Keys to Victory – Faith and Obedience

Both young and old alike have one common complaint – Life is full of trials and suffering. Life situations happen alike to the righteous and unrighteous. “Not fair, we are the children of God, the Chosen Ones.”, they cry out. “Why must we face life trials like the wicked?”, they ask. I do not claim to have much great wisdom to answer these profound queries. But there is one very interesting and deeply satisfying answer I found in the book of Judges. Allow me to share it with you, my friend.

The Living Bible puts it this way: “For God wanted to give opportunity to the youth of Israel to exercise faith and obedience in conquering their enemies.” – Judges 3 :4

The unconquered nations that surrounded them were to be a test for the new generation of Israelites to learn the basics of warfare. I know you are not too keen on ancient history. What has this to do with me, right? So lets dig for relevant hidden truths.

Our enemies are sickness, marital discord, disobedient children, rejection, unforgiving friends and relatives, poverty, confusions, etc. The list is endless. Jesus expects us to conquer these enemies of ours and place them under our feet. To do so, we have to exercise faith and obedience. I am sure you have now got the point. So let us stop wringing our hands in despair. Do not decide to throw in the towel. Instead, determine to start exercising your faith and be obedient to God’s commands. The God of Israel will surely help you conquer your enemies and lead you into victory. Let us turn every negative life situation into a positive one through faith and obedience to our Lord Jesus.

Related links: https://travancoreann.wordpress.com/2008/12/02/more-than-crumbs/

                            http://eterniaf6.wordpress.com/2010/03/06/watch-out-its-a-trap/

Waiting Faith

Have you been waiting on God to deliver you from that bad relationship, sickness, depression, poverty, rejection, lack, separation, loneliness? How long have you been waiting? Are you ready to call it a day? Well, this is not another one more sermon to make you feel like a failure. This is to remind you that the waiting room experience need not be a drag! This is to remind you that we can either wait without game-plan or you can have one – waiting faith.

What is waiting faith? Hebrews 11.1 defines faith as ‘being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see’. If faith is being sure and certain of what we hope for then we should behave with surety and certainty. How do we do that?

Jesus said we will receive if we believe (have faith) Matt 21.22. So if believing or having faith is the key to receiving, then how do we have this faith. James warns us that inactive faith is dead. So how do we activate our mustard sized faith?

Philippians 4.6 says, ‘Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God’. Psalms 100.4 tells us to approach God with Thanksgiving and Praise. So we see that we activate our faith with thanksgiving and praising God.

Under the old covenant, the Israelites saw the Egyptians drown in the Red Sea and then praised God. They walked by sight. However, under the New Covenant, we are called to walk by Faith. Believe, then God will move.

We must first believe by offering thanksgiving and praise to God and then God will deal with our situations in His own way and in His own time. Faint not, your redemption draws neigh.

The Caterpillar Flies!

“Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised” (Job 1:21).

The Book of Job is the story of a wealthy and successful community leader named Job. He was a successful and righteous businessman with huge holdings of livestock and real estate.

One day Satan came before God and asked him, “Where have you come from?” Satan replied, “From roaming through the earth and going back and forth in it.” God said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? He is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil.” Notice that God pointed Job out to Satan! God gave Satan permission to put Job through a trial of adversity. Job’s herds were stolen, his servants were murdered, and all of Job’s children were killed by a sudden tornado.

Through his trial of adversity, he grows in strength, wisdom and faith. His entire perspective on God is transformed by his suffering. He was even accused of sin by his closest friends. We must get beyond the immature notion that God is interested only in making us healthy, wealthy and happy. More than anything, He wants us to be like Christ. And the road to becoming like Christ often leads through the wilderness of adversity.

Waiting Room

Just like Mary and Martha struggled we too get frustrated when the Lord delays in coming to us and answering our prayers. The waiting can seem like an eternity to us. But in the midst of the “delay,” read more

Time for a Makeover

God says, “My ways are not your ways.”

God is in the process of transforming us into the likeness of Christ (Rom 8.29, 2 Cor 3.18). That is  no easy job! There is much in us that needs to be changed for us to truly reflect the glory of Christ Jesus.

When viewed from this perspective, many of God’s requisites or commands become a lot clearer . For excample, why sow financially when you are already in need? It does seem illogical that I should give, when I have a need. God is a giver. He is the most generous giver in the universe, and God wants you to learn to be like him. He wants to build  Christ-like character in you. 

By the way, God promises to meet all your financial needs, if you ask him for help; learn to be content; and practice giving in faith.

It requires faith to give at a time of need. The Bible says, “The righteous will live by faith”. (Romans 1,17) Faith is another Christ-like character trait. God is the master potter, and He is  in the business of creating Christ-like beings!!

“You are the potter, I am the clay, make me and mold me , this is what I  pray…. Change my heart Oh God, Make it ever true, Change my heart Oh God, may I be like you….”

Why have faith?

Today I decided it was time to send my 10-year old daughter alone to an internet café. To do this,  she has to get on an auto rickshaw and travel a short distance . To return she has to walk further down before she hails another auto rickshaw so as to avoid crossing a dangerously busy road.

 Over the past few years, my daughter has practiced various survival skills.  She has proved to be an adept student, often surpassing my expectations.

 Every time I cut an apron string I hand it over to the Lord. This has made the transition a little easier for me. Thus with my daughter’s every new act of independence I have walked up a step in the faith ladder.

My heart still often misses a beat with every new adventure my bundle of joy takes, but I am excited too. I have embarked on a journey that promises to be fruitful. I am learning to walk by faith just as my daughter learns to depend heavily on His guidance.

 So now to answer the question, ‘why have faith’?  How else can we survive?

Will He Deliver?

Matthew 8.24 Without warning, a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping.

Are you in the midst of a storm that has come out of nowhere? Are you desperate and fearful of the outcome of the situation? Have you looked for a way out and found none? You expected God to deliver you, for after all you serve in all the right church comittees and give your tithe regularly, without fail.  Where is He? Does He not hear? Does He not see?

Jesus’ disciples once faced a situation very similar to this. They had left their all and followed Jesus. Now they were sailing in the direction their Master Jesus told them to. In fact, he was right there in their midst – sleeping, while they were face to face with a life and death situation! Did he not care? What were they to do?

Matthew chpater 8 Verse 26 records Jesus response to their panic. “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?” Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm.’

Jesus  calls attention to the fact that the disciples had ‘little faith’.  A quick look at the previous verses in the same chapter tells us that the diciples had just witnessed multiple miraculous healings. Jesus however is only impressed with a centurian’s Great Faith. (read here Verses 10-11) . Jesus allowed the furious storm to lash against the disciples  to teach them an important lesson on faith.

Jesus asks them ‘why are you so afraid“? Implied in the questiou is another question, “Do you not know that I am with you and nothing can harm you when I am there?” Jesus expects us to have an unshakable assurance of His Omnipresence in our lives and the assurance that nothing can touch us without His knowledge.

Then Jesus got up and rebuked the wind and the waves, and the sea became calm. Jesus taught not only thru words but also thru actions. He shows  us what action we are to take when unexpected storms upset our lives. We are to take up our victory position, that Jesus has already won for us on the cross. Then we are to speak to (rebuke) the adverse situation with the measure of faith given unto us.  Jesus assures us that if we have faith we can command even a mountain to move out of our way and it will. So speak to the storm raging in your life today to stop and it will.