Scripture woven within devotional.
We know that "without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him" (Hebrews 11:6, NIV). We have an excellent example of what it is like to live by faith, in Abraham, the patriarch.
Abraham was not perfect, though. He had times when his faith faltered. It was hard to wait 25 years for the fulfillment of God's promise, that he would be a father and the father of many nations. Yes, "Abram believed in the LORD; and He credited to him as righteousness" (Genesis 15:6, NIV). The Amplified Version for Genesis 15:6 says, "He [Abram] believed in (trusted in, relied on, remained steadfast to) the Lord, and He counted it to him as righteousness (right standing with God)."
This endorsement of Abraham is reiterated in the New Testament. "He believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness" (Galatians 3:6, NIV). Consider the Amplified Version of Galatians 3:6, "Abraham believed in and adhered to and trusted in and relied on God, and it was reckoned and placed to his account and credited as righteousness (as conformity to the divine will in purpose, thought, and action)."
Believing God is so much more than saying, "I believe in God." It's even more than saying, "I believe God." Believing God means trusting Him, relying on Him, remaining steadfast in Him (no matter what's going on). Believing God is sticking to Him like glue!
Abraham had forward-looking faith. He could envision the promises of God long before he saw them come to pass. Abraham had God Thoughts and God Ways. I know this because of what it says about God in Romans 4:17, "...God who gives life to the dead and calls those things that are not as though they were" (NIV).
What this has to do with weight loss: It's hard to see yourself at goal weight, to envision that until it's so strong a picture that you can almost feel it, but that's what we should do. If God "calls those things that are not as though they were," we can do that too. Call yourself whole, envision yourself whole, and allow it to come to pass. It's not something to fear.
Confession:
God is pleased when I envision myself as whole (nothing missing, nothing broken), because that is how He sees me. God calls me blessed, and I call myself "Blessed of the Lord!"
Showing posts with label Heb. 11:6. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Heb. 11:6. Show all posts
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Life Plan Devotion #118 [Get prayers answered, 7th condition, Part II]
Mark 9:23 "...If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes" (NKJV).
The seventh and final basic condition to answered prayer is: Pray in faith, believing. You can meet the other conditions (pray in the Name of Jesus; pray with praise and thanksgiving; pray without known--unconfessed--sin in your life; pray with the right motive, God's glory; pray from the place of right relationship; pray according to the Word of God), but if you do not pray in faith, believing, you will not see the answer to your prayer. The answer will be an automatic "no."
You know, surely, that "without faith it is impossible to please [God]..." (Hebrews 11:6a, KJV, proper noun inserted for pronoun by author, for clarity). For many believers, however, their faith is merely wishful thinking. They may pray, "Please, God..." but really do not believe that God will "come through" for them. That may be due to a misunderstanding of what faith means, or it may be due to a misunderstanding of who God is.
Jesus talked much about faith. In the future, Lord willing, we will look at many of His instructive words about faith, for great and precious promises are housed therein. Today, let's listen to our Lord, as He shows us, with His words, that blessings (miracles, even) are bestowed according to our faith.
--"Go your way; and as you have believed, so let it be done for you..." (Matthew 8:13, NKJV).
--"Your faith has made you well" (Matthew 9:22, NKJV).
--"According to your faith will it be done to you" (Matthew 9:29, NIV).
Some believers think they just don't have the faith needed to see God answer their prayers. I lovingly respond with, "That's baloney!" I am confident in that, because Romans 12:3 mentions "the measure of faith God has given you" (NIV). Notice that God gives each of us "the measure of faith," not a measure of faith. Each believer has the same measure of faith; it's up to each believer to increase his/her faith. We increase our faith each time we stretch our faith to believe God's Word and pray in faith, believing.
Jesus assures you that "If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer" and "whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours" (Matthew 21:22; Mark 11:24, NIV). In yesterday's devotion, I asked you if you "believe when you see" or if you "see when you believe." Faith believes the answer is "here" when the prayer is spoken. The difference is faith, and faith makes all the difference!
What this has to do with weight loss: The weight-loss journey can be full of wishful thinking. How often have you thought or said, "I wish I could lose weight faster," "I wish this stall would break," or "I wish I was at goal weight already"? Wishful thinking carries no power with it. Indeed, there is a foundation of sadness, discontentment, or even anger beneath it. However, if you line yourself up with the Word of God and the basic conditions to answered prayer, and pray for God to partner with you, to help you lose weight, break that stall, and reach goal weight, for His glory and your health, and believe in your heart that He is who He says He is (Almighty God, with nothing too hard for Him) and can do what He says He can do (even the impossible), and receive His "yes" answer right in the midst of the unchanged present, God is pleased to say "So be it."
Confession:
When I pray, I make sure I am in right standing with God (confessing known sin in my life) and in right relationship with others (by practicing forgiveness). When I pray, I praise God for who He is, and I thank Him for all He has done, is doing, and will do for me. When I pray, I pray God's Word for my situation and request, asking from a heart motivated to give God all the glory. When I pray, I pray in faith, believing I receive the answer right then, knowing in my heart that, in Jesus' Name, it is done!
The seventh and final basic condition to answered prayer is: Pray in faith, believing. You can meet the other conditions (pray in the Name of Jesus; pray with praise and thanksgiving; pray without known--unconfessed--sin in your life; pray with the right motive, God's glory; pray from the place of right relationship; pray according to the Word of God), but if you do not pray in faith, believing, you will not see the answer to your prayer. The answer will be an automatic "no."
You know, surely, that "without faith it is impossible to please [God]..." (Hebrews 11:6a, KJV, proper noun inserted for pronoun by author, for clarity). For many believers, however, their faith is merely wishful thinking. They may pray, "Please, God..." but really do not believe that God will "come through" for them. That may be due to a misunderstanding of what faith means, or it may be due to a misunderstanding of who God is.
Jesus talked much about faith. In the future, Lord willing, we will look at many of His instructive words about faith, for great and precious promises are housed therein. Today, let's listen to our Lord, as He shows us, with His words, that blessings (miracles, even) are bestowed according to our faith.
--"Go your way; and as you have believed, so let it be done for you..." (Matthew 8:13, NKJV).
--"Your faith has made you well" (Matthew 9:22, NKJV).
--"According to your faith will it be done to you" (Matthew 9:29, NIV).
Some believers think they just don't have the faith needed to see God answer their prayers. I lovingly respond with, "That's baloney!" I am confident in that, because Romans 12:3 mentions "the measure of faith God has given you" (NIV). Notice that God gives each of us "the measure of faith," not a measure of faith. Each believer has the same measure of faith; it's up to each believer to increase his/her faith. We increase our faith each time we stretch our faith to believe God's Word and pray in faith, believing.
Jesus assures you that "If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer" and "whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours" (Matthew 21:22; Mark 11:24, NIV). In yesterday's devotion, I asked you if you "believe when you see" or if you "see when you believe." Faith believes the answer is "here" when the prayer is spoken. The difference is faith, and faith makes all the difference!
What this has to do with weight loss: The weight-loss journey can be full of wishful thinking. How often have you thought or said, "I wish I could lose weight faster," "I wish this stall would break," or "I wish I was at goal weight already"? Wishful thinking carries no power with it. Indeed, there is a foundation of sadness, discontentment, or even anger beneath it. However, if you line yourself up with the Word of God and the basic conditions to answered prayer, and pray for God to partner with you, to help you lose weight, break that stall, and reach goal weight, for His glory and your health, and believe in your heart that He is who He says He is (Almighty God, with nothing too hard for Him) and can do what He says He can do (even the impossible), and receive His "yes" answer right in the midst of the unchanged present, God is pleased to say "So be it."
Confession:
When I pray, I make sure I am in right standing with God (confessing known sin in my life) and in right relationship with others (by practicing forgiveness). When I pray, I praise God for who He is, and I thank Him for all He has done, is doing, and will do for me. When I pray, I pray God's Word for my situation and request, asking from a heart motivated to give God all the glory. When I pray, I pray in faith, believing I receive the answer right then, knowing in my heart that, in Jesus' Name, it is done!
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Life Plan Devotion #82 [God's Armor--Shield of Faith, Part X]
We have looked at 3 of the 4 practical ways to guarantee that you can extinguish every flaming weapon of Satan: 1) Think faith, 2) Speak faith, and 3) Pray faith. Today, let's look at the fourth way to "hold up the shield of faith, to stop the fiery arrows of the devil" (Ephesians 6:16).
To extinguish every dart, you must live faith. Living faith is powerful, so powerful that the Word says we can look back on the life of the one who lived faith to see that "By faith these people overthrew kingdoms, ruled with justice, and received what God had promised them. They shut the mouths of lions, quenched the flames of fire, and escaped death by the edge of the sword. Their weakness was turned to strength. They became strong in battle and put whole armies to flight" (Hebrews 11:33-34).
If you want to live a life that pleases God, live faith (Hebrews 11:6). If you want to be healed, live faith (Matthew 9:29). If you want every promise of God's Word manifested in your life, live faith (Hebrews 10:23). If you want to be an overcomer in this world, live faith (I John 5:4).
Living faith means that your life is impacted by faith, for "faith by itself isn't enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless" (James 2:17). Good deeds won't get you to heaven, but they should be a natural, outward manifestation of the inward work of faith.
If you want to "fight the good fight of faith" (I Timothy 6:12), heed the words of Paul in I Timothy 1:19, "Cling to your faith in Christ, and keep your conscience clear. For some people have deliberately violated their consciences; as a result, their faith has been shipwrecked." Know that you are not alone. The very God of the universe is with you and has promised that, as His servant, "No one will be able to stand against you as long as you live. For I will be with you as I was with Moses. I will not fail you or abandon you" (Joshua 1:5). Lift up your Shield of Faith--think it, talk it, pray it, and walk it, and you will defeat every dart of doubt, discouragement, and depression (and anything else the enemy tries to throw at you)!
II Timothy 2:3-5
"Endure hardship like a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No one serving as a soldier gets involved in civilian affairs--he wants to please his commanding officer. Similarly, if anyone competes as an athlete, he does not receive the victor's crown unless he competes according to the rules" (NIV).
What this has to do with weight loss: The weight-loss journey is a part of your life. As such, there will be hardships connected with it. Endure them. Your challenge will be not to get so entangled in those hardships that you lose focus and go from being "a good soldier of Christ Jesus" to merely a civilian, leaving out of your journey the wonderful weapon of faith. If you want to win the weight-loss marathon, run by the rules of faith. If you don't know what to do, keep your eyes upon the Lord (II Chronicles 20:12), and know that if you truly believe in Jesus, He has promised that you "will do the same works [He did], and even greater works" (John 14:12). Live like you believe it!
Prayer for Today:
"Heavenly Father, sometimes I forget what a powerful weapon faith is, and when I do, I fail to think it, talk it, pray it, and walk it. That leaves me open to the darts, arrows, and missiles of the enemy. Sometimes I am my own worst enemy. Help me to take advantage of the life of faith, so that I can see Your every promise manifested in my life and so I can experience the 'victory that overcomes the world.' In Jesus' Name. Amen."
Go forth today, living faith and overcoming every dart of the enemy (doubt, discouragement, depression, and more).
To extinguish every dart, you must live faith. Living faith is powerful, so powerful that the Word says we can look back on the life of the one who lived faith to see that "By faith these people overthrew kingdoms, ruled with justice, and received what God had promised them. They shut the mouths of lions, quenched the flames of fire, and escaped death by the edge of the sword. Their weakness was turned to strength. They became strong in battle and put whole armies to flight" (Hebrews 11:33-34).
If you want to live a life that pleases God, live faith (Hebrews 11:6). If you want to be healed, live faith (Matthew 9:29). If you want every promise of God's Word manifested in your life, live faith (Hebrews 10:23). If you want to be an overcomer in this world, live faith (I John 5:4).
Living faith means that your life is impacted by faith, for "faith by itself isn't enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless" (James 2:17). Good deeds won't get you to heaven, but they should be a natural, outward manifestation of the inward work of faith.
If you want to "fight the good fight of faith" (I Timothy 6:12), heed the words of Paul in I Timothy 1:19, "Cling to your faith in Christ, and keep your conscience clear. For some people have deliberately violated their consciences; as a result, their faith has been shipwrecked." Know that you are not alone. The very God of the universe is with you and has promised that, as His servant, "No one will be able to stand against you as long as you live. For I will be with you as I was with Moses. I will not fail you or abandon you" (Joshua 1:5). Lift up your Shield of Faith--think it, talk it, pray it, and walk it, and you will defeat every dart of doubt, discouragement, and depression (and anything else the enemy tries to throw at you)!
II Timothy 2:3-5
"Endure hardship like a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No one serving as a soldier gets involved in civilian affairs--he wants to please his commanding officer. Similarly, if anyone competes as an athlete, he does not receive the victor's crown unless he competes according to the rules" (NIV).
What this has to do with weight loss: The weight-loss journey is a part of your life. As such, there will be hardships connected with it. Endure them. Your challenge will be not to get so entangled in those hardships that you lose focus and go from being "a good soldier of Christ Jesus" to merely a civilian, leaving out of your journey the wonderful weapon of faith. If you want to win the weight-loss marathon, run by the rules of faith. If you don't know what to do, keep your eyes upon the Lord (II Chronicles 20:12), and know that if you truly believe in Jesus, He has promised that you "will do the same works [He did], and even greater works" (John 14:12). Live like you believe it!
Prayer for Today:
"Heavenly Father, sometimes I forget what a powerful weapon faith is, and when I do, I fail to think it, talk it, pray it, and walk it. That leaves me open to the darts, arrows, and missiles of the enemy. Sometimes I am my own worst enemy. Help me to take advantage of the life of faith, so that I can see Your every promise manifested in my life and so I can experience the 'victory that overcomes the world.' In Jesus' Name. Amen."
Go forth today, living faith and overcoming every dart of the enemy (doubt, discouragement, depression, and more).
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