Faith

From “In the Beginning” to Amen // Jonah - Who’s Reputation Matters Most?     Am I More Concerned About My Reputation or God’s Name and Reputation?   Romans 9:1-3 (NLT) “With Christ as my witness, I speak with utter truthfulness. My conscience and the Holy Spirit confirm it. My heart is filled with bitter sorrow and unending grief for my people, my Jewish brothers and sisters. I would be willing t...

From “In the Beginning” to Amen // Nothing Is Impossible, Nothing Is Insignificant     2 Kings 6:1-7 (NLT) “One day the group of prophets came to Elisha and told him, ‘As you can see, this place where we meet with you is too small. Let’s go down to the Jordan River, where there are plenty of logs. There we can build a new place for us to meet.’ ‘All right,’ he told them, ‘Go ahead.’ ‘Please come w...

From “In the Beginning” to Amen // Searching for God Knows What     1 Kings 19:1-3 (NKJV) “And Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, also how he had executed all the prophets with the sword. Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, ‘So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I do not make your life as the life of one of them by tomorrow about this time.’ And when he saw that, he aro...

From “In the Beginning” to Amen // Ecclesiastes   Ecclesiastes 1:2 (NLT) Everything is meaningless,” says the Teacher, “completely meaningless!”   Hevel = Smoke   Temporary   Paradoxical   Ecclesiastes 9:3 (NLT) “It seems so wrong that everyone under the sun suffers the same fate…”   Smoke   Ecclesiastes 2:4,10-11 (NLT) “I also tried to find meaning by building huge homes for myself and by plantin...

From “In the Beginning” to Amen // Called and Commissioned     2 Corinthians 5:18-20 (NLT) “And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him. For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation. So,...

From “In the Beginning” to Amen – Honest to God   Honest to God   God Invites Honesty, Not Performance   The Psalms Model a Full Emotional Life Lived in God’s Presence, But Willing to Learn and Be Shaped   Psalm 73:21-28 (NIV) “When my heart was grieved and my spirit embittered, I was senseless and ignorant; I was a brute beast before you. Yet I am always with you; you hold me by my right hand. Yo...

From “In the Beginning” to Amen // The God Who Makes A Way   2 Samuel 14:14 (NIV) “Like water spilled on the ground, which cannot be recovered, so we must die. But that is not what God desires; rather, he devises ways so that a banished person does not remain banished from him.”   God devises means so the banished are not forever separated from Him.   2 Peter 3:9 (AMP) “The Lord does not delay [as...

From “In the Beginning” to Amen // David David   He was a son, shepherd, musician, warrior, king, fugitive, father, adulterer, liar, murderer, and a man after God’s own heart.   1 Samuel 13:14 (ESV) “But now your kingdom shall not continue. The LORD has sought out a man after his own heart, and the LORD has commanded him to be prince over his people, because you have not kept what the LORD command...

From “In the Beginning” to Amen // Faith and Action Hand in Hand “THE ANALYSIS PARALYSIS” “Perhaps” God Can Accomplish All He Wants to Do, Whether by Many or by Few (Or Two) FAITH AND COURAGE GO HAND IN HAND James 2:14, 26 (NIV) “What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith wit...

From “In the Beginning” to Amen // Ruth   Ruth 1:6-18 (NIV) “When Naomi heard in Moab that the Lord had come to the aid of his people by providing food for them, she and her daughters-in-law prepared to return home from there. With her two daughters-in-law, she left the place where she had been living and set out on the road that would take them back to the land of Judah. Then Naomi said to her tw...

More Than a Clean Slate: A Life That Flourishes   John 10:10 (NIV) “I have come that they may have life and have it to the full.”   Forgiveness Is the Beginning, Not the End   God Doesn’t Forgive You Just to Reset You—He Forgives You to Release You into Everything That Was Purposed for You.   Jesus Did Not Rise Just to Leave You Empty—He Rose to Fill You.   The Resurrection Is Not About Subtractio...

From “In the Beginning” to Amen // The Slide Towards the Casual   God is Holy, Not Ordinary   Isaiah 6:3 (ESV) “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts…”   Leviticus 10:3 (ESV) “Among those who are near me I will be sanctified…”   Proverbs 9:10 (KJV) “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.”   God is Loving — But Deeply Worthy of Reverence   Casualness Can Lead to Spiritual Drift   Galatian...

From “In the Beginning” to Amen // Idolatry - What’s the Big Deal?     Deuteronomy 30:11-20 (NIV) “Now what I am commanding you today is not too difficult for you or beyond your reach. It is not up in heaven, so that you have to ask, ‘Who will ascend into heaven to get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?’ Nor is it beyond the sea, so that you have to ask, ‘Who will cross the sea to get it...

From “In the Beginning” to Amen // Love + Obey   Note for online notes section only: Here in the first 12 chapters of the book of Deuteronomy, Moses reintroduces the law and the promises of God to the next generation who will be the ones to enter into the promised land. Moses reinforced the character of God and the importance of His covenant of love with His people, warning the Israelites to be fa...

From “In the Beginning” to Amen // How to Put on Your Socks   1.    How do I think about my place with God? Numbers 6:22-26 (ESV) “The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ‘Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying, Thus you shall bless the people of Israel: you shall say to them, The Lord bless you and keep you; The Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; The Lord lift up his countenance u...

From “In the Beginning” to Amen // Leviticus…Real or Not?   The Blue Dye Decree: No man shall dye his garment blue. Blue is a sacred color and reserved for garments of the High Priest. The Rash Quarantine: If you have a persistent skin rash or an "itch" that looks suspicious, you are legally required to go to the priest. He will lock you in a house for seven days to see if the rash gets better and...

From “In the Beginning” to Amen // Strategies of the Enemy (Exodus)   There are Five Strategies I Want to Look at: (I’m sure there are others too)   1. Discouragement Discouraged by Circumstances Exodus 6:9 (NLT) “So Moses told the people of Israel what the LORD had said, but they refused to listen anymore. They had become too discouraged by the brutality of their slavery.”   Discouraged by the En...

From “In the Beginning” to Amen // Gifted by the Spirit of God for Work Bezalel and Oholiab   Exodus 31:2-3 (NLT) “Look, I have specifically chosen Bezalel son of Uri, grandson of Hur, of the tribe of Judah. I have filled him with the Spirit of God, giving him great wisdom, ability, and expertise in all kinds of crafts.”   1 Corinthians 12:4-11 (NIV) “There are different kinds of gifts, but the sa...

From “In the Beginning” to Amen // Crossing the Red Sea   Exodus 14:1-31 (ESV) “Then the LORD said to Moses, ‘Tell the people of Israel to turn back and encamp in front of Pi-hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea, in front of Baal-zephon; you shall encamp facing it, by the sea. For Pharaoh will say of the people of Israel, ‘They are wandering in the land; the wilderness has shut them in.’ And I wil...

From “In the Beginning” to Amen // Job Part 2   Job 38:1-3 (NLT) “Then the Lord answered Job from the whirlwind: Who is this that questions my wisdom with such ignorant words? Brace yourself like a man, because I have some questions for you, and you must answer them.”   Job 38:16 (NLT) “Have you explored the springs from which the seas come? Have you explored their depths?”   Job 39:1-2 (NLT) “Do...

From “In the Beginning” to Amen // Faith Under Fire James 1:19 NLT “Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry.”   Be careful who you listen to… Sufferers attract fixers. Set up a filter based in faith and fact before you start listening   Hold Fast to Faith… Even in the Silence…   Job 13:15 KJV “Even though he slay me, yet...

From “In the Beginning” to Amen // Used, Abused, Abandoned but Not Forgotten     Hagar Genesis 16:3-13   Used/Despising Genesis 16:4 NLT “So, Abram had sexual relations with Hagar, and she became pregnant. But when Hagar knew she was pregnant, she began to treat her mistress, Sarai, with contempt.”   Abused - Mistreatment Genesis 16:6 NLT “Abram replied, ‘Look, she is your servant, so deal with he...