The Testing of Your Faith

The story of Mary and Martha present us with several tests of our faith that we will each face--several times.

Test One--The Choice--Will your number one priority be deepening your relationship with Him? Will you seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness? Will you sit at His feet and learn of Him? Or will your life be filled with busyness, worry, discontent, a critical spirit--especially toward those who have chosen to sit at His feet?
Test Two---The Silence--What will you do when you've cast your burden on Him, and the answer is silence? Will you trust that He loves you in the stillness? Will you trust that He is working even though you cannot see it? Will you rest in the confidence that He hears your every prayer? If you do trust Him--when all is said and done, your relationship with Him will be even deeper than it was before, your understanding of His great love for you will increase, and He will use your circumstances to glorify Himself.
Test Three--Doubt--when He answers your prayer in the one way you didn't want Him to, will you doubt His love, question His faithfulness, ignore the undeniable proof of His love--the cross on which He died willingly for you? Or in your tears will you fall at His feet in submission to His will and sense His loving tears for your broken heart--and rejoice when He reveals His glory through His answer to your prayers?
Test Four: A Thankful Heart--when you have seen His glory and your love for Him has deepened, will you fall at His feet in humble worship lavishing Him with the perfume of your richest love? Or will you go back to your busyness wondering why you can not sense His faithful presence in your life?

Answer with your life not your words.

Christian Responsibility

Christian Responsibility:

In a dark world, you are the light. Shine.
In a world of moral decay, you are the salt of the earth. Be distinctive--live a holy life.
In a world of harsh words and hateful, angry speech, you are the voice of the soft answer. Silence--"drown out"-- the wrath.
In a world striving to find meaning in material gain and consumerism, you are the rock of contentment. Be a giver and a nurturer, not a taker and exploiter.
In a world of self-absorbed and proud narcissism, you are the humble servant. Esteem others better than yourself.
In a world screaming for their rights, you are the embracer of responsibility. Live a life that pleases the audience of One. Obey.
In a world striving for power, you are the one being daily filled with the Spirit, totally under His control--the one with a thankful heart, singing heart, and submissive heart. In all things, Christ. Let Him be your strength so that you can do the "all things" that please Him
In a world steeped in sorrow, you are the listening ears, the hands and the heart of the God of All-Comfort. Bear one another's burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ--love and comfort your neighbor as He has loved and comforted you.
In a world filled with division and strife, you are the peacemaker. Let the fruit of the Spirit so radiate from your life that those who hate you the most are silenced by His beauty--the Prince of Peace.
In a world filled with accusers, you are the one who casts aside the weapon of self-defense and lets Christ-in-you be your defense.

As I have often reminded you, you make the invisible God visible. You are Christ-in-the-room. You are His letter to the world, His words have been engraved upon your heart. Reflect His presence. Be His voice.

The Christian Walk

The Christian walk is steady. "Your Word is a lamp unto my feet; a light upon my path." One step at a time, he walks on unhurried, guided by the truths of the One who knows each step, who knows where the stumbling blocks along the way are hidden.
The Christian walk is patient. Focused on the ones who walk beside him, he is slow to anger, slow to speak, quick to listen. Humbled by God's grace at his own failings, he is quick to forgive, anxious to comfort, ready to be the shoulder to lean on, prayerfully serving as the bearer of another's burden.
The Christian walk has its moments of sorrow, times of friendship with grief. But knowing the One who walks the path with Him, the One willing to bear His cares and sorrows, he rejoices in the sorrow knowing that it is the soil that engenders growth, the soil that transforms his spirit and soul into one like his Master's.
The Christian walk must face up to fear. The roaring lion often tries to shake his confidence and send him trembling and fearful from the narrow path to get him to seek refuge on the thorny path of human security. But trembling in fear at the thought of breaking the heart of the One who is his Rock, his High Tower of Refuge, he walks on strong and courageous trusting in the victory over fear promised by his Captain.
The Christian walk is a faith walk. In times of dryness and thirst, he knows that the still waters are just ahead. In times of brokenness, he knows that the journey ahead will restore his soul. in times of doubt, he knows the good is coming--the outcome of his obedient walk rests in the hands of the All-Wise, Almighty God. In times of loneliness, he rejoices in the promise that he is loved with inescapable love, eternal love.
The Christian walk is a servant's walk. He longs to graciously lavish the love lavished on him, into the lives of his neighbors--those in his life in need--physically and spiritually. His deepest desire is to--at the end of his walk--to be embraced by the One he loves but has not yet seen, to hear resounding in his now immortal and incorruptible memory, "Well-done good and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of My eternal presence."

A Spirit of Forgiveness

Any culture that is not characterized by a spirit of forgiveness is a godless society. A culture filled with arrogance, self-defense, a sense of victimhood, incapable of genuine, grace-filled love, has no hope for reconciliation. A culture filled with enemies who refuse to forgive each other is doomed to hate-filled self-destruction. Why do we gloss over the truth that God looked at a world like ours and was moved to love them?
You can't hate someone into embracing the God of forgiveness.

A Life of Faith

A life of faith is the only life that pleases God. "Without faith it is impossible to please Him." Impossible. To walk by sight--to demand to see what God is doing in our life or will do because we make such and such a decision--causes us to walk in blindness and petulance. The impetus for faith comes from our confidence that He is who He claims to be and that He rewards those who act on that confidence. And though He may at times bless us with physical things, His ultimate rewards are spiritual and eternal. Incorruptible rewards stored up in Heaven safe from thieves and rust and decay--rewards that require faith in their reality--are His love gifts to His faithful servants.
And faith--belief that is genuine--always bears fruit--the transforming work of the Spirit in making us more like Him day-by-day. Always. If there has been no fruit, it's because there is no life. We are saved by grace through faith in order to be His workmanship--a people dedicated to doing those things that make the glory of the Father visible and undeniable. Faith is always "unto good works." As James tells us, faith without works is a useless faith.
Yes, faith is "seasonal," but it is a part of the true believer's experience. Usually, it is between the storms of life that the Spirit wielding His Sword transforms us to prepare us for the storms ahead. Then, when we experience the storm, we find His promises sure and trustworthy--the proof of His promises is engraved on our hearts, and our hearts grow even more confident in the promises we have not yet experienced. Our faith is deepened.
To walk by sight is to walk in blindness unable to grow in grace and in the knowledge of who He is--unable to please Him. By faith we believe, bear fruit that is everlasting, find in the storms that He is the unwavering Promise Keeper, and rest in that most amazing truth that all will work for our good who love Him with unwavering obedience. The hymn in the heart of the faithful is "it is well with my soul"--a soul that can never be separated from His infinite love.

Victory

We do not know the height, nor the depth, nor the breadth, nor the length of the struggle that those we love are dealing with. But we do know the One who knows. So we intercede on their behalf to the One who sits on the throne, the One whose love for them is higher and deeper and broader and longer than any struggle they must face. And we know that through faith the struggle is the victory.

What's in a Name?

One of the things I love about the book of Nehemiah is his listing of the names of those who volunteered to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem in the face of great adversity. At times they had to build with a tool in one hand and a sword in the other. What I love about the names is what it tells us about who they were. No prophets, no mighty men of valor, no nobles--just ordinary people doing extraordinary work for the cause of God. Priests, temple servants, goldsmiths, government workers, perfumers, merchants, a man and his daughters, people from Jericho, men from Gibeon--men of whom we know nothing--except that God called them to the work, and they said, "Yes.". Some did extra work. Some built the walls around their homes. Some worked even though those over them told them not to. It's not as if they would be on a list of people we want to be sure and meet in Heaven. But they should be. Ordinary, "unknown" people doing God's work. They wouldn't be on our list of famous people. But they are on His!
Too often we forget God's love for those doing the work who have no need for, or desire for, the praise of men. But God knows who they are, and He rejoices in their faithfulness. He knows each of us by name. We are his child, and as someone has said--Augustine, I think--He loves each one of us as if we were His only child.
Be faithful in the work. Do the work for the "audience of One." He knows "what you're up to," and He is delighted in you. The more unimportant your work seems to be, the more--according to Paul--necessary you're work is to the success of the kingdom. To the work!

Danger

One of the dangers we face as Christians is "skipping a meal." Even those of us who have been walking with the Lord for decades and been in the Word time and time again, have a tendency to skip our time in the Word as if we've "tasted" enough. Then we grumble as to why the Lord doesn't seem to be speaking to us about our current situation. How can He speak to us if our Bible is sitting on the table unopened? And going to church to hear the Word opened--though vital to our Christian walk--is not enough. We need to personally be in the Word day-by-day. It is what the Spirit wields to touch us and mold us--His sword. It is the mirror that allows us to see ourselves as God sees us that we might take the steps of obedience necessary to be transformed into His likeness. It is the river of water that, as we sink our roots deep into its life-giving truth, strengthens us to bring forth fruit in its season--fruit that lasts. As Jesus prayed, it is the power He uses to sanctify us--purify us for His use in the kingdom. A second-hand relationship will not do. Yes, we need to sit under biblical teaching, but we also need to--must--have a personal relationship with Him by immersing ourselves in His Word. Spiritual health failing? Wondering where God is? Spiritually prosperous is the man or woman who feasts on Scripture day-by-day. Don't "skip" any meals. "O, taste and see that the Lord is good." "Your Word have I hid in my heart, that I might not sin against You." "Your Word is a light unto my path."

A victorious Christian life cannot be lived without immersion in the Truth of God daily.