Abraham Alone! (It’s a process!)
As I meditate and pray this morning, I find something I wrote some time ago, and since it encourages me, I thought I would share it with you…
Heb 6:12 That ye be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises.
13 For when God made promise to Abraham, because he could swear by no greater, he sware by himself,
14 Saying, Surely blessing I will bless thee, and multiplying I will multiply thee.
15 And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise.
16 For men verily swear by the greater: and an oath for confirmation is to them an end of all strife.
17 Wherein God, willing more abundantly to shew unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath:
18 That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us:
Isa 51:2 Look unto Abraham your father, and unto Sarah that bare you: for I called him alone, and blessed him, and increased him.
I heard pastor Caleb Wehrli, preach a message at Victory, entitled ‘Expectation’. He really encapsulated the faith message brilliantly, and in today’s reading, I see again some of the verses that he chose for his message. In honor of ‘the flying V’, I am deliberately going to piggy back on what he preached, because it was excellent.
Let me ask you a couple of questions:
1. Who are you following?
2. What does your daily schedule look like?
3. How is your attitude, as you are walking out what you have believed God for?
4. What is your personal vision for life and ministry?
5. How are you preparing yourself for what you believe God has called you to do?
Let’s consider these questions, in order, but not great detail, (or I would have to write a book, not a daily devo!)
1. Heb 6:12 ‘but followers of them’. Who are we following? In this life, we associate ourselves with people, sometimes willingly, other times, unknowingly. It is good to weigh your relationships in light of the call of God: 1Co 15:33 Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners.
The word ‘communications’ used here, simply means, relationships. To fully obey God, you will need to cultivate godly relationships, with equals, mentors, successful people, of ‘like-precious faith’, Remember the ‘Reason, Season, and Lifetime people:
http://www.facebook.com/notes/frankie-perezs-mindgym/reason-season-lifetime-poem/10150270924652782?ref=nf’ I have decided to make Jesus, the Lord of my relationships, placing Him fully in charge. Here is a prayer I pray daily, over my relationships based on these two verses of Scripture.
2Pe 1:1 Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that have obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ:
People of ‘like precious faith’, responsibility, integrity, and honor, are those people I want to spend the majority of my time with, whether in person, or here, on Facebook.
2Th 3:2 And that we may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men: for all men have not faith.
The apostle Paul said this, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, and it helps me! Not everyone can be your friend, nor should you be spending time with. I heard it said, ‘I started praying that God deliver me from my enemies, and started losing friends….’ Sometimes the people closest to you, are the greatest hindrance to the call of God upon your life…
My response to these verses is this: ‘Father, please bring into my life, people of honor, of excellence, integrity, and of ‘like-precious’ faith’, and may I be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men: that have not faith. Come Lord Jesus, into my life, and rule and reign in my relationships, Amen’
2. Heb 6:12 ‘That ye be not slothful’: The secret to success is in our daily schedule. We are not legalistic, rather, focused visionaries, deliberately planning our work and working our plan, giving ‘God room’ in our day, for Holy Spirit interruptions as we run our race of love before Him. Two books that have really impacted me are ‘The Compound Effect’ by Darren Hardy, and ‘The Slight Edge’ by Jeff Olson. Tremendous tools, to help us develop effective goals and schedules to help up get on track and to stay there.
Pr 27:1 Boast not thyself of to morrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.
Live, each day, like a clean slate! Yesterday is gone, with it’s successes, failures, lessons, and tomorrow has not come yet. Take what we have learned, and apply it today! Seize the day, and shake the nations with it, in faith! His name is ‘I AM’ and NOW faith is. As my pastor Billy Joe used to say, each morning when I wake up, I discover a fresh supply of 24 precious little boxes, called ‘hours of time’. I must use each of these for the glory of God!
3. Heb 6:12 ‘ through faith and patience inherit the promises.’ 15 And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise.
Attitude determines altitude! How high and fast we fly, is determined by lift and thrust in an airplane. Higher altitudes, generally produce faster speeds. Positionally, we can go no higher than we already are, for we have been seated with Jesus in heavenly places, the basis of our authority. Eph 2:6 And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:
Yet, I have learned, that the secret to success is in the process. All that college truly taught me, is the ability to continue to learn, grow, research, think…I will be a student for life. I will never ‘arrive’ at my finished place in Jesus, for God is infinite, and I must continue to grow, daily. Once I realized this, I determined to begin to read, on purpose, two books per week, seeking the Holy Spirit for direction as to what I needed to learn or review each week. (Jim Stovell, though blind, listens to a book, every day!) As my responsibility levels in life have grown, I have had to grow, and I continue to grow, daily. I heard one minister on staff quoted as saying in a staff meeting: ‘You gotta grow, or you gotta go!’ (Rod Baker at Victory Christian Center)
Gal 4:1 ¶ Now I say, That the heir, as long as he is a child, differeth nothing from a servant, though he be lord of all;
2 But is under tutors and governors until the time appointed of the father.
There are appointed times by our father, that he sees and is preparing us for. Along the way, He will send instructors into our lives, and authority structures and leaders to keep us on the straight and narrow way of life.
4. What is your personal vision, from God, for your life? Discovering the life you are born to live, is critical, for in it is life, love, joy, purpose, passion, prosperity. This comes from heaven, and is worthy of our full concentration, and diligent search, through prayer, fasting, and study of the Word of God. This is the reason you and I were created, and there are many wide paths of distraction, that can cause your life to go off course, and do little, of consequence, in light of eternity. Serving Jesus, whether in ministry, academics, business, the medical profession, government, education, the arts, through some good service to humanity, is the only thing we should be concerned about. Either He is Lord of all of our lives, or He is not. There is a straight and a narrow way for each of us to follow, and we need to be about the masters business, every day.
5. How are you preparing yourself for what you believe God has called you to do?
Isa 51:2 Look unto Abraham your father, and unto Sarah that bare you: for I called him alone, and blessed him, and increased him.
God called Abraham, alone. Though the call upon him was worked out among people, Abraham had an individual vision, specific to his life. So do you! You are a unique, precious, designer original. I heard a professional athlete say, after winning some trophy: ‘What I have, is a gift from God. What I give back to Him, is my gift to Him’. You were created to thrive, not merely survive, to be a solution, an answer, to the problems and heartbreaks that this world is full of. You can make an incredible difference for good, you can be the game changer this world needs, to turn the tide of destruction, back to God and His redemptive recreation of the earth.
Let’s Pray:
‘Father, I look to you today, and I believe that You are doing great things in my life, today! Thank you that ‘Surely blessing I will bless me, and multiplying You will multiply me’, today’, according to Your promises, for I determine to serve You today Lord Jesus, with every minute of this day, Amen!’