Faith From Beginning to End

For I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “The just shall live by faith.” (Romans 1:16-17)

God’s way is always a way of faith, from beginning to end, and faith always comes by revelation. More specifically, it comes by a revelation of God’s righteousness — His way of doing and being right.

Since it is about faith all the way through, let’s examine this revelation a little bit closer. As we discover in this passage, the revelation of God’s rightness is embodied in the Gospel of Christ. The word “gospel” means “good news,” and “Christ” means “Messiah,” or to put it in English, “Anointed One.” This revelation, then, is the good news about Jesus the Anointed One.

Now, in the Bible, the anointing is very significant. Listen to how it is described in Isaiah, concerning those who are delivered from tyranny and oppression:

It shall come to pass in that day that his [the oppressor’s] burden will be taken away from your shoulder, and his yoke from your neck, and the yoke will be destroyed because of the anointing oil. (Isaiah 10:27, the KJV simply says “the anointing”).

The anointing is the powerful manifestation of God’s goodness and might that completely removes the burden and shatters the yoke of oppression. No wonder Paul calls the Good News of the Anointed One “the power of God to salvation.” Salvation is not merely the forgiveness of sins. It is a total restoration of relationship with God that includes healing, deliverance, freedom and prosperity. Whatever you need to be made whole is found in the Gospel, and it is available “for everyone who believes.”

The good news about Jesus the Anointed One is the revelation of God’s righteousness — His way of doing and being right — brought to bear in your life. It comes, not to condemn you, but to save you and empower you for living. And it is all about faith. That is why Paul declares, “The just shall live by faith.” It is a new way of life, a way of faith and rightness from beginning to end.

Faith Will Work For Anyone

Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? Of works? No, but by the law of faith. (Romans 3:27)

Everything in the world is governed by spiritual laws. It all works by spiritual principles. A law, or principle, is something that will work every time for every person and in the same way.

Faith is a spiritual law.

This means that it will work for any and every one who uses it. It will perform exactly the same way every time it is put to work.

Notice that faith excludes boasting. There are two reasons for this:

1. Faith is a law. Have you ever heard anybody bragging about gravity, as if it were some personal accomplishment? Neither have I. Why? Because gravity is a physical law which always works for everybody in the same way every time. It is the same with the law of faith.
2. Faith is a gift. The Bible says, “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” (Ephesians 2:8-9). God’s gift of faith is available to everyone who wants it and will work for anyone who uses it.

Here’s an example. The Bible says that “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness” (Genesis 15:6). Just as faith made Abraham right with God, it will do the same for you when you believe God because faith is a spiritual law.

Hebrews 11 is often called the “Hall of Fame of Faith.” That is because it features a litany of many Old Testament heroes who accomplished mighty feats by faith. If you want to see how faith will work for you, study this chapter to see how faith worked for them. Faith will work for you in the same way it worked for them.

Now, we may not perform the same exploits as these Old Testament saints because desires to do things in us that pertain to these times in which we live. But the principles of faith will work exactly the same for you as it did for them. Sometimes we may fail to use faith properly, or to remain firm in our faith, but faith itself will never fail us.

Grab onto the principle of faith. Believe God’s promises and see how they will change your world. Faith is a spiritual law that will work for anyone, every time.

A Good Man Leaves an Inheritance

A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children. (Proverbs 13:22)

Here is wisdom for fathers, although that is not what the writer calls them here. He simply says, “a good man.” But two things tip us off that this good man is, in fact, a father:

• He has children.
• He leaves an inheritance.

Okay, maybe the first one is an obvious mark of fatherhood, but the second is not so obvious. At least, not so obvious to us today because we have forgotten something very important about fatherhood: The essence of fatherhood is inheritance.

That is, a father always passes something on to his children. Some pass on little more than DNA. Others pass on character traits, whether good or bad. Some pass on inheritance without vision, which is foolish. Others pass on wisdom and vision as part of the inheritance.

God’s way in the world is inheritance. We discover this in the Creation account, for God created every living thing to yield “after its kind.” That is how they fill the earth — not created from scratch each time, but each multiplying the inheritance and increasing it with each generation. Adam and Eve were to be fruitful and multiply the image of God and fill the earth with His glory.

An inheritance is not for squandering. That is what happens when there is no vision, no revelation of the heart of the father (and of the Father). No, an inheritance is to be received and enlarged by faith and wisdom, and then is passed on to the next generation.

How can you tell when you have effectively passed your inheritance onto your children? Proverbs 13:22 gives us the answer. You can tell you have been successful in passing it on to your children when you see that your children have passed it onto theirs.

Ah, now we see how much wisdom it takes to be a father, a good man. Now, “father” and “good man” should not be restricted only to the male of the species. Gender issues aside, women can also be “fathers” and “good men,” for all of us, male and female, are created to multiply the inheritance of God upon the earth, to be “fathers” in the Spirit.

That is one reason why, when the Holy Spirit is poured out on all flesh (as at Pentecost in Acts 2), it is the sons and daughters who prophesy. Even more interesting in regard to inheritance is that, though “your young men shall see visions, your old men shall dream dreams” (Acts 2:17). You see, the old men are not reminiscing about the “good old days.” They are dreaming dreams. That is, they are oriented toward the future. They are not remembering what the inheritance used to be, they are dreaming about how it will multiply and what it will become. They are fathers, and they are good men.

A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children because he is oriented toward the future. He is dreaming dreams for the sake of future generations. His inheritance becomes a manifestation of faith, patience and expectation, to bless even his children’s children.

How to Sow Generously

Sow generously, reap generously (2 Corinthians 9:6). That is how it is both in the natural and in the spirit. It is God’s way, ordained from the beginning — everything multiplying after its kind.

So how do you sow generously?

In 2 Corinthians 8, Paul offers the example of the believers at Macedonia who, even out of an abundance of persecution and a poverty of assets, gave freely of their funds to Paul’s collection for the needy saints in Jerusalem (v. 1-4). In the midst of such dire circumstances, how did they ever manage to be so generous to the work of the Lord in others?

Paul gives the answer in verse 5: “But they first gave themselves to the Lord, and then to us by the will of God.”

First they gave themselves to the Lord! They held back nothing from God but committed themselves fully and wholly to Him. That was their priority.

When you give yourself to the Lord, everything now belongs to Him, both your assets and your liabilities — everything! For He is ready, willing and able to multiply your assets. The Bible says that He gives seed to the sower and bread for food, but also that He will supply and multiply the seed for sowing (2 Corinthians 9:10). What is more, God is ready, willing and able to take care of all your liabilities, as well. When you belong to Him, so do all your needs and debts. They are now God’s and He always pays His bills.

God always takes care of His own. Now you are coming into position to sow generously.

So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity, for God loves a cheerful giver. (2 Corinthians 9:7)

When you give yourself to the Lord first, your purpose becomes clear and your heart begins to line up with God’s. Your heart becomes set on giving, because God is a giver. When your heart is prepared, it is no longer a matter of giving grudgingly or out of some sort of rule-keeping. God does not keep a score-card, He looks for what’s going on in the heart. That’s where the action is.

God loves a cheerful giver. The Greek word is hilaron, which is where we get our word “hilarious.” It means to be ready, willing and quick to give. God is ready, willing and able to do in your life everything that needs to be done for you. He is also looking for those who are ready and willing to partner with Him in the work He is doing in the lives of others. When we are ready and willing, God will make us able, and He gives us this promise:

God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work. (2 Corinthians 9:8)

There is a great freedom that comes when you realize that God will take care of you completely in every situation.

First, give yourself to the Lord, then you will be ready, willing and able to sow generously into what God is doing in others. Next, purpose in your heart what you will give and set it aside. Don’t hold back. Trust God to not only supply your seed, but to multiply it, as well. Then have fun with it. Get happy about it, because you are stepping into a wonderful partnership with God. You will discover that you just can’t wait to give.

How to Reap Generously

But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. (2 Corinthians 9:6 NKJV)

Remember this: he who sows sparingly and grudgingly will also reap sparingly and grudgingly, and he who sows generously [that blessings may come to someone] will also reap generously and with blessings. (2 Corinthians 9:6, The Amplified Bible)

How do you want to reap? A. Sparingly and grudgingly? B. Generously and with blessings?

If you answered with A, hit yourself on the head with a rubber mallet, and when you come to, perhaps you will think differently about it.

Sane and sharp people will answer with B. They want to reap generously and with blessings. That’s what we call a “no-brainer.”

How do you reap generously and with blessings?

The answer is clear and simple: Sow generously and with blessings. For as you sow, that is exactly how you will reap.

And yet, strangely enough, there are people who sow sparingly and grudgingly but expect to reap generously and with blessings. They have not yet believed the truth — it has not yet been settled in their hearts.

Everything is about faith, even our giving. If you truly believe that we will reap bountifully, then that is exactly how you will sow, gladly and willingly — even expectantly.

The Algebra of God’s Will

Here is what I call the algebra of God's will, based on the truth that God is love, and the prayer Jesus taught us: Kingdom of God, come. Will of God, be done on earth as it is in heaven.

• God is love.
• The will of God is being done in heaven.
• The will of God is the love of God.
• The love of God is being done in heaven.
• The kingdom of God is the love of God being done on earth as it is in heaven.

Under God’s Circumstances

Some Christians talk about their circumstances as if those circumstances have the final word on their life. “Well, under the circumstances …,” they say, as if that settles the question. It does not—there is more to be said. God always has the last word, and for believers, it is always a good word.

You see, God has circumstances of His own. He has a plan and a purpose, a will and desire. He has a kingdom, a rule and a reign. He invites us to partner with Him in it all, and Jesus taught us how to do that.

We pray:

• Kingdom of God, come!
• Will of God, be done!
  

Are there any circumstances that can stand up to that? I don’t think so.

Get up under God’s circumstances by getting into agreement with His Word. Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness (God’s way of doing and being right) and everything will be taken care of.

Prayers Rising Like Balloons—With Ribbons

Last night in Life Group (small group, home group, cell group, care group) we were worshipping the Lord, singing a song about how every nation, tribe and tongue would come and bow before Him in worship.

It came to me that the Lord has been preparing the soil for that for years, preparing every tongue to sing His praise. He has been sanctifying and anointing every language for worship, perfecting praise in every tongue.

The way He has been doing this is through the gift of tongues, a.k.a. praying in tongues. When we pray in tongues, we are praying in the languages of men and angels. Though there are thousands of languages and tens of thousands of dialects, I believe that the Church has been given every one in a prayer language, that is, in a tongue not learned, but given by God.

At that point in the meeting, we all began to pray to the Lord in tongues, moved by the thought that God was using those prayers to prepare the soil of the nations of the world to receive the Word of the Gospel.

When our prayer time ended, Sheila, one of the women in our group, said that, while we were praying, she saw our prayers rise like balloons toward heaven. Each balloon had a colored ribbon. Although she did not know what all the colors represented, she knew that some were for salvation, some for forgiveness, some for healing.

Your prayers, even from the solitude of your own little room or prayer closet, are changing the world. Even when you do not know exactly what you are praying, as in the gift of tongues, your Spirit-led prayers are accomplishing more than you could ask or imagine (Ephesians 3:20).

How Can You Know God's Will For You?

Here are some things that are true of everyone who knows God, who has entered into a personal relationship with Him through faith in Jesus Christ:

1. You have the revelation of God's Word. The Word of God reveals the will of God. God has made wonderful promises for every area of life, and they are all found in His Word. When we know His Word, we discover His will. Then we can pray with confidence, knowing that God will keep His promises and perform His will (1 John 5:14-15).
2. You have the Holy Spirit living in you. The Holy Spirit, by whom we are born again through faith in Jesus, lives in us and communicates with our Spirit. He is here to show us the things that are about Jesus — His life, His teaching, His works and His ways—and to reveal to us the heart and mind of God. Paul said, “But as it is written: ‘Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.’ But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes the deep things of God” (1 Corinthians 2:9-10).
3. God has a plan to renew your mind and transform your life, and He does it through His Word by His Spirit. Paul said, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God” (Romans 12:1-2). Let your mind be renewed by the Word of God and the Holy Spirit, and you will discover what the will of God is for you — and you will be quite excited about it, because God's will for you is good.
4. You can always ask God for wisdom and He will gladly give it to you, without scolding or rebuking you. James said, "If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the sea" (James 1:5-6).

Ask God for wisdom, and then trust Him to give to you. It will always be in agreement with His Word, and the Holy Spirit will give you an inner witness of peace about it.

Reaching Into the Hour of Glory

Woman, what does your concern have to do with Me? My hour has not yet come. (John 2:4)

A few days after Jesus began choosing His disciples, they were invited to a wedding feast in Cana, in the region of Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there and, when the wine ran out, she said to Him, “They have no wine” (v. 3).

Jesus answered, “Woman, what does your concern have to do with Me?” While this may sound to modern ears to be an abrupt answer, and one full of rebuke, it was not taken as such in that time and culture. Rather, He was saying, respectfully, “Yes, but what business is that of ours?” Then He added, “My hour has not yet come.”

The hour was soon coming when Jesus’ public ministry would begin and miracles would flow like wine  — but this was not yet that time. The hour of His glory was yet to be revealed.

No matter. Time is no problem for one who has faith, as Mary did. Seeing into the realm of the Spirit, she reached forward into that future hour in order to meet the need of the present. Then, with full confidence that the present need would be met by the future glory, she instructed the servants of the feast, “Whatever He says to you, do it” (v. 5). And so it was done.

For those who know how to see into the realm of the Spirit, the continuum of time and space present no problem. We are not bound by them when we learn how to exercise faith and pull on the eternal glory of God.

Time is No Problem

It has often been said that there is no distance in prayer. The substantiation for this is the account of how Jesus healed the seriously ill servant of a Roman centurion. The centurion, having a solid understanding about authority, realized that Jesus did not even need to trouble Himself to physically go to the house where the ailing servant lay — “But only speak a word, and my servant will be healed” (Matthew 8:8). Seeing the great faith of this man, Jesus gladly spoke the word and the servant was immediately healed.

Distance is no problem when we are talking about things of the Spirit.

Einstein showed as that space and time are not two different things, but two different perceptions of the same thing. This is known as the time-space continuum. On a simpler level, we understand the basic formula r x t = d, Rate times Time equals Distance. If I am traveling at a rate of sixty miles per hour, then in an hour’s time, I will have traveled sixty miles. That’s a no-brainer.

If it is true that there is no distance in prayer — and it is — then what does that say about time? If distance is no problem for things of the Spirit, and if time and space are actually part of the same continuum, then it follows that time is also no problem for the realm of the Spirit. Hmmmmm, let’s open up that can of worms and go fishing.

The Essence of Faith

In the Bible, faith is not the general ability to believe anything and everything. Biblical faith is much more precise than that and it has a particular basis: Faith is believing what God has said.

It is not positive thinking. Positive thinking is about what we can do. Faith is about what God can do. More precisely, it is about what God has promised to do in His Word.

Faith is not theoretical, it is concrete. That is, it is not just believing what God can do, but what God will do because He has promised to do so. For example, it is not just believe that God can provide, it is believing that will provide for me, because that is His promise. So faith is personal — between us and God.

Faith is dynamic, not static. It is not merely something we possess but something we use. It is living and active.

The essence of faith is believing what God has said. Even God uses faith — He always believes what He says and expects to see it happen.

Faith Comes From God

So Jesus answered and said to them, “Have faith in God.” (Mark 11:22)

“Have faith in God.” A more literal rendering of the Greek text is “Have faith of God.” This reading is supported by a number of translations, including Young’s Literal Translation, the Modern King James Bible, the Literal Translation of the Bible, and The Worrell New Testament.

Adolphus S. Worrell, Baptist preacher and professor of Hebrew and Greek, explains:

Have the faith of God; translators generally render this, “Have faith in God;” but, if this had been the thought, it would have been easy to have expressed it in the Greek. Faith originates with God; and those who have real faith have His faith; the same perhaps as “the faith which is of the Son of God.” (Gal. 2:20) This mountain: nothing short of the faith of God can remove mountains; but His faith, operating through His obedient children, can accomplish this, (Acts 3:6; 9:34). (Worrell, A.S. The Worrell New Testament, 1904)

W. B. Godby’s Translation of the New Testament also supports “have the faith of God.” Godby was a nineteenth century Holiness preacher. In his commentary on Mark 11:22, he says, “There is a difference between faith in God and the ‘faith of God,’ the latter being a perfect faith, admitting no admixture of doubt.”

John Gill was a Baptist preacher of the eighteenth century. He pastored the Strict Baptist Church, which later became the Metropolitan Tabernacle pastored by Charles Haddon Spurgeon. Here is what Gill said this about this passage:

“Have faith in God; or “the faith of God,” so the Vulgate Latin, Syriac, Persic, and Ethiopic versions; that is, exercise, and make use of that faith which has God for its author, which is the work of God, and of his operation, a free grace gift of his; and which has God for its object; and is supported by his power, and encouraged by his goodness, truth, and faithfulness: and so the Arabic version renders it, “believe in God”; not only that such things may be done, as the drying up a fig tree, but those that are much greater. (Exposition of the Entire Bible)

Adam Clarke, early nineteenth century Methodist preacher, said:

Have faith in God — echete pistin Theou is a mere Hebraism: have the faith of God, i.e. have strong faith, or the strongest faith, for thus the Hebrews expressed the superlative degree; so the mountains of God mean exceeding great mountains—the hail of God, exceeding great hail, etc. (Adam Clarke’s Commentary on the Bible)

A. B. Simpson, founder of the Christian and Missionary Alliance, supports this reading, as well, in The Gospel of Healing:

Jesus does not say to you, “Have great faith yourself.” But He does say, “Have the faith of God.” God's faith is all-sufficient, and you can have it and use it. You can take Christ for your faith as you took Him for your justification, for your victories over temptation, for your sanctification. You may then rest in the assurance that your faith has not failed to meet the demands of the promise, for it has been Christ's own faith.

Every one of us can have the faith that comes from God. In Ephesians, Paul said, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourself, it is the gift of God” (Ephesians 2:8). To the Romans, he said, “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God” (Romans 10.17).

There is a faith that comes from God, and a faith that comes from the world. The faith that comes from the world teaches us to trust in ourselves and to be moved by circumstances. It conditions us to be directed by our own understanding and to rely on our thoughts, emotions and senses. The faith that comes from God brings us into total dependence upon Him, leaning fully on His Word and the rich promises He has given us. This is the Bible kind of faith. It comes from God and it always directs us back to Him.

Calling Things As Though They Were

Therefore it is of faith that it might be according to grace, so that the promise might be sure to all the seed, not only to those who are of the law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all (as it is written, “I have made you a father of many nations”) in the presence of Him whom he believed—God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did. (Romans 4:16-17)

God calls those things that are not as though they were. That is how the heavens and the earth got here in the first place. Once they were not, now they are—because God called them as though they were. The worlds were framed by the Word of God (Hebrews 11:3).

That’s how God works.

When God made man, He made him in the image of God. He formed Adam from the earth and then puffed the breath of life into him, and Adam became a living being. An ancient rabbinic commentary says that Adam became a “speaking spirit.”

God is Spirit, a speaking spirit. The Bible says that “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God” (2 Timothy 3:16). The Greek word for “inspiration” is theoneustos and literally means “God-breathed.” God breathes out His Word.

When God breathes out His Word, things happen. They come into being because He calls them by the breath of His mouth. At the Creation, for example, when darkness was upon the face of the deep, God called for light. Light came into being and solved the problem of darkness.

Now, the breath of God is one. The same breath He breathed into Adam’s nostrils is the same breath by which He breathes out His Word and causes things to be.

After God created Adam, He set him to work. He brought the animals to Adam to see what he would call them (Genesis 2:19). With the breath of God, Adam was to breath forth words and name the animals. By naming them, he called forth what they were to be and do. Another way to say this is that he called things which did not exist (the purpose and destiny of the animals) as though they were already in existence. That is how faith works.

God did not tell Adam what to call the animals, He simply gave Adam the breath and the authority to name them and call forth their destinies. Then He stepped back to observe and see what Adam would call into being.

God operates in the world by the Word of His breath, and that is how He created man to operate as well. In Romans 4, we see that God called Abraham, which means “Father of Multitudes,” even though, at the time, Abraham was the father of none. But God was calling things that are not as though they were, and He expected Abraham to come into agreement with His word, this name Abraham, Father of Multitudes. So whenever Abraham or Sarah spoke forth this name, they were calling things that did not exist as though they already did. They were not speaking lies or denying facts, they were calling for things to come forth. The Word of God cannot fail—whether it comes from God’s own mouth or from ours—so the things that Abraham called eventually showed up in the natural.

God has created you and me to call things which do not exist as though they did. So explore the Word of God to discover the promises of God and what His heart is all about. Then open up your mouth and start calling them forth in agreement with Him. It does not matter whether you can see them, feel them or experience them in any way. Just keep calling them as if they already existed, and they will eventually show up. For everything must eventually line up with the Word of God.

Yahweh the Portion of My Inheritance and My Cup

O LORD, You are the portion of my inheritance
  and my cup;
You maintain my lot.
  The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places;
Yes, I have a good inheritance.

(Psalm 16:5-6)

Here is a wonderful name of God: Yahweh the Portion of My Inheritance and My Cup. The name LORD (all caps) is the Hebrew Yahweh, the personal name of God, the name by which He reveals Himself to His people in covenant. The words You are are in italics, signifying that they are not in the original text but were added by the translators).

A “portion” is that which has been weighed out. The Hebrew word for “inheritance” used here refers to a portion that is received by allotment, an inheritance. It comes from a word that literally means “smooth.” Smooth stones were used for making allotments, i.e., drawing lots, and came to refer to an inheritance which is received by allotment, or lottery.

By the double use of “portion” and “inheritance,” David, the psalm writer, is saying, “LORD, You are the Portion of all portions to me.”

We might think of it this way: When we know the LORD, through faith in Jesus Christ, we have won the highest lottery. We have hit the jackpot of all jackpots. We have received the highest and greatest reward there is to receive.

A cup is a holder. God is a cup for us. He holds everything in our life together and fills us with abundance. In the Shepherd Psalm, David said, “My cup runs over” (Psalm 23:5).

After calling God “The Portion of My Inheritance and My Cup” David then says, “You maintain my lot.” The word for “maintain” means to obtain, sustain, retain, maintain. It is not about what we do, but about what God does. What He begins in us, He brings through to completion.

“The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places.” The lines are the boundary lines of what we receive in the LORD, and the field they describe is delightful, a place of fruitfulness and abundance.

“Yes, I have a good inheritance.” The word for “good” used here literally means “glisten.” Our inheritance in the LORD is good — bright and shining, and fair to look upon. It is delightful and very desirable.

Finally, notice that David is speaking in the present tense. The inheritance we have in the LORD is not something we will receive someday when we die and go to heaven. No, it is an inheritance we possess now. It is given to us for this life.

If you have received the Lord Jesus Christ, you have won the lottery. You are now in possession of the portion of all portions. Take time to reflect on the wonderful inheritance you have in the LORD. Look to Him to maintain and take care of you in all things. Enjoy the Lord, your portion and your cup, now and forever.

Prospering in Heaven and Earth

Then Hezekiah prayed before the LORD, and said; “O LORD God of Israel, the One who dwells between the cherubim, You are God, You alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth.” (2 Kings 19:15)

God is the Maker of heaven and earth. Heaven and earth are made up of the same stuff — the Word of God. The Bible says,

By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the Word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible. (Hebrews 11:3).

Not only are heaven and earth made up of the same substance, they both operate by the same principle — the Word of God. When darkness was upon the face of the earth, God spoke His Word and said, “Light be!” and there was light upon the earth (Genesis 1).

Some people study only the earth, and they understand neither heaven nor earth. Then they propagate their ignorance. Others study heaven and think it has nothing to do with the earth, and so they fail to live effectively in either realm. The wise will study heaven with an eye toward understanding the earth, and they will prosper in both realms.

The Benefits of Praying in the Spirit

Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit. (Ephesians 5:18)

He who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God, for no one understands him; however, in the spirit he speaks mysteries. (1 Corinthians 14:2)

He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself. (1 Corinthians 14:4)

But you, dear friends, build yourselves up in your most holy faith and pray in the Holy Spirit. (Jude 20)

What is the conclusion then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will also pray with the understanding. I will sing with the spirit, and I will also sing with the understanding. (1 Corinthians 14:15)

When we pray in the Spirit, our worship is inspired because the Holy Spirit leads us in perfect praise. Worship is a spiritual activity, that is, a Holy Spirit directed activity. No one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:3).

When we pray in the Spirit, He reveals mysteries to us (1 Corinthians 14:4). The Holy Spirit takes the things that belong to Jesus and reveals them to us. (John 16:15)

When we pray in the Spirit, we are not limited by our own understanding because the Holy Spirit knows the mind of God (1 Corinthians 2:11).

When we pray in the Spirit, we give thanks to God well (1 Corinthians 14:17).

When we pray in the Spirit, our prayers are focused because the Holy Spirit is not distracted.

When we pray in the Spirit, our prayers are pure because the Holy Spirit has pure motives.

When we pray in the Spirit, our prayer is effective and powerful because the Holy Spirit knows exactly what to pray.

When we pray in the Spirit, we are built up, because the Holy Spirit is the one who strengthens our faith. Faith comes by hearing, hearing by the Word of God, and the Word of God comes by inspiration of the Holy Spirit.

Lay hold on God’s great gift of praying in the Spirit and let Him bring fresh fire to your prayer life.

God is All About Faith

God Himself exercises faith. Faith is believing the Word of God and expecting it to be fulfilled. When God speaks, He always has an expectation that it will be fully accomplished:

For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, and do not return there, but water the earth, and make it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall My Word be that goes forth from My mouth; it shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it. (Isaiah 55:10-11)

God is also the source of our faith. Don’t try to come up with your own faith — you’ll never make it. Instead, have faith of God. That’s what Jesus told the disciples in Mark 11:22. Your version might read “Have faith in God,” but the literal Greek is “Have faith of God.”

Before you can have faith in God, you must have faith of God — that is, the faith that comes from God. Paul said that faith is the gift of God (Ephesians 2:8). This faith comes by hearing the Word of God (remember that God always expects His Word to be fulfilled), so get heavily involved in the study and meditation of the promises of His Word.

God uses faith in the same way He expects us to use it. He speaks it out. In Genesis 1, God spoke forth His Word to create: “Let there be light,” or “Light, be!” and there was light. In Mark 11, Jesus spoke out His faith by His words: He rebuked the fig tree and it withered from the root. Then He taught the disciples to use faith in the same way:

Have faith [of] God. For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, “Be removed and be cast into the sea,” and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. (Mark 11:22-23)

God is all about faith. Are you? Understand where faith comes from, how faith comes, and how to exercise it. Then go out and move the mountains of your life.

The Blessing or the Curse ~ No In-Between

I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live; that you may love the LORD your God, that you may obey His voice, and that you may cling to Him, for He is your life and the length of your days; and that you may dwell in the land which the Lord swore to your fathers. (Deuteronomy 30:19-20)

There is only blessing or cursing. There is nothing else — no middle ground, no neutral zone. If you are not under the blessing, you are under the curse. Just as darkness is nothing more than the absence of light, and evil is nothing more than the absence of good, so the curse is nothing more than the absence of blessing.

The blessing corresponds to life, the cursing to death. These affect, not only ourselves, but our families, our children, our descendants. The Bible says that the iniquity of the fathers who hate the Lord haunts the children to the third and fourth generations (Deuteronomy 5:9). But those who love the Lord and keep His commandments enjoy His blessing for a thousand generations (Deuteronomy 5:9, 7:9).

Although there is only blessing and cursing, and no in-between, many people experience both blessing and cursing. If there is blessing in your life, it may well relate back to someone, or many, in your family tree who honored the Lord, even thousand generations ago. Likewise, if there is cursing in your life, it may also relate back to previous generations. Which one will you ratify?

God gives you the choice — life or death, blessing or cursing. HINT: Choose life!

If you have blessing in your family history, praise God and get into agreement with it. Add to it by turning to the Lord and honoring Him through faith and love. If you have cursing in your family history (and who doesn’t?), know that the Lord Jesus Christ came to free you from it. Understand, also, that you can be the one who introduces blessing into you generations:

Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”), that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. (Galatians 3:13-14)

Not only the removal of the curse, but the impartation of blessing comes through faith in Jesus Christ. There is no other way, no in-between. Which will you choose for you and your children?

Listen to Choosing Life (in MP3), one of the tracks from Healing Scriptures & Prayers Volume 2: New Testament. This album, available in MP3 as well as CD, features readings by Jeff Doles from his book, Healing Scriptures and Prayers, along with relaxing background music to help you meditate on the healing promises of God.

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Healing Scriptures and Prayers
by Jeff Doles

Preview with Amazon’s “Look Inside.”

Available in paperback and Kindle (Amazon), epub (Google and iTunes) and PDF.

Understanding the Lovingkindness of the LORD

Who are the redeemed of the LORD? They are wanderers in the desert, rebels in prison, fools in sickness, and those who are in the greatest peril — any and all who turn and cry out to the Lord. He hears them and delivers them, bringing them into safety, prosperity and health. He causes them to walk with Him in rightness.

You see, there are just two kinds of people in the world: Those who cry out to the Lord, and those who do not. Notice what happens with each.

He turns rivers into a wilderness,
  And the watersprings into dry ground;
A fruitful land into barrenness,
  For the wickedness of those who dwell in it.

(Psalm 107:33-34)

Because of wickedness, rivers and wells run dry. The fruitful become barren. This is not only true of individuals who turn from the Lord, it is also true of the land they inhabit. God does not cause it to be this way, He allows it to be this. He permits is because the wicked permit it, by their words and their ways. You see, God has given them the right to choose, and He honors their choice by allowing them to have real consequences.

He turns a wilderness into pools of water,
  And dry land into watersprings.
There He makes the hungry dwell,
  That they may establish a city for a dwelling place,
And sow fields and plant vineyards,
  That they may yield a fruitful harvest.
He also blesses them, and they multiply greatly;
  And He does not let their cattle decrease.

(Psalm 107:35-38)

When people repent and cry out to the Lord, they are redeemed. Their dry, dusty fields become well-watered pastures, lush and green. They are established — stabilized and positioned for abundance and prosperity. Their harvest is full of all kinds of fruitfulness. Their blessings multiply. Just as wickedness brings curse, even to ecological systems, so does righteousness bring blessing.

When they are diminished and brought low
  Through oppression, affliction and sorrow,
He pours contempt on princes,
  And causes them to wander in the wilderness where there is no way;

(Psalm 107:39-40)

God is righteous and just—that is, He does right and sets things right. When oppression, affliction and sorrow are brought upon the redeemed, God is not silent or still. He visits the perpetrators, and those who sit idly by, with contempt. He laughs as their honor, position and power disintegrate. He hastens their downfall and sets them wandering in the wilderness of their own making.

Yet He sets the poor on high, far from affliction,
  And makes their families like a flock.
The righteous see it and rejoice,
  And all iniquity stops its mouth.

(Psalm 107:41-42)

God’s justice means restoration for the poor, all who look to Him. He sets them high above misery and trouble. He enlarges them and causes them to prosper. He greatly adds to their families and thus causes His inheritance to increase on the earth. For those who do what is right, this is a cause for celebration. Those who do what is wrong are dumbfounded — it is hard to argue with blessing.

Whoever is wise will observe these things,
And they will understand the lovingkindness of the LORD.

(Psalm 107:43)

This brings us back to where we began — the song of the redeemed: Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; His love endures forever (Psalm 147:1).

If you seek wisdom, pay close attention to these things and guard them carefully in your heart. Then you will begin to discern the goodness of the Lord, and see His lovingkindness displayed in your life.