Blog:
Revolutionary Faith

Hebrews 11:1-2 KJV

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of
things not seen.

Hebrews 11:1 NIV

Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we
do not see.

Hebrews 11:1 NLT

Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it
gives us assurance about things we cannot see.

Imagine what could happen if we put aside our small hopes, nagging
self-doubts, and dreamless existence and became engaged in
revolutionary faith. If something in us is transformed and we begin
to unwaveringly expect from God the greatest things imaginable, our
lives will never be the same.

To expect little from God insults the King of vast resources,
immense generosity, and unending compassion.

God’s desire is for us to see, speak, stand, and shine supernaturally
through the power of the Holy Spirit. Don’t be willing to live in
mediocrity when the power of heaven is at your disposal.

Let our lives and ministry be infused with a new and fresh faith
enabling us to expect and attempt greater things for God’s glory and
honor.

Don't Cling To The Firewood

They're just a young couple, I can tell. These mouseholders
who have taken up residence in the woodpile are just starting
out in life. They've built a nest under the pile of oak firewood I
am loading into the back of our station wagon.

We had our first frost a few days ago, and had spent several
days winterizing our house. So had this mouse couple. At the
bottom of the woodpile their nest would be dry and warm in all
but the wettest of storms, ready for the young ones that would
surely be coming soon.

I think of my wife and me in our first apartment 32 years ago.
So excited, so optimistic.

These are tiny mice, equipped with miniature jumping legs,
their little bodies only 2-1/2 inches long -- if you don't count the
tail. I must seem like a huge giant as I deconstruct their
carefully built lives, one log at a time.

I feel sorry for them. Such cute little creatures, so hopeful for
the future, yet so filled with terror at what is happening to them.

"What's going on, dear?" the mouse bride cries.

"I don't know," her husband answers. "Nothing like this has
ever happened before."

He's wrong, of course. Change happens -- constantly. But,
thankfully, it's not too often that our entire lives are altered
forever by external events.

A few weeks after my bride and I had moved into our first
apartment, I received a draft notice: "Greetings from the
President of the United States." Yes, greetings to you, too, Mr.
President. Our carefully constructed lives suddenly took a
sharp turn.

You've had some of those turns, too.

·        The death of someone very close to you.

·        Divorce.

·        Loss of a job.

·        Failure of a business.

·        An illness or injury.

Suddenly, life is not the same and never will be again.
Everything's different. And we try to cope -- sometimes in
healthy ways, sometimes in self-destructive ways.

I keep loading the firewood into the back of the wagon. I'm
about to stack it higher yet when I see one of the tiny mice
clinging to a piece of firewood in the back of the car. Another
few seconds and he would have been crushed. I pick him up by
his long tail, set him on the ground, and go back to get more
logs. When I return he is still at the same place on the ground
where I put him -- stunned by these events, barely able to get
out of harm's way.

We're so mouse-like sometimes.

Life goes on. The props change, sometimes all too often. We're
so tempted to cling to the props as they are being dragged off
the set. And sometimes we're hurt because of our inability to let
go, so attached to the accouterments of the past that it's
impossible for us to welcome the future.

Change requires courage, great helpings of it. My mind goes to
Joshua in the Bible. For nearly forty years he has been an
understudy to the great leader Moses. Now Moses is dead and
leadership is thrust fully upon Joshua. Ahead is the Jordan
River running at flood stage, and beyond that the fortified cities
of Canaan -- the "Promised Land" that seems so elusive. Talk
about change? Joshua has change swirling all around him.

And God speaks to him a word: "Be strong and courageous. Do
not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God
will be with you wherever you go" (Joshua 1:9).

Our mouse couple looks up as their world is trembling. One by
one the logs that comprise their shelter are disappearing, and
soon only open sky is above. What do you do?

Do you cling to the firewood and risked being crushed by it? Or
do you cling to God's promise to you?

God has promised to be with you wherever you go. He has
promised never to leave you or forsake you. What he asks of
you is faith to overcome your terror. Courage to meet your
discouragement. And confidence to draw on his strength.

Change is a constant. No part of our lives will endure
unchanged for more than a few years, a few decades at most.
But the LORD our God is unchangeable. He is forever. You
can put down your roots into him, knowing that in this way you
will never be utterly uprooted again.

I think of Mr. and Mrs. Mouse. My heart goes out to them. I've
been where they are, and so have you. And I hope that, even as
I am writing these words, they are dragging their nest into
another shelter in the woods to keep them dry and warm this
winter. I hope that Mr. Mouse has finally got over his shock
and got with the program. Older now and wiser they are.

And if I could offer just one word of advice for them and for
you -- and for me -- it would be this: "Don't cling to the
firewood."

Author: Unknown


The Name of Jesus

In giving us His name, He has given us the power of attorney;
the legal right to use His name. What is the value of this power
of attorney? The value depends upon how much there is behind
the name; that is, how much power, how much authority the
name represents. In the Bible, the “name” denotes “character.”
The name Jacob means “a supplanter.” When Jacob prayed
through at Peniel, God changed his name to Israel because He
changed his character. He is now a “Prince of God.” Psalms 9:
10 says, “And they that know thy name will put their trust in
thee…” Thus, what it is really saying is they that know the
“character” of God know they can trust Him.

The use of Jesus’ name is given exclusively to those who are in
the family of God, those who have truly been born again. Jesus
not only gives us use of His name, but He also declares that any
prayer prayed in that name will receive His special attention.
This puts prayer on a purely legal basis, for He has given us the
legal right to use His name. As we take our privileges and rights
in the new covenant, and pray in Jesus’ name, then the matter
passes out of our hands and into the hands of Jesus. He then
assumes the responsibility of that prayer, and we know the
Father hears Him. “Father I thank thee that thou hearest me,
and I know that thou hearest me always.” (John 11:41-42)

When we pray in that name, it is not merely that we say “in the
name of Jesus,” but it is the same as if Jesus Himself was
praying that prayer. When Peter raised Dorcas from the dead
he didn’t say to her, “In the name of Jesus, arise.” He said,
“Woman, I say unto you arise.” Peter recognized that he was
there in the name of Jesus. For him to be there meant that
Christ was there. So his words, his prayer, were the words and
prayer of Christ. The Father always hears Jesus.

When we operate in His name it means we are there in His
stead. When we are there in His stead, it is the same as Christ
being there. The church must know how much power and
authority is in that name. The measure of our ability is the
measure of the value of His name, for all that is invested in that
name belongs to us. We must truly come to know what God
really gave us when He gave us the unqualified use of that
name. What a legacy we have been given with the use of His
name! When we pray, we take Jesus’ place here to carry out
His will, and He takes our place before the Father. We
represent Him here, in the place of His rejection. He represents
us there, in the place of His acceptance.