Faith

Hebrews 11:1 "Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see."

Matthew 17:20 "He replied, "Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.""

James 2:19 "You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that--and shudder."

Even the demons believe in God, they are not Christians, they are the opposite of what we are, so when you say you believe there is a God, that does not make you a Christian. That just means that you believe there is a God. The devil knows that Jesus Christ died on the cross for us, the devil knows that God is who He says He is, but the devil has turned his back on what God says, by making it all about himself, just the same way we do it too. We make life about self, we stop making it about God. When we believe by faith that Jesus Christ is who He says He is, we forsake our ways and follow after God. That means we no longer look to what others do, because we are more concerned with how we affect God.

The devil has so many lies that people buy into and he is the master theif, he wants to steal our faith and so that we turn our back on God. Some of these lies are:

• There is no God, 
• I can act any way I want as long as I believe in God, 
• I can do it myself and only reach out to God when "I" need Him.
• I can focus on myself, because how I feel is more important than what God says or how it makes Him feel. 
• Putting "me" first is OK, because I say I love God.
• God can't love me.

There are so many more lies than just that, but do you see what I am getting at? Do you know some lies the devil uses?

Faith is the confidence in what we hope for and the assurance of what we do not see, faith can move mountains. It is laying down my life and my will. It is no longer my life, because I am serving God, it is no longer about self. Our world is all about self, what makes me mad, happy, sad, it is about me, instead of about God. It is loving God more than self, it is saying that God is the more important than how "I" feel, because I want to honor God more than self. I can put on a mask around people to be this person that seems like I am a Christ follower, but it isn't about what other people think, it is about God. He knows my heart, my thoughts, what I do when no one is around. Self has to be put to death, so it is all about God. There are so many verses in the Bible to list them all here, but how many of them say, do what feels good to you? Treat others how they treat you?

God calls us to a different place than other people of the world. What ways is He calling you to be different? Do people know you are different then them or do you worry more about fitting in, then standing up for God? Hard questions, but when I put God first, it doesn't matter what others think, I am more worried about Honoring God. I believe that there would be a major change if we began to worry more about what God thinks, then what "I" think, is it time for a change?

Anchor of Reality by Chuck Swindoll

This is a good word for the day, we all have storms. I have talked about the storms of life several times on my blogs and I know that other people go through them too. But this reminds us that even when we do go through them, that when we allow God, we stop trying to control the storm, we stop just standing doing nothing, but we allow God to show us the way to end the storm. He is our guide and will be with us through it all. It is easy to say we have faith, but when the storm hits, what do you seek first? Seek ye first the kingdom of God. Are you in a storm today? What are you doing to get out of that storm?

Anchor of Reality
by Chuck Swindoll

Acts 27:39-44

All those going through a storm need to be engaged in the process. No one is promised a magical escape clause. Passivity is faith's enemy. It isn't an acceptable option to fold our arms and wait for the storm to pass.

It may mean some hard work. It may require humbling yourself before God and others. It might mean a season of counseling where a trained, compassionate individual helps you reorder your life. You may be required to admit several wrong actions and seek reconciliation as you make restitution. Whatever the case, you'll need to be involved. Reality mandates that type of mature response. It's part of throwing the anchor of reality and trusting God to bring you to shore.

The best plan for surviving a storm is preparation. No seasoned fishermen or responsible ship captain sets across the open sea without a thorough knowledge of the vessel's equipment and without making sure all is in proper working order. They rarely leave without having first spent sufficient time going over the navigation charts—studying the weather patterns and acquainting themselves with dangerous passages.

And they never leave port without anchors. That's for certain. No one wants to be shipwrecked. But the reality is, it happens, not only on the open sea, but also in life.

The secret of survival is what you do ahead of time in calmer waters. If your life is storm-free as you read this book, I urge you to take advantage of this peaceful lull. Spend time in God's Word. Study the inspired charts He has given you for the journey of life. Deepen your walk with Him through prayer and personal worship.

Then, when the inevitable winds of adversity begin to blow—and they most certainly will blow—you'll be ready to respond in faith, rather than fear. Don't wait. Check those anchors while it's smooth sailing. You'll be glad you did.

Integrity Is Revealed in Our Public Lives by Dr. O.S. Hawkins, from The Daniel Code

Read Daniel 6:11-24

Like the professional world, the public arena is not an easy place to start from scratch in an effort to become a person of integrity. One reason is that, in our culture, like Daniel’s, it is not always true that when we do wrong we will be punished and when we do right we will be rewarded. At times the reverse seems true, challenging our commitment to do what is right.

We are about to see how doing right was not rewarded in the case of our friend Daniel. Just when the situation looked hopeless, though, Daniel was delivered from death “because he believed in his God” (Daniel 6:23). What he was in the private, secret place — a committed follower of God — was ultimately revealed in the public square.

This was quite a night recorded here for all posterity in Daniel 6 as Daniel found himself the companion of a bunch of hungry lions. He had been thrown into their den, but he slept like a baby right in their midst.

And King Darius was amazed and relieved. Duped by Daniel’s enemies to sign the decree that mandated what appeared to be Daniel’s death, Darius stayed up all night, pacing back and forth in confusion and concern. At dawn he rushed to the lions’ den, cupped his hands around his mouth, and shouted,

Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to deliver you from the lions? — Daniel 6:20

Daniel stirred, rubbed his eyes, stretched out his arms, yawned, wiped the lion hair from his head where he had pillowed it, and answered,

O king, live forever! My God sent His angel and shut the lions’ mouths, so they have not hurt me, because I was found innocent before Him; and also, O king, I have done no wrong before you. — Daniel 6:21-22

The king’s question is the question our culture is asking today: Is our God whom we serve able to deliver us?

A Public Testimony

Daniel had kept his faith in God, a mark of true integrity that is rooted deep in one’s private world. It always follows that integrity is ultimately revealed in the public world for God’s glory and our good. There is a lesson here for us. Daniel was in the lions’ den not because he had done wrong but because he had done right. We all know of people who, like Daniel, have paid a great price for actually doing what was right. But, when all is said and finally done, God — who will never abdicate His throne — will right all wrongs. What we see in Daniel’s experience is that, in the final analysis, our integrity will be revealed in the public world as a testimony to our faith and our God.

Upon being delivered from the lions’ den, Daniel’s integrity was on public display. He took no credit for his deliverance. He was quick to say,

My God sent His angel and shut the lions’ mouths. — Daniel 6:22

People of integrity do not take personal credit for something they did not do.

In response, Darius made this startling decree:

To all peoples, nations, and languages that dwell in all the earth:
Peace be multiplied to you.
I make a decree that in every dominion of my kingdom men must tremble and fear before the God of Daniel.
For He is the living God,
And steadfast forever;
His kingdom is the one which shall not be destroyed,
And His dominion shall endure to the end. He delivers and rescues,
And He works signs and wonders
In heaven and on earth,
Who has delivered Daniel from the power of the lions. — Daniel 6:25-27

Even a lost culture will stop and take notice of a person of integrity when that integrity is, sooner or later, revealed in the public world.

Private, Personal, Professional, and Public Integrity

So what do we really learn from Daniel’s experience in the midst of the lions?

We learn that our integrity must be rooted in our private life. Prayer should be our number one priority. In Daniel’s own value system, his private time alone with his God was his highest priority.

We learn that integrity is reflected in our personal lives. How we respond and react in our personal relationships with those who know us best is directly correlated to the strength of our own private life with the Lord.

We also learn that true integrity can always be reinforced in our professional lives. Integrity is crucial in the marketplace. Many professing believers are not influencing our culture because their lives Monday through Friday are not that different from the lives of those with whom they work. The best place to engage and transform our culture is not the place where we spend Sunday morning but the place where we spend Monday through Friday of each week.

Finally, we learn that integrity will ultimately be revealed in the public life. Everything King Darius knew about God he learned by observing Daniel’s public life of integrity. Think about that. We are being watched, and our world still wants to know, “Is your God able to deliver you?” They will never know unless we are men and women of integrity.

The Daniel Code

Our culture brings new challenges to our Christian faith with each passing day. New assaults on religious liberties, cherished for centuries, are happening with increasing regularity. And Daniel would be able to relate. Like many of us, Daniel grew up in a culture built on biblical truth and centered in traditional family values. And then he found himself living in a culture that was hostile to everything he had ever known. His value system, his truth claims, and his moral compass were challenged repeatedly at every turn. His world was suddenly a world of pluralistic thought. But Daniel had a different spirit about him. He was a man of integrity who not only engaged his culture head-on but actually was used by God to transform it. And — just in case we need to be reminded —

Daniel’s God is still our God!

Seemingly with every new court decision, our twenty-first-century culture brings new challenges to our Christian values and truth claims. Those of us who once knew a Judeo-Christian culture have suddenly found ourselves living in a culture as hostile to what we believe as Babylon was to Daniel. Our world is evolving into one of massive pluralism with an encroaching paganism attached to various belief systems. Our nation — our culture — is in great need of men and women whose integrity is rooted in their private lives, reflected in their personal lives, reinforced in the professional setting, and revealed in public. May they rise up and be counted!

So Daniel has left us his own code for engaging and influencing our culture. It is centered in our personal integrity. And if we are going to find our way through a culture that has lost its way, we can’t leave home without it!

Excerpted with permission from The Daniel Code by O. S. Hawkins, copyright O. S. Hawkins
 

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Your Turn
Daniel's God is still our God! Even in our culture where doing right was not always rewarded and wicked behavior oftentimes is rewarded, our God is still God! And, just like Daniel, who we are in private doesn't stay private. People will know whom we serve. Who are we serving? Is our faith impacting our culture as Daniel's did? Come share with us on our blog. We want to hear from you! ~ Devotionals Daily

Fear of God

Think with me a minute. Do you have kids a son or even a daughter? If so, this thought will be so much easier for you than those that don't.

It is a dark day, the world is under siege of evil forces, the times and days are dark with deceit and terrible things. There is worshiping of money, people and self. As a parent of that child, you have learned that the only way to save people is to sacrifice your child. After much thought and great thinking, you decided to do it. You give your child over to the enemy. Your child dies, because of the choice you had to make. After your child has been killed, you have to turn your back on him, you had to allow them to do this. It grieves you even thinking about it, it hurts you.

Do you know that is what God did for us. Now think for a minute about the choice you made to give your child up for the very sins that people are committing each day, not thinking about the very price your son gave to pay for them. Does that upset you, can you imagine how much it upsets God knowing that He gave His Son to die on the cross for our sins, but we view it as trivial. We think that it was just an act, we don't think about our sins, we just commit them, we don't think about how it is affecting God, we continue to do the same thing. We repent from them, but then we go right back to the very thing that we asked God to forgive us for, repentance means turning from them, but yet are we? It is easy just to take the Bible as suggestions, instead of the written word of God. It isn't just suggestions, it is His word, His instructions to us for our lives, for our marriages, for our kids, for it all.

God talks about the Fear of God in the Bible, it talks about people and what they did when they actually talked to God. Can you imagine if our heart ached like God does when we sin against Him. When we don't do what He calls us to. Can you imagine the pain we must cause Him. Isn't it time to stop doing the very thing that grieves Him and start living how He calls us to live. Isn't it high time that we call sin, just what it is Sin instead of just shrugging it off as something everyone does and start living how God calls us to live.

Remember:
Romans 6:23 "For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."
Ecclesiastics 12:13 "Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man"
Proverbs 1:7 "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline "
Psalm 111:10 "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow his precepts have good understanding"
Proverbs 9:10 "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding "
Psalm 2:11 "Serve the LORD with fear and rejoice with trembling"

What is God's call on your life?