Luke 17:5 “And the apostles said unto the Lord, Increase our faith.”

Faith is not a blind leap in the dark nor is it wishful thinking.

 

Faith is transferring our trust to God.

Trusting in who He is and what He has promised as revealed to us through His word.

 

Today, let us ask God to lead us into a more intimate walk with Him as our hearts are

drawn to rest in Him.

 

May each of us seek to  grow in our confidence in and dependence upon His power to accomplish His plan.

This week as we begin our missions conference may we as a church specifically ask God to increase our faith as we consider our Faith Promise Offering. Let us pray that God will guide each of us to trust Him in ways we have not been able to do to this point. Remember, wherever God guides He always provides.

Luke 10:41-42 “And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things: But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.”

The story of Martha and Mary in the last few verses of Luke 10 is filled with insight and practical application. 

Martha was busy being active – Mary was busy being attentive.

The choices of Martha and Mary were not between right and wrong but between better and best.

Most of us start each day with a full schedule and if not, we tend to fill it up as the day unfolds.

That is how life is lived. We can’t stop time or responsibility. But the point is we have to prioritize our life. We have to value making time to be in the presence of Christ and, being attentive to His words, a priority.

Today remember that doing right demands being right. Being right demands a consistent and consuming relationship with Christ.  Let us spend time at the start of, and throughout the day, spending time in His presence; attentive to His Words and committed to His Will.

Luke 7:47 “Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little.”

At the end of Luke 7 Jesus confronts the criticism surrounding the actions of this woman.  Her reputation as a great sinner was well known. Yet she had been forgiven her great sins and had expressed her love for Jesus by washing His feet.  

Jesus follows by telling a story of two people who were forgiven their debts. One debtor was forgiven a large sum, the other a much smaller amount. Jesus then poses the question, “Who will love the one forgiving the debt more?”  The obvious answer is the one forgiven the most.

Today let us remember the greatness of our own debt of sin. And how it was removed the day we trusted Christ our Savior.  Let us open our hearts and minds to the loving Christ for all He has done. And then let us open our mouths to tell others of His great love!

James 1:2-5 My  brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.

No one enjoys difficulties. (What an understatement!)

Yet in light of our aversion to problems God always has a plan.

He is continually seeking to produce Christ-likeness in our hearts and lives through the pressures He brings to bear.

God is always working all things together in our lives for His glory and for our good.

Today let us surrender to the instruments of God’s choosing.

Don’t seek to run from the problems of God’s choosing.

But pray that God will show each of us what we need to see and make us what we need to be.

II Peter 2:15 Which have forsaken the right way, and are gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Bosor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness;

In II Peter 2 believers are being warned to avoid  “playing the part” of a good Christian.

 

In our verse today we see one of the great dangers Christians must continually face, “the wages of unrighteousness”.

The bible teaches that there is pleasure in sin for a season.

 

We must be alert to this reality and guard our hearts, minds and lives.

Are we content with the consequences of doing right or are we seeking the pleasures that come from doing wrong?

 

Today let each of us examine the sincerity of our walk with God in light of our love for doing what is right and our hatred towards sin in every form.

Mark 16:3 “And they (the women mentioned in verse 1-2) said among themselves, Who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the sepulchre?”

The ladies mentioned in Mark 16 had faith. It was imperfect and incomplete. (They did not understand the resurrection.) Yet they had faith that caused them to do what they could with what they had, in the situation they found themselves, and to the best of their understanding.

They were rewarded by being the first to see the empty tomb and hear the official proclamation that Christ had risen.

We all need to act upon that which we do know, and trust God to reveal that which we need to learn.

Today let us commit ourselves to acting on the faith we have.  At the same time let us humbly depend upon Him to work out His will in and around us.

Proverbs 13:10 “Only by pride cometh contention…”

Do you find yourself eventually at odds with everyone you come in contact with?

While conflicts can be complex both in their origin and expression we know that at the center of each conflict pride abides.

You cannot control what other people do or say. But you can and are responsible to do right yourself.

Today let us take inventory of our own hearts.  Let us ask God to show us any measure of pride within our hearts and minds. Then ask Him to remove it from us.

May we ask God to make our hearts a “pride - free zone”!