Perhaps no story has been of more comfort to those enduring hardship than that of Job. He faced trials beyond most of our imaginations, and yet continued to serve the Lord despite his nearly crippling circumstances. What this story teaches us, though, is not just how to persevere when everybody else insists on giving up; it also provides us with a wonderful depiction of one who  truly “held fast their profession of faith.” (Hebrews 10:23)

Prior to his affliction, Scripture reveals that God had actually protected Job from much of what others faced (1:10). He didn’t struggle to make ends meet; he didn’t have problems at home; and all that which he put his hand to was obviously made prosperous by God. Satan, on the other hand, interjected with the idea that Job would “curse the Lord to his face” (1:11) the moment things began to fall apart and so obtained permission to put this idea to the test – and he made no little use of it, as we all know.

In the course of a single day, Job lost nearly everything. His children, servants, and much of his livestock were all killed with the news of these events coming all at once. His wife discouraged him (2:9); his friends betrayed him (chapter 4); and from the way things looked, his God had forsaken him. Talk about having a bad day!

What amazes me so much about this story? The fact that Job still loved the Lord. While he certainly made some mistakes along the way, I’m confident he handled himself in a much godlier manner than I would would have been able to and am sure we can all learn from his example. He taught us that in life you can, and possibly will, lose everything you hold dear but that the most important thing of all (i.e. your faith) can never be stolen. Hold it fast.

The Lord calls His people to be holy. And since holiness and worldliness have always been great foes, it makes sense that God commands us to avoid conforming to the ways of our fallen society. As Titus 2:14 reveals, God desires us to be a “peculiar people, zealous of good works”, and there is nothing at all peculiar about someone who looks and acts the same as everybody else.

Of course being different for the sake of being different isn’t the key either. Though Paul often spoke of our minds being “renewed” (Ephesians 4:23; II Corinthians 4:16), it was only in Titus 3:5 that we were told exactly how this renewing should take place: that is, “by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost.” This means that the work God desires to perform in your life cannot be accomplished by mere self-will or personal motivation; it takes an inward submission to the Holy Ghost which will then lead to outward holiness and, thus, a very noticeable difference between you and the world.

“For whom He did foreknow, He also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren”

            -Romans 8:29

If you are saved, be reminded today that as a child of the living God (Romans 9:26), conformity to the image of Christ should be your top priority. “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world.” (I John 2:15) When you really think about it, why would we want to “fit in” with the world anyway when they have done all to ensure that God will never fit in with them?

“And the Lord said, If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye might say unto this sycamine tree, Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea; and it should obey you.

               -Luke 17:6

For many months now I’ve been struggling with the modern definition of  mustard seed-like faith. Most of the time verses like this are interpreted to mean that just a little faith in God is sufficient, but the fact is that we find just as many Scriptures in which Christ actually rebuked His followers for having only a little faith in Him (examples).

After thinking about this extensively, though, I think I’ve finally come to understand what our Lord truly meant when He said to have faith “as a grain of mustard seed.” The answer, as always, can be found in Scripture:

“The kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field: Which indeed is the least of all seeds: but when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof.”

               -Matthew 13:31-32

Notice that in these verses the mustard seed is not only characterized by its size, but by its eventual growth into something large. It may start out small, but it certainly doesn’t stay that way and soon becomes something quite noticeable to all who pass by.

In the same way, our faith in God often starts out small. It might be just enough to bring you to an altar of repentance, but that’s okay. The moment that seed of faith is planted within you, if watered properly, should begin to grow and flourish in such a way that it soon breaks through the surface and makes itself known to the world (II Thessalonians 1:3).

The problem too many of us face, however, is that our faith never breaks through the hard and rocky soil of our pride. Far from being a tree which gives shelter to others when their own is lacking, we hide it away in the dark corners of our life and foolishly expect it to grow when it can barely even live. This certainly isn’t having faith like a mustard seed, and I suspect that most of us would greatly benefit from having our faith watered a bit. But just remember that a seed needs more than water to grow; it needs light, too.

“Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done.”

               -Matthew 21:21

As I mentioned in my last post, absolute truth is something that cannot be altered or manipulated. Just as God commanded the Israelites to use only unhewn stones when building an altar of worship or sacrifice to Him (Exodus 20:25), whenever we start chiseling away at the already-perfect Word of God we are replacing what is a solid rock with wood, hay, and stubble (1 Corinthians 3:12).

As Scripture reveals, however, simply knowing the truth doesn’t save a person (II Peter 2:21). It takes absolute and sincere faith in that truth which then results in repentance and a life lived to the glory of God. This kind of faith is often referred to as saving faith and, like God’s Word, should be living and active within the life of every believer. That is, rather than simply being present at the moment of conversion, true faith should remain in the believer’s life and become their “shield” whereby they are able to “quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.” (Ephesians 6:16)

“But without faith it is impossible to please Him: for he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.”

               -Hebrews 11:6

Despite the fact that some people indeed lack a true and absolute faith in God, no one can deny that we’ve all been given a certain “measure of faith” from the Giver of every good and perfect gift (Romans 12:3; James 1:17). What we must do is decide where we are going to place it. Though “some trust in chariots, and some in horses”, let it be said by those around us that we chose to remember the name of the Lord our God. (Psalm 20:7)

“Pilate saith unto him, What is truth? And when he had said this, he went out again unto the Jews, and saith unto them, I find in Him no fault at all.”

               -John 18:38

We live in a society that constantly attempts to minimize the value of absolute truth. Everything is tolerated except intolerance, and anybody so bold as to think what they’ve found is exclusively right must be wrong altogether. Of course you can believe in God if you’d like, but you’ll still be required to “respect” the beliefs of anybody who doesn’t – even if those beliefs blatantly disrespect your Creator.

By definition, however, the truth can have only one form and is not at all manipulatable. If you bend it, break it, or twist it, you have thus departed from the very essence of what truth is: that which pertains to the way things are. If Jesus is in fact the Son of God, then why should we apologize for believing in Him or feel obligated to respect false beliefs which deny His deity?

“Sanctify them through Thy truth: thy Word is truth.”

              -John 17:17

The truth of God’s Word is universal and not at all dependent upon circumstance. No philosopher, textbook or science teacher has ever been able to prove otherwise. It shouldn’t surprise us, though, to know that a God Who literally is the truth (John. 14:6) would ensure that what He tells us is also absolute.

By the way, for those of you who are enjoying summer break a little too much, here’s an equation for you to work on over the next  few days:

Absolute Truth + X = Absolutely Anything

I’ll reveal the answer in my next post, so stay tuned. ;) 

I find that one of the most fascinating things about our God is His omnipotence. His power is amazingly limitless and His wisdom far beyond the comprehension of our human minds. As it was said in Ecclesiastes 3:14, “whatsoever God doeth, it shall be for ever: nothing can be put to it, nor any thing taken from it: and God doeth it, that men should fear before Him.”  This power is clearly revealed to us as we read the very first Scripture of God’s Word in Genesis: “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.” (1:1)

According to science, creating something requires something to create with. Matter does not come from a vacuum, and yet our Lord fully transcended the limits of science and human logic by making all which we see and know when the earth was yet “without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep.” (Genesis 1:2) No tools were necessary; no workers were hired; and no energy was expended, “for He spake, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast.” (Psalm 33:9)

“Ah Lord GOD! behold, Thou hast made the heaven and the earth by Thy great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard for Thee:”

            -Jeremiah 32:17

The God of the Bible is not limited by circumstance and we should thus worship Him despite the circumstances we face. Nothing is too hard for Him and He has offered proof of this fact more times than can be counted. He not only shined light into the void of space during Creation, but has since shined the “light of the knowledge of the Glory of God” into the once black recesses of our sinful hearts (II Corinthians 4:6). Truly, “with men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.” (Matthew 19:26)

Beware of Terrorist Groups in Church.  Latest news reports are that five terrorist cell groups have been operating in many of our churches. They have been identified as: Bin Sleepin, Bin Arguin, Bin Fightin, Bin Complainin, and Bin Missin. Their leader, Lucifer Bin Workin, trained these groups to destroy the Body of Christ.

The plan is to come into the church disguised as Christians and to work within the church to discourage, disrupt, and destroy. However, there have been reports of a sixth group. A tiny cell known by the name Bin Prayin is actually one of the most effective counter terrorism force in the church. Unlike other terrorist cells, the Bin Prayin team does not blend in with whoever and whatever comes along.

Bin Prayin does whatever is needed to uplift and encourage the Body of Christ. We have noticed that the Bin Prayin cell group has different characteristics than the others. They have Bin Watchin, Bin Waitin, Bin Fastin, and Bin Longin for their Master, Jesus Christ to return. NO CHURCH IS EXEMPT! (However, you can spot them if you bin lookin and bin goin.)

Yes, I’ll get back to my series later this week. I just thought I’d share this in the meantime.