I just know...

I just know. This is what I think. This is how I feel.

These are the kind of things some people say when they speak about having faith. 

Often, their idea of faith is very vague - and says more about themselves than it says about God.

We read these statements, I just know. this is what I think,  this is how I feel, we see a lot of I in them, and we wonder, what about God, where is he in all of this?

When our faith is real - firmly grounded in the Lord, we do not think so much about ourselves - what we believe and how we feel. We think more about the Lord and what he has done for us. Rather than giving out our own thoughts and feelings, we concern ourselves with something much more important and much more valuable - sharing the Word of the Lord.

Our thoughts and feelings come and go. Sometimes, we have positive thoughts and optimistic feelings. At other times, our thoughts are more negative and pessimistic. The Word of the Lord is very different: "the Word of the Lord endures forever" (1 Peter 1:25).

It's one thing to have a 'faith' that is a dormant thing. It's quite another thing to have a faith that's grounded in the Lord's Word. 

Some people say, "I'm a believer", but they don't really have much idea exactly what it is they believe in. Often, they are "blown here and there y every wind of teaching" (Ephesians 4:14). 

What about the wind of the Spirit? What happens when the Spirit of the living God is working mightily? Go back to Acts 2. What do we find there? When the Spirit of God comes like "rushing mighty wind" (Acts 2:2), there is the teaching of God's Word and the preaching of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour - and people are brought to faith, but it's much more than, 'I've got my own faith. You've got your faith, and I've got my faith. I keep my faith to myself.' Faith that is grounded in God's Word, centred on God's Son - Jesus, and inspired by God's Spirit, is a life-changing faith. It changes people. They can't just go on as they always have done, making vague statements about 'faith' without really be changed by the Lord. On the day of Pentecost, the people who responded to the teaching of God's Word, the preaching of Christ and the moving of God's Spirit became new men and women: "They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer" (Acts 2:42). When people were transformed like this, the world listened to what they had to say. They knew that this was no empty faith - a faith that didn't really make much difference. This was faith that was less about my faith, and more about the love of God, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit. Their faith was so much more than just their faith. It was faith that had come to them from outside of themselves - from the teaching of God's Word, the preaching of Christ crucified and risen, and the powerful working of the Spirit of God. If we, in our generation, are to be men and women of faith, we must learn from those who responded to the preaching of the gospel on the day of Pentecost - learning to listen to God's Word, learning to rejoice in Jesus Christ, our Saviour and Lord, and learning to move in the power of the Holy Spirit.

Saved by grace, saved through faith, saved for good works

Ephesians 2:1-10 
What we were without Christ (Ephesians 2:1-3); What God has done for us in Christ (Ephesians 2:4-10)
Ephesians 2:8-10 - saved by grace, saved through faith, saved for good works
By grace - but not without faith and good works
Faith and good works - the fruit of grace
Faith and good works - Grace has done this.
The grace has come from God. The glory goes to God.

Help us, Lord, to rise above the sarcasm of those who have no time for Your Word.

Jeremiah 40:1-16

‘The Lord your God pronounced this evil against this place; the Lord has brought it about, and has done as He said. Because you sinned against the Lord, and did not obey His voice, this thing has come upon you’ (Jeremiah 40:3). Lord, we hear a great deal today about ‘the feel good factor.’People need to get a good feeling: ‘Give them a pat on the back. Make them feel good about themselves.’There’s not much of a ‘feel good factor’ in Jeremiah’s preaching! The people must have been wondering, ‘Where did they dig him up from? He has nothing good to say about anyone or anything.’ Help us, Lord, to rise above the sarcasm of those who have no time for Your Word. May we ask, ‘Where did Jeremiah’s message really come from?’ - and may we hear Your answer: ‘The Word came to Jeremiah from the Lord’ (Jeremiah 40:1).

Satan’s power is very frightening. Satan’s power will be broken.

In Daniel 8, we have a ‘vision’ concerning ‘the distant future’, ‘the time of the end’ (Daniel 8:26,17). Here, we catch a glimpse of Satan, the very powerful enemy of God’s people. Satan’s power is very frightening - ‘His power shall be great, and he shall cause fearful destruction...’. It was the power of Satan which lay behind the ‘stern-faced king’: ‘He will become very strong, but not by his own power’ (Daniel 8:23-24). Satan’s power will be broken. Satan faces certain defeat - ‘He will be defeated’. How will he be defeated? We will not defeat him - ‘He will not be destroyed by human power’. There is only one Power able to destroy the power of Satan: ‘He shall be broken by the hand of God’. ‘Thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ’ (1 Corinthians 15:57).

A Faithful Follower Of The Lord

Daniel was a faithful follower of the Lord. He refused to follow a worldly way of living (Daniel 1:8). He loved the Lord. He refused to follow a way of life which would harm his walk with God. He is a great example for those who take seriously the call to live in obedience to God. As we read about Daniel’s single-minded devotion to the Lord, we are challenged to live in obedience to God’s holy Word rather than following the ways of the sinful world which is always threatening to pull us away from the Lord.

In Daniel 2, we read about Nebuchadnezzar’s dream and Daniel’s interpretation. God is speaking to Nebuchadnezzar. God is speaking through Daniel. The heart of the message, given in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream and Daniel’s interpretation, is summed up in Daniel 2:44 - “At the time of those kings, the God of heaven will establish a Kingdom that will never be destroyed ... It will be established forever.” These are prophetic words. They look far beyond Daniel’s time. They look ahead to God’s eternal Kingdom.

“Look, I see four men ... The fourth one looks like a son of the gods” (Daniel 3:25). These words of Nebuchadnezzar point beyond the servants of God - Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. They point to the Son of God - our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. The Son of God saved His faithful servants. He saves all who put their trust in Him. He saved them from the fire of Nebuchadnezzar. He saves us from the fire of judgment.

“Stop sinning and do what is right” (Daniel 4:27). This was the Word that God spoke to Nebuchadnezzar. This is the Word that God speaks to us. “Now, I, Nebuchadnezzar will praise, honour, and give glory to the King of heaven. Everything He does is true, His ways are right and He can humiliate those who act arrogantly” (Daniel 4:37) - This was Nebuchadnezzar’s response to the Word of Lord. In Nebuchadnezzar’s response, there is a call to worship, addressed to every one of us. It is a call to humble ourselves before God. It is a call to learn from Him and live for Him.

The handwriting on the wall (Daniel 5) is a word of judgment. Numbered, Numbered, Weighed and Divided - This is the message that came to Nebuchadnezzar from God. God has numbered the days of your kingdom. He will bring it to an end. You have been weighed on a scale. You have been found to be too light. Your kingdom will be divided. It will be given to the Medes and the Persians. Down through the centuries, these words could be repeated, time and time again. Human greatness is brought to nothing so that the glory might belong to God alone.

Daniel in the lion’s den (Daniel 6) - What a remarkable miracle we have here. When we read about it, our thoughts move on to the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. The resurrection of Jesus is a far greater miracle than the deliverance of Daniel. Daniel was delivered from the threat of death. Jesus was dead - and He was raised to life. We rejoice in what God did for Daniel. Our joy is so much greater when we think of what God has done for us through the mighty resurrection of His Son, Jesus Christ, our Saviour.

He is Coming With The Clouds...

"There before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven… His Kingdom is one that will never be destroyed’ (Daniel 7:13-14).

These words point us to Christ’s description of His Second Coming, the Coming of His Kingdom: ‘They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory’ (Matthew 24:30). In Revelation 1:7, we have another echo of Daniel’s ‘vision’: ‘Look, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him’. ‘Lo! He comes, with clouds descending… Yea, Amen! let all adore Thee, high on Thine eternal throne; Saviour, take the power and glory, claim the Kingdom for Thine own. O come quickly! O come quickly! O come quickly! Alleluia! Come, Lord, come!’(Church Hymnary, 316).

Lord, You come to us with bread and wine. You come to us in Jesus, our Saviour.

Proverbs 9:1-18

Lord, You come to us with bread and wine. You come to us in Jesus, our Saviour. You come to us in love. You show us how much You love us. There is no love like Your love for us. It’s the best love. It’s the greatest love. It’s love “so amazing.” It’s love “so divine.” Thank You, Lord, for Your wonderful love.