God is patient with us, a word of encouragement. 2 Peter 3:9

Good day, I hope this finds you well and blessed, highly favored. Today let's talk about the patience of God.  Have you ever heard someone say, "In God's good timing" or "If it is his will", especially regarding healing (and most other breakthroughs).  Phrases like this usually come from a religious perspective, taking any of the responsibility that should be ours and placing it in God's hands. Yes, he knows and sees all, but from the beginning, he has given us the option to choose (Deuteronomy 28,29 & 30). This would be our free will.  You see, God did not create us as puppets, that he could control, if that were the case then we would not need to have this conversation.  Our free will is a huge factor when it comes to realizing and experiencing the promises of God and salvation. So let's dive right into this.

In 2 Peter 3:8-9. " But do not forget this one thing, dear friends. With the Lord, a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like a day.  The Lord is not slow in keeping his promises, as one may understand slowness. But rather he is patient with us, not wanting anyone to perish, but that everyone come to repentance. " It is not God that is slow, by no means. We are the slow ones.  We are slow to realize that healing, peace, provision, deliverance, and so forth are sitting on the table and we have been invited to the feast. That is enough said, but we will discuss this anyway.  Now, pair this with Philippians 2:12 where Paul tells us that we are to work out our salvation. Sorry, I am getting a little off course as usual. 

Now, back to God's patience. Let's go to the Old Testament for this. You will find examples of God's patience, goodness, and mercy throughout the Old Testament. In the book of Exodus, we see God's people on a Journey. This journey should only have taken days, but they spent years trying to get to the land promised by God.  All the while, they grumbled, complained and at one point they thought that they should have stayed in Egypt (because this was easy, comfortable, and familiar). Now, all the time they spent wandering in the wilderness, God showed himself to be patient and merciful even amid their rebellion.  They had become frustrated, and doubtful. They had let physical experience overtake the high places in their minds, their thoughts. But still, for 40 years, God took care of them, patiently waiting for them to return their thoughts, and their minds back to him. And yes, at one point God sent snakes, and disease on them, this was after they built a golden calf to worship because they had given up hope while "waiting" on God. There is too much to talk about when it comes to the book of Exodus for one post, but I look at Exodus as a picture of life before Jesus, the old man. I don't know about you, but I am so thankful that the God I serve is a patient, loving father. Hallelujah and amen. Giving God all the praise. 

The journey begins upon accepting God's word as truth.  It is a journey of letting go of all of the previous mindsets, traditions, habits, and rituals. This journey will take us out of our comfort zone, requiring us to rethink many of the things that we once considered to be true. One could call it a journey of consideration, where we begin to compare our thoughts and actions to the word of God. I am not saying that it is always easy as some things will be easier to let go of than others, but that is ok because he knows how we were created. This is the process of mind renewal,  some of it God does, but we also have a part to play.

We can find examples of God's patience all through the bible. I pray that you are encouraged by this and if you are doubtful, then please study it out for yourself. It is often our perception of things that keeps us just short of the goodness of God. It may be a good idea to take a close look at how you see things, it could make all the difference. As always, I hope this has blessed and encouraged you. 

More verses on God's patience

Exodus 34:6-8

Romans 2:4

1 Peter 2:21     1 Peter 3:20

2 Peter 3:9

Nehemiah 9:30

Psalm 103:8

Jonah 4:2

LynnTFbyGrace@yahoo.com

Kingdom Life!

As always, I hope this finds you blessed, in good health, and at peace. I am spending little time with formals today, as today’s subject is important. So, let’s dive straight into the thick of it.

Hosea 4:6 tells us “My (God’s) people perish for lack of knowledge.” With that said, I ask, Are you perishing? Let's talk about this. 

Do you feel like life is a constant battle, a struggle as if everything always works against you? Do you find yourself feeling anxious, fearful, stressed out, or depressed? Do you worry about all of the “what ifs” of life? If you do, please know that you are not alone.  Unfortunately, this is the expected normal condition of our world. We (or at least many) are born into this mindset. We have been conformed to a fallen world, thinking that there is no other option, but I have good news, there is an option. One with a solid and unshakable foundation. Speaking from my own experience, I did not know this for the majority of my life, I attended a denominational church that preached the Kingdom of God will only be experienced after death, that God was far away and always angry, just waiting on us to make a mistake so he could pour out his wrath on us. This left me in a place of struggle, always praying for change, praying for God to come down from heaven and intervene, and praying that things would work according to my plan. I had not been taught, for whatever reason, that God had already provided everything needed and that the Kingdom of God was not far away, therefore I kept looking to the world to satisfy my needs.  I have learned and continue to learn that the Kingdom of God is for now(Matthew 6:9-13), that God is not sitting in the heavens waiting to pour out his wrath (Psalm 145:8).  Anyway, enough about that. Let's look at some biblical teachings that I am hoping will help.

Let's start with Romans 12:2 which tells us that we are not to be conformed to this world. Now why would Paul tell the church this? What else would we be conformed to?  The thing is that our thoughts, behavior, and reactions are shaped and formed by the normal traditional ways and expectations of the physical world we live in, whether good, bad, or ugly. Leaving us depending on a broken world filled with confusion and instability for peace, joy, and provision when none can be found. Sure the world tells you that it can give you these things and you may see small short-lived times of peace between the battles. But there is only one place where an everlasting peace can be found: in God's presence.  Now don't go thinking I have fallen and bumped my head, because, yes, we can live in this world and be in the presence of God.  So, I ask, are you tired of raging storms, and never-ending battles?  Then hopefully this will help.   

Now let's look at Deuteronomy 28 (please read) where we are told about blessings for obedience to God's word and curses when we don’t. Let's pause here for a minute and talk about obedience.  I think we often think we are obedient to God when we strictly follow the 10 commandments, and maybe some of the religious laws, I believe we have been taught that to do these things we prove ourselves worthy in the eyes of God. I am not discounting or belittling following the 10 Commandments, I am just saying there is much more to obedience.  Things that are in God's word, that maybe we just glance over.  It is important to know that God's word is our armor, shield, and protection. I think it would be safe to say, that everyone would prefer to be blessed rather than cursed. If you move on to Deuteronomy 30 you will see that we are offered life and prosperity or death and destruction. Unfortunately, not everyone is aware that we can choose. Now, we need to understand the choices.  To choose life, would be when we accept the word of God as living and truthful, meaning that we use God's word to judge the things of this world. If we do not know God's word, then we are defenseless against all of the things the world throws our way. I would love to spend more time on this, but that would require a book and a bestseller has been written already. 

Before we go much further we need to understand that when the bible refers to life and death, it is on a spiritual level. Also, understand that to prosper does not always refer to financial prosperity, though it definitely has a place. Spiritual death is when we go through life without giving God thought and consideration in our daily lives, when we completely ignore his power and strength leaving us confused, defeated, fearful, angry, anxious, and so on and so forth. Spiritual life is when we rely on and trust in God, giving our thoughts, attention, and expectations to his word. Daily we are faced with this choice, in every situation we must choose what we believe and how we react. So I ask are we going to choose life and blessing or curses and death.  It comes down to the word of the world versus the word of God. We have to choose which one we accept as truth.    

Ask yourself these questions.  Am I living life to its fullest, or am I just living from one problem to the next? Is my soul at rest with comfort and peace, or do I only see negative things that cause disruption and turmoil?  This is generally what we call human nature or our personality, but did you know that these things are all related to the curse we are born into. Now, I am not trying to condemn anyone.  I am simply giving you the information that hopefully will prick your heart and create a desire to learn more about God's word.

I will wrap this up for now with these verses.  Proverbs 23:7 As one thinks in his heart, so he is. What we think about, and what we focus our attention on and base our expectations on is the difference.  If we focus on worldly things, we will produce the fruit of the world.  Or we can choose to think on the word of God, as told in Philippians 4:4-8 "Rejoice in the Lord always, I will say it again: Rejoice!" Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your request to God.  And the peace of God which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable-if anything is excellent or praiseworthy-think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me put into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.  

Finally, please note that we produce the fruit of our thoughts.  Our thoughts are so very important, and we can choose our thoughts and our reactions, we just have to realize that we do have a choice. If we only see the negative things, then that is what we produce.  As always, there is so much more to discuss on this topic, but like I mentioned before, that would require a book, and there is already a best seller, that covers it very thoroughly. 

Watch for future post that will cover more on this topic.

Be Blessed, Love to all. Feel free to leave comments, questions, or prayer requests.  

Throughfaithbygrace.com

 

Faith

I am concerned that we Christians, perhaps have not been taught or trained in God's word.  God's word is alive and active (Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. We have become more religious over the years living by and through the traditional teachings of denominational churches. Leaving us in the same condition the rest of the world is in, confusion, fear, anger, stress, worry, and anxiety.  Mark 7:13 tells us the dangers of traditions "making the word of God of no effect through your tradition which you have handed down. And many such things you do.” I am sure you get the picture.  In Hosea 4:6 and Isaiah 5:13, We are told that "My (God's) people perish due to our lack of knowledge."  Do you know that is not the will of God?  Do you know that he has not placed us in this world to simply struggle through our years with the hope of heaven after death? Perhaps if we use God's word, as we are supposed to, we would not feel like the world is devouring us.  It is my prayer that we learn God's word because it is active, it is our shield, our weapon of defense in an offensive world.    

Are we seeking the father, do we listen for his voice, do we follow his leading?  Are we looking to God for answers, or do we depend on the world?  I know, it seems like a lot of questions, that may be pricking your hearts, if it is, then perhaps we need to work on our relationship with God the father.  So let's start looking at ways to start that relationship.  I would like to say that relationship with the father is not a sometimes thing, it needs to be continuous James 5:13 "Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray. Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise."  Praise him always knowing that he is the answer for the situation or that he is the reason for your joy.  So let's get started building that relationship, we will begin with faith.  

We simply misplace our faith.  We put faith in many things, it could be our jobs (for provision), doctors (for health), government (for safety), or schools (for education).  These are things that we, through tradition, have been taught to put faith in.  But we must realize that these are worldly things, all based on man's traditional ways of thinking.  We may think that we have faith in God the father, yet we still turn to the world, believe me when I say that this is not intentional, but rather so ingrained into our lives that we may often mistake a burden for a blessing.  Now, I am not telling you that we should not work, go to the doctor, look to our government, or get an education, by no means,  but I am saying that we should not put all of our faith in these things.  Our faith should first and foremost be put in God the Father.  Do you remember what Matthew 6:25-34 (please read) tells us in short it tells us not to worry about things that we need, but that we should first seek God and his kingdom.  By now you are most likely thinking that I have lost my mind-that is ok, but I do ask that you consider the verses that I have mentioned and will mention.  

So let us look at just how important faith is in our relationship with God. 

Ephesians 2:8-10

For by grace, you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

Hebrews 11:6

But without faith, it is impossible to please God, for he who comes to God must believe that God is and that God is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him.

Hebrews 11:8

By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going.

James 2:23

And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called God’s friend.

Other verses tell us that our faith heals. 

Mark 5:25-34  (read) The story of the woman with the issue of blood, she spent all she had on doctors but instead of getting any better her condition grew worse, then she heard of Jesus and all of the wonderful miracles.  I would imagine that at this point the woman was broke and broken, to the point of giving up. I know that does not sound encouraging, but sometimes we just have to be at the end of ourselves, the end of our self-reliance and our reliance on the world, back to the subject.  The woman touched the hem of his garment and was healed.  He tells her "Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace, and be whole of thy plague."

Matthew 8:5-13  (read) Jesus heals a centurion's servant. verse 10;  When Jesus heard it, He marveled, and said to those who followed, “Assuredly, I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel!

Matthew 9 (read) verses 29-30 Then he touched their eyes and said, “According to your faith let it be done to you”; and their sight was restored. 

These are just a few examples from the Bible about faith.  There are many great resources online where you can search the bible for references to "faith."  I encourage you to search for yourself and grow your relationship with God.  Yes, it is a relationship, based on faith.