Of Faith and Boldness – Part II

“You should not, then, be casting away your boldness, which is having a great reward, for you have need of endurance...”  (Hebrews 10: 35, CLNT) 

“Now faith is an assumption of what is being expected, a conviction concerning matters which are not being observed; for in this the elders were testified to.  By faith we are apprehending the eons to adjust to a declaration of God, so that what is being observed has not come out of what is appearing.”  (Hebrews 11:1-2, CLNT)

As the Lord spoke to me regarding my faith and reminded me to allow Him to move and have His way with me, I was filled with boldness.  I felt bold in speaking out or remaining silent.  I felt bold in simply being in Christ and doing as Christ led me to do. 

Of Faith and Boldness – Part I

“You should not, then, be casting away your boldness, which is having a great reward, for you have need of endurance...”  (Hebrews 10: 35, CLNT) 

“Now faith is an assumption of what is being expected, a conviction concerning matters which are not being observed; for in this the elders were testified to.  By faith we are apprehending the eons to adjust to a declaration of God, so that what is being observed has not come out of what is appearing.”  (Hebrews 11:1-2, CLNT)

On recent morning, as I was praying and crying out my woes to God about particular circumstances which were frustrating me and making me feel hopeless, I realized the following:

DAILY TRUTH – There is Only One God and One Lord

“…We are aware that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is no other God except One.  For even if so be that there are those being termed gods, whether in heaven or on earth, even as there are many gods and many lords, nevertheless for us there is one God, the Father, out of Whom all is, and we for Him, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through Whom all is, and we through Him.  But not in all is there this knowledge....”  (1 Corinthians 8:4-7)

There is only one God:  YHWH, out of whom all is.  He is the One from Whom everything originates.  While He is spirit and unseen to our human eyes, He is the source of everything that exists. 

There is only one Lord:  His Son, Jesus Christ, Lord of all, through Whom all is.  He is the One through Whom God speaks to us and through Whom God fulfills His plans for the world and mankind.  He makes God audible and visible to the world.

It is also true that “not in all is there this knowledge”.  Whether we are aware of it or not, whether we know it or not, or believe it or not, the truth that there is one God and one Lord remains true. 

May we be granted the faith to believe and the ability to understand the truth.

For a related post on this topic, see a previous post titled, “One God and One Lord”.  

DAILY TRUTH – The Power of Prayer

“…and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.  Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the earth for three years and six months.  Then he prayed again, and the sky poured rain and the earth produced its fruit.”   (James 5:16-18)

What do these words truly mean?  How are we to apply them today?

As I have observed and listened to others, I have come to the belief that these words are hugely misunderstood by many who read them and attempt to apply this instruction given by James.

Do these words mean that if we pray hard enough and long enough, while we are behaving as righteously as could be humanly possible, we can make anything we want happen? ...  

DAILY TRUTH – The Counsel of God’s Will

“…the One Who is operating all in accord with the counsel of His will...” 

(Ephesians 1:11)

God is working and moving in complete accordance with His perfect will. 

There are times it is easy to accept this truth and be content with it.  It is easy to accept this truth when things are going well and good things happen in our lives or in the world around us.  “Oh look,” we say, “Isn’t God grand that everything is working out so nicely and beautifully!” “Isn’t God’s timing just perfect?  That could not have been resolved as well except for God having his hand in it.”

There are times when it feels impossible to accept this truth.  Disaster strikes in our lives or in the world and, suddenly, the Devil’s will seems to be in control.   “The Devil is getting the upper hand today with all the terrible things going on.”  “Where is God?  Why doesn’t He do something?  Doesn’t He care?  How can God be all-powerful and let things like this go on?”... 

DAILY TRUTH – The Value of Selfless Sacrifice

“…that you may be mutually disposed, having mutual love, joined in soul, being disposed to one thing--nothing according with faction, nor yet according with vainglory -- but with humility, deeming one another superior to one's self, not each noting that which is his own, but each that of others also.  For let this disposition be in you, which is in Christ Jesus also, Who, being inherently in the form of God, deems it not pillaging to be equal with God, nevertheless empties Himself, taking the form of a slave, coming to be in the likeness of humanity, and, being found in fashion as a human, He humbles Himself, becoming obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.”  (Philippians 2:2-8)

We are encouraged to be disposed to one another with love, unselfishness, and humility.  Reading that exhortation is much easier than applying it.  The more years that I live life, the more I realize how many things we do and give more for our own sakes than that of others.  It is in our imperfect human nature to take care of and please our own selves first and others later...  

DAILY TRUTH – Christ Died for Our Sakes

“For Christ, while we are still infirm, still in accord with the era, for the sake of the irreverent, died.  For hardly for the sake of a just man will anyone be dying: for, for the sake of a good man, perhaps someone may even be daring to die, yet God is commending this love of His to us, seeing that, while we are still sinners, Christ died for our sakes.”  (Romans 5:6-8)

God’s superb grace and unfathomable love is magnificently revealed to us by the fact that His Son, Jesus Christ, gave Himself, His whole life for the sake of sinning and irreverent people. 

It is easy to love, do good things, and make sacrifices for those who love us back and show an appreciation for what we do for them.   It is not easy to sacrificially pour ourselves out and our love and grace to others when they have animosity towards us and return our goodness with ungratefulness, hatefulness, anger, or resentment...