What Do We Really Believe?

After some really good spirit moving songs, we began praying for the needs of our church family. There have been so many in need of a touch from the Lord. We had special prayer for Brother Jack Barnes. We surely miss his presence. He is always so encouraging to all who meet him. That is a quality that we could use a lot more of. We miss you, Brother!

Pastor Bob Cartwright asked us if we knew that we are so much closer to the coming of Christ than we can imagine. We must be sure to stay close and keep the faith. In Hebrews 11:6, we are warned of the importance of faith. It says that without faith, it is impossible to please God. If we come to God, we must believe that he is the rewarder of those who diligently seek him. Many times it is very hard to have faith when we do not see any way that our request could be answered. Just as Noah who built the ark when there had never been a drop of rain, we have to look beyond the natural and, in the spirit, see the end of the story and victory.

We are to accept the Lord as our Savior and as in John 3:3-4. Jesus told Nicodemus, “You must be born again in order to see the kingdom of God.” Often we feel that we have done wrong and cannot be forgiven. Not so. In Romans 3:3, we are told that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. Christ had so much love for us that he made a way for us to find eternal life. He died on the Cross for the remission of our sins. We must turn from our old ways of a life filled with sin and disobedience to one of following the word of our Father to obtain a home in heaven to forever be with the Lord. You see, none of this is possible if we do not have faith. The reality is that we cannot even start to realize the wonderful life that we have ahead of us.

When you read John 11, you will find that even those who were with Jesus had a hard time having faith. When Jesus told Mary and Martha, the sisters of Lazarus, to take him to the place where their brother was buried, they were more concerned with the fact that he had been dead for four days than the fact he was to be raised from the dead. They were having a hard time imagining that the love of God is much higher than anything we can think or ask. This resurrection was a sign to all who knew that Lazarus was already dead and buried. The Glory came when Jesus called Lazarus to come forth and he came out of the grave, bound hand and foot in graveclothes. Jesus said loose him and let him go. At this point, if the Lord had just said “Come forth,” all who were dead in Christ would have rose. That is the power of his commands. Many were caused to believe after they witnessed this miracle.

I pray that this account of Lazarus has caused you to search your heart and find an increase in your faith. He has gone away, but we are ever looking up for his return.

Until next week, please know that our hope is not in this world but in the realm of a heaven, where we will have an eternal mansion for a new home.

When you read John 11, you will find that even those who were with Jesus had a hard time having faith. When Jesus told Mary and Martha, the sisters of Lazarus, to take him to the place where their brother was buried, they were more concerned with the fact that he had been dead for four days than the fact he was to be raised from the dead. They were having a hard time imagining that the love of God is much higher than anything we can think or ask.