"WHEN YOU KNOW YOU'VE BEEN HAD"

Have you ever felt like you fought a loosing battle?

I know that life can take sudden turns for the worse and when that happens we tend to react with panic, fear and sometimes even feel like running for our lives. Isn't this so true of almost everybody in the world today? Yes, there are still a few unusual people who bow their backs, hold their heads high and will fight on to the death. There are those people who will begin to plan another strategy and another angle of attack to hold off the approaching army, but there are times when even those brave and stubborn people must realize that they too must seek help to win.

In the Word of God we find a King who had just experienced that feeling of fear and panic and just didn't know what he needed to do. His name was Jehoshaphat and he had just been given the message that he was going to be attacked, not by one, not by two, but by three armies. These armies were of the children of Moab, Ammon and the Ammonites. He was informed that the group was of a very great multitude coming from the sea and they were getting closer every minute. Don't you think that this king who had been placed over the children of Israel and had served the Lord in all his ways may have been a pretty fearless kind of guy? After all he had the Lord of all creation on his side! how would you have reacted to this message knowing that you had a much smaller army? Let's read a passage that shows his reaction to this message;

2 Chronicles 20:3-4 And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek the LORD, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. And Judah gathered themselves together, to ask help of the LORD: even out of ALL the cities of Judah they came to seek the LORD. (For a way out & direction)

Wow! Can you believe that? It says that Jehoshaphat (the King) feared! What did he fear? He was afraid of the armies headed in his direction and he knew that he was in an impossible situation to escape alive. He couldn't help his feelings of fear and panic, BUT he could help how he responded to the news that had overwhelmed  him at that moment of surprise!

Haven't we all gotten surprises in our lives that shock us and leave us feeling helpless or in a total state of panic? Yes, I have experienced this and I know that anyone alive today has also been through this feeling and some may have even felt this way recently. My friend, let's learn from the reaction of this King to his fearful situation, his helpless situation. He had no hope of winning. He knew he was doomed to loose this battle and also to loose all that he had received from the Lord himself! What did he do though?

He set himself to the LORD! This means that he turned his face to the LORD and turned his attention to the LORD for help. Then he proclaimed to all of his kingdom to fast and pray. You see, the prayer and fasting come before the impossible over and over in the Bible. When I read this my first thought was of how the lack of food would have made the warriors of Judah even weaker physically as the armies of their enemies gained ground towards the great attack on their city. Knowing that they would grow weaker without food and continuing to proceed with the fast was a total move of faith in the LORD. As a matter of fact, it was the only choice that King Jehoshaphat had, that presented any chance of victory in this hopeless situation!

Think about this for a minute! Every life was in jeopardy and their very existence was at stake at this moment of their lives! Is this where you are in your life today? There are millions of people in the US right now that don't know where there sustenance will come from for the next day, week or month.

To be continued....

Hold fast and look to the LORD for a way, find a way to fast and meditate on thanking God for the way He is going to work in your life. Let's see how this situation turns out my next post.

"YOUR FAITH WILL MAKE YOU WISE"

From the series, "What Faith Will Do"

"Your Faith Will Make You Wise"

So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. Romans 10:17

Our faith in God comes from hearing the truth of the gospel through the word of God! We have heard leaders all over the world expressing popular beliefs, opinions and philosophy in recent years, but the Bible says that we will receive the faith that we need by the hearing of the word of God. It appears that Paul is asking himself in the book of Romans,"Has all of the earth heard this message of faith?" and then he answers his own question in the same verse. Let's look at this,

But I say, "Have they not heard? Yes verily, their sound went into all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the world". ~ Romans 10:18

Into all the earth! Their words went to the ends of the world as they knew it in their day! Every nation had heard the Gospel by way of disciples, apostles, kings and servants. The message had been spread to everyone that lived and they didn't even have Internet or cable television! Isn't that amazing!
God has always made a way to get His word to the people of the earth. We don't have to take it all on ourselves to reach every man. God is at work in the hearts and lives of each person who believes and accepts Him by faith. Knowing this takes a huge burden off of me as a forgiven and compassionate child of God. When I look around, it's easy for me to become overwhelmed with the masses that are following the idols of this world and people of all ages that have bought into the lies of advertising while on their quest to satisfies their inner longing.

One of the best sellers on the music charts even told the world for almost 50 years, "I can't get no satisfaction!" and still people go out in groves searching for satisfaction week after week, month after month, year after year until their lives have literally slipped through their fingers and finding themselves at the end of their life without the satisfaction they had been promised by this world.

The satisfaction that we long for and search for all of our lives is experienced in faith, faith in the living God of our universe and this faith is found in the hearing of the message found in the word of God. Paul was a very educated man who had been in positions in government that required him to make many tough decisions, but the best decision that Paul ever made was the decision to believe and follow the Messiah who had come to save the world and to accept His message by faith!

It was the same man,Paul, that wrote this passage in Romans that had also, at one time, persecuted the Christians and their families.

The challenges we face today don't even begin to compare to the challenges Christians faced before Paul accepted Christ! Christians were scattered all over the globe, trying to escape this man and his wrath! His name was Saul and God changed it to Paul. His business was to wipe out every Christian alive because he believed man, but God stopped him and he heard the word of God.
Paul went from a proud murderer to an humble servant of God overnight! His eyes were opened and he could see the wisdom of the word and the satisfaction filled his heart; that satisfaction that he had longed for every night when he closed his eyes and heard the screams of those he had persecuted.

It is evident in Paul's writings that he had faith by the hearing of the word of God! Paul had gained a wisdom that couldn't be found in biographies and philosophy. This wisdom couldn't be found on the porches of Athens or in meetings with the King's counsel. This wisdom that Paul found came only through the word of God. The faith that Paul found gave him the satisfaction that we all have longed for in our lives, even today!

Paul is talking to the Gentiles in chapter eleven and he is telling them that it is because of the Jews lack of repentance that the gospel went out and had spread to their Gentile nations. It was because of the lack of faith in the Jewish nation that the Jewish believers were directed by God to go into all the world, so that the Jews would become jealous of the mercy that the Gentiles had obtained through God and come back to receive their faith in God. The Jews were going to see the wisdom of the rest of the world through their receiving of the word of God by faith. They would long for the mercy, Paul says, that the Gentiles had obtained!

Even so have these(Jews) also now not believed, that through your(Gentiles) mercy they also may obtain mercy. For God hath concluded them all (all nations) in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all. O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out! For who hath known the mind of the Lord? Or who hath been his counsellor? ~ Rom 11:31-34

We can learn so much from the word of God and it is clear that Paul feels just as I do today! I feel that the wisdom and knowledge found in God is beyond anything else that I can get my hands on in this world! So let's treasure what we have found in His word and in communion with God; the wisdom and knowledge that starts with faith in Him.

When we come to realize how great a God we serve, the fear (reverence), forgiving (mercy) and faith (wisdom) will be so incredible that it not only changes us, but others long to know and have what we have! Listen to how Paul described this at the end of chapter eleven of Romans.

For of him(God), and through him(God), and to him(God), are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen. ~ Romans 11:36

Those are words of wisdom!

It is my prayer that you have this FAITH THAT WILL MAKE YOU WISE!

If you find you don't have the faith I spoke of today, but would like to know that you do; please contact me by phone or email and I will be glad to help you begin this wonderful, satisfying experience in your life today! The experience of God's forgiveness and mercy by faith in Him!

"YOUR FAITH" Will Carry You

By Rob Bailes

"Your Faith Will Carry You"

Have you ever had a really great day when everything went better than you had planned? You had your time alone with God and your day was productive from the standpoint of accomplishing your goals; you felt so good that you couldn't help humming or singing a tune in the car on the way home. Then it happened!



Suddenly out of the blue, you get a phone call with bad news or you suddenly realize you've lost something very important; or someone dear to you gets hurt; or someone you care about disappoints you! This is a really good time to do a faith check! It is at this moment that we will usually either panic or stay calm. The faith that you have in Christ will make the difference at a time like this!

The disciples found themselves in just one of those moments in chapter four of Mark when their ship had filled with water in verse thirty-seven.

Mark 4:37
And there arose a great storm of wind,(like a hurricane) and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full.

I could see in this passage that the ship is now full of water and Jesus was asleep on a pillow in the back part of the ship. The disciples had ran around in a panic before they went and woke Him up from His rest. Jesus had been teaching and healing people all day long and the disciples needed Him to do something to save them. Let's take a look at what they said to Him.

Mark 4:38 And he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake him, and say unto him, "Master, care thou not that we perish?"

We see in this verse is that they addressed Jesus as their Master, which in the Greek means "teacher". Those guys were afraid that their end was near and they would soon be sucked up by the sea! They needed someone to give them a plan of action; a "master" plan, so to speak.
Yes, I believe that these men were pretty much in a state of panic and they wanted Jesus to either come up with a solution or to at least, panic with them!

They asked Him, "Don't you care that we are going to die?". Their understanding was blurred by the circumstances and they were past the reasoning and understanding that they were on a ship in a storm with the Son of God! The same One who had spent days and weeks teaching them about the power of faith and exercising this faith in many different ways.

Can you imagine a team of men in a large ship and the waves are crashing over the deck and filling the ship up faster than they can bail it out? Imagine the wind tossing their boat in every direction and the rain beating down on them as they bail faster and faster to keep the boat afloat.
They have been battling this storm for maybe an hour or more and they're loosing the battle. The boat is quickly sinking under the added weight of the water on board. They probably could hear the boards of the ship beginning to creak and move under the stress and they felt as though there was no hope for survival.

Finally, in this moment of total despair, I imagine someone shouted out,"Wake up Jesus!".

When we read what happens next, it is very clear to me that they didn't wake Jesus up for the purpose of stopping the storm. They didn't wake Him with the purpose of delivering them from the circumstances either, as they believed that they were going to die. I believe they were really upset that Jesus was sleeping and they were all bailing water and they just couldn't stand to let Jesus rest so peacefully while they were fighting for their lives! They acted as though they felt that the calm, peaceful sleep that Jesus was experiencing was a sign that He didn't care about them. They had forgotten all the lessons that Jesus had taught them about the battles and struggles of life's difficulties and they were acting purely on human instinct!

How many times do we do this very thing when something catches us by surprise? Do we feel we should battle our way through it and wait until we are about to sink before we run to get help from our Lord? Why do we wait? Some people will tell us that we should do all we can and that God expects that from us, but I believe that too many times we wait until our boat is full of water before we will call out in prayer!
What do you think would have happened if the disciples had woke Jesus when the storm began? Would this have been a good sign that their faith in Him was strong? Would Jesus have responded to their faith earlier in the storm? I feel sure He would have and we see this in the next passages that follow. Let's look at the next two verses together,

Mark 4:39,40
39 And He(Jesus) arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, "Peace, be still". And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.
40 And he said unto them, "Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith?"

The same power and authority that we see displayed here when Jesus spoke to the wind and the sea was also available to those pitiful, scared disciples already! Earlier in this passage written by Mark, the disciples were given the power to perform miracles by faith! Jesus had taken them up onto a mountain and ordained them to preach the gospel and to heal the sick and cast out devils! Jesus had told them that they could ask anything if they had faith.(Even moving mountains!) Faith is a powerful thing to have and to understand! We excuse our lack of the power of faith in our lives many times by counting ourselves weak and vulnerable as humans. This isn't what Jesus wants for us as his children and messengers to the rest of the world!

Even still,as people talked, the disciples had heard rumors of how Jesus was from the devil and how Jesus was breaking the laws that had been laid down by the religious leaders, concerning the sabbath day. So we must remember all of that when we see the disciples reaction to the miracles Jesus performed on this day in the storm. Let's read on,

Mark 4:41 And they feared exceedingly, and said one to another, "What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?"

It's interesting to read in the previous chapters of Mark how the evil spirits all seemed to know and acknowledged that Jesus was the Holy Son of God and we can also read how that the Holy Spirit descended as the Heavens opened up when Jesus was baptised by John. These same men had been with Jesus to see allot of these things take place, but they hadn't understood and recognized in the time of panic that this same Jesus was the Son of God and has the power to do all things with anything or anyone that He so chooses!

Do we still struggle with this today in our society of logic and legalistic thinking? Would Jesus ask us the same thing that He asked the disciples; when we think we are so smart and capable that we try to get through life's difficult circumstances all on our own?
Do we still get surprised when Jesus answers our prayers? Why should we, if we have constant unwavering faith in Him? He doesn't waver from His promises as we go through life's difficult circumstances; our faith is what can change the way that things turn out and it is each person's faith in God that will deliver and restore you in the presence of life's storms.

Jesus was there in the ship the whole time! The sooner that we understand that this holds true in our lives, the sooner we will find our lives filled with the unlimited resource of miracles and blessings of God through our faith in Him. The Faith of the disciples, or should I say, the lack of faith was the the cause of their distress and panic in this storm. It was their decision to take on the storm all by themselves and did you happen to notice in that last passage that nothing was said about the water in the boat?

Jesus stopped the storm, but they still had a boat full of water!

I just can't help but wonder how they dealt with that situation. That's the problem with waiting many times when crisis comes! We still have the repairs and the cleanup to do as a result of waiting to call for help! Use your faith and call out to God early when a sudden crisis hits you! Your FAITH will carry you safely through the storms and calm the waves and wind.

I'd like to close this Part two message on "FAITH" with a final thought and by reading some verses that will help illustrate this for you. "Hang with me, you won't want to miss this!"

Question - How does our faith carry us through the times of difficulty?

We must be careful not to think that we are constantly on a battleground and that we must always be ready to fight off the unseen forces of satan. In sharing my final point, I would like to point out how living our lives battling satan would be very different from what Jesus was teaching the disciples in the time that He was here on the earth.

The disciples may have tried to handle their difficulties all on their own at times, but I believe that they eventually found, as we will also, that it is not for us to wage war against the devil and sin by our own strength, because we will loose the battle every time!

It is by FAITH in God that we WIN our battles and remain victorious over the evil forces and the difficulties of this world.

That is going to mean giving up our ego trips, putting our own weapons away and trusting in the all consuming power of God. That means fear and respect for the Mighty One who is greater than us all and admitting this daily! Let's look at some verses that illustrate man's Faith in God that carried him through circumstances of difficulty!

The following passage tells us about a group of men who reached out to help a paralyzed man who was completely helpless. They didn't decide to pitch in to get him a new hospital bed or take him meals on wheels. They, in faith, took action to change the man's life forever! They believed in the spoken word of the Lord! By faith, they carried him to where Jesus was speaking.
Mark 2:3-5 And they come unto him, bringing one sick of the palsy(paralyzed), which was carried by four men and when they could not come near to him because of the press, they uncovered the roof where he was: and when they had broken it up, they let down the bed that the sick of the palsy(paralyzed) lay. When Jesus saw their faith, he said unto the sick of the palsy, "Son, thy sins be forgiven thee".
It is true that our sins are what keep us held captive in our troubles and it is the faith in the Lord that allows us the deliverance from the bondage of sin and doubt. The faith of these men showed on this day and Jesus recognized it within their hearts and in their willingness to come to Him for help. Remember, it's so very important for us to be used of God and live a life of freedom from sins bondage! Why would anyone want to remain bound by sin?

The next passage we'll look at is about a woman who had been experiencing a continuous flow of blood for twelve years and she had been to many doctors trying their remedies and spent all that she had, but on this day she had heard that the Lord Jesus was coming and she knew if she could just touch His robe that she would become healthy and have a normal life again! She had come this day with unwavering faith; faith in the power of the Lord Jesus. She believed it with all of her heart! Imagine the joy that filled her life this day!
Mark 5:25-34 And a certain woman, which had an issue of blood twelve years and had suffered many things of many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was nothing bettered, but rather grew worse. When she had heard of Jesus, came in the press behind, and touched his garment. For she said, "If I may touch but his clothes, I shall be whole." Immediately the fountain of her blood was dried up; and she felt in her body that she was healed of that plague. Jesus, immediately knowing in himself that virtue had gone out of him, turned him about in the press, and said, "Who touched my clothes?" His disciples said unto him, "You see the multitude thronging thee, and you say, "Who touched me?" He looked round about to see her that had done this thing, but the woman fearing and trembling, knowing what was done in her, came and fell down before him, and told him all the truth and he said unto her, "Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace, and be whole of thy plague".

There was a woman of Canaan who had heard that Jesus was going to be at the coasts of Tyre and Sidon and she believed that Jesus could perform miracles and that He was the Lord. She also knew that she was not of Israel, like others who followed Jesus. Yet she knew what she believed and she wasn't going get discouraged and give up because of her ethnic origin, as many times this could become a major social and religious barrier in this region of the world. She knew Jesus could help her daughter who was controlled by a devil! She had to go in faith.
Her friends probably warned her that she wasn't going to be able to be helped, as she was not socially accepted by the nation of Israel. She probably had some doubts herself along the journey to where Jesus was, but by the time she had arrived she was so sure of His power that she knew if she could just get a few crumbs from the bread of life, that her daughter would be free again from being possessed by the devil! Let's look at this passage in Matthew and see what happened,
Matthew 15:22-28 And, behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, "Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou Son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil". But he answered her not a word. His disciples came and besought him, saying, "Send her away; for she cries after us". But he answered and said, "I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel". Then she came and worshipped him, saying, "Lord, help me". But he answered and said, "It is not meet to take the children's bread, and to cast it to dogs". She said, "Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters' table". Then Jesus answered and said unto her, "O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt", and her daughter was made whole from that very hour.

These men and women who were made whole or who were freed from evil spirits were all changed forever! What I want to point our attention to is the thing that made the difference in the lives of the men who brought the paralyzed man to Jesus, the thing that made the difference in the life of the woman who had spent at least a quarter of her life in pain, sorrow and doctor's offices trying to find an answer and the thing that made the difference in the life of the mother and the daughter who was suffering being controlled by a devil that had plans to destroy her body, mind and soul. The thing that made the difference in the lives of these people and many more throughout the Word of God is that they had come to an understanding; a major realization of the hope that was found only in the Lord Jesus who had come to earth as a man to seek and to save that which was lost.

You see, they had come to understand the fear of the Lord's Power through respect and reverence; they had come to understand the love of the Lord in His power and willingness to forgive people of their sin and this brought each and every on of them next to understand His compassion on all of them as He always recognized their faith and trust in Him as their Savior!

Your FAITH will carry you through the difficulties and bring you amazing deliverance from the circumstances and troubles of this world. You will live above the times of crisis when you trust GOD to carry YOU, by Faith!

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WHEN THE WIND BLOWS

Do the winds of life bring you fear?

But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me. ~Matthew 14:30

As I was reading the story of Peter walking on the water, I realized something that I had missed for the past fourty-nine years of my life. I had always thought that Peter became afraid because of the waves crashing all around him that night as he climbed out of the boat in responce to Jesus simple request,"Come". As I saw that it was the wind that made Peter afraid, it occurred to me that Jesus had an even bigger lesson for me to learn from this story than ever before. What we can learn from Peter's experience is that we can so easily loose our trust in the Almighty God that we worship and praise when we begin to fear the unknown.

Peter knew not where the boisterous wind came from and he didn't know how it would effect his walk. He was already taking a leap of faith by getting out of the boat! Have you ever gotten out of the boat, so to speak, and found yourself climbing right back in where it is safe and secure only minutes or hours after your feet touched the water. It's not an easy thing to step out into the unknown, unless there is something secure there that we can grab ahold of when we think we're going to fall. Think about this today. Like Peter, we need to be calling out to the Lord in faith with willingness to say,"If it be you, bid me come to you onto the water". It's not easy! But it will amaze you how much your faith will increase when you exercise your trust in your Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. He is there when you feel you are afraid and just as with Peter, He'll immediately catch you if the unknown weakens your faith.

Peter was already afraid of the wind before he ever got out of the boat, I'm sure! As I have continued to step out in the ministry God has called me to do, there are things that I cannot see. I know that they are there and I see the danger if this happens or if that happens. My mind can begin to doubt, even while I am stepping out entirely by faith to do the work that He has called me to do.

We've all experienced fear of the unknown before! You've experienced the boisterous winds even before you stepped a foot out of your boat, your comfort zone.

It could be one of many things that hold us back. I encourage you today to get out of your comfort zone! Get out of your favorite chair; call out and ask the Lord to bid you to come! I can tell you that it won't be long before you'll hear Him calling you to do something you've never done before. It happened to me! I've never been more satisfied and full of joy than when I stepped out of the boat, my comfort zone, to experience a new level of faith; even when the unknown almost blew me away. I called out to the Lord and without a moments hesitation, He reached out and reassured me that he was there in ways that I couldn't have imagined. Of course, the Lord asked me through my conscience,"O you of little faith, why did you doubt?".

In closing, remember that Jesus is there for each and every one of us when we step out by faith; and He will help us when we fear and fall, but that doesn't mean that the storm and the wind will cease!

Let's look at the next two verses to see why I point this out.

And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt? And when they were come into the ship, the wind ceased.~Matthew 14:31-32

It wasn't until they were back in the boat! You see, I know that we want the fear and the discomforts to go away as soon as we pray. But the Lord knows what's best for us and what will make us more useful for His service when we make ourselves available to Him.

Are YOU ready to GO? Have you surrendered to the Lord, but have never quite gotten your foot out of the boat?

Maybe you are like me. You've heard His call and you already stepped out of your comfort zone, but you heard those boisterous winds coming your way. Maybe doubt filled your mind, as it did mine, causing you to become afraid.

If so, learn from Peter today and keep calling out to the Lord when you feel this way! But let the Lord take you back to the boat when He is ready!

Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth. ~ Psalms 46:10

"YOUR FAITH WILL CARRY YOU" - CONTINUED. . . Part 3

Posted on March 9, 2011 @ focusontheheart.org
For the "hope for the heart" page

Remember, it's so very important for us to be used of God and live a life, free from sin's bondage!

Why would anyone want to remain bound by sin?

The next passage we'll look at is about a woman who had been experiencing a continuous flow of blood for twelve years and she had been to many doctors trying their remedies and she spent all that she had, but on this day she had heard that the Lord Jesus was coming and she knew if she could only touch His robe, that she would become healthy and have a normal life again! She had come this day with unwavering faith; faith in the power of the Lord Jesus. She believed it with all of her heart! Imagine the joy that filled her life this day!

And a certain woman, which had an issue of blood twelve years and had suffered many things of many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was nothing bettered, but rather grew worse. When she had heard of Jesus, came in the press behind, and touched his garment. For she said, "If I may touch but his clothes, I shall be whole."
Immediately the fountain of her blood was dried up; and she felt in her body that she was healed of that plague. Jesus, immediately knowing in himself that virtue had gone out of him, turned him about in the press, and said,"Who touched my clothes?"
His disciples said unto him, "You see the multitude thronging thee, and you say, "Who touched me?". He looked round about to see her that had done this thing, but the woman fearing and trembling, knowing what was done in her, came and fell down before him, and told him all the truth and he said unto her, "Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace, and be whole of thy plague". ~ Mark 5:25-34

There was a woman of Canaan who had heard that Jesus was going to be at the coasts of Tyre and Sidon and she believed that Jesus could perform miracles and that He was the Lord. She also knew that she was not of Israel, like others who followed Jesus. Yet she knew what she believed and she wasn't going get discouraged and give up because of her ethnic origin, as often times this could be a major social and religious barrier in this region of the world. She knew Jesus could help her daughter who was controlled by a devil! She had to go in faith.
Her "friends" probably warned her that she wasn't going to be able to be helped, as she was not socially accepted by the nation of Israel. She likely had battled with those thoughts as she made the journey to where Jesus was, but by the time she had arrived she was so sure of His power that she knew if she could just get a few crumbs from the true Bread of Life, that her daughter would be free from being possessed by demons! Let's look at this passage in Matthew and see what happened,

And, behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, "Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou Son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil".
But he answered her not a word. His disciples came and besought him, saying, "Send her away; for she cries after us". But he answered and said, "I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel".
Then she came and worshipped him, saying, "Lord, help me".
But he answered and said, "It is not meet to take the children's bread, and to cast it to dogs".
She said, "Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters' table".
Then Jesus answered and said unto her, "O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt", and her daughter was made whole from that very hour. ~ Matthew 15:22-28

Men and women who were made whole or who were freed from evil spirits were all changed forever! What I'd like for us all to focus on now, is what made the difference in the lives of the men who brought the paralyzed man to Jesus, what made the difference in the life of the woman who had spent at least a quarter of her life in pain, sorrow and doctor's offices trying to find an answer and what made the difference in the life of the mother and the daughter who suffered from control of a demon that had planned to destroy her body, mind and soul.
The thing that made the difference in the lives of these people and others throughout the Word of God, is that these men and women had come to an understanding; a major realization of the hope that was found only in the Lord Jesus, who had come to earth as a man to seek and to save that which was lost.

You see, they had all come to understand the fear of the Lord's Power through respect and reverence; they had come to understand the love of the Lord in His grace and willingness to forgive people of their sin. That realization was what brought each and every one of them to the understanding of His compassion on them all, as He always recognized their faith and trust in Him as their Savior!

Your FAITH in GOD will carry you through the difficulties and bring you amazing deliverance from the circumstances and troubles of this world.

You will be able to live above the times of crisis and sorrow, when you trust GOD to CARRY YOU as Your Faith will also make You Complete in Christ Jesus!

Many are facing disasters and troubes beyond their imagination internationally today , but my friend, I assure you, "Christ is there for You!"

Let's learn from and take comfort in the words written and passed down to us by David the psalmist.

"Cast your (troubles) burden on the Lord and He will (keep) sustain you! He will not allow the (to live & do right) righteous to be (weak) moved!" ~ Psalm 55:22

Also the words of Isaiah the prophet will give comfort, strength and guidance for you in this time when things may seem so hopeless! You can rely on this prophecy of hope!

Have you not known? Have you not heard, that the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary?

There is no searching of his understanding.
He gives power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increases strength.

Even the youth will faint and be weary, and the young men will utterly fall:

But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength;

they shall mount up with wings as eagles;

they shall run, and not be weary;

and they shall walk, and not faint.

~ Isaiah 40:28-31 ~

YOUR FAITH WILL CARRY YOU - PART 2

Posted on March 3, 2011 @ focusontheheart.org
On the "Hope for the Heart" page

Faith is a powerful thing to have and to understand!

We excuse our lack of the power of faith in our lives so many times by counting ourselves weak and vulnerable as humans. This isn't what Jesus wants for us as his children and messengers to the rest of the world!

Even still, as people were talking, the disciples had heard rumors of how Jesus was really from the devil and how Jesus had been breaking the laws that had been laid down by the religious leaders concerning the sabbath day. So we must remember all of that when we see the disciples reaction to the miracles Jesus performed on this day in the storm. Let's read on,

And they feared exceedingly, and said one to another, "What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?" ~ Mark 4:41

It's interesting to read in the previous chapters of Mark how the evil spirits all seemed to know and acknowledged that Jesus was the Holy Son of God and we can also read how that the Holy Spirit descended as the Heavens opened up when Jesus was baptised by John. These same men had been with Jesus to see allot of these things take place, but they hadn't understood and recognized in the time of panic that this same Jesus was the Son of God and has the power to do all things with anything or anyonethat He so chooses!

Do we still struggle with this today in our society of logic and legalistic thinking? Would Jesus ask us the same thing that He asked His disciples; as we think we are so smart and capable that we attempt to get through most of life's most difficult moments entirely on our own?
Do we often feel surprised when Jesus answers our prayers? Why should we, if we truly have constant unwavering faith in Him? He never wavers from His promises as we go through life's difficult circumstances; our faith is what will change the way that things turn out and it is each person's faith in God that will deliver and restore them in the presence of life's storms.

Jesus was there in the ship the whole time! The sooner that we understand that this holds true in our lives, the sooner we will find our lives filled with the unlimited resource of miracles and blessings of God through our faith in Him. The faith of the disciples, or should I say, the lack of faith was the the cause of their distress and panic in this storm. It was their decision to take on the storm all by themselves and did you happen to notice in that last passage that nothing was said about the water in the boat?

Jesus stopped the storm, but they still had a boat full of water!

I just can't help but wonder how they dealt with that situation. That's the problem with waiting many times when crisis comes. We still have the repairs and the cleanup to do as a result of waiting to call for help. Use your faith and call out to God early when a sudden crisis hits you! Your FAITH will carry you safely through the storms and calm the waves and wind.

I'd like to help illustrate this for you. Hang with me, you won't want to miss this!

Question - How does our faith carry us through the times of difficulty?

We must be careful not to think that we are constantly on a battleground and that we must always be ready to fight off the unseen forces of satan. In sharing my final point, I would like to point out how living our lives battling satan would be very different from what Jesus was teaching His disciples during the time that He was here walking amoung men on the earth.

The disciples may have tried to handle their difficulties all on their own at times, but I believe that they eventually found, as we will also, that it is not for us to wage war against the devil and sin by our strength, because we will loose the battle every time!

It is by FAITH in God that we WIN our battles and remain victorious over the evil forces and the difficulties of this world.
That is going to mean giving up our ego trips; putting our own weapons away and trusting in the all consuming power of God! That means we will have fear and respect for the Almighty One who is greater than us all and admitting this daily! Let's look at some verses that illustrate man's Faith in God that carried him through circumstances of difficulty!

The following passage tells us about a group of men who reached out to help a paralyzed man who was completely helpless. They didn't decide to pitch in to get him a new hospital bed or take him meals on wheels. They, in faith, took action to change the man's life forever! They believed in the spoken word of the Lord! By faith, they carried him to where Jesus was speaking.

And they come unto him, bringing one sick of the palsy(paralyzed), which was carried by four men and when they could not come near to him because of the press, they uncovered the roof where he was: and when they had broken it up, they let down the bed that the sick of the palsy(paralyzed) lay. When Jesus saw their faith, he said unto the sick of the palsy, "Son, thy sins be forgiven thee". ~ Mark 2:3-5

It is true that our sins are what keep us held captive in our troubles and it is our faith in the Lord that allows us the deliverance from the bondage of sin and doubt. The faith of these men showed on this day and Jesus recognized it within their hearts and in their willingness to come to Him for help. Remember, it's so very important for us to be used of God andlive a life of freedom from sin's bondage! I ask you,"Why would anyone choose to remain bound by sin?" TO BE CONTINUED. . . .

"YOUR FAITH WILL CARRY YOU"

Posted on March 1,2011 @ focusontheheart.org
Hope for the Heart page archives

Have you ever had a really great day when everything went better than you had planned? You had your time alone with God and your day was productive from the standpoint of accomplishing your goals; you felt so good that you couldn't help humming or singing a tune in the car on the way home. Then it happened!


Suddenly out of the blue, you get a phone call with bad news or you suddenly realize you've lost something very important; or someone dear to you gets hurt; or someone you care about disappoints you! This is a really good time to do a faith check! It is at this moment that we will usually either panic or stay calm. The faith that you have in Christ will make the difference at a time like this!

The disciples found themselves in just one of those moments in chapter four of Mark when their ship had filled with water in verse thirty-seven.

"And there arose a great storm of wind,(like a hurricane) and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full."

I could see in this passage that the ship is now full of water and Jesus was asleep on a pillow in the back part of the ship. The disciples had ran around in a panic before they went and woke Him up from His rest. Jesus had been teaching and healing people all day long and the disciples needed Him to do something to save them. Let's take a look at what they said to Him.

"And he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake him, and say unto him, "Master, care thou not that we perish?" ~ Mark 4:38

We see in this verse that they addressed Jesus as their Master, which in the Greek means "teacher". Those guys were afraid that their end was near and they would soon be sucked up by the sea! They needed someone to give them a plan of action; a "master" plan, so to speak.

Yes, I believe that these men were pretty much in a state of panic and they wanted Jesus to either come up with a solution or to at least, panic with them!

They asked Him, "Don't you care that we are going to die?". Their understanding was blurred by the circumstances and they were past the reasoning and understanding that they were on a ship in a storm with the Son of God! The same One who had spent days and weeks teaching them about the power of faith and exercising this faith in many different ways.

Can you imagine a team of men in a large ship and the waves are crashing over the deck and filling the ship up faster than they can bail it out? Imagine the wind tossing their boat in every direction and the rain beating down on them as they bail faster and faster to keep the boat afloat.
They have been battling this storm for maybe an hour or more and they're loosing the battle. The boat is quickly sinking under the added weight of the water on board. They probably could hear the boards of the ship beginning to creak and move under the stress and they felt as though there was no hope for survival.

Finally, in this moment of total despair, I imagine someone shouted out,"Wake up Jesus!".

When we read what happens next, it is very clear to me that they didn't wake Jesus up for the purpose of stopping the storm. They didn't wake Him with the purpose of delivering them from the circumstances either, as they believed that they were going to die. I believe they were really upset that Jesus was sleeping and they were all bailing water and they just couldn't stand to let Jesus rest so peacefully while they were fighting for their lives! They acted as though they felt that the calm, peaceful sleep that Jesus was experiencing was a sign that He didn't care about them. They had forgotten all the lessons that Jesus had taught them about the battles and struggles of life's difficulties and they were acting purely on human instinct!

How many times do we do this very thing when something catches us by surprise? Do we feel we should battle our way through it and wait until we are about to sink before we run to get help from our Lord? Why do we wait? Some people will tell us that we should do all we can and that God expects that from us, but I believe that too many times we wait until our boat is full of water before we will call out in prayer!
What do you think would have happened if the disciples had woke Jesus when the storm began? Would this have been a good sign that their faith in Him was strong? Would Jesus have responded to their faith earlier in the storm? I feel sure He would have and we see this in the next passages that follow. Let's look at the next two verses together,


And He(Jesus) arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, "Peace, be still". And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. And he said unto them, "Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith?" ~ Mark 4:39,40

The same power and authority that we see displayed here when Jesus spoke to the wind and the sea was also available to those pitiful, scared disciples already! Earlier in this passage written by Mark, the disciples were given the power to perform miracles by faith. Jesus had taken them up onto a mountain and ordained them to preach the gospel and to heal the sick and to cast out devils! Jesus had told them that they could ask anything if they had faith. (Even moving mountains!) Faith is a powerful thing to have and to understand! We excuse our lack of the power of faith in our lives many times by counting ourselves weak and vulnerable as humans. That isn't what Jesus wanted for His children as messengers to the rest of the world.
To Be Continued....

"FAITH DOES NOT DOUBT - PART 2

Go in peace, thy faith has made you whole!

None the less, the woman who is not named, enters the room. She has been listening to Jesus teaching and has seen His miracles performed and has come to the realization that this must be who they say He is; the Messiah, sent by God to save His people from their sin.

She stands behind Him now, maybe trying to control herself, but it is impossible! The tears are flowing uncontrollably as she stands at His feet! She wipes her eyes and sees that she has soaked His feet with her tears and kneels to wipe the wet dust from His feet with her most adorned apparel, her hair. She continues to cry as she thinks about her past and how many times she has felt the guilt of her sins; avoiding conversation with those who would dare to mention God or anything related to worship. This would normally have only made her feel worse about herself and the life she had chosen to live long ago. Now though, she was sitting at the feet of this One they called the Messiah, the Savior of His people! At His feet, where typically the servants would stay, she began to clean His feet with her hair and her tears. As she washed them she also began to kiss His feet, which was an act of adoration and respect for Jesus. But she didn't just kiss them once, but over and over again in love for her new found Lord! She felt so blessed to be able to show Him her love and belief in Him in such a way as this.
Then she took out the alabaster container of ointment, a bottle of perfume; a perfume that some theologians believe she had used to attract the attention of others and most likely her most treasured possession. Ointment was a very expensive product in this day and was used much like our cologne and deodorant today. You see, the Greek translation for the word that describes her as a sinner means one living in sin or a whore. Now how do we feel about this whole picture? What would we have been thinking if we had been sitting in that room, knowing that she had this reputation?

Wait! Let's bring it up to our day and time! Ok? What if she was a woman who was known as a Playboy centerfold and stripper who had been on public TV and the latest Yahoo News sites all over the world? Now, how does that make us feel? Maybe we can understand a little better about what happens next!
The Pharisee, whose name was Simon, was thinking within himself,"If this man was a prophet, he would have know what kind of woman was touching Him and that she was a sinner (whore)". That's when Jesus shared something with Simon. Jesus asked him,"If one man owed $50 and another man owed $500 and they didn't have anything to pay and the creditor told them that he wasn't going to make them pay. Which one of the men would love him more?". Simon answered and said that he supposed that the one that owed the creditor more money. Then Jesus said that he judged right!

Jesus told Simon to look at the woman, but Jesus also looked at her, according to this passage. Jesus had no problem giving her His attention because he saw her through different eyes; His eyes didn't judge her. Jesus told Simon, "See thou this woman? I entered into thine house, thou gave me no water for my feet: but she hath washed my feet with tears, and wiped them with the hairs of her head. Thou gave me no kiss: but this woman since the time I came in hath not ceased to kiss my feet. My head with oil thou didst not anoint: but this woman hath anointed my feet with ointment. Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little."

In Simon's eyes, he had few sins, so he had little love for the Lord. Do you think that if we feel this way about ourselves, it will also have an impact on how much we love our Savior. If Jesus walked into the room right now, how would you honestly react? Would you drop to your knees? Would you just stare at Him in amazement and wait forHim to recognize YOU? Do we think that we are going to be His focus when we get to heaven? Are we really that great in our own eyes? I hear this dangerous doctrine taught all across America today and it is teaching people to love God less, just as we see in the attitude of the Pharisee with Jesus!"How are we to feel the love that this woman had for Jesus?", you may ask, just as I did when I first read this passage.

We must look long and hard at what we believe! This passage has brought me to realize two very important things. I took the time to search my heart and see how I saw myself and what I felt about my past and what God had truly done for me. This brought me to a deeper appreciation of what Jesus meant to me. He was the one who forgave us all as He hung on the cross. He forgave us even before this, just as He had forgiven the woman that day so long ago. He forgave her for all of her past sins and her choice of lifestyles that had given her such a bad reputation. Let's look at what Jesus says to her next,

And he said unto her, "Thy sins are forgiven." ~ Luke 7:48

But why do you think Jesus make mention of this that day? I believe that He was making a point to each of those sitting at the table that day; also to each of us reading this passage today. Jesus knew that the question would come up in their hearts, "Who is this that forgives sins also?". This has become the question of the century by many a Muslim and other religions across the world and many of them deny it! They can't believe that a man named Jesus can pardon the sins of wicked men!

I believe what Jesus says next will help us to realize the awesome power of Jesus as the Messiah when we believe! And he said to the woman, "Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace." ~ Luke 7:50
It was the sincere belief in God and the message of the Messiah Jesus that caused this woman to change. Her faith was made alive and that seed of faith which had been dead began to grow in her heart, her mind and then became evident in her body. She changed the way she felt; she changed the way she thought and she changed the way she loved! She went from doubting, bondage and oppression to having faith, pardoned and peace.
Finally, let's take a look at the word "peace" in the Greek translation and what it means to those who have faith!

In the Greek the word "peace" is eirēnē
It is pronounced i-rah'-nay (go ahead, try to pronounce it one time)
Peace (used literally or figuratively); by implication prosperity: - one, peace, quietness, rest, + set at one again.

Let's take a few minutes to kneel at Jesus feet and adore Him as we grasp the fact that He has forgiven ALL of our sins! Let's love Him more and more each day and remember the words of Jesus, "Thy faith has saved you; go in peace."

"FAITH DOES NOT DOUBT" - PART 1

Your faith will change your life!

Have you ever had someone warn you of something and you thought to yourself, "I'm not so sure about that", only to find out later that they were right?

It is at the moment that we realize that something is for real and we know without a doubt that what we have heard is true, that faith takes seed in our hearts, our minds and our body! It's at that moment that we also find ourselves moving into action, as the situation becomes more clear.

Jesus gives us an example about the man that digs deep and lays his foundation on the rock so that his house will stand when the water beats against the house. Jesus was referring to the man that will listen to what He tells him and then "do" what he has heard. It is through the believing of something that we experience faith and this faith will cause us to act accordingly. Right now, what I want you to concentrate on is what you believe! Take all other thoughts and interruptions and leave them in the next room. I want you to focus your full attention for the next ten minutes on what you believe and look at how it has changed your life. Ready?

It is simple to say we believe in something, but it is different to believe in it so much that we have faith in something or someone. We use the words faith, believe, commit and dedication so casual in our day, that we often miss what it really means, but I find that the parables and experiences of Jesus actually take us to a level of understanding where we receive wisdom and knowledge that we are able to apply to each of our lives. "Faith Doesn't Doubt!" There seems to be allot of confusion about this simple, yet profound statement today.

I hear people say so casually, "I believe in God,but...this or that" and people say, "I have faith, but I think there's a limit to how far you should take it!". Another one I have heard is, "I asked God to save me, but I never did anything that bad anyways".

It is good for us to take time to study the parables and teachings of Jesus, as this will show us what we need to build a solid foundation for our lives. Jesus teaches all of us that the first thing we need to do in laying our firm foundation is to believe without a doubt, have faith. Let's all take a few minutes to look at a place in time when Jesus had been performing miracles. He was invited to the home of a Pharisee to dine and Jesus had accepted the invitation. He had been teaching and performing miracles, so I'm sure that there was quite a crowd gathered around the man's house, just waiting for Jesus to reappear and continue demonstrating His miraculous power and the pouring out of His compassion on them. Somehow though, a woman had slipped into the room where Jesus had taken His seat on the couch. The Jews would eat while laying on their side and their knees bent with their feet behind them.

I can imagine this woman showing herself at the doorway and Jesus motioning for her to come in and join them. Perhaps the Pharisee had gone to check on the food or may have been inviting some of the others that were his friends, as we see later that there were others at this meal.
None the less, the woman who is not ever named, enters the room. She has been listening to Jesus teaching and has seen His miracles performed...TO BE CONTINUED

"JOY WHEN YOU FALL"

James 1:2-3

How can I keep my joy when I'm being tried?

When I read this passage, the first thing that came to my mind was this question,

"Did James really mean that we were suppose to be happy when we find ourselves in a difficult situation that is going to try our faith to the max?"

Hey! You know what? Those guys way back in the Bible times had difficulties just like we do today!

The only difference is that our trials often come in the form of plastic money; wireless communication or some modern form of transportation. Right? Just think about the last time that you took a flight to some distant city. If your patience wasn't tried, I applaud you! I had to practice patience from the time that I entered the first line at the customer service counter to the minute I picked up my luggage at my destination! We sat on the plane for several hours just waiting to take off in the middle of the summer without air and I'm a little guy. The problem was that I had a middle seat and was right between two guys who may have been linebackers for the Pittsburgh Steelers! These guys were huge, hot and restless! I had to get up and stand after the first hour just to breath! I'm not kidding folks! Boy was my patience tested! The fact is that I was experiencing something I hadn't ever experienced before and that's when we often find ourselves also dealing with a new temptation for the first time. It was a most trying time and I wasn't in the least bit joyful! So, what does James mean in this passage when he says to be joyful?

James 1:2-3 My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into divers temptations; 3. Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.

James says that we ought to be joyful, not because we are tried, but because we can know beforehand that it is this difficulty that will cause us to become more patient when trouble comes our way. The trying of our faith is when something causes us to feel like we are about to explode, but instead of exploding, we must remember the basis of our faith and we must remember that our faith is built on love and that we ought to love one another! It is this kind of spiritual control that shines in a world of anger and selfishness! It tells those around us that there is hope for mankind in the world today! I often remember the passage in Matthew 12:36 when I am about to loose control and say something wrong that would please our adversary the devil. So our joy comes from the knowing, as it says in verse three, that the trying of our faith teaches us patience.

Is something or someone trying you today? Is there something in your life that you are protecting with your life? How will you react when you are tempted and your faith is tried? Will you be the tough guy in the flesh or the tough guy in the spirit? Have you snapped and told someone off lately because they intruded somehow into your own self-centered world? When that happened, how could you have changed the way things turned out?

You can be joyful still my brothers and sisters! Regardless of our experiences, even when our faith is tried, we will always KNOW THIS,"...that the trying of YOUR FAITH works patience." found in verse three. So, the big question now is,"Are we going to count it all joy? All situations? All outcomes? All that we learn? Are we going to be able to maintain our joy, no matter what happens?".

My answer and your answer should be, "Yes, absolutely! Because we know that our patience is being perfected through the trying times when we fall into different temptations." Selah.

"IS IT POSSIBLE?"

If You'll Believe, All Things ARE Possible!

Have you ever had a problem that seemed so big that you just couldn't see any possible way to get through it?

Have you ever had a sickness or a family crisis at a time when your job stress was at it's peak?

Do you have something going on in your life right now that just seems like it will never end and the struggle seems to be pulling you down to the point of giving up?

If you are a mom, dad or grandparent you could probably say "yes" to at least one of the above, if not all. I'm going to be short and to the point today, since Christmas is past and you probably have allot of activities planned as the new year approaches. As you plan your next year, take a moment to look at a man who couldn't plan his year. His life was full of despair. Pay attention as I tell you about his life, my friend! Take a minute to look at his circumstances, not yours!

There once was a man who had dealt with a problem for most of his parenting life. He had a child that was filled with evil spirits. His son would foam and thrash about on the ground like a lunatic. The spirits would throw him onto the fire to burn him and into the water to try and drown him!
Can you imagine what this child must have looked like? He was probably covered with scars and scabs. Maybe he had long dirty broken nails on his hands and feet and most likely hair matted and dirty like an animals would look in the wild. But this young man's father had not given up hope for him. He had heard that Jesus was coming to town! He went to Jesus for help. Take a look at the passage where I read this in Mark;

Mark 9:22 "And often it hath cast him into the fire, and into the waters to destroy him: but if thou canst do any thing, have compassion on us, and help us."

Before the father called out for help, he most likely had been thinking,"Lord, if you can; please feel my pain; please understand; please don't run away from us like everyone else does; please "HELP US"! The response that Jesus gave was so awesome! Let's look at what happened next;


Mark 9:23 Jesus said to him, "If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believes. "

Need I say anything else? Let's look at what happened next.


Mark 9:24 And immediately the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, "Lord, I believe; help thou my unbelief!"

This man was blown away when Jesus told him that "all things are possible". He had come to Jesus asking him if He could help his son and Jesus sent him away on that day, knowing that all things are possible for those who will just believe in the power of His name.

Do you want something that to happen in your life today that seems impossible?

Do you need help with unbelief?

It's ok! Jesus loves for us to come to him with those kind of requests! Jesus knows we are human and we have times when our faith grows weak, due to overwhelming circumstances.

Believe today and You too will experience what others may see as impossible! You might ask,"How does he know this? How can he say this with so much confidence?"

Because Jesus said," ALL things are possible to those who Believe!"

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