Tag: doubts
Walk of Faith
by Donny on Feb.23, 2010, under Uncategorized, devotionals, devotions, prayers
What Is Faith?
Hebrews 11:1-2 (NCV)
1 Faith means being sure of the things we hope for and knowing that something is real even if we do not see it. 2 Faith is the reason we remember great people who lived in the past.
Romans 10:17 (NCV)
17 So faith comes from hearing the Good News, and people hear the Good News when someone tells them about Christ.
Galatians 5:6 (NCV)
6 The important thing is faith—the kind of faith that works through love.
1 John 5:4 (NCV)
4 Everyone who is a child of God conquers the world. And this is the victory that conquers the world—our faith.
John 6:28-29 (NCV)
28 The people asked Jesus, “What are the things God wants us to do?” 29 Jesus answered, “The work God wants you to do is this: Believe the One he sent.”
Psalm 118:8 (NCV)
8 It is better to trust the Lord than to trust people.
Hebrews 11:6 (NCV)
6 Without faith no one can please God. Anyone who comes to God must believe that he is real and that he rewards those who truly want to find him.
Luke 17:5 (NCV)
5 The apostles said to the Lord, “Give us more faith!”
Hebrews 6:12 (NCV)
12 We do not want you to become lazy. Be like those who through faith and patience will receive what God has promised.
James 1:5-6 (NCV)
5 But if any of you needs wisdom, you should ask God for it. He is generous to everyone and will give you wisdom without criticizing you. 6 But when you ask God, you must believe and not doubt. Anyone who doubts is like a wave in the sea, blown up and down by the wind.
Psalm 37:3, 5, 7 (NCV)
3 Trust the Lord and do good. Live in the land and feed on truth. 5 Depend on the Lord; trust him, and he will take care of you. 7 Wait and trust the Lord. Don’t be upset when others get rich or when someone else’s plans succeed.
Psalm 55:22 (NCV)
22 Give your worries to the Lord, and he will take care of you. He will never let good people down.
Psalm 62:8 (NCV)
8 People, trust God all the time. Tell him all your problems, because God is our protection.
Isaiah 43:1-2 (NCV)
1 Now this is what the Lord says. He created you, people of Jacob; he formed you, people of Israel. He says, “Don’t be afraid, because I have saved you. I have called you by name, and you are mine. 2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you. When you cross rivers, you will not drown. When you walk through fire, you will not be burned, nor will the flames hurt you.
Isaiah 41:13 (NCV)
13 I am the Lord your God, who holds your right hand, and I tell you, ‘Don’t be afraid. I will help you.’
Proverbs 3:5 (NCV)
5 Trust the Lord with all your heart, and don’t depend on your own understanding.
Isaiah 50:10 (NCV)
10 Who among you fears the Lord and obeys his servant? That person may walk in the dark and have no light. Then let him trust in the Lord and yet depend on his God.
“Learning to Love Loved” by Max Lucado (UpWords Ministry)
by Donny on Feb.07, 2010, under Uncategorized, devotionals, devotions, prayers
(from MaxLucado.com)
God’s love does not hinge on yours. The abundance of your love does not increase his. The lack of your love does not diminish his. Your goodness does not enhance his love, nor does your weakness dilute it. What Moses said to Israel is what God says to us:
“The LORD did not choose you and lavish his love on you because you were larger or greater than other nations, for you were the smallest of all nations! It was simply because the LORD loves you.” (Deuteronomy 7:7-8 NLT)
God loves you simply because he has chosen to do so.
He loves you when you don’t feel lovely.
He loves you when no one else loves you. Others may abandon you, divorce you, and ignore you, but God will love you. Always. No matter what.
This is his sentiment: “I’ll call nobodies and make them somebodies; I’ll call the unloved and make them beloved.” (Romans 9:25 MSG).
This is his promise. “I have loved you, my people, with an everlasting love. With unfailing love I have drawn you to myself.” (Jeremiah 31:3 NLT).
Our love depends on the receiver of the love. Let a thousand people pass before us, and we will not feel the same about each. Our love will be regulated by their appearance, by their personalities. Even when we find a few people we like, our feelings will fluctuate. How they treat us will affect how we love them. The receiver regulates our love.
Not so with the love of God. We have no thermostatic impact on his love for us. The love of God is born from within him, not from what he finds in us. His love is uncaused and spontaneous. As Charles Wesley said, “He hath loved us. He hath loved us. Because he would love.” 1
Does he love us because of our goodness? Because of our kindness? Because of our great faith? No, he loves us because of his goodness, kindness, and great faith. John says it like this: “This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us” (I John 4:10 NIV).
Do you know what else that means? You have a deep aquifer of love from which to draw. When you find it hard to love, then you need a drink! Drink deeply! Drink daily!
Don’t forget, love is a fruit. Step into the orchard of God’s work, and what is the first fruit you see? “Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control” (Galatians 5:22 NIV).
Love is a fruit. A fruit of whom? Of your hard work? Of your deep faith? Of your rigorous resolve? No. Love is a fruit of the Spirit of God. “The Spirit produces the fruit” (Galatians 5:22 NCV).
And, this is so important, you are a branch on the vine of God. “I am the vine, and you are the branches” (John 15:5 NCV). Need a refresher course on how vines function? What is the role of the branch in the bearing of fruit? Branches don’t exert a lot of energy. You never hear of gardeners treating branches for exhaustion. Branches don’t attend clinics on stress management. Nor do they groan and grunt. “I’ve got to get this grape out. I’ve got to get this grape out. I’m going to bear this grape if it kills me!”
No, the branch does none of that. The branch has one job-to receive nourishment from the vine. And you have one job-to receive nourishment from Jesus. “I am the Vine, you are the branches. When you’re joined with me and I with you, the relation intimate and organic, the harvest is sure to be abundant. Separated, you can’t produce a thing” (John 15:5 MSG).
Our Lord gets no argument from us on that last line, does he? We have learned the hard way apart from him we can’t produce a thing. Don’t you think it’s time we learn what happens if we stay attached?
His job is to bear fruit. Our job is to stay put. The more tightly we are attached to Jesus, the more purely his love can pass through us. And oh, what a love it is! Patient. Kind. Does not envy. Does not boast. Is not proud.
Let’s rewrite 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 one more time. Not with your name or Jesus’ name but with both. Read it aloud with your name in the blank, and see what you think.
Christ in _____ is patient, Christ in _____ is kind. Christ in _____ does not envy, Christ in _____ does not boast, Christ in _____ is not proud. Christ in _____ is not rude, Christ in _____ is not self-seeking, Christ in _____ is not easily angered, Christ in _____ keeps no record of wrongs. Christ in _____ does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. Christ in _____ always protects, always perseveres. Christ in _____never fails.
Will we ever love like that? Will we ever love perfectly? No. This side of heaven only God will. But we will love better than we have. By being loved, we will love.
My Wish For You:
- Where there is pain, I wish you peace and mercy.
- Where there is self-doubting, I wish you a renewed confidence in your ability to work through it.
- Where there is tiredness or exhaustion, I wish you understanding, patience, and renewed strength.
- Where there is fear, I wish you love and courage.
1 J.I. Packer, Knowing God (Downers Grove, Ill,: InterVarsity Press, 1973) 112.
*****************************************************************************
Excerpted from A Love Worth Giving W Publishing, 2002
Available for purchase at MaxLucado.com
“Rough times can teach us patience; God will not leave us alone with our problems!”
by Donny on Dec.19, 2009, under Uncategorized, devotionals, devotions, prayers
Dear brothers, is your life full of difficulties and temptations? Then be happy, for when the way is rough, your patience has a chance to grow. So let it grow, and don’t try to squirm out of your problems. For when your patience is finally in full bloom, then you will be ready for anything, strong in character, full and complete.
If you want to know what God wants you to do, ask Him, and He will gladly tell you, for He is always ready to give a bountiful supply of wisdom to all who ask Him; He will not resent it. But when you ask Him, be sure that you really expect Him to tell you, for a doubtful mind will be as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind; and every decision you then make will be uncertain, as you turn first this way, and then that. If you don’t ask with faith, don’t expect the Lord to give you any solid answer.
James doesn’t say if the way is rough, but when it is rough. He assumes we will have trials and that it is possible to profit from them. James tells us to turn our hardships into times of learning. Rough times can teach us patience. (For other passages dealing with patience, perseverance, & steadfastness, see Romans 2:7; 5:3-5; 8:24-25; 2 Corinthians 6:3-7; 2 Peter 1:2-9.)
We can’t really know the depth of our character until we see how we react under pressure. It is easy to be kind when everything is going well, but can we still be kind when others are treating us unfairly? Instead of complaining about our struggles, we should see them as opportunities for growth.
Thank God for promising to be with you in rough times. Ask Him to help you solve your problems or give you the strength to endure them. Then be patient. God will not leave you alone with your problems; He will stay close by and help you grow.
If we need wisdom, we can pray to God and He will supply what we need. Christians never need to grope about in the dark, hoping to stumble upon answers. God’s wisdom is available to guide our choices.
When James speaks of wisdom, he means practical discernment. Wisdom begins with respect for God, leads to right living, and results in increased ability to tell right from wrong. God is willing to give us this wisdom. To learn God’s will, we need to ask Him to reveal it to us, and then we must be willing to do what He tells us to do.
Doubt leaves one as unsettled as the restless waves, tossed to and fro. If you want to stop being tossed about, believe that God knows what is best for you. Ask Him for wisdom, and trust that He will give it to you. Then your decisions will be sure and solid. To “ask with faith” is to ask with confidence that God will align our desires with his purposes.
(from the Life Application Bible – Living Bible edition)
“Dealing With Our Guilty Feelings” – Dr. Charles Stanley (In Touch Ministries)
by Donny on Oct.28, 2009, under Uncategorized, devotionals, devotions, prayers
Psalm 40:1-17 (NIV)
1 I waited patiently for the LORD; he turned to me and heard my cry.
2 He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand.
3 He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear and put their trust in the LORD.
4 Blessed is the man who makes the LORD his trust, who does not look to the proud, to those who turn aside to false gods.
5 Many, O LORD my God, are the wonders you have done. The things you planned for us no one can recount to you; were I to speak and tell of them, they would be too many to declare.
6 Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but my ears you have pierced; burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not require.
7 Then I said, “Here I am, I have come— it is written about me in the scroll.
8 I desire to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart.”
9 I proclaim righteousness in the great assembly; I do not seal my lips, as you know, O LORD.
10 I do not hide your righteousness in my heart; I speak of your faithfulness and salvation. I do not conceal your love and your truth from the great assembly.
11 Do not withhold your mercy from me, O LORD; may your love and your truth always protect me.
12 For troubles without number surround me; my sins have overtaken me, and I cannot see. They are more than the hairs of my head, and my heart fails within me.
13 Be pleased, O LORD, to save me; O LORD, come quickly to help me.
14 May all who seek to take my life be put to shame and confusion;
may all who desire my ruin be turned back in disgrace.
15 May those who say to me, “Aha! Aha!” be appalled at their own shame.
16 But may all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you; may those who love your salvation always say, “The LORD be exalted!”
17 Yet I am poor and needy; may the Lord think of me. You are my help and my deliverer; O my God, do not delay.
Guilt comes from a feeling of responsibility for some wrongdoing. Certain convictions come from the Holy Spirit’s efforts to turn us away from sin and guide us to our heavenly Father. But not all guilt stems from ungodly actions.
False guilt, which is not prompted by sin, can surface for a variety of reasons, such as disappointment in one’s own performance, a sense of shame over past events, or criticism by others for unmet expectations. Rejection or a pattern of abuse from childhood can also trigger this emotion. False guilt is a powerful weapon the Enemy uses to direct our thoughts away from God.
Whether false or real, the emotion of guilt divides our mind, drains our energy, and creates a sense of insecurity. If it is allowed to linger, we can start to have doubts about God’s goodness and love for us. Depression and hopelessness may follow. To cope, some people develop compulsive behaviors in an attempt to replace self-reproach with something pleasurable. Excessive amounts of shopping, eating, television, Internet, and physical activity are common ways people try to push away self-condemning thoughts.
Dealing quickly with guilt is important. Acknowledge the emotion to the Lord, and identify the reason behind it. If you’ve violated God’s law, ask His forgiveness, and take steps to change the behavior. If you discover false guilt, confess it and ask God to adjust your thinking to match His. In either case, praise Him because He has promised to forgive His children’s sins and remove guilt.
(by Dr. Charles Stanley from the January 2008 issue of In Touch devotional magazine)
