Day Forty  -  Sit at the feet of Jesus

John 15:5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.

                  This is our last day in this faith - strengthening project.   You may not have done all of the exercises,  but hopefully you have done some.  We trust it has increased your faith.  But one thing still is more important than all things.  We can lift weights,  we can drink protein,  we can play sports,  but there only God can increase our faith.  Without Him,  we can do nothing. 

There is nothing too hard for the Lord,  but in contrast,  there are many things too hard for us.  Many of these exercises may have been too hard for you in the past forty days.  Don’t give up.  Perhaps in the future you will want to try stretching your faith in some of the areas that you have missed in this past month.  Faith is not a checklist.  It is a person.  We do not have faith in our ability to follow God.  We have faith in Jesus Christ.  Our ability does not come by our effort or by what we digest.  Our strength comes in a person.  If we have Him,  we have all things that pertain to life and godliness.  Godliness is not about good things,   it is about God.  You can’t be holy without the Holy Spirit,  and you can’t be godly without God. 

On this last day,  I want to encourage you to renew your devotion to God.  How strong is your relationship with Him.  Is He your Savior?  Is He your Friend?  Is He your life?  Each of those are steps in a plan to have the relationship that God desires us to have.  Paul said,

Philippians 1:21 For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.

What is life to you?  What part does He play in the life that you live?  If He is not your life,  then it is also possible that death for you is not gain.  If your life is your house,  then dying is losing your life.  If your life is your job,  then dying is losing your dreams and goals.  If on the other hand,  your life is Christ,  when you die you don’t lose anything of your life,  you gain more of it.  You don’t leave Him,  you come directly into His presence! 

 

An exercise to increase your faith:  Sit at the feet of Jesus today and listen to what He has to say to you.  Enjoy the sweet communion of the one who loves you and desires to show you that love each and every day. 

Day Thirty nine  -  Pray for peace

1 Timothy 2:1 I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men;

                  The Bible tells us to pray for the peace of Jerusalem (Psalm 122:6).  There is a promise connected with this prayer  “they shall prosper that love thee.”  Prayer is more vital in our day than in other days.  We know that the devil is active today, because he knows he has but a short time. 

Revelation 12:12 Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.

Times are changing.   Morality has been in the decline for decades,  but it seems to have fallen off a cliff in the last few years.  First Timothy tells us to pray for all men,  but in the next verse it makes this more specific in saying,

1 Timothy 2:2  For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty.

Our peace is dependent on our prayers,  and we need to remember to pray for those who are in authority.  We need to pray for the leaders of this nation.  There has always been immorality,  but in the past our leaders have made decisions that have supported morality.  Today it is different.  Our leaders are leading toward gross immorality.  The only hope for the nation is the prayers of God’s people.

An exercise to increase our faith:  Pray for our President and congressional leaders.  Pray that they would return to a family centered,  God centered direction and that our judges would uphold laws that have been based upon God’s Word.  Pray for the peace in the Middle East,  for peace in our nation, and in your home. 

Day Thirty eight - Read the Bible with expectation

Day Thirty eight  -  Read the Bible with expectation

Acts 17:11 These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.

We know that faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God.  Most of the people in the church hear the Bible all the time.  So why don’t we have more faith?  It is not how much we go through the Bible,  but how much the Bible goes through us.  The Bible is made up of words, and if we look at them as mere words,  our faith will remain stagnant.  We must see the Bible as the Word of God.

What difference will it make in your life if you really see the Bible as God’s Words?  When we read the Bible,  we need to read it with expectation. We first must desire to know God and to have Him speak to us.  As we seek His will each day,   we will read the Bible expecting God to answer the questions and needs that come up day to day.  When our heart is prepared to come into His presence to actually hear and to obey,  then our faith will be strengthened.  If on the other hand,  we read the Bible to accomplish our daily task,  to get it out of the way,  then we will find us knowing more about God rather than knowing God.   Jesus said, 

John 7:17 If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself.

We miss the meaning and see the word “will” as future tense.  It is actually saying,  “if any man willeth to do His will, he shall know of the doctrine.”  We must come with a desire to do the things that we read.  That also means that we come with an expectation that He will make that will known to us. 

An exercise to increase our faith  -  When you read the Bible today,  begin with a prayer that you will see the words as God’s Word to you.  Ask Him to reveal His will to you and to give you the power and desire to do that will.  Come with an expectation that God cares for you and desires to reveal Himself to you.

Day Thirty Seven - Invite someone to church

Day Thirty Seven  -  Invite someone to church

John 1:41  He first findeth his own brother Simon, and saith unto him, We have found the Messias, which is, being interpreted, the Christ.

42  And he brought him to Jesus. And when Jesus beheld him, he said, Thou art Simon the son of Jona: thou shalt be called Cephas, which is by interpretation, A stone.

                The purpose of these exercises is to stretch us in areas of faith.  Faith is doing things that are difficult,  perhaps impossible for us to do in our own strength.  Some of the exercises are simple,  but not simple for the old nature.  The old nature hates rejection and the thought of inviting someone to church is frightening to us because they might say “no.” 

                The reason Andrew was so excited about inviting his brother was the knowledge within him that he had truly found the promised one,  the Messiah.  The news was so great,  that nothing would hinder him from inviting those he loved to come to meet that one. 

                We have much in common with Andrew.  We also know that this one is the promised one,  the Messiah.  We know what He has done for us.  We know what it means to be forgiven.  We  know the blessing of having God’s Word revealed to us.  We know the riches of Christ’s presence and the depth of fellowship with His body.  We also have the Holy Spirit that gives us power.  We ought to have a great desire to invite people to come to Christ.  If we are not ashamed of our church,  it should be an easy place to invite friends to come and hear and learn about Jesus.  We have the good news,  and since our church preaches and teaches the good news,  it should be our great desire to invite friends to hear the gospel.  It was the first thing that Andrew did when he came to know Jesus as his Savior.

An exercise to increase our faith:  Invite someone to come to church this Sunday.  If this is a special Sunday,  it will be great to invite someone to hear the choir and the orchestra.  But if it is a Sunday when God’s Word will be proclaimed,  it is also a great Sunday to come to know Christ.  Paul said, 

2 Timothy 1:8 Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God;

Don’t be ashamed of what you have in Christ!