Acts 14:19 And there came thither certain Jews from Antioch and Iconium, who persuaded the people, and, having stoned Paul, drew him out of the city, supposing he had been dead.
Paul and Barnabas were considered gods; they had just healed a man who had been crippled his entire life and the people thought that these […]
Proverbs 29:25 The fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in the LORD shall be safe.
Do you fear man or do you fear the Lord? What governs your decision making? Is it what others might think of you or is what God thinks of you? You know you fear the Lord […]
Proverbs 25:24 It is better to dwell in the corner of the housetop, than with a brawling woman and in a wide house.
Wealth is not the most important thing in this world. In fact, wealth could be your demise. In this proverb, Solomon shows us that it is better to be living on roof of […]
Proverbs 11:11 By the blessing of the upright the city is exalted: but it is overthrown by the mouth of the wicked.
Your actions do affect those around you. You do not live in a little bubble insulated from the rest of the world. Sometimes you know who you are influencing, but there will be those […]
Philippians 3:8 Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ,
In this passage, we see that Paul is willing to give up everything […]
I John 2:10 He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him.
Temptation is all around us. Even Jesus, the Son of God was tempted. It is not a sin to be tempted; it is a sin to yield to temptation. Jesus was tempted like you, but […]
Psalms 55:22 Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.
What burden do you bear that hinders your ability to fully serve God? Give it to God. Is it a job, positions, relationships, or your reputation? Whatever your burden is, God
desires that you turn […]
Genesis 17:23 And Abraham took Ishmael his son an all that were born in his house, and all that were bought with his money, every male among the men of Abraham�s house; and circumcised the flesh of their foreskin in the selfsame day, as God had said unto him.
God told Abraham a new thing. No one knew what circumcision was. Nonetheless, Abraham did not take time to second-guess God. God told Abraham what to do and Abraham did it in the same day. It did not matter that it was new, it did not matter that no one else was doing it, all that mattered is that God commanded it and Abraham immediately followed God�s commands.
Genesis 14:22-23 And Abram said to the king of Sodom, I have lift up mine hand unto the Lord, the most high God, the possessor of heaven and earth, That I will not take from a thread even to a shoelatchet, and that I will not take any thing that is thine, lest thou shouldest say, I have made Abram rich:
Several kings chose to do battle against the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah and they ended up capturing Lot. Upon hearing this news, Abraham took up his 300 trained servants and went to battle and rescued Lot and all the spoil that the enemy had taken. Upon Abraham�s return, the king of Sodom simply requested that Abraham return the people and that according to the rules of war, Abraham was entitled to keep the spoil. However, while we have very few details, apparently, Abraham made a vow with God that he would not take any of the spoil from this battle.
Genesis 13:14-15 And the Lord said unto Abram, after that Lot was separated from him, Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward: For all the land which thou seest to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever.
Abraham had just separated from Lot. Abraham had allowed Lot to pick the best that the land had to offer. After Lot had left, God once again came to Abraham and told Abraham that even though Abraham had given away his right to sojourn in half of the promise land, God still was going to be giving to Abraham all of the promise land. In addition, for the third time, God reiterated that Abraham was going to have children and that his progeny would be numerous.
Abraham was a peacemaker; he desired to avoid strife. In order to avoid strife, Abraham gave to Lot the exclusive right to sojourn in the promise land. Abraham thus attempted to reduce his promise from God. Nonetheless, Abraham learned that God desired to bless him. God had made a promise to Abraham, and God assured Abraham that Abraham was going to receive the full promise.
God was not coming to Lot and making great promises to him. Lot was simply being blessed because he was with Abraham. While Lot may have prospered while he was with Abraham, he missed the important lesson of developing a personal relationship with God. Abraham and Lot both had wealth, but what Abraham had was a relationship with God.
God desired that Abraham understand that the promises of God are sure. God had promised Abraham a great promise but because of the time that was elapsing, God understood that HE must reiterate the promise so as to ensure that Abraham would continue to believe the promise. God knew that Abraham needed encouragement to continue to believe that God was going to give him children and that his children were going to receive the promise land.
God is faithful. If you desire to do the Lord�s perfect will, the Lord will not allow you to wonder in darkness. The Lord will give you direction and HE will remind you of HIS promises periodically so as to encourage you to do that which is right.
Regardless of what you think, you are not on this journey of faith alone. Your journey of faith must include God. God will show you the way that you are to go, and as you learn to follow HIS prompting, you will discover how God can provide, protect, direct and correct you. The longer your walk of faith, the closer to God you will need to get. You must draw neigh unto God because you will face trials that cause you to doubt God�s promises for your life. God is faithful to remind you of HIS promises just when you need it most. God is not trying to set you up for failure.
What promise has God given to you? What are you doing to remain faithful to God so that this promise can be fulfilled? Has God come back and reiterated the promise to you during difficult times so as to encourage you to not lose heart? The trials of life may be difficult, but God is the same yesterday, today and forever. God is faithful and HE desires that you demonstrate your faith by pursuing HIS perfect will for your life.
