[lightafireinmysoul]

Call to Worship

Happy are those who hear the joyful call to worship, for they will walk in the light of your presence, LORD. (‭Psalms‬ ‭89‬:‭15‬ NLT) Hearing the call to worship. How do you hear the call to worship? Is it being in touch with the Spirit that allows us to hear the call or is it simply being awed by the wonder of creation? I suppose it could be a number of things. Experiencing God's awesome creation is one way happiness enters our being. The firmament shows his handiwork - from the grand displays to the minute details his fingerprints are all over it. Hearing the call first requires being in a state of mind to allow what you are seeing to move you to the next step - worship.

[lightafireinmysoul]

Watch this. Now. Then dance like nobody is watching.

[lightafireinmysoul]

Healing & Cleansing

Faith. What is it? How do we know if we have it? 

We can see examples of what faith is through these references: Matthew 8:1-3, 8:5-13, 9:18-31, 14:34-36, 15:21-28 and 17:14-20. Over and over people come to Jesus looking for the very things we all need - healing and cleansing. 

The leper said to Jesus "If You are willing, You can make me clean." Is that our attitude daily or are we trying to clean ourselves up to be good enough for God? We are clothed in the robe of God's righteousness, not our own. Our own righteousness is like a mechanics grease rag compared to the perfect purity of Christ. God sees Jesus' sacrificial blood covering us.

::Speechless::

When Jesus restored sight to two blind men He asked them, "Do you believe I am able to do this?" Believing that God can do anything is essential to faith. James 1 says "But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord." When Jesus asked the blind men if they believed He was able to heal them, what if they had answered, "Well, we're not sure but it's worth a try!" ? They wouldn't have received anything from the Lord!

God is powerful. Of all the creatures He made, He chose mankind to have a relationship with. We are lucky people. Privileged people. Broken people. We need to be healed every day from our sinfulness. I need healing every day. I need Him. Every day.

Lord, please make us desperate for you. Help us to realize you are the ONLY thing that will quench our parched souls...

[lightafireinmysoul]

Mustard Seed Faith

When Jesus' disciples asked Him to increase their faith He told them, "if you have the faith of a mustard seed you can tell this mulberry tree to be uprooted and planted in the sea," and in other passages He tells His disciples that they could move mountains with faith the size of a mustard seed. A mustard seed is miniscule. God knows our frame, He doesn't tell us that we need faith the size of a mountain. He gives us a reachable goal. 

[lightafireinmysoul]

jus·ti·fy

Romans 5:1-2

1 Therefore, having been justified (to judge, regard, or treat as righteous and worthy of salvation, also to free (a human) of the guilt and penalty attached to grievous sin) by FAITH, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom also we have access by FAITH into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

It's amazing to me that through Jesus' death on the cross we have been made clean before the Father. God, being perfect, could not have a relationship with us because of our sin. But Jesus' blood now covers us so that God sees us as washed and spotless. (Insert a hearty, "PRAISE GOD!" right here) We should stop trying to clean ourselves up for God and realize that the Master Cleaner has already done a much better job than we could ever dream of doing. My Salvation is not something I give a lot of thought to usually, but when I stop to think about what happened when Jesus died on the cross and I believed in Him- it's more than amazing. It's truly awe-inspiring.

Christ has judged me as worthy of salvation. What should my response be?

[lightafireinmysoul]

Help thou my unbelief

"Lord, I believe, help thou my unbelief," said the father of the boy who had been demon-possessed from childhood. Jesus had previously told him, "If you can believe, anything is possible to him who believes." Are we convinced that is true?

Christ is all-powerful and all-knowing, and he is certainly "...able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think..." (Eph 3:20)

[lightafireinmysoul]

Faith: defined

  Here are a few examples of what faith or faithfulness look like:

· to be certain about God and His character, unlimited power, wisdom and   promises.

· to totally trust God.

· to be faithful or loyal to God just as a loving husband is to his wife. Such a   husband ignores the adulterous suggestions of other unfaithful women.

· and to continue to rely on God no matter what the problem or circumstance.

Source: (http://internetbiblecollege.net/lessons/hebrew%20words%20for%20faith.htm)

[lightafireinmysoul]

Believe: Feel sure, accept as true, have faith

In Matthew 21:21-22, Jesus is speaking to His disciples (about the fig tree that he had just caused to wither because of it's lack of fruit) and He says, “Assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt...whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.”

[lightafireinmysoul]

2 Corinthians 5:7

For we walk by faith, not by sight.

Do we, in our daily walk, think about walking by faith? Do we believe that God is faithful to do what He has said He will do and perform the things He said He will perform? I am trying to learn more about walking by faith and what it means to live a faithful life in all aspects.

[lightafireinmysoul]

Ask and you shall receive...

James 1 tells us to ask for the things we lack. But it's not just as easy as that. When we ask we must believe that our request will be heard. We must ask in faith.

[lightafireinmysoul]

Romans 8:1

"There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are IN Christ Jesus, who do not walk according the flesh, but according to the spirit."