Friday, December 4, 2009

That Daniel faith

E-fellas.....wow, for those of you who were unable to go to the PAO conference, it was an amazing four days! Though we did have a showing of 5 or 6 e-fellas there (props), I strongly suggest for those of you that have not been, that you would consider going next year in Orlando. Once you attend, you will know exactly why I seem so excited about it. I had a great time while hearing great messages and fellowshipping with solid peoples. The love going on in that place is only surpassed by the love of my family, that's the truth.

For those of you that were there I want to continue to talk a bit on faith. For those of you that were not there, former braves chaplain Walt Wiley tackled this subject. And he talked about how nothing pleases God more than faith. The story he was referencing can be found in Luke 7:1-10. He also said that anytime God tested anybody, He only tested one thing, their faith, and how that(faith) is our link with God. I want to run with this a bit.....

The word faith gets thrown around a lot, and because of this it can lose its purpose or meaning. Sometimes the question is do you or don't you have faith, or how much faith do you have. My question is "where" are you placing your faith? Is your faith in Jesus Christ the "bread of life", or are you satisfied with the bread of His blessings? Are you seeking to satisfy your spirit or just to fill your stomach, so to speak? Are you trusting in the things that never truly satisfy or in the One that satisfies forever? Myles Munroe says this (BC you knew I was going to throw some Myles in this),"Most people I have met focus their faith on the bread and not the baker. The principle of Kingdom faith is to trust the Source and not the resource." God will meet our needs, but we are not to trust in those things that meet our needs but the King who provides them. Jesus meant this in Matthew 6:31-33 when He said, "31So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' 32For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well."

We shouldn't follow God for what we can get from Him. Kingdom faith, as Munroe put it, is faith in the King, not the King's favor. If you look at Daniel in Daniel chapter 6 where he is about to get chomped on by some lions. You don't think that maybe on his chained walk down to the den, he was thinkin uh....ok....God enterrrrrr now. But Daniel seemed to shift his trust from the works of God to God Himself. And of course as you know, it wasn't until he was down in the den did he realize that the angel had shut the mouths of the lions. Ya know, truthfully, we need some Daniel faith, not this watered down 21st century faith that is built on avoiding troubles, trials, and tests rather than facing, enduring, and overcoming these temporary opportunities to prove the eternal power of our Kingdom.

We(and when I say we, I first mean I) need faith that is stable even when our expectation of God's strategy is miscalculated. "You are only as strong as what your faith survives.(MM)" Soooo how strong are you?


trying to die to myself
-tmart

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