Word for Today, Thu, 10 July 2008:Will He Find Faith on the Earth?

#1 · July 10, 2008, 6:56 pm

Quote from Forum Archives on July 10, 2008, 6:56 pm
Posted by: masinick <masinick@...>
Dear friends,

A couple of things about this message caught my eye today. The title of the devotional message, "Monkey Puzzle Tree"
had me curious. That alone is not enough, by itself, to have me continue to read a message, particularly a devotional message. It has to have some substance to it.

I just finished reading parts of Luke 18 only yesterday, so the passage was fresh in my mind. I wanted to see what the author of the devotional had to say. This line really captured it for me:

"If we concentrate too much on what happens here, we end up having faith in ourselves; but if we hold on to the sacred hope that, when Christ returns, peace and justice, blessings and happiness will be ours, then we will be constantly looking forward to that precious time. If we do that, then Christ will indeed find faith on earth when He at last returns."

This was in reference to the scripture passage that says: "Luke 18:8 - I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth? (NIV)".

You know, some religions think you have to do this or that to earn your way to heaven. Clearly the scriptures say otherwise. (Read Ephesians 2:8-9 as one example if you are not certain of this).

Now clearly Jesus does want us to believe, and He wants us to act upon what we believe - in Him. But He does not want us trying to figure every single thing out. I definitely read my Bible as often as I can, and I firmly believe that is a good practice. Some people dissect every word and go into great detail about every aspect of our faith. While I would rather do that than not focus on our Lord at all, sometimes I also wonder if that kind of thing is a bit misguided. The reason I say that is because Jesus spoke of faith in a childlike way. He told us to come as a child. That means taking Him at His Word and doing what He says, whether we understand it or not. I think to read the Word of God and make every effort to know the Bible is a very good thing, but when it comes to trying to dig beneath to somehow extract some meaning out of the Word of God, I say, "Why not just believe what it says?" --- unless there is something, by context that is clearly not intended to be taken literally. Otherwise, yes, take it literally.

I am a student of the Word, but I do not study Greek or Hebrew, nor do I think I need to do so to know enough of what it says. There are numerous translations and even more paraphrases of the Bible available. If I question a word in one, I can check another. The old English in the original Authorized King James Version (often abbreviated KJV) of the Bible is often shunned by people because of its out of date language, but it is a very reliable source, in terms of an accurate literal translation. I am using it more and more, to the point where it is now my primary personal source for reading the Bible. I have access to plenty of other versions if I want to look at a verse or passage from multiple viewpoints as I ponder the meaning and application for me personally.

The thing is, read the Bible, believe it, and speak with God about it - every day. If you do that, the faith will be there and Jesus will at least find a remnant of people who still love Him - and His Word, whether it is common when He comes or not. (Actually, the Bible itself says that many will turn away in the last days, looking for words that their itching ears want to hear) - but there will be some who do hold to The Word and His teaching. Those He will find.

Hope that describes you today. You know, you can be certain, if you were to die right now, or suddenly, that trumpet of the LORD really did sound - even right now. You can know if you will be left behind or brought with Christ. It all depends on whether or not you believe Him at His Word - and act upon it. Does that describe you? If not, you may want to read that Word more until it convicts you, causes you to take a closer look at yourself, realize your need, and then perhaps you will be ready to say with complete certainty that you need Christ, you want Christ, you love Christ, and you trust Christ with everything, especially your soul.

Yours in Christ,
Brian
  --  To unsubscribe, send ANY message to: 1corinthians7-unsubscribe@welovegod.org  
Daily-Devotional-for-Thursday-July-10-2008.eml

Posted by: masinick <masinick@...>

Dear friends,

A couple of things about this message caught my eye today. The title of the devotional message, "Monkey Puzzle Tree"
had me curious. That alone is not enough, by itself, to have me continue to read a message, particularly a devotional message. It has to have some substance to it.

I just finished reading parts of Luke 18 only yesterday, so the passage was fresh in my mind. I wanted to see what the author of the devotional had to say. This line really captured it for me:

"If we concentrate too much on what happens here, we end up having faith in ourselves; but if we hold on to the sacred hope that, when Christ returns, peace and justice, blessings and happiness will be ours, then we will be constantly looking forward to that precious time. If we do that, then Christ will indeed find faith on earth when He at last returns."

This was in reference to the scripture passage that says: "Luke 18:8 - I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth? (NIV)".

You know, some religions think you have to do this or that to earn your way to heaven. Clearly the scriptures say otherwise. (Read Ephesians 2:8-9 as one example if you are not certain of this).

Now clearly Jesus does want us to believe, and He wants us to act upon what we believe - in Him. But He does not want us trying to figure every single thing out. I definitely read my Bible as often as I can, and I firmly believe that is a good practice. Some people dissect every word and go into great detail about every aspect of our faith. While I would rather do that than not focus on our Lord at all, sometimes I also wonder if that kind of thing is a bit misguided. The reason I say that is because Jesus spoke of faith in a childlike way. He told us to come as a child. That means taking Him at His Word and doing what He says, whether we understand it or not. I think to read the Word of God and make every effort to know the Bible is a very good thing, but when it comes to trying to dig beneath to somehow extract some meaning out of the Word of God, I say, "Why not just believe what it says?" --- unless there is something, by context that is clearly not intended to be taken literally. Otherwise, yes, take it literally.

I am a student of the Word, but I do not study Greek or Hebrew, nor do I think I need to do so to know enough of what it says. There are numerous translations and even more paraphrases of the Bible available. If I question a word in one, I can check another. The old English in the original Authorized King James Version (often abbreviated KJV) of the Bible is often shunned by people because of its out of date language, but it is a very reliable source, in terms of an accurate literal translation. I am using it more and more, to the point where it is now my primary personal source for reading the Bible. I have access to plenty of other versions if I want to look at a verse or passage from multiple viewpoints as I ponder the meaning and application for me personally.

The thing is, read the Bible, believe it, and speak with God about it - every day. If you do that, the faith will be there and Jesus will at least find a remnant of people who still love Him - and His Word, whether it is common when He comes or not. (Actually, the Bible itself says that many will turn away in the last days, looking for words that their itching ears want to hear) - but there will be some who do hold to The Word and His teaching. Those He will find.

Hope that describes you today. You know, you can be certain, if you were to die right now, or suddenly, that trumpet of the LORD really did sound - even right now. You can know if you will be left behind or brought with Christ. It all depends on whether or not you believe Him at His Word - and act upon it. Does that describe you? If not, you may want to read that Word more until it convicts you, causes you to take a closer look at yourself, realize your need, and then perhaps you will be ready to say with complete certainty that you need Christ, you want Christ, you love Christ, and you trust Christ with everything, especially your soul.

Yours in Christ,
Brian

  --  To unsubscribe, send ANY message to: 1corinthians7-unsubscribe@welovegod.org

Daily-Devotional-for-Thursday-July-10-2008.eml