Tag: Christian

FAITH

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

Faith is seeing light with our hearts when our eyes see only darkness.  Often, situations look bad in this life, so it looks dark.  But if we believe that God will work it out for our good, then there is hope.  Hope creates a small pinpoint of light. God takes that small pinpoint and starts chipping away at the darkness until it disappears.  Having faith is knowing he will see us through any situation. 

We don’t have to see things with our eyes to know that God is going to move in our situations. This is what it means to walk by faith. Believing that God will take care of our situations even when they seem impossible. It is about having hope that God will deliver on his promises even when we don’t see it.

God wants us to have pure faith, not mixed with any doubt.

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

KEEP GOING

Everyone has a story. Each one of us has been through something that was hard to walk out.  Some of it is because of bad choices we have made to sin.  Others are attacks of the enemy.  While some things we have to walk through is just life. 

As we run this race we will come upon a lot of things.  Facing adversity is one of the biggest struggles for many Christians. Enduring opposition will give us strength.  When we feel anything but peace, He is our peace. Our joy comes from the Lord. 

We are called to walk in love even when we don’t feel the emotion.  Some people are hard to love, their actions make us feel the emotions that lean toward the opposite of love.  But Jesus loves the unlovable. He loved me when I wasn’t capable of loving him back.

We have two choices every day, do we run this race or do we quit.  If we quit, we will be plunged into darkness left to navigate life totally on our own.  If we keep running this race, it will be rough at times but God is with us to help us run this race.  The choice is a no brainer. 

2 TIM 2:3-4   3 Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. 4 No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.

We have to find the strength to keep fighting and keep pushing forward.  He never promised we would not have difficult times.  He did promise to never leave us or forsake us.  With Him, we have Him there to strengthen us, there is not anything we cannot endure.

It is all about pushing through the pain and enduring the opposition we come up against. Heaven is real and waiting for us to finish this race well. Hold on my friends, keep going.  You do not go alone, Jesus is with you.

BE BOLD, BE  BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

 

CHURCH PEOPLE

The day after Easter I went to my favorite place to get breakfast. The nice lady that I chat with at the pickup window asked how was my Easter. I told her it was nice and I got to spend time with my family. She said,”I had to work, and then she did air quotes with her fingers and said, “the church people,” came in after their Easter service. They were rude and angry that we were closing early to spend time with our families. Why would they not want us to spend time with our families?”

I immediately said, “There is a difference between “church people” and Christians.” As I continued my drive to work, I thought about what I said to her. Just because you faithfully attend church each week doesn’t mean you are saved. It doesn’t mean that when Jesus comes again, he is going to take you with him. The messages preached in each service need to make an impact. Each day we need to walk a little better than the day before, even if we are a new Christian.

I know we all get emotional at times and allow our flesh to rise up. Especially when we are treated badly. I have heard many people say that they do not like to work at restaurants on Sundays. Their reason is the “church people”. We need to go out of our way to be kind to everyone. If you go to a restaurant anytime be sure to be kind, even if your server is not kind.  Don’t be skimpy with your tips.  Christians are supposed to be generous and loving.

Christians will walk in love and will carry themselves with kindness, dignity, and humility.  Every one of us has bad days when our flesh rises, and we fail. We cannot impact this world with the gospel if we are walking in our flesh. The times we find ourselves not walking in love is because we have lost our God focus.

Gal 5:16-17 [16] This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. [17] For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.  I am grateful that God forgives our failures. We are to walk in the spirit and we will not walk in the flesh.

If we keep our connection to God intact and spend time with him, we are less likely to fall.  Staying filled with Him will keep us from walking in the flesh.  Psalm 139:23-24 KJV Search me, O God, and know my heart: Try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, And lead me in the way everlasting.

This verse needs to be our daily prayer; for God to search us and lead us. We need to be so full of God that there is no room for the flesh to rise up.  As long as we are in this life, the flesh will war with the spirit. I pray I never am categorized as “Church people”  I want to be known as a shining light; a Christian that is the real deal. I want people to see Christ in me.

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS