Faith in Deep Water

"Hope itself is like a star; not to be seen in the sunshine of prosperity, but only to be discovered in the night of adversity." (C.H. Spurgeon)

Are youexperiencing a time of real trial and adversity in your life?

By "real" trial and adversity, I don't mean discontinuing your satellite dish service because the economy stinks. I'm  not talking about the 'sacrifice' of giving up the Range Rover, or your summer house on the lake, because times are tough.

No, I mean real adversity. Crushing trials.

Crushing adversity; such as, your spouse, your child, or your best friend just passed away after a long battle with cancer. Real adversity; such as your wife just dumped you like yesterday's garbage and ran off with another man, leaving you alone with your children. Real trials; such as losing both your parents in a horrific car crash. Real adversity; such as suffering through mental illness or a life-changing, painful medical condition, but no one can relate with what you're going through and you feel rejected and alone. Crushing trials; such as, enduring a bitter divorce and a family torn apart by sin, adultery and unfaithfulness. Crushing adversity; such as you saw your brothers in arms killed in war in the Middle East, and you yourself lost limbs, and now you're suffering through Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome. Crushing trials; such as your child or grandchild just committed suicide.

We can't even begin to understand what someone else is going through until we have walked in their shoes.

When you're young and strong, it's no problem to take that hill. When your marriage is rocking, you feel invincible. When your health is perfect—can't touch this. When you have a great job and plenty of money in the bank, you can kick back in the hammock with your iced tea and relax. 

Having faith is easy when life is easy.

But when you are really tested—when your life, marriage, family, or health is in serious jeopardy, you really have to trust in God. When things get so bad that you can't possibly fix it by yourself—when all you have is your faith.

Hence the old saying:  "You'll never know Jesus is all you need until Jesus is all you have."

Having faith means to trust in, believe in, to have reliance upon. As followers of Christ, it isn't about "our great faith"... since faith itself is a gift from God.  It's all about Who we place our trust in. My faith is not in my faith. My faith, trust, reliance upon—is fully and only in Jesus.

Here's an account from Paul, a fellow brother in Christ, who was no stranger to trials and adversity:

“Three times I was beaten with rods; once I was stoned; three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I have been in the deep; in journeys often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils of my own countrymen, in perils of the Gentiles, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; in weariness and toil, in sleeplessness often, in hunger and thirst, in fasting often, in cold and nakedness.”  (2 Corinthians 11:25-27)

How did Paul endure these perilous times of intense trials and suffering? When he asked God three times that a painful "thorn in the flesh" might be removed from him, God's response to Paul was:

“My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” 

 Paul went on to say:

"Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” (2 Corinthians 12:9-10) 

When we have no strength; when we can't fix it any longer; when Jesus is all we have; then we are strong: because Christ is strong in us.

"Take pleasure in my infirmities?! How can I possibly do that?! Can't you see how much I'm hurting?!"

Jesus said:  

“I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit—for without Me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5)

The longer I live—the longer I walk the narrow and difficult path of following Christ—the more I'm painfully aware of just how desperately I need Jesus; every minute, of every day. Truly, without Him—I can do nothing good. 

For years, throughout my life-struggles, I sought comfort and solace in men's bible study groups. And there were some good moments and friendships in those groups. We are told in scripture to study the Word.

“Study to show yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” (2 Timothy 2:15)

However, if we're not careful, we can get so caught up in the intellectual 'study' of the word of God, that we miss the God of the Word altogether. The bible is not a college text book. It is the living word of God. 

Jesus said:

“You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me—But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life.” (John 5:39-40)

The whole purpose of Jesus coming to earth and dying on the Cross was to restore intimacy between God and man. He wants us to come to Him. It's personal. He wants a relationship with you, with me. He gave His life on the Cross for that intimacy of personal relationship with us.

Don't drive yourself crazy trying to understand why she left you. Stop trying to figure out why God would let him die. You won't understand it. It won't make sense now. It may later. It may never.

God's thoughts are higher than our thoughts. His ways, higher than our ways. Only God knows why He allows things to happen in our lives. He has a purpose for allowing them to happen. Just trust Him in it.

All you can do, should do, by far the best thing to do; is call out to Him. Come to Him—that you may have life.

As a friend once put it;

"Sometimes the best place to be is flat on your back, looking up, crying out to God—"Help!"

Here is an old song that really speaks to me of God's love and faithfulness to us:

“I have journeyed through the long dark night,

Out on the open sea, by faith alone, sight unknown,

And yet His eyes were watching me.

The anchor holds, though the ship is battered,

The anchor holds, though the sails are torn.
I have fallen on my knees, as I faced the raging seas,

The anchor holds, in spite of the storm.

I've had visions, I've had dreams,

I've even held them in my hand,
But I never knew, they would slip right through,

Like they were only grains of sand.

I have been young, but I am older now,

And there has been beauty that these eyes have seen.
But it was in the night, through the storms of my life,

Oh, that's where God proved His love to me

The anchor holds, though the ship is battered,

The anchor holds, though the sails are torn.
I have fallen on my knees, as I faced the raging seas,

The anchor holds, in spite of the storm.”

Sometimes we can help each other. We should always try. But while we may mean well, we are still imperfect human beings. The Word does tell us though, that part of the beauty of the Body of Christ is that we can comfort others who are going through the same kind of troubles that we've been through:,

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.” (2 Corinthians 1:3-4)

But only Jesus can truly fill the empty places in our hearts. Those dark places of pain, loneliness, rejection, sadness, grief, depression, and hopelessness.

God has always been with me through every trial I've faced. He doesn't always take away the pain and suffering. Sometimes He does. But not often. I used to really struggle to try and understand why.

One day I cried out to Him in my desperation and said, "Lord, You can do all things! You could change us in an instant, and we would no longer sin and struggle any more. Why do You leave us in this condition?!!"

He said:  "So you'll stay close to Me." 


I love the picture of Jesus sleeping in the ship while His disciples are freaking out thinking they are going to perish in the tempest. But Jesus is fast asleep. After they wake Him up He rebukes the wind and waves saying, "Peace, be still."

For me the take away from this story is that while we tend to freak out and worry that we wont survive the current trial we are going through, but Jesus is at rest. He is not worried. He is not freaking out. He is fully in control of the ship, the wind, the waves, the storm. And we are with Him in the ship.


There's no place I'd rather be, than here is His love.


"Peace, be still."




—God is Love, and Love Never Fails.

Why Do We Still Struggle With Sin?

“For the flesh lusts against the Spirit and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another.” (Galatians 5:17)

Why do we as Born Again Christians still occasionally struggle with sin?

I believe this is one of the most important questions of our time, and one that must be examined, dealt with, and answered by God's Word.

One of the key words in Galatians 5:17, is "against." 

Our flesh (sinful human nature) lusts against the Holy Spirit, who now indwells our hearts. And the flesh also lusts against our new spirit that God put in us at rebirth, when we were born again by the Holy Spirit. 

For more on the Spirit indwelling us see: (Ezekiel 36:25-27, 1 Corinthians 3:16, Romans 8:11, Colossians 2:9, 2 Timothy 1:14, Ephesians 3:17).

Galatians 5:17 helps give me a clearer understanding of what Paul was saying in Romans chapter 7 when he said:

“But now, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells.” (Romans 7:17-18)

'It's not the new spiritual "me" who is sinning—it's my old sinful nature that still dwells in my fleshly body that does it.'  -It's the flesh that lusts against the Spirit—and against my new, born again spirit—that causes this internal struggle within me.

It's the 'old me' warring against the 'new me.'  

One of the other key words in Galatians 5:17 is "contrary."

“And the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another…”

This word "contrary" means, "opposed to, against, adversary."

I would think all followers of Christ can relate to that internal struggle. My flesh (the old sinful nature) is an adversary to my new spirit that God placed in me, and is opposed to the Holy Spirit who now indwells me.

Here's a passage from Romans chapter 8 that further clarifies this for me:

“For to be fleshly minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the fleshly mind is an enemy against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God.” (Romans 8:6-8)

The opening sentence is also translated, "For the carnal mind is death." 

Carnal literally means, "Human nature; flesh—as opposed to spirit."

The old sin nature constantly warring against our new spirit is a spiritual tug of war.

But it's not a battle that we cannot win, because we have a choice; we can choose to serve the flesh, or we can choose to serve the Spirit.

“Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts. And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace. What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Certainly not! Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness?” (Romans 6:12-16)

The Devil cannot "make you do it." He can't force you to sin. The Bible says God "provides a way of escape" whenever we are tempted by the tempter. (Romans 10:13)

You can choose to not "let" sin reign in your mortal body. You can choose to not "obey" sin that dwells in your flesh. Paul said he fights his own fleshly body to bring it under subjection:

“Thus I fight: not as one who beats the air. But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified.” (1 Corinthians 9:27)

The key is; you need the resurrection power of Jesus that lives only in born again followers of Christ, to win these moment-by-moment struggles with the old fleshly sin nature. Jesus said:

"Without Me, you can do nothing." (John 15:5)

You have to know and believe that in Christ, you can do all things as He strengthens you.

• In Christ, you can put off the 'old man' (flesh/sin nature). (Ephesians 4:22)
• You can put on the 'new man' (new spiritual inner man). (Ephesians 4:24)
• You can walk in the Spirit, and not fulfill the lusts of the flesh. (Galatians 5:16)
• In Christ, you can manifest the fruit of the Holy Spirit: (Galatians 5:22-25)

Jesus said:  "I have come that they may have life—and have it more abundantly!" (John 10:10)

He is not talking about humongous paychecks and luxury cars here. 

Jesus is talking about the abundant life of love, joy, peace, and purpose, that He came to live in, and through us. To advance His kingdom. To preach the Gospel to the poor. To heal the brokenhearted. To proclaim freedom to the captives. And recovery of sight to the blind. To set free those who are oppressed. (Luke 4:18)

But, as we are often quick to forget—we have an Adversary—who is opposed to God fulfilling His purposes in us.

The first half of John 10:10 says: “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy.”

Seriously. Who doesn't love the part that says Jesus has come to give us life, and life more abundantly!

But it's so easy to ignore the first part that says our Adversary, the devil (the thief) only comes to steal, to kill, and to destroy.

Where did you think your opposition was coming from?

Somehow, Satan can put evil thoughts in our minds and then tries to convince us it's our fault. He is the Tempter, and somehow has the ability in the unseen realm, to dangle the seductive carrots that he knows each of our 'old fleshly selves' would love to devour. He is the Accuser of the Brethren, and somehow he knows how to sow penetrating seeds of discontent, blame, bitterness and resentment in the minds of God's people, to cause us to not forgive each other. He's been causing division in marriages since day one. Just look at the divorce rate among "Christians" today. -He's been pretty effective at what he does.

But we are not ignorant of his schemes.

We are at war.

However, you cannot defeat the devil in your own strength.

But you can stick close to Jesus—the Author and the Finisher of your faith. You can pray with the gift of faith that God gave you. You can, as a child of God, bring the name, power, authority, blood, and finished work of the Cross of Jesus Christ between you and the spirits of division, accusation, betrayal, infirmity, and lies.

Paul wrote:

“For the weapons of our warfare are not fleshly but mighty in God for demolishing strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.” (2 Corinthians 10:4-5)

We have spiritual dynamite for demolishing the strongholds Satan tries to use against us, in his battle for our new hearts that God placed in us. 

Our weapons "Mighty in God" are:

• Full access, 24/7/365 to "Abba" our Father—God
• Prayer—in the name and authority of Jesus Christ
• The indwelling Holy Spirit of God in us
• Faith—which is a gift from God
• The Word—the Holy Scriptures
• Our Christ-like love for one another
• Fellowship with other believers—united in one accord.
• Worship—singing praises to God who alone is worthy
• Putting on the Whole Armor of God—(Ephesians 6:1-18)

And when any of us do sin in our flesh, we have an Advocate with God the Father—The Lord Jesus Christ.

“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9)

Amen.

Know who you are in Christ.

Through the spirit of adoption we can cry out, "Abba, Father!"  God said He will bring to completion, the good work that He began in us.

Don't let your Adversary the Devil—the Accuser of the Brethren—try to tell you that God doesn't love you. Don't listen to the Father of Lies who is trying to tell you that the new heart God gave you is still desperately wicked. Satan was a liar from the beginning. All he knows how to do is to lie, deceive, accuse, and to steal, kill and destroy.

But praise God, "Greater is He who is in you—than he who is in the world." (1 John 4:4)

—Jesus Christ is our very present help in time of need.

—God is Love, and Love Never Fails.

What is The Heart?

"I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a tender heart."  

(Ezekiel 36:26)

In my last entry, "A New Heart of Love" http://marriage-miracles.blogspot.com/2013/01/a-new-heart-of-love.html I shared on the New Covenant promise God makes to believers—to those who now are in Christ.

He said He will take the hard, heart of stone out of us and replace it with a tender new heart.

And from that article, many interesting, and at times spirited, discussions have ensued.

I have been shocked though, to learn that not everyone believes that God gives us a new heart. But instead, some think that even though we as Christians are "born again" our hearts are (supposedly) still desperately wicked. (See Jeremiah 17:9).

Being faithful to write what I believe God led me to write, I spent a lot of time and study of the Bible, and made a case for why I emphatically believe that God has in fact, given us new hearts, just as He promised.

And in some of the discussions I had with other people, at times it seemed like we were mostly on the same page, but were often saying things using some very different terminology.

But for all the years I have been a Christian, it never seemed to be at all logical or true that God would come to indwell a heart that He did not first purify and make new. It doesn't bear witness with my spirit today that I could possibly love God, or love my neighbor as myself, or love my wife as Christ loved the Church, if my heart were in fact still desperately wicked. 

So I prayed and asked the Lord for His wisdom and revelation on, "What does it mean to be born again?" And, "What is the heart?"

Here is just a snapshot of what the Bible says about our heart: 

1.  Christ dwells in the hearts of His people:

“That He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man,  that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love…” (Ephesians 3:16-17)

2.  Our heart is the inner, or "hidden" person within us:

“Let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God.” (1 Peter 3:4)

3.  God has purified our hearts:

“So God, who knows the heart, acknowledged them by giving them the Holy Spirit, just as He did to us,  and made no distinction between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith.” (Acts 15:8-9)

4.  It is with our heart that we believe in God for salvation:

“For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” (Romans 10:10)

5.  As children of God, He has sent His Holy Spirit in our hearts:

“And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, “Abba, Father!” (Galatians 4:6)

6.  Out of a new heart that believes in Christ, will flow Rivers of Living Water:

“He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” (John 7:38)

7.  God gives us understanding of His Word in our heart:

“The Lord opened her heart to heed the things spoken by Paul.” (Acts 16:14)

8.  God pours out His love into our heart by His Spirit:

“Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.” (Romans 5:5)

9.  God places the good news of His Word in our hearts:

“The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith which we preach).” (Romans 10:8)

10.  Our hearts must be guarded:

“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God;  and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” (Ephesians 4:6-7)

11.  We worship God with singing from our heart:

“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.” (Colossians 3:16)

12.  God writes His laws on our heart:

“For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.” (Hebrews 8:10)

13.  We can freely draw near to God because our hearts have been cleansed:

“Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.” (Hebrews 10:22)

14.  Being born again, we can now love one another with a pure heart:

“Love one another fervently with a pure heart—having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever.” (1 Peter 1:22-23)

15.  By our love for one another we know that our hearts are assured before God:

"My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth. And by this we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before Him.” (1 John 3:19)

16.  Jesus has given us new hearts to love each other just as He has loved us:

“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.  By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:34-35)

17.  Because God has purified our hearts, we shall see Him:

“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” (Matthew 5:8)

18.  God removed our hard, stony heart and gave us a tender new heart:

"I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a tender heart." (Ezekiel 36:26)

19.  Because we love each other from a new heart, we know we are saved:

“We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren.” (1 John 3:14)

20.  We know God lives in us and we abide in Him because He gave us His Spirit:

“By this we know that we abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit.” (1 John 4:13)

For any follower of Jesus who may have doubts about God giving you a new heart, I want to encourage you to read all these passages from the Bible and pray about them. Search the scriptures to see if these things are so. Ask God to give you the spirit of wisdom and revelation about your heart. Ask Him did He really promise to give you a new spirit and a new heart, as it says in Ezekiel 36:26? Ask Him if your born again heart is still desperately wicked? 

Ask God this question,

      "Father in Heaven—what does it really mean to be born again?"

May the Lord bless you as you draw near to Him and seek His face.

—God is Love, and Love Never Fails.

*For an essay on the old nature -vs.- the new nature, and about what the "flesh" is, please read my article entitled "A New Heart of Love." http://marriage-miracles.blogspot.com/2013/01/a-new-heart-of-love.html