Why Faith in God? Part 7

"Resist him (the devil) standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings. But you, dear friends, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven."(I Peter 5:9, Jude 1:20, James 5:15 NIV)

How do we resist the influence of the devil? We resist his influence by knowing The Word and every time he raises his ugly head, we beat him back down with The Word. This is why it is important to know what God has said about every situation that involves our lives. When we're attacked--if we're doing what God says we are under attack--we're not alone. Every Believer, who trusts God and has faith in God, is under attack because the enemy wants us to believe that he has power over us.

The only power the devil has over us is the power we give him. But the same is true for God. If we don't "submit to God" He has no power to reign in our lives because He won't force us to do or believe anything He says. Having faith in God, like anything else we do, is a choice.

Being filled with Holy Spirit and praying in the special language He gives us, helps to build our prayer life and our faith that God will do exactly what we have requested of Him, when our request aligns with The Word.

When we pray for the sick, if we believe that God can touch them and heal them just like He's healed before and the person who is sick is willing to receive healing, they will be healed, "according to their faith."

When we pray for peace in our homes in our communities, we must believe that He will speak to the hearts of those who cause the unrest and they will hear and obey. Once again, God does not force anyone to do anything. He allows people to live according to their choices, but when they choose to live in opposition to Him and His Word, they receive the consequences of their choices.

Rather than praying for things, I believe the ultimate prayer request that God responds to is a request for wisdom. For if we have wisdom to proceed in life, we shall the things we desire. And if we learn how to "delight ourselves in The Lord (pleasing Him with our faith), He will give us the desires of our hearts" (Psalm 37:4 paraphrased). Everything we receive from God is based upon our faith in Him, not His love for us. Parents love their children, but that doesn't always mean the children will do what is right and they put themselves in position to not receive anything from their parents based upon their disobedience.

Faith--in God and in His Word--is the key to making a difference in our own lives and in the lives of others. We must remember that God responds to our faith, not our emotions because our emotional reactions to situations keep us from thinking rationally (tool of the enemy) and the enemy wins when he can lead us to believe that there is no hope. Our hope and faith is in God, through Jesus Christ and nothing--by any means--shall cause us to be separated from His love.

Obey Whom?

"But Peter and John replied, “Do you think God wants us to obey you rather than him?" (Acts 4:19 NLT)

I love reading about the "acts of the apostles" and how courageous they were when confronted with unbelief in others.

The "religious council" was amazed at the depth of understanding of these men who had not been taught "under their supervision" and could not possibly believe they knew anything about the scriptures. In the Kings James Version, they are referred to as "ignorant and unlearned" but in the New Living Translation, they are referred to as "ordinary" men.

What is important to note is that in spite of the council's feelings, they also recognized that the men had also been seen with Jesus and they could see with their own eyes, the miracle that had been performed before them. So they threatened them and told them not to speak "in the name of Jesus" because they were fearful of their own authority being undermined. They, "the religious council," wanted to make sure they controlled the people and wanted the people to obey them.  And today, I start with their response.

Do you think God wants us to obey Him or the "politically correct" mantra that is not based upon His teachings, but founded upon the "feelings" of man?

Feelings--unchecked emotions--create an environment of chaos and confusion, fueled by hatred for others when they dare to think differently.

God does not respond to our emotional outbursts, but to our obedience to His Word and our faith in Him!

Hatred is not of God but we know who fuels those thoughts and actions--Satan--the fallen angel who is called by many names, but his intent never changes--to hate all that God has created because God is Love!

Whenever we think we are more powerful than God or equal to Him, we enter into a realm of pride and our pride leads us by our egos and we are bound to fall--and everyone will know of our fall. Yes, I know there are some who teach that we are "gods" with a little "g" but in order to avoid the pitfall that comes with thinking we are equal to God, I'd rather be His child and receive His many benefits when I obey Him, rather than those who have no relationship with Him.

That's my position--who would rather obey--God or man?