Strength of Faith

"My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing." ~ James 1:2-4

In the words of Dr. Dharius Daniels, faith is not just how hard you believe. Faith is about how long you believe. According to James 1:2-4, God tests our faith through time. Thus, faith is based not only on the "bigness" of our prayers. It is also based on the consistency of our prayers.

In other words, many of us get frustrated because we feel that God hasn't answered our prayer. But if we were to go back and examine our faith, we'd see that we haven't really prayed or believed that long. We've got big prayers but we haven't erected a structure that will sustain those prayers over time.

That's why Deuteronomy 6:5 tells us to love God with all of our heart, soul, and strength. The strength of our love of and faith in God is measured by our patience.

It's not just about how hard we believe. It's about how long we believe. Our faith is perfected, i.e. made perfect, through time.

God bless,
J.W.

Be Careful

“So be careful to do what the Lord your God has commanded you; do not turn aside to the right or to the left. Walk in obedience to all that the Lord your God has commanded you, so that you may live and prosper and prolong your days in the land that you will possess.” ~ Deuteronomy 5:32-33

Living a righteous life is not easy. In Romans 7:21, Paul says “although I want to do good, evil is right there with me.” It doesn’t take much for us to fall into the devil’s schemes or our own sinful nature.

That’s why Proverbs 4:23 calls us to “guard our hearts.” And Deuteronomy 5:32 tells us to “be careful” to keep God’s commands. Jesus, in fact, said that “whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me” (Matthew 16:24). Jesus warned us that it would not be easy.

Because of the original sin, doing what’s right doesn’t come naturally. So, we must be cautious and careful to keep God’s commandments. We must be on guard at all times. We are in a battle and if we are not careful, we can do exactly what Deuteronomy 5:32 warns us not to do – that is, turn aside to the right or to the left.

Jesus tells us to walk the narrow path that leads to life – the John 10:10 life. Walking the narrow path requires self-discipline and a carefulness found in Deuteronomy 5:32.

Be careful today!

God bless,
J.W.