Saturday, October 31, 2015

Give me a G

In my Bible alphabet blog series G stands for God.

Duhh... you might be thinking, of course G stands for God in a Bible alphabet. You don't need to be a scientist to figure that out. But let's make sure there will be no confusion about the identity of this God.

He is the God of Israel! He is the God who shows favor and love to Israel and the Jewish people. This might be politically incorrect, but it is Biblical.

He is the God of creation. He created the vastness of the universe and the smallness of humanity. Because He has the overall picture, He alone is able to give us purpose and meaning in life.

He is the God of love, because no matter what we have done (or failed to do) He is waiting for our friendship. Only His love and forgiveness can truly fill the emptiness that we often try to fill up with substitutes (whether chocolate or drugs).

He is the God of peace who wants His followers to live in peace with everyone. His peace, which transcends all understanding, will guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

And by the way...

He is not the same God as Allah, because he has a Son who is called Jesus Christ, the Messiah, Savior of the world.

Friday, October 16, 2015

Give me an F

In my Bible alphabet blog series F stands for Faith.

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. (Hebrews 11:1).

Faith is not theology, it is substance. It can be felt and it can be seen!

Have you ever looked up at someone because of their unshakable faith? Have you ever asked God for greater faith? I believe it is not a weird question at all, the disciples asked Jesus the same thing when they saw Him do all kinds of great stuff.

His answer can be found in Matthew 17:20 (TEV), I assure you that if you have faith as big as a mustard seed, you can say to this hill "Go from here to there!" and it will go. You could do anything! Notice that this translation says faith as BIG as a mustard seed. Jesus' perception of size is different than ours! He basically tells the disciples, and us today, what mustard seed faith is: something very small you can use in order to do something very big!

Faith without works is dead. Faith that exists in our head or on paper only, is no faith at all. Faith without works is like a bird in a cage: it cannot spread its wings. So, maybe you have faith in Gods promises for a project, for a change, for healing or deliverance... small faith, big faith, trembling faith... it doesn't really matter. The key is to put it into practice...

Putting our faith in God and His promises means we add action to our belief. Let's illustrate this with some simple examples: If you believe today will be a sunny day, leave your umbrella at home! If you believe God heals the sick, go lay your hands on someone. If you believe God will provide, stop worrying!

Go ahead, take whatever faith you have and talk it over with the Lord and ask the Holy Spirit to help you use it in a way that brings results.Together we can move mountains!