Feed your faith!
“Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD:” Amos 8:11
“So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” Romans 10:17
Here we have a famine of the word which when paired with Romans 10:17 becomes a Famine of Faith! Are you suffering from a famine of faith? Is your spiritual man down to skin and bones? Have you become weak and anemic? There has been an epidemic of Christians who suffer from an acute lack of spiritual nourishment in these last days. We need to reverse this process and feed our faith by Hearing the Word of God! (Rom. 10:17)
Hearing the Word is indeed a key component of the restoration process however it is not the only component. When Peter’s faith is challenged by Christ’s command to forgive again and again he actually acknowledges his lack of faith by requesting that the Lord “Increase our faith.” God follows that request with a parable that instructs us to obey the command of the Master as a good servant. We learn from this that we need to reverse this process and feed our faith by Heeding the Word of God! (Luke 17:5-10)
It all boils down to diet and exercise. Partake of the Word and Practice the Word then your Faith will grow and you will be well on your way to overcoming the enemy of doubt!
USED
“And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient,…”
II Timothy 2:24
We talk about having a “servant’s heart” because we know the importance of being a servant in the kingdom of God. Jesus, our greatest example, is portrayed as a servant throughout the Gospel of Mark. But the reality is that where there is a servant’s heart there will be a set of serving hands. We must remember that a servant never tells his master what he will or will not do. Instead he does whatever his master asks of him…without argument or complaint. If you desire to be a servant of the Lord don’t be surprised when you feel used.
Many Christians will say, “I want God to use me.” Any servant who is asking God to use them will feel like they are “being used” from time to time. So many today complain of “being used” but that is exactly how it feels when God uses us.
The way to tell if someone is truly a servant of the Lord is to see how they react when they are treated like a servant…when they are USED!
Lord, let me be used no matter how it feels and let me a servant be for thee.
From the Pastors desk
Leviticus 19:18b “…but thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself: I am the LORD.”
In a selfie-driven world we need to remember to let others into the picture. One of the truths most impressed upon my mind as a child was an acronym for Joy. It was a simple but powerful truth. To have joy, real Joy put Jesus first, Others second and Yourself last:
J – Jesus
O – Others
Y – Yourself
And when you do this you will find lasting joy. Loving others in the same manner that we love ourselves seems to be a sacrificial love until you realize that God ordained this order and when it is played out properly everyone is loved as they would want to be loved. Jesus summed up all of the Old Testament Commandments by saying “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself.” Luke 10:27 Loving others and letting them into the picture is key to fulfilling God’s desires for our lives.
We will have a much more fulfilling life when we let others into the picture.
– Pastor D. Jason McNeese