Week 25 of 52 Faith is Loving the Unlovable because God first Loved Us

Faith is loving the unlovable because God first loved us - Lord increase our faith

If it seems like I am repeating myself, you may be right. The topic of Love and the various ways of looking at it (loving God, loving our neighbor and loving our enemy) cannot be stressed enough in the Christian walk. We are to be walking talking examples of Christ; especially in our love.

Jesus talked to and encouraged those people who most Jews would reject or avoid. He talked to the Roman occupiers (and called a Roman Centurion a man of great faith), to lepers, to blind people to a Samaritan woman (a double whammy because both Samaritans and women were to be avoided by Jewish men). He partied with tax collectors (basically Roman sympathizers and traitors) and other sinners. He visited the poor and the rich. There was no one that Jesus wouldn't talk to. He showed compassion for the downtrodden and those rejected by Jewish society and he gave to super religious a tongue lashing.

In his Sermon on the Mount recorded in the Gospel of Matthew, he said a very disturbing thing. He said, "For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax-collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same?" In other words being nice to those who are nice to you has no special value in the Kingdom of God. Jesus is challenging us to love those who are unlovable. In a sense, He is saying, " This is the kind of love that matters."

We cannot do this in and of ourselves. We need to Love of God, Jesus' example and the power of the Holy Spirit to do this. God loves us, He demonstrated that in Jesus' death on the cross and He has given us His Holy Spirit so that we might live the life He lived. So I encourage you to look for those people that are difficult to love: in the workplace, the marketplace and even in your family, and love them the way Christ would. Invite Jesus into that moment and see what He can do through you.

Lord, you demonstrated Godly love in loving the unloved of your time. Lord,
help us to love the unlovely with your Love demonstrating the power of you Love in faith - Lord, increase our faith.

Week 24 of 52 Prayers of Faith - Faith is worshiping God with our whole being; body, mind and soul

Faith is worshiping God with our whole being; body, mind and soul - Lord Increase our Faith

Worship (according to the Preacher Al's definition) is the appropriate response to the presence and/or the knowledge of God.  Or Worship is part of our relationship with God.  There are lots of word pictures in the Bible where worship involves people bowing down both in the OT and the NT.  Worship should happen when we realize that we imperfect sinners are in the presence of a Holy and Righteous God.  For the longest time, I thought worship was merely singing songs in church.  But I have learned over the years that many acts can be expressions of worship.  David danced before the Lord, psalmists wrote songs, others fell on their faces.  Worship expresses our gratitude, our joy, that we are humbled in the presence of a Holy God.

Worshiping God by faith then becomes how your spirit responds to the presence of a Holy God.  It could be like Peter falling at the feet of Jesus declaring, "Depart from me, a wicked man"  It could be tears of joy it could be songs of all sorts, but ultimately worship is an act of faith where we each respond in a way that honor's God and recognises our position and relationship to Him.

Lord, we worship you by faith, responding to your Holy and Righteous presence - Lord, increase our faith

I would remind you again that this is a contemplative exercise.  It is not enough to just read the article, you need to spend time in prayer asking the Lord what this means to you.  What is HE saying to you through this article?  Spend some time in quiet contemplation and meditation asking for God's wisdom and insight into each of these articles.  I highly recommend a prayer journal to record both your thoughts and what God reveals to you.  May your faith increase leading you to greater, love, joy, and peace.

Week 23 of 52 Prayers of Faith - Faith is always forgiving others because in Christ, God has forgiven us

Faith is always forgiving others because in Christ, God has forgiven us - Lord increase our Faith

Forgiving someone is an act of the will and an act of faith.  We can choose to forgive someone even when we don't feel like it, because the Word of God says to.  We can forgive someone as an act of faith because even though we don't feel like it, we have faith that The God of All Creation can change our hearts when we choose to follow His Ways.

Jesus paid for our sins so we have been forgiven.  Because He has done this, He has made it possible for us to forgive others.  When we say that we cannot forgive, we deny Christ's redemptive work on the Cross.  He can make a way where there seems to be no way.  God has empowered us to forgive others, we just have to accept it by faith, knowing that forgiving others is God's will for our lives.

Lord, thank you that You have made a way for us to forgive others - Lord, increase our Faith.

Week 22 of 52 Prayers of Faith - Faith is seeking first the Kingdom of God and its righteousness

Faith is seeking first the Kingdom of God and its righteousness - Lord increase our faith

In the world around us we are receiving all kinds of conflicting advice about what we need and what is the most important thing. Many people of faith have been led astray by the deceitfulness of riches and the cares of this life. But Jesus asks us, "What does it profit us if we gain the whole world and lose your immortal souls." As people of faith the words of Christ are paramount. They aren't something we relegate to some minor importance. What He says is of primary importance because it affects our immortal souls. Our life is not just here on earth. Earth is just bootcamp for we Christians, a testing ground to see if we can follow some simple instructions like "Love God and love your neighbor"

When Jesus tells us that we should seek first God's Kingdom and its righteousness, He is actually trying to make life better for us. The world around us and even God's Law can cause us to worry. We ask ourselves things like: "Am I eating the right thing?" "What is really important?" "What should I wear?"; "Am I going to die young?"; "Is that mole cancerous?" "Will they like me?"

Questions like this rob us of joy. They make life worrisome and scary. Ultimately God doesn't want us wasting time worrying about things which we may or may not be able to control. Jesus tells us that God knows all our needs; if we will just seek God's Kingdom and His ways first, then the rest will get sorted out.

None of us are immune to life's difficulties, but if all we do is focus on the problems, then we won't get to enjoy the life God has given us. That is why we must accept by faith that God's ways are the best ways. We must seek His Kingdom and its Righteousness by faith, trusting that in the end God will help us sort it all out. We may die young, we may die of cancer or we may live a good long life. But what is most important is that we live it trusting that The God of all Creation has good plans for us.

Lord we acknowledge that your Kingdom and your righteousness are more important than the daily cares of life. Lord, increase or faith.

Week 21 of 52 Prayers of Faith - Faith is loving God with all our all our heart, soul, mind and strength.

Faith is loving God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength - Lord increase our faith

Again I am using active words with regard to faith. Loving is an active verb. Love is a feeling but that is not all that it is. Love is action; Love Does (to borrow the title of a recently published book); love is the motive that guides a Christian's behavior. So when we talk about loving God, it involves more than our emotions

The Bible tells us that God first loved us. It tells us that God so loved us that He sent Jesus so that we could know Him better. The Good News is really "God loves humanity and He has demonstrated that in the person of Jesus Christ".

Knowing that God loves us and has demonstrated that love, demands a response from us. This only seems right. Just as children love their parents when their parents love them, so we must love God because we are his children and He loves us. Jesus said if fact that Loving God is the greatest commandment and the next thing closest to that is loving our neighbors.

Each of you will have to learn what that means to you. For me, it means I am a pastor/preacher/teacher who serves God by loving, teaching and training the people He puts in my path.

Lord, we thank you that You first loved us, help us to love You with our all of our hearts minds, strength and souls - Lord increase our Faith

Week 20 of 52 Weeks of Prayer - Faith is receiving Christ supernaturally in the communion elements

Faith is receiving Christ supernaturally in the communion elements - Lord increase our faith

You might notice that this week, I have changed from "Faith is knowing" to "Faith is Receiving" Faith is an active word. Faith is not a passive thing. There is understanding and knowing things by faith, but there is also receiving and doing things by faith. This week I want to look at how faith can help us receive from God.

Now talking about communion this way may sound a bit Catholic to some of you, but if we take the word's of Jesus from the Gospel of John, there are a number of things to consider.  First in Chapter 6 of John, Jesus says, "He who eats my flesh will have life in him." He goes on to say, "He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood will abide in me." This has relevance later in chapter 15 where Jesus says that we must abide in him in order to bear fruit.

Later then at the Passover meal (the first communion service) Christ doesn't say this wine is "like" my blood or this bread is "like" my body. He says they are his blood and body. I know that in protestant circles there are various ways of looking at the communion elements. One as an ordnance give to us by Christ - "Do this in remembrance of Me." Jesus said to it so we should do it. Others see it as a symbolic way of look at Christ in us. Others have gone so far as to see it as an almost useless, archaic ritual that has little or no meaning. I am not such a person.

I firmly believe that we must see faith as a supernatural act; something that is not necessarily logical or practical. Faith is believing in something that we cannot see, something that from a practical perspective that might even be considered impossible. Yet faith demands that we trust God and what his Holy Word says. Faith demands that we take Jesus Christ at his word and see the bread (host) and the wine as his flesh and blood. We may taste a wafer and fruit juice, but by faith we need to receive them as his flesh and blood.

We do this to be obedient to Christ's command, we do this to remember what He did for us and we do this so that we may abide in Him and have eternal life. The first two things we can do intellectually and with understanding but the third thing we must do by and in faith; believing that Christ's life will inhabit us as we take his flesh and blood in the form of bread/wafer and wine/juice.

Lord thank you for the life you give us supernaturally by accepting the communion elements. Lord, increase our faith.

Week 19 of 52 Prayers of Faith - Faith is realizing there is nothing good in us apart from Christ

Faith is realizing there is nothing good in us apart from Christ - Lord increase our faith.

This can be hard for us to accept, because many of us think we are pretty good people. We think that we are kind and loving and have forgotten what we are/were really like apart from Christ. One look at children and you can see the worst of us. Our childhood memories are both wonderful and terrible all at the same time. In children we say there is innocence, but if we look a bit closer we can see the dark side of human nature. Children are natural liars, tattletales, they are selfish and greedy. Unless constrained by strong parental control, they can become tyrants who try to dictate to their parents how things are going to be.

There is a quote once attributed to Socrates concerning children of his age - "The children now love luxury. They have bad manners, contempt for authority; they show disrespect for elders and love chatter in place of exercise."

I am not full convinced that all children are bad, but in our children we can see some of the worst of our society at times.

We have all worked for or with people who are "the worst" who cheat and lie and steal in the work place. We have all met bullies in school and in the work place who have made our lives miserable. These people I believe exemplify the Biblical text, in Romans 5:10 where Paul tells us that we were once enemies of God. In 1 Cor 6:9-11 he gives us a big long list of those who will not inherit the Kingdom of God and he goes on to say that many of his readers were these detestable people. But now in Christ they were washed and sanctified and justified in Christ Jesus. It is only through Him and by Him that we have any hope of pleasing God.

Faith demands that we accept and believe that we cannot please God in and of ourselves, because apart from the redeeming work of Christ on the Cross and entering into his baptism, we have no hope of doing anything good or right. If we believe that we are good enough we will never be able to accept Christ's saving grace and we will never be more than Pharisees convince of our own righteousness and therefore forever lost in our sin.

Lord, we know that apart from you we can do no good - Lord increase our faith