Receiving from the Lord

James 1:7-8

7 For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord.

8 A double minded man is unstable in all his ways. (KJV)

Let’s review something I said in the last devotional of January. Asking in faith is a real challenge for many if not even most Christians. Why? Because many Christians, especially in this country, are not used to believing that God literally means what He says. James says, "nothing wavering". Let us put that into normal 21st century English- "not doubt." James is saying here you must really honestly believe in your heart WITH NO DOUBTS ENTERTAINED IN YOUR HEAD OR HEART. Otherwise you will be like a boat or ship tossed by the waves. You ever been out on a boat, especially when the waves are high? That boat gets tossed around by rough water. But what happens when the boat is anchored in rough water? It gets tossed too but not perhaps as badly, cause it can’t go anywhere really. Kind of like when the Christian is experiencing trying times, but is anchored to the rock, Jesus Christ, so does not get washed away. Remember Jesus’ story about the house built on the rock. Jesus said "WHEN the winds blow and the rain comes, the house on the rock stays standing. Notice Jesus did not say "if". He said "when". Trying times are sure to come in the life of every Christian.

I want to elaborate on this a bit more.

One of the reasons doubt prevents us from being able to receive from the Lord what we are asking for is there is a smattering of unbelief. That smattering blinds us. That smattering is what causes us not to receive. Have you ever entertained doubts regarding something? I certainly have. It is those very doubts that bring about the lack of an answered prayer. Verse 7 above says don’t let that man think he is going to receive anything from the Lord. It is not God saying-"I refuse to give it to you"; it is God says "You are stopping me by your lack of faith. You are the cause of the problem. You have blocked the way." See, God has set up certain requirements of us, and it is up to us to follow through with them. Remember the verse in Revelation where Jesus says, "I stand at the door and knock."? After you have knocked, do you walk right in? Of course not. Someone has to open the door from the inside. And that is done by faith. Remember when Jesus told the lady who had been bleeding for 12 years?

Mark 5:3434 And he said unto her, Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace, and be whole of thy plague. (KJV)

And to the blind men

Matt 9:29

29 Then touched he their eyes, saying, According to your faith be it unto you. (KJV)

And to another blind man

Mark 10:52

2 And Jesus said unto him, Go thy way; thy faith hath made thee whole. And immediately he received his sight, and followed Jesus in the way. (KJV)

And to a leper who returned to than Jesus for healing him

Luke 17:19

19 And he said unto him, Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole.(KJV)

These people had faith that did not waver. They knew they could ask and they knew they would receive. Not merely knew they could receive, but knew they would. They knew Jesus could help them and knew also that the field of medicine was helpless to help them. And they knew if they asked Jesus, then they would be healed. That is faith.

Lots of people confuse faith with hope. Faith knows, hope really hopes and counts on but does not know for sure.

Does God only answer prayers of faith? He does not limit Himself to that. But He does use our faith to build our faith. He answers prayers in order to building our faith. He answers prayers also to further the kingdom not only in our lives but those of others. We all have various levels of faith. Jesus knew that, knows that and recognizes that. We must remember that it is up to us to use that shield of faith against the fiery darts of Satan. Those darts are doubts. If you are entertaining doubts, you are already letting the fiery darts of Satan inflict you. You are not using your shield of faith properly or well. You are letting those darts through and they are wounding you, harming you, preventing you from receiving what God wants you to have or to keep. Go back and review Eph 6:10-18. You are in a spiritual battle. Satan knows your weak points and will and does exploit them. God showed me today a very weak point and I am going to have to close the door on the means of those weak points messing me up. In this case it was not an issue of faith, but that doesn’t mean I don’t do faith battles just like the rest of you. Matter of fact, we will all go through them for all our lives as God proves us, tests us to show us where we are so that we can make the changes needed, so that we can repent and be more like Him.Don’t tell me "I can’t change." You can. It just takes the grace of God in you to bring that change about. You can’t do it on your own, but you can by the power of the Holy Spirit in you and motivating you. In your flesh attempts, you can do nothing, but in the power of the Holy Spirit-by His motivation and His love for the Father in you, that change can be made. Even Jesus said, "On my own, I can do nothing. But I can do what the Father says, because I choose His will over mine.

See our cross, our crux, our issue so much of the time is-we have to crucify what we want to do, and aim for only pleasing the Father, not pleasing ourselves. Our cross is saying no to what we want to do in order to do what God wants us to do.

Last week’s Bible Trivia Question-How many years between the time of the promise to Abraham of any descendents to the time Issac who was promised came along? 25 years. Abraham was 75 when God told him to go to the promised land and was also promised lots of descendents. See Gen 12:1-7 and then Gen 21:5

God bless you and have a great weekend. The Good News Lady