Category Archives: Faith

Bible, Faith, Journey, Obedience, Scripture

WORK IT OUT

PHILIPPIANS 2:12

“So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling;”

You may have heard the joke about the person who was caught in rising waters from a flood. As the waters rose, a guy came by in a 4×4 truck and offered to rescue him, but he said he would trust God to rescue him. The waters continued to rise and now a man came by in a boat. Still the man said he would trust in God. Finally, as he was perched on his rooftop, a helicopter came by and lowered a rope, but the man was adamant that he would trust God for his rescue. Unfortunately, the man died. When he gets to heaven he asked the Lord, “Why didn’t you rescue me?” The Lord replied, “I sent you a truck, a boat and a helicopter. You just had to get in.”

Today’s verse is like that. God has sent us the means of salvation – Jesus Christ. But we still have to “get in.” We have to choose to accept this free gift and to do our part in growing in our new faith. God will not spoon feed you. He expects you to go to the Word and feed yourself. That doesn’t mean you will have all the answers. But you have to make the effort to grow. The Topical Lexicon says, “believers are exhorted to ‘work out’ their salvation with fear and trembling. This usage highlights the responsibility of Christians to actively engage in their spiritual growth and maturity, relying on God’s enabling power.”

APPLICATION

The Greek word translated “work out” is katergazomai which is also used in Ephesians 6:13 where it says, “Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist on the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.” Here it is translated “having done.” This verb is a Middle Voice verb which means you do this. It is not done to you. You must “work out” or do this.

The same word is used in James 1:3 where James says your “faith produces endurance.” There’s an action to it. You’re not like that man in the flood just waiting. Our faith requires action. James said it best when he said that faith without works is dead (James 2:17). As you “work out” your faith, your faith grows. God gives you more and more faith as you partner with Him in your spiritual growth.

Too many Christians come to Christ for fire insurance. They just want a “get out of hell free card.” That is not what the Christian life is about. It’s a journey. It’s a process. It doesn’t start and end with your conversion. That is just the beginning. I have been a believer for almost 48 years now and I am still growing. I will not “arrive” until I breath my last. Are you working out today?

Thank You, Father, for giving me the tools to spur my growth and teach me more and more about You.

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Bible, Faith, Influence, Prison, Scripture, Witnessing

UNEXPECTED INFLUENCE

PHILIPPIANS 1:13

“so that my imprisonment in the cause of Christ has become well known throughout the praetorian guard and to everyone else,” 

Has anyone ever come up to you and said, “You probably don’t remember me, but you made such an impact on my life when…”? That’s happened to me a couple of times. I am always humbled and usually surprised. My favorite story is of a teen I had in a church in South Georgia while I was home from college one summer. He rarely came and often sat in the back of the group. To my surprise, God called that young man to the ministry. I had an unexpected influence in that man’s life that summer.

So, here is Paul in prison in Rome surrounded by Roman soldiers. But God gives him influence in their lives through the knowledge of why he was imprisoned and his attitude while he was there. We know from history that there were many Christian Roman soldiers. Perhaps Paul was the initial influencer of that while he was in prison. It’s just a reminder that God can use you no matter where you are – in prison or not.

APPLICATION

The Greek word used by Paul here for “well known” is phaneros, which comes from phaino (to shine). This reminds me of Matthew 5:16 where we see Christ saying, “‘Your light must shine before people in such a way that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven.’” Paul was letting his light shine there in that Roman prison as he testified to why he was there and what Christ had done.

Now, don’t think this Roman praetorian guard was easy pickings. They were a tough bunch. These men were often used as the personal bodyguards of the emperor. They had more privileges than the normal Romans soldier, served fewer years and received a higher pay. These were an elite fighting force and the only ones allowed to carry a sword in the presence of the emperor. So, don’t think God will only give you easy audiences with whom to share your faith.

Paul was willing to be imprisoned for his faith and then looked for ways to continue sharing it, even if it meant sharing it with those who imprisoned him. Do you remember when the Philippian church was established? Paul was in a Philippian jail and led the jailer and his family to Christ. I bet the church got a real kick out of reading how God was using Paul now in a Roman prison. You just never know who God will allow you to influence.

Father, place unexpected people in my path so that You can influence them through me.

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Accountability, Bible, Encouragement, Faith, Gossip, Scripture

DID YOU HEAR ABOUT…?

COLOSSIANS 1:4

“since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and the love which you have for all the saints;” 

The old kudzu vine spreads rumors and gossip faster than a bird after a June bug. How’s that for a Southern expression, lol. Do you know what kudzu is? It is a plant that was originally brought into the U.S. to help control erosion. It quickly took off and now covers a lot of the landscape in the South. It can completely bury a structure and climb and eventually kill a tree. It reportedly can grow up to four inches a day in the right conditions. But it bears no fruit. It only destroys. Gossip can spread just as fast.

Paul wasn’t talking about the kudzu vine (or the grape vine, if you prefer that expression). He had sent Epaphras there to bring back news of how they were progressing in their faith. In verses 7-8 (which we will look at in a few days), we see this. “7 just as you learned it from Epaphras, our beloved fellow bond-servant, who is a faithful servant of Christ on our behalf, 8 he also informed us of your love in the Spirit.” What a great report!

APPLICATION

How do you talk about fellow believers? Do you share how well they are doing in their walk with Jesus, or do you share rumors of how they have messed up? Scripture is pretty clear about not spreading rumors. In 2 Corinthians 12:20, Paul rebukes the Corinthian church against this. “For I am afraid that when I come I may not find you as I want you to be, and you may not find me as you want me to be. I fear that there may be discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, slander, gossip, arrogance and disorder.”

Not only there but look at Proverbs 11:13 (NIV). “A gossip betrays a confidence, but a trustworthy person keeps a secret.” Also in Proverbs 18:8, we read, “The words of a gossip are like choice morsels; they go down to the inmost parts.” So, it is clear that when we talk about others, it should not be hurtful or harmful words. We are to build each other up, like Epaphras did the Colossae believers.

Hold your tongue and do not sin, just like Job did in Job 2:10. Even though he was going through severe persecution, it says he did not sin with his lips. Can you do the same? If you don’t have something good to say, don’t say anything at all. We’ve all been told that a time or two, haven’t we? Give good reports!

Father, guard my mouth and help me to speak only good of my fellow believers.

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Bible, Faith, Faithfulness, Scripture, Trustworthy

FAITHFUL

COLOSSIANS 1:2

To the saints and faithful brothers and sisters in Christ who are at Colossae: Grace to you and peace from God our Father.

What does it mean to be “faithful”? In marriage it means to not cheat on your spouse with someone else. It means to stay by their side no matter what may happen. At work it may mean to stay with your employer through hard times knowing all they have done for you in the past. So, being faithful can have a lot of meanings.

What did Paul mean here in verse 2 of Colossians 1? What made these brothers and sisters faithful? Notice that Paul does not address this epistle to the church. He addressed it to individuals, probably those whom he knew firsthand. They had proven themselves faithful against the pagan influences of their day. They were loyal to Christ despite the evil all around them. It is to them that Paul writes.

APPLICATION

Throughout Scripture, believers are called faithful and are called to their faith. Here’s another question for you. Do you think others would consider you faithful? Hmmm! That may take some pondering on your part. We see over in Titus 1:6 that an elder should be “faithful to his wife.” That makes sense, right?

Gill’s Exposition of the Bible describes these “faithful” believers this way. “true and sincere believers in Christ, constant and persevering in the faith of him; faithful to the Gospel, and their profession of it, and to Christ, whose name they bore, and to one another, to whom they stood in the relation of brethren…” Looking at that description, could that be said about you?

We should all strive to be faithful to Jesus in all things. There’s no doubt about that. But if you fall, if you sin, does that make you unfaithful. I think not. We are to try to be like Jesus, even though we will never be just like Him. He knows us all too well and loves us anyway. Aren’t you glad? So, go out today and be faithful.

Father, give me faith to move mountains but also faith in the little things.

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Bible, Defense, Devil, Faith, Protection, Satan, Scripture

OUR FORCE SHIELD

EPHESIANS 6:16

“in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.” 

I grew up a Star Trek fan. I mean, come on, what child in the 60’s wasn’t! Each week we would tune in to see what other alien race Captain Kirk, Spok, Scottie and Bones would be battling. The Star Trek Enterprise was equipped with a protective force field which could be used to protect it against the missiles fired from enemy spaceships. Those missiles would bounce off or explode on impact. What a great defense!

As Christians, we have our own force shield called the “shield of faith.” This shield is standard equipped given to each believer at salvation. Unfortunately, too many of us literally let our guard down. Paul tells us why this is dangerous. He says with that shield we “will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.” We should never “leave home without it.” Right? Those flaming arrows can come at any time.

APPLICATION

MacLaren’s Expositions talk about these “flaming arrows” and why they are so dangerous to the unshielded believer. “But there are things in us all to which the fiery darts do especially appeal: desires, appetites, passions; or-to use the word which refined people are so afraid of, although the Bible is not, ‘lusts-which war against the soul,’ and which need only a touch of fire to flare up like a tar-barrel, in thick foul smoke darkening the heavens. There are fiery darts that strike these animal natures of ours, and set them all aflame. But, there are other fiery darts than these. There are plenty of other desires in us: wishes, cowardices, weaknesses of all sorts, that, once touched with the devil’s dart, will burn fiercely enough. We all know that.”

Do you have any of those things within your heart? We all have some weakness which we have probably revealed to the evil one. That’s his target. That’s his bullseye. Our defense, however, is our shield of faith. Our faith in Jesus, in His shed blood, quenches any flaming arrow fired against us. We hold that shield up to protect us from this relentless adversary.

And, unlike the Starship Enterprise, our shield is everlasting. It is stronger than any foe. Why? Is it because of our faith? No, it is because of the Faith Giver. He gives us His never ending supply of faith. Paul said it well when he said in Romans 1:17, “For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written: ‘BUT THE RIGHTEOUS ONE WILL LIVE BY FAITH.’”

Father God, thank You for giving me the shield of faith to protect myself from the devil’s flaming arrows and accusations.

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Bible, Everything, Faith, Faithfulness, Scripture, Trust

IN EVERYTHING?

EPHESIANS 5:24

“But as the church is subject to Christ, so also the wives ought to be to their husbands in everything.”

What does “everything” mean to you? Carl, that’s an easy one. It means everything. You think so? When I think of that word, I think of complete, whole, nothing lacking. We are told all through Scripture that we should give thanks to God in everything. Really? Does that include the good and the bad? Yep! That’s hard to do, isn’t it? So is the use of the word in today’s verse. Take a look.

Paul is still discussing the women’s responsibility to subject themselves to their husbands. Now he says they should do that in everything. Does that mean no matter what it is? Look at how Gill’s Exposition describes this. It says “everything” means in “political, domestic, and ecclesiastic; that is consistent with the laws of God, and the Gospel of Christ.” Ah, there we go. God does not expect a wife to submit to her husband if it requires going against the laws of God.

APPLICATION

What do I mean by that? Perhaps the husband wants to get his wife to go along with deception. Take a look at Acts 5:1-2. “1 But a man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property, 2 and kept back some of the proceeds for himself, with his wife’s full knowledge, and bringing a portion of it, he laid it at the apostles’ feet.” Remember this story? What happened? Because of his deception, he was struck dead by God. And then later, this happens when the wife also lied to Peter. “And immediately she collapsed at his feet and died; and the young men came in and found her dead, and they carried her out and buried her beside her husband.”

God does not expect a wife to subject herself to ungodly practices if her husband is demanding it. Instead, He expects her to obey Him first and foremost. By doing that, God will honor her. Perhaps her obedience to the Lord will win her husband to Christ. When she obeys, she can be the light he needs to see Jesus.

Unfortunately, that is not always the case. A husband can make his wife miserable if she refuses to follow his lead. For all you wives out there facing such a trial, remain faithful. The Lord sees you. He knows your struggle. He will come to your aid. I know you are probably thinking, Carl, you don’t know my husband. True, but I know our God. In your hard times, trust Him in everything.

Father, it is easy to trust in the good times, but it is hard when everything seems to be against us. Help my faith.

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Baptism, Faith, Father, Jesus, One, Scripture, Uncategorized

ONES, PART 2

EPHESIANS 4:5

“one Lord, one faith, one baptism,”

We are continuing the thought Paul is sharing with the Ephesians in verses 4-6 of Ephesians 4. As I read today’s verse (short and to the point), I couldn’t help but think about the work we are doing around the world with Every Man A Warrior. Our ministry crosses cultures and denominations. We do not exclude a man because he belongs to a different church than us. We truly embrace today’s verse in order to unite men around the world to follow God’s direction in their lives as disciple makers.

Paul gives us three more “ones” in today’s verse. One Lord (Jesus)! One faith (in Christ as Lord)! One baptism (the public demonstration of your faith)! Paul is adamant about uniting these Gentile believers with their Jewish brothers. He wanted them to come together under a common banner – the banner of Jesus only! But don’t read this verse and move on to quickly. Look at what Paul is showing us here.

APPLICATION

Paul’s “one Lord” statement carries a lot of weight. In verse 4, Paul had pointed out there was “one Spirit.” We will see him point to “one God” in verse 6. So, with these three verses (4:4-6), Paul is pointing to the Trinity – Father, Son and Spirit. All three are important. And with the mention of all three separately, Paul is making a point to the Ephesians. They need Jesus. They need the Spirit. They need the Father God.

“One faith” is bringing attention to the fact that through the shed blood of Jesus, we have all been brought into the same faith. Believers who are following Jesus aren’t divided into subgroups. Paul even said, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” (Galatians 3:28) And this faith is a gift of God. Ephesians 2:8-9 tells us so when it says, “It is by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not of yourselves. It is a gift of God.”

And then Paul steps onto thin ice, doesn’t he? He says, “one baptism.” Well Paul, what type of baptism are you talking about? Sprinkling, dunking, wet cloth? Paul is not referring to a type of baptism. He is referring the obedience of public profession of your faith, making it known to others. It is all about the act, not the actual process. I personally believe in baptism by immersion, but I am not going to break fellowship with my fellow believers over it. No, there is one act of baptism.

Ones! We are one! Never forget that. So, whenever anyone tries to separate you from other believers and point fingers at them, beware. Check everything by Scripture. After all, there is only one true authority and that’s His Word.

Father, I praise You that You are three in One. And You have made us one with You

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Affliction, Bible, Boldness, Brokenness, Courage, Faith, Fear, God's Will, Modeling, Oppression, Scripture, Suffering

AN EXAMPLE OF SUFFERING

EPHESIANS 3:13

“Therefore I ask you not to become discouraged about my tribulations in your behalf, since they are your glory.”

Suffering is not something I welcome. I mean, come on, who would? No one wants to suffer. But we have to be willing to accept it and embrace it when the Lord allows it. Those who know my story witnessed my suffering during my health crisis back in 2010 and then again in 2020. Stem cell transplants and chemo are no laughing matter. So many people prayed for me during that time. I know my suffering helped build a lot of people’s prayer life. For that I am grateful.

As Paul sits in a Roman prison, he tells the Ephesians to not feel sorry for him and to not get discouraged. A lot of versions translate “discouraged” as “faint. Albert Barnes says this, “The word rendered ‘faint’ – ἐκκακέω egkakeō – means literally, to turn out ‘a coward,’ or to lose one’s courage; then to be fainthearted,” Paul is trying to encourage the Ephesians to remain bold and not let his present circumstance be a barrier to their growth in Christ and the spreading of the Gospel.

APPLICATION

That Greek word egkakeo, is only used six times in the New Testament (Luke 18:1; 2 Corinthians 4:1, 16; Galatians 6:9, here in Ephesians 3:13; and 2 Thessalonians 3:13). I really like how the word is used in Luke 18:1. “Now He was telling them a parable to show that at all times they ought to pray and not become discouraged,” Jesus knew that pray helps remove discouragement. It lifts us up. It brings us face to face with our Father in heaven whom we know is listening intently to our requests.

In 2 Corinthians 4:1 and 16, we see egkakeo translated as “lose heart.” “1 Therefore, since we have this ministry, as we received mercy, we do not lose heart, 16 Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer person is decaying, yet our inner person is being renewed day by day’” Have you ever lost heart about something? I have. In fact, I am going through something right now that is very hard not to lose heart about. But I must continue to trust in the Lord’s providence and power.

Listen, God may decide to use you to be a source of encouragement for others. Your suffering (like Paul’s) may the one thing that shows them they too can trust in Jesus. So, embrace the suffering the Lord allows in your life. Allow the light of Jesus to shine through you as you draw people to Jesus like moths to a light.

Lord, I do not like to suffer, but I will submit myself to Your almighty hand, knowing You have a perfect plan.

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Access, Atonement, Belief, Eternity, Faith, Forgiveness, Gifts, Grace, Scripture

SAVED BY GRACE

EPHESIANS 2:8

“For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;” 

One of my memory passages is Ephesians 2:8-9. It is basic to our beliefs. In fact, it is fundamental. You are saved in no other way (we will see more on this tomorrow). It is through the grace of God that any of us can claim salvation and a hope for eternal life. In today’s verse, we see part one of this truth. God’s grace is sufficient for our salvation.

What exactly does Paul mean by this statement, “by grace you have been saved through faith”? HELPS Word-studies defines it this way. “Xáris is preeminently used of the Lord’s favor – freely extended to give Himself away to people (because He is “always leaning toward them”).” Paul knew, better than most, the magnitude of God’s grace. It had been given to him, a murderer of Christians, to give him access to the Father.

APPLICATION

But we can’t stop with just this one statement about being saved by grace through faith. Look at the last part of this verse – “it is the gift of God;…” Theologians have wrestled with this verse for centuries. Is grace the gift or is faith the gift? I believe if we look at the construction of the Greek, the answer is there.

Paul says “by grace you have been saved.” We saw this same phrase back in verse 5 of this chapter, but I wanted to wait for today’s verse to explain it. The Greek for this phrase reads, “by grace you are being saved through faith.” The verb is in the Present Indicative Active. It is an ongoing event. It is through your faith that God continues to save you because He is always leaning towards us.

I believe, as many others, that the real gift here is not grace, but faith. We are told in Hebrews 11:1, “Now faith is the certainty of things hoped for, a proof of things not seen.” Isn’t that just like a gift? We hope for it, but we know it’s coming. God’s gifts to us are sure. Faith is one of them. He gives it freely to all who believe. Do you believe? Have you accepted this gift of faith which yields God’s grace to us?

O Lord, thank You for the gift of faith which allows me to tap into Your grace and my salvation.

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Attention, Bible, Commands, Faith, Honor, Love, Relationships, Scripture

OH, I’VE HEARD ABOUT YOU

EPHESIANS 1:15

“For this reason I too, having heard of the faith in the Lord Jesus which exists among you and your love for all the saints,

We have all probably met someone for the first time and upon introductions, they say, “Oh, I’ve heard about you.” I usually respond, “Well, I hope it has all been good.” People hear things about you. Sometimes that is good. Other times, well… We are never quite sure what they heard or who told them. Who told them matters because they could have swayed the story in one direction or another. That’s why we should live above reproach, right?

Paul is bragging on the Ephesians in today’s verse. He had been told, since his absence from them (he had spent about three years there), how they were showing love for each other and about their faith in the Lord. Living in Ephesus wasn’t easy for a believer. Paul knew that firsthand. They were surrounded by pagan temples and occultic behaviors. But they were remaining faithful.

APPLICATION

1 John 4:7 tells us, “Beloved, let’s love one another; for love is from God, and everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.” What better way to show we love Jesus than by loving each other. We are told over and over again how important it is to love one another. The world is watching how we treat one another. Believers must love one another.

I love what Romans 12:10 says. “Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor;” I really like the last part of that verse in the ESV. “Outdo one another in showing honor.” Isn’t that good? “Outdo one another.” Look at that combination. It is possible to honor someone without loving them. But it is not possible to truly love someone if you don’t also honor them. Remember that.

Love one another. It sounds so simple, but we let the things of the world influence us. We allow our flesh to creep up and snatch that love right out of the air. We allow the influences of the evil one to spout forth from our tongue. Before you know it, we have damaged the very one God has called us to love. Today, love one another. Let the words told about you shout love.

Father, I want to be known as someone who loved his fellow man. Love through me.

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