Tuesday, October 15, 2013

Week 8: Keep Believin’, Day 5: He Is Faithful

Today’s Treasure: Revelation 1:5-6, “and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, 6 and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father—to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen.”

We must know that God can, whether or not he does. Nothing is impossible for God. There may be times in our life when we must pray as the father in Mark 9, “…help thou mine unbelief.” And as the apostles in Luke 17:5, “…increase our faith.”

Remember: Our God is faithful even when we are not.

Romans 3:3-4, “What if some were unfaithful? Will their unfaithfulness nullify God’s faithfulness? Not at all! Let God be true, and every human being a liar. As it is written: So that you may be proved right when you speak and prevail when you judge.”

2 Timothy 2:13, “if we are faithless, he remains faithful, for he cannot disown himself.”

Week 8: Keep Believin’, Day 4: Fight the Good Fight

Today’s Treasure: 2 Timothy 4:7-8, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.”

This lesson is in line with our Women’s Day theme, “Women of Warfare: Destined to Win.” Faith fights! And because faith fights, we have the weaponry and armor needed to win.

Ephesians 6:10-18
"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the

belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people."

We need to be armed and ready to fight at all times. Many of us face battles that threaten to overwhelm us and our families. But we possess great potential for waging this spiritual battle. We can win the battle within ourselves, our home, our school, our job, our church, and our community through the examples of women in the Bible, prayer, fasting, reading and meditating on the Word of God, and through community. We must fight against the arch enemy of faith: fear. When you are afraid, read 2 Kings 6:8-20 as reminder that you are not alone. There is an unseen army standing ready to fight on your behalf.

Faith fights! Let us put on our armor and pray because it’s time to fight!

Week 8: Keep Believin’, Day 3: A Painful Deliverance

Today’s Treasure: “Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ.” Romans 10:17

Faith transform character. That’s powerful! Romans 5:8, “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Once we begin trusting in the completed work of Christ, we will become new creatures.

(Acts 27:1-28:10) Paul reminds us that we must trust God even in the storm. He also lets us know that we cannot go by what we see or feel but faith comes from hearing. We must always be in tune with the voice of our Father.

Week 8: Keep Believin’, Day 2: Those Who Believe

Today’s Treasure: “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” Hebrews 11:6

God is a faithful God; Numbers 23:19 tells us that God is NOT a man that he should lie. God always acts upon His spoken word.

We have so many examples of faith in the Bible, esp. Hebrews 11:1-39. Examples such as Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Rahab, the prophets, women, and others. Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. We must believe even when we don’t see!

Let’s look at the faith of Rahab…Hebrews 11:31, "By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with those who were disobedient." This woman's faith was ...

~Saving faith – not only was her body delivered from the sword, but her soul was delivered form sin
~Singular faith – she stood alone
~Stable faith – she stood firm in the midst of trouble
~Self-denying faith – she risked her life
~Sympathizing faith – She did not believe for herself only; she desired mercy for her family
~Sanctifying faith – Did Rahab continue a harlot after she had faith? No, no, she did not; for Salmon the prince of Judah married her, and her name is put down among the ancestors of Jesus Christ. She became a woman well-known for virtue, walking in the fear of God

(Source: http://www.spurgeon.org/sermons/0119.htm)

Women of God, what an example of faith we have in Rahab! Let’s look to her as we cultivate our personal faith in God.

Only believe!

Week 8: Keep Believin’, Day 1: Faith That Abounds

Today’s Treasure: “The LORD is trustworthy in all he promises and faithful in all he does.” Psalm 145:13b

This week we look at the seventh quality of the fruit of the Spirit: FAITHFULNESS.

Faithfulness is believing the reality of a sovereign God. The faithfulness of God is His believability. The faithfulness of the believer is his belief in God’s believability.

Growing up, I stood on the faith of my parents. Whenever I had a problem, I would ask them to pray knowing that their prayer would be answered and that they trusted God. Then, as I got older and had a family, I had to establish my own relationship with the Father. I had to learn to pray for myself; I had to search the scriptures and get an understanding for myself; and I had to activate my mustard seed faith for myself. God has proven himself over and over to me and my family. He is believable! He is trustworthy! He is AMAZING!

Won’t you trust HIM? It’s time to cultivate your own relationship with Him. It’s Okay to ask others to pray for you – but it’s is another thing altogether when you can pray to God for yourself in faith. I thank God for every way he has made himself believable to me. What has God done in your life to show himself believable to you?