Friday, August 14, 2015

August 15, 2015

What a Savior we have!

In John Chapter 6 we see Him as the Bread of Life! He bids us to feed on Him.

In John 8 He identifies Himself as great than Abraham.

In Chapter 9 he presents Himself as the Light of the World and illustrates it by healing a blind man!

Wow! What a Savior!

Moving on to Chapter 10 he refers to Himself as the Good Shepherd. His description sounds a lot like Psalm 23!

As a pastor friend of mine once declared, "When the Lord is your Shepherd - the future is your friend!" Here's why:

He Leads Us!

A hireling or a sheep rustler drives the sheep, but the Good Shepherd leads us. He leads us into the safety of His presence! He leads us into the security of His pasture! He leads us into the abundance of His truth. He speaks gently to us and calls us by name as He leads us. Think of that, the Good Shepherd knows your name!

He Loves Us!

A hireling or a rustler has no regard for the sheep. They mean nothing to them. To them the sheep are a necessary inconvenience. They lead the flock only for their own personal benefit. So when the sheep are threatened, they will flee to protect themselves. But the Good Shepherd loves His sheep. He provides for them. He protects them. He prays for them. He will give His life to save them. Think about that! You are loved by the Good Shepherd!

He leads us. He loves us. And:

He Laid Down His Life for Us.

Verse 10 sums up the desire of the Good Shepherd and the destiny of His sheep:

"The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they might have life, and have it to the full!"

To quote my friend - "When the Lord is your Shepherd, the future is your friend!"

August 14, 2015

“Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for. By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.” Hebrews 11:1-3

And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” Hebrews 11:6

“It (love) always trusts…..” I Corinthians 13:7

The eleventh chapter of Hebrews is filled with heroes of the faith who gave God the benefit of the doubt in some very challenging circumstances.

Abraham kept on believing for his promised son.

Noah had never experienced rain or built a boat but he believed God to save his family.

Moses faced the Pharaoh and the Red Sea.

David fearlessly faced Goliath and knocked him dead.

Hebrews 11:1-3 & 6 give three reasons why God deserves the benefit of the doubt.

If you can believe God spoke the universe into existence then you should be able to give Him the benefit of the doubt. If He has the power to that you should be able to trust Him to do what He says. The godly heroes mentioned prominently in Hebrews 11 believed God was the Creator so it was easy to trust Him for other things.

God deserves the benefit of the doubt from you because of His greatness and power revealed in His creation.

Because of God’s Character – “anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him”

You can tell a lot about a person by the work he does and what he produces. When you look at the beauty and majesty of His creation you know God is worthy of your trust!

Also, you can judge a person’s character by how he keeps his promises. The Bible records that everything God promised to Abraham, Noah, Moses, and David He delivered! And then some!

God deserves the benefit of the doubt from you because of His character.

Because of His Christ

The best reason for trusting God is because He gave His only Son to die on the cross for our sins. Who else would do that for you?

For centuries the prophets foretold the coming of the Messiah, God’s Son.

It did happen the way God said it would, through His prophets. Jesus was what the prophets foretold and more!

God is worthy of your trust!’

Because of His great love God provided a way that you can be saved and become a new creation!