Blog Archives

Obedience In The Face Of Doubt

7/29/2016

Obedience in the Face of Doubt
        The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you.
I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. Genesis 12:1-2

Abram did the unthinkable; he left his father’s home. All he had was a promise that eventually seemed unattainable.
      God told Abraham, “As for Sarai you wife, you are not to call her Sarai any longer, because her name is to be Sarah.
I will bless her. Furthermore, I will give you a son from her.
I will bless her, so that nations, kings, and people will come from her.
Abraham fell to the ground, laughed, and told himself, "Can a child be born to a 100 year old man? Can a 90 year old Sarah give?” Genesis 17:15-17

His unsurprising response was, “Can a 100 year old man and a 90 year old woman have a son?”
Abraham had lived a long time and it showed. His old age was there for all to see.
Evidence not withstanding, he had a choice: believe the natural evidence or believe the word he received from God.

Abraham chose to believe God. He refused to accept the evidence in his body, the natural decay that comes with age, and believed the promise of God.

His belief was credited to him as righteousness. Romans 4:3. Galatians 3:6

This is also our challenge, to move out of the place we know, our "understanding," and transfer our trust to the one who has full knowledge and wisdom.
We rely too much on our own understanding and as a result fail to move into the things God has prepared for us.
We all have faith. It’s who, or what we have faith in that determines the direction of our life.
Relying on what we know limits us to the extent of our knowledge.

In faith we choose to rely on the promises of God, which more often than not make no sense in the natural.
     Our faith in God is always challenging our understanding, but our obedience is a great source of strength and rejoicing in our spirit.

Our faith determines our direction, either away from God and deeper into what we “know,” or a resolve to believe and move deeper into God and the “unknown.”

0 Comments

Fear; The Spirit that Destroys Life

7/23/2016

0 Comments

Fear; the Spirit that Destroys Life.

For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind (self control). 2 Timothy 1:7 NKJV

The enemy is on the prowl. He is looking for anyone he can Infect with fear and capture.

With fear he easily manipulates the thoughts of his victims and brings them under even greater subjugation.

He is a cruel slave master, relentless in his intimidation and torment.

Fear always keeps his subjects in brutal bondage, draining them of energy and resources, he keeps them confused, helpless and impoverished, creating a barrier to sound thinking.

Fear weakens the mind and blinds its prey to the available freedom in Christ, it keeps them from embracing and walking in their true identity; sons and daughters of the Almighty.

With this mindset, those under the dominion of fear are easily prone to hopelessness and anguish, and soon come under the illusion that they are alone, powerless, and isolated, even from God.

Fear imposes on us the notion that we are separated from the source of life, and therefore we must create our own life, apart from God and others.

The great lie of fear, is that we must be our own source of life, our own providers.

Once Jesus is proclaimed Lord and Redeemer in our lives, we are moved from slavery to fear into sonship, and are given the power to confront, resist and vanquish the enemy.

“Let God arise, let His enemies be scattered, and let them that hate Him flee before Him.” Psalm 68:1

In Christ Jesus, we are equipped and empowered to oppose the source of fear; Satan.

For you have not received a spirit of slavery that leads you into fear again. Instead, you have received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, "Abba! Father!” Romans 8:15 ISV

0 Comments

Redeemed

7/16/2016

0 Comments

“Come now, let us settle the matter,” says the Lord.
“Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.” Isaiah 1:18

“…for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.” Romans 3:22-23

Once we accept Jesus as our only redeemer, the matter is settled!

Through Him we are not only forgiven, but we are pardoned. Our record of sin is expunged; we are clean and fully acceptable in the sight of God the Father.
In Christ, and through Christ, we are freed from the burden of our failures and sin. We are no longer inmates under the penalty of death, but we are pardoned death row inmates.
Faith in Jesus Christ is our only key to life and true freedom.

He is the only source of life and the righteousness we so urgently need.
Receiving Him as Lord and Savior releases the applause of heaven and the acceptance of the Father.

We would not need redemption (freedom from the slavery to sin), if we were not in bondage to sin.

Repentance, (the commitment to change our mind, our thinking), will bring us into times refreshing (Acts 3:19), and release rejoicing in heaven (Luke 15:7).

Unless we recognize and accept that we have failed and have sinned, we do not qualify for redemption as true sons and heirs to the kingdom of God.

However, to all who received him, those believing in his name, he gave authority to become God's children. John 1:11-12

0 Comments

The Courage to Die to Self

7/8/2016

0 Comments

The Courage to Die to Self

“Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me.” John 14:21

Obedience is not spontaneous; it is a constant battle with your flesh nature.
   Obedience demands the surrender of your natural inclinations. It demands complete submission to that which is abnormal to you.
   It is a discipline that must to be taught and learned.

   True love, not unlike obedience must also be taught and learned.
   It is not spontaneous, unlike affection, which is unpredictable and seems to come naturally. Love is a discipline, an act of obedience.

  “But I say to you, love your enemy and a pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be like a your Father in heaven, …”    Matthew 5:44-45

Obedience is always a test of your love for God. It is your decision to continuously resist your self-serving tendency.

Obedience is what God asks when you are told to love Him. To be fully submissive is your act and declaration of love and trust. It is the true demonstration of faith.

“And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” Philippians 2:8

Obedience is your moment of truth, your demonstration of faith.
   It is the thing you must do well when it is “Most inconvenient.”
   It challenges you in your moments fear, or doubt.

Joshua is given instructions, “To do everything written in the book.” Obey “The words in the book,” all the days of his life.
   It will keep him postured to act and not hesitate.

   “Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. Joshua 1:8

You must be strong even when obedience seems impossible, too difficult, or dangerous.

“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9

You must choose to find the courage to obey the voice of God.
   It is the only way you will prove His presence and goodness.
   Obedience reveals your love and faith; it is the weapon that defeats unbelief and hardness of heart.

0 Comments

From Courage to Destiny

7/1/2016

0 Comments

  “Moses my servant is dead. Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River,…” Joshua 1:2
   "Have not I commanded you? Be strong and courageous: Do not be terrified; Do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go." — Joshua 1:9

      The Lord’s word is clear; “Joshua, go!”
The command is forceful; “Be courageous, don’t be terrified, do not be discouraged, do not crack under the pressure.”
      These words are not the words spoken to a man full of anticipation and courage, but to someone who is battling great doubt and fear.

   It takes strength and courage to lead.
   It takes strength and courage to obey.
   It takes strength and courage to confront fear and discouragement.
   Joshua seems far from ready.

   He must act. His only assurance is God’s promise, “The Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”
   He had been here forty years before, and recalls the results of the people not trusting God.
   Now, a new host of men and women wait for the command to enter the land promised to their ancestors.
   Standing on the edge of the Jordan, they face a river in full flood.

   Nevertheless this is the time.

   A nation is about to be born or be aborted.
   It does not matter how often we have hesitated in fear, doubted, turned back, sinned or failed.
   When God says to, “Go!” Then any “flood,” is irrelevant, the voice of the enemy is irrelevant, self-doubt is irrelevant… all that matters is His promise and our obedience;

   “No one will be able to stand against you …I will never leave you nor forsake you.” Joshua 1:5

   We either obey and enter our destiny, or we abort and return to the desert.

0 Comments

Thinking Out Loud

These are short meditations on some of the thoughts and ideas we receive as we read, study or ponder the things of God.
They are short blogs meant to cause us to think, explore, meditate or simply delight in the things of the Lord.

Author

In a counseling career spanning over 30 years, author and teacher Martin Frankena has shared the life-changing power of Christ’s redemption with individuals and churches in America, Canada, South America, and Europe. Martin's heart is to further the Lord’s mandate of releasing people into freedom from bondages to experience greater wholeness and fulfillment in life. A major focus of the ministry is healing from generational issues.

Thinking out loud

Obedience In The Face Of Doubt

Fear; The Spirit that Destroys Life

Redeemed

The Courage to Die to Self

From Courage to Destiny

Thinking Out Loud

These are short meditations on some of the thoughts and ideas we receive as we read, study or ponder the things of God.
They are short blogs meant to cause us to think, explore, meditate or simply delight in the things of the Lord.

Author

Archives

Categories

Thinking out loud

Obedience In The Face Of Doubt

Fear; The Spirit that Destroys Life

Redeemed

The Courage to Die to Self

From Courage to Destiny

Thinking Out LoudThese are short meditations on some of the thoughts and ideas we receive as we read, study or ponder the things of God.They are short blogs meant to cause us to think, explore, meditate or simply delight in the things of the Lord.Author

Archives

Categories

Thinking Out Loud

These are short meditations on some of the thoughts and ideas we receive as we read, study or ponder the things of God.
They are short blogs meant to cause us to think, explore, meditate or simply delight in the things of the Lord.

Author