WE NEED FAITH IN OUR SERVICE TO GOD

02- 27- 11 MI DAILY DEVOTION (Romans 12:3- 8)

WE NEED FAITH IN OUR SERVICE TO GOD

3- “For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith. 4- For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office: 5- So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another. 6- Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith; 7- Or ministry, let us wait on our ministering: or he that teacheth, on teaching; 8- Or he that exhorteth, on exhortation: he that giveth, let him do it with simplicity; he that ruleth, with diligence; he that showeth mercy, with cheerfulness.”

Faith does not end on our salvation, it continues on as we start serving our new King. I said new King because before our conversion, the king that we were serving was the king and the prince of the darkness of this world. Of course we were not aware of it because we were living in darkness before God transformed us into His marvelous light. (I Peter 2:9) “But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should show forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:”

I believe that we need faith as we serve our King of kings and Lord of lords. It’s very clear in verse 3 from our text, it says; “For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.” In the body of Christ, we have ministries and responsibilities and God wants for us to serve Him in the spirit of meekness and humility. God wants for us to exercise our faith not in pride and arrogance, not in a wrong anticipation and perspective and not in wrong way and outside of the will of God, but in an unselfish attitude and focus. It is not about us but about Him. It is not about what we have done and what we can do but what God will do in us and through us. It’s all because of His grace and only by His grace. If God will give us the responsibility, He will also give us the ability. As we serve God, there will be hurdles and there will be walls to climb and because of that, we need faith and the grace of God in every endeavor. As we serve the King of kings, there will be sufferings and we need faith and His strength to overcome them. I like this old hymn “In the service of the King” by Alfred H. Ackley, 1912. Notice what it says on the chorus, 2^nd and 3^rd stanzas.

“In the service of the King, Every talent I will bring, I have peace and joy and blessing, In the service of the King.

I am happy in the service of the King. I am happy, O so happy!
Through the sunshine and the shadow I can sing, In the service of the King.
I am happy in the service of the King. I am happy, O so happy! To His guiding hand forever I will cling, In the service of the King.

(Colossians 3:23- 24) 23- “And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; 24- Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ.”

FAITH FOR OUR SALVATION

02- 26- 11 MI DAILY DEVOTION (Ephesians 2:4- 9)

FAITH FOR OUR SALVATION

4- “But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, 5- Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) 6- And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: 7- That in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. 8- For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9- Not of works, lest any man should boast.”

We can see here in our text the important key words that play a very important role for the salvation of mankind. We have here the component of man’s salvation in 6 verses from the book of Ephesians. We have first of all God, and then God’s mercy, and His great love, we need Christ, and He offered us God’s grace, and it was through God’s kindness, we need faith, and last but not the least is God’s gift.

Let’s start with the first component for man’s salvation which would be God. There will be no salvation without God and we cannot have faith without Him working in us. (Hebrews 12:2) “Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.” God is the author of our faith which means that even in our decision of taking a step of faith is not even because of what we have done; it is God’s gift to those who come to Him for salvation. The second component is God’s mercy which means that we were under His mercy when we came to Him for salvation. If you’re living under the mercy of others, you don’t expect them to do or initiate something on your behalf, because you are living under their mercy. God can turn His back from us and forget about the salvation He offered, but He did not and He will not due to His mercy and He is God. The third component is His great love for us. Here’s the most popular verse in the Bible. Someone said that this is the heart of the whole Bible. (John 3:16) “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” The other verse that I believe would really be hard to picture in our mind is in (Romans 5:6; 8) “For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. 8- But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” And then, we have Christ and His grace which would be the fourth component. Love, mercy and grace are God’s great combination for man’s salvation and they are inseparable. The fifth is God’s kindness. Kindness is one of the word that we seldom use and practice. When I was a little boy; in our school we were taught to show kindness to our fellow men. God showed us His kindness through the Lord Jesus Christ. The sixth would be faith, faith in God for our salvation. You have to believe in Him and in what He has done, what He can do and what He will do for you. Now, that’s a good definition of faith. (Hebrews 11:1) “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” The seventh which would be the last is God’s gift.  (Romans 5:15- 16; 6:23) 15- “But not as the offence, so also is the free gift. For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many. 16- And not as it was by one that sinned, so is the gift: for the judgment was by one to condemnation, but the free gift is of many offences unto justification. 23- For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

FAITH AND GOD’S LOVE

02- 25- 11 MI DAILY DEVOTION (Hebrews 11:1- 3)

FAITH AND GOD’S LOVE

1- “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. 2- For by it the elders obtained a good report. 3- Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.”

Faith is God’s gift to mankind as well as love. When God demonstrated His love toward us, His desire for us is to exercise our faith for His love to be profitable for us. His love will always be there for us and He wants everyone to receive His love by receiving Him by faith. The acronym F-A-I-T-H:

F- Follow God and His Word by making your faith effective and a working faith with your positive response to His Word. (Romans 5:1- 2) 1- “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: 2- By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.”

A- Act of faith by believing in the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ which His death burial and resurrection according to the Scriptures. And you can only do that by the grace of God. (I Corinthians 15:1- 4) 1- “Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; 2- By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. 3- For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; 4- And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:” We need the…

I- Inspiration of the Holy Spirit of God and by hearing the Inspired Word of God preached which will lead you to take a step of faith. (Romans 10:17- 18) 17- “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. 18- But I say, Have they not heard? Yes verily, their sound went into all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the world.”

T- Trusting God and trusting in what He has done on the Cross of Calvary more than 2,000 years ago. Therefore, it is important for us to look up to God with the promise of that blessed hope.

H- Hope in the glorious appearing of our Great God and Savior Jesus Christ. (Titus 2:13- 14) 13- “Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; 14- Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.”

Do you have faith in God and His Word? (Romans 8:24) “For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for?”

HE IS GOD ALONE

02- 25-11 MI DAILY DEVOTION (Psalm 46:1- 3)

HE IS GOD ALONE

1- “To the chief Musician for the sons of Korah, A Song upon Alamoth. God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. 2- Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; 3- Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof. Selah.”

What a promise we have in these verses. It’s a blessing to know that we have something to claim from the Scriptures when things are going tough. Even if things and life are going great and well, we can always claim what God has promised us. We are the Lord’s children and He knows what’s best for us. The 4 most powerful things on earth that can happen are in verses 2 and 3. This may sound like an exaggeration on part of the Lord, but God wanted to show us that whatever things that may happen with His permission and in His own hands, we have His eyes on us. He will never leave us and He knows what’s going on in our lives. (Psalm 42:5) “Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted in me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him for the help of his countenance.” In the book of (Psalm 50:15) we have a promise from the Lord, notice what it says; “And call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me.”

Notice the first phrase on (Psalm 46:2) “Therefore will not we fear…” In our text, the Psalmist mentioned the positive first before the negative. The positive part of the verses is in verse 1- “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” In verses 2 and 3 are the negative part of the verses which are the God made calamities. The bottom line is; we can always trust the Lord whatever happens to our world. Even if God turns our world upside down with calamities and tragedies, He is still in control. In (Psalm 68:19- 20) 19- “Blessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth us with benefits, even the God of our salvation. Selah. 20- He that is our God is the God of salvation; and unto GOD the Lord belong the issues from death.” He is the God who gives us all the blessings and the benefits, but He is also the God who brings death and destruction. He is God and whatever He does and will do is not an issue, because He owns the universe including this vile body that we have because of sin.

If we will compare ourselves to God, we could be like a grain of sand in the middle of the ocean in His greatness and power. We are nothing without Him and without His grace and mercy. I like the message of this song by Philips Craig and Dean; 

You are God Alone

“You are not a God, Created by human hands

You are not a God, Dependant on any mortal man

You are not a God, In need of anything we can give

By Your plan, that's just the way it is

You are God alone, From before time began

You were on Your throne, You are God alone

And right now, In the good times and bad

You are on Your throne, You are God alone”

(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.” The Apostle Paul said in (Philippians 4:13) “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.”

HE IS THE GOD OF REFUGE, STRENGTH AND HELP

02- 24- 11 MI DAILY DEVOTION (Psalm 46:1- 3)

HE IS THE GOD OF REFUGE, STRENGTH AND HELP

1- “To the chief Musician for the sons of Korah, A Song upon Alamoth. God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. 2- Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; 3- Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof. Selah.”

“God is our refuge…” It’s very encouraging to know that we have a God who can be a refuge in every situation. He is our refuge at anytime and in many ways. The Lord is our refuge in our problems and when we are struggling with the devil’s devices. The Lord is our refuge in times of troubles and we hide in Him and in His wings of protection when we’re under attack. He is our refuge when the enemies have set up his trap to destroy us and to keep us away from the truth and from His love. During the Old Testament times, those who committed crime or crimes flee to the cities of refuge for their protection. We are all destined for judgment and condemnation, but the Lord is our refuge, salvation and protection. My wife’s favorite verse is in (Nahum 1:7) “The LORD is good, a strong hold in the day of trouble; and he knoweth them that trust in him.” I believe that that’s what we have when we trust the Lord for refuge. He is our strong hold in the day of trouble.

God is also our strength in weakness. Life is full of disturbances and distractions as well as destructions. He is our strength in every situation. He is our strength in sickness and in health. God is our strength when our strength is gone and when we are dried and empty. The Lord is the one who gives us strength when we can’t hang on and can’t take another step for Him. He is the one who lift us up when we’re down and weary. In (Habakkuk 3:19) it says, “The LORD God is my strength, and he will make my feet like hinds' feet, and he will make me to walk upon mine high places. To the chief singer on my stringed instruments.” The Apostle Paul when he was going through tough times because of his thorn in the flesh recognized that God is the one who gives him strength. (II Corinthians 12:7- 9) 7- “And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. 8- For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. 9- And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” In (Psalm 43:2) “For thou art the God of my strength: why dost thou cast me off? why go I mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?”

He is our help in time of need. He is our help when people turn their back from us. He is our help when our friends are not around or if the world will turn their back to us as we serve Him. He is our help in our infirmities. Even though God is our refuge, strength and help but if we don’t put our trust in Him, everything will only be in vain. (Psalm 46:10- 11; 44:26) 10- “Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth. 11- The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah.” 26- “Arise for our help, and redeem us for thy mercies' sake.”

DOUBLE MINDEDNESS VERSUS FOCUS

02-22-11 MI DAILY DEVOTION (James 1:8)
DOUBLE MINDEDNESS VERSUS FOCUS
“A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.”
(Living at the Next Level pg 91 John Maxwell)
“Nothing in life is to be feared, It is only to be understood.” (Marie Curie, The Best of success, A Treasury of Success Ideas by Wynn Davis)
FEAR is one of the reasons why you are DOUBLE MINDED.
“Every opportunity to FEAR is also an opportunity to trust God.” John Maxwell (Living at the Next Level pg 91 John Maxwell)
You don’t want to do things or to explore and you don’t want to step up to the next level, because you’re afraid of failure. You don’t want to set a goal, set a vision and try new things and adventure. You are hesitant and double minded because you’re afraid. I remember when I was on my younger years, I like to play Lawn Tennis and sometimes when I don’t have someone to play with; I would play walling. When you play walling, the harder you hit the ball, the more it bounced back faster. So, the technique is to have your eyes set on the ball. We call it on tennis terms- “eyes on the ball…” It means you really have to FOCUS your eyes on the ball. And you really have to be quick and fast and you have to exercise your reflexes or you will not be able to enjoy playing against the wall. Christian life is just like that, you set your eyes on Jesus and stay focus on what you’re doing whether for yourself, for your family, for your church or ministry- set your eyes on your goal and set aside FEAR that pulls you down.
“Obstacles are like wild animals. They are cowards but they will bluff you if they can. If they see you are afraid of them… they are liable to spring upon you: but… if you look them squarely in the eye, they will slink out of sight.”
“Our doubts are traitors and make us lose the good we oft might win by fearing to attempt.” William Shakespeare
Orison Swett Marden ((Marie Curie, The Best of success, A Treasury of Success Ideas by Wynn Davis)
(Hebrews 12:1-2) “Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,
2- Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
“If you play it safe in life, you’ve decided that you don’t want to grow anymore.” Shirley Hupstedler
“Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything.” George Bernard Shaw (Living at the Next Level pg 91 John Maxwell)
And that is very true, if you want progress; sometimes you have to change your mind set, your mind, your ways your style and the bottom line is- you need to change. Be a single minded person and don’t be afraid to try and try new things. “We can benefit from change. Anyone who has ever really lived knows that there is not life without growth. When we stop growing, we stop living and start existing. But there is no growth without challenge, and there is no challenge without change. Life is a series of changes that create challenges, and if we are going to make it, we have to grow.” Warren Wiersbe (Living at the Next Level pg 92 John Maxwell)
(Matthew 14:24-33)

LOVE… IN THE MIDST OF THE STORM!

02- 08- 11MI DAILY DEVOTION (Mark 4:35- 41)

LOVE… IN THE MIDST OF THE STORM!

35- And the same day, when the even was come, he saith unto them, Let us pass over unto the other side. 36- And when they had sent away the multitude, they took him even as he was in the ship. And there were also with him other little ships. 37- And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full. 38- And he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake him, and say unto him, Master, carest thou not that we perish? 39- And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. 40- And he said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith? 41- And they feared exceedingly, and said one to another, What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?”

Those who are going through storms in life longs for love and care, no wonder the disciples accused Jesus for not caring that they perish. It may have been an exaggeration on the disciples’ part, but it’s happening to many Christians who are going through tough times in life. Sometimes, those who are going through tough times don’t see the problems already; but their emptiness and people around them if they really care enough or love them for what they are and what they are going through. I heard people say something like this after they came out of their own storm; “Where were you when I was…?” “I never heard from you when I was down and lonely with all the difficulties that I went through…!” While some who are still struggling would say: “I’m alone in this, no one cares…!” “Where is the love and care of these people” And you may have heard of something different, but as a believer and a light of this world, it would be another opportunity for us all to minister and be a hand, the Lord’s feet, be a voice and may be a servant for Christ. This is the Psalm of David but someone; somewhere may have the same prayer and may be feeling and going through like what King David went through. (Psalm 22:2- 8) 2- “O my God, I cry in the daytime, but thou hearest not; and in the night season, and am not silent. 6- But I am a worm, and no man; a reproach of men, and despised of the people. 7- All they that see me laugh me to scorn: they shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying, 8- He trusted on the LORD that he would deliver him: let him deliver him, seeing he delighted in him.”

Here are some of the beautiful verses that I believe as a believer and a light and salt of this earth should be in our heart as a reminder of what others are feeling and going through which may not be visible in the human eyes. (Psalm 142:1- 4) 1- “Maschil of David; A Prayer when he was in the cave. I cried unto the LORD with my voice; with my voice unto the LORD did I make my supplication. 2- I poured out my complaint before him; I showed before him my trouble. 3- When my spirit was overwhelmed within me, then thou knewest my path. In the way wherein I walked have they privily laid a snare for me. 4- I looked on my right hand, and beheld, but there was no man that would know me: refuge failed me; no man cared for my soul.”