Faith Is

Read this quote from Martin Lloyd Jones this morning...sure hits the spot. MUCH too often, I react to circumstances.  Faith according to our Lord’s teaching is primarily thinking; and the whole trouble with a man of little faith is that he does not think, and instead he allows circumstances to bludgeon him. . . .

"We must spend more time in studying our Lord’s lessons in observation and deduction. The Bible is full of logic, and we must never think of faith as something purely mystical. We do not just sit down in an armchair and expect marvelous things to happen to us. That is not Christian faith. Christian faith is essentially thinking. Look at the birds, think about them, draw your deductions. Look at the grass, look at the lilies of the field, consider them. . . .


Faith, if you like, can be defined like this: It is a man insisting upon thinking when everything seems determined to bludgeon and knock him down in an intellectual sense. The trouble with the person of little faith is that, instead of controlling his own thought, his thought is being controlled by something else, and, as we put it, he goes round and round in circles.

That is the essence of worry. . . .  that it is the absence of thought; a failure to think. "
         ~Martin Lloyd Jones

It is in all of us instinctively to react to adverse situations faithlessly. Our sinful natures will believe a lie, instead of the Truth; that God is sovereign, in control, and loves us.

For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.
     ~II Timothy 4:3-4

The Spirit of falsehood vies for our minds and emotions continuously. It is the Cosmic battle between the Lord of the Truth and the Great Deceiver. The devil’s lies are not really that clever, but because of our sinful nature and propensity to believe him, we think that they are.

         Jesus came into this world of lies to testify to the truth:

Jesus answered, "You are right in saying I am a king. In fact, for this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me."
      ~John 18:37

                       Truth is:

That which propositionally affirms the reality of nature.
      ~ Ravi Zacharias


Not just about philosophy…fundamentally, Truth is about who God is.
     ~ Os Guinness


God’s perfect perception of reality…God is the fountainhead of truth.
    ~ R.C. Sproul


Conformity to fact or reality….reliance on Scripture.
   ~ Webster’s 1828 Dictionary



Insanity is the loss of the proper contact with reality; believing that the lie is real and acting upon that false reality.

When we do not have faith that God has sovereignly ordained our circumstances, and is more powerful, and important than anything that could ever happen to us, then we are acting without the proper contact with reality of who He is, and what He has promised. Thus we could be, in all reality, regarded as...

         insane


 The ultimate source of truth is God Himself.

For I want you to know how great a struggle I have on your behalf and for those who are at Laodicea, and for all those who have not personally seen my face, that their hearts may be encouraged, having been knit together in love, and attaining to all the wealth that comes from the full assurance of understanding, resulting in a true knowledge of God's mystery, that is, Christ Himself...
      ~ Colossians 2:1-2

Culture refers to Christians as “people of faith”. Our faith is not faith in faith or hope in hope. Our Faith is trust that overcomes our feelings and inclinations and instead of reacting, we think...

We are to have faith like a child, but what does that mean? It means that a child's trust in their mother or father overcomes their feelings and inclinations. While playing with dad at the pool, children don’t want to jump off that diving board into the deep water; but their faith and trust in their knowledge of the truth, that their daddy will catch them, is what conquers their fear.
     ~Dr. Del Tackett (The Truth Project)

My faith is in the truth. And truth is the person of Jesus Christ.

Faith is not an action; it is a response.
       ~Beth Moore 

We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ...
     ~II Corinthians 10:5

True faith isn't based on what God does, it's based on who He is. If we try and base our faith on what we feel God is doing, we're going to struggle every time. 

  


Faith is just believing,

what God says He will do.

To listen, pause the music located on the right sidebar (just press the larger half button in the center at the bottom of the player)

 John 14:6 and (Boys singing a favorite children's song with their mother;

Faith is Just Believing)      


He will never fail us,

His promises are true.

If we but believe Him,

His children we become. (John 1:12),

Faith is just believing

the wondrous things He's done.

Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.
        ~John 14:6

Always Seeking Higher Ground,

Nora

Praying for our Children

I am constantly aware that my husband and I are in the midst of a spiritual battle, and the war is being waged on our own doorstep. Caught in this cultural crossfire are my children, who do not yet have the armor of God! ...But we do. And we need to step up, stand in the gap between them and Satan, and hold up our shields of faith to protect them.

... since 1971, I have designated one day a week for fasting and prayer specifically devoted to the spiritual welfare of our children....There are too many factors beyond our control--too many evil influences--that mitigate against the Christian message. That is why we find ourselves in prayer, week after week....this act of fasting each week serves to remind us continually of our system of priorities. It is very difficult to forget your highest values when one day out of seven is spent concentrating on them.
     ~Shirley Dobson

Dr. Dobson talks about how his great-grandfather had prayed for an hour each morning for his children. And not only for his children, but the next four generations of his family. Dobson said that even though his great-grandfather had died before he was born, this man was the greatest inspiration for him. 

It staggers my mind to realize that the prayers of this one man, spoken more than fifty years ago, reach across four generations of time and influence developments in my life today. This is the power of prayer and the source of my hope and optimism.
      ~Dr. James Dobson

I too have experienced the blessings from having a praying mother. I firmly believe, her bended knees before the Almighty, have protected, and continues to protect those who have come from the fruit of her womb...even unto salvation.

Because of our love for our children, we must rest and rely on the Lord because their salvation does not rest on our diligence or our faithfulness. Ultimately, our children’s salvation rests entirely on the sovereign work of God Himself. Such a realization should bring comfort to parents. In addition, it should motivate them to bathe their evangelistic efforts in prayer to the One who does His work where they cannot – in the child’s heart.
       ~John MacArthur

This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting.
     ~Matthew 17:21

The case of afflicted children should be presented to God by faithful and fervent prayer. Christ cured the child. Though the people were perverse, and Christ was provoked, yet care was taken of the child. When all other helps and succours fail, we are welcome to Christ, may trust in him, and in his power and goodness. See here an emblem of Christ's undertaking as our Redeemer. It encourages parents to bring children to Christ, whose souls are under Satan's power; he is able to heal.
        ~Matthew 17:21 Commentary by Matthew Henry

One of the most important things I am privileged to do as a mother is to pray for my children.

I want to purpose to set aside a day, once a week, to fast and petition God on behalf of my boys.

I won't make it a habit to pray that my boys are in the top reading group in their classroom, or that they will understand a foreign language by the time they are 10, or that they will know their times tables by next week. Though I want them to do well in school, that will not be what I am petitioning God for. You see, I do not necessarily care if my children are book smart. Though I know it is important, I just don't care about it as much as I care about other things.

I plan on spending a lot of time asking God to give them "undivided hearts (Psalm 86:11),  and praying "that they will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel when they open their mouths (Ephesians 6:19)." I pray that God will help them to be good stewards of their time, their money, their words. I pray for their character, their faith, their decisions, their future wives.

Some mother's may have a bumper sticker on their car proclaiming they are the proud mother of an honor roll student, I'd  rather have a bumper sticker that proclaims that I am the proud mother of a child with an undivided heart.

I want them to be wise, Godly men someday who chase after the Lord;

Who grow to be strong in the faith and courage of Christ Jesus.


                  God talks of our children in the context of war.

As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth. Happy is the man that has his quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate.
          ~Psalm 127:4-5

This life is a battle between the kingdom of God and the kingdom of Satan.


Our "arrows" must know how to contend for their faith and the truth


We are to be raising our children to be warriors for God's kingdom, to know how to face the battle and to stand strong for God. I want my children to grow up not being afraid to speak His truth, even in the face of opposition and persecution.

 I will speak of thy testimonies also before kings, and will not be ashamed.
     ~Psalm 119:46

 

Lord, send us lion-hearted men

With good courageous habits,

Who ne'er will run from the devil's gun

Like hares and bunny rabbits

                                              ~C.T. Studd

We must be relentless on our knees for our children, carrying them to the throne of grace as we petition the sovereign and good God of the gospel for mercy. And while praying for them, I will also pray for myself. That I would not do anything that would hinder their love for and faithfulness to Jesus.

I cannot save my children, only God can. But God hasn't called me to save them. He has called me to care for them, and to shepherd their hearts with the word of God.

                      

   we must pray like we can’t save our children
             ...but parent like we can
                                    

                                                                     ~Irish Calvinist 

Always Seeking Higher Ground,


Nora

Arrow Sharpening

If you were provided a glimpse into your child's future, and were given the knowledge that your child's destiny was to die a martyr's death while ushering  people into Christ's kingdom, would you raise them differently?

What would your parenting be focused on... football? Trying to help them fit in with their peers? Getting straight A's on their report card? Running interference in order to protect them from all things painful?



It would change everything....wouldn't it?

For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe on Him, but also to suffer for Him.

                 ~ Philippians 1:29

 Someday my hope is to see these arrows fly from my quiver, stronger than I thought they would be; bolder than I ever imagined, and sure of who they are in Jesus Christ. As a Christ follower, who is also a mother, I need to produce children who will make a difference in the battle betwen Good and evil.

Our kids need something more than safety. God did not make us for safety. He made us to go build His kingdom and transform the world.
       ~Gary Haugen (founder International Justice Mission)

Being misrepresented, slandered, reviled, persecuted, and wrongfully accused is an inevitable part of being a Christian. We must expect to suffer unjustly. Our lives confront the culture we live in. We live as aliens in the world, and it should not surprise us when the world is hostile toward us (1 John 3:13). We were called for that purpose. In this world we will have tribulation. It goes with the territory.

        ~John MacArthur

I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.
     ~John 16:33

God's calling is for us to step out of our sense of false protection across the boundary of fear into the adventure that is the heart of the gospel.

Some kids see their parents treating faith like a hobby, so they follow suit. We know that children’s perceptions of their parents’ religious beliefs — and the accuracy of these perceptions — influence the acceptance of these beliefs.
   ~Tim Kimmel (Why Christian Kids Rebel: Trading Heartache for Hope)

 I want, and pray! that my faith is real to my children, and that my life isn't just a "church" show on Sundays. It's about keeping it real with my kids, and showing my very real up and down relationship with God, modeling Christ's forgiveness; the Good News of the Gospel! We need to keep our own walk real; not being hypocritical or fake, showing them that it's...

    not just about church, but about our relationship with the Lord.


I do not want my children to grow up just being consumers of all things Jesus, but to live their life with the goal of helping usher in Christ's kingdom.

 I must not grow weary in seeding God's good in their hearts and lives. I admit watching my children step out further and further from my physical protection will be the hardest thing I do as a parent. I want to teach my kids to make decisions on their own - even if those decisions scare me.


The goal, has got to be to equip them, and then encourage them to go out under the banner of our prayers.

Clearly, some suffering is part of God’s will. It isn’t necessarily the suffering itself that is God’s will, but rather following the will of God in a fallen world will generate suffering in our lives.
      ~Gary Haugen (IJM)

I must make it clear to my children that becoming a Christian is not for the faint of heart.


If we remember that we are strangers, foreigners, and soldiers in a real spiritual battle behind enemy lines, it should cause us to take Scripture and its commands seriously. I need to let go and have faith that everything that happens to my children, even when they are older and outside my sphere of influence, IS PLANNED by God.


This truly is the hardest lesson that I have to learn.

Deep within all of us there is a yearning to be brave. And like all of our deepest, truest and best yearnings, it comes from how we were made.
      ~Garu Haugen (IJM)

Father God...these things I pray for my children: Open the eyes of their heart and let them really see you, give them friends that will encourage them in their walk with Christ, give them wisdom when making decisions that will impact their futures.

And For myself:  help me to authentically show my children my love for You...and Your love for me through all my imperfections, and then when its time, prayerfully...

                                              let them go.

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.        

                      ~Ephesians 6:12

Always Seeking Higher Ground,

Nora

Preparing For Battle

God wants our children to be as weapons in battle. They are to be arrows, shot from the bow effectively, powerfully, and precisely.

Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one’s youth.
     ~Psalms 127:4

As a parent, I want my kids to be happy, protected, and safe. While this is natural and good...

there is a danger in these intentions if I do not also realize God's plan for my kids.

Our children our given to us to accomplish a purpose, to bring a vital blow to the enemy in the battle of good and evil. God does not intend  kids to live holed away from the battle, untrained and unprepared for the bigger picture and the role He has for them to play in it. He intends for them to be sharpened, shaped, and strengthened. We are to be training them for battle.

But the fact of the matter is...when it comes to the fight between good and evil, we are failing our kids.


It has been reported that children who have grown up in the church are making a massive exodus from the church. I've heard the statistic that 80% of kids growing up in church will leave and never return. There are many reasons given for this...one being that they are going to church, but not encountering God. But more importantly, it is reported, that when the pressures begin to mount in a young adult's life, they abandon their faith; seeking answers elsewhere.

Too many youth groups are holding tanks with pizza. There's no life transformation taking place, People are looking for a faith that can change them and to be a part of changing the world.

    ~Ed Stetzer, director of Nashville-based LifeWay Research

I sometimes want to turn a blind eye and pretend that evil will never come to my little neck of the woods. But this thinking among God's people is probably why there has been such a loss of spiritual ground in America.

That... and the false idea that the church's main purpose is to entertain, instead of equipping us to live a life of self-denial in a world that hates Christians.
 

If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.
         ~John 15:19

In our quest to make our children happy, safe, and comfortable, have we given our children the tools they need to live life?  Life in a war zone? Looking at the world we live in, we see the spiritual forces at war for the souls of men. Are we preparing our children for this war?

As much as I may not want to face it, the fact remains: this world is not  home. We were not meant to hole up, hide out, and be as comfortable as possible until we die. Satan is on the prowl at all times. War has been declared on us as believers, whether we like to admit it or not. And I see it getting worse everyday.

God shot His son out, as a deadly arrow...purposefully, effectively, powerfully.

Would He expect anything less from us?

Always Seeking Higher Ground,

Nora