Will You Believe?

Belief

Will You Believe?

To believe, sometimes, one must take a step into an overgrown area of disbelief.

One walks cautiously removing what isn’t true to see facts, learn new truths, forming a path of belief. At times, one must trust on what they’ve been told in order to move forward to continue to believe. Trust to believe removes fear, concerns and falsity.

Let’s read, Hebrews 1:1-4.

“Long ago God spoke many times and in many ways to our ancestors through the prophets. ² And now in these final days, he has spoken to us through his Son. God promised everything to the Son as an inheritance, and through the Son he created the universe. 

³ The Son radiates God’s own glory and expresses the very character of God, and he sustains everything by the mighty power of his command. When he had cleansed us from our sins, he sat down in the place of honor at the right hand of the majestic God in heaven. ⁴ This shows that the Son is far greater than the angels, just as the name God gave him is greater than their names.”

There is no consensus on who’s the author of Hebrews. The possibility could be St. Barnabas or Paul. Whoever wrote this book had much knowledge of how God communicated in the Old Testament to those with great faith and belief.

The author knew the Jewish history well enough to understand how the Lord spoke to God’s selected. He must have been well-versed in the Tora and the great stories of old during and after the fall of the Garden of Eden. But knowing wasn’t enough, he believed what he read, the stories and what he heard from God’s Son, Jesus Christ.

Let’s re read and focus on the first two sentences of the passage above.

Belief is the main focus here. Its importance is not only in what we read about God, but the new revelation Jesus spoke to anyone who would listen. Jesus teachings were something this author took to heart. In the further chapters in Hebrews, we will see how he connects Jesus’ teachings to what he knew to be true of God’s dealings with his children.

For now, let’s take a giant step back in time when God spoke to men through the prophets. The author of Hebrews wrote, “many times and in various ways” our Heavenly Father conversed with those mention in the Old Testament. Wait, maybe we shouldn’t take such a big step backwards yet.

Let’s read John 9:28, “Then they cursed him and said, “You are his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses! ²⁹ We know God spoke to Moses, but we don’t even know where this man comes from.””

If you need to refresh your memory of the investigation by the Pharisees of this man born blind, whom Jesus healed, read chapter 9 from verse one. It is a cool story. Back to the Pharisee’s statement to the healed individual.

In this verse, the Pharisee confirms of God talking to his Prophets, like Moses, whom they followed. As far as I know from research, God spoke to Moses over two thousand times. Makes me wonder how many more times God spoke to Moses which no one recorded.

If you like to read about God and Moses flip the pages of time and turn to Exodus 3 and linger in the far past for a little. Be aware, as you stay in the yesterdays of the Old Testament, keep your ears tune to hear God’s voice in your todays.

Now, let’s flip a few pages back in the book of John. There’s an important word, which I pointed out earlier that we need to dwell upon in our mind and heart.

The word is belief. 

John 5:46-48, “Yet it isn’t I who will accuse you before the Father. Moses will accuse you! Yes, Moses, in whom you put your hopes. If you really believed Moses, you would believe me, because he wrote about me. But since you don’t believe what he wrote, how will you believe what I say?”

We, you and me, today must not only believe what we read, but we also must believe what we hear. Yes, we do need to be careful of what we are hearing, for many things said are to tickle our ears and not to set our heart after God. What is written has an importance and its place. But hearing God, the Lord and the Holy Spirit today is of great importance.

There’s an invisible rope with knots of truth that one can grab to climb through Biblical history. It’s there to not only take us to the past, but to help us understand a time we didn’t live in or know anyone who experienced life in that time frame. We depend on the historical writings of the scriptures to teach us what was and happened in the years before and during Jesus days. We accept those facts and teachings as God’s truth. 

Much like the Jews, who studied the works of Moses, we study the works of Jesus. They didn’t believe Jesus, even though Moses wrote about him, which made it challenging for the Jews to climb on the rope of understanding in their present day. They didn’t believe in the words Jesus spoke or recognized them as God’s truths. We need to be watchful for ourselves of what we once understood. We shouldn’t allow unbelieve to creep in about the Holy Scriptures. Otherwise, unbelief will keep us from understanding the scripture and not hearing the truth God want us to hear today.

Let’s be watchful or we may find ourselves like the Jews not trusting the rope before us even if there are knots of truth in our grasp. We’ll then hesitate to climb, not only because we don’t know its truth bases, but we don’t believe what we’re hearing or grasping. Disbelief in what we hear today may come from not having God’s newness of the Lord’s experienced in our lives. It could come because we are not following his teachings. It may come because we are set in our ways, not allowing the Holy Spirit to change our heart with the newness of the Lord’s love. Disbelief comes from not hearing God ourselves.

It could be that we haven’t received the sight, the miracle like the blind man. Yet, Jesus calls us to walk by faith and not by sight. Why? Because he knew we base facts, truths by what we see and experience. God’s truths permutate throughout our life as we faithfully keep grasping the rope even though we don’t feel the next knot of truth.

With this thread of thought how can we today hear God, who we can’t see? How did Moses, other prophets, even Jesus hear God whom they didn’t see? First, we must believe in what we’ve read, ask the Holy Spirit to help us understand what we’ve learned. Then listen intently to God’s whisper and in what the Holy Spirit has to reveal to us. One more thing, we must take the step in faith into the crowed space of unknown, uncertainty, and at time unbelief.

When we have been given understanding and know the truth when the Lord comes and reveals something new to us, we will believe. Always quiet ourselves, listening carefully, paying attention to the details of life around us. Like Moses did when he saw the burning bush. 

We, for sure, are not Jesus, but we are much like Moses. God can speak two thousand times to us and more. He has been talking. Are we believing what we hear? It’s our unbelief, our hurriedness, our concerns which keep us from hearing God’s soft whisper clearly.

Trusting the words I hear

On a spring day, my husband and I walked through a wooded area in Anchorage, Alaska. It’s an area where black and brown bears’ roam. Anxious and fearful, I talked staying alongside my husband. The possibility of encountering a bear in the woods was possible but not so much probable.

Other people were around. I just couldn’t see them. My husband tried to calm me by telling me that we would be alright. We had the protection of spray and a gun in case we faced danger. Which we didn’t. We only encounter runners, hikers and their dogs.

Because of fear of not knowing and not trusting in what my husband said, I missed out on stopping to pay attention to the birds in the area. There were signs along the path, suggesting stopping for a while and listen. On the sign it told to listen for how birds communicate. I couldn’t stop myself. I missed out on the birds along with the joy of God’s creation. All I wanted was for the trail to end and get back in the car.

When it’s time to go walking or spending time with God, let’s not allow fear of what we don’t understand or anxiety of what we can’t see to stop us from slowing our body down, calming our mind and resting our heart with Jesus. Otherwise, we won’t pay attention to the sound of God’s whisper. He may just be singing along with the birds, trying to get us to draw near to hear his whisper and his loving song.

God speaks today. It may not be through a burning bush, a donkey or a prophet, but his whisper can be heard in church, at home, in the car, or outside as we enjoy God’s creation. Ask the Holy Spirit to quicken your spirit and teach you to hear God’s whispering voice. Then believe.

Remember what the scripture teaches, “He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”” Psalm 46:10

Once we are calm and listening, believe what we’ve learned from the patriarchs of the Bible and the Lord Jesus Christ, then we won’t have such a hard time seeing the truth of the Holy Scripture along with hearing the truth God is telling us today. His message today, will not contradict who Jesus was and is.

Christ is as the verses 3 to 4 say. “He is One who—imprinted with God’s image, shimmering with His glory—sustains all that exists through the power of His word. He was seated at the right hand of God once He Himself had made the offering that purified us from all our sins. This Son of God is elevated as far above the heavenly messengers as His holy name is elevated above theirs.”

Next time God whispers something that is new to you, the scriptures will verify it. The Holy Spirit will remind you and the Lord will help you with the newness. It’s to help us see what we’ve been blinded to see on our own. Jesus still purifies us from all our sins, our ill, our weaknesses. Every time our Lord renews us it’s a form of elevation by His Holy name to present us to our Heavenly Father as forgiven and pure.

Let’s learn, listen and trust. Then our understanding will be broaden to grasp what we couldn’t believe before God changed us. Now we move forward today with a testimony of who changed us and belief in, Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.

In the Old Testimony God spoke through His prophets. In the New Testament God spoke through Jesus, His Son. Today God speaks to us through His Son’s Holy Spirit. He can chose to speak to us through a burning bush, a donkey or one of His present prophets. But, as a loving Father, he desires personal time with us. Listen for his soft whisper, He’s ready to speak truth into your heart, mind and soul.

Will you believe what you hear from God today? Will you trust His Son’s word in spite of your fears, concern, falseness? Will you trust the Holy Spirit teachings? Will you speak of what you know to be true about God, His Son, the Holy Spirit to those who want to hear? It’s a choice. 

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Revealed Glory Through Pain

Prince William Sound, Whittier, Alaska

REVEALED GLORY THROUGH PAIN

For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.

Romans 8:18 

An insert from BibLe Hub

“Jesus told us that He came so that His disciples may have life and have it abundantly (John 10:10), but He also told us that in this world we will have tribulations (John 16:33) and persecutions (Matthew 5:10-11).

Paul experienced the extremes of Jesus’ words.

On the one hand, he had a life more abundant than most. He was full of the Holy Spirit and the gifts of the Spirit and he had a powerful ministry all over the known world.

But he also suffered many trials, troubles, tribulations, and persecutions. He knew the heights of the Christian experience in this dispensation and he knew the depths as well.

And when he sums it all up, as he does in our verse for today, he says that all the tribulations and persecutions are not worth comparing with the abundance of life that is still to come.”

My two cents worth:
In struggles, sufferings, pains come moments of unexplable hope which are slivers of glory. Those moments sparkle of what is yet to come, lighting-up the path which overcomes the present darkness of the tormoil.

May you see those landers of glorious hope on your way to the glory which God has and will revealed to you on that day.

God bless his Word and his people.

Childlike Finds Heavenly Treasures

CHILDLIKE FINDS HEAVENLY TREASURES

At that time Jesus prayed this prayer: “O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, thank you for hiding these things from those who think themselves wise and clever, and for revealing them to the childlike.”

— Matthew 11:25 NLT

Insight

As a child we eager to grow up.
As a teen we eager for independence
As a young adult we eager for retirement.
As a mature adult we eager to be young again.

When reason blooms understanding, at all stages of life we should strive to be childlike in our eagerness to become something we are not. It is then when we can seek heavenly treasure and actually find it.

Joy among tears.
Peace among caos.
Love among dissapointments.
Forgiveness among unrepentance.

Lord, help us to be childlike with our faith in you. Hold our hand and lead us to the treasure you have for us. Thank you that we don’t have to be wise or clever to understand your ways.

Bless your Word and your people. In Jesus name I ask.

Work Prepared In Advanced

WORK PREPARED IN ADVANCED~ Living His Word

For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. Ephesians 2:10

Have you ever gone to bed thinking of all the things you have to a accomplish tomorrow?

Of course, we all have.

But have you gone to bed wondering what work God prepared for you to do tomorrow?

Well, that part of the verse was a target hit on my heart.

Almost daily I wake up asking God to guide my steps, thoughts and words for I know in my head where I must be, with whom I will be and what I’m going to be doing. I planned these things in advanced.

Hmmm.

Now I’m thinking. I should be prepare to do my list as well as God’s.

Questions:
Can we know the work He has for us? Yes.
It will be present to us. God’s good works will be done along side our work. There are times we must put a side our work to do God’s. Also, the Holy Spirit will tell us in advance and help us to be ready.

Will we listen to the Holy Spirit small voice?
If yes, can we work along God’s plan and ours? Or can we postpone ours to do list for God’s good works?

Lord, may we not miss the good work you have prepared for us today. May we be listening to your Holy Spirit and be willing to do the prepared godly tasks you have for us.

God, bless your Word and your people. Amen.Work

Standing Firm

STANDING FIRM ~ means to recall the truth and anchoring my soul to the freedom I have in Christ, my Lord.

When the wind of setbacks comes, bringing the yoke of slavery, I’ll stand firm on God’s promises.

Then, in Christ, past burdens of insecurities and doubts will be blown, right passed my heart and mind.

“It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.”
– Galatians 5:1 NIVSta

When The Impossible Is Before You

WHEN THE IMPOSSIBLE IS BEFORE YOU ~ Wait for the Lord.

Then:
1. See where God takes you
2. See what God shows you
3. See what God instructs you to speak

“Son of man, can these bones live?”

“O Lord GOD,” I replied, “only You know.”

And He said to me, “Prophesy concerning these bones and tell them: ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the LORD!

This is what the Lord GOD says to these bones: I will cause breath to enter you, and you will live.

I will attach tendons to you and make flesh grow upon you and cover you with skin. I will put breath within you so that you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the LORD.’”

So I prophesied as I had been commanded.”

Ezekiel 37:2-7

Take time to read the rest of the story to find out what happens when we obey God’s commands.

Like A Reflection

 

LIKE A REFLECTION ~ Let’s keep this verse stuck on the mirror of our souls.

“. . . being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.”
Philippians 1:6 NKJV

When we feel like:
failures,
weaklings,
worthless,
undeserving,
unworthy
of God’s goodness
we can recall where to find the confidence to put on the righteousness which God provided.

Don’t forget, ignore or overlook what has been bought for you, your soul’s freedom. It came with a high price and given as a free gift to anyone who professes Jesus as Lord.

“If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.” Rom. 10:9-10

Don’t leave your beautiful, spiritual, royal outfit laying on the bed or hung in the closet, unworn.

Today, is the day to change your soul’s cloths, for we are sons and daughters of a High King.

While you workout your salvation, keep quoting Philippians 1:6.

Jesus has risen! For you! For me! For all!

Let’s not place Him back in the grave in thought or in heart.

We don’t have to wait for Easter to proclaim and walk in truth.

Think and say, “HE HAS RISEN! And I will be made complete!”

What’s New Under The Sun

WHAT’S NEW UNDER THE SUN? ~ Technology causes change which brings something new to our attention.

So why did Solomon said there’s no new thing under the sun? When obviously there is in our time?

What was Solomon talking about anyway to have come to this result?

Now all has been heard;
here is the conclusion of the matter:
Fear God and keep His commandments,
for this is the duty of all mankind.

— Ecclesiastes 12:13 NIV

When it comes to things of the heart, there’s nothing new. When it comes to living life their is nothing new. When it comes to perceiving there is nothing new. When it comes to emotions there is nothing new. When it comes to death their is nothing new. When it comes to humanity, there is nothing new.

As the world changes what is valuable for mankind shouldn’t change, unless the heart becomes deceived. Once it does; life will no longer be valuable; knowledge becomes futile; feelings are not worth validation; death is seen as emptiness and mankind becomes insignificant.

Keep a check on your heart for more than blood pumps forth to your mind, eyes, ears and mouth.

In order to see the value of fearing God, one must understand the fear Solomon wrote about. This fear is not the kind which causes your knees to rattle. It’s the one which moves the heart to kneel down before a king.

This fear is out of reverance for the heart of our Lord. He treasures us, our hearts, our life. Let’s not forget His death, his love for us.

Ask yourself, to whom do I give this type of fear? To who or what am I bending my knee? Whose commandments have we given our heart and life to follow?

Whose footsteps are you following? Who are you leaving your footprints to be followed one day?

You matter to God, to your family, and your friends. You matter to me.

May you follow Jesus all the days you breath. Once you leave this world, rejoice with Him.

God bless each of you.

Clinging Faith

Tyndale Life Application Daily Devotion

Cling to your faith in Christ, and keep your conscience clear. For some people have deliberately violated their consciences; as a result, their faith has been shipwrecked.

— 1 Timothy 1:19 NLT

Insight
How can you hold on to a good conscience? Treasure your faith in Christ more than anything else and do what you know is right. Each time you deliberately ignore your conscience, you are hardening your heart. Over a period of time your capacity to tell right from wrong will diminish.
Challenge

As you walk with God, he will speak to you through your conscience, letting you know the difference between right and wrong. Be sure to act on those inner tugs so that you do what is right—then your conscience will remain clear.

© 2010 by Tyndale House Publishers
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Lord, when hard news come our way, it rocks our clinging faith in you. Humanely we began with the question which begin with the word why. Then we become angry, upset or disappointed and we react from those emotions.

Helps us Lord, to give ourself time for you to come and tend to our state of confusion and hurt. We may be in need of a spiritual time out, then we will not react from our fear or anger and violate our consciousness and sin.

Lord help us to keep a clean conscience during this time of the year when family draws near with one another. May we not shipwreck our faith.

Help us yo start our day with you and remain with you. Then any shaking which may come will not remove or shipwreck our clinging faith in you. In Jesus name I ask. Amen.

Thank you lord for gifting me with photography and writing. May they bring you glory and praise all the days of my life.

Pray, Seek, Knock and Find

Troubles? Take Timeouts.

Remember, as children when we got in trouble, we were sent to timeout?

As a parent, I would tell my kids to think about what they did wrong. While the child sat, they would have to stay there until they, themselves, identified their error and understood the correct manner of behavior. Which I had already explain to them, but they had to own their choice and decide to make better choices in the future.

Without knowing why, today, my soul was troubled, I had the urge to go for a drive and have a timeout. Expecting to learn the error of my ways I desired to find a place out in nature to listen to what God had taught me and seem to be trying to remind me. Eagle River, Alaska came to mind. Being a place where bears are cited, I invited a friend and off we went. (We didn’t see any bears, which we were thankful after learning that this was the time for brown bears and grizzlies to be passing through to feed from the salmon runs.)

My friend holding a mold of a grissly bear’s paw. Yikes!

 

Before leaving my place, I took time to read my devotional. As soon as I read the verses, I had the urge to leave, now. Without reading any further, I left with three questions packed in my heart. What should I be asking? What should I be seeking? And where should I be knocking? Eagerly I drove, expecting to hear definite answers from God at some point on the hike but, none came.

For those of you who know the passage, the verses were from Matthew 7:7-8 “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.” They’re familiar verses in the Christian community, but for me this time they had something new to teach me. I just didn’t know exactly what that lesson was, because I hadn’t identify where I stood with God.

Seating and pondering on my day in Eagle River, which I didn’t receive answers or clarity of these verses or my errored ways, I read the rest of the devotional. It reminded me to be persistent in asking and that Jesus doesn’t recommend for us to ask, He commands for us to ask. Now that’s something to think about for my future timeout from my day.

The devotional also said, that asking isn’t quite sufficient from Jesus’ point of view. He wants us to take it up a notch. We should seek out what we need from God and we will find it. Well asking is much less work than seeking, because one doesn’t have to do anything. While seeking takes our effort not just God’s. There are times, I just want the answer without much work on my part.

Do you remember asking your mom for something you know she could easily give you, but she sent you out to find it yourself and then get it on your own? Well I’m wondering if that’s what God was trying to tell me, when I rather for Him to just hand it to me. I still wonder, what is it that I truly want? I sense I must go on to the third question maybe I will receive clarity.

Knocking on the door is the final step. Well the devotional reference that the door is heaven’s door. It also mention that our asking and seeking takes us to the very doorsteps of heaven. Once there, we shouldn’t just stand there and wait, we should knock on the door. Well to tell you the truth, I’ve been afraid to knock on the door. Why? Because of what God has to offer.

What if God gives me my heart desire only to be taken away. Maybe, I don’t want to feel that pain again, so I will not knock, then I keep what I long for in the longing place of my heart. No wonder I felt like a timeout. I needed to see the error of my thinking and correct it with truth. It is better to have had it for a short while than not to have it at all. Besides, who told me that it will be taken again and why bother having it in the first place? Who have I been listening to? Whom have I followed? I’ve listen to the voices of Doubt, Disappointment and Fear.

They misguided me because of the troubles that have come and taken the good things my husband and I have been blessed with in Vancouver. We placed our house on the market and sold within twelve hours. We had to leave quickly that we didn’t have time to say good-bye to our friends. The move-out happened in less than two weeks from our return of our working travels. Our belongings were stuffed in storage and off we flew to Alaska to work again.

Now, we are homeless and have no idea where to plant our life and allow roots to grow. You see, I have lived in almost twenty places in thirty-five years of marriage which includes less than ten city moves and seven states covering from Texas to Maryland to Montana to Washington and now Alaska.

Do you see why I’m shy to knock and ask where should I be seeking residency? At the moment, we’re staying in an Airbnb in Alaska provided by my husband’s work. When he’s not working we’ll be staying with my daughter in Seattle, Washington.

I know once I knock on the door of heaven, it will be open. God will meet me and He will provide the answer. But, will it be the answer I seek? Or will He offer me the answer which is best to produce the fruits that are needed? I also know, that God will hand my husband and I not only what we need but gift us with more, with the purpose of sharing. All things do come from his storehouse and he will place the gifts into our hands for us and for us to share.

I understand. It’s not about finding residency, a house to call home or having a dwelling place. It’s about asking and seeking where does God want us, my husband and I to bear fruit. Like the devotional said, all of our persistent asking, seeking and knocking shows God that we are serious and sincere about our desire to bear fruits like John teaches.

John 15:16  ^“You have not chosen Me, I have chosen you. I have set you apart for the work of bringing in fruit. Your fruit should last. And whatever you ask the Father in My name, He will give it to you.”

Am I ready to ask, seek and knock? I am. I’ve recognize the error of my ways, listening and believing the voices of Doubt, Disappointment and Fear instead of the voice of my Shepard, Jesus himself. I should trust Him with our future, my husbands and mine as a couple and mine as an individual.

Father, In Jesus name I come and ask to show me the way my husband and I should go and where to plant our lives to bear fruit, so that you can feed those who hunger after your precepts and desire to draw closer to you plus, to learn about your Son, the one who saves, died and rose again, Jesus, who conquered our sins, who forgives without our cost. for He paid it all. Thank you for choosing me. In Jesus name I ask, seek and knock. And in His name I wait to find a home to share of what God has in store for my husband and me.