HeARTworks: faith

Showing posts with label faith. Show all posts

Sunday, April 07, 2024

Choose the Giver of the Gifts

“The power that has conquered the world is this faith of ours.” 1 John 5:4

Now that is a pretty bold claim! This was written by Saint John the Evangelist in Ephesus in AD 95-110.

In another version we can read, “For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?”

There are many businessmen and world leaders who are already super successful, super powerful, but keep wanting more and more. Nothing this world offers is enough for them. There are many sports stars who have achieved the pinnacle of success and found they were still searching for more. One of them was retired cornerback Deion Sanders. His list of career highlights is so long, I got tired of scrolling down the page. He was one of the biggest, most famous, richest superstar athletes in the world with a $10,000 bed in a $5.7 million dollar home and a collection of luxury cars, but he just felt empty. He said he had nothing until he found God. He felt so empty and lonely even if he had everything and achieved everything he could ever want.

One day, after searching and talking to his Christian friends, this happened: “I was lying there in bed about four o’clock in the morning when I was awakened by these awesome lights in my room. I say it was like a 747 had landed beside my bed, and there was this incredible rush of wind that felt like a helicopter had come in with it.”

“I remember opening my eyes just the slightest bit and saying, ‘God, if that’s You, take me! Take me, Lord,’ and I was trembling all over. Before long it was silent and the lights disappeared, and later that night I got up and opened my Bible to a passage that said, ‘If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation’ (Romans 10:9-10). The words hit me like a ton of bricks. I knew they were meant for me and at that precise moment I was delivered.”

Now he is so vocal about how he got saved, and he puts in time helping troubled youth find meaning in their life. Deion’s post on X yesterday was: “You are not alone! God sees you, wants u & loves you. God can't overtake your will. Your freedom to choose, do, speak, think & love he gave that to u so u when u woke u in life u would choose the giver of the gifts. Think!”

Lord, may we not believe that conquering the world lies in getting all we want from it. May we not be captivated by all that is enticing in the world. May we go after the one true treasure, You!

Saturday, July 14, 2018

He Giveth Again

“Not a single sparrow falls to the ground without Your Father’s consent.” Matthew 10:29

Charles Templeton was a charismatic preacher in the 40’s. He founded Youth for Christ and in 1946, he held crusades all over Western Europe with another charismatic young man, Billy Graham. Crowds would follow these evangelists, listen, and accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. But by 1948, Charles had doubts about his faith and God. He completely changed his world view and became an agnostic. One of the questions he wrestled with is the age old ‘Why would a good God allow all the pain and suffering in the world?” He put it this way, “Why does the omnipotent God, knowing that there are tens of thousands of men, women, and children starving to death in a parched land, simply let them waste away and die when all that is needed is rain?"

God is good and loves each one of us, but He also gave us the freedom to love Him back. He gave us the choice to rebel, to go against His Word and His law or to follow Him. All the evil in the world today is because we chose to disobey. But even when we are in pain, even when we suffer, if we choose Him, there is amazing, inexhaustible grace.

Annie Johnson Flint came to the faith at a young age, and was adopted by Christian parents along with her sister. She became a helpless invalid with little means and she started writing poems that were eventually published. It was painful for her to write with her twisted fingers, but her faith shone through her poems and she was able to minister and bless many. Although crippled, helpless and in pain, Annie never complained, and as she grew older, her suffering increased. She believed God could heal her in a heartbeat, but He chose not to, so she could glorify Him in her life.

She wrote: “He giveth more grace when the burdens grow greater, He sendeth more strength when the labors increase; To added afflictions He addeth His mercy, To multiplied trials, His multiplied peace. When we have exhausted our store of endurance, When our strength has failed ere the day is half done, When we reach the end of our hoarded resources Our Father’s full giving is only begun. Fear not that thy need shall exceed His provision, Our God ever yearns His resources to share; Lean hard on the arm everlasting, availing; The Father both thee and thy load will upbear. His love has no limits, His grace has no measure, His power no boundary known unto men; For out of His infinite riches in Jesus He giveth, and giveth, and giveth again.”

Tuesday, July 03, 2018

Believe

“Do not persist in your unbelief, but believe!” John 2:27

We could read this as, “Do not perish in your unbelief, but believe.” Let us put ourselves in Saint Thomas’ shoes, or as he is most commonly called, “Doubting Thomas”. When he was told by the disciples that they had seen Jesus, he adamantly proclaimed the famous line, “Unless I shall see in His hands the imprint of the nails, and put my finger into the place of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.”

Thomas was not at the crucifixion but he certainly heard all the gruesome details from an eyewitness. The imprint of the nails, and the piercing of the sword at the side of Jesus became so concrete to him, that not even the testimony of the disciples that they saw the risen Lord, convinced him that Jesus was alive! How about us? What keeps us from believing in the power of Jesus to change lives and hearts, transform circumstances for our good and perform miracles?

In Matthew 13:58, we see that Jesus was not able to perform many miracles in His hometown because His neighbors were skeptical. Perhaps we are too much like Jesus’ neighbors. We grew up with all the Bible stories. They are too familiar to us. We are not new believers, excited and eager to delve deeper into the Word, to dig into the truth.

How do we get out of this mindset? I think it is as easy as asking Jesus to reveal Himself in a new way to us. Just as Jesus showed Himself to Thomas, and said, “Reach here your finger, and see My hands; and reach here your hand, and put it into My side; and be not unbelieving, but believing.”

If we just open up a little, and allow Jesus in, He will meet us where we are.

Tuesday, August 15, 2017

Blessed and Rejoicing

"Blessed are you who believed..."

Luke 1:45

There are many passages to reflect on in Mary's Magnificat, the song about how God fulfilled His promise to Mary and to His people throughout generations and generations. Indeed Mary, the mother of Jesus would have plenty to ponder but she chose instead to focus on God and His mighty deeds. She is blessed because she trusted that God's words spoken through an angel would be fulfilled. She is blessed because she has not seen the fulfillment of God's promise but she is already proclaiming, confessing, that all ages to come shall call her blessed. It's like she has a bubbling brook of joy gushing forth from her being. She cannot help it. She has to thank God and say, yes, You have done great things for me!

How about us? What do we think about? Do we spend most of our time stewing over hurts? Do we go over and over again the times people have said mean things to us? Do we spend more times complaining about our problems and challenges and too little time focusing on what God has done and will do in our life? There is a fountain of joy waiting to gush forth from us if only we seek to dwell by God's side and not wallow in the squatter's hut. What are the amazing things our Father has in store for us? Like Mary, let us meditate on that!

Sunday, July 10, 2016

Not Too Mysterious!

"For this command that I enjoin on you today is not too mysterious and remote for you." Dt. 30:11

The book of Deuteronomy is known as the crown jewel of the Pentateuch, the 5 books of God's Law, where He lays down clearly what He expects of us. The teachings were given by God to Moses who wrote them down. Although there are portions of the Bible difficult to understand, the verses in the 30th chapter of Deuteronomy shows us that God desired that we understand His laws so that He could bless us. He gives us a glimpse of His sense of humor when He says, "My commandments are not in heaven that you should ask who will get it there. It's not beyond the sea! It is very near to you, in your mouth and in your heart, that you may observe it!"

It seemed as if when His people still could not get it, when they still inexplicably continuously turned away from Him and chose other gods, He sent His Son Jesus, to speak as a man speaks, and act as a man acts. If God's law was very near to us during Moses' time, how much more so now that Jesus came to deliver His message more clearly?

Lord, may I not miss any part of Your message! You did everything, including sacrificing Your Son, so that we could understand and obey You, and all that, just so You could bless us! May we savor Your Word, plant it in our hearts, and follow Your way!