maturity level God is calling me to come to. I don’t know how long God chooses to prove me with certain infirmities, tests, and trials. I don’t know how long it will take for me to let go of my “soul-junk” (this term is explained in my book The Seven Robes of Joseph, chapter three). I don’t know how long it will take me to fully grasp the truth of, “By His stripes I am healed.”

However, since every Word written in Scriptures is fortified by Christ’s sacrificial death and resurrection, then I, as God’s child, whatever my conditions are, have only to agree with the truth written in stripes on the back of Jesus.

All that it takes for us to receive our salvation, our peace, our joy and our wholeness is to openly accept Christ’s manifested love. All these things were handwritten by cruel men on a canvas of human flesh—the yielding back of our Savior. That back now bears eternal scars, declaring the eternalness of God’s provisions for us. The scars on His back are the proof that He is faithful who promised (Hebrews 10:23).

The Key to Effective Faith

By focusing on God’s faithfulness we will find our faith growing in effectiveness. If God puts no restrictions on the things He has spoken, then why should we? Do we know more than He? Of course not!

It is our duty to concentrate on His Word without letting our feelings blur its truth. Focus takes concentration. I visualize this as hands in our minds, pulling down unruly and unauthorized-by-God thoughts that oppose Him. We must bring our thoughts into agreement with God’s Word and begin to confess what was fortified by the stripes on our Savior’s back.

II Corinthians 10:4, 5 are two of my favorite “spiritual warfare” verses. These verses tell us that we have powerful weapons through God. These weapons will cast down our imagination and every high thing that vaunts itself against God’s knowledge.

How can I know that I’m saved if I don’t understand the concepts of Romans 10:9, 10? These concepts plainly declare that if I confess the Lord Jesus Christ with my mouth, and if I believe in my heart that God has raised Him from the dead, I will be saved. It is imperative that I know this Scripture so I can meditate on it and walk in the full joy of my salvation. This goes for all the other promises of God.

When I know what God’s Word declares I will know that His love still reaches to me even when I have messed up and sinned. Because His faithfulness is greater than my transgressions, I must turn to Him as quickly as possible and confess my sins. He will forgive and cleanse me. The secret to effective faith is to know God’s Word and to quickly obey it.

God extends His grace to us when we sin, however, this doesn’t give us a license to sin. God’s grace it truly a grace that keeps us from sinning. To try and use grace as God’s approval of our sinful lifestyle is like exercising deeds of “so-called-freedom,” only to have these deeds destroy our freedom.

Knowing and obeying God’s Word brings us into a realm of overcoming faith. Satan, the schemer, won’t like this, and he will always try to trip us up. But we have the advantage over him by knowing the truth which sets us free (John 8:31, 32).

We Cannot Limit God’s Faithfulness

Since the stripes on the back of our Savior became His signature of His faithfulness, then He is not dependent on any aspect of our humanity. The faithfulness of God is not limited by our frailties or faithlessness. It also is not enhanced by our belief or faith. His faithfulness is not crushed, hampered, disturbed, enriched, accelerated or altered in any way by the way we handle our situations.

The last part of II Timothy 2:13 declares that God cannot deny Himself. If there were limitations to God’s faithfulness He would be imposing them onto Himself. However, it would be absurd to think that God would oppose Himself and destroy Christ’s accomplished work. There is no need for any human to ever worry about God placing limitations on Himself. God cannot be viewed through man’s deceitful nature. He has spoken and He will do it (Numbers 23:19)!

Paul asks this question in Romans 3:3 and gives his answer in verse four.

“For what if some did not believe? Will their unbelief make the faithfulness of God without effect? Certainly not! Indeed, let God be true but every man a liar. As it is written: ‘That You may be justified in Your words, And may overcome when You are judged’.”

Talking about the surety of God’s faithfulness or His divine sovereignty brings up the question of our free will. Their coexistence is something that the human mind cannot comprehend and I will not try to explain. No matter how much we exert our own free will, God is ultimately sovereign and that is an unexplainable truth.

The key for understanding what is written on the back of our Lord Jesus Christ is to center our focused attention on God’s faithfulness to His Word. Since God fulfills every Word that He has ever spoken, it is up to us to concentrate on that Word.

It Is Finished

No feelings of doubt, no adverse circumstance will ever hinder the effectiveness of the stripes of Jesus. God’s truth has been written in blood on our Redeemer’s back. All we have to do is focus on that blood, focus on those stripes, focus on the love behind those stripes and the grace that is released through Christ’s resurrection.

My doubt can only hinder myself from receiving God’s promises. It will not affect Christ. Our Lord’s completed work led to His final words on the cross: “It is finished.” The work had been completed. Christ had fulfilled the command of His Father in Heaven. The appropriation of everything we will ever need is at our fingertips.

These stripes speak to us of compassion, endurance, mercy, grace, forgiveness, peace, salvation and healing. They are a force at work that is beyond our human efforts.

They are not restricted to our humanity, our feelings, our doubt, our infirmities, our pain, the doctor’s diagnosis, our medical history, our sin-filled past, our addictions, or by our vices. Christ’s stripes are deposits made in eternity’s bank, and though they were inflicted on an innocent victim, they are available—as ready cash—for any of God’s children who cry out for grace.

TEN

Written on the Canvas of Flesh

Have you ever walked through the woods and looked for clues to things or evidences that some animal had been there before you? Mere observation can teach us many things, yet many things exist without most of us being aware of them.

My love for nature started at a young age. I loved to look for May apples under the umbrella-type leaves of those early spring plants. Tiny purple-faced violets proved that the season had changed from winter to spring time. Small, shiny black pebbles dropped in my pathway indicated that a cottontail had been on the trail before me.

One pleasurable experience that I remember was when Dad showed me a tree he had freshly cut down. “Look at this, Lydia,” he said to me. “Do you see the rings, the circles, in this stump?” Sure enough when I took a closer look at the stump, I saw target-board-like circles in the moist wood.

Dad went on to explain that every circle represented a year of growth. By counting the circles we could know the actual age of that large plant. We now know this is not an exact way to tell the age of a tree, but it served my dad well.

If I had not received that simple lesson in calculating a tree’s age, the evidence would remain yet be hidden from me. There are many things God has set in place and stored in His plans, but they remain hidden from the natural mind. It is imperative that we realize that God has a vast world of untapped resources for His children. We access these by faith.

Faith—Written on the Canvas of Flesh

What validates our faith? What evidence do we have that our faith is not in vain?

Take a peek into history with me. The Holy Scriptures record it all—the beating and the blood-shed from the back of our Savior. The stripes were carved into the flesh of His back. Tender skin was ripped from His flesh which left scars that now grace Heaven with evidence of the King’s grace, mercy and love.

The foundation for our faith is evidenced by what Christ endured on earth and carried into Heaven as a token of His completed work.

Right now we can bow in His presence and wash those scars, those stripes, those wounds with our tears of repentance. As a gentle nurse would care for her patient, so we can nurture and apply our own healing balm to those stripes by coming with a contrite spirit to appropriate His grace that fortifies our faith.

Mary washed Christ’s feet with her tears. We can wash the wounds on our Savior’s back with our tears of repentance and acceptance. As we do this, we will find many resources that will build our faith and bring us into a love relationship with Christ. We will take a look at a few of the things that are ours.

Our Salvation is Written on the Back of Jesus

Have you noticed that in most circles where prayer requests are being taken they have to do with health issues? Here I will address a subject that is even more important than our physical health. It is our Spiritual health. Our salvation was written on Christ’s back and pierced into the fleshly palms of His hands.

I John 1:9 confirms this. John tells us that if we confess our sins, He (Christ) is faithful and just and He will forgive us of all our sins. This promise is not contingent on our feelings of being saved and having our sins forgiven. The phrase “confess our sins” speaks of true repentance. It speaks of calling sin “sin” and then turning away from it. As we execute our part of this promise we will encounter a just and faithful God.

Exercising our faith in Christ’s finished work has nothing to do with our feelings. It has only to do with God’s faithfulness to honor His Son’s completed work at Calvary.

The final conclusion is this: confess your sins, repent of them, turn away from them to God and let Him cleanse you. He will respond to you as you respond to Him in faith. Salvation, eternal life, and everlasting hope then become yours.

Our Healing Is Written on the Back of Jesus

Isaiah 53:5 tells us, “…by his stripes we are healed.” I Peter 2:24 declares, “By whose stripes we were healed.” It really doesn’t matter if I feel healed or not. What matters is that stripes were laid on the back of an innocent man—the man Jesus Christ—who was the manifestation of God in human form.

When we quote these two Scriptures, what do we focus on? If you have an infirmity and are prayed for, what are we usually told to do? Check it out. Can you bend where you couldn’t bend before? Can you hear better than you did? Can you move what didn’t move before? Can you run now? The natural thing for us to do is to check it out.

I am not saying that we shouldn’t check it out, because Jesus also did this with the blind man in Mark 8:22-25, but I am saying that the “stripes of Jesus” have more bearing on our healing than our feelings.

When we are prayed for to be healed, if we check only to see if the symptoms have disappeared, then if they haven’t, we conclude that we’re not healed. We figure Christ’s completed assignment from His Father didn’t work. We abandon our faith walk.

James 1:3 tells us that as our faith is tried, it produces patience. I have found that God is far more concerned for me to practice patience than to experience immediate healing. So it is vitally important for us to center our thoughts on what Christ has done without regarding our feelings.

My feelings have nothing to do with how faithful God is. My doubt will not hinder the stripes of Jesus from performing what has been written in blood on the back of Jesus. My doubt will hinder my own reception of His provision, but He ultimately wins. All I have to do is focus on that blood, focus on those stripes, focus on the love behind those stripes and the grace that is released through those stripes.

My challenge is to bring my mind into agreement with what has already been written in blood. Although my stomach churned after viewing Gibson’s film on Christ’s Passion, I am compelled to focus on those stripes—their meaning and power—rather than just a blood splotched screen. Those stripes have meaning. They have healing virtue which is activated by our responsive faith.

The stripes of Jesus are not dependent on my body, my feelings, my doubt, my infirmities, my pain, the doctor’s diagnoses and my medical history. They have nothing to do with how long I have to bear my pain. These stripes led to the fulfillment of all Christ’s work. When He cried, “It is finished,” the absolutes had been inscribed on His back.

We must not think that Christ’s healing power didn’t work just because we still have symptoms of our old sickness. We must never consider that Christ suffered in vain or that our faith didn’t work. Faith is given to us to be tried, so we must stay focused on Christ’s finished work and His faithfulness to His Word.

God’s Sustaining Grace is Written on the Back of Jesus

I will take the liberty to set II Corinthians 12:7-9 into a modern day setting. This is the account that Paul gives concerning the spiritual attack on his body.

Our modern-day-Paul awakens to morning light peeking into his bedroom window. He realizes he will be late for work if he doesn’t get a move on. Last night his favorite baseball team had gone into overtime and now he’s overslept.

As Mod-Paul puts his foot on the floor, a sharp pain shoots up his right side into the hip joint. “I rebuke you, Satan,” Mod-Paul commands. The pain persists and Mod-Paul turns his prayer to God. “Lord, Your Word says that I am healed. Heal me now so I can go to work in comfort.”

Heaven is silent. The pain is persistent and Mod-Paul is impatient. “Lord, this is the second time I have asked you to remove this pain from me. You know I need to go through my day without this shooting agony.” Still Heaven seems voiceless.

Mod-Paul limps through the day and finally crumbles into bed at night. “Lord, this is the third time I am asking you to take this pain away from me. If I wake up with this pain in the morning, I’m going to see the doctor. Please, please, please, take this pain away from me!”

This time heaven opens and a voice calls down, “Hey you, Mod-Paul. I heard you the first time you prayed, but I have a better plan for you than your immediate healing. I heard you the second time you prayed and because I love you, I want you to learn about the grace I give you to live by.

“My grace is sufficient for you. I will not leave or forsake you. I will walk with you even when you pass through the valley of the shadow of death. You will learn compassion and experience growing faith as you trust me through this. Just remember that my grace is sufficient for you and for your thorn in the flesh.”

How do we respond? Some of us will respond by turning our backs on that grace and shortcut the faith-developing-process that would teach us God’s love. The apostle Paul resolves to give glory to God in his infirmities so that he might experience the power and the grace of God in his life. In verse 10 he says, “Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake, for when I am weak, then am I strong.”

As a child of God, my conditions—whatever they may be—have only to do with the decree, the declaration and the derision of God’s truth which was written by the stripes on Jesus’ back.

As I’ve said before, I will say again. I don’t know how long it will take for my faith to reach the maturity level God is calling me to come to. Because He loves me, He will test me with certain infirmities, tests, and trials. I don’t know how long the process will take for me to completely let go of my unsurrendered will.

What I do know is that God is God. Nothing has ever spun out of His control. The finished work of Christ, punctuated by His resurrection, has been inscribed into eternity. Quick fixes and guinea-pig probing by our skilled medical professionals (who have their place in our world) do not replace the sufficiency of God’s grace.

All That We Need is Written on the Back of Jesus

The stripes on the back of Jesus agree with the love of our Heavenly Father. The truth written in blood on the Master’s back prevails throughout eternity. In Genesis nine God made a covenant with Noah never to destroy the earth with floodwaters. He placed a rainbow in the sky to confirm His promise and it still holds true today. God remembers His promises!

We must learn to never disregard God’s faithfulness through short-circuiting our focus on the stripes of Jesus. Our diverted focus will never limit His trustworthiness and love.

Opening our hearts in responsiveness to God’s grace and love is all it takes for us to receive our salvation, peace, joy and wholeness. God’s grace is extended to us through Christ’s faithfulness to His Father. His sufferings far exceeded ours and make Him a generous and liberal grace-giver! His love reaches beyond our needs of compassion, mercy, graciousness, forgiveness, peace, salvation and healing.

With my natural eyes I saw the circles that marked the age of the tree Dad had cut down. The mind of man can assimilate data in nature. We can study the DNA of plants to see which family they belong to. The knowledge that the human mind acquires is marvelous, but it is imperative for every human to understand the love of the Father, manifested through Christ and the scares that He bears. Our God-given faith is empowered by Christ’s scars which adorn Heaven.

ELEVEN

Wreaking Havoc in Hell

The heat of summer led to autumn’s reprise. Harvest time had afforded us a couple wheel barrows full of home-grown potatoes and now it was my turn to peel them. I hated the job!

But why? Was it because the potatoes were gnarly and dirty, or was it because I was seven-and-a-half years old and already enslaved with my fatalistic attitude? Whatever the cause, I had avoided the chore whenever possible—but this time it wasn’t possible.

My mother had just given birth to my youngest brother, and she was flat in bed for a week, which meant that I would be the cook. I was petrified of sharp knives, but I summoned courage and began my task. The dishpan of potatoes sat on the counter that was level with my eyes. Acidity from the potatoes mixed with dirty water oozed down my arms, making them feel like ants were crawling on them. I was impatient and hot from the heat emitting from the wood-fueled kitchen range.

Just then a knock summoned me as our neighbor, Bertha, came for a visit to see my baby brother. I led her to Mom’s bedside in our living room and returned to the kitchen and the detestable task at hand. I was not in a mood to conquer this chore so I decided to pretend my task was more than I could handle. I knew that Bertha would soon be leaving and perhaps if I grunted real loud, as if I was struggling with an impossible task, I would receive pity and help.

It worked. Bertha slipped over to my side and said, “Well, Honey, that potato is bigger than you are. Let me help you!”

Wow! Was I relieved! In no time my potatoes were peeled and that part of my dreaded meal preparation was completed.

Covered With the Blood of Jesus

As I embark on the chore of writing this segment concerning wreaking havoc in hell, I feel like I am holding a potato that is bigger than I am. But this time I will not grunt in feigned despair. I will openly acknowledge that this concept is bigger than I am, and that I choose not to approach the subject lightly or blindly.

I acknowledge that I am covered by the blood of Jesus as I expose the defeat of the enemy. I also acknowledge that I must have the help of the Lord in order to graphically explain what God has shown me here. I choose not to delve into the subject of hell to bring exposure to it and its occupancies without the fear of God. I appropriate that fear of His presence as I launch my attack on Satan.

I also urge you, as you step into this realm with me, to take a moment to focus on the cross, the blood, and the sacrifice that redeems you. Now move past the cross to the empty tomb which signifies your conquest through Christ’s resurrection. Keep that in mind as you step into these concepts.

Laying a Scriptural Foundation

I Corinthians 15:21, 22 “For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead.

“For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive.”

II Corinthians 5:21 “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”

Romans 3:23 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”

II Timothy 2:24-26 “And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient,

“in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth,

“and that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will.”

Romans 6:14 “For sin shall not have dominion over you,…”

I Corinthians 15: 54-57 “So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: ‘Death is swallowed up in victory.’

“‘O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?’

“The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law.

“But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Ephesians 1:19-21 and 2:6 “and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power

“ which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come

“…and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,”

Setting the Stage

Imagine the garden of Gethsemane where Jesus prayed—darker than any night time has ever known. Spiritual darkness oozed into its surroundings as the dank stench of death distressed the soul of our Savior!

Jesus had pleaded with His disciples to watch and pray, but they had all fallen asleep. Alone, He cried piteously, “Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me, nevertheless let Your will be done and not mine.”

No mercy was forthcoming, no answer of deliverance arrived in His agony. The disciples slept on!

Hours later the last of His followers had fled the scene after denying he knew the man in the judgment hall. Now Christ found Himself totally alone. Naked—plainly exposing the evidences of His beating—He hung on the cross. Heaven was silent. He pierced the loneliness with, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46)

Because of Christ’s willingness to become sin for us, the gulf between the Son and His Father had become the distance from the pit of hell to heaven’s throne. This chasm is fathomless but totally filled with love.

God, who abhors sin, turned His face away from Christ—blood covered and laden with the sins of all people—of all times—of all places! No machinery on earth has ever carried the weight that our Savior bore as He descended into Hades!

Satan’s Assumed Victory Dethroned

Totally forsaken, the Innocent One slid into the terrifying regions of hell where Satan met him with a sneer of assumed victory!

For three days Satan and his cohorts taunted their guiltless victim. For three days and nights the Son of God bore the sins of the world to the regions of eternal hell!

Glibly, the defeated assumed he was the defeater. Blatantly, the accuser spewed out accusations against justice. Brazenly, yet vainly, the instigator of death defied Christ’s never-ending life. He stood guard to prevent Resurrection Life from escaping his domain of eternal death.

Talk about all hell being turned loose—this was it! The regions of darkness fought against the Light of the world! Darkness couldn’t hide light! The forces of hell could not retain the Lord of Glory!

Valiantly the battle raged—Satan and his demons against the Son of the Most High God. Satan’s enraged warriors grew faint in the fight. His own blatant boasts were turned into feeble and whispered threats. Life was escaping Satan’s killing grip.

Jesus wrestled the keys of death, hell and the grave from Satan as he deposited the sins of the world into that place of eternal darkness. The battle was over! The stone that had enslaved Him in the grave was rolled away! Our risen Lord had conquered the region of sin and hell.

What is Going on in Hell Now?

The Scriptures we read at the beginning of this chapter help us understand that all of humanity is born under the curse of sin. Make a mental picture of each individual’s sin as a black bundle. Each bundle of sin has a human being attached to it. Satan has made a claim on all of us. But Christ has, by His sacrificed life, turned hell into a depository for our sins. The price for our redemption has already been deposited there. It is paid in full.

Our sins, our transgressions, our iniquities and our sicknesses are all deposited in hell. Our sins, in the face of our eternal enemy, are dark, terrifying objects without bodies. Satan hates these deposits of sin when they are detached and severed from the identities they were bound to!

Christ won the battle over Satan and legally made the payment for our sins. We can accept Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and escape the terror of eternal death in hell. We can also choose to remain enslaved to our sinful nature. If we choose the latter, we will find ourselves carrying our assigned-by-Satan bundle of sin into eternity. However, by accepting Christ’s gift of salvation, the burden of sin is cut loose from us. It is detached from us. We are released into Kingdom-of-God living.

That bundle of sin, which is now completely detached from a human identification, falls into hell and explodes in Satan’s face. The taunter is now taunted. The coercer is now coerced! The schemer, who thought he could enslave life with death, is now forced to encounter all these black bundles of sin. All of these have been severed from God’s most priceless creation—mankind!

Will you shout, “Glory!” with me?

Be a Soul-winner!

I believe that those unattached sins are used by the demons of hell to remind Satan of his demise and of his ultimate defeat. That is why Satan hates soul-winners. Each soul that is severed from sin throws another explosive into the lake of fire that is already unbearable. These bundles of sin fall endlessly into the bottomless pit only to be tossed upward into the face of Satan with fresh new ammunition exposing his defeat.

Heaven rejoices over the sinners that repent and come to the Lord, but in hell this wreaks havoc! The angels rejoice and dance around the throne as they celebrate the salvation of a new child of God. Satan sees the rejoicing and knows what goes on in heaven—the very place from which he had fallen because of his own pride. (Read Luke 10:18-20.)

Let the Word of God be a fire that burns in your bones. Smile as you become a soul-winner and wreak havoc in hell.

Make heaven rejoice! Force hell to shriek in horror! Fight the fight that Jesus fought in hell against the forces of evil. Pray for the lost. Prevail in prayer. Be bold in your witness. Cause the demons of hell to mock Satan for his failed efforts. In return, cause them to tremble at the commands of their enraged sergeant.

Realize that these demons are creatures of darkness—loving that darkness. We are people of light. They are terrified by light and cringe at the thought of your light entering their dark world. They know they have no power over light. Demons know that true Christians are winners. We must know the same!

We dare not be afraid of the afraid. We, the light, dare not cringe at the sight of darkness. We, who are made righteous by our Redeemer, dare not wimp out through timidity and slothfulness.

Christ in us is greater and more powerful than Satan. He feigns himself to be bold but we have true boldness. We are God’s righteousness in the earth. We have been given authority to bring the world into the kingdom of God, releasing it from the vices and determined destruction of sin.

“Ask of me,” the psalmist said in Psalm two, “and I will give you the heathen, for thine inheritance and the ends of the earth for thy possession” (KJV).

Though the potato we are peeling—the soul we target for redemption—seems bigger than our human ability, we do not peel it alone. We appropriate Christ’s saving grace. We plan our strategy and take action. This is our opportunity to become a soul-winner. Because of Jesus, we sever the sins from humanity and cast these unidentified bundles into hell. Heaven will rejoice!

TWELVE

Without Faith

It was one of many lonely summer evenings which brought unsolicited adventure to me. As a ten-year-old I was left in charge of my younger siblings, as well as chores and gardening. My parents and older brothers spent long days doing custom hay baling in our neck of the woods. Though I was fatalistic in my thinking I also had a conscientious side to me. Faithlessness tried hard to hinder me, yet I possessed a drive that wanted release and recognition.

I dug my bare toes into the damp red clay of our ditch bank close to the road. A galvanized culvert connected our ditch to the ditch on the other side of the road where weeds grew unhindered. My siblings played quietly in the yard behind me, and my two companions—our St. Bernard dogs—lay on the bank beside me.

As the sun was slipping into someone else’s world, I grew aware of movement in the culvert. Alarmed, I jumped to my feet. A low, raspy growl came from the culvert. I peered into the semi-darkness.

“What in the world could that be?” I asked myself.

A horrible looking creature was coming toward me with frothy saliva dripping from its mouth. It had lost most of its hair and its steps were slow and deliberate.

“A rabid dog!” I called to my siblings. “Take our dogs and get inside the house!”

With adrenalin-produced energy I nearly dragged everyone inside the screened-in porch where I commanded them to stay.

Hoisting my long, tattered skirt to my knees, I raced to the barn for my weapon—a club—actually the handle of a maul! Within minutes that scabby, hairless creature was out of its misery. One blow across the head was all it took, but I gave it several more for good measure!

Leaving the dogs inside the front porch, I lit the kerosene lamp and put the little ones to bed. As I waited for the haying crew, I rehearsed the good job I’d done and waited to be praised for it.

Finally I heard the sound of Dad’s Ford lumber truck pull into the lane. I was excited to recount my tale of conquest and bravery when the crew entered the kitchen.

“What are you doing up so late?” my dad demanded. “And what are the dogs doing in the porch?”

I did my best to impress my audience as I emphasized my brave-heartedness! I barely stopped to catch my breath as I related, what I considered to be, a noteworthy conquest!

After listening to me, Dad crushed my pride with his reply, “Oh, Lydia that was just a possum that played dead. He won’t be there in the morning. Now off to bed with you!”

My folks hadn’t believed my story! I was devastated! Morning will find the dead creature and speak for itself’ I consoled myself as I cried into my pillow.

I awoke still wanting someone to believe my story and give me praise for my courage, but Dad merely instructed my brothers to dig a hole and bury the animal when he found it just where I had left it.

For weeks I nurtured the hurts I received from my dad’s disbelief. Unbelief is a vicious assailant! If we aren’t careful, we will allow it to become a rejection of our worth and worthy achievements.

A Look at Unbelief

Because the impact of this message stems from bigger-than-unbelief concepts, we will spend little time addressing this negative subject of unbelief. Ultimately, we must focus our faith on God so that unbelief will be buried in the dust of our pursuit of Him.

However, in order for us to get a proper vantage point for this bigger than message, we need to have the advantage of understanding that faithlessness and unbelief cause devastation. Doubt and distrust reap futility.

How Did Christ Respond to Unbelief?

If we understand how Jesus feels about unbelief, we’ll be pressed into a faith-filled life. John 11 gives us clear insight into how Christ responded to unbelief. In this account, those who were the closest to Him failed to comprehend what He was telling them.

Jesus had spent time in the home of Mary, Martha and their brother, Lazarus. He was very close to them. It was when Lazarus became gravely ill that the sisters sent a messenger to Jesus.

“Master!” The messenger interrupted Christ’s audience. “Master, Mary and Martha have sent me to bid You come immediately! The one You love is very sick!”

Obviously, Jesus knew Lazarus to be the person whom the messenger was talking about, because He replied,

“This sickness is not to end in death; but [on the contrary] it is to honor God and to promote His glory, that the Son of God may be glorified through (by) it” (John 11:4 AB).

The next verse tells us that He loved Lazarus’ family yet He returned to what was at hand. Christ’s deliberate delay was a test of Mary’s and Martha’s faith and also brought pain to His own heart. By the time He arrived at Bethany, Lazarus had been dead for four days. The burial was over and the man’s body was decomposing.

When Jesus finally did arrive at Bethany, Martha ran out to meet him. “Master, if You would have come sooner, my brother wouldn’t be dead now,” she greeted Jesus. In desperation she added, “I know that even now You can ask anything from God and He’ll give it to You.”

However, when Jesus replied that Lazarus would rise again, Martha related this to his resurrection in the last day. Jesus identified Himself as “the Resurrection” and “the Life.” Explaining to Martha, He said, “Whoever believes in (adheres to, trusts in and relies on) Me, although he may die, yet he shall live;” (John 11:25 AB).

Martha made her confession of faith by saying that she believed Christ was the One who was to come into the world as the Messiah. She dropped the subject without seeing her miracle. She considered the duty of calling her sister more important than remaining right there to receive her miracle.

When Mary arrived, she brought a whole group of mourners with her. Mary expressed the same concepts that Martha had. “Master, if You had only come sooner, if You had only been here, my brother would not have died!” The pain of unbelief was in her voice.

Jesus saw Mary’s grief as well as the sobbing of her comforters. He knew what the will of His Father was in this matter. He knew that a powerful miracle was at His command. Yet Scriptures tell us He was troubled in His spirit. He groaned inwardly and He wept openly!

Why was He weeping? Was He repenting for His delay in coming? Was it just because He felt sorry for the sisters? Was the graveside scene so morose that it caused Him to weep or was it plainly because of their unbelief?

I believe that the unbelief in the hearts of men causes grief in the heart of our Redeemer. Look at the question that was being asked: “If He opened blind eyes and did other miracles; couldn’t He have prevented this man’s death?” They had no idea that they were standing on “miracle ground”! Even though Christ wept over their faithlessness, He did not lose focus of God’s purpose for this situation.

He knew it was Lazarus’s time to walk out of the tomb. He wiped His tears. He cleared His throat and commanded those nearby to roll the stone away.

Martha quickly protested, “No, Lord, You can’t do that! You don’t understand! His body is already decaying and stinking!”

“Martha, don’t you remember that I told you that if you’d believe on Me, you’d see the glory of God?” Jesus asked.

Again He returned His focus from the influence of this faithlessness to the task at hand—Lazarus would rise again without the stench of death on him.

“Go ahead and roll the stone from the grave!” He commanded again.

He turned His focus on God, thanking Him for always hearing Him, and acknowledging that He always knew that His Father was there for Him. He prayed this prayer to penetrate the hearts of the faithless mourners who congregated about Him.

The weeping group was silenced as Christ’s voice pierced the region of death where Lazarus lay. “Lazarus, come forth!”

It was a breathless moment when everyone present realized that there was life in the tomb!

Lazarus, still totally wrapped in burial cloths, came out of the tomb at Christ’s faith-filled command. The disciples’, the crowd’s and the sisters’ unbelief was completely overshadowed by the glory of faith in action! Lazarus was alive and well, but not before Christ wept over the unbelief in the hearts of His closest friends.

Christ’s Compassion Pains Him

The pain in the heart of Jesus is again clearly seen in Matthew 23. As we read verses 37 and 38, listen to the tears, the pain and the grief in Christ’s compassionate voice.

“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing! See! Your house is left to you desolate;”

Because of the city’s faithlessness, desolation was spoken upon Jerusalem, and history tells us that this was fulfilled in 70 AD. (Zondervan Pictorial Bible Dictionary, pages 423, 857, and 858.)

There is no doubt that Christ is crushed by our unbelief. This is why we must appropriate a bigger-than-status-quo faith! A heart that is set on keeping up with the elite won’t grow our faith. For the maturity of our faith we must focus on God’s Word, His truth and His faithfulness.

True faith dissects unbelief and exposes its cancerous cells of self-centeredness. Unbelief comes from not allowing God to be big enough to be Lord in our lives.

Looking At Other Facts About Unbelief

Jesus was grieved and astonished with the unbelief in His disciples’ hearts (Mark 6:6; 16:14).

Jesus was hindered from doing many miracles in his home territory because of unbelief (Matthew 13:58).

Christ rebukes hard-heartedness and unbelief (Mark 16:14).

Unbelief severs the branch from the root (Romans 11:20).

Ignorance enslaves us to unbelief (I Timothy 1:13).

A faithless heart is warped, wayward and rebellious (Matthew 17:17; Luke 9:41).

Unbelief causes us to turn away from the living God (Hebrews 3:12).

The children of Israel couldn’t enter the Promised Land because of their unbelief (Hebrews 3:19; 4:6).

We must be zealous to enter into God’s rest so we won’t perish like the children of Israel did in the wilderness (Hebrews 4:11).

Jesus exhorted Thomas not to be faithless, incredulous and unbelieving (John 20:27 AB).

Unbelief can’t make the faith of God ineffective (Romans 3:3, 4).

It’s impossible to please God without faith (Hebrews 11:6).

Anything we do without faith becomes sin (Romans 14:23).

There is no reward for the faithless person (Hebrews 11:6).

There is no healing without faith (James 5:15).

God purposes to manifest His mercy to each of us, though we were disobedient through unbelief (Romans 11:30-32).

If the unbeliever turns to faith in God he can be restored (Romans 11:23).

If we are people of faith and action, we will meet opposition and rejection along the way. We will not always receive praise or recognition which we deserve, but this releases us to grow in our life of faith. With these challenges to our faith, we receive fuel to press into bigger-than-before faith! Take courage, Brother! Take courage, Sister! The road is not so long that faith cannot guide you. God’s task for you is not so hard that faith cannot accomplish it through you!

THIRTEEN

A Sound Mind

The vantage point of my little-girl-mind made things seem totally out of order to me one particular morning. We had just sat through a long session of unscrupulous accusations.

Mother, in her suppressed condition, sat with her lower lip quivering as tears brimmed her eyes. The session ended with doors slamming and lots of scolding. I freaked out, giving in to terror and letting go of self-restraint!

I gave myself over to convulsive behavior as I flopped about on my parents’ squeaky bed. Looking back, I am ashamed of my behavior as I manifested anything but a sound mind. I opened the door to oppression and dejection as I wrenched about on the bed. Despair entered easily because I gave myself over to emotions that signified anything but peace, grace and trust in the Lord.

I had not yet learned II Timothy 1:7 which tells me that God hasn’t given me a spirit of fear, but of power and love and soundness of mind.

The Blessing of a Sound Mind

A sound mind overcomes the spirit of fear. It is infused by power and love. A sound mind has no fear for love casts out all fear (I John 4:18). A sound mind is enabled by the power of the Holy Ghost. Christ promised us power after we receive the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:8).

A sound mind incorporates the truths of God’s Word rather than the facts that life has documented, recorded and filed. A sound mind recognizes that truth is authorized by the Almighty God.

A sound mind thinks of things that are lovely, honest, just, truthful, pure, virtuous and things that are of a good report (Philippians 4:8). It reports what God reports! It thinks on things that truth declares. It doesn’t allow unbelief to dictate its mindset. It refuses to act on false information that disagrees with the Holy Scriptures.

Based on Scriptures, here are some things a sound mind learns, assimilates and remembers:

- That God is God, and there is none beside Him (Deuteronomy 4:35).

- That He is the Almighty Creator that never grows weary (Isaiah 40:28).

- That He was and is and is still to come (Revelation 11:17).

- That He has no lack for He owns the cattle on a thousand hills (Psalm 50:10).

- That He loved the world so much He sent His only begotten Son to die for the sins of mankind (John 3:16).

- That Christ is the resurrection and the life (John 11:25).

God wants us to know that He is not just an abstract spirit floating around in the spirit world, but that He connects to us. He relates to us as we embrace the work Christ did on Calvary. The death, burial and resurrection of Christ, when activated by our faith and our confession, join us to the Creator of the universe!

There are many Scriptures that could be cited to make this point. I will list several here, but you may add your own assortment of promises from God to the list. As you read through this list, claim the ones that strengthen your life.

A sound mind knows:

That the life that we now live in the flesh, we live by our faith in the Son of God; who loved us and gave Himself for us (Galatians 2:20).

That because Christ lives we can live also (John 14:19).

That Christ always causes us to triumph (II Corinthians 2:14).

That He gives us the victory though our Lord Jesus Christ (I Corinthians 15:57).

That we are called to be overcomers (I John 5:4, 5).

That no weapon formed against us shall prosper (Isaiah 54:17).

That the anointing destroys the yoke of bondage (Isaiah 10:27).

That it’s not by might, nor by power but by the Spirit of the Lord (Zechariah 4:6).

That we live and move and have our being in Him (Acts 17:28).

That it is Christ in us, our hope of glory (Colossian 1:27).

That He who called us is faithful, and He will do it (I Thessalonians 5:24).

That all things work together for good to those who love God and are called for His purpose (Romans 8:28).

That there is no condemnation to all who are in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1).

That we won’t fulfill the lust of the flesh while we live in the Spirit (Galatians 5:16).

That the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has freed us from the law of sin and death (Romans 8:2).

That sin has no more dominion over the redeemed person (Romans 6:14).

That there is no need to make provisions to fulfill the lusts of the flesh (Romans 13:14).

That we overcome by the blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimony (Revelation 12:11).

That God thinks no evil thoughts concerning His children (Jeremiah 29:11).

That our strength is renewed as we wait on the Lord (Isaiah 40:31).

That the Lord is our shepherd who leaves us without want (Psalm 23:1).

That there is no want to them that fear the Lord (Psalm 34:9).

That wisdom is the principle thing that we have in Christ Jesus (Proverbs 4:7 and I Corinthians 1:30).

That the angel of the Lord encamps around about those who fear God (Psalm 34:7).

That God is the God who heals us (Exodus 15:26).

That the fear of the Lord brings health to the navel and marrow to the bones (Proverbs 3:8).

That His righteousness gives us the boldness of a lion (Proverbs 28:1).

That goodness and mercy will follow us all the days of our life (Psalm 23:6).

That Christ has gone to prepare a place for us, that where He is we will be also (John 14:2, 3).

These Promises Help us Overcome the Impossible

Every promise that God has ordained is more powerful than impossible. The words He has spoken are decreed and are unable to lie. For example, look at Jeremiah 1:12.

“Then the Lord said to me, ‘You have seen well, for I am ready to perform My word.’”

In the King James Version it states, “…I will hasten my word to perform it.” What God is actually saying is that He is alert to His Word. He is rendering Himself sleepless so that He might perform His Word. He is on the lookout for opportunities to fulfill what He has promised. God is diligently maintaining a watch twenty-four hours a day and seven days a week. God’s alertness prompts Him to activity.

Will our unbelief hinder God from doing what He has promised? No, not at all! We can hinder ourselves by not activating our faith on the basis of His Word, but God doesn’t need our help in order to fulfill what He has already spoken!

Do you remember the account of Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem? The throngs of people were flooding Him with loud praises, waving palm branches and spreading their garments in the way for Him to pass over. The religious leaders disliked all the commotion and asked Jesus to hush the crowd.

Luke 19:40 gives us Christ’s answer. “I tell you that if these should keep silent, the stones would immediately cry out.”

Another faith building account is found in Matthew 26. When Jesus was arrested on the night before the crucifixion, Peter tried to defend his master by using the sword. Jesus’ reply in verses 52 and 53 is:

“Put your sword in its place.…do you think that I cannot now pray to My Father, and He will provide Me with more than twelve legions of angels?”

These accounts help us realize the magnitude of God’s power. God is not dependent upon us. He needs no more than what the power of His spoken words produce. His words generate enough power to cause the universe to revolve in unbroken synchronization.

A Sound Mind is a Peaceful Mind

By now you’ve learned that during my childhood and youth I was always expecting trouble. I fretted over imagined evil that I was sure lurked around the next corner. I lived through the emotions of many traumatic things which had never happened. On the occasions that something good did happen to me, I still looked for the bad.

Because of my ignorance, I hadn’t availed myself to the promise of John 14:27. Christ knew that this was His last night before His crucifixion yet he promised His disciples that He was giving them peace. That’s a pretty neat promise on the night that He knew all the demons of hell would be turned loose.

But what are the Savior’s next words? He tells them that it’s a different kind of peace—not the kind that eradicates evil—but peace in the middle of evil. Christ knew what lay before Him. He realized that this would be the time of ultimate testing, not just for Himself, but also for His followers.

Even though He understood all this, He further instructs them, “Don’t allow your hearts to be troubled or afraid.”

How could He expect his disciples not to be troubled on the darkest night in all time and eternity?

Not only would there be lightlessness in the natural realm, but the earth would be dismal and somber as the spiritual light of the Son of God would be annihilated. Darkness that could be felt would invade every crevice of creation, yet He instructed them not to be afraid.

Each of the disciples fled when Jesus was arrested. Three times Peter denied that he knew Him. Somehow these followers of Christ had failed to appropriate the peace of God that He had given them. How many times have we done the same? I cannot count the times that I have failed to utilize this peace that Christ gives.

Jesus says, “Brethren, I give you peace,” and the apostle Paul says in II Timothy 1:7, “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” Where then does fear come from?

Fear is the voice that is originated by satanic transmission. Every time the voice of fear speaks to the believer, it is a lie. John 8:44 tells us that Satan is a murderer and a liar. John tells us that every time Satan speaks he’s telling a lie. He gave birth to lies. He fathered them and remains the “father of lies.”

If Jesus said, “I give you peace,” and we wind up listening to the voice of fear, we can be sure we are listening to the wrong voice. The two are opposite of each other. The two must be dissected from each other. The origin of fear must be unearthed and uprooted.

This is done by pin-pointing or zeroing-in on the roots of fear. What is fear targeting? What is it saying? When we unearth these roots, we can then have the assurance that this is all a lie—spoken by the “father of lies.” This gives us grounds for knowing that God’s plan for this situation is a plan of victory and prosperity.

Every word that fear hits us with is a lie. It opposes the thoughts of God. Each inkling of anxiety or frustration directly opposes God’s plan for that very situation. When we understand this, we have a powerful platform for praising the Lord. We can walk away from the situation, turn to God in prayer and entrust Him with the element of concern.

Peace is a gift Christ has given us. It is a portion of our sound mind. Christ’s peace doesn’t depend on the absence of tests and trials, but it is ours to ravish during dire and difficult times.

You may never have given in to terror and lack of self-restraint as I did, but each of us must reprogram our mind with thoughts of God’s peace. As you make life application of these concepts, there will be no room for pride, trepidation, or fearfulness. As we understand and apply God’s peace to our difficult situations in life, we will be released from oppression and anxiety.

FOURTEEN

Now Faith Is

The brown thrush thrust his throaty song into the air and arrested me in my endeavor of collecting cattail leaves. I had to take a moment to watch him before I gathered a handful of smooth slender leaves that grew in this low-lying area.

“If only I had a knife or scissors to cut these with,” I said to myself. However, with persistence, I managed to twist them loose from their counterparts. I laid them out flat and shoved them under my bed to dry. Later when I came to weave them into placemats I found them rather warped and realized that I should have had something heavy to press them with.

But I was still determined to do something creative with the dried leaves. I worked diligently to weave them into what I dreamed would be placemats. It took a lot of effort to weave that first place mat. After I had gone through all the hard work I found that I had nothing to hold my woven work together. When I tried to move it, it all fell apart. Tears stung my eyes and discouragement seeped into my soul.

That’s the way it always seemed my life was. I tried something and it all fell apart. Because my creativity was largely unnourished, I had nothing to hold it together. God truly blessed me when I found the substance I needed to hold my life together.

Can you guess what that component was? Though many of us are unaware of it, each one of us is given this component that becomes a tangible substance of the unseen.

This fundamental principle can be found in the puddle of our tears. It can be heard over the roar of thunderstorms. It can be tasted in the bitter challenges of life. It is felt when put to the test of our own weaknesses. It remains real though it might be buried under injustices done to us, or by disasters beyond our control.

What is this substance that, though Satan tries to circumvent it, will manifest itself through a balance of peace, wisdom, joy, insight, love, understanding and wholeness? It is evident in our words and through our uncorrupted lifestyle.

It is the essential that eliminates fear, stomps out anxiety and wears worry to a threadbare surface. It disposes the anticipation of evil, assaults the power of agitation and conquers the feelings of dismay. It sends out an alarm when panic attempts a break-in to rob our peace. It directly opposes consternation, dread, fright, and horror. It will not coexist with panic.

This aspect of spirituality will not burn up in a fire, be swept away in a tsunami, be dislocated during an earthquake or be ripped from our souls by terrorist attacks.

The manifestation of this rudiment becomes what is real to us as we grow in Christ. It is what gives comfort to our personal world. It turns our nothings into bread, gives us rest when we’re weary, brings protection in times of danger and offers grace to live by. It turns our fiery furnace experiences into declarations of the “God can” types of confessions. This is what the three Hebrews did in their fiery furnace situation (Daniel 3:16-18).

The evidence of this element turns our suffering into Job’s confession of confidence, “Though He slays me, yet I will trust Him…” (Job 13:15a).

It removes mountains, calms troubled waters, heals the sick and broken hearted, sets the captives free and enriches the lives of God’s children. It is a constant companion, a guide for life by its words of wisdom.

This basic essential holds us emotionally steady and nourishes the spirit of man. Its territory is enlarged by responsively reading, studying and embracing the Holy Scriptures. This truth secures us from the voices and vices around us. The first part of Hebrews 11:6 tells us that we’ll never please God without it.

Faith, What is It?

I’m sure you’ve guessed that our subject is radical faith. Probably the most widely quoted Scripture on faith is found in Hebrews 11:1, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”

The Living Bible says, “What is faith? It is the confident assurance that something we want is going to happen. It is the certainty that what we hope for is ahead.”

The New International Version states it this way: “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.”

The Revised Standard Version and the English Standard Version both use the words “assurance” and “conviction” for what the New King James Version would call “substance” and “evidence.” The New Jerusalem Bible says, “Faith guarantees the blessing that we hope for.” The Message Bible describes faith this way, “…It’s our handle on what we can’t see.” From the Contemporary English Version we read, “Faith makes us sure of what we hope for and gives us proof of what we cannot see.”

The Amplified Bible really speaks to my heart, “Now faith is the assurance (the confirmation, the title deed) of the things [we] hope for, being the proof of things [we] do not see and the conviction of their reality [faith perceiving as real fact what is not revealed to the senses].”

The phrase “title deed” may help us understand faith a little better. A title deed is provided and authorized by a second party. For example; if I want to buy my neighbor’s property, I can’t just draw up my own “title deed,” sign it, and take possession of it. Papers have to be drawn up, and my neighbor has to come into the agreement that I might purchase or obtain, in some way, his property.

Faith is not magic. It is not calling up some genie out of an Aladdin’s lamp and getting what our selfish nature demands. God has drawn up the “title deed” for everything we need. Faith comes through knowing God’s will. God’s children are not spoiled brats who demand the “toys” of their choice. Faith is God saying, “Here, this is what I have for you at this time.” It is our grasp of the message God speaks to us. It is divine revelation.

I am concerned that the “we want” expressed in The Living Bible doesn’t become comparable to me drawing up my own “title deed” on my neighbor’s property without his approval. This is not what God is saying. He says, “The information you receive from Me is what you can believe for. I give exact facts concerning your areas of need, and those details become the substance for your hope.”

Faith becomes the substance and the evidence of the information that we have been given by God to meet our own particular needs. Sometimes that information tells us to sit still and see the salvation of God. At other times that information tells us to move forward toward what we consider a danger zone. There are times God instructs us to pray, to sing or to shout. There are times that God gently instructs us to calm down and assures us of His presence.

So you ask, “Faith, what is it?” It is the information, divine revelation or instruction we receive from God that will allow us to know God’s plan about a certain matter. Along with this information will come the understanding of what God wants our part to be in His plan. It is the substance for us to act upon.

The Reality of Faith

When I say, “Karis is skipping barefooted in the fresh green grass with the soft breezes blowing through her long dark curls,” you will immediately conjure up an image in your mind. The word “is” brings the scene into focus. What “is” happening? Who “is” doing it? In what setting “is” it being done? In the case described above you will see motion and sense the tickle on Karis’ bare feet. The word “is” has alerted your senses to this state of being. The word “is” would be virtually impossible to eliminate from our language.

The word “is” is diverse from “are” because it represents a singular subject. If I were to say: “Micah is holding Karis’s hand, and they are skipping merrily across the grass;” the subject would become plural. I would then use the plural form of the verb “is.”

It is the same way with this statement on faith. If I were to say “now faith are” it would establish faith in a plural setting. I would have to add elements to faith. I could say, “Now faith, love and grace are,” but “now faith is” must be defined by its singular action. Here we are focusing on the singular subject of faith.

In the face of tragedy, “faith is!” In the face of defying evidences “faith is” still the evidence that supersedes these other elements. Faith rules when evil demands its own rule. “Faith is” effective in the elements of spiritual warfare. Faith remains the ruling factor when lies of discouragement prod for entrance into our hearts.

“Faith is” founded upon concepts and decrees of truth that have been pronounced by the Creator of the universe. No matter what any of us face, “faith is!” We must not try to refute faith because it has been spoken into eternity.

It will not be ignored, for even as God used Balaam’s donkey to speak a word of wisdom, so God will always have instruments of instruction that will prove that “faith is!”

If God needs to use “rocks crying out” to declare that “faith is,” He could easily do that.

Ignorance and arrogance will not diminish faith. A person’s unsurrendered soul will never hinder the fact that “faith is!” Our selfish attitudes can detour us from receiving the benefits of faith, but they will never snuff out the existence of faith.

The reality of faith is just that…it is!

The “When” of Faith

Faith is now. When you’re at the end of your rope, faith will help you tie the knot you need to hang onto. Faith is the “now” element that we must cultivate with each situation in life we face.

When you feel there is not enough strength to continue rowing your boat upstream, take the strength of faith to pursue the journey upstream. We must make room for faith in our space of time by disallowing our doubtful minds to row our boat.

You don’t have to lose faith with your wrong turns in life. Faith is not confused, lost or indecisive. It is the “now” ingredient that will help you take the next step. It gives you wisdom to turn around or lets you know if you are to continue your pursuit.

When the fires of destruction have consumed your dreams, faith is there. The “now” of faith is in the middle of the flames—outshining their feeble attempts of defeat.

At the very time your world of hope caves in around you, faith stands on solid ground right next to you. Reach out to God. Faith will come to your rescue. In that moment, faith is right where you are.

When your heart rate is accelerating because fear is downplaying your ability to succeed, faith is there! In that instant faith is available to override the component of fear. When we let faith be our ever-present companion, fear will have to move aside.

When shouts of anger try to push past the tip of your tongue, faith is there. Let it stop anger with its peace and wisdom. Faith is the doorway through which peace and wisdom enter.

A seed of faith is deposited into every human ever born. That seed has potential to help each of us fulfill our destiny. II John 1: 8 says, “Look to yourselves (take care) that you may not lose (throw away or destroy) all that we and you have labored for, but that you may [persevere until you] win and receive back a perfect reward [in full]” (AB). It is our duty to hold onto faith.

You may find yourself standing at the edge of your field, scratching your head, looking at the impossible. Remember that Isaac planted in the year of famine and received a hundred fold return (Genesis 26:1, 12). He planted his fields in good faith and the famine could not hurt him.

You may find yourself captivated by your own thoughts, brought under the powers of depression and struggling for emotional survival. If so, your faith has become buried by your reactions, but you can dig it out. Turn to God’s Word. This is where your faith will be enriched.

It doesn’t matter if your life or things in your life seem to be falling apart; faith is superior to our human resources or efforts. Faith is real and it is “NOW!”

FIFTEEN

Our Expectations or Faith

I was intoxicated by my expectations as I proudly marched down the aisle on the arm of my new husband! I had just pledged my “I do’s” in the audience of family and friends. The old church, with its bell tower pointing skyward, rang out my excitement as Russell and I pulled the rope that announced my exhilaration to our small town. I wanted everyone to know that I had finally secured myself a husband!

I felt I’d waited a long time for the fulfillment of this dream and now I knew my problems would be solved; my self-esteem would improve along with my status. I expected my brand new husband to fill the void in my soul that could only be filled by making God bigger than my needs. I should have known that my expectations were completely unreasonable. Any man who is willing to meet his wife’s emotional needs could not have done what I thought my new husband could do.

Russell worked many hours overtime in town besides trying to farm 340 acres. We lived in the country and I was without a car. We didn’t have friends who lived close enough to call without using long-distance, and that wasn’t an option. Needless to say, this gave me plenty of crying time.

I planted a garden, mowed our yard, canned and froze our produce as I awaited the arrival of our first child. All this time I failed to realize that only God could fill that deep void inside of me. Yes, I was a born-again, Spirit-filled Christian, but I didn’t know that I had to make God bigger than my expectations.

Where Do You Place Your Expectations?

Am I the only one who has placed her expectations on her new spouse without realizing she needed to make God bigger than her emotional needs? I honestly doubt it, but here’s the opportunity to ask ourselves a few questions.

How have you treated your spouse? What kind of expectations have you placed on him or her?

Was she able to fulfill the things you thought she would? Did he have the mental capability to understand your expectations of him? Did you clearly and lovingly state your anticipation or desired dreams?

Besides our spouses, there may be others that we are placing undue expectations on rather than ultimately rooting our hope in the Lord.

Your doctor could be one of these. What happens when he doesn’t give you the good health report that you wanted? Are you able to make God bigger than that bad report, or do you change your expectations and place them on some drug or medical procedure for your answers?

How about the education you needed? If God isn’t bigger than your wisdom then you may be placing too many expectations on that professor. Did his wisdom fall short of what really mattered in your heart? Did you feel bummed out that the class you took didn’t provide you with the information you had anticipated?

We often place severe expectations on our pastor. We know he’s trained in God’s Word, has a heart for people and sets himself aside to minister to our needs. We must not expect him to carry our extra oil like the five foolish virgins did. (See Matthew 25:1-13.) Our love, joy and peace must come from the inner resources we receive from our personal relationship with God.

Some of us focus our expectations on parents or other family members. What happens when these people fail to supply bigger-than-expectations support? Much blaming, unforgiveness and bitterness stem from placing undue expectations on others.

Take for an example our business partners. We may have the best partner in the world to work with, but he will not be able to meet the needs that only Jesus can meet. The excellent management of finances has its needed place, but it will not bring us spiritual fulfillment.

When we make anyone or anything bigger than Jesus, we can expect to flop onto our faces in frustration, failure and fear. To expect others to bring us what God has not given us is unjust and unfair.

I am convinced that many in our society turn to various kinds of perversions and addictions because they feel let down by someone or something they had placed their expectations on. These addictions become expressions of me-centeredness and pleas for self-gratification. They hope to find fulfillment, satisfaction and completeness in their vices rather than in the Almighty.

We all have Emotional Needs

The unregenerated human soul is made up of clutter, quest and feelings of elusiveness. Unless we are rooted in the truth of God’s Word we will feel that something is evading us. Even as Christians, we often miss the connection to our completion. We keep looking for our bigger than experiences in places other than our walk of faith.

We’re bored and tired of the same old—same old. At the same time, our focus is distracted by the many things we can choose from—what shall I have for breakfast? What shall I wear on my first day back to the university? What flavor of coffee shall I try this time? What scent of perfume would fit the occasion? What do I want in a car? Where shall we go for our family vacation?

Our focus continues to be fractured by minute questions such as which fast food place to eat at or what shade of pink to use on our toenails. We go from store to store trying to find the right “toy” to appease our quest for satisfaction. We wonder if he or she can satisfy the deep desires of our hearts. Many indulge in all sorts of sexual perversions, trying to fulfill the deep vacancy inside of them. Even in a loving marriage, our intimacy has limited fulfillment of our expectations.

The void in the spiritually starving heart will not be satisfied by the world’s affluence, pleasure palaces and amusement parks. We are intricately wrought by the finger of God to need Him above all else.

The Bigger Than Aspect of Faith

Out of the many Scriptures we could study, I’ll pull a few gold threads from Psalm 62 to weave into satisfying hope for our expectations. David’s testimony urges us to realize the truths that anchored his faith when he was being sought for slaughter and when he was facing great armies. He penned this Psalm to deliberately encourage the godly.

In this chapter, David never blames others for his undeserved attacks in life. He simply makes God bigger than the injustices done to him. By exalting the Lord the Psalmist dumps his own expectations and focuses his attention in one direction only. By sharing his testimony and disclosing his choices, he refreshes himself and brings hope to us. He exclusively weaves the characteristics of God into the sufficiency for our emptiness.

In verse one we pick up the thread of waiting on God. He silences himself in quiet trust before the Lord. This brings him affirmation. He rejoices in his salvation as it brings him deliverance, giving him stability in his faith.

Verses two, five and six all weave the word “only” into David’s description of the Lord. “Only” is a particle of affirmation which places limitations on all others, knowing that God only allows our professors or doctors to reach a certain point in fulfilling our needs. The people in our lives are limited, but the psalmist is making God limitless.

In verse five he refers back to the word “wait,” telling himself to wait on God who is his only expectation. He understands that the source of his fulfillment lies in his trust of God. As a king, David had all sorts of precious metals he could have depended on, but he chose to make God exclusive over all other things. In verse ten he exhorts us not to depend on our riches if they increase. He realized the danger of reverted vision or focus.

David, as a man of war, could have depended on his keenly trained armies for his protection, but he knew that only God could be the safe haven he needed. He spent many years in battle with various enemies of the people of God, yet he fastened his eyes on God—his rock. Typically rocks consists of compressed matter, and in this way they signify strength and might in David’s (and our) times of need.

Drawing from the symbolism of the rock’s endurance, we can liken it to the advantages God brings our way. These benefits put us on the cutting edge of perception and wisdom. Supernatural knowledge is passed down on us through our Lord, Jesus Christ. Scriptures record David passing down his knowledge to his wise son, Solomon (I Chronicles 28:9-21).

Another application for this rock is that David declared he trusted in the cliff for refuge. He used the exclusive term “only” in verses two and six when he described this rock of his trust. He passed this concept down to his son. In Proverbs 18:10 Solomon describes the name of the Lord as a strong tower. He pictures God’s righteous people running into it to find their safety.

Trust is another thread that David used to compel us to lean on and place our confidence in his God—our God!

Many of us have problems with trust. Perhaps this is because of the broken promises others have made to us in our past. We may have grown up with parents who made promises to us but seldom followed through with their fulfillment. Proverbs 13:12a says, “Hope deferred makes the heart sick” (AB). The last part of the verse lets us know that hope can be restored and life can be fruitful.

Verse eight of Psalm 62 commands us to exercise trust at all times. The psalmist doesn’t question God’s absolute ability. He proclaims God as being our defense when our “less than adequate” defense systems unravel in crisis times. God is trustworthy when we’re in a pit or down in the dumps.

Zooming in on God’s Word with our expectations will bring us a life of faith and fulfillment. As our hearts are transformed by the Word, complete satisfaction is attainable. Contentment can become a way of life.

The apostle Paul is an example of this. In Philippians 4;11, 12 Paul declares that he has learned contentment regardless of the situations he finds himself in. He states that he has been instructed, and that he has learned how to abound in straitened circumstance. He knew contentment whether he was hungry or whether he was fed.

Contentment and trust encourages us to appreciate the uniqueness in our mate, our business partners and our family members. David told himself to hope only in God, for he would still praise Him (Psalm 42:5, 11 and 43:5). When the push of choice becomes an elbow in the ribs, choose faith over your expectations.

Faith is rooted in the proven Word of God. Our expectations are merely emotional dreams unless they are founded on a revelation or vision God has given us. Faith will not fail us.

If you feel like I’ve felt at times, it is no fault on God’s part. The fault is that we have not allowed God to fulfill our deepest longings. We dare not rely merely on our human expectations.

There Are Times For Confrontations

There are times when situations must be addressed in a relationship. These need to be approached with the wisdom that will change lives. When we take time to pray, wait on God and listen until we hear His voice, we can expect God to first give us words of wisdom and consideration.

After that He will give us life changing words. They will be words that will consider the other person as much as we consider ourselves. These words will express respect for ourself as well as for the other person.

When our faith becomes our expectation, we can be sure that God will never deflate, shame or demote us. We will say with the psalmist, “Soul, hope thou in God, for I shall yet give Him praise and glory.”

SIXTEEN

Faith Comes by Hearing

Have you ever put your ear to the ground and listened for an approaching team of horses or an automobile? When all is quiet in a midnight country setting, it is amazing how far the ear can hear.

I remember doing this in the country as a little Amish girl when I wondered if my parents would soon be returning home after a trip to the neighbors or into town. Of course, the quietness of those isolated country roads made it easy to hear sound projected through the ground.

The quieter the night, the clearer was the sound. By patiently holding my ear to the ground, I knew when my parents were on the other side of the hill or down by the corner. The clip-clop sound of the horse’s hooves would have remained undiscovered if I had not taken time to listen carefully with my ear to the ground.

What Is Hearing?

Perhaps you have heard people prophesying in your circles and have wondered how they had the authority to say, “Thus says the Lord!” A person who claims to have the authority to say, “Thus says the Lord,” needs to be sure that he has spent quiet times in the presence of God until he has heard what God is saying. He has to be knowledgeable of God’s Word and His nature.

The Scripture found in Romans 10:17 tell us that faith comes by hearing the Word of God. I believe that the key word in this Scripture is “hearing.” What does it take to really hear?

Do you realize that for most of us it is much easier to talk than to listen? We miss out on big adventures in life because we fail to listen. Although our ears are designed by God for listening, we don’t use them and our other senses for listening as we ought. The hearing that we do with our ears is often surface level hearing.

If you’re a parent, you’ve probably discovered that your children are experts at surface level hearing. Like my dad would have said, “It goes in one ear and out the other!” There were no brain waves activated in between the ears that caused response to what was spoken. Our children aren’t the only ones who are “forgetful hearers.” Most of us, as adults, have areas of “selective hearing’ in our own lives.

James 1:25 gives us the promised outcome of listening and obeying. “But he who looks carefully into the faultless law, the [law] of liberty, and is faithful to it and perseveres in looking into it, being not a heedless listener who forgets but an active doer [who obeys], he shall be blessed in his doing (his life of obedience) (AB).

What James is describing is listening with the heart. Having the eyes of our understanding enlightened. In Ephesians one Paul records his prayer for the Ephesian Christians. In verse 18 he prays like this: “the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints.” The Amplified Bible says, “…the eyes of your heart flooded with light.”

Even though we often associate light with the sense of sight it also applies to listening with our spiritual ear. Romans 10:17 is actually telling us that faith comes to us as we listen to, pay attention to, receive and then respond to God’s sound command.

The House on the Rock Versus the House on the Sand

In Matthew 7:24-27 Jesus tells a parable of two men—I will call them brothers—who each built their house. This parable shows the difference between just hearing God’s Word and hearing His Word and then obeying it. These brothers both had the same resources but only one of them utilized the resources available to him. He was the one who listened to God’s Word and followed through in obedience to the command.

The first of the two brothers said, “I’m going to build a well-built house. By digging a deep foundation I’ll make sure that it will stand through the storms of life.” So he climbed to a higher point along the seashore and chose a place on solid rock. There, with pickaxe and crowbar, he broke rock until he could establish a secure foundation. After that he built his house.

In the meantime his younger brother was down on the sandy beach with a wonderful view of the sunny shore and never-ending waves. Easily he dug into the sandy earth, and without much sweat he soon had a home that many would covet. He had moved into his home and was well established by the time the first brother had poured his foundation.

The second brother had often laughed at the hard labor of the first brother, but the first had warned him against being sloppy with his work—hearing without doing.

One day as the two stood surveying their work, a sudden storm blew in across the sea. Both brothers scurried for the shelter of their homes. The rains came down in torrents and the flood waters lashed the beautiful sandy beaches with their fury. By the time the storm subsided there was debris everywhere. The first brother looked out his window only to see his brother’s house in shambles.

This, dear ones, is what happens to those who hear without obeying. Their house will not stand. Christ longs for us to realize that we have a sure foundation on which we are building. That foundation is established by listening to what God says with a heart that is responsively obedient.

We are not really listening to God and His Word if we are not responding to it. Real hearing gives way to action. Faith comes by hearing the Word of God and it can only be activated by actively hearing. We must listen responsively. We must read God’s Word with the intent to follow through with obedience to His commands.

Standing at Attention

One of our daughters had a real problem with responsive hearing when she was about three years old. I gave her commands but she ignored them as if she hadn’t heard a thing I’d said. Finally God led me to have her stand at attention and look into my face as I gave her instructions. This eye contact activated action on her part. She could no longer ignore the fact that she had heard me.

This put the responsibility of choice directly on her—would she obey or deliberately disobey? It took a lot of my time to patiently work with her, but it was worth the time that I, the parent, invested into her life. The lessons she’s learned now make her a wonderful mother as she patiently nurtures her curly haired son, Logan, and skillfully manages her daughter, Sierra, through her baby stages.

In the same way, God has invested His time, His Son’s life and His Word to make His message clearly understood. Our positive response to the Scriptures will enlarge our faith and bring us more understanding of His Word.

Hindrance to Our Hearing

The first things that keep us from hearing God’s Word with responsiveness are our unrepentant hearts, our unsurrendered souls and the pride we hold onto.

In order to unstop our ears we have to repent of our sins, our own shameful agendas and our rejection of Christ’s lordship. Repentance empties us of our self-will and makes room for the Word of God to take root and grow.

Most people have no idea what repentance is. It’s more than just saying, “I’m sorry,” so we don’t have to pay the penalty for being caught with our hand in the cookie jar. Repentance is a requirement for godliness. It denotes change of our heart’s condition. It not only causes us to abhor our past, but it turns us into a new direction. Repentance is an “about-face” action.

John the Baptist, the forerunner of Christ, boldly proclaimed the message of repentance. Jesus told the multitudes in Luke 13:3, 5 that unless they would repent they would perish. In the early church, repentance was a prerequisite to baptism. (See Acts 2:38.) All men were commanded to repent (Acts 17:30).

In Paul’s conversation with Agrippa in Acts 26:20 he explained that he was not disobedient to the call God had given him. In the last part of the verse he tells why he is preaching God’s Word; “…that they should repent and turn to God, and do works and live lives consistent with and worthy of their repentance” (AB).

In the first chapters of Revelation the churches are called to repentance so they will not suffer the wrath of God. This is how it is for us. Unless we repent, we will not hear what the Spirit is saying to the churches. In Revelation chapters 2 and 3 the Lord commanded those who have hearing ears, to hear. A retentive heart will loosen the earwax in our spiritual ears.

Faith Comes By Receiving Information From God

If our spiritual ears are stopped, we won’t hear what God’s Holy Spirit is trying to tell us. Without hearing, we will have no faith. Our objective is to have living faith, effective faith and growing faith.

It is always good for us to remember that faith is built on the information that we receive from God, which gives us a basis to act upon. This information which God gives enables us to know in advance what God is going to do in the future concerning a given situation.

When we have quieted ourselves in God’s presence and symbolically put our ears to the ground to listen for the voice of God, we will also know our course of action in order to fulfill His plan.

God is always speaking. His voice is in the wind as He orders the behind-the-scene details of every operation on earth. It is our duty to tune in to God and get His information that He has specifically designed for us to hear.

I heard the Lord command me to write about faith. As I have helped care for a husband who is terminally ill, I have been writing about steadfastly grounded faith even when the miracles we’ve prayed for haven’t manifested themselves. Faith doesn’t necessarily mean that we are going to get rid of our problems. But God entrusts us with problems beyond our natural ability to solve. He wants us to exercise our faith as we become overcomers.

If I would have heard God’s command without activating my faith, I’d be like a deaf person trying to communicate without the use of sign language. When repentance takes place, faith gives us a platform for reading and speaking God’s Word.

Over the years my faith has grown as I have been pressed into unpleasant circumstances and situations that were far beyond my control. Some of the unpleasant events have been generated by people who were close to me, but who made choices that didn’t promote a healthy relationship or shared vision.

For example; I learned how to be a careful driver through my experiences of riding with not-so-careful drivers. In fact, I have learned many of my positive responses to life through the negative situations I’ve experienced. These experiences were used of God to bring me to the end of myself. There I could put my ear to the ground and hear what God had to tell me.

As I utilize the tools of difficult situations, I am able to hear God give me specific directions. These directions give me the confidence I need to pursue a certain course of action. These instructions let me know what God’s intent is in the matter.

Focus is the key to hearing what God is saying to His church. My youngest brother gave me the following acronym for focus.

F follow

O one

C course

U until

S successful

Amos Borntreger © 2007 used by permission

In order to bring the fullness of this blessing to you, I press my ear to the ground to hear what the Spirit is saying. My prayer is that we will all hear God’s voice by moving away from the busy demands of life and turning to God. The quieter our hearts, the clearer will be God’s voice. Now is the time to hear what the Holy Spirit is saying to the church.

SEVENTEEN

Faith Works by Love

My dad was quite an inventor. He was always dreaming up new ideas of how to make life simpler. Every time I’d turn around he’d have a new idea—a new concept on his designer’s wheel.

There was a time in my childhood that he had big dreams of raising and cooking sorghum cane. He worked long hours to set up his inventions until he could drive through the field, cut the stalks of sorghum cane and run them through the cane press, leaving the crushed stalks laying in the field for fertilizer. He hauled only the raw juice from the fields for boiling into syrup.

By putting two transmissions into an old International one-ton truck, he could put both transmissions into reverse and slow his machine to the necessary speed. He worked with various cogwheels and pulleys. If the cogs weren’t all there or aligned correctly, the homemade tractor would go too fast to properly function.

The corn-picker head which he mounted onto his contraption cut and guided the cane stalks into the sorghum press. This press was run by hydraulic power. As you may well imagine, Dad spent many intense hours aligning each component until he obtained his desired results.

The same concepts of alignment must apply to our lives in order for us to receive the blessings promised to us through God’s Word. In order to make our faith effective, we have to line up our lives with Scriptural principals and concepts. One cogwheel will not function without a counterpart—another cogwheel or chain to interact with.

Faith Works By Love

Scriptures tell us that our lives must be in the right order so that our faith will become effective. We will live our lives in fractions without ever seeing the wholeness of our faith if we don’t find the needed common denominator (something shared or held in common). Galatians 5:6 informs us that “faith works by love.” James 2:20 tell us that “Faith without works is dead.”

Both of these Scriptures contain the words “faith” and “works.” Galatians gives us the cog by which faith must operate—love. James, on the other hand, tells us that the term “faith” is “dead” if it is not accompanied by “works.”

If our lives wind up in death’s junkyard, both our works and our faith will avail us nothing. To avoid this catastrophe of life we must allow “love” to become the main cog or the common denominator for our lives. A wheel turns around its hub. So faith works through “love.” Love must always be the driving force.

God Is Love

Do some deep thinking with me. I John 4:8 plainly states that “God is love.” Since every promise of Scripture is upheld by God, and because God is Love in every sense of the word, then we must also align every aspect of our lives with love.

First, we must see God through His own loving eyes and then we must see ourselves through this same love. We have to become the second transmission in our Heavenly Father’s plan to convey faith that’s generated by love. This aligning process takes much effort, but when love is activated, faith will work.

In order to get all these components to work we need to look deeper into the precepts of “God” and “Love.”

The intricateness of God declares that He loves Himself. Over and over throughout Scriptures He proclaims, “I am the Lord.” He boldly adds, “Beside me there is no other.” (See Deuteronomy 4:35; 6:4.)

God’s eyes were full of love when He created the earth. His heart was bursting with bigger than any one else’s affection as He molded Adam from the dust of the earth. He had spoken the rest of creation into being by the words of His mouth, but His great love drew Him to get His hands dirty for the sake of mankind. He breathed the breath of life into Adam—lip to lip!

What love was manifested by Love Himself!

Fondness for Adam and Eve’s offspring caused Him to deliver the children of Israel out of the slavery of the Egyptians. His love is manifested over and over throughout the Old Testament. He wrought miracles and delivered His people from their various enemies in the wilderness. He proved His love when He delivered the people of God from the oppression of Egypt’s Pharaoh.

The accounts of His love are countless in the Old Testament, and then we have the New Testament which is filled with love. In the New Testament God manifested His miraculous love to mankind through a brand new perspective. His love was magnificently displayed through the sending of His only begotten Son—a man full of grace and truth.

Love was poured out like liquid  from the heart of God and flowed through Christ by His anointed life. John 21:25 says that Christ did so many things that he supposed all the books in the world couldn’t contain everything He did! Wow! God is still doing marvelous miracles through His loving ways today.

God is Still Love Today

That same love still flows to all of humanity. No matter what the left wing is saying about “hate crimes” and doing through the destruction of human lives, God’s love is still manifested through the life of Jesus Christ. No news media will ever be able to alter what has already been accomplished through Christ’s death, burial and resurrection. Every word of love that God ever spoke to mankind is fulfilled through Jesus Christ.

Demeaning shows like The Book of Daniel or opposing books like The DaVinci Code may consume millions of dollars in production costs and promotional purposes, yet God’s love remains superior. Homosexual activists can blatantly flaunt their “coming out of the closet,” and it will not cause God to withdraw His love to the world. The destruction of one sixth of America’s population over the past decades through abortion is not influencing God to change His heart of love to a heart of hate.

Paul writes to us in the “love chapter” of the Bible, “Love is longsuffering and kind” (I Corinthians 13:4). God still loves us in spite of our transgressions and blatant sins; however, this doesn’t mean He’s not grieved by our opposition of His unquenchable love. There will come a time when the fullness of His love will be manifested through the destruction of those who reject His love. However, we are now living in our finest hour to manifest His love in the earth today.

Christ Was Moved by Compassion

Our Savior, Jesus Christ, was moved with compassion as He walked on the earth. The love in His heart activated His compassion, and this in turn promoted action.

The gospels list 11 times that Jesus was moved with compassion when He saw the sick, the hungry and the hopeless.

In Matthew 9:35-38 we have the account of Jesus entering the villages and the cities. He went into the synagogues where He preached the gospel of the kingdom and healed every kind of sickness that was among them. He saw the multitudes, weary and scattered like sheep with no shepherd.

The sights He saw stirred His compassionate heart. At this point He brought His disciples into the whole setting. “Look at these people. They are scattered like sheep without a shepherd. The fields are already ripe to be harvested, but there are far too few laborers to get the work done. I want you to feel the love I have for these. I want you to be moved with compassion so that you will pray for God to send harvesters into the fields of the world!”

It was Christ’s attitude of love that activated His heart of compassion which then brought forth the miracles of healing, feeding the multitudes and bringing deliverance. He has passed down that same commission to us.

Letting Love Rule Our Lives

I Corinthians 13 conveys to us the outstanding qualities of love. It tells us that love supersedes prophecies and remains after tongues have ceased. It is nobler than donations of food given for the hungry or any mountain-moving faith. Verses four through eight will give us concepts for daily and personal application of love to our lives. The following italicized verses are taken from the Amplified version.

4. “Love endures long and is patient and kind; love never is envious nor boils over with jealousy, is not boastful or vainglorious, does not display itself haughtily.”

Love has stick-ability even when others would offend it. It displays devotion during testing times and doesn’t envy those who seem to have things easier than it does. It never causes an emotional disaster because of boiling jealousy. Love doesn’t try to exalt itself pulling  on its Nikes, nor is it puffed up with haughtiness and self-importance.

5. “It is not conceited (arrogant and inflated with pride); it is not rude (unmannerly) and does not act unbecomingly. Love (God’s love in us) does not insist on its own rights or its own way, for it is not self-seeking; it is not touchy or fretful or resentful; it takes no account of the evil done to it [it pays no attention to a suffered wrong].”

Psalm 119:165 tells us that nothing will offend us if we love God’s law. This Old Testament Scripture is confirmed in the New Testament. This is a powerful verse that I have used many times to check my own heart. When I am offended by something I consider to be unjust, I know that my love for God and His law are lacking in my own life.

Do you wonder how love disallows offense? I believe it owns a white board with a good supply of markers. On the top of love’s white board is written “The Grace of God.” Every time an offense crosses love’s pathway, love chalks up a mark under God’s grace. Love walks away without ever remembering the whole ordeal,  knowing that God will take care of it. Since love is not self-seeking it can easily say, “Never mind, let the other person get the credit I deserve; God will find a way to give me what I need.”

6. “It does not rejoice at injustice and unrighteousness, but rejoices when right and truth prevail.”

Love puts itself into the shoes of her fellowman and doesn’t gloat when he suffers injustice or pain. It doesn’t keep score, but it does rejoice in truth.

7. “Love bears up under anything and everything that comes, is ever ready to believe the best of every person, its hopes are fadeless under all circumstances, and it endures everything [without weakening].”

Love is a strong load bearer. It knows that nothing will break its back. It understands that God will not allow it to be tempted above its ability to bear up. Even though injustices have been laid on its back, it is still willing to believe the best of anyone. Love may even pick up hitch-hikers along the way. Love sees no hopeless circumstances for her hope remains fadeless. Faith works by love, but love is also full of faith.

8. “Love never fails [never fades out or becomes obsolete or comes to an end]…”

God is never-ending! His love is never-ending and so our love must be never-ending. Because God’s love is dominant over any other godly characteristic it displays the heart-beat of God. Christians must make this the central theme of their lives.

In Matthew 22:37-40 Jesus tells His followers what the two greatest commandments are. The first one is to love God with all that they have—heart, mind and soul. Then He plainly tells them that they must love their neighbor just as they love themselves. He consummates this by explaining that all of God’s laws and His commandments hinge on these two commands.

Verse 13 tells us that the three things that remain are faith, hope and love. Again it plainly tells us that love has to be our common denominator or main cog, for it is the greatest of these three.

My husband is great with always checking over our vehicles and being sure the oil levels are up and fresh. This is what these two commandments remind me of. Before we head out into the journey of our day, we need to check our love-level. Love gives us better mileage for life’s journey than carrying offenses do. Love also greases all the cogs and wheels of our day causing it to be productive for the Lord.

EIGHTEEN

Faith Without Works is Dead

The state of poverty begins in our thinking. Our neediness can either lead us to the principles of sowing and reaping or into the dead-end of destitution. We can either choose to believe God for divine supply or look to self for a limited supply.

The level of poverty that I grew up with surpassed my shoeless feet and tattered long, black dresses. The pinch I lived with left me with the distressing fear of starvation. My impoverishment was rooted in the mentality of faithless hoarding (and I had very little to hoard).

If I had something good, I felt I needed to save it until it was on the verge of being spoiled or ruined. I used a nub of a pencil in order to save the new one and finished the school year with my new one mostly unused. My mentality was that the new object I had may be the only new one I’ll ever have.

I had a problem with Christ’s words in Mark 4:25. This Scripture told me,

“For whoever has, to him more will be given; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.”

What did I have to give away—nubbins and a frown-creased forehead? It wasn’t until I realized that the verse just prior to the one that troubled me contained my answer. It says, “…with the same measure you use, it will be measured to you…” It took me a long time to figure it out, but I finally understood that God’s measuring cups were labeled “generous” and “stingy.” “Generous” could be physically smaller than “stingy,” but its proportions from the heart far exceeded “stingy.”

I started realizing I had a charming smile that I usually kept tucked behind my poverty mentality. I had hugs and handshakes to give away. I had a genuine compassion and care for others.

It was then that I began to share—to plant, if you please—into the hearts of those around me. Sure it took faith to do the planting. My circumstances hadn’t changed, but my heart had, and eventually the harvest was forthcoming.

Faith Must Be Planted

Faith is the seed and our works are the harvest. Faith can be sown in many ways. Faith materializes through our confession. Faith bears fruit by the way we direct our lifestyle. A life lived by faith will automatically bear fruit.

Take a look with me at James 2:14-17: “What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him? If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you says to them, ‘Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,’ but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.”

This Scripture leads us to a subject that we would rather not address—death! Dying! Dead! It’s far too easy to read over this passage without realizing its requirements. We must bear fruit or our faith is dead—corpselike and devoid of life.

Dead! What does “dead” mean? Immediately my mind travels back to my early childhood where I experienced my first concepts of death.

I gathered more somber data one day when I heard the distinct clip-clop sound of a horse and buggy coming down our gravel road. We hadn’t had many Amish visitors since my dad had purchased a chainsaw, but this buggy did stop in and make a hasty call. The lady driving “the rig” didn’t dismount at my mother’s invitation. She hurriedly made her announcement and clicked the reigns onto the rump of her spirited black mare. I watched as she maneuvered her buggy around and onto the narrow gravel road. Within minutes she had disappeared over the hill, leaving only the echo of her horses’ hooves and my mother with a troubled expression on her face.

“What happened?” I pressed my mother for an answer.

Although my mother seemed distraught she answered my question.

Lizzie (real name withheld) was making hominy in her backyard. She made this in her large iron kettle that was suspended over a roaring fire. Using an oar-like paddle she stirred white corn into the brine made with lye and salt. As she stirred the mixture she got too close to the opening where sticks of dried wood burned to boil her matured corn. Before she realized what was happening, her ankle-length, dark dress she wore was engulfed in flames. Though she tried to roll in the grass she fought a losing battle.

The story was horrifying to me. I replayed the imaginative scene over and over in my mind; “Poor Lizzie, poor, poor Lizzie!” Fear, stunned silence and terror invaded my world. It only got worse as our family dressed in black, harnessed the horse and drove the mile and a half to the farm where the funeral was being conducted.

The heat of the day was oppressive as women stood around outside the house weeping, sobbing and wailing. As soon as one group of women quieted down others would start mourning loudly. These women were truly grieving over the loss of their loved one. It was as if they had no hope, no assurance or peace.

They finally blew their noses into their homemade hankies and made their way into the house. Some sat on backless wooden benches that were set in the yard to accommodate the large crowd. No songs were sung. Sniffles and sobs could be heard as the ministers began their long and mournful monologues. The messages seemed to be motivated by fear and hopelessness.

Somehow I related Lizzie’s death by fire to the eternal burning of hell. It troubled and depressed me. It taunted and plagued me. This was the first encounter with death that I remember. It is this type of death—inactive, inoperative, death, a death which is without hope—that we should apply to this Scripture in James.

Though this is a drastic example, it is worth giving attention to. Do we want to slide through life, professing some sort of faith, but finding out that we were fruitless in the end?

I don’t think so! We can be fruitful no matter if we minister in a business world setting or in a pulpit ministry.

What is Faith with Works?

When James told us that faith without works is dead, what kind of works was he looking for? Are these the kind of works that can only be manifested by the supernatural power of God, or are they the kind of works that we, as humans, would be able to do with our own natural resources and abilities?

In order to answer these questions we can easily study the Scriptures in James 2:14-26. The apostle takes us back to the account of Abraham’s faith found in Genesis 22. When God spoke to Abraham to sacrifice his son, this man of God responded through faith. He took his son, Isaac, to a mountain in Moriah to offer him as a sacrifice on the altar.

God stopped Abraham from slaying Isaac when He saw his willingness to walk in obedience to His command. This obedient response was counted as the required work to make Abraham’s faith effective.

In verse 25 James also cites Rahab as an example of having effective faith-filled works. We find her amazing story in Joshua 2. Rahab, a harlot, responded to a crisis situation by faith and saved her household when Israel came into the land of Canaan to conquer it.

Rahab had a home on the wall of Jericho and hid the two spies that Joshua had sent to spy out the land. Rahab, along with the rest of the inhabitants of Jericho, knew that God was going to give their city into the hands of His people. Through faith, Rahab hid the spies, received a promise from them, and secured their escape by letting them down the outside of the wall with a scarlet rope.

The works that she did, through faith, saved her and her whole household. When the walls of Jericho fell, Rahab’s house remained intact and her family was saved. In Hebrews 11:31 Rahab is listed with other people of great faith.

When we see a need and have the ability to meet that need, even when it stretches our faith, we are fulfilling the need to manifest the required works. Matthew 25:40 says:

“And the king will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’”

We often think of Christmas as a time for giving. We stock food pantries, support Angel Tree efforts, support Samaritan’s Purse projects and many other things. We shouldn’t wait for Christmas to do these things, but we can make a difference in our world by utilizing opportunities that surround us.

James points out the fact that Abraham is called “a friend of God” because he offered his son, Isaac, in faith and with works. Even Rahab, the harlot (whom we might easily condemn for her loose living) was justified because she hid the men of God. Her works were driven by faith and became her justification.

How Can We Add Works to Our Faith?

In Matthew 7:21 Jesus explained that it’s not the person that calls him “Lord, Lord” who inherits the kingdom of Heaven, but rather those who do the Heavenly Father’s will.

Jesus knew the Father’s will because He spent time in prayer. This point of contact was where His faith was fueled. Christ lived His life by the information He was given by His Father. This is a sweet love affair where the Father divulged his heart to the Son, and the Son manifested the Father’s will on the earth.

“Okay,” you ask, “how will I add works to my faith?”

The bottom line is this: faith is motivated by love. If we’re having difficulty adding works to our faith, then we need to check our heart for love. Are we are compassionately motivated? Who are we living for? Do we care about others? Do we live for self or is our life motivated by love for God?

As we follow the footsteps of Jesus, He supplies us with a vast assortment of opportunities to manifest our faith.

Maybe we can make a phone call for the person in a stalled vehicle. Perhaps we can bring in our elderly neighbor’s newspaper, baby sit for a friend while she runs an errand, take a piece of cake to a shut-in, pick up a piece of paper in the hallway or comb the hair of someone in the hospital or nursing home.

There is no reason for any of us to go about and declare that we are Christians while still failing to manifest it by our works. If you polish shoes, polish them until they shine. If you clean toilets, scrub them until all the rust is removed. If you wash dishes, rake lawns, repair roof or fell timber, do it diligently so that God will reward you for your faith.

Some of our works may seem large while others may go unnoticed. Works done through faith, from a heart of love, have no need of being classified as large or small. They are all the same size in the heart of God.

It is time for us to break through the poverty mentality that hinders us from sowing. There is really no reason for our professed faith to end up in the death-heap! Jesus came that we might have abundant life. He will manifest that through us by our faith living—manifesting the works of God’s love.

NINETEEN

Tried Faith

I had physically braced myself for a rough landing as our plane circled the San Antonio airport to receive its signal for landing in the fog. The density of the fog dismayed me, but our pilot seemed undaunted by the fact that the city lights could not be seen until after the wheels were lowered for landing.

As far as I was concerned, however, this was a crash landing! Emotionally I was devastated and felt that my purpose of life was cut off. The wheels on my heart’s jet liner had failed to come down during our landing. My inner resources had flat-bellied onto the runway of my future. The fog in my mind remained even after we had departed the airport.

The never-ending fog—the unresolved issues—the unexpected journey homeward from the mission field—was all jumbled up in my mind. My emotional crash landing was worse than a physical plane crash. In that case I would have died and not have had to deal with all the issues of my unsurrendered soul.

Which way were we to go from here? Where was familiarity? Where were the friends I thought I had? What would I tell people who asked about our sudden return from the mission field?

Feeling unable to bare my heart left me with a rift in the friendships I hoped to reestablish. People would understand if we’d left for safety reasons. It would all make an exciting story. But this was not the reason for our return. We were back to work on family relationships.

My husband, Russell, and I both tended to overwork ourselves. This, coupled with the great demands in this third world country, left our marriage in a crisis. We lacked the intimacy that every married couple is meant to have. Now our whole family was back from the Philippines and my future seemed obstructed by a dense emotional fog.

When would my emotional fog clear? My days of desperation turned into weeks and then into months before I realized my faith was being tested for a purpose. The passing of time proved that our rooted faith carried us through this tumultuous time in our lives. The grace of being rooted in the Word of God sustained me during the painful process of rebuilding our family relationships.

The flood of tears I cried onto our cheap carpet eventually dried as I understood that my faith was being processed by tests. I finally realized I was responsible to clear away my own emotional debris that hung like cobwebs in my mind. I had the Word of God and all the tools I needed for an overcoming life. Blaming others was no longer an option.

Tried Faith is Like Tree-Ripened Fruit

Have you ever noticed that much of our fresh produce is tasteless? One of the most common reasons for this is because it is picked before it had the opportunity to ripen. The most succulent fruit is tree-ripened or vine-ripened. To pick it before the flavor has developed puts it on the market in its tasteless state.

Unripe fruit and untried faith fall into the same categories. Faith that has not been tried or tested will not have the refreshing effects that tried and triumphant faith has. Faith can only become triumphant when it has passed through tests of life and has remained steadfast.

It may surprise some of you when I say that our faith has to be tested before it becomes effective. One of the premium truths about faith is that it has to be tested. Our faith ripens—it becomes capable of producing—after it is put to the test. It matures through the process of transformation by wisely responding to harsh situations in life.

Hebrews 11 lists many great people in the Old Testament whose faith was tested.

Abel’s faith was tested and found acceptable to God. Though he died through the testing of his faith, that faith still speaks to us today. It still encourages us to be faithful.

Enoch was another person who walked out his faith. His life so pleased the Lord that God took him before he ever died. Before he was taken to be with God, he had the testimony that he pleased the Lord.

We probably all know the story of Noah and the ark. God tested him by giving him information on how to build the big ship that would withstand the world’s greatest flood. At the time of God’s command, the world had never known what rainfall was. Can you imagine how much taunting Noah’s family experienced during the 120 years it took to build the ark? In the end Noah’s tested faith became his triumphant faith and kept his family safe.

God asked Abraham to leave his home, step out by faith, and travel to a country He would bring him to. Abraham was tested in many ways, yet he walked in obedience without troubling his mind with questions of how and why. (See Romans 4:13-22.)

When God promised Abraham a son, both his faith and Sarah’s faith were tested. He waited until he was a hundred years old before he received his promised son. Because of Sarah’s faith she was able to give birth when she was ninety years old.

As if the test of waiting for the birth of his son wasn’t enough, God required Abraham to offer his son as a sacrifice. As this man of faith moved in obedience, considering his son as good as dead, he received him back to life. God stopped Abraham from slaying his son and provided a ram for the sacrifice that was needed. Again, tested faith became victorious faith.

Isaac, in turn, spoke God’s blessings onto his sons. These blessings continued to be passed down through Jacob to Joseph.

Although Joseph was sold into Egypt by his jealous brothers, he governed his life by faith. Later, during a severe famine, he nurtured his family with ready supply. In the end he prophesied that the Israelites would be delivered from Egypt’s bondage. By faith he requested that his bones would be buried in the land of God’s promise.

Moses’ mother’s faith was tested when she gave birth to the deliverer of Israel. She hid Moses in the bulrushes of the Nile and then nursed him, by faith, that he would become their deliverer.

Moses refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter and suffered oppression as his faith was being tested. At the age of eighty, after herding sheep on the back side of the desert for forty years, he finally led a multitude of God’s people to their promised inheritance.

The list goes on of people like Samuel, Rahab, Daniel and the three Hebrews who were miraculously delivered from the fiery furnace. These all held onto their faith as it was tested in various ways. They all came out victoriously.

David Renewed His Mind Through Faith

First Samuel 27 recounts a few of David’s heart-breaking events. David had narrowly escaped Saul and his army as he hid himself in caves and rocks. After many close calls David decided to flee to the land of the Philistines. It was during his stay that Achish, king of the Philistines, invited David and his men to go to war with him against Israel. However, the princes of the Philistines were unwilling to have this crafty David in their army. In the end David and his men were turned back and returned to their home in Ziklag.

Upon their return, David encountered his own crash landing! Ziklag was ascending into heaven through billows of smoke. As his army approached the city, they found that a band of Amalekites had invaded his town and had captured all the wives and children of the men who were with him. The city lay in ruins and all he had ever fought for was taken into captivity.

What a test of David’s faith! This was one of the lowest times of his life and he wept bitterly. I Samuel 30:6 tells us that after his men talked of stoning him, he encouraged himself in the Lord. He had made the Lord his God and knew where to turn in times of trouble.

As a shepherd boy, David’s faith had been tried by the invasion of a lion and a bear which he had killed. Later his faith was tested by Goliath and the Philistine army. Once again God had brought him victory as he overcame the giant. Now he had these resources to draw from to strengthen his faith further. He followed God’s instructions to reclaim what was lost by the Amalekites’ invasion. He recovered all!

The words, “David encouraged himself in the LORD,” need to become roots for our faith. I can support my faith by remembering the times I experienced God’s goodness when I was in the middle of being misunderstood and rejected. I have roots of faith that sustain me when I am facing the hardest times in my life.

Christ’s Faith Was Tested

As you read the following Scriptures take notice of how the sufferings of Jesus led to His resurrection and finally to His triumph.

I Peter 1:3-5: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.”

The apostle Peter ties Christ’s triumph over the grave to our own triumph. Read verse seven with me. “that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”

The purer the gold, the more we long for it. It is the refining process which we so often despise, that purifies our lives. Peter assures us that the process of refinement is actually more precious than the gold itself. I have a hard time bringing the unsurrendered areas of my soul into agreement with this truth. My tests are going to be more valuable than any amount of pure gold.

Why is the Testing of my Faith Precious?

What right does Peter have in telling the world that tested faith is more precious than gold? Is this some sort of abstract thinking? Is he designing a “mind over matter” thought pattern? Why does he place this much value on life’s tests?

The last part of I Peter 1:7 gives us the answers to these questions. The apostle’s profound insight assures us that these tests are to lead us into praises to the Lord. Every trial is to bring praise, honor and glory to God and our Lord Jesus Christ!

In verses eight and nine we realize that our faith in Christ, whom we have not seen, causes us to rejoice with joy unspeakable. The Amplified Bible says that the genuineness of our faith causes us to, “believe in Him and exult and thrill with inexpressible and glorious (triumphant, heavenly) joy.”

God proves His unchanging characteristics through the trials He allows us to face. As we learn of His nature and sustaining grace through the tests we face, we will find ourselves being changed. We will learn how to sing with tears washing our faces. We will understand the value of rough times so that we will avail ourselves of God’s promises.

As our faith is tested, our goal needs to be a God-glorifying response. Since God is bigger than our agonies, we can also make Him bigger than the atrocities inside of us.

TWENTY

Forty Stripes less One

Have you ever felt that a whipping would take care of the transgression of your heart? Before I understood the powerful work that Jesus accomplished on the cross, I often did. The guilt that I carried, even from self-made condemnation, often offered me this false solution.

I think this concept was a carryover from my childhood. It seemed the switch cut from our long-enduring hickory tree was applied as a remedy for any deemed wrongs we, as children, committed. The offense could have been caused by spilled milk, uncompleted chores, or even by slipping an English word into our Pennsylvania Dutch dialect. Yes, that hickory stick was meant to be a cure all—even for our humanity!

Now I know that a hickory stick applied to my backside would only have sufficed as self-justification. It would not have evicted guilt, worry, self-hatred and dejection from my life. I now know Him whose sacrifice meets all my eternal needs. The grace, or graciousness, that I was unable to produce on my own is now mine. It is mine as the result of my new birth in Christ Jesus. His whipping is the only whipping that will take away any of our guilt and sin.

The world saw the film entitled The Passion, but only a small percent of those who saw it really knew what all the beating and bloodiness was for. We saw those lashes applied to the Master-become-Servant’s back. Even the tribes in third world countries had access to Gibson’s movie. There it was right before our eyes—displayed on vast movie screens all across the world! Even though we saw the blood-splattered enactment of Christ’s sufferings, few made a personal application from it.

I believe our Lord counted those stripes, labeling each of them as an antidote for the sins, needs and controversies of the world’s humanity. Each lash of the whip Jesus received is significant to meet any needs we will ever face in life.

Listed below are some of the resolves to our human and personal needs. The Scriptures are to be appropriated for our specific needs. As you read these profound truths, study them. Release your faith to take them as your preeminent right. Embrace Christ’s purchased gift. He paid with His life’s blood so that we may all possess every promise He has given to us. The Holy Spirit urges us to utilize these virtues and make God bigger than the needs we face.

Establish Christ’s passions in your heart so these truths won’t be in vain!

1. Advocacy: I John 2:1, “My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.”

2. Eternal Life: John 17:1, 2, “Jesus spoke these words, lifted up His eyes to Heaven, and said: “Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You, as You have given Him authority over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as You have given Him.”

3. Faithfulness of God: II Thessalonians 3:3, “But the Lord is faithful, who will establish you, and guard you from the evil one.”

4. Forgiveness: Colossians 1:13, 14, “He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.”

5. Freedom From Guilt: Romans 8:1, “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.”

6. Fruitfulness: John 15:5, “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.”

7. Healing: I Peter 2:24, “who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes you were healed.”

8. Heavenly Weapons: Ephesians 6:14-17, “Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God;”

9. Holiness: Hebrews 12:9, 10, “Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid them respect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live? For they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, but He for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness.”

10. Holy Spirit: Luke 24:49, “Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high.”

11. Hope: Romans 5:2, 3, “through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope.”

12. Humility: I Peter 5:5, “Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for ‘God resists the proud But gives grace to the humble.’”

13. Grace: John 1:15, 16, “John testified about Him and cried out, This was He of Whom I said, He Who comes after me has priority over me…For out of His fullness (abundance) we have all received [all had a share and we were all supplied with] one grace after another and spiritual blessing upon spiritual blessing and even favor upon favor and gift [heaped] upon gift.” (AB).

14. Joy: Galatians 5:22, 23, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.”

15. Justice: Revelation 15:3, 4, “They sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying ‘Great and marvelous are Your works,Lord God Almighty! Just and true are Your ways, O King of the saints! Who shall not fear You, O Lord, and glorify Your name? For You alone are holy.For all nations shall come and worship before You, For Your judgments have been manifested.’”

16. King of Kings: I Timothy 6:13-16, “I urge you in the sight of God who gives life to all things…that you keep this commandment without spot, blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ’s appearing, which He will manifest in His own time, He who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see, to whom be honor and everlasting power. Amen.”

17. Knowledge: II Peter 3:18, “… grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ…”

18. Liberty: James 1:25, “But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.”

19. Love: I John 4:9, “In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him.”

20. Mercy: Isaiah 54:10, “For the mountains shall depart And the hills be removed, But my kindness shall not depart from you, Nor shall My covenant of peace be removed,” Says the Lord, who has mercy on you.”

21. New Identity: II Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”

22. Pardon: Isaiah 44:22, “I have blotted out, like a thick cloud, your transgressions, And like a cloud, your sins. Return to Me, for I have redeemed you.”

23. Peace: Romans 5:1, “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

24. Power: Acts 1:8, “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

25. Redemption: Revelation 5:9, “And they sang a new song, saying: ‘You are worthy to take the scroll, And to open its seals; For You were slain, And have redeemed us to God by Your blood, Out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation.’”

26. Release Through Christ: Romans 8:2, “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.”

27. Righteousness: II Corinthians 5:21, “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”

28. Safety: Psalm 4:8, “I will both lie down in peace, and sleep; For You alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety.”

29. Salvation: Acts 4:12, “Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”

30. Sanctification: John 17:17, “Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth.”

31. Spiritual Authority: II Corinthians 10:3-6, “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled.”

32. Success: Joshua 1:8, “This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.”

33. Supply: II Corinthians 9:7-8, “So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work.”

34. Teacher: John 14:25, 26, “These things I have spoken to you while being present with you. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.”

35. Triumph: II Corinthians 2:14, “Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place.”

36. Truth: John 14:6, “Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.’”

37. Understanding: Job 12:13, “With Him are wisdom and strength, He has counsel and understanding.”

38. Victory: I Corinthians 15:56, 57, “The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

39. Wisdom: I Corinthians 1:30, “But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God—and righteousness and sanctification and redemption.”

When we talk about “extreme makeover,” this would be it! These are some of the truths that are fortified for us by Christ’s sufferings! It behooves us to think often of the things Christ endured so that we can ascertain this freedom. It would have been impossible for us to have obtained all these blessings on our own. In contrast to our own striving, this shows the manifestation and reality of God’s incomprehensible love to each of us.

The stripes Jesus endured become our only redemptive hope. They were, are and must be our unmovable and eternal hope! They break the barriers of impossibility and lead us to our eternal resurrection!

TWENTY ONE

Behind the Scenes

Hide-and-seek was a favorite game of my childhood. I often hid in my cherished hiding place in the crawl space under our house. It was great fun for me to watch pitter-pattering bare feet run right in front of me without being discovered! I had the best hiding place around which neither my cousins nor siblings ever seemed to discover. There in the semi-dark, behind the lattice that separated me from the worn path, I could remain hidden and the last one in. It excited me to watch my world from behind the scenes, just off the worn path, close enough that I could have caught the heel of the other players yet I remained undisclosed.

Many Things Are Done Behind the Scenes

We could cite many pros and cons of things done behind the scenes. Deception is a behind the scenes plot. Envy and bitterness often arrange their deadly traps behind the scenes, but I really want to focus on positive behind the scenes truths in this chapter.

Many things take place in the heavenly realm that we are unaware of. God has His plans in perfect order for the fulfillment of all prophecies in the Bible, yet our understanding of all this remains vague and unperceived. The following illustration is given merely to make the point that many things occur behind the scenes. We often benefit from an event without realizing the sweat, and sometimes blood, that is poured into it.

Each Easter our small town church in northwestern Wisconsin produces a pageant which proclaims the message of God’s salvation. Its magnitude is heralded throughout the state and beyond because of all the “behind the scenes” activities.

The director writes the script and pours hours into rehearsals. Sound, cameras and lighting are installed in strategic places. Stages transform the platform with built in stone walls, seashore scenes, the cross and a tomb that will be empty in the end. Seating is rearranged, costumes are sown and dancers and singers invest time and energy to pull the scenes together.

Prayer warriors are called and counselors are trained. The church staff produces flyers and instigates other forms of promotion. Makeup crews aptly apply makeup anywhere that it’s needed for the hundred or more actors that produce the reenactment of Christ’s death and resurrection.

When the doors open, crowds press in for a seat. Then it happens—the lights are dimmed and the music starts! People sit spell-bound as they hear, feel and see the love of God enacted through this hour-and-a-half production. During the altar call, souls are saved! One saved soul makes all the “behind the scenes” work worthwhile in eternity; even when the audience doesn’t realize the work involved.

I realize this is a very weak example when we try to comprehend how our bigger-than-defeat God fulfills His bigger-than-impossible Word. Even with our space programs, man has never managed to produce one star and hang it in space. Although we have all sorts of “save-the-earth” programs, no one in the human race has ever produced a tree out of “nothing.” Science has come a long way, but it is nothing compared to God. Creation declares the supremacy of God!

When the people of Babel built their tower to reach into heaven so they could invade God’s territory, God proved their best efforts as futile. He confused their language. Imagine waking up one morning and not being able to understand what your neighbor is saying!

God proved His bigger-than-fire ability when he delivered the three Hebrews out of the fiery furnace. He confused the worshippers of Baal when He sent fire from heaven and consumed Elisha’s burnt offering, plus the stone altar and all the water that had been poured over everything!

God sent the flood in Noah’s day and it seemed the earth would never survive, but amazingly, God dried up the water and set a remarkable rainbow in the sky. With that colorful arch He gave Noah the promise that He would never destroy the earth’s inhabitants with a flood again. What beautiful proof that He is in charge, even after the sinfulness of man had driven Him to destroy His own creation.

Do you remember when Lazarus was sick and Jesus had received word of his sickness? What did Jesus do? He lingered longer in the place where He was, purposely allowing death to come to Lazarus, so that He might manifest the power of God. When Jesus is shown weeping in John 11:35, it is not because He thought the situation was impossible. The reason Jesus wept was because of the unbelief in hearts of Lazarus’ friends and family.

Behind-the-Scenes- Power Manifested Through Us

God has given each of us a bigger-than-human-ability assignment. We move forward by faith, thinking we’re on the right track, but suddenly a stumbling block appears in our pathway. We may be targeted by someone who dislikes us, by a natural disaster or just by the changes life always brings. Health problems, financial disaster or perhaps the loss of a loved one are all challenges to our faith.

What happens when we are sailing toward our destination and suddenly we find that our road has detoured? Do we feel agitated when the flagman calls us to a screeching halt? What is the outcome of our desperate search for the roadmap we’re sure we’d packed, but which is out of our immediate sight? What now?

Is this a time to turn loose of our faith? Will the pinch we’re in cause us to doubt our God-given dream? Will we quit or will we continue to walk, knowing that God is a God of “behind the scene” miracles?

We must not assume that just because the answer is not obvious, that it isn’t forthcoming. He pushes the pawns on his chess board even when we think we’re playing them on our board. Although we know that Satan comes to steal, kill and destroy, we also know that Jesus came that we might have abundant life (John 10:10).

As we’re looking for the manifestation of the obvious, God is working behind the scenes to fulfill His Word, and is arranging the circumstances so He can fulfill His promises to us.

God wants to manifest His grace and power though us. If we never had a need that was greater than we are, we would never need a God who is greater than our need. God’s superiority is found in the hidden and eternal things.

Unless we have our spiritual ears open and our eye sight given to us by God’s Holy Spirit, we will have no idea of what is being done in the spiritual realm. We have to latch onto God’s spiritual truths in order for Him to manifest Himself in our circumstances. Bible examples verify this truth.

The Life of Joseph

Joseph’s story is amazing with profound truths of God’s working behind the scenes. If we read only the written words, it seems that all sorts of injustices were done to this young man, but digging deeper helps us realize that God was always working in unobvious ways.

Beginning with Genesis 12 let’s look at Joseph’s background. By the time he comes on the scene in chapter 37 we know he’s Daddy’s favorite. God gave him visitations that foretold his future and an exalted end. Jacob, his father, had given him a coat of distinct identification. Because of its bright colors everyone recognized him as his father’s favorite, and understood that its significance set him over his brothers.

The older brothers, filled with envy, sought occasion to rid themselves of this dreamer. They mercilessly ignored his pleading when they sold him as an Egyptian slave. His coat was used as false evidences that Jacob’s favorite son was devoured by a wild beast.

Well, it looks like Joseph has just lost the chance to be over his brothers as his dreams had foretold. The dreams he thought God had given must have been a result of too much goat’s milk porridge! He’s bound and heading into Egypt against his will or plans. Can the three hundred mile trip, false accusations, the bondage of slavery, and his imprisonment really be paving his road to fulfill his destiny?

Is God still there—somewhere behind the scenes?

I’ll let you see what is really happening. Since we are humans we see things in the natural—on the surface, but reality takes place in the spiritual realm. Looking at things through the truths of God’s Word lets us view them from a higher perspective. I’ll pull Heaven’s curtain back for just a tiny peek!

Look, there’s our Lord! He’s got his worshipping angels gathered all around him.

“Have you been watching Joe down there doing the duties assigned to a slave?” God asks the angels. “Yes,” they all agree. “He’s impressive!”

God continues, “Joe’s been through some rough stuff. The trip into Egypt was a low blow. Serving as a slave was devastating at first. Being falsely accused of having an affair with Potiphar’s wife insulted his exemplary conduct and now he is serving Me in prison. He has chosen to trust me in each of the events that have befallen him. I am preparing him so I can promote him in the king’s palace.”

As we read the story, we find that the 22 years of testing brought Joseph full circle. The young man experienced the fulfillment of all God’s promises to him. His dreams were fulfilled in a way that he could never have imagined in his early life.

Now I ask you, how could this happen?

The answer is simple—GOD! God, so much bigger than Joe’s difficulties, was working behind the scenes! Even when Joe couldn’t envision it, God saw it. When he lost track of time, God punched the time clock. When he was at his wits end, even there God arranged the encounters.

Let’s Meet Job

When I read the book of Job I’m always amazed at how the writer, of what is considered to be the oldest book in the Bible, knew all the things he wrote about. But somehow he knew that Satan attended God’s staff meetings.

Upon God’s challenge to Satan, “What do you think about my servant, Job?” Satan accused God of keeping a hedge of protection around him.

God, willing to manifest His own glory, said, “Alright, Satan, I will remove a portion of the guard and give you access to this man’s possessions, but you may not touch the man in any way.”

Satan went merrily on his way and destroyed Job’s seven sons and three daughters. He also annihilated seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen, five hundred female donkeys and most of Job’s servants. He had all this done by the next staff meeting.

God, knowing full well what had befallen Job, asked Satan if he’s considered His servant Job. Again Satan accused God of keeping him hedged in. This time God lifted the covering yet further. He said, “You may touch his flesh, just save his life.”

Wow, Satan was having the time of his life! The fool that he is didn’t realize that when God is for someone, no one can be against him or her. Job didn’t curse God during his months of being covered with boils and dealing with a faithless wife. He didn’t let go of his faith even when his friends accused him of being full of sin.

In the end God restored and multiplied back to Job all things that Satan had destroyed. Job ended up with fourteen thousand sheep and six thousand female donkeys. His sons and daughters were restored to him. His daughters Jemima, Kezia and Kerenhappuch were the most beautiful young ladies in the entire land.

You ask, “How can God do this?” The answer is simple to God. We make it complicated by looking at the seen rather than the unseen. God really is at work behind the scenes on behalf of all His children.

Ultimately God will remain the God who is, and who always has been working behind the scenes.

TWENTY TWO

Growing Strong Faith

Have you ever had someone break into your home and rob you? I hope not, but if you have, how did you feel?

I suppose that it would just be natural that we all feel violated when this type of thing happens. I’ve lived through several actual robberies and am in the middle of what seems like one on a daily basis.

My husband is young but we have had an uninvited guest—or should I say—we’ve had a robber of health and retirement dreams enter our lives?

Various resources and studies on Parkinson’s disease let us know that this disease often causes tremors, flexion and extension of the arms, rotating of the forearm, rigidity of the muscles, shuffling and slowness of the gait, plus many other symptoms. There is a segment of the population with Parkinson’s disease where the PD becomes so severe and progressive that it’s relentless. For the care giver it presents special challenges and is a continuous path that could lead to frustration, anger and strong emotions.

Since my husband is already entering the fifth or final stage of this disease, how will I handle this? I am writing about great faith. I am speaking of unshakable faith. I am speaking of faith that will produce miracles. How can I speak these messages and still live with a precious man who is suffering in such a violent way? How do I dare speak what I understand Scriptures to say when I live with this robber in my house?

Jesus taught us in John ten that the thief comes to steal, kill and to destroy, but in contrast He declares that He has come to bring us abundant life. How can the thief be present in the same life where there is abundant life?

Contentment is a Key

The apostle Paul writes to the Philippian church concerning his contentment. In verse ten of chapter four he expresses his gratitude for their consideration of his welfare. He explains that he wasn’t speaking of being in want because he had learned contentment.

In verse 11 he points out that he’s not disturbed even if he is needy. He’s not disquieted when he finds that funds have run low and that he’s cold or hungry. He confidently states that he is truly content whether he’s abounding or if it’s a time of abasement for him.

David expresses a similar outlook in the beloved Shepherd’s Psalm. The Psalmist declares in Psalm 23:5 that God prepares him a table in the presence of his enemies. This man, whose life was lived after the heart of God, did not seem to be distressed that he had to sit down and eat right in the face of his enemies. If God spreads us a table in the wilderness, He expects us to sit down, relax and enjoy the meal.

This concept is clearly seen in Numbers 11:6 and 10. In verse 6 the children of Israel complained about God’s provision of manna. “All that we ever eat is this manna. This dries up our very soul.” These people wept for the cucumbers, the fish, the leeks, the onions, the garlic and the melons of Egypt when they had angels’ food to eat. (See Psalm 78:25.)

In verse ten we see that God’s anger was stirred up against the murmurers. They had refused to sit down and be grateful for what they had. They pouted rather than praised. They complained rather that lived in contentment. They spread a discontented spirit rather than a spirit of harmony and peace.

God’s Sufficient Grace

There is another Scripture that I use many times in my life. These are the words of the great apostle Paul who seemed invincible in his faith. In II Corinthians 12 he talks of the conflict that he is having because of “the thorn in his flesh.” There has been much speculation as to what that thorn was, but all I can say is what Scripture tells us. It says the thorn the apostle spoke of was “the messenger of Satan to buffet (rack or harass) me” (verse 7). He says that he had already besought the Lord three times to take it away from him, but the only answer he received was, “My grace is sufficient for you.”

Don’t you just love it when God tells you that—My grace is sufficient—when we are flailing with our arms and screaming at the top of our lungs? “Get me out of here, get me out of here!”

We’re like the two year old throwing a tantrum in his play pen! Does that youngster believe that her parents know what is best for her? Probably not! How about us? What do I do in the midst of my testing? What do I do when I watch my dear husband meticulously shuffle through the hallway of our apartment?

Is he suffering because my prayers have been faithless? Am I preaching one thing but living another life? Only God knows that. I do not know all the soul-junk and garbage that is still choking out the total fruitfulness of faith in my life. However, there is one thing I do know, and that is God’s faithfulness!

Here’s how it works! I buy a wheelchair for Russell. Satan (the accuser of the brethren) comes up to me and tries to taunt me by saying, “You do not believe God or you would never have bought that wheelchair.” How can I handle that?

One of my most powerful weapons against such accusations is found in II Timothy 2:13, “If we are faithless [do not believe and are untrue to Him], He remains true (faithful to His Word and His righteous character), for He cannot deny Himself” (AB).

I do not have to waste my time beating myself over the head for the money I just spent because I was not believing God’s true and healing promises. I don’t have to waste my time and energy debating with Satan. He’s the father of lies, the deceiver, and a great big looser! On the other hand, I have God and He is faithful! His Word is the truth which He has spoken and He cannot deny it!

My job is not to defend my actions or even my attitudes, but it is to turn to the living God and look into His face. It is to recall all His mercies which are new every morning. My duty is to stay focused so that He can keep me in perfect peace. As quickly as I realize what is happening, I turn to this Scripture in my mind and quote it to Satan.

I may have made many foolish decisions. I may have acted out in faithless ways. I may have faltered as I make day to day provision for my loved one as he deals with this invasive disease. I will not argue and I will not justify myself, but I will declare that God’s Word is true and His grace sufficient to carry me onward.

When I cry with tears streaming down my cheeks, I will also lift up my voice and sing praise to the God who has redeemed me. I will fortify myself with singing and worship. I will hum, I will whistle and I will praise!

You may be asking, “Why all this worship when you’re facing tragedy?” The answer is simple. It grows my faith. It helps me keep focused. It strengthens me from day to day and hour to hour. It is my minute-to-minute lifeboat. It is what I grasp a hold of when I would otherwise drown in the circumstances that surround me.

Comfort from Brother Peter

The apostle Peter comes to my rescue again when I need further reinforcement. He kindly and lovingly lays his hand on my shoulder, drawing me close to him. “Sis, don’t think that what you are passing through is a strange thing. I will remind you again that these trials will purify the gold of God’s presence in you. Remember that we’ve already learned that your process of refinement is more valuable than the rarest gold.”

I yield to his loving embrace as I answer, “Thanks, Brother, for the reminder.” As I respond to his loving reminder of things I already knew, I feel my faith take root and my horizons expanding.

This helps me awaken each morning to face my challenges and uninvited changes. I still know that God can heal my husband if He so chooses and I also know that He will give me grace for each day.

More Tools to Use in Growing Faith

There are many people who will not understand us when we start walking in radical faith. They will question our song when we have a crisis screaming into our face. They may speculate that we have a few loose screws in our brains. That’s because a walk of faith is a spiritual aspect of life that the natural, or carnal mind, cannot understand.

Faith leads me to quote Scripture verses as I go about my business or just throughout my day. I spontaneously speak Scriptures to situations confronting me. Other times when the sunrise is breathtaking, I may quote Psalm 19:1, “The heavens declare the glory of God.”

I recall a time when we were fellowshipping with other missionaries in the Philippines. I just automatically quoted Scriptures. Some in the group didn’t appreciate it and pointed out that I was quoting Scriptures again.

Another incident I recall was when helping in a home I softly sang or quietly whistled while going about my business. It was not until later that I learned this song of faith was so offensive to my spiritual brother and sister that it caused me to lose my job.

Some of the things I appropriate in building my faith are quoting the Word of God and singing the song that the Lord has given me. People don’t always like it when we just hold out on faith and make our confessions of faith. It shouldn’t surprise us if we gather a bit of adverse attention by what some consider as being radical faith. In fact, it should encourage us!

Radical faith is a fearless faith that emboldens us like a lion. He isn’t distressed and roars in the face of scary circumstances. Radical faith is fearless faith.

God has not ordained that we will just automatically be people of great faith without taking the steps it takes to go from little faith to great or radical faith. By availing ourselves of every opportunity that comes our way, our faith will grow. As we become enlightened to the truth that God wants each adverse situation to build our faith, we will step up to being a watchman on the wall, a prayer warrior or perhaps a fearless evangelist. This faith will lead us to fulfill God’s call in our lives. Tests are meant to prepare us for graduation.

It is important to always remember that the greater the tests, the more faith we will need throughout our course of life and ministries.

“Take [with me] your share of the hardships and suffering [which you are called to endure] as a good (first-class) soldier of Christ Jesus” II Timothy 2:3 (AB).

Great faith steps in and believes God for every need we have. Sometimes that faith is revealed in an instantaneous miracle and at other times it is grace given daily to continue through the hard times.

As we continue in God’s Word, we never have to allow Satan to come in and steal our joy. If we don’t allow him to take away our joy, he will be unable to pillage anything else from us.

TWENTY THREE

You are Healed

I was always sick in my childhood. If any of us children got the measles, chicken pox or the flu, I always had it worse than the rest of our clan. When the mumps came around I had to stay in bed the longest. The spring that brought the whooping cough to our home left me with a whole summer of whooping from the inflammation. My siblings were always up and running about while I still lingered in bed focusing on my misery.

Since I had a sick mentality of being sick all the time, I kept my physical body in a weakened condition. I had no concept of God’s truth that brings healing as well as salvation. I even lacked exercising the assets that a sunny disposition would have added to my health.

Looking Around Me Today

If I were to think of the former me in the light of today’s world, I would tell you that not much has changed. If we were to walk up to two friends and listen in to their conversation, what do you think they would be talking about? I’ll give you two guesses. Yes, it could be the weather, but it’s more likely to be a conversation about their aches and pains.

Have you noticed how many people are catching colds, getting diabetes or dealing with some other serious or not-so-serious health issues?

I suppose we shouldn’t be surprised to hear about all these maladies in a world that is unchurched or non-Christian, but shouldn’t it set off an alarm in our spirit when this is also the main subject on the tongues of Christians?

If the flu or colds are going around, what is the usual conclusion that we draw concerning our own health? Don’t we just kind of expect that we will catch it too if we get close to it? Don’t we buy into the concepts that we need our annual physicals complete with mammograms, bone density scans and other invasive tests? I am convinced that we have picked up the same mentality concerning our health issues as the world has.

Have you noticed how many pharmaceutical drug commercials you listen to during the evening news? Readily available on-line facts tell us that direct-to-consumer pharmaceutical advertising (DTCA) is now one of the largest influences to get us in to see our doctor. Our small twitches of discomfort coupled with DTCA easily cause us to focus on our ailments.

It isn’t long until we’re on our way to the doctor’s office. He in turn either gives us a prescription drug or sends us to a specialist. Either way, a long journey of addictions or adverse side effects to the medication ensues.

I ask you, what does all this negative stimuli do to a person’s thinking? Is it any wonder that America is a physically sick society? Our sickness begins in the mind and is often advanced by our poor eating habits.

Why is it that believers are not breaking this curse of sickness? A few good questions to ask ourselves are:

Am I spending more time in reading and studying God’s Word than watching TV?

Can I quote more Scriptures than I can quote television commercials?

Do I examine my physical discomforts in the light of God’s Word and through prayer before darting to my doctor?

As I step into the realm of exposing our faithless self-centeredness, I am challenged and convicted in my spirit because of my areas of faithlessness. I’m convinced that there could be several reasons why we’re not healed. It could be because we lack spiritual understanding. It could also be that we are afraid and hope for a quick fix. We are often weak in our confession of faith.

I pray that you and I will grow in our faith as we read and study these Biblical concepts together.

Be it Unto You According to Your Faith

Matthew 9:27-30 records the story of two blind men who following Jesus cry out for mercy. The Lord asked them if they thought He could heal them and they assured Him that they did believe. Jesus said to them, “according to your faith, let it be to you,” and their eyes were opened!

I believe that Jesus still asks the same questions of His people in the world today; “Do you believe that I can heal you?” Regardless of our answer to Him, He will say to us, “Let it be done according to your faith.”

Faith-builders From Scriptures

These Scriptures speak prophetically of the forthcoming healer, the works that Jesus did on earth, and lead us through the work Christ finished for our healing.

Isaiah 58:7-9 describes the fast that God has chosen and the promises that we can expect to receive. It states in part:

“Is it not to share your bread with the hungry…?

Then your light shall break forth like the morning,

Your healing shall spring forth speedily…

Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer;

You shall cry, and He will say, ‘Here I am.’”

Jeremiah 33:6 “Behold, I will bring it health and healing; I will heal them and reveal to them the abundance of peace and truth.”

Malachi 4:2 “But to you who fear My name The Son of Righteousness shall arise With healing in His wings; And you shall go out And grow fat like stall-fed calves.”

Isaiah 53:4-5 “Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed.”

Matthew 4:23 “And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people.”

1 Peter 2:24 “who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes you were healed.”

You Must See Yourself as Healed

I want us to take special notice of I Peter 2:24. This verse is nothing less than Biblical truth. This is Scripture! Isaiah prophesied in chapter 53 that the stripes of Jesus will provide our healing, but Peter changed the tenses in this verse from “are” to “were.” By the time Peter wrote this, Jesus had already been made the sacrifice for our wholeness. Because of this, God wants us to view ourselves as healed!

Listen to what the apostle Paul wrote in Colossians 1:27: “To them (God’s saints) God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory” (emphasis mine).

Try to comprehend what this means: “Christ in us!” Christ, the Son of the living God, who never got sick, is living inside us! Now let’s add another dimension to this mystery. Acts 17:28 tells us that we live, move and have our being in Christ. First, He is in us, and now we see that we are in Him! These concepts hold powerful authority that exceeds the human way of thinking.

I Corinthians 2:14 teaches us that the natural man thinks that spiritual things are foolishness. This is because the natural mind doesn’t comprehend spiritual concepts. A transformed mind is a must in God’s kingdom. We must see ourselves as having the mind of Christ (See verse 16b).

According to I Peter 2:24 our healing is completely consummated, finished and accomplished. When Jesus arose from the dead, He gave to every man, woman and child the privilege to receive wholeness for their body, soul and spirit. What a gift!

Making it Graphic

Here you are, a mere human being, but you have Christ inside of you and you are in Him. Christ is whole. He is healed. He is wellness. He is life in abundance. He is strong and healthy. His dead body has been quickened by life. Christ has no more wounds; He only owns scars which declare our healing.

Now knowing that Christ is in you, visualize yourself as wholly healthy. At this point, if we are still seeing ourselves sick, we are disclaiming Christ’s finished work on Calvary. This is not a guilt trip. This is a challenge to build up our faith. See yourself in the light of growing faith, not as having failed faith.

Start to refocus on Jesus and His Word. See yourself as Christ sees you. Do you think Christ, the mansion builder, would reside in a run-down shack? He is the healer of the world, and He resides inside of us!

Since Christ is healed, we are healed! To complete this picture, we must respect His sovereignty and not lose faith when He guides us through the process of tested faith. Since this life on earth is not the end of us, God also has new and transformed bodies awaiting us in Heaven. The healing Christ, who is in us, also said, “My grace is sufficient for you.” (Remember II Corinthians 12:9.)

Regardless of the pathway of healing God chooses for us, we can confess that according to God’s promises we are already healed. We stand at our heart’s door, looking out, not to ask for our healing, but to dispossess the infirmities and attacks of the enemy. We do not stand at our door begging for healing to come. We already have healing inside of us.

See yourself through the eyes of Christ’s compassion for you. Don’t let His suffering for you be in vain. Appropriate, through faith, the work that He finished by the bloody stripes laid on His back for you.

Find your own Scriptures of healing and wellness. For example, Romans 8:11 assures us that our bodies are quickened through Christ’s resurrection. Isaiah 33:24 says, “And the inhabitant will not say, ‘I am sick.’” In Exodus 15:26 the Lord introduces Himself as the God who heals us. Psalm 103:3 tells us that God “heals all your diseases.”

With humility, in the fear of God, according to His wisdom and the appropriation of His loving Word, see yourself as healed. If your arteries are clogged, see the vein in your little toe that’s not clogged. See your blood flowing through that area of your body—pushing back plaque and contamination.

Focus on the healthy parts of your body, and rejoice in God for that portion of health. Call for all the other categories to come into alignment with the health and life that is manifested in you. If your back hurts, direct your thoughts to the portion that doesn’t hurt. Use that point of reference, according to your spiritual authority in Christ Jesus, to dispel the pain and injury from your body.

Start with an inch of your body that is functioning well and use that to resist the thief who comes to steal, kill and destroy. Go through the areas of your body that oppose I Peter 2:24 and steadfastly resist that attack on your physical body. Release the grip that sickness has had on you. Let it go. Refuse to accept its symptoms. Confess God’s Word.

Wait in expectancy for your healing. I have had an area in my body that needed healing and I held out for fifteen years for its manifestation. I thank God that today I can say, I am healed and I do not have to deal with the complication and side effects from medication.

Don’t be afraid of sickness. Be wise in your conduct and eating habits, but know that God has ordained greater measures of health for us than most of us are experiencing. Pray for the sick without being afraid of their germs. Jesus touched the lepers.

Although I live with a husband who is severely disabled, I am no longer the little girl who expects to be sick the longest, or expects my husband to die from the disease he deals with. I do not know the ultimate outcome of my situation, but I declare these Scriptures with humility and ultimate reverence for God’s sovereignty. I also speak this message with balance, knowing that I cannot force Him to do anything.

I know that God has given us doctors, nurses and surgeons with special healing ministries. I understand that God uses these in His time and place. I am not telling you not to use wisdom in utilizing their services, but I am challenging you to make God bigger than your expectations from the medical professionals and pharmaceutical drugs. Confess what God declares and allow Him to be Lord in His own way.

TWENTY FOUR

Concepts from Romans Eight

“Ugh! All these weeds! I’ll never get them all pulled!” I had lowered my roly-poly-shaped body onto the anemic soil that made up our large garden. Cabbages, tomatoes, sweet corn, carrots, green beans, cucumbers, beets and onions all pled for deliverance from those pesky weeds.

I learned early in life to detect the difference between the first new blades of a tomato plant from that of similar looking weeds. I was taught how to pull weeds from their roots by grasping them close to the ground and then pulling. I learned the skill of hoeing close to the tender green beans without chopping them in two.

I knew that our lives depended on the food we produced and canned for the days ahead. The amount of food and the quality of our production was directly related to the way we kept the weeds from invading our garden. Though I looked forward to the wonderful vegetable soup my mother always canned, weeding never became my favorite job.

In this chapter we will step into Romans eight and see the contrast between a life lived after the flesh and one lived after the Spirit of God. As it is imperative to keep the weeds out of our vegetable garden, so it is also eminent to live our lives after the Spirit of God and not after the rudiments of the flesh.

No Condemnation

How many of us live with vague feelings of worthlessness, emotions that blatantly accuse us or constant urges to hate ourselves? We experience these susceptibilities because there are still areas of our lives which we live by the dictates of the flesh. We need to take an in depth look at what is actually to be ours when we live our lives after the law of the Spirit of God.

Verse one of Romans 8 starts out with a weedless garden and shows us a portion of its production. The first promise in this chapter is that there is “no condemnation” to the person who is in Christ Jesus!

Consider what a difference “No condemnation” would make in our emotional outlook if we were baptized in its understanding.

No condemnation!

It flows from the sweet love of our heavenly Father.

It is revealed to us through Christ’s love on the cross.

It empowers us with His resurrection and ascension.

It fortifies us by the authority of the Holy Ghost.

No condemnation!

There are no verdicts found against us.

Our ransom is paid with no guilt implied.

Our chains of sin are forever severed.

We’re acquitted with forgiveness completely secured.

No condemnation!

God’s Word in us is made perfect.

We’re called to live a victorious life in His Spirit.

We’re totally liberated from the bondages of the past.

Our conscience is cleansed and uncontaminated.

No condemnation!

We no longer have an “I am a victim” frame of mind.

We’re released from issues of our unresolved past.

We’re unyoked from the limits of an unsurrendered soul.

We’re released from self-hatred or inferior complexes.

No condemnation!

There’s no domination from a life lived after the flesh.

We’re transformed, converted and radically different.

We’re sanctified, made holy, anointed with glory.

We’re triumphant in worship—exalting our God

No condemnation!

This revelation produces a heart that’s rejoicing.

This is a building block in Christ’s church’s foundation.

His people rise up in a freedom uncomprehendible.

With no condemnation, God’s peace floods our soul.

You may still be asking, “How can that be? According to Psalm 51:5 I thought we were all born under sin and shaped in iniquity?” Romans 7:25 gives us the answer. The writer of this epistle paints a picture of this conflict. He says that with his mind he is serving the law of God even though he is weak and sinful in his flesh.

Romans eight clearly contrasts a life lived for self or one lived according to Scripture. No one would argue the difference between the productions from a weedy garden or a weedless garden. In the same manner, the life lived after the Spirit will produce desirable and abundance of life-giving fruit. Whereas the life lived after the flesh will wind up with great loss and eternal death.

Freedom From the Law of Sin and Death

In case some are wondering what a life lived after the flesh is, I would like for us to read how the apostle John capsulized this concept in I John 2:16. The Amplified Bible puts it this way: “For all that is in the world –the lust of the flesh [cravings for sensual gratification] and the lust of the eyes [greedy longings of the mind] and the pride of life [assurance in one’s own resources or in the stability of earthly things]…” These are the weeds we must extract from our lives in order to reap the full benefit of the Spirit filled life.

Romans 8:2 shows us what empowers us to weed out our earthly lusts. It says, “For the law of the Spirit of life [which is] in Christ Jesus [the law of our new being] has freed me from the law of sin and death” (AB).

Romans 8:13 tells us that if we live after or according to the flesh we will die. However, the second part of the verse tells us that if we put to death our old man—our mortal, carnal nature—we shall live. We have every privilege to choose life and overcome death—the eternal separation from God.

Previous words spoken by Jesus in John 6:63 paint a precise contrast between the Spirit of God and the life lived after the flesh: “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.”

Isn’t it amazing to realize the Spirit of life becomes effective through the anointed Words of Christ? This is the same life that God breathed into Adam’s nostrils when He formed man into an eternal being. They are the Spirit Words that Christ spoke when He called Lazarus out of the tomb. It is also the same law of resurrection that compelled Jesus to come out of the grave. This Spirit of life will eventually change our mortal bodies into immortality.

Contrasts of Life in the Flesh and Life in the Spirit

This Spirit of life in Christ Jesus supersedes the law of sin. It is bigger than the law of death. It is more powerful than the grave. It focuses on the eternalness of our situations. Verses 5-13 contrasts the life of the flesh and one lived after the Spirit of God.

The life lived after the flesh gratifies the flesh while the Spirit life seeks to gratify the Holy Spirit. The flesh is carnally minded, but the person who lives a life after the Spirit is spiritually minded. The next verse makes the contrast more defined. It compares the difference to life and peace with death.

The carnal mind is an enemy of God because it is impossible for it to be subject to Him. An unsubmissive heart can never please God. Verse nine assures us that we are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit. God’s Spirit lives in us and makes us acceptable to God. We enjoy the security of belonging to God while those in sin are not God’s.

Verse ten is note worthy. “But if Christ lives in you, [then although] your [natural] body is dead by reason of sin and guilt, the spirit is alive because of [the] righteousness [that He imputes to you]” (AB).

Verse 11 promises that we get our short lived perishable bodies quickened and restored to life. The carnal man does not have this assurance.

Sin demands payment of the flesh, but the Spirit life liberates us from that debt. Try to imagine the debt of sin connected to your account in heaven, as being completely paid. The flesh has no way to pay for sin and ends in death; while in contrast we mortify the deeds of the body and live. (See verse 13.)

Understanding and Delighting in Our Inheritance

Verse 14 leads us away from the contrast of life and death—the weedy or weedless garden, if you please. It propels us into a spiritual journey of conquest and triumph.

Since I can only touch the surface of the magnificent insight of the next 25 verses, I urge you, the reader, to read this section of Scripture over and over.

Start by seeing our Heavenly Father as being our adoptive parent, and us, as being His children. Can you imagine being an heir with Christ? Exciting as this is, it also means that we are required to suffer with Christ in order to share His glory.

The Spirit of God within us groans for the process of our bodies’ complete redemption. We await this transformation with patience. God empowers us by His Holy Spirit and carries us through our weaknesses to a hope of the unseen. (See verse 25.) He makes intercessions for us in accordance with the harmony of God’s will.

Verse 28 affirms God’s ability, His power and wisdom to turn everything around to our good if we are called by Him and respond to Him in love. Everything is all-inclusive—the injustices, the inner conflicts, the discouragements and every other element that affects our lives.

The realization that God works everything together for our good helps us to live a balanced life. During a conflict it helps us make appeals with humility and relinquish the outcome to God. When we face natural disasters or sicknesses, we have the promise that God’s ability will bring Him glory.

With this profound realization, I say, let every unresolved conflict lie dead at the feet of the truth God has declared. To the unyielding soul, I urge a complete surrender to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. By sanctifying God as Lord over our controversies we can take our hand off a situation and trust God with the outcome.

No Outside Force Separates From God’s Love

Verses 31-35a are enlightening as we read them in the Message Bible’s contemporary language.

“So, what do you think? With God on our side like this, how can we lose? If God doesn’t hesitate to put everything on the line for us, embracing our condition and exposing himself to the worst by sending his own Son, is there anything else he wouldn’t gladly and freely do for us? And who would tangle with God by messing with one of God’s chosen? Who would dare even to point a finger? The One who died for us—who was raised to life for us!—is in the presence of God at this very moment sticking up for us. Do you think anyone is going to be able to drive a wedge between us and Christ’s love for us? There is no way!”

Another way of asking the last question is to ask: “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?” Because we are more than conquerors through Christ Jesus, we know that no tribulation, no distress, no persecution, no famine, no nakedness, no peril or sword can separate us from this God-love! There are no principalities or powers that can sever this love. There is no distance in lengths, widths, heights or depths that can cut us from this love! No angels or any impending thing has the power to overcome this love we have in our heavenly Father.

Are you having difficulty with appropriating God’s love? Check your heart for spiritual weeds—unforgiveness, blame, fear, grudge, murmuring, anger, envy, pride or any other hindrance. By repenting and asking God for His forgiveness, He will help you grasp them by the roots and pull them out of your heart.

TWENTY FIVE

The Redemption of Time

One of the dogs I remember from my childhood was a blonde and white colored mutt named Fido. Fido was agile and readily spotted black snakes and blue racers on our sixty-six acre Missouri farm. He barked and barked into the face of the snake until my family heard him. All it took was some coaching from my mother for Fido to whip the life out of that unwanted reptile.

We gathered around as Fido pounced on the angry slithering serpent. Without fail, Fido grabbed the snake right behind its head and started shaking it back and forth so vigorously that it turned into a blur. The more we said “sic-em” to the dog the harder he shook the snake. Finally he dropped the limp form onto the ground and wagged his tail proudly.

Why do I tell a story like this?

Fido is like our faith has to be—active, tenacious, and aggressive! In order for us to overcome the snakes of our past we have to shake them off by faith. Passivity will never annihilate wasted emotions of the past and redeem the time wasted. It takes tenacity to do that.

Focused aggression is ‘a must’ for making faith bigger than unbelief’s lies. To keep our faith active we must be like the runner who presses himself to win a marathon. He can’t wimp out when his muscles ache, and neither can we!

If we become disheartened in our pursuit of God, it will only take our misinterpretation of one spoken word to discourage us. One negative thought impacted by repetition or a fact blown out of proportion can cause years of delay in a person’s purposed pursuit of life.

One of the things that hindered me was my preoccupation with thoughts of hell. On stormy days, as winds raged, I tried to hide from those storms in some secluded place. Crouching alone in an out-of-the-way corner my thoughts raced tumultuously until my heart rate accelerated. I envisioned myself falling, head over heels—into hell. I tumbled through the smoke of other’s torment and the flames of my own making. I heard screams of terror and shrieks of pain. Gasping for breath, I inhaled thick smoke that stung my eyes and finally blinded me completely. I fell and fell until the flames tossed me upward only to drop me again.

These evil episodes were monitored by fear and led me to my bed of depression and sickness! ‘If only I could find an end to eternity,’ I cried inwardly without daring to disclose my fear to anyone else.

One thing that has helped me overcome the pains of my past, is knowing that God’s redemptive power can turn my presumed fate into praise and honor. You and I must never view ourselves as a failure or our past as a waste.

Jesus Christ has already invalidated any authority that those negative situations can have on us today. As Fido extinguished the life of our invaders, so we must exercise faith to extirpate, exterminate, and obliterate all the oppressive powers of our negative past. Knowing that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love Him and are called by Him, gives us enough ‘sic-em’ power to avail ourselves of His redemptive promises.

True Worship Occupies Space in the Redemption of Time

We know that according to Psalm 22:3 God lives in and inhabits the praises of His people, but there is also a new dimension to this worship aspect.

Worship also occupies space. Not only does God occupy the space that our worship provides for Him, but worship first penetrates space and then it becomes an occupant of that space. The expressed gratitude of the heart becomes an invader of space that our past’s conflicts have claimed. It then possesses that space. As we would maintain our own homes, so we maintain the praises of God continually. We live in the praises of God.

Consider all the places penetrated by true worship—places where it resides.

Pure praise and true worship from the heart occupies space in the natural realm—the realm where our voice is heard.

Worship occupies the space where the negative elements of the past used to lurk.

It occupies space in the heavenly realm, because God marks those praises that we offer to him.

Praise occupies space in our own minds and in our hearts.

It occupies the space of effort. This effort is the space that it takes to form and speak words.

Praise occupies space in the realm of time. Every moment that is occupied by adoration for God cannot be inhabited by anything else.

True worship can penetrate and then occupy the space in our bodies that sicknesses try to occupy. Focused praise and worship will dethrone sickness.

These praises also occupy the space that the unsurrendered soul tries to claim.

True worship will not share its space with fear or anxiety.

Uncontaminated worship occupies space in the realm of spiritual darkness.

Focused praise can pierce the areas of our lives that have not been totally exposed to the light of God.

Praise occupies space, not only in our own bodies, our abode, our time, but it occupies space in the mind of the Lord. He takes note of our worship.

It occupies space in eternity—holding its ground eternally.

This praise is not dependent on how beautifully we sing, but it is founded on the condition of our hearts. The purity, the holiness, and the transparency in our praise are what make our praises effective for the redemption of time.

Another Tool for Redeeming Time

Naturally, I regret the years of wasted strength, happiness and youth, but I know that by God’s help I can redeem the time. Now every wasted emotion must become the foundation for my spiritual house. The utilization of the negative force in my past gives me a firm groundwork on which to build precepts and godly principles.

It is exciting to know that no negative emotion from our past is ever wasted unless we fail to learn the lesson taught by it. Realizing that each negative experience provides us a lesson to learn, gives me grounds to use past upheavals for solid ground. We now have the true Avenger, God, on our side. He said in Romans 12:19-21, “…Vengeance is mine, I will repay…Therefore

‘If your enemy is hungry, feed him;If he is thirsty, give him a drink; For in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head.Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.’”

This amazing Scripture gives me an outline for the redemption of what seemed to be wasted time. It could seem that the subjects change abruptly from God being the Avenger to the things which we are to do. In actuality verses 20 and 21 are only a continuation of God’s power to avenge, by using us as redeemers. We do not do this by fighting each other, but by serving one another.

We are the manifestation of God in the world. We are His lights in darkness. We are the ones to create a peaceful environment in our chaotic workplace. We are the extension of God’s avenging arm to those lost in their sin. God uses our day by day ministry to our enemies as a link to His avenging power.

Proverbs 15:1 tells us that a soft answer turns away wrath, and that harsh words stir up anger.

God’s goal for our enemies is not to condemn them and send them to hell, but His love is bigger than His yearning to condemn. He says in II Peter 3:9, “the Lord…is longsuffering toward us, not willing than any should perish but that all should come to repentance.”

In John 3:17 He reinforces this concept. “For God did not send His son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.”

Our human instinct is to annihilate our enemies by assaulting them with whatever means we have available. Love is more powerful than hatred. God used the force of love to bring redemption to the earth. When we see the destitute and naked, we are to clothe them, not to hope that they will freeze in the cold of winter.

In the above Scripture from Romans 12, God introduces Himself as the Avenger. Immediately He commands us to feed our enemies if they’re hungry. He expects us to instantaneously extend His manifested love to them. Our primary response should be to have a glass of pure water ready to give to the thirsty, even if they’re enemies.

This bigger-than-ordinary love paves the way for us to redeem the wasted time of the past. I have learned this lesson in our marriage. The times I’ve felt misunderstood by my husband are the times that I need to find something nice to do for him. Fixing his favorite meal and setting the table with china and candlelight became an excellent bridge-builder. It became a direct avenger of wasted and negative emotions.

Learning From Paul’s Example

The utilization of time’s redemption is empowered by our release from the emotional attachments of our past. Paul, the persecutor of the early Christians, is an example of redemption of time.

Philippians 3:13, 14 teaches us that this great man’s ability to advance through seeming impossibilities was realized because he forgot his restrictive past. He released himself from negative mindsets and old thought patterns that once enslaved him. He denounced the cherished crowns of praise bestowed on him for his dedication and achievements. He let it all go so that he might be counted worthy of Christ’s calling.

Any of us who fail to learn the lessons taught by adverse circumstances will need to retake God’s class on “Redemption of Time.” However, by understanding God’s plan for His children, we need not be those who are held back. We can advance into more of God’s refining love and by faith embrace our future.

We must allow time to work in our favor by making our faith more effective than unlearned lessons of our past. Faith doesn’t give us an option to fail. Faith allows us to appropriate the worth of every pain, trial or test we have ever encountered.

The promises of God, when activated by faith, prove their redemptive dominance over our negative past. They are more powerful than our death and hell mentality.

Facts That Mark My Progress

Since I have learned, and since I am still learning, that the redemption of time is a gift God gives His children, I want to give glory to God by pointing out some of the places I’ve been to and what His grace has brought to me.

Because of my childhood and all that it entails, I know that just one word of wisdom or praise could have annihilated many of the self-curses of my youth. I realize that I wasted a lot of energy and emotions as I pondered my lost state; however, God’s grace has surpassed what man could have done for me. I testify to that today.

For my hopeless state in the past, I now have words of hope to impart to others.

For my lost condition before my encounter with Christ, I now have a message of salvation to share.

In place of my fear of hell, I now understand enough about heaven that I can dispense its glorious message to others.

Rather than being sick from worry, I have the God-given authority to convey a life of faith to those who are fretful.

For oppression I now know the Liberator and have been given grace to encourage others.

Rather than continuing in my depressed state I now have wholeness and justification to allocate to the oppressed.

Because of God’s grace, and our response through faith, we can reflect backward and thank God for the adversities in our past lives. Join me in using the past to spur us forward in exalting God for our present blessings and our promised future.

TWENTY SIX

Let Faith be Enough

Our shabby, weather beaten barn of my childhood was a focal point of various activities. My brothers turned its steep tin roof into a sliding board on one occasion. On frosty mornings the cows emitted warmth from their 1,200 pound bodies that helped make the place cozy. The barn’s late nights, lighted by kerosene lanterns, saw the birth of calves, lambs and piglets. There our sheep nursed their young and the rooster crowed out through the opened barn door.

A vertical built-in ladder reached into the haymow where bales of hay were stored to feed our cattle. Part of our chores consisted of climbing up the ladder to throw down the hay. On occasions my dad commanded me to jump from the loft into his capable arms.

Imagine this little tyke looking down from that awesome height. My fear of turning loose of the top of the ladder kept me glued to my spot.

“Awe, come on, you can do it. Just jump!” Dad would say.

With all the nerve I could muster I let go of my grip on the rung and dropped downward, downward—only to be intercepted by our dad’s strong arms. I was unhurt and safe after I finally generated the courage to make the jump!

Why was this leap so difficult?

A whole family of ‘what if’ questions chased each other through my mind. What if my dad blinked his eyes and he didn’t see me in time? What if he wasn’t strong enough to catch me? What if I would get hurt? What if my long dress would catch on a nail and I would hang myself?

It was not until I had proven Dad’s strong arms that I was able to jump into them with confidence. The testing of them was the proof of them. The proving of them gave me the courage for a second jump.

Seeking Signs Rather Than Walking By Faith

In Matthew 16:1-4 the Pharisees and Sadducees tried to reduce Jesus to please them by asking Him for signs. Jesus, being free to do His father’s will, makes an astounding statement when he says, “A wicked and adulterous generation seeks after a sign.”

Jesus, who went about doing good deeds, healing the sick, opening eyes of the blind, and even raising the dead, now condemns sign seekers? Why was this?

We can find our answer in John 14:10 where Christ tells us that the words He speaks are the manifestation of His Father’s works. Christ sought only to please His Father in Heaven. He did no signs to prove anything about Himself, but He humbly sought to glorify God.

As I awoke the other morning I was saying, “What can I do for You today. Lord, what shall it be?”

God answered me in three powerful words, “Walk in faith.”

Sign seeking will not help us walk in faith. In order for us to walk in faith, our faith must first be tested and proven. It may not manifest itself by signs and miracles like we would desire, but the proving of faith gives us a full portion and brings glory to God.

The Proving Process Isn’t Easy

Doesn’t our flesh cringe when we live by faith without the manifestation of signs? We like it better when we can boast of an assortment of miracles credited to our account.

To prove faith we have to live it, consume mental meals consisting of God’s Word, and exercise ourselves in that faith even when it seems to be elusive. It is to confess God’s Words when circumstances scream their opposition into our faces. The process of proving faith can be time consuming. God will be God and He is sovereign! He will answer in His way and at His time. He wants us to learn that our sufficiency is in Him even if His answer is not immediate or if it arrives wrapped in a strange package.

Have you noticed how much easier it is to walk in humility when we must appropriate God’s grace for our ‘thorns in the flesh?’ Unless we are extremely careful we will allow pride to enter our hearts when we see God grant us an immediate miracle after we’ve prayed.

Today’s wicked and perverse generation seeks after the supernatural world of signs, witchcraft and magic. By doing this they eliminate the only legal entrance into the supernatural realm, which is Jesus Christ. We must purge our attitudes and understand the foundation for our faith before we try to access the spiritual realm. It is extremely important that we realize that only the riven flesh of Jesus Christ gives us entrance into the supernatural realm of faith.

Do you feel you’ve been at the same place too long and you can’t let faith be enough to see you through a certain test you face?

Don’t despair when it takes a long time for the manifestation of faith in your life. If you are praying for a loved one to be saved, don’t walk away in discouragement, rather stand firm on the promises of God’s Word. The time of waiting, standing on God’s Word, memorizing Scriptures, reciting God’s promises back to Him and letting your own life become changed will prove your faith steadfast.

Proving faith until we live by it is not a process that we readily embrace, but it will lead us to a life of triumph. We are used to living by sight—the things we can see. Yes, God has the ability, He does and He will do miracles. To make miracles manifest themselves is not our job. Our job is to be so “God-centered” that we will walk in faith while waiting for the manifestation of miracles.

As our faith becomes proven we will be able to walk in peace even when the world is crying out for peace. Proven faith will not hesitate to let go and jump when the Heavenly Father commands us to.

Tempering Faith

Since proven faith is tempered faith, I am reminded of my dad’s blacksmith days. To shoe a horse he heated the shoe in his large, coal-heated forge until the horseshoe was glowing with heat. He placed the shoe on the anvil and pounded it into the size and shape he wanted. After shaping it, he reheated it to red-hot rouge and immediately plunged it into a tub of cold water.

The hot iron fairly screamed as the transition from blazing hot to cold was made! No matter what its protest, that horseshoe was now a piece of tempered iron—solid and serviceable. In the same way our faith has to be tempered. It is heated in the fire of testing and plunged into cold water of challenge so that it will become strong enough to withstand the forces of evil.

Paul Makes the Realm of Faith His Real World

How transparent the apostle Paul is! In Philippians 3:7, 8 he discloses his desires, longings and goals.

“But whatever former things I had that might have been gains to me, I have come to consider as [one combined] loss for Christ’s sake.

“Yes, furthermore, I count everything as loss compared to the possession of the priceless privilege (The overwhelming preciousness, the surpassing worth, and supreme advantage) of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord and of progressively becoming more deeply and intimately acquainted with Him [of perceiving and recognizing and understanding Him more fully and clearly]. For His sake I have lost everything and consider it all to be mere rubbish (refuse, dregs), in order that I may win (gain) Christ (the Anointed On” (AB).

In Philippians 4:11-13 this mature apostle further challenges our faith. He has just expressed his gratitude to the Philippians for sending him physical sustenance. Now he says,

“Not that I am implying that I was in any personal want, for I have learned how to be content (satisfied to the point where I am not disturbed or disquieted) in whatever state I am.

“I know how to be abased and live humbly in straitened circumstances, and I know also how to enjoy plenty and live in abundance. I have learned in any and all circumstances the secret of facing every situation, whether well-fed or going hungry, having a sufficiency and enough to spare or going without and being in want.

“I have strength for all things in Christ Who empowers me [I am ready for anything and equal to anything through Him Who infuses inner strength into me: I am self-sufficient in Christ’s sufficiency]” (AB).

Paul shared the heartbeat of Christ—doing all he did for the glory of God. Though he had been educated, he now declares it all as refuse, dregs and loss so that he might embrace the preciousness of his Lord, Jesus Christ! His faith world was his reality. That reality gave him sufficient grace for each cruel demand made on his life.

Jesus Didn’t Worry

Jesus was never concerned about where He’d sleep or what He’d eat. He was not worried about the fact that foxes have holes to sleep in, and birds rest in their nests, but that He had no place to call home. (See Matthew 8:20.)

When Christ walked on the earth He realized that the whole earth was His. He knew that His Father owns the cattle on a thousand hills. He knew the truth that His Father understood all His needs, and this wisdom kept Him in perfect peace. That is why He could sleep in the middle of a turbulent storm while His disciples were freaking out! (Read Matthew 8:23-27.)

What kind of sleeping pill enabled Him to sleep during such disastrous weather? He needed no pharmaceutical drugs. His faith was enough. His constant communion with God provided Him with peace and safety.

Christ was heavenly minded enough that He slept through this horrific storm, yet He was practical enough to do good things. He arose and stilled the winds.

Each dimension in our understanding of the God-nature, manifested through Christ, brings us closer to living the life that pleases Him. With our many agendas and tight schedules we find ourselves hard put to get the mind of Christ on certain matters.

Sign seekers versus manifesters of faith

Quick fixes are what most of us want! That’s why we swarm those with signs following them. Mature faith causes signs to follow us. This will be obtained by the study of God’s Word and learning to stand in and move by faith. Our human nature prefers glitz over Bible studies. It isn’t popular to receive instructions on how to stand in faith until the miracle arrives.

God is looking for mature Christians who will stay where He has planted them. Sign-seekers do not understand the need for growing in the place of His planting. The place of planting is the place of faith’s development.

The things I say here have to do with heart issues and not physical presence. Listen to Christ’s words in Matthew 7:22, 23, “Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them. ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’”

Am I putting down signs, miracles and prophecies? Am I lambasting the manifestation of the Holy Spirit in the church? No way! I am rather challenging us to come to the place where we can see these manifestations in our own lives because we have heard from the Lord.

God has storehouses in heaven and He is waiting to pour out so many blessings that we cannot contain them all. (See Malachi 3:9, 10.) We often think of these storehouses as being filled only with financial blessings, but they also contain salvation, health, healing, grace, strength, peace, wisdom, and every kind of substance we need to fill in the gaps of our lives.

Proven and mature faith imparts to us information concerning God’s plan and purpose for us. It sufficiently prospers us in ‘kingdom of God’ principles. Faith gives us plans for work and achievement. It lets us experience and function in our own unique gifts and callings.

When our heavenly Father commands us to jump, we can do it with trust in His love and strength. The substance of proven faith will manifest itself through our obedience.

TWENTY SEVEN

Fasting in Celebration

My religious background taught me that there were certain days of the year that were set aside for fasting. Two that I remember were January sixth, a day we classified as “Old Christmas.” The other day of fasting that I remember is “Good Friday.” Those were solemn days which brought churning stomachs to me and my oldest siblings. These fasts definitely weren’t days of celebration to me.

Everyone knows that celebration involves feasting, not fasting! I hear someone ask, “Who has ever heard of such a thing—fasting in celebration of something?” Now I realize some of the benefits of fasting and even see this as a principle used in our spiritual celebrations.

Here’s how I became aware of these concepts.

Earlier this summer tiny pains started pin pointing certain parts of my body. I rebuked them lightly as I scurried about my chores, getting ready to move, having yard sales, packing boxes and even making a trip to visit the children in Spokane. The stabbing pain in my heel just wouldn’t quit.

Finally we’d moved into our apartment, but then traveling seemed to demand my energy and focus. All that inactivity of driving and sitting at my computer didn’t help the pain. Finally, after attending a week’s conference in Kansas City, I was in agony. Excruciating pain made the 550 mile drive home almost impossible.

By the following morning my misery had turned into torture. I had to stay in bed, flat on my stomach, in order to keep from fainting. As I lay there, I listened to faith-building messages and endured ice-packs on my back. I moved as I could and laid down when I couldn’t. I quoted every Scripture verse I could think of and endured the bombardment of suggestions of what I might do.

Earlier God had led me to begin writing about “Faith Comes by Hearing.” On the trip to Kansas City I received a more in depth revelation of how faith—hearing from God—really becomes the substance of things we hope for. I missed church one Sunday and was determined not to have it happen again. Saturday morning I broke through the pain and knelt before the Lord.

“If my faith comes by receiving information from You, God, then I need to know what you want me to do for my healing,” I cried out. “Do you want me to go for a MRI? Do you want me to see a chiropractor? Do I need to go for a massage or do I just keep quoting Scripture and standing on His promises to me?”

I was unwilling to continue through life with this pain and I told God so. I had to have an answer! As I waited for His response He said, “My sheep know My voice.”

Immediately I knew what God was saying. With His simple and direct message He had also given me understanding for application to my hour of crisis. I knew God was telling me He’d let me know if He wanted me to do something other than stand on His Word and believe Him. Peace came to me as I arose from my knees with the pain still present.

“At least I don’t have to try and decide what I need to do about my healing,” I told my husband. “God will show me if He wants me to do something other than what I’m doing.”

Sunday morning the pain was still present, so much so, that I popped a couple of pain pills which I seldom do. I only drove a short distance down the road when something indescribable touched me. It wasn’t heat going through my body. It was something so still, so uneventful, so completely detached from any emotions, that if I hadn’t had my antenna of faith up I would have missed it!

I immediately told my husband, “I’m healed!”

How can one explain something like that? How could Mary tell Joseph what really transpired between her and the angel that impregnated her? I am sure she never could describe that overshadowing, but she suddenly knew she was going to have a baby and never questioned the fact that it would be a boy.

I will not say that I was touched by an angel, but it was an awesome, holy, and miraculous work. I was free from pain! God’s anointing rested on me powerfully for the next several days. However, by Wednesday, I awoke with the same old pain.

What happened? Was the healing suddenly undone? What had I done to allow this terrible pain to invade my body again? Had I failed to testify of it when God had instructed me to, or was I just being tested?

I’d been fasting breakfast that week and suddenly I knew I needed to continue this fast and make it a fast of celebration! Even though I was being tested, this was the time to celebrate my complete healing with fasting and setting myself aside for the glory of the Lord!

Understanding Fasting

My Random House Dictionary tells me that fasting is to “abstain from all foods” or “to eat only sparingly” or “of certain kinds of food.” It relates fasting to “religious observance.” Fasting is often linked to religious ceremonies like those in my past, but fasting should be all about relationship.

In Isaiah 58:3-5 the prophet denounces the religious ceremonies of fasting. He says that the children of Israel fasted for strife and debate, but then asks them if this was the fast God had chosen for them.

In verses six-eight the fast that pleases God is described. Loosening bands of wickedness, undoing heavy burdens, releasing people from their yokes of bondages and oppressions are what God is looking for in a fast. The prophet tells the people of God that giving bread to the hungry, clothing the naked, bringing the poor into their homes and caring for their own kin are included in the fast that glorifies God.

Bible Examples of Fasting

Moses went up into the mountain with God and fasted from all food and water for forty days and forty nights (Exodus 34:28).

Ezra and Nehemiah both fasted as they encountered enemies that tried to hinder their work of rebuilding Jerusalem (Ezra 8:23, Nehemiah 1:4).

David fasted when his child was sick (II Samuel 12:16).

Esther and all of Israel fasted three days and nights for deliverance from death (Esther 4:16).

Jesus fasted for forty days and nights before beginning His ministry (Matthew 4:2).

These Scriptures and others throughout the Bible have to do with voluntary abstinence from food. A lack of food supply can force a fast, but the fast we are addressing has to do with willful abstinence of food.

Concepts of God’s Kingdom Constitution

The way God writes His kingdom rules is totally opposite of the way we’d write our own rules. If we had the “God-power” of the Almighty we would write the rules something like this:

- No sins allowed.

- All sickness vanquished.

- No infirmities permitted.

- All fear, anxieties, or trouble disallowed.

- No tests or tribulation tolerated.

- Nothing other than ease, tranquility, health, harmony, repose, leisure and life dare enter my kingdom.

Our sphere of rule, if possible, would eliminate the rough spots of our journey, but this is so unlike our loving, kind and all-caring God! He has written His love in ways that are difficult for humanity to understand. That is why we need the mind of Christ in order to embrace the following concepts.

God formed our tears so we could cry and He could dry them all for us.

God created us with emotions so that we might know His grace, peace and comfort.

God instilled within us the need to be loved so that we might know Him as the God of love.

God allowed sickness to enter the world so that we might experience Him as our Healer.

God allowed us to be born into sin so that we might glorify Him as Savior.

God allowed us to be human so that we would understand our need of His grace.

God allowed death so that we might understand resurrection power and triumphantly enter into eternal life.

God created us with a soul (our mind, will and emotions), so we would embrace the transforming power of His Holy Spirit.

God allowed us to live with weakness so that we could be invigorated by His strength.

God permitted malicious attacks against us so that we may know His tender-heartedness toward us.

God allowed unraveled emotions so that we would know the miracle of His peace.

God understands our worries and rejoices when He sees us turn them into worship.

God explains these concepts in Isaiah 55:8, 9, “‘For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,’ says the Lord. ‘For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts.’”

The Connection

You may still be asking, “Okay, I understand the aspect of this God concept, but how does that tie in with the celebration of fasting?”

If we were to make a presentation to someone for their outstanding achievement we would give him or her something pleasing to them. If the presentation we made was something repulsive to the receiver there would be no true honor bestowed. By looking into Scriptures we will see things that please God.

In Acts 13:2, 3 we’re told that the disciples ministered to the Lord and fasted before they set Paul and Barnabas aside to the ministry of the gospel. In this Scripture I see the concept of fasting as ministering to and celebrating the Lord.

Look at Psalm 51:17 with me. “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, A broken and a contrite heart—These, O God, You will not despise.” Here the Psalmist lists two things that are acceptable to God: a broken spirit and a contrite heart.

Do you notice how unlike that is to our way of thinking? “Boys don’t cry” and being called “a sissy” on the playground are pressures that our children endure. Tears are a gift from God and a natural response to pain or distress. Suppressing tears hardens hearts. A healthy balance of shedding tears and receiving God’s consolation are important in rearing children.

In Isaiah 56:6, 7 God addresses those who have joined themselves to the Lord. In verse 7b He says, “…Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be accepted on My altar;”

I sincerely believe these are truths that help us comprehend the seldom taught concept of fasting as a celebration to the Lord. The New Testament clarifies this more specifically.

Romans 12: 1 says, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.”

In Philippians 4:18 Paul praises the believers for sending things to him by the hand of Epaphroditus, stating that they were “a sweet-smelling aroma, an acceptable sacrifice, well pleasing to God.”

In Conclusion

Have you ever tried to remove a clinched nail from a board? It’s quite difficult to do unless you unclench the nail. As I come to the conclusion of this section I want to focus on a nail that is not able to be unclenched.

Hebrews 12:2 draws this conclusion concerning Jesus, “…who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross…” What a contradiction this is to our flesh! Our natural man would never want to admit that “the cross” could become “a joy.” In the same way, our flesh would not like to admit that “fasting” could be “a celebration.”

This Scripture portrays a joy that is acceptable to God. Christ’s sacrifice brought the fulfillment of God’s commission to Him. It also brought His joy! This sacrifice has become the completion of His Kingdom’s constitution.

This irreversible joy is like a nail that is driven and clinched. It remains clenched and irremovable. We, likewise, make the heart of God rejoice by quiet brokenness and humility in His presence.

I am challenged to do more fasting just to make the heart of God glad and to enrich my relationship with Him.

TWENTY EIGHT

Great Faith, Radical Faith

I was both blessed and cursed by having a dad who was eccentric and radical. I was blessed because I saw that people can color outside the lines of commonly accepted traditions, but I was cursed by the way I assimilated this data. My mother was meticulous with detail so coloring outside the lines was not an option she readily chose.

Because these differences were never resolved, the later years of my parent’s lives brought parting of their ways. As I grew in the Lord , I began to realize that there were options. I had choices that I could make. As you will see in this chapter, I will venture out into the rather radical side of faith.

Please do not become discouraged, and do not allow me to drive a wedge between us. I know that we are all at different and various places in our walk of faith. I know that all things have their time and place. I am not against appropriating the gifts that the medical profession can provide, but, as I’ve already said, I am against putting them before God.

Jesus Honors Great Faith

In Matthew 15:21-28 we read an astounding story of a woman from Canaan’s radical faith that led her to color outside the traditional lines. Reflecting back through history we will find that Canaan was a former name for Palestine. The land of Canaan was dispossessed by the Israelites, but they were never able to completely conquer it. The presence of the Canaanites always caused a religious upheaval for the people of God. The people of God were continuously vexed by their idolatry. (Zondervan’s Pictorial Bible Dictionary page 143)

This woman had a desperate need—one that would send most of us to the ER—but she broke through the barriers of her past. She came to Jesus imploring Him to have mercy on her daughter who was demon-possessed. How could she dare come to Him? Had she not deserved the curse that was hers to bear because of her bloodline?

This woman did not think so and continued imploring the Lord even after He ignored her. She wouldn’t give up when the disciples of Jesus told Him to get rid of her. When Christ finally did talk to her he told her that He was only sent to bring the Gospel to the lost people of Israel. She kept on crying after Him for help.

Christ’s next reply would have sent me hustling back to where I came from, but not this woman. He told her that it wasn’t acceptable to take the bread from His table and throw it out to the dogs. Undaunted, she had a ready comeback. “That’s a fact, Lord, but even the dogs get to eat the crumbs that fall to the floor. All I am asking for is one of those crumbs.”

Listen to Christ’s reply in verse 28. “Then Jesus answered and said to her, ‘O woman, great is your faith! Let it be to you as you desire.’ And her daughter was healed from that very hour.”

Is your heart touched by this story? Do you want to shout “hallelujah” with this woman? I do, and yes, my heart is touched deeply!

With a story like this, should I be hesitant in challenging our faith? I choose not to.

Making This Personal

We have seen crowds of people flock around the altar as Billy Graham gives a simple invitation for those who want to accept Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior. These pray the sinner’s prayer, confessing their sins and praying a prayer of repentance. As they leave that meeting they carry with them the assurance of their salvation and eternal life in Heaven.

The next day, however, they may awaken to a pain in their back. At that moment they have a choice to make. They can hold out until they hear what God is telling them to do concerning their healing, or they can immediately make an appointment with their medical professional.

This is the place where their sight can easily shift from the loving Father’s grace to the circumstances that surround them. They believed God for the biggest eternal things, entrusting Him with the salvation of their souls, but they fail to realize that God is also able to care for their backache.

We trust God to save us—to save our souls from the power of hell. Why then do we have a dilemma in trusting God with our children, our bodies, our finances, our daily bread or the wisdom that we need?

These concerns are all contained in our salvation. They are all a part of the package that Christ provided for us.

Humility Precedes Great Faith

I believe that some of the Biblical examples of great faith would be readily classified as radical faith. I am also persuaded that we will need this radical faith in the light of what lies ahead of us. Jesus taught His disciples that perilous situations would arise in the last times. He clearly taught us that wars would arise and evil would become worse and worse. We must have great faith to remain in God’s peace during these times.

Before I make you think that I am speaking boastfully, I now appropriate the blood of Jesus to cover me, the anointed Word of God to ground me, and the authority of the overcomer to secure me, the seed of faith to impregnate me, the angels of the Lord to encamp around about me and my own testimonies of victory to help me stay focused. I dare not make statements of radical faith without humility and total acknowledgement of God’s grace. I also know that I dare not speak anything other than what Scripture already records.

As I write these concepts of faith, my faith is being tested. I must never think that I am authorized to speak out on scriptural concepts of “great faith” without passing through a “test run” of the same.

Lord, let me be obedient to You. Open my heart to speak only Your truths and not to allow myself to be ruled by emotions of fear, pride, arrogance or imagined reproof. Let me speak clearly and humbly so that those whom You have chosen to hear this message, will hear it.

Examples of Great Faith From the Bible

Radical faith listens for, receives and acts upon the commands that God gives. In Matthew 17:25-27 Christ commanded Peter to go throw a fish hook into the water and pull out a fish. He told him that there would be a coin that would cover tribute for both of them.

Peter had received information that activated his faith. He walked in obedience and his needs were met. In fact, he had enough to meet his own needs and the surplus to meet Christ’s need also. If Peter had not received the information given, he wouldn’t have had a clue to what was available to him.

There’s another account in Matthew 21:1-10 that exemplifies the benefits of radical faith. How would you like to be the disciple who was chosen to go into a nearby village and untie a donkey with her baby and start walking away without asking permission first? This is exactly what Jesus commanded His disciples to do. He already knew that permission would be granted and that the animal would carry him into Jerusalem.

I can hear my own response to this. “No way Lord, count me out on this one! Don’t You think we ought to ask permission first? I’m not willing to venture out that far on Your limb!” How about you—what would your reply be?

Yet these disciples received information from God, chose obedience and received a miracle. If they had not followed through with Christ’s commands, Scriptures would not record this triumphant entry into Jerusalem!

Matthew 15 records the feeding of the multitude with five loaves and two fish. Can you imagine taking a loaf of bread and starting to break it off and give it away when you knew there was barely enough to feed one person? The apostles’ faith broke through their restrictive thinking and obeyed. They first had to receive the command in order to step out in faith.

I am challenged to think again about the command that God gave the apostle John in Revelation chapters 2 and 3; “He who has an ear—he who has the ability to hear—let him listen to and take heed to what the Spirit is saying to the church” (paraphrase mine). This is proof that God is still speaking to the church today. The information we receive, as faith-building substance, prompts us to obedience regardless of the age we’re living in!

Do you also remember the time that Jesus was preparing for His last supper with his disciples as recorded in Luke 22:7-14?

In this account Jesus sent Peter and John into Jerusalem to prepare a dinner. These two had received a commandment without the final instructions. So they asked, “Where do you want us to go to prepare it?” Jesus had received information from His Heavenly Father, but was waiting for His disciples to pop their question.

Now the apostles had to make a decision of whether to obey or disobey. It would have been easy for them to have protested, “Lord, do you mean we just walk up to a complete stranger and ask him to let us use his parlor for free?”

However, because of the faith-building information they received they followed the man carrying his pitcher of water to his house and the meal was prepared.

I can imagine myself sneaking up behind the man thinking—I hope this guy is deaf—then whispering, “Hey Mister, do you have room in your house for me to fix a banquet for a troop of men?” Absurd! We couldn’t follow through with that kind of information that Jesus had just given those two human beings. What was He thinking? Surely He wasn’t expecting them to follow through with the command, yet they did. Miraculously the room was made available to them.

What a precious setting it turned out to be! It was the perfect place for the Master to share His heart and leave one last message with those He loved. In John chapters 13-16 we see Christ’s heart poured out to His disciples. These are some of the most beautiful and profound words in all of Scriptures.

Might these chapters have been eliminated had not Peter and John obeyed the information that Jesus had given them? I’m so glad that these disciples didn’t cower down in a situation that may have been unfamiliar to them. The obedience they exercised led them to receive the reward of radical faith.

Is God going to let us sink if we obey His command and step out of the boat? Does He command us to step out so He can watch us struggle? I don’t think so. He wants us to learn how to face boisterous waves and still trust Him.

What about the radical faith that the disciples exhibited in Luke five? The disciples had toiled all night, trying to catch some fish and had brought in absolutely nothing. Jesus commanded them to let down their nets. Peter explained how they had toiled all night and caught nothing! Then as if coming to the realization that now was the time to exercise radical faith he said, “Nevertheless, at Your command I will launch out and let down my net.”

My! My! What a catch—enough to sink two boats! The key to radical faith is to hear from God and then obey.

In John 2 Mary, the mother of Jesus, displayed this great faith at the wedding feast in Cana. When hosts at the wedding feast ran out of wine, Mary commanded the servants to obey Jesus because she had already received information that Christ was about to manifest His power. Mary’s great and radical faith resulted in the fact that the best wine was served last.

This great faith becomes outstanding faith, triumphant faith and the overcomer’s victory!

To receive the full “lot” or benefit for your walk of faith remember this acronym:

Listen

Obey

Triumph

TWENTY NINE

Abiding Faith

Rumpled! Yes, rumpled! That’s what condition I was in as my mother’s song stole from the kitchen through the ill-fitting door into our bedroom. “Shall we gather at the table?” She had exchanged “table” for “river” and used her song for our call to breakfast.

As I had climbed into bed the previous night, only my feet had been washed. Now my dress was rumpled from tossing about on the lumpy mattress. My black, satin head covering was askew from my tossing and my hair was untucked from the braids my mother had tightly secured to the back of my head days earlier.

Yes, rumpled—that’s what my life seemed to be. I looked at the worn and tangled bed clothes as I lazily stepped onto the unpainted board floor. I didn’t bother to do anything about the tangled mess. I knew that when evening came I would be snaking my way into the unmade mass. Some undefined and defeated attitude inside of me told me it was useless to make it.

I adjusted my head covering and sloppily brushed at the wrinkles in my long midnight blue dress in which I’d slept. As I made my way to the kitchen I could tell that the rest of my world was also rumpled, yet my mother was softly singing as she fried up the last pancakes. Heavy smoke from the burned ones put a blue film in the room and brought unkind remarks from other family members.

“Why do we always have to eat burned pancakes?” was the complaint. My mother didn’t bother to answer, but I saw her lower lip quiver just a little bit and I heard her voice quaver as she continued her song.

It was not easy for my mother to build a fire, cook our breakfast while changing cloth diapers on two babies and having things ready by the time my dad wanted to eat. Her world was emotionally rumpled. She pumped and carried water. She hauled in wood and tried to make ends meet on the shoestring of meager finances, yet she sang.

My mother hummed softly when she had been scolded or misunderstood. She kept on singing when she knew that to answer wouldn’t help her circumstances. She sang when she was alone (which was seldom), and she sang when her family of six children was around her. My mother had a song when she worked on the saw mill or when she was in the sorghum cane field stripping leaves off the cane stalks.

My mother had a song and she learned how to retain it. She is now 95 years old and lives alone in her apartment. She continues to sing or hum her song from morning to night—a song that’s always there! How did she retain this song when there was no more flour in the house and the cow had gone dry? How do we retain our song in our world today—when there’s no more money in the bank account?

What is Abiding Faith?

The word “abiding” means to remain and not to be moved. If something is abiding, it is like a boat that is anchored, a lock that is secured, love that is enduring, promises that are never-failing and unfaltering steps even if they are made with snow shoes.

A tree that is well rooted can be extending out over a precipice that overlooks a river far beneath it, yet be secured in its place. It may appear to readily tumble into the ravine, but when ferocious storms assault it, it still remains in its place because of its root system.

The sun is also an example of abiding. It is always there and it always shines. We may not think of it as such, but it is always shining somewhere in the world. It is shining when darkness dominates our midnight. The sun shines behind storm clouds and hail storms. Sunshine is unquestionable even when lightening bolts are darting toward earth.

When our world seems rumpled with circumstances that seem to invade our sphere of faith then we might remember the sun. It is higher than the storm clouds and has a different perspective of the weather. So faith is above the elements of our fear-factors. The lightening of faithlessness may strike at our hearts, but faith still has the upper hand. We can yield ourselves to the timing of faith and let it remain. The sun will shine again. Faith will win again in God’s time.

Paul has an insight into this and talks of it in I Corinthians 13:13. He lists three things that endure or abide for eternity. These virtues are “faith, hope and charity.” This ever-abiding faith is rooted in God’s ever-abiding love. We know this because Paul completes this verse by saying, “the greatest of these is love.” I talked about the love aspect of faith in previous chapters. In this chapter I want us to learn about the abiding facet of faith.

The Progressive Aspect of Abiding Faith

I’ve watched my mother’s faith progress as she walked through one test after another. Though she is entering her mid-nineties and has lived a life of persecution, misunderstanding, poverty, and hardships, she has become a symbol of faith to all who know her. Her faith has kept her in church. She is healthy and when the church doors are open, she will be there. I cannot remember her ever missing church because of sickness.

Nothing abides unless it is progressive. The earth’s seasons wouldn’t abide unless they progressed from summer to autumn and so on. A seed wouldn’t remain unless it was planted and multiplied through reproduction. An elderly person’s capabilities will become incapableness unless they are progressively exercised.

Faith is grounded in love, but it only becomes abiding faith by being progressive faith—love poured out. Unless faith grows it cannot abide. It would be like paddling our boats upstream, pulling in the oars and expecting to remain in that same place. That would be impossible because the stream will automatically pull us downstream again. Our faith will not remain or abide unless we make it our business to exercise it.

Peter gives us steps to the progression of faith in II Peter 1:4-8. These steps of progression will lead us into the manifestation of ultimate and abiding faith.

“By means of these He has bestowed on us His precious and exceedingly great promises, so that through them you may escape [by flight] from the moral decay (rottenness and corruption) that is in the world because of covetousness (lust and greed), and become sharers (partakers) of the divine nature.

“For this very reason, adding your diligence [to the divine promises], employ every effort in exercising your faith to develop virtue (excellence, resolution, Christian energy), and in [exercising] virtue [develop] knowledge (intelligence),

“And in [exercising] knowledge [develop] self-control, and in [exercising] self-control [develop] steadfastness (patience, endurance), and in [exercising] steadfastness [develop] godliness (piety),

“And in [exercising] godliness [develop] brotherly affection, and in [exercising] brotherly affection [develop] Christian love. For as these qualities are yours and increasingly abound in you, they will keep [you] from being idle or unfruitful unto the [full personal] knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One)” (AB).

Faith is the foundation on which we build with God’s building blocks. He first gives us “faith 101”—that basic training. From there we are to add our own building blocks until we reach God’s ultimate goal for us—total transformation and heaven. Here is Peter’s spiritual ladder that will guide us to the height of godliness.

- Godly character, virtue, excellence and resolution

- Spiritual understanding, knowledge and intelligence

- Alert discipline and self-control

- Passionate patience, steadfastness, patient endurance

- Reverent wonder, godliness

- Warm friendliness, brotherly affection, building relations

- Generous Christian love

Here we have it—our road to abiding faith.

As for me, I will be living a lifetime before I really obtain this last step. There will always be more virtue, more temperance, more knowledge and more Christ-like love to add to my life. Faith does bring with it its own rewards, so we must never despair or grow weary. That is why the abiding aspect of faith is so vital.

Abiding Faith Generates A Song

So here we have Peter’s staircase to abiding faith. We can start at the bottom and climb our ladder to the top where worshiping God will be natural. Adding these virtues to our lives will bring an automatic outgrowth of worship from our hearts. When we obtain step number seven, the number of perfection, we will have arrived at a place of deep humility and God’s love. The purest worship flows from the most humble hearts.

David, the psalmist, was familiar with this song. He mentions it in Psalm 40:3. He testifies of God that He put a new song in his mouth and praise to his God. This man of God goes on to declare that this song will become his testimony because many will see it. David’s faith-based song will bring many into the sphere of trusting the Lord.

Many years ago the Lord gave me a dream that has helped me realize the importance of retaining our ground by singing a song of faith. In my dream I had given an offering to the church, but Satan came up, planning to steal it. I rebuked him. He sneered at me.

I stomped my foot and screamed, “I rebuke you Devil and you have to flee from me.” But he just inched closer to my offering with evil intent. I could see the devilry in his eyes.

At first I felt desperate and began to panic, but by some supernatural power I began to sing. My song stopped the devil in his tracks. As my song became more authoritative in faith, he started slinking away until I could no longer see him. He was defeated by my song of triumph!

Acts 16:25 gives us an example from Scripture of abiding faith. Paul and Silas were imprisoned for their faith. Although it was midnight and they were secured in stocks, they sang loud enough for the prisoners to hear them. Their abiding faith could have been the only thing that would have given them the unction to sing in such dreadful circumstances. God honored that expression of their faith and sent an earthquake that set them free. He also used all this to bring salvation to the jail-keeper’s household!

I honestly believe that my mother’s song has kept her faith progressive. Though few would choose her to sing a special song for the Sunday morning service, she sings it on her own whenever she has an opportunity. She sings special birthday songs for those she loves. She sings songs at prayer meetings or at family reunions.

It helped her remain steadily focused during the time of her divorce. It quickened her mind to remember the times of her visitation from God, and it has carried her through our rumpled world to see the fulfillment of God’s promises of grace to her.

Earlier in this chapter I asked the question about what we do when our bank account is empty. Add Peter’s list of virtues to your life and make this a deposit of spiritual blessings. Faith can then make withdrawals and leads us to join the song of triumph my mother sings. Her song has been tested and remains through abiding faith.

What about me? I have a godly heritage that allows my faith to abide. The progression of my faith has led me through the valley of rumpled emotions to a place of triumph and praise. I make my bed in the morning, knowing that I have a day of God’s grace awaiting me!

THIRTY

Born to Die

The process of giving birth to another human being is the most wonderful miracle in our physical world. An eternal seed has been planted and now he makes his appearance into our natural world. I recently had the marvelous blessing of seeing my brand new grandson, Seth Christopher, just after he made his appearance into the world.

His big sister, Eliana, helped us admire his tiny, but perfectly formed hands, his toes and his beautiful pink skin. He has a strong cry and I heard it on the phone when the nurse gave the 8 pound, 9 ounce infant his first bath. He left us without a doubt that he had been given life.

One more human being had made an entrance into this world. One more baby had undergone the birthing process and is now a growing little prince—on his way to death at the other end of his life. Seth is not aware of this fact, and we won’t bog him down with it at this point.

Eliana is eager to help him grow. We will help them both be the little boy and girl that God has planned for them to become. Nevertheless, the truth still remains—he, as well as his sister, will not live here on earth forever.

Jesus Exemplifies This

There is nobody that better exemplifies this than our Lord Jesus Christ! He knew all along that He was born to die. His dying process began as He left heaven! He was aware that the standard of living, even if he had been born into the most elite home on earth, was far beneath heaven’s standards.

In heaven, just the presence of the Almighty, who spoke the earth into existence, fills the whole sphere with light-giving life. Warmth, hope, sinlessness, and an atmosphere of pure worship cram into every crevice of its eternal values. Though the sound of worship and the presence of legions of angels fill the place, the space remains uncrowded and spacious with freedom wafting on the fragrance of angel wings.

There—in heaven—the place of Christ’s abode—a throne is set for the Son of God. This is a position of authority which signifies His majestic splendor in holiness. His throne is situated at the right hand of His Father where He can hear the heartbeat of the One who loves Him above all else.

Our Savior knew what He left in heaven when He came to earth. He knew that his throne would be vacant and that He would be given no earthly kingdom. Imagine the demotion that just this one element involved. This was a gigantic step toward death and dying. It was a total annihilation of His self-will. It was spiritual crucifixion before He was physically crucified.

Christ, being born in a stable, lived with the realization that He was born to die the most hideous death of any human being. He knew it before the delicate rays of dawn ever painted the eastern horizon of each new day, and He realized it afresh as the sun slipped behind the western landscape each evening. He utilized this knowledge to help Him build His faith walk. He appropriated this wisdom to fortify His trust and complete confidence in His Heavenly Father.

Those around Him thought He would build an earthly kingdom. Those in leadership positions felt threatened by His manifestation of miracle-working power. They did not want their constituency to follow Christ. Others believed in Him, but still expected Him to build a temple and establish a physical throne, but Jesus knew that He was moving toward a far different destiny!

The bulls-eye labeled “death” was plainly centered in the target of His life. By the time he had reached twelve years of age, He was interacting with the teachers in the temple. He was so engrossed in what He was doing that He missed His parents’ departure from Jerusalem.

His parents, like any good parents would do, returned to the city in search of their son. When Mary expressed her worry over His disappearance, He voiced surprise at their misunderstanding of His mission in life. In Luke 2:49 He asked His parents if they didn’t know that He had to be about His Father’s business.

Though He vividly realized the reason for His birth, the urgency of the commission from His Heavenly Father was also upon Him. As He chose to be subject to His earthly parents He realized this submission was one more step toward His end—death!

Christ saw the need that mankind had for redemption and knew He was the only person who could make this possible. Before leaving heaven, He understood that He is God, and that He was required to become man. We think that being born is the beginning of life, but for Jesus, more than for any other human being, it was also the beginning of death.

He knew that His life, in the grip of death, was required in order to provide redemption for us. Jesus was not surprised by the fact that His own people hated Him at the very time He was feeding their multitudes, instructing His disciples and healing the sick. He had the insight to know that He had to obey death in order to usher in eternal life.

Jesus knew that He would be betrayed by Judas. He understood that this was needed as the pivotal point in eternity. We all needed the sacrifice that He made so that we could follow Him to our own death with eternal life in view.

When His disciples forsook Him, He wasn’t surprised. However, when His Heavenly Father forsook Him, it became unbearable and He cried, “Why have you forsaken me?”

Jesus knew that all the injustices done to Him would eventually march Him into the regions of hell. Yet He continued to trust in God! He remained victorious, declaring the end from the beginning. He kept encouraging His disciples through the last night of His life on earth. Even on the cross He made provision for His mother by telling John to take care of her. (See John 19:26, 27.)

How could He have endured all that and remained victorious?

If Jesus would not have known that the purpose for His life was to suffer the ultimate death, then He would have been taken by surprise at this horrible outcome. However, He knew His purpose of life was to suffer and die. Paul tells us that Jesus fellowshipped with his suffering. (See Philippians 3: 10.)

Talk about bigger-than-impossible resources—this would be it! We need to constantly remind ourselves that Christ endured the cross because of the joy set before Him. That joy came from knowing He was doing the will of His Father.

His joy came from His love for humanity, His faith in the eternalness of His Father and His own willingness to obey God’s commands. Christ knew that He was Life itself. Though He was also totally human, and humanly He would die. He also knew that by His deity He was instigating eternal life.

In John 12:23-26 Jesus explains to His disciples that His hour to die is close at hand. These are His words:

“The hour has come that the Son of Man should be glorified. Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain. He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also, If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honor.”

Death Is Also Required of Us

In this discourse Jesus not only speaks of His death, but He also speaks of the death that is required of His followers. When He spoke the preceding words, He knew that He only had a few fleeting hours before His death. He needed to impart to His disciples the urgency of dying to their own ambitions and wants in life.

Jesus explained that a wheat seed has to fall into the earth and die, so that it could live through its reproduction process. We begin to die by living our lives unto the Lord. Living for God requires death to our own will and ambition. The more we live for God and die to self, the closer we come to Christ. The culmination at the end of our lives, when we enter into the presence of God, will bring us to total fulfillment.

Jesus told His disciples in Matthew 6:24, “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.”

I hear many elderly complain that aging stinks. I am not condemning them for their perception concerning growing older. I understand that many deal with severe aches, pains and sicknesses. I see this in my husband. However, as we embrace more of God and His will for us—as we exercise our faith—the beauty of the Lord is seen in and through us. My husband exercises God’s grace through an uncomplaining life, even though he hurts.

If we will keep the commands of Jesus and follow Him, we realize that this leads us to the death of self, to a life of faith and finally to all the ecstasy of eternal life with our resurrected Lord!

We too are born to die, but as we allow the heartbeat of Jesus to guide our lives we will obtain everlasting life. This never-ending life cannot be burned in the flames of hell, nor crushed by the sins of the world. Triumph will burst through the gates of the grave and will heal the sting of death.

We know our purpose in life will lead us to a powerful, faith-filled freedom in Christ. We will have freedom to be joyful in tribulation. We will have the liberty to loyally love the unlovely in the face of death and still come out in victory. Our faith along with our obedience to the Lord Jesus Christ will deliver us from the jaws of death by giving us eternal life.

Resurrection can only be experienced after death; that is why we are born to die! Born to die—don’t fear it! Yes, we are born to die, but also to live again! Life will outlast the fleeting moment of death! Only our ever-loving God could come up with a plan that leads us through the birth canal to live in this life. Only this God could form us to die in the end of our human life so that He might resurrect us to eternal life!

I urge you, no matter where you’re at with suffering or despair, turn to God! He is loving and kind. He never leaves or forsakes you. (See Hebrews 13:5.) Draw close to God and He will, in turn, draw close to you. (See James 4:8.)

Because that we are eternal beings and are created to exist eternally, there is only one alternative to turning to God. That is to live a life for self pleasure and following Satan’s deceitful allurement. This will lead to eternal death—the eternal separation from God! That is why I urge the reader to choose a deathless life.

The Psalmist had the assurance that even if he walked through the valley of the shadow of death, he had nothing evil to be afraid of. He understood that he was born to die and that he would live in God’s house forever. Read Psalm 23 and let it be the consolation for your lifetime.

THIRTY ONE

By the Grace of God

As the traffic on loop 494 turned into mere matchbook sized vehicles, which moved lazily along on the ribbon-fine streets, my Northwestern flight nosed its way upward into the early morning skies for a flight unlike any I had ever taken before. The Minneapolis-St. Paul airport remained only a distant spot behind me as my mind flashed back to the parking lot I had left only a few hours earlier and to the things that led to that hour.

Almost five years prior to this flight God had told me that I needed to prepare to return to the Philippines. I didn’t have any idea that this preparation would lead me to writing my first book with liberating concepts drawn from the life of Joseph. I had faithfully pressed toward the goal of obeying the call God had given me.

But when the moment of departure came I shivered as I teetered between decisions. My disabled husband stood before me while my driver waited for me to say my last good-bye to the man I loved. We had looked at the possibility of this being a final good-bye though neither one of us felt alarmed by that possibility. I had been told I was bull-headed and unsubmissive in making this three week trip back to the islands our family had left 16 years earlier.

As I had packed my bags, I also made sure that I had no string attached to the baggage of the accusations that I had been bombarded with. My eyes searched the face of my supportive husband. He reminded me that God had spoken to me and that I was going with the blessing of my church and my pastor. My emotions teetered momentarily. I could still call this trip off. I didn’t have to obey this call. Everyone would understand the choice I had made. They knew how difficult it must be for one little old lady to make this journey alone.

I kissed my husband one last time, turned and walked to the waiting vehicle. I had a mission to fulfill.

Now that I had severed the emotional string that had challenged me, I faced what lay ahead of me. I had hours on this direct flight to recite the lessons I had prepared for this trip. I had packed gifts, written out directions and done everything that I knew to do in preparation for this adventure.

The flight was as smooth as sailing on a glass sea. I thrilled at the strength that compelled me toward my destination. Peace flooded every pore of my being. The miles melted behind me along with the hours. I made an effort to rearrange my hair and freshen up my make-up as we approached the Manila airport for a smooth landing.

Peace had secured my journey and I knew that God would help me gather my two check-in luggage bags, as well as keep my hands on my carry on. It was midnight when I arrived but my friends were waiting for me.

God Was at Every Intersection of My Needs

The next three weeks were weeks of traveling from island to island and church to church. The folks who had printed my book had the supply ready for distribution. Along with taking these books from place to place came the help that was needed for carrying them and manning my book table.

God anointed me in an incredible way and girded me with strength as I ministered for hours in the tropical heat. He manifested Himself at the altar services and in the feeding programs that I was able to participate in. There was not one time or place that I felt deserted by God. People were hungry for the Word of God and eager to embrace me.

Before I left for this adventure, God had given me Psalm 121 to memorize. I constantly drew from its strength.

“I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth” (KJV).

This was a constant reminder for me to keep my eyes focused. It also reminded me that the word “cometh” or “comes” is an action word. It depicts movement and in this case instantaneous movement. It means that though I saw God in the lofty hills all about me, He would span that distance between those high peaks and my whereabouts immediately. He would be where I was or am at the time I needed Him to be there.

This was manifested during my commutes on public transportation. I remembered my former fear of riding on jeepneys and Pedi cabs as they darted in and out of a blurred maze of traffic. Now God was there and I rode in peace. I was not only physically safe but I was at total peace. This was perhaps the most outstanding part of my trip.

Peace That Passes Understanding

God’s provision for this mission, His direction and His anointing in my life, were all miraculous manifestations of His grace, but the peace that He enshrouded me with was like an invincible shield. I knew that the turbulent situations which He had brought me through up to this point were not for nought. He had been there at my crisis points, and now I knew that “No weapon formed against me would prosper.” (See Isaiah 54:17.)

I also knew that if (since) God is for me, I could not consider anyone to be against me. (See Romans 8:31.) Another Scripture that was of great help to me was I John 4:18. This Scripture challenged me to check my level of love, because if I had perfect love it would cast out fear.

The rest of Psalm 121 helped me during the time of extreme summer heat. The promise that the sun would not overcome me was one I could put to use. I drank lots of bottled water and did a lot of sweating, but God kept me healthy and strong.

I Make No Boasts

I have written this short summary of my trip back to the land were we had served previously to complete an ongoing picture. I say complete to this point, but in fact, it is still an ongoing process.

Many ladies, much older than I am, have done much greater feats than this one that I mentioned, but I pray that you have understood God’s bigger-than-the-impossible message here. As previous chapters have given you glimpses into my childhood, my upbringing and my restrictive youth you have also seen the progression of my faith that has led me to triumph.

Because of the negative and dysfunctional aspects of my childhood, this trip was a major breakthrough for me. My back-woods mentality still wants to stick to me and make me think that I am unable to move forward, write books, speak in front of crowds, hear and deliver a word from the Lord and fly to the other side of the world.

It doesn’t come naturally for me to leave the familiar, my hurting husband, our three daughters and their families, my friends and all that’s comfortable to me to touch lives in other nations of the world. However, because I know that God has called me, and that I am no longer the little girl that wiles away her childhood sitting in a red clay gully, I am now free to follow the Lord Jesus Christ and to do His bidding.

My challenge to obedience may well be as great as the challenge that others have faced as they conquered circumstance with a much greater outcome than mine was. My first challenge started with my own restrictive mindset. It continued as I picked up emotional baggage along the way. My restriction developed into bondage, and bondage kept me from blossoming into the character that God had designed for me.

When one fails to allow God’s characteristics to develop in their lives, they cannot expect to fulfill the call God has given them. But I thank God for His grace that has helped me start dealing with my unsurrendered soul, bringing me into alignment of the things God has meant for me to be. Yes, it’s a challenge, but it’s not something that faith will not walk me through.

My Husband

I have been challenged to continue to write this faith-building message as I have watched my husband’s health decline. How could I declare Jesus as the healer as I sat by his bedside with tears washing my face? How could I be sure that the Word of God stood when Parkinson’s disease seemed to be snuffing the life out of him?

The final stages of this vicious infirmity were fast ravishing his body. There were few hours of the day that he was functional and cognitively alert enough to converse. We cried together, read Scriptures together, prayed with each other and laughed together. We pressed for answers and moved toward transition to a nursing home and then the funeral home after that.

Yet I kept on writing so that we might all be strengthened and enlarged in our faith. Today is not forever, and in our case, God has sent help to us by way of a scientifically formulated, patented food. Though my husband is still severely disabled, God has used this product to turn my husband’s life from the brink of death to purpose and promise. For this season he can travel again, making memories with our grandchildren and others. He can sleep during the night and the depression has lifted.

Though we do not know what lies ahead of us, we glorify the Lord that Russell’s quality of life has increased. We rejoice for each time he has been able to attend church and worship God with fellow believers. God is using this situation to let me experience what it is like to care for a terminally ill spouse and accepting God’s will at the final outcome.

We can find no words to express our gratitude to God for this amazing miracle that is adding years to our time together here on earth! It helps us cherish these times, and encourages us to help other people who are struggling with their faith, health issues and finances. Faith declares that God always has a plan that He will fulfill in His way and in His time.

My Final Challenge to You

Focus forward! Now is the day of new things that God is doing! Don’t look at your circumstances and the person you think you are not. Look away from any failure mentality. Don’t become discouraged because you have wasted years or because areas of your soul still remain unsurrendered. If you’re faithless, don’t worry about it. Start building your faith now through the truth of God’s Word.

If you’re dealing with vices and sins of the flesh, repent, then ignore them. Look rather into the Word of God. Become engrossed with Biblical truths. Paul told his spiritual son, Timothy, to flee youthful lusts and follow after righteousness. (See II Timothy 2:22.) As you occupy the space in your mind with the excitement of God’s love, that space can no longer contain concepts of worldly pleasures.

Spending our time fretting over what we are or were not is wasting time. Condemning ourselves for lost opportunities will not return them to us. Looking back will not convey us forward and that is why I challenge you not to look at your failed opportunities and ungodly past.

Begin where you are today. Start building your faith bigger than yesterday’s faith by remembering concepts of the characteristics of God. Remember that God is Love. He is gracious and kind. Everything He has spoken will come to pass. He is faithful in His creation and in imparting salvation to us through His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ.

I find one of the best ways for me to leave my past behind is just to sing. Sing into the face of discouragement. Worship rather than worry. Apply faith rather that aligning yourself with fear. This will bring encouragement and renewal.

We thank God in and for the testing, knowing faith is given us so it can be tried. Tried faith is proven faith. Proven faith produces godly character. Godly character manifests the presence of God in the world.

Turn every single circumstance that you have felt was impossible into “a God-possibility.” Remember that God doesn’t place limits on Himself and neither should we.

We can do all things through Christ who strengthens us, so it is Christ in us who is bigger than our own preconceived impossibilities.

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Author Lydia Chorpening

Sample Chapter

Beyond the Colorful Coat

by Lydia Chorpening

CHAPTER ONE

The Robe of Righteousness

Romans 4:19-22

“It looks like it’s time for introductions,” graceful Rachel, with her dark features, said as we step back in time and into her world. Rachel’s eyes dance in her youthful face, and her raven hair is barely visible from beneath her highly decorated kaffiyeh (head-dress).

“Look Joseph, we have visitors from a time that is yet to be,” she says.

Turning to us she continues, “This is my son, Joseph. He will soon be five years old.”

The little lad’s eyes sparkle with life as he bows to us. Rachel hands Joseph his sandals made of rough leather and palm bark soles and explains where we are.

“I’ll tell you who I am and where you are since I can tell that you’re new to this place and time. I am the favored wife of the Patriarch Abraham’s grandson, Jacob. Jacob tends the sheep of my father Laban, and we live in Padan-aran, the place Jacob fled to over twenty-five years ago. Abraham spent his first years here before God called him to move to Canaan over 175 years ago,” Rachel explains.

The gracious woman who is making us aware of our surroundings reaches for her young son’s hand. “Joseph and I are on our way to the pasture where Jacob is grazing the sheep. I would love to have you join us as we head to the fields,” she invites us.

At her invitation, I reach for your hand and invite you to take this journey back into time to release Joseph’s story from its ancient history. His life will soon liberate our own lives as we keep stride with Rachel’s lively son and watch him grow and mature.

“We will have to hurry,” Rachel speaks softly to Joseph as if she has forgotten us and focuses her full attention on the journey ahead of them.

JOSEPH LEARNS ABOUT FAITH AND RIGHTEOUSNESS AS A CHILD

Enthusiasm flashes in Joseph’s face, bright as the late afternoon sunshine. Soon he is outside, hand in hand, with his mother. They make their way past the tents of his mother’s handmaid Bilah, his Aunt Leah, and Leah’s handmaid Zilpah. His older half-brothers, Reuben, Simeon, Levi and Judah, chase each other about the compound and pay no heed as Joseph and Rachel pass.

It isn’t long until Joseph carelessly slips off his sandals and runs ahead of his mother. Rachel’s step is graceful and determined, yet the little lad leads the way over the gently rolling hills. Joseph is full of life and loves the soft grasses that tickle his bare feet. His small sleeveless robe allows the sun to kiss his arms with warmth and strength.

Rachel catches up to Joseph as he scurries up a rock in hopes of seeing his father.

“Mother, why are we going to meet Papa tonight?” Joseph questions.

“It is a beautiful evening for a walk and if we get to the pastures early maybe your papa will have time to tell you a story,” Rachel replies.

“I love Papa’s stories. I can’t wait to get there! See, Mama! Papa and his sheep are right over there. May I please run to him so he can start on his story?”

“I will run with you, Joseph!” Rachel answers.

Rachel hikes her long brightly colored skirt to her knees, and the two race across the distance as the horizon spreads an endless canvas of vivid pinks and lavenders high in the sky. Joseph seems tireless as he breathes deeply of the cool, fresh air in the open fields. The sight of his father energizes his steps. As the two near the shepherd, it is easy to see he is also wearing his simlah, a sleeveless, loose-fitting robe. Joseph giggles at the sight, knowing that his father will toss him high into the air with those strong arms.

“What brings you to the fields this refreshing fall evening?” Jacob asks.

Rachel blushes, “Why, it is you, of course, my dear. The day has been long, and we have come to talk for a bit.”

Joseph is unable to contain his excitement any longer and interrupts, “Oh, Papa, Papa, we have come so you’ll tell me a story! Mama said we might have time for one.”

“What story would you like to hear?” Jacob asks, also being glad for someone to talk to.

“Tell me the story about my grandfather,” is Joseph’s ready response.

“I should have guessed the story you’d choose,” teases Jacob with delight as he tossed Joseph heavenward and caught him again.

Knowing he is in for an eventful story, Joseph giggles as he settled onto a grassy spot left by the sheep.

“Come sit by me, my dear,” Jacob motions to Rachel as he starts his story.

“There are three important facts that you must remember as I tell you this story. The first is that my grandfather heard God speak, the second is that he obeyed the command of God, and the last is that God honored my grandfather’s faith and credited it to him for his righteousness. Do you know what righteousness is?”

Joseph is quiet for a moment as if in deep thought. “Didn’t you say that righteousness was like a robe that we put on by faith over our heart?” Joseph asks.

“Yes, son, when you put on your simlah, your shepherd’s robe, you use your hands to put it on. In the same way faith is a symbol of your hands and takes hold of righteousness to cover your heart,” Jacob explains. “Because we believe our outward clothes carry great significance to our identification and feelings, so it is important for our hearts to always have on the robe of God’s righteousness,” Jacob continues. “Just as ministers, educators, and wealthy men wear only the meil-type clothes of a high ranking professional, so we, as God’s children must never display anything from our heart except for God’s righteousness.”

From there the story unfolds as the three sit with the sheep quietly grazing on the gentle slopes of Haran. “Abraham recognized God’s voice as he commanded him to sacrifice his son, Isaac, and chose obedience to the command. My grandfather believed that God would raise his son from the dead if He actually required my father’s life,” Jacob says.

Joseph shivers as the sunlight wanes and at the thought of what could have happened. Jacob wraps Joseph into the folds of his own simlah robe to keep the young boy secure.

“God told Abraham to take wood, fire and his promised son to a mountain in Moriah that He’d point out to him. Obediently Abraham took Isaac, his thirteen-year-old son, up the mountain. On the way Isaac asked him concerning the sacrifice, ‘You have wood and you have fire, but what about a sacrifice?’”

“Giving Isaac an answer of faith Abraham replied, ‘God will provide the sacrifice that is needed,’” Jacob recounts.

Jacob explains that Abraham took rocks that he found on the mountaintop and built an altar. Then he tied his son and laid him on the altar.

Joseph quivers within the folds of his father’s robe at the thought of his grandfather lying on the altar with his great-grandfather lifting the knife to slay him.

“It’s alright, Joseph,” Jacob reassures his young son. “Just in time God said, “Stop! Now I know you’ll move beyond your fear and doubt to obey me. I see that you have not withheld your son from me. Now look in the thicket behind you and you’ll find a sacrifice acceptable to me.’”

“Try to imagine how relieved your grandfather was when Abraham saw a ram caught by his horns in the thicket!” Jacob says.

Joseph sits in wide-eyed amazement realizing the goodness of God and how He had rewarded his great-grandfather’s faith and obedience.

“Now remember, Son,” Jacob breaks into his young son’s deep thoughts, “my grandfather’s faith was accredited to him for righteousness. Our faith in God becomes our righteousness in His sight. It wraps us in with God, just like I am wrapping you in my shepherd’s robe. Your great-grandfather’s faith was the spiritual robe he always wore. His symbolic robe is referred to as the ‘robe of righteousness’. We can obtain our own robe of righteousness by faith and obedience.”

By now daylight is fading, and Jacob calls his sheep as the three of them lead the sheep into the folds of Laban.

AN EVENING IN JOSEPH’S TEEN YEARS

By the time Joseph has reached his mid-teens, many changes have taken place in his family’s life. They had left his birthplace and moved back to Hebron, the place of Jacob’s ancestors. On their move back to Hebron, Rachel had given birth to Benjamin, his only full-blooded brother. Sadly, Rachel had died during childbirth and left the two motherless. And Joseph now had ten half-brothers by his aunt Leah and the two handmaids.

Come, I hear Joseph calling us to listen in on a conversation he is having with his father. The early evening campfire is inviting as Joseph explains to us, “My father has told me many stories of faith and righteousness, but he has also shown traits of hanging onto past hurts. I would like for you to listen in on our conversation.”

We sit where Joseph points to a grassy spot and listen as Jacob begins the conversation.

“I do so miss your mother, Joseph. When I first saw Rachel as a young girl, it was love at first sight. I served your grandfather for fourteen years until she was finally mine. But now she is gone.”

Joseph pokes a stick into the fire thoughtfully. “Yes, Father, it is hard to be without my mother, but I do so love my little brother,” Joseph tries to diffuse his father’s downheartedness.

“Yes, son, we all love him; however, it is difficult for me to move past my loss and keep my mind fastened on that blessing. Many years ago when my father blessed me, before he sent me to Padanaram, these trials and woes of my life were never in my sphere of comprehension.”

Joseph shifts his gaze from the flames of the open fire to the canopy of billions of stars that stud the skies with their jewel-like splendor. A soft breeze stirs the leaves in the olive tree nearby. “Papa,” he reverts to his affectionate childhood name for Jacob, “from my earliest memories I recall you telling me of my great-grandfather’s faith. I remember the account of your 90-year-old grandmother, Sarah, giving birth to your father. Papa, you told me of his obedience in offering his son on the altar and because of his obedience God spared my grandfather. You’ve explained how faith became Abraham’s righteousness. You’ve told us that all it takes is faith to believe God’s promises and when we exercise faith, God credits it to us for our righteousness.”

Jacob stirs restlessly as Joseph continues. “Do you remember the night long ago when we were still back with Grandpa Laban? You told me the story of Abraham’s faith, and wrapped me in the folds of your robe, explaining how that shepherd’s coat is like the robe of righteousness. Since then I’ve determined to live my life by faith and obedience to God. I attribute my trust and assurance to your teachings on nights like that when you held me close.”

Jacob raises his shoulders and lifts his sight to the evening splendor at which his young son is gazing. “Marvelous, vast, fathomless,” he whispers under his breath. Then he asks pointedly, “Joseph, do you sense that assurance of faith even when the times are hard?”

“Father, how could I but believe in the Almighty God when I consider the heavens, the work of His fingers, the moon and all these stars which He foresaw and created?” (See Psalm 8:3)

Jacob is thoughtful as he scans the flock of sheep that have settled nearby. “The sheep seem settled down so let’s get some sleep before they begin to graze again.”

Joseph rehearses the favor of God on his great-grandfather as he falls asleep, “And not being weak in faith, he did not consider his own body, already dead (since he was about a hundred years old), and the deadness of Sarah’s womb. He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform. And therefore ‘it was accounted to him for righteousness.’” (Romans 4:19-22)

By the time Joseph has reached the age of seventeen he had not only learned to be a good sheepherder, but he also knew about the faith of his forefathers, although that faith still remained untested in him.

JOSEPH LIVED BEFORE THE LAW WAS GIVEN

Since Joseph lived before the Mosaic law and before the life and teaching of Jesus, we may ask, “How did Joseph acquire his robe of righteousness?”

Faith has always been the element that bridges the gap between man’s humanity and the favor of God. The apostle Paul makes this clear in Romans 4:13-16 where he says,

“For the promise that he would be the heir of the world was not to Abraham or to his seed through the law, but through the righteousness of faith. For if those who are of the law are heirs, faith is made void and the promise made of no effect…Therefore it is of faith that it might be according to grace.” (Emphasis mine)

As the prophets looked forward in faith to God’s redemption through Jesus, (Isaiah 9:6, 7) God chose to fulfill a destiny that reaches through the ages to us. Though Joseph lived before Christ’s earthly birth, his faith was not void because Jesus was before all things (Colossians 1:17). This means that Christ was already present in Joseph’s days.

Jesus said in John 8:58, “Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.”

Another confirmation we have that Jesus is from the beginning is found in John 1:1: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” This verse spells out clearly that “the Word” refers to Jesus Christ.

The verification of Joseph’s faith is clearly seen in ‘God’s Hall of Fame’ in Hebrews 11:21, 22.

By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, and worshiped, leaning on the top of his staff. By faith Joseph, when he was dying, made mention of the departure of the children of Israel, and gave instructions concerning his bones.

Joseph’s faith, his appropriation of the robe of righteousness, and the fact that he was highly knowledgeable of his royal linage, cannot be questioned. Joseph’s faith, though untested as of yet, marked his appropriation of God’s righteousness.

Ephesians 2:8, 9 underlines the importance of faith for us: For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.

Faith is our necessary link to obtain God’s righteousness in our own lives.

THE ‘ROBE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS’ - JESUS CHRIST IS THE DOOR INTO THE KINGDOM

Jesus is the only door, the only way, and the only opening for us to enter into the kingdom of God! We must personally understand the interest Jesus has in each of us. In John 10 Jesus declares Himself to be the door to the sheepfold. He fully realized his own flesh would be pierced in order for Him to become that door for us to pass through. Listen carefully to the heartbeat of Jesus in John 10:7-11.

“Then Jesus said to them again, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheepfold. All who ever came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.’”

In today’s society it’s not popular to narrow our choices to one and say that Jesus is the only way, and yet He declared the same in John 14:6 when He made proclamation to his disciples,

“I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”

Recently I attended an appreciation luncheon that ended in a form of meditation that focused on self rather than on Jesus. The speaker started his dialogue, “Be comfortable. Get into a position to relax and let yourself go. You may want to walk along some beach, or fly with the birds. Just let yourself be free.”

Then I became aware of the wooing sound that arose from his brass meditation bowl. It filled the outer crevices of the room until it encircled the whole assembly. It ascended from an intriguing whisper to an alluring demand that summoned any resources coming within its grip. The instructor continued to urge us to relax by instructing us, “Always follow the light.”

I was taken off guard by the turn of events at the lovely luncheon. With my daily access into the Spirit world through faith in Christ’s finished work on Calvary, I knew that to have wandered out into this spiritual realm without entering through Christ would have classified me as a thief or robber. (See John 10:1) With only the loosely given guidelines there had been no mention of Jesus, the only spiritually legal authority granting us permission to enter into a supernatural realm.

That night my sleep was greatly disturbed; I felt I’d witnessed treason as those without spiritual authority had entered into a spiritual realm. I turned to God, and my prayerful surveillance brought me into clear focus.

In the beginning Satan was with God in Heaven. Heaven and earth were both God’s territory until sin entered and Satan was cast out of Heaven. Thus Satan became the prince of the powers of the air and roams about as a roaring lion seeking to find someone to devour. (I Peter 5:8) The Bible describes him as a betrayer (John 13:2), as transformed into an angel of light (II Corinthians 11:14), a wolf that scatters (John 10:12), the serpent that beguiles (Genesis 3:4), and the father of lies (John 8:44).

After their arrest, Peter and John declared to the Sanhedrin that Jesus is the only door into God’s spiritual kingdom. This strict sect of the Pharisees questioned the apostles about their spiritual authority, and they boldly declared the Name of Jesus, saying,

“Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12)

Christ’s bloodstained cross is our only legitimate door into the spirit realm. The wrongly acquired keys given in the earlier meditation session would give access to a cop-out mentality and aimless wandering. It holds humanity in a helpless vice while the assurance of Christ’s death on Calvary, and His resurrection from the dead, provides a door of entrance for all humanity into the spiritual kingdom.

Jesus, our legal port of entrance into the spiritual realm, provides us with truth, purpose, integrity, guidelines, and structure for our meditations. He gives us legal access to appropriate, through faith, any promise in the Bible. He is the robe of Righteousness we must put on in order to serve and receive God as was intended in the beginning.

JESUS SPEAKS OF ROBES IN HIS PARABLES

In Matthew 22:1-12 Jesus compares the kingdom of heaven to a king who prepared a wedding feast for his son.

The king decked his house in splendid hangings of tapestry and prepared the finest foods, killing his fattened cattle and oxen for his invited guests. He sent his servants out with elaborate invitations to this elegant wedding. Those invited promptly ignored the royal summons due to their own desires and plans. With a heart for conquest, the king sent his servants out a second time with invitations and the urgent command, “Fill my house with guests.” This time those invited mocked at the affair or treated the servants spitefully, even killing some.

This turn of events added anger to the king’s determination. He quickly gave orders to his armies to destroy the murderers and annihilate their cities.

While his fattened cattle were still roasting in the ovens, he summoned his servants for the third time. “Go into the highways and alleys and bring in as many people as you can find.” He gave a blanket invitation to each man, woman and child alike, without regard to their rank, color, or state.

As the guests arrived, the king, being a person of high rank, showed his lordly splendor and honored his guests by providing them a garment suitable for the festivity. Each was given a garment appropriate for the occasion.

There was, however, a guest who refused to wear the robe presented to him. When the king came to greet his guests, he was upset at seeing the defiance in this man. The robe had been freely given but so severely rejected. The king’s majestic expression of generosity to the wayfaring man had been refused.

The king was furious and his command eminent! “…Bind him hand and foot, take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” (Matthew 22:13)

The robe the king furnished to his guests is symbolic of God’s robe of righteousness generously provided for us. As the king’s wrath is clearly seen when his invitation was scorned and the guest refused the suitable wedding garment, in like manner we’ll incur God’s wrath if we reject the righteousness He has provided for us in Jesus Christ.

Our Father’s love and the importance of the robe of righteousness are clearly seen in Luke 15:11-32. Jesus tells the parable of a well-to-do farmer who had two sons. One day the younger of the two came in from the fields and demanded of his father, “Give me my inheritance.”

The father tried to convince him of his poor choice, explaining the potential growth of his assets, but the son demanded the inheritance immediately.

With reluctance the father complied, and as he had suspected, the son soon left home and wasted all his possessions on prodigal living. Picture the son’s plight when he found himself feeding a farmer’s hogs during a severe famine and wishing to share some of the hogs’ corn husks.

He had moved into the fast lane of living and poverty had brought his lifestyle to a screeching halt. How could he have fallen from being an honored son of a wealthy landowner to being ravished with hunger in a pigpen?

Fortunately this desperation brought him to his senses and to the point of repentance. He had left home in a highly decorated robe, showing his prestige, but now he was dressed only in filthy rags. Focusing on home, he left the pigpen to trudge the long road back to where he’d come from.

Shame, humiliation and repentance all vied for his attention. What was he to expect? Would his father even look at him after his blatant defiance? As he neared home, his questions were all answered in a moment.

Though the son was thin, ragged and filthy, the ever-watchful father recognized his prodigal at a distance. Running with open arms, he embraced the frail form before him. He brought the best meil-type robe and put it on him, placing a ring on his finger and shoes on his feet. A feast was prepared, and there was merriment in the home!

The father’s love and gladness were clearly seen by all those in the house!

Though we have gone astray as this prodigal had, our heavenly Father has His robe of righteousness, a symbolic and spiritual robe, waiting for us. He too is just waiting for our return to Him with a repentant attitude so He can present us with our fresh new attire, our robe of righteousness, Christ.

I MADE MY ROBE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS A PERSONAL DECISION

“Oh, I feel like traveling on…my Heavenly home is bright and fair, and I feel like traveling on,” were words that rang in the back of the old VW bus as it headed down Highway 22 toward a small burg in Iowa. As a group of newly liberated Christians, we were jubilant as we traveled the thirty miles to a pond for a baptismal service.

After my parent’s excommunication from our former denomination, my family visited various churches throughout our area. I was exposed to many different forms of worship without understanding about Christ’s redemption and how it applied to me. As my brother and I entered our teens, my parents decided it was time to put down church roots and moved us back to the state of my birth, Iowa.

At the age of fifteen, after completing the catechism classes of a more liberal branch of our former denomination, I ceremoniously had some water poured on my head and assumed I had obtained my salvation. Meanwhile, God remained hidden from me behind man-made ordinances. I believed that to transgress these traditions would send me directly to Hell, and yet my self-righteousness was unfulfilling.

After a few years of spiritual faltering and unfulfilled yearnings my family was exposed to the miraculous move of the Holy Spirit in our area. At the time God graciously filled me with His Spirit, the eyes of my understanding were opened to faith in Christ’s finished work on Calvary. I realized that He completed all I needed to obtain His righteousness.

Up until this time I had been haunted by the fact that I couldn’t pinpoint an exact date of my salvation. As we sang God’s praises in the back of that old clattering bus, I knew that this baptism would provide me with a date and time of public confession of my new birth. Christ’s work was completed on Calvary, and I had taken the step of identifying with His death, burial and resurrection! I determined never again to question my salvation.

YOU MUST MAKE YOUR SALVATION A PERSONAL MATTER

Through my studies of scripture I have come to the understanding that the words soul, heart and spirit are often used interchangeably and may be difficult to distinguish from each other unless we search out their root meanings. In order to simplify this study, I have chosen to use this three-point formula to help you understand what I am talking about.

1. We are spirit

We know that God is a Spirit, but we may seldom think of ourselves as spirit beings also. Nevertheless, it is our spirit-man that is the real ‘us’. When God breathed the breath of life into Adam, He breathed his eternalness into human form, thus distinguishing us from the rest of His creation. It is the eternal part of humanity that Christ came to redeem and which must have a personal relationship with God. We indeed are spirit. (See Genesis 1:26; 5:1)

2. We live in a body

Although the physical body is not the main emphasis of this study we are told in I Corinthians 3:16, 17 that we are God’s temple. I urge you to study this Scripture which also gives strong warning against defiling or bringing to a worse state this temple of God. I Corinthians 6:19 declares that our body is the temple of the Holy Ghost and that we are to honor Him with our bodies.

God has given me personal convictions about our ‘junk food’ habits. God wants us to exercise properly, remain active and nourish our bodies with the best possible foods. Even though a ‘sit down meal’ with the family is nearly a lost art in our society, it is still a healthy way of life. It does more than just nourishing the physical body, but lends to building relationships as well.

Even though we know that when we leave this earth this mortal flesh will put on immortality and will change these bodies into incorruptible bodies, we need not hasten the process by not caring for the body (I Corinthians 15:53,54).

In the resurrection we will get our new bodies automatically if our spirit man is clothed with God’s robe of righteousness. This understanding allows us to be wise in caring for our bodies, while providing the space we need to care for our first priorities, our spirit and then our soul.

3. We have a soul

Our soul is made up of three components: our mind (or intellect), our will and our emotions (or feelings). Our soul is what creates our habits. Good habits are formed when they have the spiritual component of the heart in alignment with God’s Word.

The following chapters will deal largely with the aspects of the soul, but before we can go there we must take care of our spiritual state. In order to do this we must understand that we inherited a sin nature which we must repent of (I Corinthian 15:45). Romans 3:23 plainly declares that we have all sinned and fallen short of God’s glory and honor of which He is worthy.

Although I have just pointed out that we all have a sinful nature that we need to repent of we also have a solid foundation of love to rely on. Read the following passage and feel the love that God has for you. John 3:16 declares,

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”

This means that God, in His infinite love, offers us redemption through His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ. God did this so that Christ might die on the cross for us and become the Savior of the world. Christ being God in human form was the only One who could take onto Himself the form of a servant and be made sin for us. (Philippians 2:7, 8)

If you have never repented of your sins and asked Jesus to come and redeem you, now is the time for you to move beyond your old past and invite Him into your life. Maybe you have asked Him to be your Savior and have not made Him your Lord. If so, then I also invite you to pray the following prayer. Perhaps you are someone who asked Christ into your life a long time ago but you have been swayed away by various things in life; then you too must come and kneel with me. Visualize the foot of the cross of Christ where His blood was shed for the cleansing of all our sins.

If you are one who has already invited Jesus into your heart, then reaffirm that relationship. If you have questioned your salvation, do this in faith and remember the date so you’ll never again question the condition of your spirit man. If you have never heard of God’s gift of redemption, or if you have never asked Jesus to personally come into your life, now is your time!

As you read this example prayer, make it your own. You must do more than just read it. Make it the cry of your heart. Insert your personal repentance, your own willfulness and your individual acceptance of God’s precious gift of His love to you.

Dear precious Father in Heaven,

I come to you now as the prodigal son did when he returned to his father. I come with a contrite heart because I realize that I have sinned. I understand that I have denied Your grace and wasted Your substance. Forgive me for my sins. I repent of these and choose to turn away from them.

I believe that Jesus, Your Son, shed his blood and died on the cross for the redemption and purification of my spirit. I accept the forgiveness that You have for me, and I enter into Your kingdom by the authority of that divine sacrifice. I know that I am now free to move beyond the law of sin and death and that I am a new creature in Christ Jesus.

Thank You for washing my sins away. Thank You for giving me an entrance into Your kingdom. I now believe that I receive my symbolic robe that is Your righteousness. I am now one of Your own beloved children. Lead me, guide me and help me to grow in You and Your Word.

Thank you for Your free gift of salvation. I receive it now and make You the Savior and Lord of my life.

I take that salvation, and rise up and walk in faith that Christ’s robe of righteousness is my source of strength. As Peter walked on the water, so have You enabled me to walk in life. I trust that I will become victorious in my life here on earth, because of what Your Son has done for me.

In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

Now that you have prayed this prayer of rededication, or as a first time prayer, it is important that you sign and date your commitment as a reminder of your decision to accept His plan of salvation. Please do so by hand writing the prayer as you prayed it on separate piece of paper, then sign and date the prayer to record it forever for yourself.

AN ILLUSTRATION FOR CLARIFICATION

Following Jesus’ example of using parables, I’ll use an illustration to help you relate what you did when you prayed the sinner’s prayer.

Two-year-old Joel was the only son of millionaires Mike and Nancy. Mike owned several businesses in various states, and Nancy was the mistress of their lavish estate. Nancy and Mike both adored their son and worked hard to equip him with all the material possessions that he would ever need. Nancy’s schedule often took her out of the home, but a very capable staff was left in charge at home.

One blustery winter night after a promotional banquet, Mike and Nancy headed home from the convention center in hopes of arriving in time to tuck Joel into bed. The winds had worsened, and icy snow blurred their vision as they rounded a curve. Suddenly their car went into a spin and down a steep embankment. It took several hours to release them from the wreckage and get them into the local intensive care unit. Though they were in critical condition, they summoned their lawyer. There, in their feeble state, they finalized the papers they’d been working on to name their infant son the heir to all their possessions.

Soon after the accident Joel found himself orphaned and heir to all his parents’ wealth. There were, however, clauses in the will that kept Joel from being able to access his inheritance until he had successfully finished certain requirements in school and until he turned twenty-one. He was given guardians, the best teachers, and all that he needed during his years of maturing, and yet he was totally unable to access the businesses of his late father or liquidate the estate of his parents.

When Joel reached the age and level of maturity that his parents had required of him on their deathbeds, he stepped into the realm of activating and managing his own inheritance.

You have prayed the sinner’s prayer and have stepped into your spiritual inheritance, much of which you will not be able to activate in an immature spiritual state. Since this is the case you may be asking, “What really happened when I prayed and asked Jesus to be my Savior and Lord?”

It is true that you still have the same past, the same debts to pay and house payments to make. You still have the same mother-in-law, the same abusive father, the same siblings or the same bratty children. Whatever your case may be up to this point, you still have your past. That will not change, but what has changed is YOU!

You are now saved from the eternal damnation of hell. You have come by the authority of Christ Jesus to obtain your salvation. (See Acts 4:12)

You are now in a spiritual position where Jesus walks beside you. You no longer need to give in to the old sinful habits. According to Romans 6:14 sin no longer has dominion over you. The thing that has changed is that you are no longer a subject of sin. You are justified, that is to be ‘just-as-if-I’d-never-sinned’. Because of what Jesus did when he died on the cross and rose again, you are given spiritual authority to overcome the vices of sin.

You have all the promises of God left to you and are in the process of maturing spiritually. By taking this step of faith you have joined Joseph in appropriating your robe of righteousness. Even as Joel’s inheritance papers had been written and signed, so have your redemption papers been completed. You must now go on and mature fully to be a completed work in Christ.

YOU ARE NOW WEARING GOD’S MEIL COAT

The clothing the descendants of Abraham wore was significant to portray position, identification and feelings. The highest-ranking officers of the Hebrews wore the colorful, long-sleeved coat referred to as the meil robe. It signified a position of importance and high esteem.

Revelation 1:6 tells us that our spiritual position in God’s kingdom is also one that demands respect. “And has made us kings and priests unto His God and Father; to Him be glory and dominion for ever and ever, Amen.”

In Revelation 5:10 God reaffirms this: “And have made us kings and priests to our God and we shall reign on the earth.”

The prophet Isaiah had insight into this truth before Christ was born. In Isaiah 61:10 he says, “I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall be joyful in my God: For he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.”

By this concept we’re challenged to allow this symbolic meil-type robe become our new identification and way of thinking. The journey through Joseph’s lifetime and actual changes of garments will move us beyond the bondages of our old life without Christ.

WHAT YOU HAVE DONE

You have allowed Joseph to become your example of righteousness received by faith.

You have prayed the sinner’s prayer, asking Jesus to come into your heart and making His righteousness your own personal possession.

You have signed and dated your prayer so you will never forget your commitment and go back to the old life.

You have accessed the spiritually legal port of entrance into the Kingdom of God; giving you rights to claim every promise God has ever spoken to, by or about you.

By this beginning of a new lifestyle and thought patterns you have denied all rights to sin and to Satan.

You have received the forgiveness of your sins which renders your spirit-man spotless in the eyes of God.

You have stepped past the old enslaved you, and are now a blessed child of the Everlasting Heavenly Father!

AN EXERCISE TO PRACTICE

Now having legal access to every promise of God, you know sin no longer has dominion over you. To help you understand just what has happened to you, I want you to turn to Romans chapter six in your Bible (Romans is the sixth book in the New Testament). As you read this chapter, I want you to personalize it by exchanging each “we” with the personal pronoun ‘I’, and then add your name. For example, I would read the first verse like this:

“What shall I, Lydia, say then? Shall I, Lydia, continue in sin that grace may abound?”

Each time you come to a place that you want to doubt your salvation, return to this chapter and make it your personal affirmation. Understand that sin now has no more dominion over you. You are free to choose a Godly lifestyle, freed from sin by God’s grace. Enjoy your freedom to choose what’s right!

Click to read more – Beyond the Colorful Coat

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Reference Materials

Merrill C. Tenney, Zondervan’s Pictorial Bible Dictionary, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49530, 1967,

Spiros Zodhiates, Th.D., The Complete Word Study Dictionary of the New Testament, AMG Publishers, Chattanooga, TN 37422, U.S.A., 1992,

James Strong, S.T.D., L.L.D., Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance, Baker Book House, Grand Rapids, Michigan, Old Testament Ref. #6884

W. E. Vine, M.A., Vine’s Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words, Mac Donald Publishing Company, Mc Lean, Virginia 22101

King James Version, by Frank Charles Thompson copyright © 1964 By the B.B. KIRKBRIDE BIBLE COMPANY, INC. Indianapolis, Ind.

Scripture quotations from THE MESSAGE. COPYRIGHT © by Eugene H. Peterson 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.

Scriptures taken from THE REVISED STANDARD VERSION are taken from the EIGHT TRANSLATION NEW TESTAMENT Copyright © 1974 by Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. Wheaton, Illinois

Scriptures taken from ENGLISH STANDARD VERSION are taken from the EIGHT TRANSLATION NEW TESTAMENT Copyright © 1974 by Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. Wheaton, Illinois

Bigger Than Impossible – Lydia Chorpening

Copyright © 2007

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Unless otherwise indicated all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version of the Bible.

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ISBN: 978-1-62245-053-4