Q: If you are thankful for His grace let God know that we are "thankful" for his "grace"...
A: I am thankful that God is always patient with me. I am thankful God is always kind to me. I am thankful God is never easily angered with me. I am thankful God never keeps records of my wrongs. I am thankful God never delights in evil. I am thankful God always rejoices in truth. I am thankful God always protects. I am thankful God always trusts me. I am thankful God always hopes the best for me. I am thankful God always perseveres with me. I am thankful God never fails. I am thankful it is not what I do for God, but what He did for me. I am thankful it is not about me going to church, but how He went to Calvary. I am thankful that it is not about how I was raised in a denomination, but how He was raised from the dead. I am thankful that it is not about how much money I give, but how God gave His Life for me. I am thankful that it is not about how I confess my sins, but how God took away my sins. I am thankful it is not about how I stand against sin, but how God died for my sins. I am thankful that it is not about me judging the lost world, but about how God saving the lost world. I am thankful it is not because I march against evil-doers, but how God suffered for evil-doers. I am thankful it is not about how I bowed down to God, but how God became like me. I am thankful not because I heal the sick, but because God raised the dead. I am thankful it is not about me speaking in tongues, but how God spoke in love. I am thankful it is not about how successful my life is, but how successful His death was. Thank you, Jesus!
Q: "Why ask Why"..If we ask God "why" does that mean we have no faith?
A: Of course not. Asking questions is the root of learning. For those of with children, "Why?" is one of a child's most frequently asked questions. The Lord is our "Counselor" our "Teacher" amongst other things. That means He desires to answer our requests. "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God (Phil 4:6)." A petition is a request to change something. We are encouraged to approach God "in everything" when it comes to our walk. You can't learn and grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord or experience His love for you if you don't ask Him questions. Asking questions is the best way in which to understand what someone believes and it also helps them to present it to you. Children ask their parents, Parents asks pastors and teachers and we all ask God when something is on our hearts. Have you ever talked to yourself? It is a way for you to figure out your plan of action in a given circumstance. Why should it be any different with us and the Lord? After all, Jesus Himself encouraged it. " Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you (Mat 7:7)." Be blessed.
Q: Jesus says when you are "weak" then I'm strong..Does this mean that Christians are "weak" in life?
A: The Apostle Paul said, "That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong (2 Cor 12:10)." He is thankful for His struggles and his weaknesses because they keep him focused on Jesus. If we never had struggle in our lives or experienced pain we would forget Jesus in a New York minute. Mankind already has the desire to trust in his own understanding and to rely on his own strength. But, when we fail or experience pain in our lives, Who is the first "person" we go to? God. It is foolishness for Christians to think that God expects us to live sinless lives or that we could even begin to eradicate the sin in our lives. It is in the midst of our sin and the pain we suffer when others sin against us that keeps us dependent on the Lord. If we never sinned or experienced the consequences of it we would not only have no need for God we wouldn't tell others about him. How many prayers have been said in the Tiger Wood's household this past week? Think about your own testimony and how you came to the Lord. It was probably when you reached the end of your rope and realized you couldn't "do it" any longer and something was missing in your life. That is because something was missing in your life. The life of God only available through Jesus Christ. Our weakness turned us to Him for salvation and now our weakness keeps us dependent on Him for life. Amen!
Q: How does "faith" come?
A: Faith comes as a response to the truth that has been revealed to you. We know that Jesus is the Truth that has been revealed to us. The truth is we are born into this world spiritually dead to God in sin. The truth is Jesus came to take away our sins for eternity by dying on the Cross. The truth is Jesus also rose from the dead to offer us spiritual life, the life of God lost in Adam, as a free gift. The truth is for those of us who have accepted His life that there is now no sin that can cause that life to leave us again. That is why it is an eternal life. We respond to that truth in thankfulness and now live everyday trusting in and depending on the Lord to live His life through us as only He can do. Therefore, when scripture says, "faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ (Rom 10:17)," it is telling us to respond to all that we have been given in Christ. Faith says thank you for all that Christ has done for us.Thank you for going to Calvary, thank you for being raised from the dead, thank you for giving us your life, thank you for taking away our sins, thank you for becoming one of us, thank you for walking in love, thank you for never leaving me and so on. Our righteousness comes by faith in Christ and not through our efforts to prove to Him how much we love Him. That is why we rest from our self-righteous works and trust in Him. Amen!
Q: Jesus said take up your "cross"and follow me...What does that mean?
A: Christians in the truest sense don't follow Jesus. We are led from within by Him through the Holy Spirit. Our burden is light because He is the one carrying it for us. When we pick up our cross it is symbolic of what we lose in order to trust and depend on Him. This is different for every individual, but no less powerful or meaningful to each person. Just before Jesus said, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me," He rebuked Peter. Peter wasn't "denying Himself" because He didn't want Jesus to leave him by dying on the cross. Peter was focused on the flesh and not the Spirit. That is what Christians are encouraged to do by picking up their cross. We deny the pull of the flesh and the things of this world and look for guidance from the Lord in any and all situations. It is "Your will be done, Lord" not "My will be done." This ultimately is an individual choice each believer makes depending on their specific circumstances. I believe this to be a mighty struggle within the Body of Christ. There are way too many Christians who not only don't deny themselves, but expect God to bless their flesh. My prayer is that Christians realize that there is nothing in this world worth gaining that compares to what we already have in Christ. Be blessed.
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