What kind of faith do you really have? Is it focused faith or circumstantial faith?

Circumstances:

Circumstantial faith is faith that goes up or down, depending on my current set of circumstances. It’s believing in God as long as I am happy with every aspect of my life — everything going the way I want it to go. This type of faith is not at all faith in God — in one day, out the next, depending on how I feel God is acting and what He’s doing for me.

Expectations:

A good term is unexplainable circumstances. We expect God to act in a certain way, and when He doesn’t, we have a crisis of faith. One of our biggest issues is that we are just not good at interpreting events. For example, I worked at UPS for 10 ½ years. I thought God was punishing me for something I did wrong, or He just didn’t like me. I didn’t understand the events. I went to Bible school to be in the ministry, not to work at UPS.

Understanding:

Probably 10 years after I left and began to pastor, I realized it wasn’t that God didn’t like me or was punishing me for something I did wrong. He was teaching me, and training me to serve Him. He taught me that no matter how I felt, do my job. Whether it’s freezing cold outside, or 100 degrees with 90% humidity, do your job. Whether you’re angry, sad, or hurting physically, do your job. Little did I know then what I would be doing today. These lessons have served, and are still serving, me well.

In the midst of trials and tough times, based on circumstances which cause so many to fall away and quit serving God, we can begin to wonder, Is God really there; does He care? What we need is focused faith. Faith that keeps on believing and trusting, no matter the circumstances. That’s the kind of faith we want.

Just a thought,

PSS

We, as believers in Jesus, should never allow the cares of this world to divide us or choke out the word of God from our lives. Mark 4:19 (KJV) — And the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word and it becometh unfruitful.

Division:

I’ve been very disheartened to see Christians get divided over this COVID-19, the cares of this world. There is no “Thus saith the Lord” about it. But yet people are divided on how to deal with it, especially concerning the Church. I’ve never thought I would see a time where the Church as a whole would divide over having church or not having church. The Church is not governed by the state, but by the word of God. We should allow the word of God, and nothing else, to guide us.

Freedom:

So many in the Revolutionary War died for this belief — freedom of religion — and yet we look to political people to tell us when it’s OK to have church, and when it is not. So many have bought into the fearmongering of this world. We cannot allow government, race, or money to choke out the word of God in our lives.

Unity:

We must stand united on the word of God, and seek God and ask Him for direction. I’m so proud to be a part of a church that doesn’t allow the cares of this world to choke out the word of God and divide us as Christians. Benjamin Franklin said, “We must, indeed, all hang together, or most assuredly, we shall all hang separately.”

Let’s stay together. There is power in agreement and a lack of power in lack of agreement.

Just a thought,

PSS

Acceptance — The action, or process, of being received as adequate or suitable, typically to be admitted into a group. Acceptance is so important.

Faith vs works:

Being accepted, or acceptance, is a different thing for so many. But being accepted by God is even harder for some. We work so hard to be accepted at times by people — willing to sacrifice just about anything, compromise just about anything to be accepted.

But with God you can’t work for His acceptance. You must believe to really receive it. You must accept His sacrifice and make Him Lord of your life. Once you have truly come to believe in Him (we don’t really believe until we are willing to follow Him and obey His word), then you are accepted by Him.

Worthiness:

So many of us see ourselves as unworthy, not good enough. So, we never enter into God’s rest. We are always working so hard to hopefully be accepted by God, when the truth is, we do the works of God not to be accepted, but to be pleasing to God.

Only believe:

Once you receive Jesus as your Lord and Savior and purpose to follow Him, you are accepted. He accepts you with your strengths and weaknesses. You are accepted into His family. You don’t work for His acceptance: you believe for His acceptance. It’s His sacrifice that allows us to have a relationship with God.

Believe, and be a doer of His word. Why? Because God does love you.

Just a thought,

PSS

As we continue to have to deal with COVID-19, I keep asking myself, As a believer what should I do?

Fear not:

People use Romans 13 — obeying the authorities — but they use it as all-inclusive. You can find story after story in the Bible where men and women of God didn’t use it as all-inclusive. Daniel was ordered not to pray to anyone but the king for 30 days. Daniel went to his room, prayed as he always had before, and was caught praying by the authorities. Daniel knew after 30 days he could pray. Daniel could have prayed silently. Unfortunately, too many so-called Christians want us to be silent, even now. I believe the reason for this is that they are afraid. Daniel could have prayed without kneeling or raising his hands. He did none of those things. Daniel chose to pray according to Scripture example and according to his lifelong custom (Daniel 6:10). He was willing to face the lion’s den, because he would not let the government dictate his personal expression of worship.

Guide:

Martin Luther King, Jr. — The Church must be reminded that it is not the master or the servant of the state, but rather the conscience of the state. It must be the guide and the critic of the state, and never its tool. If the Church does not recapture its prophetic zeal, it will become an irrelevant social club without moral or spiritual authority.

Stand:

What’s sad today is that a lot of churches, not all, have become just that. I could name two of the bigger ones here in Albuquerque where the pastors are servants of the state, where they stand for nothing or no one. But let you and me be the believers who stand for something. Stand for righteousness.

Let’s be a light to this dark world and to the authorities. Let them know they are not our masters, and they don’t get to dictate how we serve or worship our God — the only true God, the Father of our Lord Jesus.

Just a thought,

PSS

Choices, opportunities, consequences. God has given us all a free will, which means we have the power to choose.

Choices:

We can choose to make good choices, or to make bad choices. But either way, we have the power to choose. If we choose to do the same old thing the same old way, we will never experience opportunities that can help us in life, bring greater success to our lives, and enhance our lives.

Consequences:

The greatest thing God gave all of us is the power to choose. If you use this power to choose to be a victim or to do bad things, the consequences will be bad. So many use the power of choice to blame others, to blame all their problems on someone or something else. Then they wonder why nothing ever changes. But if we use our power of choice to make good decisions, to not blame anyone or anything for our current circumstances, to choose to better ourselves, learn something every day, and take responsibility for our lives, we can watch the opportunities that will come across our paths.

Opportunities:

Opportunity: a set of circumstances that makes it possible to do something; an appropriate or favorable time or occasion. If we make choices to blame and to not take responsibility for our lives, opportunities will pass us by, and we won’t ever know it.

Let’s choose life. Make a choice to live. The power of choice — greatest ability we have.

Just a thought,

PSS