Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Faith Conquering Feeling

Faith Conquering Feeling
2Co 5:7  (For we walk by faith, not by sight:) 

     The man who does not have feelings is the man who does not exist.  As sure as we are, we feel.  How marvelous the feeling of ascending crescendos in our very soul.  Yet, however high the happy heart, devastating is its valley.  The emotional man is the normal man; yet the emotional man is not the stable man.  Behold the text, we walk by faith, not by sight.  How things may feel are not always how things are.  Consider the reasoning of the Scottish sailor Duke Reinheart when he said this after a voyage for his majesty's royal service, "Aye sir, in the midst of this terrible night I seemed to have lost all me wit.  Whilst all that was in me said steer her one way, the stars above said go another.  Seeing it is that me feelings change as quick as the waves crash, I thought I would do better to trust the stars.  They don't change."  Such an assurance it is to have a steady place of reference for the soul.  Again hear the words of a certain pilot who, after years of flying experience, caught in the air an unusual case of vertigo.  "While in the clouds, I was unable to see land.  A certain unfamiliar feeling caught hold of me.  It was this, I could not tell whether or not I was up or down.  How great-full I was for my instrument panel!  I had to look to it to tell me where I was and where I was going. I could not tell, but the instruments guided me to  a safe landing."
     So it may be to you today, Christian, that through fatigue of mind, body, or spirit, you have lost your sense of direction.  Perhaps satan has tempted and tormented you sore, and you feel as if you know not whether you are upside down or not.  Remember this glorious fact, God has left you with a map.  There is an instrument of instruction for safe landing to the child of God, and this instrument is His infallible Word.  Through faith in His unwavering promises we shall conquer feeling that has gone sour.  We have this strong confidence on a cloudy day, that behind dark patches, the sun in all its splendor still shines with a strong and steady purpose.  We have a faith that when night wraps its arms around the heavens, on the morrow the sun will once again rise and vanquish the chill of darkness.  These things are reasonable and logical to assume. We should have confidence in this; but if we are confident in this, how much more sure are the promises of God than the stability of the sun.  For it is the Creator who is greater than the created.  Though your feelings may confuse you, His word will guide you.  Though your thoughts should deceive you, His promises shall keep you.  Have faith in God, for His people walk by faith, not by sight.

Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Charity Never Faileth

Charity Never Faileth


1Corinthians 13:8  Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away. 
     Dear beloved saints of God, what is your lot at this moment?  Has despair knocked upon your door this day?  Have feelings of unworthiness plagued your thoughts even all the while you endeavor to follow God?  Have people, loved ones, and associates failed to lift you to an encouraging place?  Have you failed your own expectations and let alone, you are sure you have failed God?  Take good joy in this, Love shall never fail.  God has met you with grace, and wrapped you securely in His love so that the warmth of His passion for you shall always be felt, even if your own heart plays treason and grows cold.  In all of our days remember this thought:  God has not given us what we deserve, but what Christ deserves.  We are in the midst of His unwavering love.  Let this encourage us in these ways.
     One.  In God's love to the saints.  We are secure in Christ, and as such we have become the adopted sons of God. Nothing shall separate us from this showcase of love in which God proudly displays His own to the world itself.  This love is never based on our merit, for who could impress holy perfection with unholy disorder?  He loves us because we are His children.  Always shall this be the unwavering token of His declaration of love to us: we are His sons.  Two.  We are the inheritance of Christ.  God has forgiven us for Christ's sake, proving us twice secure in our adoption.  What good father should hate the bride of his own son?  If we shall love those who are grafted in, so much more does God delight in the bride of His Son.  Three.  God's love is in the saints.  It is shed abroad by His Spirit which indwells the very being of believers.  Surely today, if you look deep into the heart, you can feel at least the faint spark of God's divine love.  As cold and iced as we may become, let us know this, that there is ever a faint spark of love to be felt!  We may know of this love, but to feel it in our very soul, what a grand privilege of the highest degree!  Let all proclaim what they may of feelings and pleasures, the sons of God shall flock to the flame of God's love.  Let us gather to it as the moth to the light against the night sky.  And when there, fan it carefully: to stir its hot embers to evoke a raging flame!  For as it is shed abroad in our hearts, we may then shed it upon others, in whom there is no shortage of those in need.  God loves you and loves through you.  Look into your  heart and find the coals of warmth and sit there for a while.  See if it is that while you muse, the fire may burn to stoke feelings of God's love.