Noah's faith

Hebrews 11:7 (ESV)

By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household. By this he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.

The Bible is the story of God and His people. It is full of people that lived incredible lives of faith. They didn’t just talk about faith, they lived with faith and did incredible things as they trusted God. Living by faith is what set them apart and is the reason they are recorded in God’s Word. We can see their examples and be encouraged. One of my favorite heroes of faith is Noah. By faith, Noah built a ship in the middle of dry land. He was warned about something he couldn’t see and acted on what he was told. The result? His family was saved. His act of faith drew a sharp line between the evil of the unbelieving world and the rightness of the believing world.  As a result, Noah became close with God.

We can live a life of faith just like the heroes in God’s Word. Our faith grows when we hear other people’s stories of faith. Their faith was shown in how they lived. If Noah never had faith, he wouldn’t have built the Ark. What could God do through you if you live by faith? As we trust God, our faith will grow.

Dear Lord, Help us to grow in our faith. Step by step in obedience to You, having faith in the unseen. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.

Faith Always Wins

Psalm 34:4 (ESV)

I sought the Lord, and he answered me

    and delivered me from all my fears.

If you took faith on one side and fear on the other and set them to do battle, do you know who would win? FAITH! Faith in God defeats fear.

Faith in God defeats fear of the future. Faith in God defeats fear of the unknown. Faith in God defeats fears of any kind. When we focus on God and what He promises us in His word fear begins to retreat and is defeated.

No matter what is causing us to be fearful, faith in God will always win. If you choose to have faith in God over and over again instead of choosing fear, you’ll see that Faith wins every time.

Dear Lord, You are bigger and stronger than any fear, You have power over all of creation. Help our faith be strong in You. Thank You that You have power over our fears. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.

Our Good Father

Romans 4:25 (ESV)

Who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification.

What makes a father good? Importantly, it’s being a man the family can trust because he keeps his promises. Unfortunately, many don’t know what a father is, let alone a good father. So not surprisingly some have difficulty with God, our Father. How can God be a good Father if he was willing to send his Son off to die?

The answer: God the Father is good because he keeps his promises. When our first parents, Adam and Eve, disobeyed God and brought upon the world the curse of death, our Father promised a Savior to rescue the world from the condemnation people deserved because of sin.

Throughout history, God kept his promise of a Savior, proving that he is someone we can trust—a good Father. He delivered Noah through a worldwide flood. He granted offspring to an old man named Abraham and his barren wife. He sustained the world wrecked by famine through Joseph, who became second-in-command to Pharaoh of Egypt. He delivered the Israelites from slavery and kept them alive in the wilderness for forty years by his servant Moses. He returned a remnant of Israelites from 70 years in exile, even after they had forsaken him.

And finally, God delivered his Son. Conceived by the Holy Spirit, Jesus was delivered by the virgin Mary. On Palm Sunday, he was delivered into Jerusalem on the back of a donkey. On Maundy Thursday, he was delivered into the hands of the authorities by a kiss from Judas. On Good Friday, he was delivered over to death at the hands of Roman soldiers.

All this Jesus did for us. God demands we live a perfect life, but accepts the perfect life that Jesus lived on our behalf. God demands payment for sin but counts Jesus’ innocent death in our place. On the cross, Jesus said, “It is finished” (John 19:30). And to show that he is fully satisfied, God delivered Jesus from death to life. Our Father does not count our sin against us. Because of what Jesus has done, God declares that we are not guilty.

God our Father is good!

Dear Lord, thank you for being our good Father, whom we can trust because You keep Your promises. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.

Fear Not.

Isaiah 41:10 (ESV)

Fear not, for I am with you;

    be not dismayed, for I am your God;

I will strengthen you, I will help you,

    I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

When Jesus walked out on the water, in the middle of the storm, what did the disciples do? They were afraid! They thought He was a ghost! Jesus said to them, “Don’t be afraid...It’s me!” Jesus was with them in the storm. They didn’t have to be full of fear. We may face storms in our life. We might be looking head on into tragedy, we might be walking into a new school where we don’t know anyone, we might be stepping into a new thing and trying something different. You don’t have to be full of fear because God is with you.

Just like Jesus was with the disciples in the storm, He is with you in your life no matter if it’s stormy or clear. All through God’s word, He tells us, “Do not be afraid, I am with you” If we have faith in God, we don’t need to be full of fear.

In the Old Testament we read that the prophet Isaiah spoke a message from God to His people, “Do not be afraid. I am with you. Do not be terrified. I am your God. I will make you strong and help you. My powerful right hand will take good care of you. I always do what is right.” Jesus had the same message to His disciples and God has the same message for us today, fear not, I am with you.

Dear Lord, Thank You that You are with us and we are never alone. We don’t have to live with fear because You can calm any storm. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.

God’s Word Says.

Joshua 1:9 (ESV)

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.

There are around 774,746 words in the Bible. It is said that the

Bible says not to fear 365 times, one for every day of the week. This may be true depending on which translation of the Bible you’re reading.

In the average Bible, phrases like “Don’t be afraid, do not fear, be not afraid and fear not” found 119 times! That’s a bit less than 365, but how many times does God need to say “Do not fear” for it to be true? ONCE!

Even if it was only mentioned once in the Bible, it’s true and God means it! Faith in God defeats fear! We weren’t made to be full of fear, we were made to be full of faith.

Dear Lord, Your word tells us, not to be afraid. We have faith in You and believe Your word that we don’t need to fear because You are with us. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.

Calming The Storms.

Matthew 14:22-27 (ESV)

22 Immediately he made the disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. 23 And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, 24 but the boat by this time was a long way from the land, beaten by the waves, for the wind was against them. 25 And in the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea. 26 But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, “It is a ghost!” and they cried out in fear. 27 But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.“

Jesus said to His disciples “Go, now, to the other side of the lake.” Meanwhile Jesus went by himself up a mountainside to pray. As the disciples made their journey across the water a storm filled the skies and the waves rocked their boat. The disciples were afraid.

“What is that?” Said Peter. John was confused...”What are you talking about?”  “Look.. Out there on the water!”  It was Jesus! He was walking out towards them. Walking ON THE WATER!  He called out to them “Be brave, it’s me! Don’t be afraid.”  Peter called out to Jesus “Lord.. If it really is you, tell me to come out to you on the water”

“Come.” Jesus said. Peter stepped out of the boat and began walking on the water out to where Jesus was. Peter took his eyes off Jesus and began to sink. His fear got the best of him and he called to Jesus “Lord, save me!”  Jesus quickly reached out His hand and caught him. “Peter, why did you doubt me? Your faith is so small.” As they climbed into the boat the storm calmed. We will surely face storms in our life, with faith in Jesus we don’t have to be overcome, we can walk above the storms of fear! Remember Jesus’ words “Be brave, don’t be afraid!”

Dear Lord, You have control over the winds and waves. We trust in you to calm the storms in life and we choose to have faith instead of fear. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.

Fear or Faith.

2 Timothy 1:7 (ESV)

For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.

There are some crazy fears that people have. Octophobia - Fear of the figure eight. Porphyrophobia- Fear of the color purple. Alektorophobia- Fear of chickens (I do not have this one). Chronomentrophobia- Fear of clocks. Arachibutyrophobia- fear of peanut butter sticking to the roof of your mouth. Hylophobia-fear of wood. Hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia- fear of long words. Homilophobia- Fear of sermons. Lutraphobia- Fear of otters. And the list goes on and on.

These strange fears might seem funny to some of us but fear is a very real thing for people to deal with. Fear can grip hold of a person and hold them back from living the life God has planned for them. You may be facing fears of your own, fear of the future, of a new school year or fear of the dark. With God on our side we don’t need to live in fear. He hasn’t given us a fearful spirit on the inside, he’s given us a spirit of power and love!

The antidote to fear is faith. Fear and faith can’t be in the same place at the same time. Faith in God defeats fear!

Dear Lord, Thank You that You put in us a spirit of faith not fear. Help us to live with boldness and love. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.