Walking in Faith

"All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth. People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return.Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them." (Hebrews 11:13-15)  
After reading Hebrews 11 this morning, I sat down and began to meditate more on the word “faith” and what it truly means to me. I wanted to share these thoughts with you today. I memorized Hebrews 11:1 and I often share that verse to encourage others through those difficult and tough times in life. To me, that verse is about having “faith” that God is working behind the scenes in our behalf, even though we cannot see those works with our human eyes. We then have "faith", knowing that it is the Lord’s battle and He is fighting for us. Now, lets take it one step further in this thought process. It is at one spiritual level, to have “faith” to believe in our hearts and mind, that God is fighting for us and that gives us peace in the midst of our challenges. But I think that God wants us to take it up a spiritual level to have us “walk in faith”. To "walk in faith" is to take action in our lives and to walk in the confidence as though what we hope for has already come about. Faith without action is only wishful thinking. An example of walking in faith was Abraham that when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. That, I believe, is faith! It is about not looking back but straining our vision forward to what God has in store for us and then being obedient in our actions. What is our vision based on? Is it of things of this world or are we looking forward to Heavenly rewards and what God has prepared for us? Let us all begin to refocus today on our Heavenly rewards and begin to take action today as men and women of faith. I am blown away with the new awareness that God showed me today in His Word. It is for me to have a focus on the future and on the promises that God has shown me – even though I cannot see them being fulfilled now, and to walk in that faith daily.

Question: Are you walking in faith? What do you need to release in order to get a more faith filled focus?

Nothing is Impossible

“Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible." (Matthew 19:26)

”That is impossible!” is a phrase that needs to be removed from our vocabulary. It is a perception that has been created from our human eyes and from our own thinking. We may see a situation and process it as “impossible” and it is only from our own experiences that we see no options. We may go through our past experiences and see that Plan A, Plan B and Plan C have worked for us in the past but none of these human solutions are going to work for this problem. When we get to this point of trying to figure it out on our own, we need to STOP and realize that the solutions are endless for God. God not only has a Plan D but His solutions are endless! We are trying to come up with the answers with our limited human capabilities. We need to realize that NOTHING is impossible with God. We need to have a greater awareness of this verse also. Notice that it does not say, “nothing is impossible FOR God” but it says, “nothing is impossible WITH God”. You see, it is a partnership and that partnership has to do with God and us. Our part is to go to God in prayer to seek His wisdom, His answers and to give the impossible situation to Him, to deal with. When we do that in partnership with Him, He will transform the impossible to possible! All things are possible WITH God Let us be humbled this morning at the realization that what we thought as impossible, IS possible WITH God but, we also have to be part of this equation.... ME + GOD = Possibilities. Any other equation is not effective nor will it provide results.

Question: Are you facing a situation that seems impossible? Can you begin to trust in God more?

(This is a repeat blog from February 2010,  but I felt it needed to be posted today, for I sense that someone out there is facing what they see as a brick wall and they think there is no way out - the Lord is telling you right now, that there is a way out, and that is to do life with Him!)

Shift Your Focus Outward

"There is much more we would like to say about this, but it is difficult to explain, especially since you are spiritually dull and don’t seem to listen. You have been believers so long now that you ought to be teaching others. Instead, you need someone to teach you again the basic things about God’s word. You are like babies who need milk and cannot eat solid food. For someone who lives on milk is still an infant and doesn’t know how to do what is right. Solid food is for those who are mature, who through training have the skill to recognize the difference between right and wrong." (Hebrews 5:11-14)

Ever feel spiritually dull? Ever wonder what is your calling? Do you ever find yourself going to more conferences, reading more books, filling yourself more and more? There comes a time in everyone’s life, that your spiritual journey needs to shift from the focus of your needs, your desires, your wants and it needs to turn to an outward direction, with the purpose of sharing what God has done for you. It is like the baby that transitions from drinking from the bottle to eating solid food. Now is the time when we need to begin to look outward, as the salt and light in this world, to tell everyone about Jesus. Everyone has a story and every story is meant to be shared with others. I have encountered so many women that are wanting to be fed and yet they have a story of encouragement that needs to be shared. God has created this unique story in your life and it is not to be kept on a bookshelf gathering dust, but it is to be shared. It is time for you to stop drinking milk from the bottle and begin to share your story about your walk with Jesus so others can be encouraged and learn from you. Everyone has an important testimony within, that is bursting to come forth. I believe that you were put through those those tough challenges in your life so that you were to grow in your spiritual maturity with the purpose of sharing it with others. How will you begin that today? Will you be willing to share what Jesus has done in your life so others can be inspired? I believe that it is a call to wake up and to take that next spiritual step in your life. Everyone has a call upon their lives and it is through your obedience that you will take that next step and to share it. You will be blessed in the process when you see how your story will encourage others.We cannot drink from a bottle forever and there is a turning point in our spiritual lives in which we will be launched into the process of eating solid food and teaching others through our own personal experiences!