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.

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!

Give me an E

In my Bible alphabet blog series E stands for Encouragement.

This is one of the few words, I believe, should be in every believer's dictionary :) Well, maybe not so much in the dictionary, but more so in daily life and attitude.

In an often negative world that is full of violence, hatred, lies, insensibility and apathy, we all need encouragement, every day! We will get it, when we start giving it.

Where will we find it? In the Bible: For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope (Romans 15:4).

Who will give it? God! May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you the same attitude of mind toward each other that Christ Jesus had... (Romans 15:5).

Oh, how we should desire to go about our daily business like the believers did in the beginning. Not repeating the gossip and bad news we are bombarded with each day, but sharing good stuff. It is written about the apostle Paul: He traveled through that area, speaking many words of encouragement to the people, and finally arrived in Greece (Acts 20:2).

I want to encourage you with the following words:

Finally, brothers and sisters, rejoice! Strive for full restoration, encourage one another, be of one mind, live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you (2 Corinthians 13:11).

Have a fabulous weekend!

Give me a D

In my Bible alphabet blog series D stands for Disciple.

Disciple actually means a follower or pupil of a teacher and comes from the verb discere which means 'learning'.

A disciple is someone with a teachable spirit, someone who is willing and committed to learn (not someone who thinks he/she knows everything already).

Jesus says some very important things to the people who want to be His disciple, for example: A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone when he is fully trained will be like his teacher (Luke 6:40). Will be like Jesus ... in thinking, talking and acting!

Not everyone believes that Jesus is the Son of God, but in general people do agree that He is the greatest teacher who ever walked the earth. Is it not logical that we should learn from Him? This begins with the reading and studying of the four Gospels (do it!) and asking for wisdom and insight from the Holy Spirit.

The qualifications for discipleship are not very complicated, but quite radical: So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple. (Luke 14:33). In today's terms this basically means:

• that we must be willing to let go of everything we think to know
• that we should not hang on to our possessions and
• that we must be willing to give up our lives for Him

Give me a C

In my Bible alphabet blog series C stands for Christ.

Christ is NOT the last name of Jesus, but it is a Greek word which shows who He is, namely the anointed one (the chosen one).

The Hebrew word for this is Mashiach (Messiah), and that comes from the verb mashach (to smear or anoint with oil).

The first chapter of Matthew's Gospel shows the genealogy of the Jewish Messiah. Verse 16 goes like this: and Matthan the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born, who is called Christ. One by one the people of that time discovered and believed that Jesus was indeed the promised Messiah.

One of them was the disciple Andrew. In John 1:41 it is written about him: The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, “We have found the Messiah” (that is, the Christ). That news was, and still is, going around the world like wildfire. Every day people come to realize that Jesus is the Christ.

Christ, the anointed or chosen one. He is the Son of God, Savior of the world, Lord of lords, even your best friend (when you decide to believe in Him). Jesus was anointed with the Holy Spirit and went out (Acts 10: 37-38): You know what has happened throughout the province of Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached— how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him.

Jesus Christ is no longer physically on earth, but He has given His anointing to believers to do greater things than He did. What an assignment!

Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come (2 Corinthians 1:21).