Flat Lined Faith

And Jesus said to them, "Because of your unbelief: for truly I say to you, If you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, you shall say to this mountain, 'Remove hence to yonder place;' and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible to you."  Matthew 17:20

 

Are you facing any obstacle that seems impossible to overcome?  Has this caused you to feel "negative" and view life through the eyes of a pessimist? 

See no evil; See nothing BUT evil; Half-way-see-no-evil!

 

Jesus told his disciples to SPEAK to "their mountain" even with faith the size of a tiny mustard seed.   What words are being uttered from your mouth today?  "This is impossible."  "I can't do this."  "This is totally unfair."  "This makes absolutely no sense."  Negative thoughts that are "uttered into the air" are pollutants, aren't they?   Of course they are!  They not only make living difficult for others around us, but the negativity also causes our faith to flat line...just like the negative (-) sign is a small "flat line." 

Look at Mark 16:3 "And they SAID among themselves, 'Who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the sepulchre?'."   They were anticipating a potentially REAL problem.  Heading out to the tomb, they anticipated the huge stone being there and them not being able to move it.  How many of us borrow trouble?  And when we borrow trouble, we not only get trouble, we are charged lots of interest in the form of stomach ulcers, lost sleep, family problems, anxious spirits, and unconfessed sin in our hearts from a lack of faith in God. 

Read the very next verse (Mark 16:4) "And when they looked, they saw that the stone was rolled away: for it was very great."  So, once they were within "viewing distance" from the tomb, they realized the problem was NO longer a problem...it had been rolled away. 

Are you looking into the foreseeable future and anticipating a huge obstacle?  I have been too.  But, let's not question the size of the problem, okay?  We can at least admit that there's a "P.P.O." ~ "Potentially Problematic Obstacle," but still have faith that God is already aware of and has already remedied the problem.  All we have to do is keep on walking in that direction. 

Let's look up to the LORD, and view this from the perspective of the cross.  The LORD overcame death and our sin just so we can face any problem in life, through the power of His shed blood on Calvary.   Is there anything that is impossible for our God?  No, there is nothing that He can not and has not already overcome. 

Isn't it special that when we look to the LORD and the cross on Calvary, we can now see a positive sign? +
No more flat lined faith!!! :)

Number 13:30 gives us a wonderful example of positive faith! "And Caleb stilled the people before Moses, and said, 'Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it'." 

There's a mountain that God wants you and I to overcome this very day...this very hour.  It could be a matter of obedience to a calling, or a need to overcome a particular stronghold...either way, let us go UP (and that's a positive thing to do) AT ONCE, and possess it!  He's already given it to us....all we have to do is claim this particular victory as ours and then go UP at once and possess it!  We are WELL able to overcome it. . .

but not by OUR might...but by HIS Spirit!  (Zech. 4:6)

Infuse the air around you with positive faith and not "flat lined faith."   Having trouble finding something positive to say?   Psalm 34:1  "I will bless the LORD at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth."   Commit that verse to memory and quote it, out loud, over and over, believing that HIS Praise shall be in your mouth---and that takes the pressure off in case you're having trouble finding the right "praise words" to speak.  He'll give you the words to praise Him and speak to your mountains in faith! :)

What a gift!  God will give you the praise and faith
to speak to those mountains!
Whatcha waitin' for?  Time to start talkin'! :)

What's that I hear?  
The sound from the rhythm of a heart beating once again!   

Oh Father, we ask for You to place Your praise on our lips and keep our mouths full of Your praise, continually.  THANK YOU for giving us the faith to speak to these "mountains"...believing that when we arrive, we'll find the obstacle already removed!! 

In Jesus' Name, Amen!

Kick the "CAN"

Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, Unto him [be] glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.  Ephesians 3:20, 21 (KJV)

Earlier this morning I heard something that gave me a "pause"...a moment to really THINK about what the Holy Spirit allowed me to hear, and now "chew on" that truth.   I'll share it here with y'all.

 

I'll start with a question.  Do you believe that God can do anything?  In other words, when you read His precious promises in His Word, do you believe that God can honor His Word?  More than likely you will answer, "Yes."  

 

For so long now I've had faith that God can do anything. . .but here's the next question:  Do you believe that God can do anything through (Christ in) YOU?  Do you believe that He CAN accomplish His will through your surrendered heart?   Hmmmm.     Now, THAT's a tricky question.  

 

Like I said before, for so long I've believed that God CAN do anything. . .BUT~~there's that big BUT.   But, can (and WILL) He accomplish His perfect will through (Christ in) me?   Sometimes we get stuck right here.  Like the children of Israel, we're just stuck wandering in the wilderness, right outside of the Promised Land.    Many of them perished in the wilderness, without ever having experienced the Promised Land.  Why?  Because they didn't believe that God could defeat the "big enemies" in that land through (His power flowing through) THEM. 

 

How much faith do you have?  And what is your faith in?  Just God's Word?  Or in His Word, applied to YOUR very own heart, by the power of His Holy Spirit?   It's a personal thing here--- we can have a "boo-boo" and stand in front of the medicine cabinet and believe that the ointment and bandages will provide protection and promote healing...but if we do not reach in and apply those things to our "boo-boo," healing will not come as quickly, as well as other adverse things could happen (infection, etc.)  We'll never experience the benefits of those remedies unless we apply them to our particular area of need, right?    We can believe that God CAN, but until we believe that He WILL accomplish His perfect will by His power flowing through us, we'll never experience the FULL power of His Holy Spirit and Divine Direction upon our lives.   He is able to do exceedingly, abundantly above all that we could ever ask or think---all He wants is for us to surrender our hearts and lives to Him, and allow HIM to do His work in and through us.    God has a special plan for each of our lives, personlized to each of us, and He is waiting for us to surrender our hearts to Him, to be a vessel, a channel, through which His power can flow.  All we have to do is offer ourselves to Him and BELIEVE He will do His work in and through us~~if only we will believe.

 

So...for today, I'm kicking the "CAN" and just believing HE WILL accomplish His will for my life, for His glory.  After all, doesn't He say that He not only gives us the desire to do His will, but also the ability to do it as well!??  Yes!   :)  

 

Dear Father, For so long I've believed in Your Word, trusted that You CAN.  But I think I've not had enough faith to believe that You CAN and WILL accomplish Your desire through my surrendered heart~as long as I remain obedient to You, and believe You.   Please forgive me for this lack of faith.  Please apply the lesson here to my "boo-boo"---to my heart, and promote healing, restoration and recovery to my spirit.  Not for my glory, but for Yours, for You've promised that You will turn everything around~ the good, the bad, and the ugly~ for OUR good and Your glory if we just allow You to---and also You want us to BELIEVE that You WILL do this for each of us, on a personal basis.  May this truth cause a richer, closer relationship with You and Your Son, Jesus to develop, and may the power of Your Holy Spirit rest upon me, as well as each dear person who is here today, with a desire to serve You and further Your Kingdom.  In Jesus' Name, Amen.

 



To Dig or Not to Dig~A Question of Faith.

“And he said, Thus says the Lord, Make this valley full of ditches. For thus says the Lord, You shall not see wind, neither shall you see rain yet that valley shall be filled with water, that you may drink, both you, and your cattle, and your beasts. And this is but a light thing in the sight of the Lord: He will deliver the Moabites also into your hand.” 

2 Kings 3:16-18 (KJV)

One of my favorite "old" devotionals is Charles H. Spurgeon's "Faith's Checkbook."  Today's particular devotion has been a favorite of mine, since 2001.  Bryan was out of work from a ruptured disc, and awaiting back surgery.  We had two "itty bitty" children, ages "nearly 3 and almost 1"---and no money...no paycheck coming in..whatsoever!   Our youngest needed baby formula, and we didn't even have enough money to buy a container of formula.  After reading the above-mentioned verses in the devotional, we prayed and "dug the trenches," having faith that God would fill them, somehow..  Next day arrived, and nothing out of the ordinary happened, and I remember as the sun was setting, with no "sign of water" in the "trenches," just wondering, but still trusting.   The phone rang, and it was Bryan's dispatcher, who has since passed away.  He called and asked if he could stop by.  He came by and said, "You know, I thought that maybe you might like to get out of the house sometime and go to Wal-Mart." (He had given us several boxes of groceries a few weeks before.)   He continued, "I got to thinking that maybe I've not brought something that you need, and it would do you some good to just get out of the house a while."   He handed us a gift card to Wal-Mart.   Bryan and I both began to cry.  We shared with him how we needed baby formula, and had prayed just the day before for the Lord to provide somehow.  Bryan's dispatcher was unsaved at the time, but he was a tool in God's hands to provide for us. . . and we were able to share this with Bryan's boss, and later led him to the Lord before he passed away in 2006.

Anyway, ever since then, I can look back, and remember how God brought us through, when we literally had NOTHING, except of course, TWO little children who looked to us for their daily needs.  I've often considered the verses in Deut. as God's promise for meeting our PHYSICAL, MATERIAL needs. All we have to do is "dig the trenches,"  trust Him---and prepare for Him to unload His provision for our daily needs.  

"Give us this day our DAILY bread."

However, this week, even though economy has pinched our wallets, pockets, and everything, AGAIN, and the pressure of the "upcoming holidays" and "birthdays" loom in the not-so-distant future, the Lord opened my eyes to something else:  

Have you ever felt you were in a wilderness?  A "dry spot"---maybe even a place of non-blessing? ?  Perhaps you'd wandered off into a "wilderness" away from fellowship with the Lord?   Trials brought you in to the valley of discouragement, and you'd run dry??   Take heart!!   In verses 7 and 8, King Joram asked Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, to go with him to fight Moab.  When Jehoshaphat agreed, King Joram asked, "Which way shall we go up?" and the reply was:  "The way through the wilderness of Edom." 



I don't see how ANY OF THIS can be a "Means" for a blessing  ?? 



Does your wilderness seem to be a way "UP" ? ? ?  Probably not!    They were going UP to fight a battle.   Our tests and trials are a BATTLE, but they WILL take us UP~~to the One Who can FIGHT and WIN our battles for us.  

We've been TOLD to DIG trenches...and SEE that HE will provide WATER.  This is not only for our physical needs, but our SPIRITUAL~~We NEED to be FILLED with the Living Water, the Power of the HOLY SPIRIT, in order to WIN ANY BATTLE, or do ANYTHING for the Lord!  We must be completely EMPTIED of ourselves in order to PREPARE for the FILLING of the Holy Spirit, THE Living Water.   They did dig the trenches~~but before that, they had to BE THIRSTY?  ARE YOU?  If so....Have YOU dug the "trenches?"  Are you PREPARING for a BLESSING from above??  We tend to wait for Him to bless us, and think that "Once we see the blessed Rain begin to fall~~THAT's when we'll prepare to receive the blessing."  NOT SO with FAITH!!  You and I must dig, prepare, and then BELIEVE He will bless.  . . Even in the dry wilderness~~The "Land of NO HOPE."   (See, He's not telling us to get out the shovels in order to bury us!)  There IS hope!!!   ;o)

Are we ready for a blessing from ABOVE??

The key is what do we do each morning?   Verse 20 says "...in the morning, when the meat offering was offered, that, behold, there came water by the way of Edom, and the country was filled with water."   How can WE offer a meat offering to the Lord each morning, when HE HIMSELF has already become our Lamb?  We can take THIS very wilderness~ the discouraging, overwhelming trials (even our desire to be filled by His Holy Spirit), and offer them to Our Heavenly Father as a our meat offering!  That's when our trials, coupled with our humble spirits, offered up to Him as worship, becomes a sweet smelling savor to our Father.  As Spurgeon says, this is "Our Duty!"   The Divine Omnipotence has allowed this for our good, and now we can become a reflection of HIM by doing Our Duty: availing ourselves to HIS power! 



Are we a reflection of HIS power? 
Being STILL and being FILLED
by His power is the way to reflect HIM!



Are we willing to dig trenches?   What happens when I get squeezed into the midst of Divine Grace??  You see it don't you?  The word D.I.G.   Hmmm....Think I better go find me a shovel!   :)  The faith to dig is given to us by Divine Grace.  So let's get in the middle of it....and start digging!  Trust HIM for not only our daily material needs, but most of all for our SPIRITUAL need---to be emptied of ourselves and FILLED by His Living Water!! The Holy Spirit!  Moving water has POWER...has ENERGY!    Make no mistake, when the Holy Spirit moves, there is POWER....DIVINE Energy!   



OK...since He does say all we need is "Faith, the size
of a mustard seed,"  I'll accept it if you choose this size. 

So...

I'm ready to start diggin'...

how 'bout you? 

What size shovel are YOU going to grab?  



But for me, I think I'll grab one of these:



Now, LET'S Start DIGGIN'!!!    :)



Dear Father, Thank You for revealing even DEEPER truths from the very same passage I've read every November 4th for years in my devotional today.  It's so easy, Father, to get BURIED by the troubles in life~be it financial, marital, emotional, physical---just to name a few!  But Father, You don't want us to be BURIED, but to be DIGGING~~Preparing the dry, dusty wilderness to be WATERED!  You can bring forth much fruit from even the driest of lands, Father.  Here we are, a thirsty people. . .but we come, shovels in hand, to start digging the ditches.  We trust FULLY that You can and WILL fill these empty, dried up trenches with everything we need to be a blessing to others, bearing fruit, MUCH fruit, for Your glory.  And You'll do it by using no "ordinary means" too!!

In Jesus' Name, Amen.

I encourage you to click on Faith's Checkbook and read the devotion by Charles H. Spurgeon.  I'm sure it will be a blessing to your heart!  November 4th's is the one I'm referring to.  :)

A Little Lamb

To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out.  And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice.  John 10: 3, 4


Been quiet lately...doing some thinking, seeking, praying....listening.   Have you ever felt like a sheep that didn't want to leave the comfort of the fold?  I actually chuckle at the sight of that sentence, and the image it conjures up in my mind:   A fold---full of sheep, all shapes and sizes, squooshed next to each other.  Lots of "bleating" and moving around with no where to go.  But for some reason, the idea of being all cozy next to my fellow sheep, "fenced in" by the strong border I'm USED TO, just feels comfortable.  Today I think my Shepherd is calling...He's calling my name.  And here I am...shy, scared to go OUT that open door.  He's there, of course---standing before me. 
 
What's ironic is, on one hand I've been feeling frustrated because He's not LED US as a WHOLE group anywhere, but on the other hand He revealed to me, "Dear lamb, YOU'RE the reason we're still here....you've got to COME OUT.  Follow Me."   Notice the verse again:  "He has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice." (NIV)  When He has brought out ALL His own, He goes on ahead and leads them.   Everyone has to come out of the fold!  That would include...me.

 

Dear Shepherd, are You waiting on me?  Am I the only one sitting in the fold, scared to leave the comfort of this fold?  And silly ole me, the comfort really is cramped quarters, not meant to remain there constantly.  I HAVE TO come out and Graze and Listen to Your voice in order to Grow stronger and Learn of Your faithfulness.  It's time to move out in to green pastures and Follow, Feed, and enjoy Freedom.  I'm so sorry for being scared to move.  I'm so thankful for Your tenderness in leading me.  Sometimes I need You to scoop me up in Your arms and carry me...but I know that at OTHER times You want me to move on my own feet...for in moving, that proves my faith in You.   Thank You, tender Shepherd for loving me.  In Your name I pray, Amen.

Inquiring Hearts want to Know

The LORD also will be a refuge for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble. And they that know thy name will put their trust in thee: for thou, LORD, hast not forsaken them that seek thee.

Psalm 9:9, 10

Okay...it's been one of those days.  I'm writing this on Monday night, but hope to post this for Tuesday's entry.  I just glanced at the clock..it's almost midnight...so it will be Tuesday when it's posted.

Anyway...Ever had one of those days when you wonder, no matter how much it seems like you are trying to live right, do right, seek Him, obey Him...things just DON'T GO according to the way YOU thought they should?   Ever been there?   I'm there.   Things just do not make a bit of sense.   I mean seriously.  What is going on?   I won't even attempt to answer that question.    I know that "we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places."  (Eph. 6:12)   But what are we supposed to DO about that?

Well, when things happen that we just can't make sense out of .. like your Air Condition Unit blows up, right after the Gas Furnace has been replaced. . . or the kids seem to keep arguing; or one of them is suffering from a disorder or disease....your husband is suffering in a dead-end job:  God wants us to get to KNOW HIM. 

You are what You Think

"Now the just shall live by faith:  but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him."  Hebrews 10: 38

We're all familiar with the phrase, "You are what you eat."  Recently, I began to wonder if it would be better to say "you are what you think."  Don't you think there is some truth to that statement?

You can do an experiment to test this "theory."  Next time you begin to feel "down and out," frustrated, discouraged, confused, down-right grouchy, STOP and think. . . and while you're thinking, ask yourself, 'What Am I thinking anyway?"  I can almost gair-own-tee (guarantee) that your thoughts have become negative.   "This is never going to work out."  "We'll never see the light of day."   "This house is a disaster."  "Why can't they pick up their own clothes?!"  "That pile of laundry just keeps GROWING."  "I can't do anything right!"   "These kids will never learn."  Oh my--those are to name just a few.  

We are surrounded by negativity.  The atmosphere has become bogged down with negativity.  No wonder we're discouraged and walking without faith!   Faith can barely breathe when stifled by negative thoughts.

Which Faith Do You Have?

But without faith it is impossible to please Him:  for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.  Hebrews 11: 6

As you may remember, I've been reading a few books by A. W. Tozer.  I must admit that I'm only within the first thirty and forty pages of each book, but that's okay.  Like the joy of sipping a warm cup of coffee while basking in the sunlight through a bay window, I'm digesting these words of wisdom from the Lord.   MMMmm good!

I'd like to ask you...which type of faith do you have?  I know, you're asking, "What in the world are you talking about, Tammi?"    Nominal faith is faith that accepts what it's been told, believing the text, even quoting the text by heart, just to prove it.*  Do you possess this kind of faith?  I think of it as "surface faith."  Reading the Scripture, maybe even accepting God's promises as true, but leaving it at "that" is not TRUE Faith in God's character.    It's just faith in the text of His Word. 

Faith in Waiting

Truly my soul waiteth upon God:  from Him cometh my salvation.  Psalm 62:1

Waiting.   When I think of waiting, and what that means, typically it brings a sense of impatience, discontent, traffic lights, bumper-to-bumper traffic, going nowhere "fast."  It makes my heart thump faster and beat irregularly just thinking about it right now.  (If you're familiar with Hampton Roads traffic, you know exactly what I'm talking about.)

Anyway,  what are you waiting for?  Anything special?  A dream to come true?  A hope to turn to reality?  Are you waiting for a red light to turn green in your life?  No matter what it is you may be waiting for, be sure you're waiting ON the Lord.  He is the only One Who can bring about the best of the best in your life.  Sometimes He takes us on disappointing detours.  Other times we find ourselves rapidly gliding upon an icy road without any sense of control.  Either way---we're looking towards a definite end.   Since our Lord has already gone ahead, it's safe to say that He knows the way through the turbulent times, and can ensure us a safe arrival to our destination.