FAITH WORDS: IMPOSSIBLE

HOW DO YOU SEE GOD?

Luke 7:9 - When Jesus heard these things, He marveled at him, and turned around and said to the crowd that followed Him, “I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel!”

The way you see Jesus, the revelation that you have of Him, will not affect God’s acceptance of you. But it will affect your acceptance of what God has for you. It will affect how you receive from Him.

Consider the Roman centurion who told Jesus, “You don’t have to come to my house. Just speak the word and my servant at home will be healed.” (Luke 7:6–7) Compare him with Jairus, the ruler of a synagogue, who told Jesus, “My daughter is dying. Please come to my house and lay Your hands on her, and she shall live.” (Mark 5:22–23)

Do you know that Jesus does not have to go to your house to heal you? So why did Jesus follow Jairus to his house? Jesus had to come down to Jairus’ level of faith. Jairus believed that his daughter could be healed, but only if Jesus came and laid His hands on her.

The centurion was different. He said, “Lord, You don’t have to come to my house. I know who You are.” This centurion believed that Jesus did not have to come to his house for his servant to be healed. He believed that Jesus only needed to speak the word. He said to Jesus, “Just speak the word and my servant at home will be healed.”

Do you know who Jesus is? The centurion had a greater understanding of who Jesus is than Jairus, the ruler of the synagogue, and he wasn’t even a Jew!
Jesus asked his disciples, “Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?” (Mark 4:40) He even remarked, “O you of little faith.” (Matthew 6:30) But to the woman whose daughter was demon-possessed, He said, “O woman, great is your faith!” (Matthew 15:28) And to the centurion, He declared, “I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel!”

My desire is for you to have an accurate understanding of who Jesus is because when your revelation of Jesus is big, you will know what has been freely given to you. And when you know what is yours in Christ Jesus, you will be rich in all things!

NOT BY CHANCE

...You will fill me with joy in Your presence...' Psalm 16:11 NIV

To build and maintain intimacy in a relationship you must schedule time with the other person, otherwise it won’t happen. There’s a reason the Bible likens your relationship with Christ to that of a bride and groom. For a marriage to be strong, two people must pay attention to one another. And that happens only when they’re willing to set aside things like work, financial concerns, and even children. Likewise, your devotional life should involve simply enjoying the presence of the Lord. The Psalmist puts it this way: ‘You will fill me with joy in Your presence.’ And: ‘Delight yourself…in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart.’ (Psalm 37:4 NKJV) ‘As the deer pants for the water brooks, so pants my soul for You, O God.’ (Psalm 42:1 NKJV) ‘…You are my God; early will I seek You; my soul thirsts for You; my flesh longs for You in a dry and thirsty land where there is no water.’ (Psalms 63:1 NKJV) Many of us lead unhappy lives because we never spend time in God’s presence. Do you know the Lord, or do you merely know about Him? ‘Knowing Christ’ was Paul’s number–one priority: ‘But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ... For His sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in Him…having a righteousness of my own that comes from…faith in Christ.’ (Philippians 3:7–9 ESV) Have you reached the place where you can say that too?

HAND ME THE BINOCULARS !!!

The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handiwork. —Psalm 19:1

When I was in elementary school my friend Kent and I would often spend time looking at the night sky with a pair of German-made binoculars. We marveled at the stars in the sky and the mountains on the moon. All throughout the evening we took turns saying, “Hand me the binocs!”

Centuries earlier a Jewish shepherd boy looked up at the night sky and also marveled. He did not have a pair of binoculars or a telescope to aid him. But he had something even more important—a personal relationship with the living God. I imagine the sheep quietly bleating in the background as David gazed skyward. Later he would write the inspired text: “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handiwork. Day unto day utters speech, and night unto night reveals knowledge” (Ps. 19:1-2).

In our busy schedules, we can so easily forget to stand in awe of the heavenly beauty our Creator has prepared for our enjoyment and His glory. When we set aside time to look at the night sky and marvel at what is there, we gain a deeper understanding of God and His eternal power and glory. —Dennis Fisher

We believe that this is Your world, Lord. We marvel at You and Your creativity when we look at the sky and the world around us. You, and what You have done, are amazing! We stand in awe of You.

In the wonders of God’s creation, we see His majesty and His character.

BE REFRESHED ...

The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters. He restores my soul. - Psalm 23:1–3, NIV

Nothing is more refreshing than having some crisp, cold water to drink when you’re dry, thirsty and tired! If quenching your thirst feels so good and invigorating, then imagine just how much better it feels to refresh your spirit and soul. That’s what God had in mind when He stated that He desires for you to come before Him and plug yourself back into His unlimited strength and victory.

The same should be true of your time with other believers. When followers of Christ gather, it should be uplifting and refreshing for everyone involved, and make each person leave the place different than when they came in.

RIGHTEOUSNESS IS A GIFT

For if by the one man’s offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ. - Romans 5:17

You cannot merit God’s blessings through your good works. All His blessings, including the blessings of health, provision and success, are wrapped up in the person of Jesus! When you have Jesus, you have the gift of righteousness and the abundance of grace completely by His unmerited favor. You cannot earn them, work for them or deserve them. They are gifts!

Jesus is your righteousness, holiness and redemption. You are righteous, holy and redeemed (and blessed) not because of your good works, but because you have received God’s provision of His Son.

And because Jesus can never fail or be removed from the throne, you will always have Him as your righteousness, holiness and redemption! I encourage you tomeditate on this powerful truth today. It will lift you out of the realm of doubt and fear and put you in the realm of faith and hope. It will cause you to reign over your circumstances.

Now, put your hand on your heart and say this: “Jesus, because I have You, I will always be righteous by Your precious blood. All the blessings, provision, favor and success that belong to the righteous are mine today and I receive them by faith! Amen and Amen!”

A LIFESTYLE CHECK

Matthew 7:20, "Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them."

The way that you can tell whether a person is genuine or not is by the fruit they produce. This fruit is speaking of lifestyle. Jesus made the point that you don't get bad fruit from a good tree, and you don't get good fruit from a bad tree. Many people say one thing, but their actions speak so loudly that you really can't hear what they are saying. If you are in doubt about whether a person is genuine or not, or whether you should receive from them and follow their teaching, look at the fruit they are producing.

In evaluating ministers and ministries, more attention should be given to the fruit that is being produced. Failure to do this could lead someone to reject and even discredit a minister who simply makes a mistake or is wrong in one area. Every minister has shortcomings, just as every other member of the Body of Christ does. But that doesn't mean his ministry is bad. Look at the fruit.

Fruit is the true test of ministers and ministries. If people are being saved, if lives are being changed, there is good fruit. Even though the minister may say something bad and make mistakes, the fruit is good.

Therefore, you can say that the tree is good. When a person says all of the right things and may seem sincere, but you see the lives of people around them shattered and torn, and in confusion and distress, then the fruit is bad. You can judge the effectiveness of a person by the fruit that they are producing in their life. In ministry you can judge the effectiveness of a minister by the fruit that his ministry is producing.

Today, make sure that the fruit that comes from your life is positive. Make sure that you are making a positive impact on people's lives, that you are turning people to the Lord and not leaving them hurt and confused. People are looking at you to see what type of fruit you are bearing.

IT’S JESUS’ UNMERITED FAVOR THAT TRANSFORMS YOU

…the goodness of God leads you to repentance… - Romans 2:4

You are important to Jesus. Know with full assurance in your heart that He knows you perfectly, and yet accepts and loves you perfectly.

When you begin to understand that, you will realize that it is truly that unmerited favor, that favor from Jesus that you know you do not deserve, did not merit and cannot earn for yourself, that will perfect every imperfection and weakness in your life.

If you are facing challenges, such as lack in any area, addictions, fears, sicknesses or broken relationships, Jesus’ unmerited favor will protect, deliver, prosper, bring restoration to and provide for you. His unmerited favor will transform you and make you whole, and it is His goodness, not your striving and self-efforts, that will lead you to live victoriously for His glory.

You are important to Jesus. Know with full assurance in your heart that He knows you perfectly, and yet accepts and loves you perfectly.

When you begin to understand that, you will realize that it is truly that unmerited favor, that favor from Jesus that you know you do not deserve, did not merit and cannot earn for yourself, that will perfect every imperfection and weakness in your life.

If you are facing challenges, such as lack in any area, addictions, fears, sicknesses or broken relationships, Jesus’ unmerited favor will protect, deliver, prosper, bring restoration to and provide for you. His unmerited favor will transform you and make you whole, and it is His goodness, not your striving and self-efforts, that will lead you to live victoriously for His glory.