February 1, 2013
“Without faith it is impossible to please God. He that would come to God must believe that He is and that He rewards those who diligently seek Him.” (Hebrews 11:6)
The author of these words is telling discouraged believers why they should not throw away their faith. He writes that they must believe because without faith we cannot come to God, we cannot please God, and we cannot experience the beautiful reality that God rewards those who diligently seek Him.
When Jesus died on the cross a great veil in the Temple that separated sinners from the divine presence of God was supernaturally torn from top to bottom. The significance of that miracle was, and is, that we can now go directly into the presence of God. We no longer need the intercession of a priest. The door into a relationship with God has been wide open since our High Priest Jesus opened it for us 2,000 years ago. How could we not come to God through that door by faith?
We must believe because we are not only saved by faith – we are to live by faith. As we live by faith our chief purpose in life is to glorify God. To glorify God means to please God and we cannot please God without faith. As we live our life in this world the greatest fact of life we know is that God is, and He blesses, enables, and rewards those who come to Him by faith.
The author then gives us what we call A Hall of Faith which exhibits for all time great examples of people who did not throw away their faith. In spite of great challenges they believed that God is, they came to Him, they pleased Him and God rewarded their faith.
Leave a Comment » | 
Uncategorized | Tagged: belief & faith, Divine Presence, faith, glorifying God, hall of faith, hebrews 11, Jesus, living by faith, Relationship with God, spirituality | 
Permalink
Posted by Dick Woodward
January 29, 2013
“Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’” (John 3:7)
When Jesus declared that we should not marvel because He told us we must be born again, He meant that we should not marvel as if the new birth were unnecessary. Jesus explained that flesh gives birth to flesh and only the Spirit gives birth to spiritual people. When the Bible uses the word, “flesh,” it means “Human nature unaided by God.” History tells us human nature unaided by God is a monster. So, Jesus said we should marvel not as if the new birth were unnecessary.
Jesus also told us we should not marvel as if the new birth were impossible. God can work a miracle of creation in the life of a human being. David prayed: “Create in me a pure heart, O God…” (Psalm 51:10). The apostles refer to the new birth as if it were the answer to David’s prayer (2 Corinthians 5:17).
We should not marvel as if the new birth were incomprehensible. We do not see electricity. But we believe in electricity because we see the effects of electricity. When we see trees bending and objects flying we say, “Look at that wind!” But we do not see the wind. We only see the effects of the wind. It is that way with the new birth. We cannot see the Spirit. We only see the effects of the Spirit in the life of someone who is being born again. But as we believe in other things we cannot see – like the wind and electricity – we can believe in the new birth.
And finally, Jesus meant you should not marvel as if the new birth could not happen to you.
Believe Jesus and it will happen to you!
2 Comments | Uncategorized | Tagged: Born Again, Christian discipleship, Christian faith, faith, Jesus Christ, John 3:7, spirituality, the New Birth, theology | Permalink
Posted by Dick Woodward
January 25, 2013
“I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again… no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit.” (John 3: 3, 5)
John Wesley preached so often on the text “You must be born again” that people asked him, “Mr. Wesley, why do you preach so often that we must be born again?” His answer was always the same: “Because you must be born again!” In the two quotes from Jesus above it is almost as if someone has asked Jesus why we must be born again.
Jesus gives us two answers to our question. Without being born again we cannot see the Kingdom of God and we cannot enter the Kingdom of God without being born again. The Kingdom of God is therefore the end to which the new birth is the means.
People have misinterpreted and misapplied these two answers of Jesus. They replace the concept of the Kingdom of God with the concept of heaven. They would answer our question by telling us we cannot see heaven or enter heaven unless we are born again.
Jesus was not talking about heaven after we die. The Kingdom of God is the concept that God is a King and He wants to make us His subjects. To see that concept and enter into that relationship with God whereby He truly is our King and we are His subjects we must be born again.
Have you ever seen that truth? Have you entered into a relationship with God where He truly is your King? If you have not seen that truth or entered into that kind of relationship with God then you simply must be born again!
2 Comments | Uncategorized | Tagged: being born again, Born Again, Christ the King, christianity, faith, Jesus Christ, John 3:3-5, John Wesley, Kingdom of God, new birth, Relationship with God, theology | Permalink
Posted by Dick Woodward
January 22, 2013
“I thank my God upon every remembrance of you… for your fellowship in the gospel…” (Philippians 1: 3, 5)
As Paul begins this letter he uses a beautiful word when he writes: “… your fellowship in the gospel.” The basic meaning of the word is partnership, but Sam Shoemaker paraphrased it as: “two fellows in the same ship.”
I met with a man who was on the threshold of coming to faith. He had many, many problems. So, I said to him, “There is a word you’re going to be learning soon: “fellowship.” It means “two fellows in the same ship.” I want you to know, Charlie, I am in the ship with you!” As he took a long drag on his cigarette, with tears in his eyes he blew smoke in my face and said, “Well row, *bleep* it!”
Charlie was saying to me that he did not fully understand this new word but he wanted to know what difference it was going to make. Was I just going to take up room, or rock the boat or was I going to grab an oar and row?
I often said to others what I said to Charlie. But Charlie added to my paraphrase of this word. After Charlie, when I said those words I found myself asking, “What would it look like if I got in this person’s ship with them and rowed?”
When Jesus got in Peter’s little ship He surely made a difference. He filled Peter’s ship and his partner’s ship with fish (Luke 5: 1-11).
What difference does it make to others when you get in their ship with them? Think of the difference it could make because you are bringing Christ with you into their ship.
Leave a Comment » | Uncategorized | Tagged: faith, fellowship, friendship, Jesus, Philippians 1:3-5, religion, Saint Paul, walking by faith, witnessing Christ | Permalink
Posted by Dick Woodward
January 19, 2013
“I form the light and create darkness, I make peace and create calamity; I, the Lord, do all these things.” (Isaiah 45:7)
When we have economic downturns and other challenges if we are spiritually oriented people we cannot help but ask ourselves the question: “Where is God in all this?” Most people have no doubts about God being the Source of prosperity and good times. But when hard times happen few of us consider the hard reality that God could be the Source of our challenging circumstances.
God tells us through the Prophet Isaiah that He is the Source of our calamities — sometimes. A man who was considered in his day to be the wisest man who ever lived wrote: “When times are good, be happy; but when times are bad, consider: God has made the one as well as the other.” (Ecclesiastes 7:14)
There are many Scriptures that tell us God does His most effective mentoring when we are challenged by hard times. My favorite is in Chapter Fifteen of the Gospel of John where Jesus tells us He is a Vine and we are His branches. When we are fruitful branches because we are aligned with Him, His Father, Who is the divine Vine Dresser, cuts us back, or prunes us, that we might bring forth better quality and quantity of fruit.
Therefore, what often seems like a setback is the cutback of a loving heavenly Father who is pruning us so we will be more fruitful. Jesus told the apostles in the Upper Room that He wanted them to be more fruitful so their joy would be full (John 15:11). More fruit, ultimately more joy. That can be why God is the Source of our calamities—sometimes.
Leave a Comment » | Uncategorized | Tagged: cutbacks not setbacks, faith, faithful fruit, Isaiah 45:7, Jesus Christ, loving heavenly father, prophet isaiah, spirituality, theology, Trusting God, Where is God? the Vine & the Branches | Permalink
Posted by Dick Woodward
January 15, 2013
“Yours is the Kingdom, the Power and the glory forever, Amen.” (Matthew 6: 13)
Jesus taught us to begin our prayers with a providential or God-first perspective. He also taught us to end our prayers with the same kind of Kingdom benediction. In this prayer/prescription after we get our priorities straight we are to close our prayers in a way that is consistent with the way we begin our prayers.
In essence, we are to end our prayers by telling God that since the power to answer our prayers will always come from Him the glory will always go to Him and the result will always belong to Him. That is what “Your’s is the Kingdom” is really all about.
When you pray are you taking God into your plans or are you asking Him to take you into His plans? I have had the privilege of being involved in the founding of two churches. After many years serving those churches I then had to drop out and let others pastor them. That was when I learned what it means to pray: “Your’s is the Kingdom.”
Jesus taught me to pray that since the power to answer my prayers over many years as the pastor of those churches had come from Him the glory should now go to Him and the result (the churches) should belong to Him.
James tells us we ask and do not receive because we ask amiss (James 4:3). A teenager asked me if James was telling us we can pray a hit as well as a miss. If you want to pray a hit every time allow Jesus to show you how to begin and end your prayers.
Leave a Comment » | Uncategorized | Tagged: church, Disciples Prayer, Faith in God, Jesus Christ, Matthew 6:13, prayer, prayer perspective, prayer prescription, religion, the Our Father, theology | Permalink
Posted by Dick Woodward
January 11, 2013
“… but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. ” (Philippians 3: 13, 14)
As we move into a new year so many of us could say, “These forty/eleven things I dabble in” as we consider our priorities. Spiritual heavyweights like Paul can write “One thing I do.” They can write that they have their priorities sifted down to one thing because they forget those things that are behind.
We all have things we need to let go of so we can press toward the goal of what God wants us to do now and in the future.
The story is told of a man who fell over a cliff but managed to grab hold of a little bush that was growing out of the cliff about forty feet from the top. He frantically shouted “Help!” several times but his voice simply echoed back to him. Desperately he yelled, “Anybody up there? A subterranean voice answered, “Yes!” He then yelled again “Help!” Then the voice said. “Let go!” After a brief pause the man shouted, “Anybody else up there?”
Sometimes it takes a lot of faith to let go. It may be that we need to let go of things that we cannot do and only God can do. It may be we need to let go of things we cannot control. And, sometimes we need to let go of hurts that people have inflicted on us and we cannot forgive them and just let it go.
Do you need to let go and let God so you can unload baggage and move forward with God?
Leave a Comment » | Uncategorized | Tagged: faith, Faith priorities, letting go & letting God, moving forward in faith, Philippians 3:13-14, religion, running the race of faith, spirituality, Trusting God | Permalink
Posted by Dick Woodward
January 9, 2013
“And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.” (Matthew 6:12)
The greatest obstacle to inner healing is un-forgiveness. Those who work in ministries of healing claim that the lack of forgiveness on the part of a victim that has been terribly violated can retard their own inner healing.
Can you see why Jesus instructed His disciples to pray every day: “Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors?” The original language has it, “As we have already forgiven our debtors.” Do you think Jesus knew how important it is to our inner healing that we should forgive those who sin against us?
Some are bothered by the way Jesus offers commentary on this petition in the disciple’s Prayer. He commented that if we do not forgive we are not forgiven. It almost sounds as if we are forgiven because we forgive. He defuses their confusion with a parable that is recorded in Chapter Eighteen of Matthew. A man is forgiven a very large debt in the millions of dollars. He does not have to go into debtor’s prison and see his wife and family sold into slavery.
But on the way home he meets a man who owes him twenty dollars. He grabs him by the throat and orders him to pay him every cent or he will have him put into debtor’s prison. Both events are observed and told to the one who forgave him the large debt. He is recalled and his forgiveness is revoked. Jesus comments on that story, that if we from our hearts do not forgive, we are not forgiven.
The point is that if we are a forgiven person we will be a forgiving person. If we are not a forgiving person we are not really a forgiven person.
2 Comments | Uncategorized | Tagged: faith, faith & healing, Forgive us our tresspasses, Forgiveness, inner healing, Jesus, Matthew 6:12, prayer, religion, The Disciples' Prayer, theology | Permalink
Posted by Dick Woodward
January 5, 2013
“In this manner, therefore, pray:
Our Father in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.
Your kingdom come.
Your will be done
On earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts,
As we forgive our debtors.
And do not lead us into temptation,
But deliver us from the evil one.
For Yours is the kingdom and the power
And the glory forever. Amen.” (Matthew 6: 8-13)
Make the observation with the help of the bold type that this disciple’s prayer/instruction teaches that we should begin our prayers with what we might call a ‘providential perspective.’
This is expressed in three petitions: Your name, Your kingdom and Your will. Before we get to “Give us” we are to bring into our perspective Who God is, as He is revealed in all His names. Then we are to focus on the fact that He is our King and we are His subjects.
When we understand that He is our King, we know His will must be done on earth through us even as it is done perfectly in heaven, all day long every day.
Many think prayer is coming into the presence of God with a shopping list and sending God on errands for us. But here Jesus is teaching that prayer is reporting for duty to our King that He might give us our orders for the day.
We are to end our prayers with a providential benediction. The essence of the providential benediction is that since the power to answer our prayers will always come from God, the glory and the result (the Kingdom) will always belong to God. James tells us we sometimes “pray amiss.” The difference between praying amiss and praying a hit can be this perspective on prayer.
3 Comments | Uncategorized | Tagged: christianity, Disciples Prayer, faith, how to pray?, Jesus Christ, Matthew 6:8-13, prayer, prayer of Jesus, presence of god, providential perspective, the Our Father, theology | Permalink
Posted by Dick Woodward
December 28, 2012
“Then He brought us out that He might bring us in…” (Deuteronomy 6:23)
Are you ready for a new thing? God often wants to do a new thing in our lives but He has three challenges. When He wants to bring us out of the old and into a new place He cannot get us out of the old because we are insecure and want to hold on to the old place. He then has to blast us out of the old. That’s why a call of God is often made up of a pull from the front and a boot from the rear.
His second challenge is that He has to pull us through the transition between the old place and the new. Transitions can last for years and they can be very painful. But He promises He can pull us through the worst of them.
His third challenge is to get us right so He can settle us into the new place. We should no more resist that work of God than a baby should resist being born and coming out into life.
Don’t give God a hard time when He wants to do a new thing in your life. We must believe that God is good all the time. If we trust His character we should cooperate with Him when He wants to make changes and do new things for us. A rut is a grave with both ends knocked out. Our loving heavenly father does not want to see His children in the living death of a rut.
Instead of giving Him a hard time, make it easy for Him as He brings you out of the old place and leads you into the new places He has for you in the New Year.
1 Comment | Uncategorized | Tagged: Call of God, Deuteronomy 6:23, faith, following Jesus, New Things, New Year's resolutions, religion, spirituality, Trusting God | Permalink
Posted by Dick Woodward
4SpiritualSecrets 