God Responds in Measure to Our Faith

We say we serve the God who can do anything, but how often do we really believe that? What and how we pray is a litmus test for our faith. If we pray for a shiny red bicycle, do we really believe that will get it, or is it just something we wish for? When we pray for freedom in North Korea, do we then actually expect North Korea to be freed?

Jesus once encountered a Roman citizen. This man demonstrated more faith than anyone Jesus had ever met. This man, who was neither Jew, Samaritan, a priest, nor Sadducee, made a simple request found in Luke 7:7: "But say the word, and my servant will be healed."

This man understood something of who God was. This man, who was a Roman centurion, realized God's power was not limited to touch, but that God really was capable to do anything at any time.

This is the God that we still serve today. He is capable of anything, at any time. But this brings us back to the question: do we really believe that? We limit God and what He can do because of how our own relationship with God stands. Jon Bloom argues, "Jesus is not as impressed with titles, degrees, and achievements as we are. He is impressed with those who really do humbly believe Him."

Jesus summed up the Old Testament law like this. Love God, Love others. Everything else will fall into place. God isn't looking for us to be perfect. He is just asking us to step out in humble faith, and recognize what He really is capable of. When we do that, He will faithfully respond accordingly.

Living Life

Faithful Lover

It is not uncommon for that romanticism to fade after marriage. Couples no longer have to try to captivate their spouse, because the battle for their heart has already been won. While this is certainly not true for every relationship, it is true for some. If this can be true for our relationships with our significant other, can't this also be true in our relationships with God?

God continues to pursue us. He pursued us before we were ever interested in Him. He chases after us after we have been brought into the family of God.

God will never stop desiring an intimate relationship with us. In the midst of backsliding, God still desires a relationship with us. When we don't feel that we are being faithful in our quiet times, God still wants to develop our relationship.

Hearing the Gospel is not just for non-Christian or new believers. We need to preach the Gospel to ourselves every day. We need to be reminded of our first love, because our hearts are prone to wander. Tullian Tchividjian writes, "Real freedom (the freedom that only the Gospel grants) is living for something because we already have favor instead of living for something in order to gain favor."

God is our faithful lover, and He will always pursue us, regardless of how we think we are doing spiritually. He is in love with us, and He will constantly seek us out. As we let Him draw close to us, we will find that we want to draw close to Him. After all, isn't that what intimacy is about?

Living Life

God Does Not Compromise

We try to be everything to all people. We often change who we are and how we act around different people. Especially if we are trying to impress someone or a group of people, we will find ourselves doing things that we would not normally do. However, compromises can very quickly lead us to places that we should never go. Compromise all too often, leads to sin. But while we deal with the struggles of compromise, we can be sure that Christ does not.

Christ does not compromise His character. He never has, and He never will. God will always be faithful to who He is. Numbers 23:19 states, "God is not a man, that he should lie, nor a son of man, that should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill?" Because Christ will not compromise, every man and women is forced to come to a decision: to either reject Him or accept Him. As Alexander MacLaren says, "All the manifestations and operations of that divine Character have a twofold aspect. Christ is either a stone of stumbling or a sure foundation. Men are either the better or the worse for Him."

So what do we do when we are confronted with Jesus? As Christians, we have already accepted Jesus, the immovable object, for who He is. Now, the next step for us is to become immovable objects of grace ourselves.

Living Life

Faithful Father

In the past, God walked in the Garden of Eden with Adam. God spoke with Abraham and Moses. He appeared in visions to Ezekiel and Daniel. He came in human flesh as Jesus to John and Peter. Clearly, these men, and others like them, had the chance to carry a conversation with God. Do we still have that same opportunity, today?

We know that God does not change, and that His purpose today is still the same purpose He had 100 years ago, 1000 years ago, even at the very beginning of time. God declares in Hebrews 6:17, "Because God wanted to make the unchanging nature of his purpose very clear to the heirs of what was promised, he confirmed it with an oath."

Therefore, if we know that God has not changed, nor has His plan changed, we can safely assume that He wants to communicate with us today, just as much as He wanted to communicate with men and women of God in the past. That is why we pray. Winfield Bevins says, "Prayer begins by understanding that God is our loving Father and we are His children."

This is the faithful God that we serve. It does not matter who we are or what we do, what matters is that we are His children. God is not distant from us, but He desires to show us who He is. He is the Father who will always be there. He is the Father who will always love us. He is our Father, our Daddy. Some of us have been blessed with a good relationship with our father, while others have not. Regardless of where our relationship with our earthly fathers lies, we can trust in God to be the Faithful Father.

Living Life