Have you ever noticed when you commit your life to Christ and start living your life for Him that some people in your life fall off? Or maybe you have already been living your life for Him and you are taking your ministry to the next level and even people who supported you before begin to question and speak against where you are going. This is not new, it even happened to Jesus. In Matthew 5:1-2 it says (The Message) “1 When Jesus saw his ministry drawing huge crowds, he climbed a hillside. Those who were apprenticed to him, the committed, climbed with him. Arriving at a quiet place, he sat down 2 and taught his climbing companions……”
So basically Jesus saw that he had a lot of people gathered together listening to Him so He decided to take it to the next level. He went up the hill and then those who made the climb with Him he began to teach. To me this seems to be saying that He wanted to see who would go higher with Him, who would elevate, who would just put in the extra work to follow Him. And when He went up the whole crowd did not go, only some. It also does not say that He looked to those who chose not to follow and begged and pleaded for them to come. He just went about His business.
So, everyone is not going to go the extra mile or elevate themselves in order to hear a word. Everyone will not support you as you take your ministry to a higher level. Some people are comfortable being a part of the crowd at a comfortable level.
Tuesday, October 30, 2012
FAITH -fear = Peace
We all experience fear in some shape or form throughout our lives. Fear a parent has when they see their teenage child heading down wrong path. Fear a child has of attending school due to bully. Or even just the fear the unknown. No matter what fears people have present in their lives, if that fear rules your life, you will be missing out on the best of what God has to offer you. Through my daily walk with God, I’ve realized that I cannot have both fear and faith at the same time. It’s either, or, because one cancels out the other.
Various biblical characters find themselves in undeniably dangerous situations, but they are preserved and protected by God due to their faith. Like Daniel, who was thrown into the lion’s den; Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who were protected while in the fiery furnace; or Noah, who built an ark before one single raindrop hit the ground.
One of my favorite stories about faith is David and Goliath (1 Samuel 17). When David went up against this giant, by all physical standards, he was unprepared. Instead of wearing the standard issued armor, he wore his regular shepherd boy clothes. Also, instead of a sword, 5 stones and a sling was his weapon of choice. But despite what he “lacked” he had the most protective thing of all, his faith. Faith, that he maintained even when those who should have been on his side tried to speak doubt and fear into his faith. Like when his own brother (1 Samuel 17:28) questioned David’s reason for even being there and tried to insult him. Or when King Saul (1 Samuel 17:33) basically called him too green to fight the giant. In my opinion, David’s unyielding faith is what really won the battle. If you look closely at how it played out, you can clearly see how faith completely ruled over the scare tactics the giant was trying to use. In 1 Samuel 17:49-51, it says that the stone David slung knocked the giant to the ground, David was then able to stand OVER the giant. Next, he took the giant’s OWN sword and cut off his head. Talk about insult to injury. I sometimes wonder if David could have just said “die Goliath” and the giant would have fallen dead, because I believe that David’s faith was just that great.
So how do these stories from long ago apply to your current fears in this day in age, you ask? Well, the equation will never change FAITH – fear = Peace. Better yet, not only peace but victory. Your faith in God is the only thing that can give you victory over any situation that may be making you fearful. Whether it is trusting that God will provide for you and your family after being fired from a job, or turning away from the career path because God said otherwise. It could even be having faith that God has covered your house giving you peace and the ability to sleep easy throughout the night. Matthew 6:25-34, tells us to not worry because everything we need will be provided for us. So whatever the danger is in your life, either real or imagined, causing you to be fearful, overtake it with FAITH so that you can live in Peace instead of fear..
Various biblical characters find themselves in undeniably dangerous situations, but they are preserved and protected by God due to their faith. Like Daniel, who was thrown into the lion’s den; Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who were protected while in the fiery furnace; or Noah, who built an ark before one single raindrop hit the ground.
One of my favorite stories about faith is David and Goliath (1 Samuel 17). When David went up against this giant, by all physical standards, he was unprepared. Instead of wearing the standard issued armor, he wore his regular shepherd boy clothes. Also, instead of a sword, 5 stones and a sling was his weapon of choice. But despite what he “lacked” he had the most protective thing of all, his faith. Faith, that he maintained even when those who should have been on his side tried to speak doubt and fear into his faith. Like when his own brother (1 Samuel 17:28) questioned David’s reason for even being there and tried to insult him. Or when King Saul (1 Samuel 17:33) basically called him too green to fight the giant. In my opinion, David’s unyielding faith is what really won the battle. If you look closely at how it played out, you can clearly see how faith completely ruled over the scare tactics the giant was trying to use. In 1 Samuel 17:49-51, it says that the stone David slung knocked the giant to the ground, David was then able to stand OVER the giant. Next, he took the giant’s OWN sword and cut off his head. Talk about insult to injury. I sometimes wonder if David could have just said “die Goliath” and the giant would have fallen dead, because I believe that David’s faith was just that great.
So how do these stories from long ago apply to your current fears in this day in age, you ask? Well, the equation will never change FAITH – fear = Peace. Better yet, not only peace but victory. Your faith in God is the only thing that can give you victory over any situation that may be making you fearful. Whether it is trusting that God will provide for you and your family after being fired from a job, or turning away from the career path because God said otherwise. It could even be having faith that God has covered your house giving you peace and the ability to sleep easy throughout the night. Matthew 6:25-34, tells us to not worry because everything we need will be provided for us. So whatever the danger is in your life, either real or imagined, causing you to be fearful, overtake it with FAITH so that you can live in Peace instead of fear..
If Jesus, Why Not Me?
Since high school and maybe even before that, one of the most popular topics people, including me, chose to discuss, was how “untrue” their friends are. “She stabbed me in the back, they threw me under the bus, he cheated, etc etc.” A lot of conversations, arguments, and status updates have in some way addressed this issue. But now, as a 25 year old, I have grown tired of hearing about the lack of “true friends”, especially by people my age and older.
You’d think the Son of God would want his friends to be the holiest of holy. Preachers, teachers, Rabbi’s etc etc, but that’s not who He wanted. The disciples were everyday people, fishermen, political activists, even tax collectors. For example, when Jesus called Levi (Mark 2:13-17) he was sitting at a tax collector booth. Later, Jesus even went to Levi’s house for dinner and among the dinner guests were tax collectors and “sinners.” When the Pharisees or as I like to refer to them “The Original Haters”, saw this they questioned Jesus. And to this He responded “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners” (v17)
Now what does this all have to do with “true” friends? Jesus did not look at Levi and say I don’t like what you do, or who you associate with so you cannot follow me. In fact, Jesus’ friends weren’t perfect at all. They denied him (Mark 14:68), betrayed him (Mark14:45) and at times didn’t fully trust in him (Matt 14:30-31), yet he still loved them anyways. So as Christians aka people striving to be “Christ-like,” what would make us think that we are better that Him, that we should cast those who seem “unworthy” of our friendship aside? Maybe, just maybe, you were placed in that person’s life to show them how to be a true friend, not to scold and talk about them for not being one. Try being a doctor to the sick, instead of only associating with the healthy.
You’d think the Son of God would want his friends to be the holiest of holy. Preachers, teachers, Rabbi’s etc etc, but that’s not who He wanted. The disciples were everyday people, fishermen, political activists, even tax collectors. For example, when Jesus called Levi (Mark 2:13-17) he was sitting at a tax collector booth. Later, Jesus even went to Levi’s house for dinner and among the dinner guests were tax collectors and “sinners.” When the Pharisees or as I like to refer to them “The Original Haters”, saw this they questioned Jesus. And to this He responded “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners” (v17)
Now what does this all have to do with “true” friends? Jesus did not look at Levi and say I don’t like what you do, or who you associate with so you cannot follow me. In fact, Jesus’ friends weren’t perfect at all. They denied him (Mark 14:68), betrayed him (Mark14:45) and at times didn’t fully trust in him (Matt 14:30-31), yet he still loved them anyways. So as Christians aka people striving to be “Christ-like,” what would make us think that we are better that Him, that we should cast those who seem “unworthy” of our friendship aside? Maybe, just maybe, you were placed in that person’s life to show them how to be a true friend, not to scold and talk about them for not being one. Try being a doctor to the sick, instead of only associating with the healthy.
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