So why does God want us to prosper financially? So we (those in Christ) can continue the work of His Kingdom that Jesus started here on earth.
Deuteronomy 8:18 tells us that God gives us power to get wealth to establish His covenant. If that's the case, why doesn't God just give us the wealth so as many of us do we don't have to struggle? Because most of us would use that wealth for our own selfish purposes.
Yes, God wants us to have an abundant life as John 10:10 tells us, but we first have to develop a heart for God, and follow His plan to establish His covenant - Use the wealth He blesses us with to further His Kingdom on the earth, and then He will bless us with more. This shows that we truly trust God as our source, and in the process we prosper financially as well and can have the abundant life God wants us to have.
So get it settled in your heart/spirit once and for all that God wants you to prosper (see Post #34). Then, understand and demonstrate that you trust Him as your source by using the wealth He blesses you with to further His Kingdom on earth, and you can be blessed as well (financially and otherwise).
We'll examine how God looks at money in the next Post.
Sunday, April 26, 2015
Saturday, April 25, 2015
#34 - Kingdom Prosperity #2
So does God really want us to prosper financially? Absolutely!
In Genesis 12, 13, 17 and 24 we learn that God blessed Abraham abundantly with material blessings; and in Galatians 3 we learn that if we are in Christ we are heirs to all of the promises and blessings God gave to Abraham. Further, in 3 John 2 we learn that God wants us to prosper in all things.
Now there are many more, but I think the biblical references above clearly demonstrate that God wants us to prosper in every area of our lives, including materially which encompasses money.
In the next Post we'll look at why God wants us to prosper financially and what He expects us to do with that blessing.
In Genesis 12, 13, 17 and 24 we learn that God blessed Abraham abundantly with material blessings; and in Galatians 3 we learn that if we are in Christ we are heirs to all of the promises and blessings God gave to Abraham. Further, in 3 John 2 we learn that God wants us to prosper in all things.
Now there are many more, but I think the biblical references above clearly demonstrate that God wants us to prosper in every area of our lives, including materially which encompasses money.
In the next Post we'll look at why God wants us to prosper financially and what He expects us to do with that blessing.
Wednesday, April 22, 2015
#33 - Kingdom Prosperity #1
This week I start a new series in advance of the publication of my first book on Kingdom Prosperity, and pray that this series of Posts will be a blessing and of help to you.
The best place to start is to define what prosperity is, for which there are a number of definitions - 1) succeeding in enterprise or activity, 2) achieving economic success, 3) becoming strong and flourishing, 4) succeeding and 5) thriving, just to name a few.
You can use any of these or other definitions, but what's important as we look at Kingdom Prosperity is to understand that we're talking about God's best for you in every area of your life. And while this goes beyond just financial prosperity, that is the focus of my Book and these series of Posts. Why? Because while faith is the currency of the Kingdom of God, money is the currency of the world. And in order to do Kingdom work in the earth realm in addition to faith it takes money, which God wants to get into the hands of His children but only when we have a right heart and attitude to use it as God intends. And when we do, we prosper as well!
So does God really want us to be prosperous? We'll start to examine this and what God actually says about our being prosperous more closely in the next Post.
You can use any of these or other definitions, but what's important as we look at Kingdom Prosperity is to understand that we're talking about God's best for you in every area of your life. And while this goes beyond just financial prosperity, that is the focus of my Book and these series of Posts. Why? Because while faith is the currency of the Kingdom of God, money is the currency of the world. And in order to do Kingdom work in the earth realm in addition to faith it takes money, which God wants to get into the hands of His children but only when we have a right heart and attitude to use it as God intends. And when we do, we prosper as well!
So does God really want us to be prosperous? We'll start to examine this and what God actually says about our being prosperous more closely in the next Post.
Wednesday, April 15, 2015
#32 - Kingdom Prosperity
I signed the contract today for the publishing of my first book, "Kingdom Prosperity - God's Plan for Successfull Financial Stewardship", which should be available within the next couple of months. So I am going to be sharing some excerpts from the Book here on my Blog in advance of publication to wet your appetite for the complete Book when it comes out.
This Book and the Blog Posts will explore both biblical and practical aspects of financial prosperity, such as, does God want us to be prosperous?, how God looks at Money and Debt, God's Financial Plan, what financial stewardship really is, the role of faith in Kingdom Prosperity, setting financial priorities, how to develop and stick to a budget, and more.
So stay tuned for my Kingdom Prosperity Posts starting next week, and feel free to let me know what you think.
This Book and the Blog Posts will explore both biblical and practical aspects of financial prosperity, such as, does God want us to be prosperous?, how God looks at Money and Debt, God's Financial Plan, what financial stewardship really is, the role of faith in Kingdom Prosperity, setting financial priorities, how to develop and stick to a budget, and more.
So stay tuned for my Kingdom Prosperity Posts starting next week, and feel free to let me know what you think.
Saturday, April 4, 2015
#31 - Faith's Greatest Enemies Series
Faiths' Greatest
Enemies - Introduction
Faith's Greatest Enemies addresses those deceptions and lies the enemy attacks us with in our minds to try and discourage, frustrate and ultimately separate us from our faith. While there are many enemies of faith, there are eight that most everyone will encounter in their walk with the Lord which are what are often referred to as Faith's Greatest Enemies. What are they, and how do we overcome them?
Unrighteous or Unholy
Living! This enemy will
block and hinder your faith every time. This enemy isn't about the righteousness
of Christ which we receive through salvation, but rather the righteousness of
striving to live a lifestyle of obedience to God's Word.
Deuteronomy 28:1-2 tells us that if we obey God's commandments His blessings will overtake us, while Deuteronomy 28:15 tells if we do not obey God's commandments curses will overtake us. Now this doesn't mean that God curses us, but our disobedience takes us out from under God's covering. It also doesn't mean we have to be perfect to be blessed, because we can't be as long as we live in sinful flesh. What it does mean is that we should strive to live a holy life, a lifestyle of obedience to God's commandments, and when we do stumble and fall, we should confess our sin to God and receive His forgiveness and cleansing available to us through Christ Jesus.
So how do we rise above or overcome these enemies of faith? By
getting the Word of God rooted in our heart and developing a lifestyle of
faith.
Faith's Greatest Enemies addresses those deceptions and lies the enemy attacks us with in our minds to try and discourage, frustrate and ultimately separate us from our faith. While there are many enemies of faith, there are eight that most everyone will encounter in their walk with the Lord which are what are often referred to as Faith's Greatest Enemies. What are they, and how do we overcome them?
Faith's' Greatest
Enemy #1
Deuteronomy 28:1-2 tells us that if we obey God's commandments His blessings will overtake us, while Deuteronomy 28:15 tells if we do not obey God's commandments curses will overtake us. Now this doesn't mean that God curses us, but our disobedience takes us out from under God's covering. It also doesn't mean we have to be perfect to be blessed, because we can't be as long as we live in sinful flesh. What it does mean is that we should strive to live a holy life, a lifestyle of obedience to God's commandments, and when we do stumble and fall, we should confess our sin to God and receive His forgiveness and cleansing available to us through Christ Jesus.
But when we are living in disobedience to God's Word or intentionally
living an unrighteous or unholy lifestyle, our faith is hindered and rendered
ineffective as no sin can exist in God's presence and He will not respond to
our faith.
Therefore live a righteous and holy lifestyle so your faith is strong, and lay claim to all of the blessings God wants you to have.
Therefore live a righteous and holy lifestyle so your faith is strong, and lay claim to all of the blessings God wants you to have.
Faith's Greatest Enemy
#2
Doubt or Unbelief!
We learn in Mark 11:23-24 & Hebrews 11:6 that the first thing we have to do to effectively exercise our faith is to believe the Word of God in our heart without any doubt, believe that God exists and believe that He rewards those who diligently seek Him. You may have some doubt in your mind, because that's where the enemy can and does attack us with deceptions, lies and false doctrine. But for your faith to be effective you have to have the Word of God settled in your heart as the truth, the final authority and absolute rule of conduct for your life as my Pastor likes to say.
Now getting the Word of God settled in your heart requires spending time in the Word, meditating on it, studying it with the help of other resources such as a concordance, dictionary, different versions of the Bible, other people who may have already caught the revelation you are seeking, and of course God, asking Him to open up the scriptures and guide your understanding as to what they mean and how to apply them in your life. But when you do these things, the sureness in your heart about the Word will override the doubt and unbelief that may be in your mind. Then, your faith will be strong, effective and work for you as God intended.
We learn in Mark 11:23-24 & Hebrews 11:6 that the first thing we have to do to effectively exercise our faith is to believe the Word of God in our heart without any doubt, believe that God exists and believe that He rewards those who diligently seek Him. You may have some doubt in your mind, because that's where the enemy can and does attack us with deceptions, lies and false doctrine. But for your faith to be effective you have to have the Word of God settled in your heart as the truth, the final authority and absolute rule of conduct for your life as my Pastor likes to say.
Now getting the Word of God settled in your heart requires spending time in the Word, meditating on it, studying it with the help of other resources such as a concordance, dictionary, different versions of the Bible, other people who may have already caught the revelation you are seeking, and of course God, asking Him to open up the scriptures and guide your understanding as to what they mean and how to apply them in your life. But when you do these things, the sureness in your heart about the Word will override the doubt and unbelief that may be in your mind. Then, your faith will be strong, effective and work for you as God intended.
Faith's Greatest Enemy
#3
Unforgiveness!
This is an enemy of faith that most everyone has encountered, sometimes without even realizing it. And there are actually four forms of unforgiveness that can hinder our faith from being effective.
Mark 11:25-26 tells us that if we do not forgive those who sin against us, God will not forgive our sins. So if we don't forgive those who sin against us, we are in sin and our faith is rendered ineffective as no sin can exist in God's presence and He therefore cannot respond to our faith. This is a two-way street though, because if we have sinned against someone, we need to be open to receive their forgiveness. If we don't, we are in unforgiveness.
There is also the forgiveness of all of our sins God makes available to all mankind through Christ Jesus. If we don't receive it, we are in unforgiveness. Finally, if God has forgiven us, who are we not to forgive ourselves. If we don't, we are in unforgiveness, sin, and our faith won't work.
In fact, if any one of these four types of unforgiveness is in operation in our lives, we hinder God's ability to respond to our faith, just what the enemy wants as he comes to steal, kill and destroy. So be alert, on guard and don't let unforgiveness creep into your life, so your faith remains strong, and you claim all God has promised you in His Word.
This is an enemy of faith that most everyone has encountered, sometimes without even realizing it. And there are actually four forms of unforgiveness that can hinder our faith from being effective.
Mark 11:25-26 tells us that if we do not forgive those who sin against us, God will not forgive our sins. So if we don't forgive those who sin against us, we are in sin and our faith is rendered ineffective as no sin can exist in God's presence and He therefore cannot respond to our faith. This is a two-way street though, because if we have sinned against someone, we need to be open to receive their forgiveness. If we don't, we are in unforgiveness.
There is also the forgiveness of all of our sins God makes available to all mankind through Christ Jesus. If we don't receive it, we are in unforgiveness. Finally, if God has forgiven us, who are we not to forgive ourselves. If we don't, we are in unforgiveness, sin, and our faith won't work.
In fact, if any one of these four types of unforgiveness is in operation in our lives, we hinder God's ability to respond to our faith, just what the enemy wants as he comes to steal, kill and destroy. So be alert, on guard and don't let unforgiveness creep into your life, so your faith remains strong, and you claim all God has promised you in His Word.
Faith's Greatest Enemy #4
Pride!
This is probably the greatest enemy of faith of them all, and can manifest in one’s life in any number of ways; thinking you're better than others, looking down on others, blaming everybody but yourself including God for your shortcomings and failures, being braggadocios, thinking you don't need anyone’s help including God's, and believing any success you've achieved in life is all your own doing just to name a few.
When we are prideful our faith is nipped in the bud, won't get God's attention and He will not respond to our faith. In fact, if we are prideful we're probably not operating by faith at all! James 4:6 and 1 Peter 5:5 tell us that God resists the proud. But even more than that, Proverbs 6:16 tells us there are 7 things God hates and are an abomination to Him, with pride being right at the top of the list in verses 17-19. Now one definition of abomination is extreme disgust and hatred. So if God resists and has extreme disgust and hatred toward pride, do you think your faith will be effective when you are being prideful? Absolutely not!
Therefore humble yourself and submit to God in order to rise about the enemy's deception of pride. Then your faith will be strong and effective, and the future good you are expecting from God will manifest in your life.
This is probably the greatest enemy of faith of them all, and can manifest in one’s life in any number of ways; thinking you're better than others, looking down on others, blaming everybody but yourself including God for your shortcomings and failures, being braggadocios, thinking you don't need anyone’s help including God's, and believing any success you've achieved in life is all your own doing just to name a few.
When we are prideful our faith is nipped in the bud, won't get God's attention and He will not respond to our faith. In fact, if we are prideful we're probably not operating by faith at all! James 4:6 and 1 Peter 5:5 tell us that God resists the proud. But even more than that, Proverbs 6:16 tells us there are 7 things God hates and are an abomination to Him, with pride being right at the top of the list in verses 17-19. Now one definition of abomination is extreme disgust and hatred. So if God resists and has extreme disgust and hatred toward pride, do you think your faith will be effective when you are being prideful? Absolutely not!
Therefore humble yourself and submit to God in order to rise about the enemy's deception of pride. Then your faith will be strong and effective, and the future good you are expecting from God will manifest in your life.
Faith's Greatest Enemy
#5
Lying!
Have you ever told an untruth, thinking you were justified in doing so? Maybe to spare someone's feelings, or to protect yourself (aka CYA), or to uphold someone’s (or your own) honor or reputation. Perhaps it was (as the world likes to call it) just a little white lie. Or, you may have lied to boast, make yourself look good, which is double the trouble as you've now mixed lying with being prideful. Then there may have been those times when you just out and out lied about something and knew you were lying when you did it.
It really doesn't matter, because a lie is a lie is a lie, and lies feed upon lies! I can't find scripture in the Bible that justifies lying. In fact, lying is right after pride in the list of 7 things God hates and are an abomination to Him (cause Him extreme disgust and hatred) in Proverbs 6:16-19. So if we lie for any reason, our faith is rendered ineffective as God is not going to respond to our faith when we are doing something He hates and that causes Him extreme disgust.
Therefore stop letting the enemy of lying be a part of your lifestyle! Repent, and change your thinking so your thinking lines up with the Word of God, and speak the truth or say nothing at all. And if you do stumble and lie, which you might as we still live in this sinful flesh, confess that lie as sin before God, receive His forgiveness and cleansing. Then, your faith will continue to be effective!
Have you ever told an untruth, thinking you were justified in doing so? Maybe to spare someone's feelings, or to protect yourself (aka CYA), or to uphold someone’s (or your own) honor or reputation. Perhaps it was (as the world likes to call it) just a little white lie. Or, you may have lied to boast, make yourself look good, which is double the trouble as you've now mixed lying with being prideful. Then there may have been those times when you just out and out lied about something and knew you were lying when you did it.
It really doesn't matter, because a lie is a lie is a lie, and lies feed upon lies! I can't find scripture in the Bible that justifies lying. In fact, lying is right after pride in the list of 7 things God hates and are an abomination to Him (cause Him extreme disgust and hatred) in Proverbs 6:16-19. So if we lie for any reason, our faith is rendered ineffective as God is not going to respond to our faith when we are doing something He hates and that causes Him extreme disgust.
Therefore stop letting the enemy of lying be a part of your lifestyle! Repent, and change your thinking so your thinking lines up with the Word of God, and speak the truth or say nothing at all. And if you do stumble and lie, which you might as we still live in this sinful flesh, confess that lie as sin before God, receive His forgiveness and cleansing. Then, your faith will continue to be effective!
Faith's Greatest Enemy #6
Gossip!
Gossip!
Verses 18-19 in Proverbs 6 talk about feet that are swift in
running to evil, a false witness who spreads lies, and one who causes discord
among the brethren, all of which are on the list of the 7 things God hates and
are an abomination to Him as verse 16 tells us. Among other things, these 3
things are talking about Gossip, which in its simplest form means talking about
the personal lives of other people.
Gossiping is of the devil and a form of evil, usually involves spreading rumors of untruth about the subject of the gossip, and is done behind the back of the one being gossiped about eventually causing a rift between that person and those involved in the gossip. In any event, if God hates it and it causes Him extreme disgust, you can rest assured our faith is going to be hindered and ineffective if we are involved in gossiping and are trying to exercise our faith to lay hold of one of God's promises in His Word.
So stop gossiping! Confess the sin of gossip before God and receive His forgiveness and cleansing. Repent, and change your thinking about gossiping to line up with Proverbs 6:16-19. And if you can't say something good or edifying about a person to others as well as the person themselves, don't say anything. That way you won't disgust God and what you are exercising your faith on will come to manifest in your life.
Gossiping is of the devil and a form of evil, usually involves spreading rumors of untruth about the subject of the gossip, and is done behind the back of the one being gossiped about eventually causing a rift between that person and those involved in the gossip. In any event, if God hates it and it causes Him extreme disgust, you can rest assured our faith is going to be hindered and ineffective if we are involved in gossiping and are trying to exercise our faith to lay hold of one of God's promises in His Word.
So stop gossiping! Confess the sin of gossip before God and receive His forgiveness and cleansing. Repent, and change your thinking about gossiping to line up with Proverbs 6:16-19. And if you can't say something good or edifying about a person to others as well as the person themselves, don't say anything. That way you won't disgust God and what you are exercising your faith on will come to manifest in your life.
Faith's Greatest Enemy - #7
Fear!
2 Timothy 1:7 tells us that God has given us a spirit of power
and love, not a spirit of fear. Because when we are
operating in fear we are not operating in faith, as fear is the opposite of
faith.
Fear is being apprehensive or leery about or not wanting to experience or be exposed to someone, something or some situation out of concern over possible physical, emotional, social, financial or economic harm. Faith on the other hand is the reality, proof of and confidence for the future good you are expecting from God based on His Word. So if you are in fear, apprehensive and leery about God being able to do what He said in His Word and what that means for your life, you can't possibly be in faith, and you cannot expect to effectively be able to exercise your faith.
Why do we fear? It's another deception of the enemy to separate us from our faith and keep us in bondage. Therefore, as James 4:7 tell us to do, submit to God! Then you can resist the devil and he will flee from you. That way you can walk in the spirit of power and love God has given you, rise above the fear the enemy tries to deceive you with, and move with strong faith operating in your life.
Fear is being apprehensive or leery about or not wanting to experience or be exposed to someone, something or some situation out of concern over possible physical, emotional, social, financial or economic harm. Faith on the other hand is the reality, proof of and confidence for the future good you are expecting from God based on His Word. So if you are in fear, apprehensive and leery about God being able to do what He said in His Word and what that means for your life, you can't possibly be in faith, and you cannot expect to effectively be able to exercise your faith.
Why do we fear? It's another deception of the enemy to separate us from our faith and keep us in bondage. Therefore, as James 4:7 tell us to do, submit to God! Then you can resist the devil and he will flee from you. That way you can walk in the spirit of power and love God has given you, rise above the fear the enemy tries to deceive you with, and move with strong faith operating in your life.
Faith's Greatest Enemy
#8
Our Circumstances!
This is everything going on around us that we are exposed to
each day, our current state or condition, the current state or condition of
others, and the current state or condition of the environment around us.
Whether good, bad or indifferent, our circumstances can distract and get us
away from God's Word, and cause us to do or not do something based on how we
feel instead of based on what the Word says. And when we do, the enemy has us
right where he wants us, trying to move by what we think or feel and not by
faith in God's Word,
One of my favorites passages of scripture, 2 Corinthians 4:18, tells us not to live our lives based on our circumstances, which are real and should not be denied, but because they are temporary we should instead live our life based on the Word of God, which is everlasting, the truth, and can change our circumstances.
So as another of my favorite passages of scripture, 2 Corinthians 5:7, tells us, you should live your life by faith in God's Word, and not by sight of the circumstances around you. Then your faith will be strong, effective and bring you the results you are expecting.
One of my favorites passages of scripture, 2 Corinthians 4:18, tells us not to live our lives based on our circumstances, which are real and should not be denied, but because they are temporary we should instead live our life based on the Word of God, which is everlasting, the truth, and can change our circumstances.
So as another of my favorite passages of scripture, 2 Corinthians 5:7, tells us, you should live your life by faith in God's Word, and not by sight of the circumstances around you. Then your faith will be strong, effective and bring you the results you are expecting.
Overcoming Faith's Greatest Enemies
(and any other Enemy of Faith)
Joshua 1:8 tells us we should meditate on the Word of God day
and night and not let it depart from us, then, we will prosper and have good
success. I Thessalonians 5:17 tells us to pray without ceasing. In other words,
we need to get the Word of God settled in our hearts without any doubt through
study & prayer, have a devotional life and exercise our faith, all on a
daily basis. This way when the enemies of faith come, we will be able to rise
above them and stay strong in our faith. And when we do stumble and fall and
are taken in by the deception of any of faith's enemies, confess to God we have
fallen and sinned and receive His forgiveness and cleansing as promised in 1
John 1:9. Then, get back up and continue walking by faith.
But the choice is yours. You can live like the world and get swallowed up when faith's greatest enemies come and have your faith rendered useless and never have what God promises in His Word, or you can choose to develop the measure of faith God gives to each of us by exercising it daily, reading and studying the Word daily, and walking in relationship with God each day.
Then, as Joshua 1:8 tells us, you can be prosperous and have good success, rise above faith's greatest enemies and have, be and do all God wants you to have be and do!
But the choice is yours. You can live like the world and get swallowed up when faith's greatest enemies come and have your faith rendered useless and never have what God promises in His Word, or you can choose to develop the measure of faith God gives to each of us by exercising it daily, reading and studying the Word daily, and walking in relationship with God each day.
Then, as Joshua 1:8 tells us, you can be prosperous and have good success, rise above faith's greatest enemies and have, be and do all God wants you to have be and do!
Friday, April 3, 2015
#30 - Good Friday or Good Wednesday
Throughout the four Gospels there are at least 13 references foretelling of Jesus being raised from the dead after the third day, with Acts 10:40 and 1 Corinthians 15:4 confirming that He rose after the third day.
93 Old Testament and 58 New Testament refererences speak of the Jewish Sabbath, with many telling us the Sabbath is the seventh day of the week, a day of rest after 6 days of work. In addition, the Jewish day runs from the beginning of night to the beginning of morning, or from sunset to sunrise, with the Sabbath runnning from sunset on Friday to sunset on Saturday, with the first day of the week beginning on sunset Saturday and running until sunset on Sunday (Aish.com).
Luke 24:1 and Mark 16:2 tell us that they went to the tomb on the first day of the week and found the tomb empty, with Mark 16:2 saying it was very early on the first day of the week which could be any time after sunset on Saturday evening.
So putting this all together, if Jesus rose after the third day it would have been after sunset or the next day after the end of the third day. Further, if the tomb was found empty early on the first day of the week, that would have been any time after sunset on Saturday, the Sabbath, after which the first day of the week starts. Therefore if the tomb was empty sometime after sunset on Saturday and Jesus rose after the third day, Jesus must to have died on Wednesday afternoon, not Friday afternoon and been laid in the tomb by sunset on Wednesday. Day one in the tomb would complete by sunset on Thursday, Day two by sunset on Friday and Day three by sunset on Saturday, the start of the first day of the week very early on which the tomb was found empty.
Therefore it appears that Jesus may have been crucified and died on a Wednesday, not a Friday? So, should we celebrate good Wednesday or good Friday.
The bottom line is that it really doesn't matter! Be it Wednesday or Friday, we are celebrating what the Lord did for us over this several day period so we could be reconciled back to God, something we should celebrate and live out each and every day of our lives.
Jesus lives!
93 Old Testament and 58 New Testament refererences speak of the Jewish Sabbath, with many telling us the Sabbath is the seventh day of the week, a day of rest after 6 days of work. In addition, the Jewish day runs from the beginning of night to the beginning of morning, or from sunset to sunrise, with the Sabbath runnning from sunset on Friday to sunset on Saturday, with the first day of the week beginning on sunset Saturday and running until sunset on Sunday (Aish.com).
Luke 24:1 and Mark 16:2 tell us that they went to the tomb on the first day of the week and found the tomb empty, with Mark 16:2 saying it was very early on the first day of the week which could be any time after sunset on Saturday evening.
So putting this all together, if Jesus rose after the third day it would have been after sunset or the next day after the end of the third day. Further, if the tomb was found empty early on the first day of the week, that would have been any time after sunset on Saturday, the Sabbath, after which the first day of the week starts. Therefore if the tomb was empty sometime after sunset on Saturday and Jesus rose after the third day, Jesus must to have died on Wednesday afternoon, not Friday afternoon and been laid in the tomb by sunset on Wednesday. Day one in the tomb would complete by sunset on Thursday, Day two by sunset on Friday and Day three by sunset on Saturday, the start of the first day of the week very early on which the tomb was found empty.
Therefore it appears that Jesus may have been crucified and died on a Wednesday, not a Friday? So, should we celebrate good Wednesday or good Friday.
The bottom line is that it really doesn't matter! Be it Wednesday or Friday, we are celebrating what the Lord did for us over this several day period so we could be reconciled back to God, something we should celebrate and live out each and every day of our lives.
Jesus lives!
Thursday, April 2, 2015
#29 - Boldness
Hebrews 4:16 tells us to come boldly to the throne of grace to find mercy and grace in the time of need. Hebrews 13:6 tells us to speak boldly, that God is our Helper, and not to fear. Ephesians 6:19-20 tell us we should speak the Gospel boldly.
Now the boldly can be defined as not being afraid, lacking fear and having great confidence. And we see from these three scriptures above (and there are many more) that God wants us to walk or live our live with boldness and confidence, which we can do if we follow His Word by Faith just as 2 Corinthians 5:7 tells us to do (for we walk by faith, not by sight).
So live the life God wants you to live, one of faith, boldness and confidence in Him and His Word, and do, be and have all God wants you to do, be and have!
Now the boldly can be defined as not being afraid, lacking fear and having great confidence. And we see from these three scriptures above (and there are many more) that God wants us to walk or live our live with boldness and confidence, which we can do if we follow His Word by Faith just as 2 Corinthians 5:7 tells us to do (for we walk by faith, not by sight).
So live the life God wants you to live, one of faith, boldness and confidence in Him and His Word, and do, be and have all God wants you to do, be and have!
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