Posts Tagged ‘Believe’

Is it so Hard to simply…Believe?

Posted: December 5, 2020 in Inspirational
Tags: ,
1

I know that a great deal has been written about Abraham, the patriarch of the Old Testament, and honestly far more than I could ever begin to convey in a single blog post. The same thing can be said about how many times you or I have heard someone speak about Abraham in our lifetimes. He is not only important to the Christian faith, but also to Muslims as well because he was the father of Ismael, who as mentioned in Genesis 16:12 below, was against everyone.

This man will be like a wild donkey. His hand will be against everyone, and everyone’s hand will be against him; he will live at odds with all his brothers.

Interesting verse, isn’t it? But let’s get back to Abraham because he does something in his life that caused God to award him with the status that I know all of us would give anything to have. God saw something very different in Abraham that gave Him confidence in knowing that He could start over with the Jewish nation. Abraham was special in the eyes of God and that has always struck me…what made him different? What did he do that would cause the Creator to think in his mind, “that is my guy”? “He is the one I am going to work with” “I am gambling on him”.

When you read about Abraham you can see right away that he is a doer. He is a man of action when the situation calls for this. He wrestled with God over the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. He rescued his nephew Lot and his family when they were captured. But what I found most interesting about the story of Abraham is that “doing” is not what caused God to find so intriguing about him…it was Abrahams “believing” that actually moved God. In fact, the verse in the center of this post is what made me write this in the first place is in Genesis:

Abram believed the Lord, and He credited it to him as righteousness. Genesis 15:12

Think about that for a moment…for the very first time in the Bible, we see faith and righteousness mentioned together. Why is this so important? Because of this statement:

By Abraham just simply believing in God…down deep in his heart, God gave him a right standing or a “different” standing with Him.

Abraham’s heart was turned toward God in an enduring trust, obedience, and submissive relationship. Because of that rock-solid belief, it changed his status with the Creator of this universe. Abraham didn’t conquer the greatest army in the world or climb the highest mountain…all he did was believe, and that belief caused his position with God…to be BETTER.

Guys, in almost every post I have ever written here on IronManStrength, I have expressed the fact that living in this world, as a Christian, is not an easy road. I don’t say that to depress you, I say it to encourage you because of the amazing journey we are all on together.

What I find extremely encouraging about the story of Abraham is the fact that even though what he saw in front of him was contrary to what God told him…He still believed. Here was a guy who was told his offspring would outnumber the stars and this would all begin with his very own son… he was over 100 years old and his wife was a ripe young 95…but, guess what? He still believed…

Then the word of the Lord came to him: “This man will not be your heir, but a son who is your own flesh and blood will be your heir.”  He took him outside and said, “Look up at the sky and count the stars—if indeed you can count them.” Then the Lord said to him, “So shall your offspring be. Genesis 15: 4-5

Guys, hear me out for a second…how does this really apply to you? How does the story of some old guy who lived over 2000 years ago make a difference to any of us right now? It’s simple really…

Abraham had problems – we have problems

Abraham had struggles – we have struggles

Abraham had family issues – all of us have family issues

God spoke to Abraham – God can speak to us

The difference:

ABRAHAM BELIEVED GOD

Not lip service…but real belief…that is truly what it comes down to guy’s…actual belief that God can do what He says He can. 

When you believe God can be trusted…your relationship with Him changes. When you are obedient and submissive toward God and do not allow arrogance inside all of us to show through…things will change.

I encourage you to take your own belief to the next level by trusting God.

Establish a “right standing” with Him…

Do you Believe it?

Until next time guys…

5 reasons why ALL OF US should not Worry

Posted: June 18, 2016 in Tough Times
Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,
0

worry_lg

I have found that we “Humans”, by far, are the best “worriers” on earth. I think this is true because our list of things to worry about always seems to stretch into infinity.

We worry about our health; and if our doctor says we’re okay, we worry that he has missed something. Worrying about money is arguably second on our list which causes us to worry about gross income, net income, deductions, and taxes and on and on it goes. We also constantly worry about whether our job will still be there for us tomorrow and…We worry about our children…worry, worry, worry.

Guys, the reality is that most of the things we worry about will actually never come to pass, but yet we worry about them anyway. So here is my question for you today…

What does that say about your faith?

 Do you trust God to ACTUALLY take care of you, or is that just lip service?

For you, and me, I have put together a small list of 5 reasons why we should not worry that are taken straight from the Bible and Christ’s own words in order to remind you and me of what God told us to do when we become anxious. So I give you…

 

5 reasons why ALL OF US should not Worry

 

  1. Worry is inconsistent  – Matthew 6:25

If we can trust Jesus to provide us with our very life, why can’t we trust Him to provide for us our daily needs? 

Its easy to give God control over areas of our lives that aren’t to dangerous or where the fallout of failure wont be too great for us to fix…but isn’t that just lack of faith altogether? If we can trust and believe that He can handle the smaller things then there isn’t any reason not to believe He can handle EVERYTHING for us?

  1. Worry is irrational – Matthew 6:26

If our Lord cares for the birds, will He not also care for us, since we are more valuable than they are?

I understand the fear we feel when we are riding to close to the guardrail of life knowing full well that if we lose control, even for just a moment, we may lose all or a part of what we have. Guys…it truly is called faith for a reason. God has you in circumstances specifically to find out what you will do when you are close to the edge. Will you walk away and just give up? Or will you TRUST HIM and let HIM provide for you?

  1. Worry is ineffective – Matthew 6:27

Who among us can add one cubit to our stature by worrying?

There is no such thing as worry points. We do not become better men because we worry, we become worse. Even Christ asks the question do we somehow get better or grow in stature if we worry? We do not…in fact, we will only make ourselves miserable as well as all of the people around us.

  1. Worry is illogical  – Matthew 6:28-30

If God so clothes the lilies of the field, can He not also clothe us?

Trusting God means we trust Him to take care of us…period. We can’t have it both ways whereby we only trust Him some of the time and not others. Let God work in your life and see where He takes you.

  1. Worry is irreligious – Matthew 6:31-32

When we worry, we act like those who don’t know God.

When we worry, its like we put handcuffs on the God we say we believe in but don’t trust Him enough to pull us through this particular tough event in our lives. Moreover, what do we show unbelievers about following God when at the first point of adversity we take the reigns back from God and say, “I can do a better job than Him”?

One final thought about worry before we end today. When Christ spoke about worry, He just didn’t say “don’t worry” and then He was finished…NO…He also told us How NOT to worry as well which for all of us, is extremely helpful. You will find His answer in Luke 6:33-34 where He says:

But, SEEK FIRST the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

Honestly guys, that is all there is to this process…seek HIM first, then trust and watch Him work in your life. Let me give you 2 more verses on trust:

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding;

 In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.   (Proverbs 3:6 NKJV)

 

Until next time guys…

Is it so Hard to Just Believe?

Posted: October 18, 2014 in Tough Times
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
1

believe_nischala

I know that a great deal has been written about Abraham, the patriarch of the Old Testament and honestly far more than I could ever begin to convey in a single blog post. The same thing can be said about how many times you or I have heard someone speak about this Abraham in our lifetimes. He is not only important to the Christian faith, but also to Muslims as well because he was the father of Ismael, who as it mentions in Genesis 16:12, was against everyone.

This man will be like a wild donkey. His hand will be against everyone, and everyone’s hand will be against him; he will live at odds with all his brothers.

Interesting verse, isn’t it? But let’s get back to Abraham because he does something in his lifetime that caused God to award him with status that I know all of us would give anything to have. God saw something very different in Abraham that gave Him confidence in knowing that He could essentially start over with the Jewish nation. Abraham was special in the eyes of God and that has always struck me…what made him different? What did he do that would cause the Creator to think in his mind, “that is my guy”? “He is the one I am going to work with” “I am gambling on him”.

When you read about Abraham you can see right away that he is a doer. He is a man of action when the situation calls for this. He wrestled with God over the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. He rescued his nephew Lot and his family when they were captured. But what I found most interesting with the story of Abraham is that “doing” is not what caused God to find so intriguing about him…it was Abrahams “believing” that actually moved God. In fact, the verse in the center of this post is what made me write this in the first place is in Genesis:

Abram believed the Lord, and He credited it to him as righteousness. Genesis 15:12

Think about this for a moment…for the very first time in the Bible, we see faith and righteousness mentioned together. Why is this so important? Because of this statement:

By Abraham just simply believing in God…down deep his heart, God gave him a right standing or a “different” standing with Him.

Abraham’s heart was turned toward God in an enduring trust, obedience and submissive relationship. Because of that rock solid belief, it changed his status with the Creator of this universe. Abraham didn’t conquer the greatest army in the world or climb the highest mountain…all he did was believe, and that belief caused his position with God…to be BETTER.

Guys, in almost every post I have ever written here on IronManStrength, I have expressed the fact that living in this imagesworld, as a Christian, is not an easy road. I don’t say that to depress you, I say it to encourage you because of the amazing journey we are all on together. What I find extremely encouraging about the story of Abraham is simply the fact that even though what he saw in front of him was contrary to what God told him…He still believed. Here was a guy who was told his offspring would out number the stars and this would all begin with his very own son…and he was over 100 years old and his wife was a ripe young 95…but, guess what? He still believed…

Then the word of the Lord came to him: “This man will not be your heir, but a son who is your own flesh and blood will be your heir.”  He took him outside and said, “Look up at the sky and count the stars—if indeed you can count them.” Then the Lord said to him, “So shall your offspring be. Genesis 15: 4-5

Guys, hear me out for a second…how does this really apply to you? How does the story of some old guy who lived over 2000 years ago make a difference to any of us right now? It’s simple really…

Abraham had problems – we have problems

Abraham had struggles – we have struggles

Abraham had family issues – all of us have family issues

God spoke to Abraham – God can speak to us

The difference:

ABRAHAM BELIEVED GOD

Not lip service…but real belief…that is truly what it comes down to guy’s…actual belief that God can do what He says He can.

When you believe God inside your core that He can be trusted…your relationship with Him changes. When you are obedient and submissive toward God and not allow that arrogance inside all of us to show through…things will change.

I encourage you to take your own belief to the next level by trusting God.

Establish a “right standing” with Him…

Do you Believe?

Until next time guys…