Abraham's Faith Secrets

Hebrews 11 declares that Abraham was one of the heroes of faith. But, before we get into his secrets, let's define 'faith' from a God point of view. The word 'faith' is only mentioned twice in the Old Testament. The basic Hebrew word used there is interpreted as 'trusting.' That's a pretty good way to define faith-------a trusting in God. The Greek word in the New Testament is defined as being 'the conviction of the truth of anything.' Therefore, when we talk about having faith in God and His Word, we are saying that we have a conviction that what God declares about something is the truth, no matter what it looks like right now.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know---for you it's been real easy to have faith. So, please pray for me because I struggle with it at times. (You may take a few minutes to laugh at my little joke and then we'll get back at the lesson.)
God realized that believing Him instead of what we saw, or the conditions around us, would be a little difficult. So, He gave Abraham some daily exercises to help him build and increase his faith with.
One of them we find in Geneses 13. Abraham's and Lot's herdsmen had been fighting about grazing rights and the two of them were on the top of a mountain. Abraham gave Lot his choice of land. Lot chose the beautiful grazing lands of the plain and left Abraham the second best spot. Ain't kin folks just lovely. However, when Lot started scurrying down the mountain to claim his property, God came to Abraham and started talking. One thing God did not do, please pay attention. He did not jump down Abraham's throat and nag at him, "I told you not to bring Lot. I told you so. I told you so." Boy, God could take some real good lessons from som of us, huh? Some of us humans really know how to push the envelope, don't we. Now, don't get scared, I'm not going to ask for a show of hands and give a 30 minute altar call. We're on a faith building lesson. The first church God gave us to minister in is our family. Our job as partners and parents is to build faith in God and faith in each other. 'Nuff said about that subject. Let's go on.
In Genesis 13:14, God starts giving to Abraham his first faith lesson. 14-lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward: 15-For the land that thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed forever, Then in verse 17 He says, Arise, walk through the land in the length of it and in the breadth of it, for I will give it unto thee. God built humans to learn from our five senses. We learn about things by our sight, hearing, smelling, tasting and feeling. He was telling Abraham to walk through His promise to him. Walk through all of the land you can see using all of your senses in enjoying it. Every place that Abraham could walk to, see, smell, taste, hear and feel was going to be his. Every hill, every valley, every stream, every flower, every tall tree, every bit of the green grass, every fruit tree and in essence, every thing was going to be his and his seed's.
Also, in verse 16 God told Abraham his seed would be as numerous as the dust. In Genesis 15:5, He said Abraham's seed would be as numerous as the stars. In Genesis 22:17, He said his seed would be as numerous as the sand upon the sea shore.
What was God doing in giving Abraham all of these things to look at? He was helping Abraham to grasp the enormity of His promise. He was giving Abraham a vision of what was coming in the future instead of seeing how things were right not. Everywhere Abraham went was his. Every time he looked out of his tent or looked anywhere, he saw grains of sand, seashore or dust. It reminded him of God's promise. At night, when he could not see the dust and grains of sand, he saw the stars. Every thing around Abraham reminded him of God's promise. When situations looked like they were getting out of control, a look at the sand or a look at the stars brought Abraham's faith back into line with God's promise.
Here is one of the most important lessons in life with God. Circumstances will very seldom look like God's Word is coming to pass. That's why He they call them 'miracles.' God wants to give us those things that we cannot obtain by our own ability. That's why 2 Peter 2:4 calls them exceeding great and precious promises. He wants us to focus our lives on His Word instead of what we see at the moment. Don't let what's happening in your life discourage you into feeling like, 'Well, it's always been this way and probably always will.' Write the promises of God down on paper or 3 x 5 index cards and go over them again and again and again until they are memorized.
Remember, Abraham accepted the way things were in his life, but He believed that God was going to change things until they lined up with His word. God taught Him to meditate more on what was going to happen because of His Word rather than on what was happening right now that didn't look like it.
Keep praising Him.

The Time Factor

One of the hardest things for a Christian to do is understand the 'Time Factor' in answered prayer. Have you ever wondered why some prayers get answered quickly and others seem to fade out into obscurity? I wish I could tell you that there is some mystical, magical formula that we could all use that would tell us the exact date when and/or if God would answer our prayers. But, there isn't any.
The important thing to remember is, that God gave us His promises, His heart-produced Word. He never spoke any Word into existence that He did not intend to honor. Isaiah 55:11-So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it. Let's combine this promise with what Jesus said about answered prayer in the parable of the unjust judge. Luke 18:1-And He spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint; Verse 7-And shall not God avenge His own elect, which cry day and night unto Him, though He bear long with them? Verse 8-I tell you He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall He find faith on the earth. If you are not familiar with this parable, please take a few moments to read it.
From these few verses, we are assured of God's heart and God's intentions. Notice in verse seven, it says that God will avenge His own elect. That word in the Greek means to vindicate one from wrongs. It indicates that God wants to whip somebody for messing with His children. You need to settle in your heart whether you are the mess-er or the mess-ee. Have you spent your time running over people to get your way, or have you been run over while you were living for Jesus the best that you can? Now, if you are the offended party, God says that He is just as mad as you are. Think about this. God's bigger than you and the offender both. If that is so, then His mad is bigger than you both. The smart thing to do is not take vengance yourself and stay out of the way. God wants to lay a whippin' on somebody and if you're trying to take care of business yourself, you might just get hit by God's-belt-backswing. If you've never got a whuppin', (that's whipping for you Yankees) then you have no idea what I'm talking about. The bottom line is, you are His child no matter how old you are and He does not like any sin, sickness or poverty to harm you.
Jesus gives away the secret in verse seven when He speaks of us praying day and night. He also says though He bear long with them. Notice He never said the answer is "NO." He said though He bear long with them. Settle it in your heart that God always intends on honoring His Word.
That brings us to the time element. Read these scriptures: There was a set time for Isaac to be born-Gen 21:2. There was a set time for the children to come out of bondage-Ex 12:41. Jesus even waited on God's time in turning the water into wine-John 2:4. He was going to do it that day but He was waiting on God's time element. In raising Lazarus, everyone thought that Jesus was four days late. The time to raise Lazarus was whenever Jesus said "Lazarus, come forth." (Notice at the top of this page there is a link to the song "Four Days Late" by Karen Peck. You ought to shut all the windows, get a big hanky and kick your shoes off before you listen to it, because you're probably going to have one of them shoutin', crying, and runnin' Holy Ghost fits.) In Luke 22:53, Jesus tells the priest when they came to arrest Him, but this is your hour, and the power of darkness.
To sum it all up, meditate on two things. 1-God wants to bless you with all of His heart. 2-There are sometimes when He does bear long with us. The reason He does in Luke 18:8, shall He find faith on the earth? Keep holding on to God's word. It is the only thing that will never change. Many times it is the only thing that can change the situation you are in right now. Hold on to God's Word and God's Word will hold on to you no matter what you are going through right now. Much Love, Henry.

What Do You Know?

An active prayer life is one of the most stabilizing forces in a person's life. Your prayer life could either be one of boring custom, a cry out of necessity, or a daily walk in the love of God. Let's take a look at some scriptures and see if we can enhance our life with Him.

1. Know that He loves you. 1 John 4:16-And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him. Here we have the testimony of John the Beloved. He walked with Jesus for three years before His death and resurrection. More than seeing all the miracles that Jesus did, he saw somebody that was rooted and grounded in love (Eph 3:17). He witnessed, first hand, the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; (Eph 3:18) of the love that God has for His people. Love that was fervent and constant regardless of their past, their color, or their status in this life. John knew the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge(Eph 3:19). John saw Jesus' compassion for all of humanity not just on the Sabbath, but every waking moment of Jesus's life. He saw love that just would not quit. Even when Peter denied three times that he knew Jesus. John saw that His love for Peter was just as fervent as if Peter had never sinned. By the way, that is the definition of being justified. Just-as-if-I'd never sinned. Think about for a minute. You'll get it.
When the love of God went from hearing about it, seeing it in action to that way down deep, never-to-be forgotten "Boy, I know, that I know, that I know this is real," something happened to John. He began to be filled with all the fulness of God (Eph 3:19). God began to show up in John's life like never before. God began to increase inside John and began to overflow into John's world. John began to reach the lost, heal the sick and perform miracles. All because he was now filled with the love of God and therefore filled with all the fulness of God.
Take a stroll through Matthew the seventh chapter and hear it from Jesus' himself. Now, remember, Jesus always practiced what He preached. Matthew 7:1 & 2 talks about not judging others. Why? Because, with the same measuring cup we dish out judgement, God will see to it that it is measured back to us. That right there makes me want to wash out my own personal measuring cup and dip in to God's love and pour it out to others. Did Jesus judge those who beat Him and crucified Him? Of course, not. Luke 23:34-The said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. Just like the words of one of my favorite gospel songs, "He looked beyond my faults and saw my needs." Then in Matthew 7:3-5, Jesus talks about cleaning up our own act before we start criticizing the smaller faults of others.
Too often, preachers think that these first verses are little pieces of sermon material, buth they are not. They are only instructions in attitude the He desires us to follow so He can bless us more than we ever thought. In Matthew 7:6-8, Jesus states that after we get our act together we can ask, seek and knock so that we can receive, find and have things opened to us. Matthew 7:9 & 10 puts a mirror in front of us as Jesus tells us to examine our relationships with our children. He brings up the subject of a deep-seated, ever abiding love. A love that looks beyond the petty annoyances and remembers with pride and loud praises the little heart drawn on a piece of paper and the scribbled words, "I love Mommy" or "I love Daddy." With pride, these precious articles either go on the refrigerator or to our office for the whole world to see. We don't talk about the sins of our children, we brag on their love and affection for us. Jesus holds the mirror of our actions up to us by saying that if they ask us for the things they need none of us would ever even entertain the thought of giving them things that would harm them. Too often, we allow satan to tell us that God is treating us mean because He wants us to grow up. Can we look in this mirror and see our love for our children? Jesus showed the mirror to us so we can see the Father's unrelenting love for us. This is what we are supposed to meditate on and not on how weird God can be to let evil come to us.
Matt 7:11-If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, HOW MUCH MORE shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask Him? Folks, we should daily hold up the mirror of our love actions for our children as a small glimpse of the vast love the Father has for us. Then we should pray and expect answers accordingly. When I think of how much I love my children and my grandchildren, I am brought to tears when I think of how much the Father must love me. Then the words, HOW MUCH MORE begin shouting to me and encouraging me to revitalize my prayer life. I no longer want to judge people or criticize the smallest error they make. Instead, I want to spend my time reading and meditating on all the miracles that are recorded in the Gospels. I look at the lives of the people Jesus had mercy on and not judgement. I am encouraged to believe stronger all the promises that God has given by (1 John 4:16) knowing and believing the love that God has for me. Good Christian, let's pray on with renewed hope in the steadfast Love of God.

Attitudes of Prayer

In the New Testament, Jesus used parables to teach with. A parable is, simply, an easy-to-understand story that reveals God's heart. In Luke 18 we find just such a parable. The purpose of the parable is, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint. Ladies, this means you also. In verse 2, Jesus meantions a judge, which feard not God, neither regarded man. Simply put, if you were the President of the United States, and you were clocked at doing 80 mph in a 55 mph zone, and the fine was $500 or 30 days in jail, then you only had two options. Pay up or go to jail. To this judge, there was nobody above the law. The law was the final authority in any case that was brought before him.
In verse three, a widow comes to court. At this point in Eastern culture, women had few rights and widows had even less. However, we will see that as far as God is concerned, His Word is the final authority for everyone, no matter what their status in life. Notice in verse 3 that the widow came saying, Avenge me of mine adversary. It did not say that she prayed and cried until her eye-balls fell out. It did not say that she begged and pleaded at the altar until she looked like 40 miles of bad road. She did not get up in front of the judge in her finest duds wearing her hair in a $1,000 "do." Even if she did, this judge would not have paid attention to it. Here's a lesson, folks. It's not the condition of your outward appearance that God is looking for. It is the inward condition of your heart that God has respect to.
Why did Jesus tell us that she was 'saying' and not praying? I thought this was a parable to teach us that we should always pray. One of the most import reasons for prayer is to know exactly what you are praying for. Some people come yelling and crying for God to 'bless' them. And, all this time, God is standing on the very edge of Heaven with all kinds of blessings held out in His hands and store rooms of blessings right behind Him and He's yelling back down to us, "OK, which one." Hey, bonehead, get into the Word of God and FIND OUT WHAT HE HAS ALREADY PROMISED HE WOULD GIVE US.
Notice verse 5, lest by her continual coming she weary me. Let's break this phrase down into the original Greek and find out a few things Jesus tells us about our attitude of prayer.
1. her continual - The Greek word here actually means termination, end, or that by which a thing is finished. Jesus, in describing our attitude of prayer is saying that we should come to Him with an attitude of getting things finished. Not, just playing around in prayer, not just playing around in the "just bless me" mentality. He said, to come boldly and pray with the intention of getting what you asked for. Find the promise and come to Him determined to get it. Remember the end of the parable. Sometimes, God does tarry long but then He answers "speedily."
2. coming - This Greek word means to make one's appearance. Jesus said that someone who gets their prayers answered is someone who makes their appearance before Him,
3. weary - This Greek word means to beat black and blue (like a boxer would), or to wear one out. Understand, you're not going to beat God up and you're not going to wear Him out. However, Jesus is describing the appropriate attitude when coming before the Throne of Grace. He wants His people to be so focused on His love, His faithfulness and His joy in His relationship with His children, that we can come boldly and pray like this. "Father, Your Word says that You are not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. So-and-so is not saved yet. I am expecting Your strong conviction to grip his soul today until he comes to know You as his personal Saviour. I lay claim on that promise and declare that he is saved. Father, Your Word says that by Your stripes I am healed. The pain is still there but Your Word is true. I lay my claim on that promise and declare that healing is mine." Find the promise of God that covers a particular situation and come boldly before Him declaring your intention to obtain the promise. He said He might tarry but He said He would be faithful to answer just like His Word says.
Let's understand two things. No. 1, she came to the unjust judge precisely because he was unjust. She knew that the only thing that moved the unjust judge to action was the law. She expected him to enforce the law exactly as the law was written. (Quit shoutin' you're gettin' ahead of me.) No. 2, she was convinced that the law had provided a legal blessing for her that was being withheld by her enemy. That's why the judge did not kick this scraggly, little widow out of court the first time she came. HE KNEW SHE WAS RIGHT. HE KNEW SHE HAD (ARE YOU READY FOR THIS?)AN OPEN AND SHUT CASE THAT HE COULD NOT DENY.
The first part of verse 5 says this widow troubleth me. The word 'troubleth' actually means to reach forth. This, seemingly unimportant part of humanity did not sit at home cryin' the blues and wishing things were different. She wasn't sipping her beer, shootin' up or smokin' up to ease her pain. She had a legal right to a blessing and she knew it. She also knew that the judge had no alternative but to grant her claim. She got off her behunkus and boldly came before him and declared, "Avenge me of mine adversary."
When we realize who God is, how faithful He is, that His Word is Truth and He is true to His Word, we will realize that blessings are there ready for us to lay claim to. When we realize that God loves us more than anyone else even has the capacity to, our hearts will tell us that He will never lie. We will come boldly to Him (Heb 4:16) and reach out with a faith that is unshakeable because it is grounded in His love (Eph 3:17). That's what the widow did. She came to the judge knowing that he would carry out the letter of the law. That is what Jesus wanted us to see about the Father. Luke 18:7-And shall not God avenge His own elect, which cry day and night unto Him, though He bear long with them. 8-I tell you that He will avenge them speedily.
What about that word 'cry' in verse 7? I'm glad you asked that question. The Greek word that is interpreted 'cry' in the KJV actuall means 'to raise a cry with a loud, strong voice.' Now does that sound like Jesus wants us to go around crying until our eyes look like roadmaps of Georgia? Absolutely not. Jesus was saying to come to the Father with boldness. Don't come like a woose. Let your heart be filled with joy and come with a strong, loud voice. Don't come with a whisper. Use your outside voice.
The last part of verse 8 says-Nevertheless, when the Son of man cometh, shall He find faith on the earth? I take that to mean that He expects people to continually come before Him on a daily basis like the widow did with the unjust judge. She came every day knowing that the judge was bound by his fortitude and the law to avenge her of her adversaries. She was not going to be denied. We need to come to Jesus every day, knowing His love for us will keep Him from denying us the answer He promised. When He comes back, He will be looking for those who are still standing firm on the fact that they serve a prayer answering God. I'm going to be one of them. Will you?

One God, One Faith

Eph. 4:5-One Lord, one faith, one baptism,
6-One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.

Of course, we have all heard it preached that there is only one God and He is not Muhammad, Buddha, blah, blah, blah. If someone takes 20-30 minutes or even just 5 to bring this interpretation of this verse, out of kindness let that tinkling cymbal just rattle until he rattles out.
Let me share with you what I KNOW this scripture means. In Mal. 3:6, God declares-For I am the Lord, I change not. James 1:7 declares-Every good and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.
The good news is that GOD NEVER CHANGES. According to James, He has no intention of changing. All through the Word of God you read that God saves those who are lost, heals those who are sick and delivers all those who are in distress. He is One God and never, ever even entertains the smallest thought of not saving, not healing, or not delivering.
What did Jesus say about Himself. Luke 19:10-For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost. He came to earth to take care of some business and that business was to save the lost. Look what He did for the demoniac of Gadara (Mark 5). When Jesus got through with him he was sitting and not running around screaming. He was clothed and not running around naked all the time. And, he was in his right mind, not acting all crazy. Know any kinfolks like that? Possibly married to someone like that? If Jesus changed this man, then ANY sinner you know is a piece of cake to Him. OH, I can hear you whine now. 'What if He hates Jesus and doesn't want to get saved?' What about Saul of Tarsus who voted to kill Stephen for preaching about Jesus. He even got warrants to go around to different cities and put Christians in jail. If there ever was anybody who did not want to become a Christian, it was Saul. NOW! Does the Bible say that Jesus had a hard time with Saul? Absolutely not. Acts 9 tells the story of how Jesus knew what it would take to save Saul. He knocked him off his horse in the middle of the desert. If He was powerful enough to do that and He is the same yesterday, and to day, and forever, (Heb 13:8), then you don't have any kin folk that are too tough for God to handle. NO MATTER WHAT THE DEVIL, THE GOD OF THIS WORLD SAYS. There is only one God and the devil ain't him. Now why don't you take a five minute shouting break before you go any further and tell the devil your kinfolks are coming to Jesus no matter what he says.
Mercy!!!!
What did John say about Jesus? 1 John 3:8-For this purpose was the Son of God manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil. Do you think that Jesus would fail at anything He set His mind to? Have you let someone or some set of circumstances dominate your faith in the one Lord, Jesus Christ. The word faith in the Bible does not mean a particular religion. It means what you accept as the truth. The god of this world has trained our minds to believe that God is not able to save somebody. We need to retrain our minds and our hearts will follow. The fact I believe, is that there is only ONE GOD and He has set His heart and mind to save, heal and deliver the unsaved. The only ONE FAITH I have is that God will save, heal and deliver my loved ones. Now pardon me.......but I think I'll do a little shouting myself.