Increase Our Faith

Do you believe your faith is big enough? Do you ever wonder if you need to work on your faith? Does it feel as though your faith is too little, too late? How much faith do you think you need to be faithful? How much faith does it take to move mountains? Ever thought about it?

Our faith is no small thing. In fact, it is a big deal. But that doesn’t mean our faith is always as strong as it should be. Strengthening or increasing our faith is work, but we don’t do it alone. God helps us strengthen our faith if we ask. For he desires that we have a strong faith.

Our faith is being battled for. Jesus desires us to put our faith in Him. Satan fights tooth and nail to keep us from having faith, though he doesn’t care if we believe in God. Why? Even Satan believes in God. He is also fearful of and angry with God because he knows God has already won the war. It is not a matter of Satan winning but how many he can take down with him.

So, it is a good thing that the apostles ask Jesus to increase their faith. Think about that for just a moment. By the time they make this request, they have been with Jesus for a couple years. They have seen miracles. And yet, they ask that their faith be increased. They have come to the realization that their faith is not as strong as it should be.

If the apostles, who spent three years with Jesus in person, thought they needed Him to increase their faith, how much more should we be asking Him to increase ours? We have not seen Him in the flesh, witnessed Him perform miracles, nor heard Him teach the crowds. Our belief and faith are based on what we read in the Bible and the teaching done by pastors and theologians. Though those are not insignificant, they are not the same as physically seeing Jesus.

I pray we all realize we need to increase our faith. I pray we trust that Jesus can help us increase our faith. I pray each one of us will ask Jesus to increase our faith and seek to do the work He has set before us. Increase your faith. Ask Jesus to increase your faith. Trust that He will. Use your faith to do the works He has set before you.

Luke 17:5-6 The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!” The Lord replied, “If you had faith the size of a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree”, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.”

High Standard

Do you hold yourself to a high standard? How do you determine if it is high or not? What is your standard based on? How do you go about holding yourself to that standard? Are there people who have invested in you? Who do you lean on to help you hold onto the good entrusted to you?

It seems people have lowered their standards. I remember when a child who was disrespectful to an elder would have been disciplined. Now their parents laugh, thinking it funny. I remember when politicians were statesmen. Now they spend their time pitting people against each other.

The Apostle Paul tells his understudy, Timothy, to hold to the standard Paul had taught him. What was that standard? Based on Paul’s teachings, we can rightly assume it included living according to the commands Jesus gave us. It included loving everyone, showing grace to others, a willingness to forgive, sharing blessings with others, caring for those in need, and teaching people about Jesus.

Paul had spent considerable time with Timothy, investing in him. Paul saw something in Timothy that he could mold and build into a teacher, just as Paul was. Paul knew he had taught Timothy well and that Timothy had received his teaching well. He encourages Timothy to enlist the help of the Holy Spirit to hold onto his teachings and to live up to the standard set.

We can be like young Timothy. We can live up to the standard, but we cannot do it on our own. Just like Timothy, we need to lean on the Holy Spirit. We must trust him to guide us. We must be open to hear his guidance and willing to follow it. It is when we hold ourselves to Jesus’ standard and follow the guidance of the Holy Spirit that we live the abundant life He promised us.

I pray we all decide to hold ourselves to a high standard. I pray we lean on the Holy Spirit to guide us. I pray each one of us will remember the sound teaching we have received. Hold yourself to a high standard. Lean on the Holy Spirit. Remember sound teaching. Live the abundant life.

2 Timothy 1:13-14 Hold to the standard of sound teaching that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. Guard the good deposit entrusted to you, with the help of the Holy Spirit living in us.

Gospel Truth

Do you have a hard time speaking to others about the gospel? Is challenging to speak about Jesus to your family or friends or co-workers? Have you wanted to tell someone but couldn’t bring yourself to? Have you considered that is Satan whispering to you and making you feel ashamed?

Our culture pressures us to conform to its unwritten rules. We may call it peer pressure, but it is more than just our peers. Satan uses the news media, organizations, and individuals to pressure us to be silent when it comes to the gospel. Yet, the gospel is the best news we can spread.

The Apostle Paul tells Timothy not to be ashamed of the gospel. He reminds him that we are called for God’s purposes and by God’s grace. God’s grace is far more than we often think about. We may define it as unmerited favor. But what does that definition mean? It encompasses forgiveness, blessings, guidance, provision, protection, and more.

Notice that Paul states God’s grace was given before time began through Jesus Christ. We forget that Jesus existed before time began. We remember He was born to Mary at a specific point in time, which is when the divine became flesh. Yet, in John 1, we are told that Jesus existed before time and through Him all things were created.

When Jesus stepped into His creation, He changed everything. Through His death, burial, and resurrection, He abolished death and gave us eternal life. Yes, we will leave our mortal bodies and this world, but we will live forever with God. Satan wants to conform us to this world and be ashamed of the gospel so we will not bring others into the body of Christ. Will we listen to his lies or speak the truth of Jesus Christ?

I pray we all overcome our feelings of shame for the gospel. I pray we choose to tell others about Jesus. I pray each one of us will reject Satan’s lies and speak the truth of the gospel. Do not be ashamed. Reject Satan’s lies. Speak the truth. Tell others about the gospel of Jesus.

2 Timothy 1:8-10 Do not be ashamed, then, of the testimony about our Lord or of me his prisoner, but join with me in suffering for the gospel, in the power of God, who saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works but according to his own purpose and grace, and this grace was given to us in Christ Jesus before the ages began, but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.

A Clear Conscience

Are you grateful to God? Do you worship him with a clear conscience? Have you given him your whole heart? Is your mind focused on him when you worship? Do you remember others in your prayers? Do you pray for the church as a whole? Do you pray the lost will be found?

We don’t always show our gratefulness to God. We like to think we accomplished something all on our own. Our worship doesn’t always encompass our whole heart and mind. Our minds will sometimes stray. Our hearts may not be fully committed on any given day.

When we say we will pray for someone, we don’t always follow up on it. Though we say we pray for our family, we do not always do that. We often do not include praying for the church when we pray. Praying the lost will be found and be brought to Jesus is rarely prayed for. Yet all of these are people we should be praying for regularly, even if we rotate through them from one day to the next.

Let’s not kid ourselves. We all go through dry times. We all get very busy. We often have too many things on our minds. For these reasons, we need to set aside time, as challenging as that may be, to spend quiet time with God pouring out our prayers. It is when we are willing to dedicate our time to him that we see him move the most. It is when we slowdown that we can commune with God, worshiping him and praying to him. God desires us to spend time with him.

I pray we all choose to slowdown. I pray we worship God with our whole hearts. I pray each one of us prays for the church, the lost, our families, our friends, and our communities. Slowdown. Spend time with God. Worship God with your whole heart. Pray for the church and others.

1 Timothy 1:3 I am grateful to God—whom I worship with a clear conscience, as my ancestors did—when I remember you constantly in my prayers night and day.

Lamenting to God

Not many of us have experienced a city being abandoned. We don’t know what it is like to have a foreign army drive out the citizens of a city and take captive anyone who remains. We cannot fully understand the feelings of helplessness, loss, grief, and depression.

The Israelites experienced all of it when they were defeated by the Babylonians. They had been taught their entire lives that they were God’s chosen people. They thought God would never allow them to be defeated. Unfortunately, they did not abide by God’s commands.

A desolate and empty city is eerie. I remember going to New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina came ashore on August 29, 2005. Our group of volunteers were there during the week of Thanksgiving. The city was nearly empty. It was mostly volunteers who were working on clean-up who were there. On our last day of mucking out houses, we went to a subdivision of approximately sixty to eighty homes. There was one other clean-up crew and ours. The streets were empty. There were no vehicles. There was no one there. It felt like a place from a science fiction apocalypse movie. Despite the sun being out, it seemed everything was gray.

Though we may not experience the utter devastation of war or natural disasters, we experience other types devastating events. They may be smaller in scale but no less impactful. When we experience them, we may wonder where God is. We may think God has abandoned us. It is good for us to cry out to him. It is good to ask him why and ask him to show himself in our grief.

We have been promised that God will never leave us, even if we ignore him. He will hear our laments. He will hear our cry. As we turn back to him, he will be there to comfort us and provide for us. It is challenging to believe it in the midst of our grief. Yet, it is in our grief that we need to cling to him the most. We need to hold onto our faith in God always.

I pray we all know that God will never leave us. I pray we cling to God every moment of every day. I pray each one of us cry out to God and seek his comfort during a time of grief. God is always with you. Cling to God every day. Cry out to God in your grief. Seek God’s comfort.

Lamentations 1:1

How lonely sits the city 

that once was full of people! 

How like a widow she has become, 

she that was great among the nations! 

She that was a princess among the provinces 

has become subject to forced labor.

Run to God

Have you experienced a time of deep sorrow? Have you experienced the loss of a loved one? Have you experienced the unexpected loss of a job? Have you had a vehicle or a house repossessed? Have you been at a complete loss, not knowing where to turn for help?

Experiencing a time of deep sorrow, being overcome with grief, can be debilitating. We may become so depressed we can barely move. We walk around in a fog, unable to focus on anything. We may spend our day weeping. The depression may turn to anger.

When the Jews were taken captive by Babylon and Jerusalem was destroyed, they were distraught, in despair, grieving, feeling lost, facing an uncertain future, and feeling abandoned by God. The walls of protection around Jerusalem had been destroyed. The Babylon army had raided the city, destroying homes, indiscriminately killing, taking survivors captive, and force marching them for days.

The question that came to their mind over and over again was, “Why God?” Yet, they knew why. They had turned to idols. They had depended on their own wisdom. They had become proud of their accomplishments. They had conveniently forgotten that it was God who had blessed them.

We can learn a lesson from Judah and its exile. Rather than turning to our own strength, we must rely on God’s. Rather than worshiping possessions, we must worship God. Rather than relying on our own wisdom, we must seek God’s guidance. Rather than continue in our sin, we must repent of it, lament over it, and turn away from it. God stands with his arms wide open ready to welcome us back into the fold.

I pray we all learn a lesson from Judah’s exile. I pray we seek out God’s guidance in all we do. I pray each one of us repents of our sin and run into God’s awaiting arms to receive his forgiveness. Learn from Judah. Seek God’s guidance. Repent of your sin. Run to God’s open arms.

Psalm 137:1

By the rivers of Babylon— 

there we sat down, and there we wept 

when we remembered Zion.

Whose Child Are You?

Does the title question disturb you? Do you take offense to it? Or are you wondering what the intent is and where the question is going? Have you seriously considered whose child you are? Do you know it is evident in your behavior, speech, and actions?

When asked a question like the one in the title, we often give the name of our parents. But the question goes far deeper than that. Ultimately, we must decide if we are going to be a child of God or a child of Satan. Perhaps that sounds harsh, but it is the truth.

So, how do we decide? The simple, yet challenging, answer is that we either follow the truth of God’s Word or we follow the lies Satan throws at us each day. Why is it challenging? Because Satan’s lies are subtle, conniving, convincing, and alluring.

Satan tells us God doesn’t really love us. He tells us it’s alright to be angry with someone who offends us. He tells us we must provide for ourselves, because God won’t. He divides us by pitting us against one another. He convinces us to worship possessions and other people. He tells us we must take control of our lives.

God’s Word tells us God will provide. It tells us to trust him. It reveals God’s promises. In God’s Word, we see that God is in control. We hear that God loves us. We are told that he works everything for our good. His Word provides us with direction, guidance, and truth. So, if we are going to live in truth, we must read and study God’s word. It is only by living by God’s Word that we will live abundantly.

I pray we all recognize the lies Satan continually inundates us with. I pray we seek to know the truth that is in God’s Word. I pray each one of us trust that God is in control, submit ourselves to him, follow his direction and guidance, and live in his truth. Recognize Satan’s lies. Seek the truth of God. Trust God is in control. Submit to God.

John 8: 47 “Whoever is from God hears the words of God. The reason you do not hear them is that you are not from God.”

Be Convinced

Some of us are difficult when it comes to being convinced something is true. Others of us believe anything we hear or read, regardless of the source. The best option is to be somewhere between those two extremes.

We absolutely should question virtually everything we see on social media. Anytime we read a news article online, we should first verify the URL (web address) is a legitimate site. There are numerous fake sites that portray themselves as being legitimate. They will even mimic a legitimate site in hopes of tricking us into believing they are the real thing.

On the other hand, we cannot be so thick skulled as to not believe everything we hear. When we know it is a legitimate source that is doing their best to report the truth, we must at least consider it. Regardless of the source, even people we trust, we must understand everyone has their own biases and may spin the news to reflect what they want it to reflect. Rare is the person who doesn’t. Yet, there are a few.

Jesus tells the story of a rich man who mistreated a beggar outside his gate. When Lazarus, the beggar, died, he went to heaven. Later, when the rich man dies, he goes to hell, being tormented for eternity. The rich man cries out to Father Abraham to send Lazarus with just a drop of water to cool his tongue. However, there is a great chasm between heaven and hell, and Lazarus could not do so.

The rich man then asks that Lazarus be sent to his father’s house and to tell his family about the differences between heaven and hell. Abraham says they have Moses and the prophets, but rich man says they don’t believe them, but, if a man returns from the dead, they will believe. Abraham’s reply is telling, both then and now, when he says they will not be convinced by a dead man returning to life.

Folks, Jesus is the dead man that returned to life; besides the people He raised from the dead when He walked this earth. Yet, there are people in this world today who continue to not believe in Him. Jesus’s telling of this story strikes to the heart of humanity. We want proof. We desire to see with our own eyes. Otherwise, we won’t believe.

The question we all should ask ourselves is, do we believe in the risen Christ? If our answer is yes, we then must ask ourselves, will we follow Him? If we choose to follow Him, we must do so with our entire being. There can be no half measures, no half stepping, nor can there be half-heartedness. Jesus wants full commitment—every moment of every day.

If we are disgruntled with the things we see going on in our world, we must first choose to change ourselves. Without choosing to give Jesus everything we have; we cannot begin to think we will change the world. Why? People follow actions far more than they follow words. We cannot say, “Do as I say.” We must be like Jesus and say, “Follow me.”

He said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’”

Fight the Good Fight

When you hear “fight the good fight,” what comes to mind? Do you think of wars to overcome oppression by rabid dictators? Do you think of standing up to corrupt politicians? Do you think of striving to ensure there is justice for all? Or do you think about your faith?

Though there may be many good things we should fight for, there is only one most important thing—our faith. If we can only fight for one thing, it should be our faith. There is no doubt there is evil in this world. Yet, we cannot fight all of it, and certainly not on our own.

The Apostle Paul tells his understudy, Timothy, to rid himself of the desire to gain riches in this world. He says that rather than focusing on worldly riches, focus on the things of God. We, too, should focus on the things of God. It is in our pursuit of them that we learn what true life is all about. But how do we go about achieving them?

Our faith is how we achieve them. They won’t come quickly. That is why Paul says to “fight the good fight of faith.” We battle against our fallen human nature. We battle against the evil in this world. We battle against Satan and his demons. But we don’t fight alone. God is with us every step of the way, so long as we continue to fight.

What is the reward we receive for this fight? Eternal life. We receive the eternal life promised to us by God. He is faithful and will always be with us. There is no question about it. The only question is whether we will continue to fight the good fight, or will we give up? Remembering that we confessed Jesus as our Lord and Savior in front of many witnesses will motivate us to continue the fight. Don’t give up. Hold on to your faith. Keep pursuing the things of God.

I pray we all pursue the things of God. I pray we stop making chasing worldly riches our top priority. I pray each one of us will continue to fight the good fight of faith and take hold of eternal life. Pursue godly things. Stop chasing worldly riches. Fight the good fight. Take hold of eternal life.

1 Timothy 6:11-12 But as for you, man of God, shun all this; pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith; take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and for which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.

Seek Godliness

Are you content? Have you experienced times of discontentment? Are you experiencing discontentment now? What do you think you need to be content? Do you have a plan to acquire or achieve what you need? Are you willing to be content with what you have?

Contentment often escapes us. We continually seek more. Enough is never enough. Our culture encourages us to run the rat race of achievement and accumulation. We jump on the treadmill and go as fast and as hard as we can. Far too often, we never achieve the lofty goals we set.

The Apostle Paul told his understudy Timothy not to chase the riches of this world. Instead, he encourages Timothy to pursue godliness. Included in his encouragement is to be content with having the basic necessities. Paul makes a statement that is often repeated: “we brought nothing into the world, so we can take nothing out of it.” As true as that statement is, we often ignore it.

Being content is a state of mind. It is all about our attitude. We can decide to be content with what we have. It is something I first started working on after going on a few mission trips to Romania. After seeing the contentment the people I encountered had, I realized I didn’t need to accumulate all the things I thought I needed. I started spending less, saving more, and using what I had been blessed with to bless others.

God has blessed us many times over. We are blessed with skills and talents. We are blessed to have jobs, a place to live, clothing, and food. One of God’s purposes for blessing us is so we can be both content and bless others. The more content we are with the basics, the more we can share our blessings with others.

I pray we recognize the many blessings we have received from God. I pray we decide to be content with the basics. I pray each one of us will share our blessings with others. Recognize your blessings. Be content with God’s blessings. Share your blessings. Seek godliness.

1 Timothy 6:6-8 Of course, there is great gain in godliness combined with contentment, for we brought nothing into the world, so that we can take nothing out of it, but if we have food and clothing, we will be content with these.