Thursday, June 28, 2012

Confidence In God’s Work

Philippians 1:6 (NKJV)
Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.

The apostle Paul had a deep joy in his heart for the Philippian believers. Throughout chapter 1, he tells them over and over again how he is in continuous thanks to God for them and how much he loves them. In this verse he wanted to remind them that God began a work in them and God would keep this work going if they only allow Him.

When Paul used the word “confident”, he chose a word that means that he was tranquilized with persuasion that God would perform this. He was completely confident that Paul had begun a good work in them and God was going to perform this work. Paul’s confidence was in the promises of God (God’s very Word itself). Paul was so completely convinced of God’s work and promises that he gave no thought to anything other than God accomplishing His work.

The same is true for us today. When God begins a work in our life, He will always stay true to His promises. Salvation is one of these promises. When God says that he saves a repentant soul that believes on Jesus, God will deliver that person to heaven at death. The same is true daily. When God begins a great work in us, He will always perform it. But, our obedience is the determining factor on whether or not God can continue to bless us and complete that work. We cannot continue to live in sin and think that God will bless us. God will come through if we allow Him, we just need willing obedience.

David said, “Unless the LORD builds the house, they labor in vain who build it”, (Psalms 127:1a, NKJV). We need to make sure that we are involved in the paths and projects that the Lord Himself wants and approves. God’s promises are throughout scripture, so we need to search the scripture daily, in order to find what these promises are and obey them. But, we all have individual purposes, gifts, talents and opportunities. Seek God with all your heart and He will show you what you need to do individually – both daily and long term.

Always remember that God’s time table is usually different from ours. Always be willing to accept God’s plans for your life. If we get ahead of God then we are just as much in disobedience as if we openly walk away or disobey God. Ask God daily for understanding, willingness and a filling of His Spirit in order to always be ready to follow God and not our own ways.

Thoughts, comments, objections.



Daniel A. Smith

Thursday, June 14, 2012

Focus On God

Philippians 4:6-7 (NKJV)
6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; 7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

We could avoid many of the struggles within our hearts by implementing the principles in these verses. Paul commands us to be anxious for nothing. Anxiety is a fear of the unknown. It shows that we are not fully trusting God. When Paul says “be anxious for nothing”, he means it. Do not let anything be allowed in your mind where worry can gain control.

We need to bring everything to God. Paul uses three forms of prayer we need to use when coming to God.

1) Prayer - Jesus said that we need to ask in order to receive. There is nothing too small or too large that we cannot tell God. He is concerned about all things.

2) Supplication - Bring your request before God time and time again. When God sees your unrelenting desire to ask for something (within His will), He then knows how much you want it. A cursory prayer shows a non-interest, but persistent beckoning before the throne shows God that you are serious.

3) The key phrase is “with thanksgiving” - We need to thank the Lord, as if He had already answered our prayer. A thankful spirit gives us a Mindset of gratefulness and a positive attitude which looks at the situation as claimed victory and not defeat.

We can thank God for answering our prayers during the difficulty because we know He is in control and He knows best. Many times God answers differently than our timing. He may be preparing you or another person or situation in order to answer in His perfect way. If He says no, we can thank Him for saving us from potential danger. If He says wait, He has something better for us later.

This spirit of thankfulness keeps our minds fixed on God and does not zero in on the request. Our anxiety will only get worse if all we do is concentrate on what we do not have. We must reflect on the bountiful blessings with which God has blessed us, both now and in the past. The child of God has plenty to thank God about, because He is generous in blessing, when we walk in His ways. Concentrating on God’s generous blessings can only bring peace.

This peace is beyond all understanding. When God grants His peace in the midst of the storm, our minds cannot fully comprehend the greatness of God’s gifts. Most people zero in on what they do not have and the fact that they are lacking that one thing. When we can keep our eyes on Jesus and not the item, God can now do the work, not us. His peace will then guard our hearts from discouragement and pain, by granting us His power to bear it while He works victoriously.

Thoughts, comments, objections.



Daniel A. Smith

Thursday, June 7, 2012

The Completed Work of Christ

Jude 1 (NKJV)
Jude, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, to those who are called, sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ.

Jude is writing concerning the foundational matters of faith in Christ and walking with the Lord. He starts out in this first verse by showing that salvation is performed by Christ alone. Jesus calls all people to come unto Himself, but only those who repent of their sins and believe in Him are truly saved. The word “called” has the idea of being invited to a banquet. Heaven is a banquet that every believer can earnestly anticipate.

Paul tells us in Eph. 2:8-9 that salvation is “by grace” and “not of works”, it is “the gift of God”. We cannot earn or work for salvation in any way, so it is God must perform this work. In Jude 1, it also says that we are “sanctified” by God, which has the idea of being cleansed and dedicated to God. The tense of this word in the Greek describes an action which is viewed as having been completed in the past, once and for all, not needing to be repeated. Once we are cleansed by Christ at salvation, it is a complete and finished work done by Him that cannot be undone.

We know that this work cannot be undone because this same verse goes on to tell us that we are preserved in Jesus Christ. The word “preserved” has the idea of being guarded or kept in your current state in which you have been put. The amazing part of salvation that is so wonderful is the fact that Christ performs the work, preserves us, and promises that we will always be His. Since God has never yet broken a promise, we can rest assured that once we are His we will always be His. The tense of this word is also one of a work completed in the past, once and for all, not needing to be repeated.

Once we are saved, we now have a responsibility of our own. Even though we are securely preserved in Christ Jesus, we live in a sin fallen world and we must contend for our faith. Jude tells us in verse 3, “Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints.” (Jude 3, NKJV). The word “earnestly contend” comes from a root word that has the idea of fighting with adversaries or struggling with difficulties and dangers. Living the life of faith is, by no means, simple. It is a struggle, because, just as the world hated Christ, even so it will hate us. But, in the strength of Christ we can make it though this life with Him. We may have to fight with strenuous zeal to keep the faith. The walk of faith is not as easy or simple as the gift of salvation. But, all believers can live a victorious faith if they only obey Him and His word.

Thoughts, comments, objections.



Daniel A. Smith

Friday, June 1, 2012

Spiritual Warfare

2 Corinthians 10:4-5 (NKJV)
4 For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, 5 casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ

Every believer in Christ Jesus has now entered a war. This war is not, as verse 4 tells, a physical war, but one of the mind. All who know Christ as savior are now on the enemy’s direct hit list because they are now God’s possession. They are also the instruments that God uses to spread His word.

We need to beware, the devil works deceptively, viciously and at the times that we least expect it. He does this by putting thoughts into our minds when we are weakest. He knows our every point of weakness and seeks to destroy and kill every thought that is good or right. He seeks to divert our thoughts from God and toward evil. He does this by pointing out what we are lacking and how incomplete our life is without that particular point of temptation.

If we entertain these kinds of thoughts the devil will gain a toehold in our minds. This can be removed easily by resisting the devil. But by continuing to entertain these ideas, he then gains a foothold. A foothold is a place the devil can stand and move around. If we do not properly deal with these destructive patterns, they will become an established pattern and turn into a stronghold.

Paul tells us in vs. 5 how to fight these fiery darts to our mind. “Casting down” has the idea of throwing something away with the intent of destroying it. We need to cast down (swiftly dismiss) the thoughts that the devil puts into our minds with vengeance. These kinds of thoughts that the devil implants in our minds come in the form of doubt, fear, guilt, loneliness, unforgiveness and many other destructive forms. Dismiss them quickly or they will gain a stronger hold over time. The greatest problem we have is that these thoughts are so subtle and they come when we least expect them.

We not only need to quickly and vengefully dismiss improper thoughts in our mind, but we need to seek passionately for the thoughts on which God wants us to dwell. The idea of “bring into captivity” has the idea of putting something into secure holding. We need to grab onto God’s desire of love, joy, peace and obedience to Him. Once we have these thoughts we need to seek them with all our heart and mind. Paul tells us, “Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things”, (Phil. 4:8, NKJV). Thinking on these thoughts needs to dominate our mind and not thoughts of vengeance, bitterness, unforgiveness and disobedience to God. If we spend all our time thinking on honorable thoughts and His word, we will not have time to do anything else.

Thoughts, comments, objections.



Daniel A. Smith