Living By Faith

“Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails, and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior.”- Habakkuk 3:17-18

          Habakkuk is praying to Jehovah God in the third chapter as he sees Him trample his enemies underfoot. Habakkuk is awestruck by the power displayed and the vengeance brought against his enemies. In the end of the prayer Habakkuk is resolute as he states that no matter what may happen to him, he will rejoice in the Lord. Habakkuk sees the ferocious way that God repays evil done against His children and recognizes that only God can deliver him from his calamity. He humbly acknowledges that God is the one who is over all and shall provide for and sustain him.

          If we were in the same situation, how would we act? No food, no job, no money to pay bills … what’s going on? God was mindful of Habakkuk and He is mindful of us as well. We are not in danger of anything other than the discomfort of having our routine disrupted. Habakkuk, being a prophet, was targeted and in danger of death from enemies that rose up against the people of God continually throughout the Old Testament. In all three chapters of Habakkuk, the overriding theme is that the just shall live by faith. It is faith that leads to trust and as believers we need to know we can trust God. It is a conscious decision we must make; do we trust God or not? If we do, then we should understand two things; that nothing is impossible for God and that His timing rarely syncs up to ours. The perfect job is coming your way; financial relief is coming as well. Your prayers shall be answered. Seek His will for your life and then praise God from whom all blessings flow. Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing!

In His Name & for His Glory,

RL Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

Making Time for God

“David praised the Lord in the presence of the whole assembly, saying, ‘Praise be to you, Lord, the God of our father Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Yours, Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is yours. Yours, Lord, is the kingdom; you are exalted as head overall. Wealth and honor come from you; you are the ruler of all things. In your hands are strength and power to exalt and give strength to all.’”- 1 Chronicles 29:10-12

          The Lord God is over all things. Here is David claiming just that. David knew his God and God knew David. He was considered the apple of God’s eye (Psalm 17:7-9) and a man after God’s own heart (Acts 13:22). David was flawed just like you and I, yet those things could still be said of him. God is over all for He has made all things. The beauty that surrounds us is witness to His creativity. We too are beautiful. We were made in His image and are unique in that not one of us is the same. Even identical twins have differences. Everything that we have is because of God. Anything that has true value is from Him. If we are a true believer, then our soul is His and our spirit can be attuned to Him.

          It's a shame that we become too busy to fine tune our spiritual relationship with our Heavenly Father, yet He patiently waits for us to get our collective acts together. We should recognize and not ignore who our freedom comes from and who our savior truly is. It would take a monumental effort to secure a meeting with the President of the United States, but we can meet with the Creator of the entire universe any time of the day or night. It’s really up to us how close we choose to get to Him. God is waiting for us to make time for Him. What would our lives be like if He hadn’t made time for us? Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing.

In His Name & for His Glory,

RL Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

Christ Made Himself Nothing for Us

 

“… he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death … even death on a cross!” - Philippians 2:7-8 (NIV)

                  In a world where people are constantly striving to better themselves and climb the ladder of socially defined success, it is amazing to me that Almighty God would purposefully and deliberately make Himself NOTHING. He went so far as to make Himself the lowest human form … a servant … a person with no rights or authority. And then willingly allowed Himself to be led to a criminals cross to be crucified and as a result die. It is one thing to die for a friend, but to die for a people who do not even know You is pretty amazing. It defies all logic. Yet this was God’s plan all along.

                  We call it a ‘criminals cross’ because that was the common way of putting those who broke the law of the land to death at that time. So even though Christ was not a criminal, He was treated as one in the manner by which He was killed. Eradicate the problem. That is essentially what the religious leaders of the day were doing. Everything about Jesus; His words, His actions, flew in the face of the Pharisee’s comfort zone. They had control over the religious people around them. They determined what God wanted and didn’t want. They defined His laws. They set the temple payment system for the covering of sins. When Jesus came along, just like He eventually overturned the tables of the moneychangers in the temple courtyard, He overturned everything the Pharisee had set in motion. Instead of rationally discussing matters of the heart with Jesus, they almost immediately plotted to get rid of Him. Christ needed to be eliminated. Unbeknownst to the religious leaders of that day, it was God’s plan for that to take place all along also. He knew their hardened hearts and that they were stubborn and stiff necked. He knew they would fall right into line with God’s plan because they believed in their hearts that they were right, even though they were not.

                  So Christ willingly became like a slave. He did what He was called by His Father to do. He was obedient to the point of death, and it was all for a divine purpose … God knew the heart of man. He created man, so He knew him intimately. He knew that man, if given a choice, would choose incorrectly based on feelings and emotions, rather than on what was right vs. what was wrong. This sentiment is still prevalent today. No boundaries create a chaotic existence.

                  A blood sacrifice was necessary to atone or pay for sin. It was the payment system that God put in place to forgive our disobedience. It behooves us to dig into God’s word for ourselves to see what is truly required of us as followers of Christ rather than constantly be spoon fed. Christ died for you. Get to know Him intimately and you might be surprised what is really required of you as His followers and what is not. Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing! 

In His Name & for His Glory,

RL Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

Trusting God

“When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. In God, whose word I praise - in God I trust and am not afraid?”- Psalm 56:4

                David wrote this regarding men who were in pursuit of him with the desire to kill him. He was aware that mortal men can only kill his body, but never take his soul from him, nor his faith and trust in God.  In spite of his dilemma, the words above should shine like a beacon into our hearts, for while men are likely not in pursuit of us, there are many things we tend to fear in this life. If we believe in God, then we should put our trust in Him as well. As we walk with Him, we realize that His word is true, therefore, He can be trusted without hesitation. There is absolutely nothing to fear.

                When I say there is nothing to fear, I do not say it lightly. We allow worry to creep into our lives regarding things we have no control over and that worry leaves us troubled and that can give birth to full blown fear. If we truly believe in God then what do we believe in Him for, fluffy clouds and sunny days? We can believe in Him for everything. When we speak to Him, He hears us. When we are in trouble, He saves us. We only need to ask. Some have trouble asking for anything, thinking that given enough time they will figure it out and provide their own solution. Wouldn’t it be so much better to ask and receive from the source Who knows the right solution instead of playing a guessing game? God can be trusted; His word is absolutely true, and we have absolutely nothing at all to fear in this life. Trust God! Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing!

In His Name & for His Glory,

RL Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

Seek the Light

“We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way ….” - Colossians 1:9b-10a

            Paul, the once vile hater & slayer of Christians, was now a fierce prayer warrior on their behalf. The Damascus Road episode in his life changed everything. He now asks God to fill these same believers of Christ with “all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives”. Two things are shown to us here: 1) that God will give us those things that we are in need of to live a life worthy of Him; 2) His Holy Spirit is the conduit by which this is accomplished.
                  What have we been rescued from? These verses tell of God, by His Holy Spirit, through the actions of His Son, Jesus, the Christ, rescuing or delivering us from “the dominion of darkness”. Without Christ, our life is under the domination or control of darkness, which permeates this world. It is cloaked so it is not easily seen by the naked eye, but with the eye of the Spirit, is seen plainly. We have been rescued from this world that we are IN yet no longer OF. This world embraces many things that are blatantly evil and easy to spot. However, the enemy works overtime to come up with ways to deceive those who would strive to avoid such things. We need the full Armor of God (Ephesians 6:13) to combat such an evil attack.
                  Be wary of the darkness that surrounds you but rejoice in the light that lives in you. God has you covered with His righteousness. You are safe. Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing.

In His Name & for His Glory,

RL Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

“For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives,  so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God,  being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience,  and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you^[b] to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light. ¹³ For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, ¹⁴ in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” – Colossians 1:9-14

What is a Theocracy?

                  A Theocracy is a land that is governed by biblical principles & doctrines. I think it’s safe to say that “heaven” is a Theocracy. I mean, heaven isn’t a place where mob rule exists, and it isn’t a place where the majority rules. It a place where Almighty God rules. 

                  Heaven will be a wonderful place to spend eternity. We’ll be with the One who created us and loves us without any conditions being placed upon that love. 

Heaven is a real place described in the Bible. The word heaven is found 276 times in the New Testament alone. Scripture refers to three heavens. The apostle Paul was “caught up to the third heaven,” but he was prohibited from revealing what he experienced there (2 Corinthians 12:1–9).

Since a third heaven exists, there must also be two other heavens. The first is most frequently referred to in the Old Testament as the “sky” or the “firmament.” This is the heaven where weather happens, clouds float, winds whirl, and birds fly. The second heaven is what we call outer space, the region of the stars, planets, and other celestial objects (Genesis 1:14–18).

The third heaven, the location of which is not revealed, is the dwelling place of God. Jesus promised to prepare a place for His followers in heaven (John 14:2). Heaven is also the destination of Old Testament saints who died trusting God’s promise of the Redeemer (Ephesians 4:8). Whoever believes in Christ shall never perish but have eternal life (John 3:16).

The apostle John was privileged to see and report on the heavenly city, the New Jerusalem (Revelation 21:10–27). John witnessed that the new earth will possess the “glory of God” (Revelation 21:11), and the very presence of God will be among men. In the eternal state, there will be no night, and the Lord Himself will be the light of the city. The sun and moon will no longer be needed (Revelation 22:5).

The New Jerusalem will be filled with the brilliance of costly stones and crystal clear jasper. The city has twelve gates (Revelation 21:12) and twelve foundations (Revelation 21:14). Paradise is restored: the river of the water of life flows freely, and the tree of life is available once again, yielding fruit monthly with leaves that “heal the nations” (Revelation 22:1–2). The Bible gives us a glimpse of heaven, but the reality of that place is beyond the ability of finite man to imagine (see 1 Corinthians 2:9).

Heaven is a place of “no mores.” There will be no more tears, no more pain, and no more sorrow (Revelation 21:4). There will be no more separation, because death will be conquered (Revelation 20:6). The best thing about heaven will be the presence of our Lord and Savior (1 John 3:2). We will be face to face with the Lamb of God who loved us and gave Himself for us. Because of His sacrifice, we can enjoy His presence for eternity. Until next time, walk with the King & be a blessing.

In His Name & for His Glory,

RL Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

Source: https://www.gotquestions.org/heaven-like.html

If You Say It, Mean It

“Whatever your lips utter you must be sure to do, because you made your vow freely to the LORD your God with your own mouth.” - Deuteronomy 23:23

             In this day and age, we say a lot of things … often glibly, without thinking of the serious implications that come with the words said. When we do so, we cheapen the words immensely. Their meaning becomes cloudy and ineffectual. The off handed manner with which they are offered tends to belie what may be their true intention. Delivery is important, tone critical, and other’s feelings need to be considered. Words spoken have been replaced with words typed in emails or text messages. Intimacy has been replaced with online chats. No face to face contact. No intonation heard. Our society needs a serious overhaul, in my humble opinion.
             Let’s get a little specific for the moment. What about wedding vows? In a day and age when commitment is fleeting at its’ best and non-existent at its’ worst, we must stare down the barrel of temptation constantly. Are the words laid out in the “Love” chapter of 1 Corinthians 13 meaningless? When we say our wedding vows do they mean nothing to us when we say them? Is our “I do” covered with stipulations. In the back of our minds are we calculating deal breakers to the vows that we have made? 

              Look at this sample of traditional wedding vows: “I, (name), take you, (name), to be my [opt: lawfully wedded] (husband/wife), my constant friend, my faithful partner and my love from this day forward. In the presence of God, our family, and friends, I offer you my solemn vow to be your faithful partner in sickness and in health, in good times and in bad, and in joy as well as in sorrow. I promise to love you unconditionally, to support you in your goals, to honor and respect you, to laugh with you and cry with you, and to cherish you for as long as we both shall live.”
             When we say our vows they have to MEAN something to us. They have to, or they are a sham, not worthy of even being said. And make no mistake about it, when you make a vow, you make it to God as well. You’re not going to hell if you, as a couple, split up, but it’s certainly not what God had in mind when He created man. Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing!

In His Name & for His Glory,

RL Keller

Bread of Life Ministry

VOW defined: 1. An earnest promise to perform a specified act or behave in a certain manner, especially a solemn promise to live and act in accordance with the rules of a religious order; 2. A declaration or assertion; 3. To promise solemnly; pledge.