Struggling with Our Faith - Part 1

When we struggle with our faith in God, it does not happen because Jesus is inadequate evidence for our conviction. Jesus is actually the very foundation of our Christian faith. 

Other religions diminish His importance in human history and call Him a good teacher, but refuse to give Him the elevated status as Emmanuel – God with us in the flesh (1 John 2:23).

The facts surrounding His miracles are proof enough that He is who He claimed to be. However, when we add His resurrection from the dead and His appearing to people for 40 days before His ascension (Acts 1:3; Luke 24:50-53), we have to conclude that He is God.

Christianity recognizes Jesus in His rightful place for all time. Jesus existed before He was born as a baby on the earth (John 8:58). He is the physical manifestation of God in human form (John 14:9).

If we take Jesus’ words for who He was, we have to believe that He is God. He actually told people that He came from above and that He is not from this world (John 8:23, 17:16). He shared in our Father’s glory prior to his short human existence (John 6:62, 17:5).
 

Prayer:

Father God, teach us to discern the voice of Your Spirit within us, so we can avoid living according to the dictates of our flesh or the devil. We revel in both the glory and humility of Christ who abides within us (John 14:6). We want to follow His example and live in the center of Your will, rather than according to our human desires and impulses.

Thought for the Day:

Jesus existed as God prior to His advent on this earth; yet, He humbled Himself as a servant and a sacrifice for our sins. - Philippians 2:6-8

Our Place in God's Kingdom

 

God walked with Adam in the cool of the day (Genesis 3:8). They had unbroken fellowship with one another. However, with Adam’s sin, this fellowship was broken. Then during the days of the tabernacle in the wilderness, God took up residence in the Holiest of Holies, also called the Most Holy Place. God fellowshipped with the High Priests (Leviticus 16:2,15). He also spoke to His prophets and used them to communicate His words to His people (Hebrews 1:1). He filled with His Spirit each of His anointed people throughout history so they could accomplish His work for them during their lifetime.

Then, with the ascension of Christ, God restored His original, daily communion with each of His children. The Holy Spirit moves into our spirit at salvation and He never leaves. We can quench the Spirit by our thoughts, choices and emotions (1 Thessalonians 5:19); but restoration comes with true repentance. With our new identity in Christ, we have access to the Holy of Holies and we may enter His presence with boldness (Hebrews 10:19). He gives us a new heart upon which He writes His commandments (Hebrews 8:10, 10:16).

God also calls us to cease from our labors and to enter into His rest (Hebrews 4:9-10). He gives us a special place in God’s Kingdom. Here is a list of a few of them. We are:

Acceptable in His Beloved (Ephesians 1:6)

Apple of God’s Eye (Zechariah 2:8)
Branch of the Vine of Christ (John 15:5)
Children of God (1 John 3:1-2, 10; John 1:12)
Chosen ones, dearly loved (Ephesians 1:4; Colossians 3:12; 1 Peter 2:9).
Christ’s Body (1 Corinthians 12:7)
Citizens of heaven (Philippians 3:20)
Complete in Christ (Colossians 2:9-10)
Forgiven (Colossians 1:13-14)
Free from sin’s hold and condemnation (Romans 6:23, 8:1)
Friend of Jesus (John 15:15)
Fruit bearer (John 15:16)
God’s possession (Titus 2:14; 2 Peter 2:9)
God’s workmanship (Ephesians 2:10)
Holy, blameless, irreproachable (Colossians 1:22)
Indwelt by God’s Spirit (Ephesians 3:17)
Justified (Romans 5:1)
Kings, reigning through Christ (1 Peter 2:9; Romans 5:17)
Members of God’s Household (Ephesians 2:19)
New creation (2 Corinth, 5:17; Galatians 6:15; Ephes. 4:24; Coloss. 3:10)
New Israel of God (Galatians 6:16; Romans 9:6)
One with Christ in Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:17)
People of God (1 Peter 2:10)
Perfected in the Spirit (Philippians 3:15; Hebrews 12:23)
Priests (1 Peter 2:9; Revelation 1:6)
Reconciled (Romans 5:10-11)
Redeemed (Colossians 1:13-14)
Righteous (Ephesians 4:24; Romans 5:19; 2 Corinthians 5:21)
Saints (Romans 8:27; Ephesians 1:18, 4:12)
Sons of God through faith in Christ (Galatians 3:26)

Prayer:

Father God, Jesus is standing outside of the door of our heart, asking to come inside. If anyone hears His voice and opens the door, He promises to come in and fellowship with us, giving us access to Your Most Holy Place (Revelation 3:20; Hebrews 10:19). In addition to all of this, we enjoy newness of life forevermore (Romans 6:4). Thank You for our daily bread, for forgiving all of our sins and for all of Your blessings. We look forward to living and reigning with Christ during the Millennium and to living in Your presence throughout eternity.

Though for the Day:

Because Christ shed His blood for the remission of our sins, God now has a personal relationship with every Born Again Believer. - Hebrews 9:12

Crippling Doubt

Doubt is such a common travesty among the Saints of God, starting with Adam and Eve. Take Abraham and Sarah for instance. They waited so long for their child, that they doubted God’s promise. They hatched an alternate plan to the Lord’s arrangement and Ishmael came as a result. They eventually had their own child, but their doubt produced a thorn in his side. To this day the Arab nations want to crucify the Jews (Genesis 17:15-21; Genesis 18:10-14).

John the Baptist, imprisoned and lacking in faith, doubted that the man Jesus was actually the Messiah. He sent two of his disciples to question Jesus. The Lord pointed to the miracles He performed and that He preached the gospel to the poor as proof that He was certainly the Messiah (Matthew 11:1-7).

Pilate was torn by doubt. He doubted Jesus’ story; yet, he also doubted the Jews accusations against Jesus. He finally made up his mind, declaring that he found no fault in Jesus. However, he was not a man who lived up to his convictions. He turned Jesus over to the Jews, so they could crucify Him (John 19:1-7).

Everyone knows about doubting Thomas. He was gone when Jesus appeared to His disciples after His resurrection. When Thomas heard the babbling excitement of his peers, he refused to believe their account. He wanted the proof of seeing Jesus with his own eyes before he would believe in the accounts of the resurrection. Jesus humored him and appeared in the room without even coming through the door. He calmed their fears and allowed Thomas to touch His wounds as proof that He lived again.

Jesus chastised Thomas for his doubt and told him that those who believe without seeing are more blessed than those who believe only because they see proof with their own eyes (John 20:24-29). Unbelievers have this same problem. They refuse to believe because we cannot prove God to their human senses. How can anyone explain a spiritual concept with human terms? The two are in different leagues and the spiritual is much more profound than the earthly (Isaiah 55:8-9).

Jesus actually proved His resurrection by presenting Himself alive by many infallible proofs. Over 500 people saw him at one time and many heard Him during the forty days between His resurrection from the grave and ascension into heaven. He also hung out with His apostles, cooked for them, spoke about the kingdom of God and promised to send them the Holy Spirit to comfort and direct them after He returned to Heaven (1 Corinthians 15:5-8; Acts 1:3-4). However, people today even doubt the reality of their testimony.

Double minded people are unstable in all of their ways. They are like a wave driven by the sea and tossed by the wind. They live unbalanced lives and are plagued with doubts (James 1:5-8). God said that if anyone lacks wisdom, He would provide it liberally without reproach (James 1:5-7). We do not have to live in crippling doubt, when we can ask in faith and receive anything from the Lord that is in accorance with His will (John 14:13-14). He will help us with our unbelief, if we make the commitment to believe (Mark 9:24).

Prayer:

Lord God, you gave us the heavens, the earth, the sea and everything in them. You give us rain and fruitful seasons and the beauty of nature. You fill our hearts with gladness. You do all of this to prove Your existence (Romans 1:20; Acts 14:15-18). Yet, people persist in rejecting You and denying Your reality. Father, forgive them, because they are blinded by the god of this age (2 Corinthians 4:4). Please remove Satan’s deception from their lives and set them free to believe in Your majesty and power.

Thought for the Day:

God have mercy on those who doubt. – Jude 1:22