FEBRUARY 1 "FAITH BY NECESSITY"

     Verse 31 "And when the Israelites saw the great power the Lord displayed against the Egyptians, the people feared the Lord and put their trust in him and in Moses his servant."   Faith by Necessity, they were forced to either believe or die.  How often in our walk with God will be be forced into situations that we would never have engineered (as long as we were in our right mind) and come to a place where either I believe here or I die. The faith that came, came by a situation that was forced on the Israelite s. Verse 31 is a longgggggg way from the beatings, the..."Moses why don't you leave us alone"....things are only getting worse, why don't you and your God leave us alone...".  Sometimes it's a long journey from..."God you're not helping to and then I saw the hand of God and put my trust and faith in him".  As a matter of a fact, it's such a long journey, sometimes people don't make it! Point is. trials don't always force faith by necessity but rather, at times, force people outside of the kingdom of God.  And we might be quick to say, "way to go God.., look what you've done, they've backslidden"; as we can often be tempted to do when going through gruesome trials...but the question is, do you? There's a big difference between being tempted to do something and actually doing it.  I don't think anyone will ever be able to point the finger at God and say, "you're trials are the reason I backslid". Unfortunately, whether we want to admit it or not, trials are simply a means often of weeding out the tares from the wheat, the sheep from the goats. God puts us in situations where we are only left with two choices, "believe in me here or walk away". He did it to the rich man, he did it to Peter, he did it to the large crowds and he did it here in our text.  Each morning we wake in a trial, we must make a conscious decision, do I believe God for another day or do I stop praying and walk away, faith by necessity, we either keep believing or we die. It is one thing to be tempted, as we are all tempted in the same manner, but it is another thing to actually do it.  Where are you today? Will you make it to Verse 31? "And when the Israelite saw the great power the Lord displayed against the Egyptians, the people feared the Lord and put their trust in him and in Moses his servant."   or will you say, " I have no choice but to believe or I die..."FAITH BY NECESSITY".

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

FEBRUARY 8 "ABANDONED IN MY TIME OF NEED"

   This may end up being one of the greater indictments against The Church of Jesus Christ at our judgement; that we abandoned our brothers and sisters in their most dire time of need. In our reading today, the Psalmist eludes to a time of great anguish in his life and because of this his strength is failing; he then goes on to say concerning his friends, "I am a dread to my friends....I am forgotten by them". Unfortunately, it is when we are not at our best that our brothers and sisters in Christ seem to get turned off by us and often abandon us when we need them the most! Why is that? Is it because of selfish reasons, after all, who doesn't want to hang around upbeat people full of joy and victory, but are there not times that we need to also grieve with those that are grieving?! Another reason is their weakness probably turns us off, "why are you even struggling with this ....what's wrong with you!!?" Thence, we're turned off and leave them to struggl
Read more

OCTOBER 27 "THE UNIQUENESS OF THE DOVE"

                                HOW DOES THE DOVE DIFFER FROM OTHER BIRDS      They Differ Anatomically: Scientists have found the anatomy of Doves is very different from that of other birds. In fact, these beloved birds have no gallbladder, an organ that typically secretes bile.      The dove is the rare bird that has not bitterness, gall in it’s body but also displays no sign towards other birds. It is no surprise then that the Dove is what God used to represent the Holy Spirit descending upon Jesus, a bird with no bitterness in it. It was imperative to Jesus' ministry that He never allow bitterness to enter Him; even to the very end, upon His crucifixion where He refused the drink, mixed with gall. Don't drink the cup of bitterness/gall,....ever!
Read more

AUGUST 8 "ARE YOU THE WELL RESPECTED CHRISTIAN?"

   There's always the exception to the rule, but I believe most of us struggle with wanting to be the respected and dignified Christian, as opposed to what Paul describes as "spectacle to the entire world-to people and angels alike. Our dedication makes us look like fools, but you are so wise (and well respected)".  I think Paul breaks it down "our dedication" makes us look like fools. When we are dedicated, sold out for Christ, we will look like fools. Street preaching is not dignified, passing out tracts and flyers at Walmart does not boost your social status, preaching at a public event doesn't make the Community you live in respect you. "Our dedication makes us fools....BUT, you are wise!" I wonder how many Christians reading this have never Street Preached, passed out flyers and evangelized in an open square? Just the thought of it makes them nausea and raises the hairs on the back of their necks.  Have you become the wise and respectable Chri
Read more