"That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection" (Phil 3:10a KJV). Is this your heart cry? That we might know Jesus, be like him and be empowered to walk and minister as he did. Paul, in his letter to the Phillippians went on to say that he had not arrived yet but he put the past behind him and pressed on to grasp what Christ had for him (Phil 3:12-14). There was nothing casual about his quest but a sense of urgent, earnest pursuit; this pressing was serious business.

In Hebrews chapter 6 and verse 1, Paul said, let's move on from the basics of our Christian walk and aim for maturity (Heb 6:1). How many Christians have a form of godliness but lack the power (2 Tim 3:5)? If we all sought after God as Paul did we would be transformed, growing in godliness and holiness and more like Christ each day.

If we want the power to change, the power to impact our world and fill it with his love and peace we need to press in as Paul did. Signs, miracles and wonders should follow the "Acts of the Apostles" church. This is the kind of church we should all be a part of; the "normal church".

We need to take our cue from the early church, immersing ourselves in the word, prayer, fellowship and unity; directed and empowered by the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:42). Our hearts should throb with Paul's heart cry, "that I might know him"; that we may be emptied of self and be filled with him (John 12:24-25; Eph 3:19). These are the people, this is the church that will shake our world and the principalities of darkness (Eph 3:10).

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“But the just shall live by his faith” (Hab 2:4b; KJV). Jesus told his disciples to “have faith in God” (Mark 11:22). What is faith? Everyone lives by a form of faith, most by human faith. We have faith that the sun will rise each day; a child trusts the promises of his parents. Human faith is based on experience and the known character and faithfulness of others. However, sooner or later people will let us down.

Faith in God is an absolute trust and confidence in a faithful God (1Thess 5:24), who will never change (Mal 3:6), fail us, or let us down. It stands to reason then that we need to know the character, faithfulness and promises of our God.

God has given faith to each of us as Christians (Rom 12:3) but we can grow our faith by studying God’s word to us (the Bible). As we see God’s character, faithfulness and promises in his word and as we develop that absolute trust, we will receive from God as he has promised. 

You can tell if a person has faith in God as their words and actions will show it. Jesus said we should speak his word in faith to the challenges we face and they will leave (Matt 17:20). The Apostle James also said that faith without actions is dead (James 2:17). If we walk in faith our words and actions must line up with God’s word. Get in the word until you know, that you know, that you know that God’s word is true concerning the challenge you face; that’s faith. Then you will see the break through and then you will live the glorious life of faith in God.

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God gave me an object lesson one day. We had an apple tree in our garden and one summer a whole limb had only produced very small leaves and no fruit. I soon remembered that several years before I had tied a string around it. As the limb had grown the string became tighter, slowing and eventually stopping the flow of sap to the branches of the limb, causing the whole limb to die. The sap was there, the channels for it to rise in were there but the flow was impeded.

As Christians we have God on the inside of us as the Holy Spirit (John 14:16-17), we have his word and his life changing wisdom. It is God, his word and his power that can change us and make us more like him each day (Phil 2:13). In fact, he says he will do this until Jesus comes (Phil 1:6). So why aren’t so many Christians and churches changing, maturing, walking in victory and impacting their world?

God told me in the object lesson above that a lack of humility was a primary reason. Being humble and walking in humility are quite similar in many ways. They mean to be completely lacking in arrogance or unhealthy pride. To see ourselves as being small of ourselves and yet invincible with God on the inside of us. Probably most importantly they mean to be teachable, to realize our need for God.

If we can humble ourselves before God, the word says he will exalt us. (James 4:10) If we are teachable and spend the time with God in his word, prayer and fellowship, he will change, mold, bless and use us. Wow, that’s what I want, how about you? 

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In Isaiah chapter 41 and verse10 (KJV) it says: "Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness."

God says do not fear, I am with you. For us as New Testament Christians God is not only with us but in us (Gal 2:20). We are more than conquerors (Rom 8:37), victorious in Christ (1 Cor 15:57) and we have the greater one living on the inside of us (1 John 4:4).

God says to cast all our cares on him for he cares for us (1 Peter 5:7). In our verse from Isaiah above, God goes on to tell us not to be dismayed and anxious as he is our God. Just think, God Almighty, creator of the universe is our God. He says he will strengthen us.

In Isaiah 40:31, we are told to keep our eyes on the Lord, trust in him and we will find strength in God. If we do we will soar with wings as eagles, and we will run our race for God without weariness. I love the image of the eagle soaring, wings stretched out on the air currents, looking to God. We can do all things through Christ who strengthens us (Phil 4:13).

Finally, in our main verse for today, God says he will hold us up with his right hand of victory and righteousness. Fear has torment (1 John 4:18) but perfect love casts out fear (1 John 4:18). Rest in our God who is love (1 John 4:8) and let his love saturate you and flow through you. This will drive out all fear, it will strengthen you and you will soar with the eagles, eyes focused on God.

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In the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 12 and verse 36 it says that we will give an account for every idle word we speak and in verse 34 we are told that our mouths speaks from the abundance of our hearts.

In Proverbs chapter 18 and verse 21 the writer states that: “death and life are in the power of the tongue” (KJV). If that is the case, then what we put in our hearts is of utmost importance. What we look at and what we listen to is what we put in our hearts.

“The tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity” (James 3:6) and can be tamed by no man. It sounds like we have a job for God on our hands. Fortunately, we have been made new creations in Christ, our minds are being renewed, we are attached to the vine and abide in Christ. As the Holy Spirt that lives in us changes us and develops his fruit in us, our tongues will be changed, as long as we cooperate with him.

James also gives us some very good advice in Chapter 1 and verse 19 of his epistle: "Let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath." If we all put that verse into practice the world would be a much more pleasant place to live. I encourage you to join me in spending time each morning asking God to help you put James advice into practice.

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