Faith Hall of Fame

The Bible is full of people who had an extraordinary amount of faith. If I asked you to list 5 people from the Bible who had tons of faith, whom would you list? Job? Mary? Moses? How about Paul or Daniel? No doubt, these would certainly make the "Faith Hall of Fame" But I want to talk about one whom you may or may not have thought about. What do you think about Noah's amount of faith? Here was a man preaching to the people that a giant flood was coming to destroy everything on earth. More than just preaching it, he also started building a giant boat to prepare for it. In fact, the boat he was building was larger than the biggest body of water in the area. It would have been impossible for the ark to navigate the entire length of the Euphrates River. At the time he started building the ark, Noah was already around 500 years old. The people must have thought he was just an old mental case, especially when one considers that the flood did not happen right away. Noah slaved for 120 years on the ark before the flood actually began. 120 years? Would you have thought he was just an old fool? I know I would have.

God tells us that it is impossible to please Him without faith. How much faith do we really have? I know it is easy to say that we have a lot of faith, but do we actually have as much as Noah or any of those other Bible Hall of Famers? If placed in the terrible position and situations that some of these Bible people were placed, would we still be preaching the Mighty name of Jesus? I guess there is really no way to answer that question. How would we really know how we would react to something unless it happened to us personally? What tough situation are you facing at this hour? Do you have enough faith? If you do, then you know it is only a matter of time before God intervenes and pulls you through it. If you don't have enough faith, then ask God to strengthen it for you. I continue to discover that there is no situation or road that I can go down from which my Lord won't come to get me. Pray for faith! There is an old saying, "I hope my ship comes in before my dock rots". God's time is perfect time. Ask Him for more faith right now.

Revelation 2:10 says, "Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life."

Lord, please help me to stay faithful and to continue believing that You will soon turns things in my favor. In Jesus name, Amen.

Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday, America! The smell of fireworks and BBQ grills filled the air in my neighborhood last night. The 4th of July is a happy celebration for us all. Over the past couple days, the History Channel has been showing a variety of Independence Day-type shows. I got a chance to watch a few this past weekend. It is a wonder we even have an opportunity to celebrate the 4th of July. How those first few American soldiers fought off the mighty British, we may never truly know. Out-numbered, out-gunned, and in most cases, out-smarted, somehow our soldiers fought through and were victorious. If you get a chance, go back and read some of the stories of the Revolution and see how much luck played on the side of the Americans. Actually, I believe it was more than luck. We don't say "God bless America" for nothing. When you look at just how unlikely it was for us to win, you soon come to the inevitable conclusion that God was on our side!

But how much longer will He be on our side? How much further away will He allow this country to push Him? I don't think Hurricane Katrina, 9-11, or the BP oil spill were random events. I think God is saying the same thing those Verizon phone commercials say--"Can you hear me now?" He has been sending us several warnings, but the powers-that-be in this country are not heeding His warnings. Are we personally listening to God? Are we living our lives in a way that reflect the Goodness of God? I try so hard not to be hypocritical. It does no good for me to fuss and complain about our government's lack of love for the Lord when I don't show it as much as I should either. This is a problem that has to be addressed individually. If each one of us would turn completely to God, maybe our government would too. There is strength in numbers. I know how unlikely it seems that our government will ever publicly turn to God. But remember just how unlikely it was that we defeated the mighty British. God, bless America.

Father, thank you for allowing us to live in a free country. Remind us everyday that it is because of You, and not because of us, that we are truly free. In Jesus name, Amen.