Tag: faith

Weakness and Power

Weakness and Power

“Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses,
so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”
2 Corinthians 12:9

Paul clearly saw his weaknesses as necessary for the power of Christ to be revealed. Those who rely on their own inherent strength to serve the Lord will never know the joy of this hidden secret. Our human weakness is the platform from which His glory is revealed! Faith glories in our inabilities and in our willingness to be lead. The carnal man uses weakness as an excuse to not obey God’s leading. But those who live in Him find their weaknesses advantageous to stepping into God’s strength and resources.

“For when I am weak, then I am strong…”
2 Corinthians 12:10

There are graces and resources of God hidden in our weakness. The sling of a young child slew the Goliath of the enemies of God. The source of this victory was God’s grace and the willingness of a young man to obey despite the circumstances.

“He that observeth the wind shall not sow;
and he that regardeth the clouds shall not reap”
Ecclesiastes 11:4

Those who rely on their own strength observe the outward conditions with their own eyes; they see the obstacles rather than the divine strength of God. The eleven disciples beheld the storm yet Peter alone ventured into the storm because of the faith of God moving within. It was only when the priests stepped into the Jordan that the power of God parted its flooding banks. It was not until Paul and Barnabas worshipped God that the prison was shaken. Let us not consider our own meager resources in serving our God. Let us not be ones who behold the winds and the clouds – our God is able!

“He that observeth the wind shall not sow…”

As we feel the winds of adversity arising in our land may we still be faithful sowers.

“…he that regardeth the clouds shall not reap”

Let us not fear, let us not restrain our outreach into the world around us – He is able!

Once we recognize our weaknesses in the Spirit of faith we no longer ask God for deliverance from them but recognize that these are the very things through which HE has chosen to make Himself known. Many say “when God strengthens me – THEN I will go forth”. But years pass, weaknesses remain, and this short life ends in the poverty of unbelief. Faith moves. It trusts and knows that God uses the “weak things to confound the wise”!

“For the sake of Christ, then,
I am content with weaknesses…”
2 Corinthians 12:10

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“Be ye strong therefore, and let not your hands be weak:
for your work shall be rewarded.”
2 Chronicles 15:7

See: Moments of Faith

Brian Troxel

A.W. Tozer – Faith

A.W. Tozer – Faith

“Faith is simply the bringing of our minds into accord with the truth. It is adjusting our expectations to the promises of God in complete assurance that the God of the whole earth cannot lie.

As long as we question the wisdom of any of God’s ways our faith is still tentative and uncertain. While we are able to understand, we are not quite believing. Faith enters when there is no supporting evidence to corroborate God’s word of promise and we must put our confidence blindly in the character of the One who made the promise.”
– A.W. Tozer

Faith and Victory

Faith and Victory

“I was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision”
Acts 26:19

Heavenly things require a steadfast walk here on earth in order to touch their realities. Heavenly visions by their very nature dictate an overcoming in the earth. The promises given to the various locations of the  Church in the seven letters of the Book of the Revelation each ended with this solemn and hopeful exhortation; “To him that overcometh”. The promises of God are given with the expectation that by the power of His faith* working and moving in our hearts we find grace to obey. Obedience is ever the key to victory.

“…this is the victory that overcometh the world,
even our faith”
1 John 5:4

*His Faith – “…the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith OF the Son of God” (Galatians 2:20) Everything we have received  – grace, mercy, faith are all gifts of Christ as the power of His growing salvation becomes alive within. We have nothing intrinsically – faith is the dynamic of Christ moving, pressing, and responding to the will and desire of the Father within us.

Brian Troxel.

Seek the Lord

Seek the Lord

“Seek the LORD and His strength”
1 Chronicles 15:11

Our strength is in Him and in Him alone. The New Covenant life is available to those who find in Him the strength and grace to live beyond the resources of our-self. Many will call on His Name and many will speak of Him while our true need is to find in Him the ability to walk in the power of His Spirit.

We appeal to God in our weakness. There is within the Spirit of Christ a Holy desire to be fused to our inherent weakness, thereby clothing us in the wonder of His grace. Those who have truly recognized their own weakness will inevitably reveal the works of God through their weakness. To declare our weakness as an excuse is to deny the Covenant of Grace itself. It is impossible for true faith to be inactive or without fruit. The Covenant of Grace emphatically declares:

“…for when I am weak, then am I strong”
2 Corinthians 12:10

The true seeking of God will always culminate in our being strong in Him. The Law of Life within will ever enable His Own to rise and meet the challenge of their day. Every day is filled with opportunities to walk in the grace and power of our God. It is His delight to empower our weakness, in our darkness to be our Light. Our faith in Him brings the confidence to walk in Him who is our Boaz*.

God’s Word to us is “let the weak say I am strong” (Joel 3:10). Those who truly seek His Face will inexorably find His strength. To all those who languish in weakness, despair, and stagnation, God’s gracious Word is…

“Seek the LORD and His strength”
1 Chronicles 15:11

*Boaz – Jones’ Dictionary of Old Testament Proper Names reads “In Him (i.e. the Lord) Is Strength”

Brian Troxel

The Way of Faith

The Way of Faith

the way of faith

“And Abram went up out of Egypt…
Unto the place of the altar…”
Genesis 13:1-4

The faith of Abraham will produce a forsaking of Egypt (the world) and a journey “unto the place of the altar”. At this altar, by the mercies of God (Romans 12:1), we offer ourselves unto Him as a living sacrifice. True faith communicates the nature, works, and heart of Christ. It is the divine enablement to live beyond our own resources and to draw from the wells of the living Christ. What is impossible for man becomes a natural outflow of life from those in whom resides the living faith of Christ.

In Hebrews 11, we read of the lives of regular people, just like us, who “by faith” lived to see the extra-ordinary works of God – despite the fragility of their earthen vessels. “By faith” we can partake of the same resources. We have the same surety of God, the same assurance of faith, by which they made a difference in their generation.

The leading of God is ever out of Egypt and unto the altar. The altar is the way of life to those who are in Christ Jesus for it is in the losing of our own selves that we discover Him. It is in looking past the faltering resources of self that we discover His vastness. The “I can’t” of Romans 7 is swallowed up by the “Law of life in Christ Jesus” of Romans 8.

The Altar is the place of our transactions with God. It is here where we exchange our strength for His; here that the doctrines of salvation become flesh and substance in our lives. In the offering of all that we are, we become partakers of all that He IS. Our partaking of Him will be in proportion to our offering.

“Don’t you know that those who serve in the temple
get their food from the temple,
and that those who serve at the altar
share in what is offered on the altar?”
1 Corinthians 9:13

“And thou shalt offer thy burnt offerings, the flesh, and the blood,
upon the altar of the Lord thy God: and the blood of thy sacrifices
shall be poured out upon the altar of the Lord thy God,
and thou shalt eat the flesh.”
Deuteronomy 12:27

The priests would eat of the Burnt Offerings they offered and herein lies the secret of His provision for each one of us. “Give and it shall be given unto you” is the measure of our receiving. It is in this freewill offering that we discover the glory and wonder of our God.

We are bidden by the “mercies” of God to offer ourselves as living sacrifices unto our God (Romans 12:1). While many speak of God’s mercies as a sentiment, the power of mercy upon the human heart enables us to offer ourselves without reserve.

“I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.”
Romans 12:1

Brian Troxel

Fyodor Dostoevsky

The Verity of Faith

“let God be true, but every man a liar”
Romans 3:4

“Believe to the end, even if all men went astray and you were left the only one faithful; bring your offering even then and praise God in your loneliness.”
― Fyodor Dostoevsky

The reason faith is unshakable is because the author of it, Jesus Christ, remains faithful to those who are the children of its mysteries. By faith we understand, by faith we stand and by faith the wonder of His Life resides and pulsates within our being revealing the Divine Truths of Himself.

“Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea…”
– Psalm 46:2

Brian Troxel

Daily Diligence

Daily Diligence

“They came round about me daily like water;
they compassed me about together”
Psalm 88:17

The unseen world is filled with confrontations between Light and Darkness. Temptations and persecutions assail the righteous as flooding waters; a battle that is waged daily. Many of these battles are far from sight but are fought in the thoughts and imaginations of our inner life. It is here where victories are won and we are afforded greater vistas of the Grace of God.

“Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ”
2 Corinthians 10:5

Often our victory in casting down these thoughts will come as we lift Him up. The Holy Spirit has one mandate in this world and that is to bring all things into the obedience of Christ. It is in our thoughts that life is defined, victory known and our confidence in Christ arises. Authority in the inner life will culminate in victory in our daily life.

“And beside this, giving all diligence,
add to your faith virtue…”
2 Peter 1:5

The persistence of the temptations of the world and the weakness of the human heart require a diligent and continual drawing of grace from Him. In our victories we find ourselves “hid with Christ in God”. He is to become our dwelling place with the intent that He will be at home in the sanctuary of our hearts.

Purity is the path to seeing Him,
Faith is the hand which holds Him,
Humility is the grace which draws Him.

Ω

“And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb,
and by the word of their testimony;
and they loved not their lives unto the death”
Revelation 12:11

Brian Troxel

Thought for Today

Thought for Today

“The law of the Lord is perfect,
converting the soul”
Psalm 19:7

The Word of God shining forth in its perfection is the very breath of heaven to every soul bound in the prison of self. It is filled with power; a power that converts and transforms the heart of man with the liberty and freedom of Christ. For those who hear His voice and call there is an unmistakable change fashioned within. The chaos and emptiness of human existence are dissolved by this New LIFE.

Conversion is the evidence of a life which has embraced this Living Word. Faith is the evidence of the Word’s power; it moves and motivates the people of God. It is bursting with vitality and a quest for more of Him from whom it originated. This faith cannot be defined by the words of men nor captured by a statement. It is the very breath of God breathed into fallen souls to bring forth a whole new creation.

By faith …………Abraham went out
By faith ……….. Sarah received strength
By faith ……….. Noah was moved with fear
By faith ……….. Moses forsook Egypt
By faith …………The walls of Jericho fell down

Faith is the mover of men and women by the power of God. It is demonstrative, active and living.

“Then faith is of hearing,
and hearing through the Word of God”
Romans 10:17

Σ

“If any man thirst,
let him come unto me, and drink”
John 7:37

Brian Troxel

Quote for Today – Theognostos

Quote for Today

“Faith and hope are not merely casual or theoretical matters. Faith requires a steadfast soul, while hope needs a firm will and an honest heart. How without grace can one readily believe in things unseen? How can a man have hope concerning the hidden things held in store unless through his own integrity he has gained some experience of the Lord’s gifts? These gifts of grace are a gage of the blessings held in store, which they manifest as present realities. Faith and hope, then, require both virtue on our part and God’s inspiration and help. Unless both are present we labour in vain.”
– St. Theognostos

Quoted from life on Dover Beach Blog