Devotion: Great Things Happen When You Believe – Part II

In part one of our “Great Things Happen When You Believe” series, we talked about faith and the three elements of faith, which were:

• belief, which is accepting that something can be true or that something is real when it has not been seen,
• confidence or conviction, which is believing or trusting that something is, especially when there is no logical proof that it exists,
• and action, which is doing something in order to reach a goal, to obtain a result, or to get that thing which you hoped for.

We found that faith is confidently acting upon what you believe, what appears to be impossible and expecting results.  Scripture tells us that “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes” (Mark 9:23).  And while your faith plays a key role in causing those great things to happen, in making all things possible, there be a few other things we need to consider, things that are equally as important and equally as strong but can cause those great things not to happen.  The sad part is that most people are not aware of them.

Devotion: Great Things Happen When You Believe

Great things happen when you believe.  But for great things to happen, you need faith.  Faith is an interesting word, that has been defined in many ways.  Understanding faith is important to making it work for you.  So, what exactly is faith?

According to Hebrews 11:1,

“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (KJV).

Faith is the evidence of a thing hoped for, the evidence that the thing exists but it is not the thing itself.  Faith is the substance or tangibility of hope.  While hope cannot change circumstances, it can change attitudes about circumstances and how things are perceived or seen.  Hope is the goal setter and faith be the way to achieve the goal.  Faith is one of the most powerful things that God has given man, “as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith” (Romans 12:3).  When used to its full measure, faith can cause great things to happen.

Devotion: The Wages Of Sin

Recently we talked about how deadly sin was.  We found in scripture that, “…the wages of sin is death …” (Romans 6:23).  In that discussion we mentioned that just as we expect to receive “compensation or a wage” for working in any job, be it full-time or part-time, we should expect to receive “compensation or a wage” for working or living in sin, be it full-time or part-time.  Although the “compensation or wage” for employment is usually some type of monetary benefit, the compensation or wage for sin is “death.”  We noted that this passage was really telling us “the wages, the salary, the pay, the income, the take-home pay” of sin, no matter the amount of sin, is “death.”  Working in sin, playing in sin, living in sin, or just existing in sin pays a benefit, which according to scripture is death.

Devotion: Whatever You Allow

Are you one who believes that the things that happen in your life are ordained by God or that it is part of God’s will for your life?  If this is what you believe, then this message may be for you, provided you have an ear to hear.  Because the Church has redefined “the sovereignty of God” to mean, “God is in total control and that nothing happens but that which the will of God allows to happen,” many believers and non-believers as well, have been led to believe that God is somehow responsible for everything that happens in our lives.  But the truth of the matter is that “the sovereign God of the universe” is limited as to what he can and cannot do.  Now that we have your attention, let us explain exactly what we mean that God is limited.

Devotion: God Loves A Cheerful Giver

In the religious circles, when the subject of money comes up, it incites all kinds of emotions in people.  Though the passage, “the love of money is the root of all evil” (I Timothy 6:10) is guaranteed to be mentioned in the conversation, it is the misinterpretation and misapplication of this passage that creates the most controversy.  Many believers do not believe that man should prosper financially or have wealth because it goes against the teachings of Jesus.  Based on the story surrounding his statement, “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God” (Matthew 19:24), many have interpreted this passage to mean that a person with riches cannot enter into the kingdom of God.  So, the belief is that God is against his children having money.  Those familiar with the story of the young rich man (Matthew 19:16-22), saw Jesus tell the man to “go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor” (Matthew 19:21).  Most do not make the connection between when Jesus told the young rich man to give and when he tells us to give, especially when giving to the poor.

Devotion: Enjoy The Lord

With all that mankind has accused God of, which includes plenty mischaracterizations, many believe that it is not possible for anyone to “enjoy the Lord.”  Most of us are aware that God has never given us the punishment that our sins deserve nor rewarded us according to our wrongdoings, but instead has forgiven us.  Scripture tells us that God is merciful and gracious towards us.  The truth is, God’s mercy towards us, those who reverence, honor, and worship him, is as great as the heavens are above the earth.  He is full of kindness, love, and pity.  He is tender and sympathetic to us who respect, obey, and praise him.  He is slow to anger and does not hold a grudge because his anger does not last forever.  God is like a father who has pity on his children.  For the most part, we enjoy our earthy fathers or those we know to be and call father, but we do not share that same enjoyment with God.

“Submit yourselves therefore to God.  …Draw nigh (near) to God, and he will draw nigh (near) to you” (James 4:7-8).  “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding” (Proverbs 3:5).  “Trust in the Lord, and do good...  Delight thyself also in the Lord; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.  Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.  ...Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him…” (Psalm 37:3-7).

Devotion: Deception

We have spoken several times about “an untruth, a deception, a lie” that has been going on for so long that the lines between them and “the truth” have become so blurred that one crosses between the two without the realization of either.  Without the knowledge as to the source of the problem, the deception continues.  We know that man continues to be played like puppets in a production for an audience of principalities, powers, and rulers of the darkness of this world, while the puppet master continues to lurk in the shadows, hidden from the world.  Because the devil is “the father of lies” (John 8:44), he has blinded many to “the truth” to the point that they believe just about anything that sounds “god-like.”  Throughout the scriptures, we are “warned not to be deceived, not to err, not to be misled, and even not to go astray” for there will come “false prophets” that will deceive many.

“And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many” (Matthew 24:11).  “But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction” (II Peter 2:1).  “Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves” (Matthew 7:15).