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And so blessing and cursing come pouring out of the same mouth. Surely, my brothers and sisters, this is not right! James 3:10 (NLT)
We may not realize how much our ‘talk’ tells others about our ‘walk’! A friend of mine told me of a job he had in college. While he was very strong in his faith, he wasn’t the type of person to ‘push his beliefs’ on other people. In the course of conversation he was never afraid or ashamed of sharing his faith, but he was rarely the type of person who would start a conversation with his faith. He’d seen too many people get pushed off by the ‘Bible-thumping, religious zealots’.
After three weeks on the job he smashed his finger while trying to dislodge a part from the machine he was operating. As he tells the story, he pulled his hand back and, ‘in his mind’ said a couple words that he probably shouldn’t have said, then shook it off and went back to work.
A couple minutes later a co-worker came up to him. He’d befriended this guy during breaks and always walked away with his ears ringing from the expletives that came from this man’s mouth. It seemed like every other word was a swear word or a cuss word. The man mentioned that he’d been watching my friend during the episode that just happened. He said something like, “You know, I did the same thing last week and swore a blue streak. You didn’t say anything. I got to thinking I’ve never heard a bad word from you. What’s with that?”
My friend shared openly that because of his faith in Jesus Christ he’d made a decision that he would never use language that would embarrass or offend Christ, no matter what the situation. The man was shocked and said, “I’ve known lots of Bible thumpers, but they still swear when things don’t go their way or else they send me on some guilt trip for the way I talk.”
The men went back to work but a friendship had begun. Over the ensuing weeks and months the man’s language became less intense (at least while my friend was around), and he even attended church with my friend a couple times. Several months later he accepted Christ as his personal savior.
Whenever my friend tells this story, he adds how thankful he is that he guarded his mouth that day. Because of that, he was able to bring Jesus to someone else.
Each of us needs to constantly remember that our words speak much louder to others about who we are. The way we react to the crabby clerk in the store, or the ‘inept’ server in the restaurant is a testimony of what Jesus means to us.
James tells us to guard what we say. The same lips that sing praises to God on Sunday should never ridicule or verbally attack others during the week! Guard what you say and how you say it. You never know who may be watching and listening to you.
PRAYER: Father God, I confess to you that it’s way too easy for my lips to slip. Sometimes I say words that are not pleasing to you. Other times I’m critical of others, either to their face or behind their back. I realize now that this isn’t pleasing to you. Forgive me for the struggle I have with words. Empower me through your Spirit to speak gracefully to and about others for your sake. In Jesus name I pray. Amen.
“Have faith in God,” Jesus answered. “I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. Mark 11:22-24
Why is it that some people seem to have the ability to pray for things and see those things come to pass while others pray and it seems like their prayers never get past the ceiling? The Bible is full of examples of great men and women of God who have prayed for personal or national healing and deliverance and seen great things happen.
Even in our world we hear of people who have prayed for miracles to happen in their lives and seen God work mightily in making things happen. Yet for many of us, while we ‘believe’ God CAN do anything, in those quiet times we confess to ourselves that ‘He won’t do those things in me.
There are many lessons we can learn from the story in the Gospel of Mark about faith, about prayer and about doubt. The fact of the matter is, if we believe God is who we say He is, and if we really believe that His power can accomplish anything, and then we have to believe that Jesus’ words are true. If we have the faith, we can move mountains.
When we pray for miracles to happen, one thing we must ask ourselves is this. “Who gets the glory for my answer?” Many times our prayers are self-seeking. That’s not necessarily the same as self-ish. Selfish can have a negative connotation. Self-seeking simply means that in reality, we want this miracle for us. It will make us feel better about ourselves, it will make others respect us more or it will in some way make my life easier.
There are many times in Jesus’ ministry when He made the statement that ‘this was done so My Father will be glorified’. Our Father in Heaven is more than willing and able to do ANYTHING we ask, but our motives must be in the right place. Everything we do in life should be with the desire to see God glorified and His name proclaimed to those in our world.
Secondly, when we pray for miracles we must remember that God has promised that He knows what is best for us. In one of Jesus’ teachings on prayer He asks this question: “If a child asks his father for bread would that father give him a stone?” The answer of course is, “NO, never!” We know that a loving father would never give his child something bad for him when he needs something good. But the opposite is also true. If we ask our Heavenly Father for something we honestly think will be good for us, but in the big picture it could be harmful, He won’t give it to us. He loves us to much to give us things that will hurt us.
Draw close to Jesus. Walk with him daily. Read His love letter to you. Pray believing that He CAN answer your prayers and trust Him to answer those prayers in the way that will be the best for you and bring glory to him.
PRAYER: Father God, I have to admit that there are many times when I’ve prayed and been disappointed in your response to me. There are so many things I’ve prayed for that haven’t happened and now, when I pray I doubt you will really answer. Forgive me for my lack of faith. Empower me with Your Spirit to pray believing you hear me and that even when I don’t get what I want, you will give me everything I need. Amen.
Then Caleb silenced the people before Moses and said, “We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it.” Numbers 13:30
The journey was over. The Israelites stood at the border of the Promised Land. God had brought them out of bondage. He’d provided all of their needs. He’d shown them great and mighty acts of power. Now he’d told Moses that the time had come to enter the land promised them. Moses sent spies into the land to see what kind of cities there were, what the people were like and to bring back some of the fruit of the land.
When the men returned they showed the people some of the great fruit that they’d found in the land. They described the beauty of the valleys and the plains. It was good land. It was profitable land. Then they told the people the bad news. The land would never be theirs. The people were too strong. They’d built huge, walled cities and the men were heavily armed. The men were to give an account of the condition of the land and people, but they offered a commentary on the likelihood of conquest and victory.
Enter Caleb. Caleb saw the same cities, the same warriors, and the same fruit of the land. But he looked at it from a completely different perspective. He didn’t see people; he heard the promises of God. He didn’t see obstacles to conquest; he saw opportunities for God to work in mighty ways. While the men offered commentary, Caleb did exactly what the leader had asked of him. He told the facts based on God’s promises.
Caleb stood alone against all the ‘popular kids’ of the camp. He stood for what he knew to be right. He didn’t talk about conflict, He talked about possession. To him the battle was already won. There was no doubt in his mind.
We can all learn from Caleb. There are too many times when our biggest obstacles are people. It could be the peer pressure that keeps us from doing what we know is right. Peer pressure isn’t just a junior high or high school thing. It follows us all our lives. We are afraid to be different. We don’t want to stand out in a crowd.
Don’t let people stand in the way of the things God wants to accomplish in you. He has given you the power to stand against the giants in your life. He’s made a way to destroy the walls others have built to keep you from pursuing your goals. Move forward with confidence. Look at the ways God has worked in the past in your life and in the lives of others. Regardless of your past or your present situation, He wants to see you have victory. Take possession of that victory.
PRAYER: Holy Father. Today you know what giants are haunting me. There are walls in my life that keep me from experiencing the joy I should be having in you. There are people and events that are keeping me from claiming the things you want me to have. Forgive me for my doubt. Empower me to move forward and not listen to the voices of those who want to bring me down. Like Caleb I claim victory over my giants through your Holy Spirit. Amen.
But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians 15:57 (NLT)
Another great promise from the Word of God! We have victory! Everyone likes to win. But the reality is the Bible promises that we have victory over sin, yet we still struggle on a daily basis. For some of us our sins are the quiet, hidden sins of doubt, a critical spirit, worry or the desire for more.
For others of us, our defeats and failures are in the area of addictions, relational struggles, lust, anger and rebellion against God, our parents and anything that even looks like authority.
So where is this victory that the Bible talks about? Why do we still struggle with feelings of failure, shame, guilt and anger? Why do we continue to lose when we are supposed to win?
The fact of the matter is that it’s not about capability, it’s about execution. We are incapable as humans to defeat our sinful human nature. God knew that. That’s why He sent Jesus to die on the cross and that’s why 1 Corinthians says that we have ‘victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ’. So it was never intended that we’d win the battle on our own.
Take a sports team for example. We all know stories of highly favored teams that have gone up against an opponent of much lesser talent and ability. They lacked the big play guys, they were slow, and they just didn’t have a chance…on paper. But they came into the contest and soundly defeat the highly favored opponent. Why? In most cases it’s because the underdog did the little things it takes to win better than their highly favored opponent.
The same is true in the spiritual realm. We have all the power we need to soundly defeat the enemy. Jesus won the war, but we still need to fight the battles in order to see victory in our lives. We need to do the little things that will empower us to defeat the enemy.
Victory in life’s battles comes when we, as Christ-followers:
- Read the Bible on a daily basis. The more you read and the deeper you study the more power you will see come into your life. Start small. Even taking one verse with you throughout the day will be beneficial, but don’t stop there. Continue to press yourself to read more.
- Pray daily as well. Don’t look at prayer as some ultra-religious activity. It’s like talking to a loving father. Tell Him your fears, feelings and concerns. Ask Him to reveal himself through the Bible and others in your life.
- Fast regularly. Fasting has gotten out of vogue in recent years and is highly misunderstood by many. Fasting is NOT walking in agony for days on end because you are without food. Fasting is NOT the same as a hunger strike! It’s simply taking time, even one meal, away from food and your normal routine to spend some time with God.
- Fellowship with other believers. Some have stopped fellowshipping with other believers because they’ve been hurt intentionally or otherwise and see christians as nothing more than a bunch of hypocrites. Unfortunately there are many who have used their faith as a battering ram, inflicting great harm on others. Seek out sincere believers, even just one or two that will genuinely help you in your spiritual growth and offer accountability.
When we do the little things in our faith walk we’ll see our faith grow, we’ll be more able to endure the hard times of life and we’ll see patience and love towards others increase. Jesus has done the big things for us. He’s won the war. It’s up to us as individual Christ-followers to do the little things necessary to win the battles.
PRAYER: Father God. I confess to you that many of the struggles I have in life are a result of not doing the little things I need to gain strength and confidence. Please empower me, through your Spirit to read more, pray more, fast and fellowship with other Christ-followers so that I can win the battles in my life. Thank you that in Jesus I have the victory. Amen.
Mike Fisk & Built with Grace 