Pastor Stephen Dedman

Tag: jesus

Faith To Face The Unknown

Encouragement

I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel, so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ.
‭‭Philippians‬ ‭1:12-13‬

Sometimes we are faced with unexpected circumstances. Either what we thought would happen didn’t or something happened that we didn’t plan for. Sometimes these life events can seem pretty intense. 

What do we do when we don’t know what the future holds? The Book of Philippians helps us learn about real life situations. 

Paul was faced with incredible life threatening circumstances. He was chained in prison for preaching the name of Jesus. He was physically chained to a Roman guard and there was no way out. 

Can you imagine what was going through his mind? Would he actually be put to death for preaching in the name of Jesus? Would God provide a miracle and release him from prison? Or would he be forgotten about and spend the rest of his life in prison? 

His future was uncertain but he was sure of one thing as he stated in Philippians 4:19, “And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” He knew God was in control and had a perfect plan. 

When we face unexpected circumstances of our own we need to have the faith to respond and react the way that Paul did. He didn’t miss out on what God gifted him with. He didn’t have a multitude to preach to, although he did share the gospel with the Roman guards. 

He didn’t have fellowship with other Christians but he did write to them and encourage them. Even though his circumstances were not what he expected, he knew that God would reveal Himself to be powerful.

When we face unexpected circumstances (and we will), we need to look at them with the perspective that God is up to something big and wants to use us in a specific way for His glory. As our verse for today states, Paul’s imprisonment was for Christ’s sake and for the Gospel to be advanced. 

Pray

Lord, help me to use every opportunity to share Your grace with others. Let me notice that my unexpected circumstances are for Your glory. Make my faith stronger. 

Deep Faith

Encouragement

And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings, so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us;
Acts 17:26-27

Just because you believe in Jesus as the Son of God doesn’t mean you have strong faith. Faith in Christ is the foundation of salvation but strengthening your faith and your walk with Christ is a process. Salvation is instantaneously given to those who believe.

Sometimes our faith isn’t always strong. Even though we believe in Jesus, there are times when we feel far from Him. Our Christian faith is more than just an intellectual belief. Strong faith results in a life of seeking to please God and valuing what He values.

It is easy to say that God is in control. It’s harder for us to believe in faith that He actually is. Sometimes fear supersedes our faith and doubt replaces the truth. We need to always remind ourselves that everything we experience is ordained by God. Everything that happens in our life is for God’s glory.

God is sovereignly positioning every little piece of your life; the good and the bad. God is in control of every detail of your life and so He knows what you are dealing with. God is always within reach and you can draw near to Him by saying, “Lord, I need You. Help me.”

Pray 

Lord, You are all that I need and all that I desire. I know that You have a count of every hair on my head and every thought in my heart. Give me the courage to know that You are sovereignly in control of all things.

The Greatest Demonstration

Encouragement

But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Romans 5:8

God wants to make Himself known to us. He shows and reveals Himself to us so that we shall know that we belong to Him alone. While He has never been seen by human eyes, His glory is revealed to us in various ways. He reveals Himself through the beauty of His creation. He will reveal Himself to us through people that He places in our lives. But most especially, God reveals Himself to us through His only Son, Jesus Christ.

Jesus is Emmanuel! He is the loving, good Savior who came to earth. Emmanuel means, God is with us. Jesus is God in word and flesh. 

From the Bible, we learn that we all sin (Romans 3:23). And the punishment for sin is death (Romans 6:23) and eternal separation from God’s goodness. Because we sin, we cannot go to be with God in heaven on our own when we die. God loves us so much, and he provided a way to rescue us from our sins about 2,000 years ago.

God makes His presence be known among us through the power of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the invisible truth of God that encourages and convicts us of our sin. Most importantly the work of the Holy Spirit is in bringing people to salvation. When God shows His love for us, He reveals His nature and character to us so that we may know Him personally.

Pray

Lord, I want to see Your glory. Let the power of the Holy Spirit give me wisdom to see You as a personal God who loves me and cares for me. Thank You for sending Jesus into my life.