Category: Old Testament

Posted in Hebrews, Mark, Psalms, Romans

Speaking from what God has Spoken

Posted on by Tom Flaherty

“For He Himself has said, ‘I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you,’ so that we confidently say, ‘The Lord is my helper, I will not be afraid. What will man do to me?’” Hebrews 13:5b-6

God wants you to know that He will never desert you or forsake you. People will come and go, even those who love us the most can’t be there all the time, but God is always with us. One of His covenant names is Jehovah Shammah, which means, “The Lord who is present.” Psalm 46:1 says: “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.”

Do you believe this? If you do then take the second step of faith and speak it with confidence. It is important that we speak what we believe.  To overcome our fears, we need to believe in our hearts God is with us, and confidently say with our mouths that He is our helper.

Romans 10:10 gives the importance of believing first in our hearts, but then also speaking with our mouths. “For with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. Jesus gives the same principle of faith in Mark 11:23: “Truly I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says is going to happen, it will be granted him.”

Some have used this verse to teach “name it and claim it,” which has led to many abuses and caused many to throw out the baby (the importance of confession) with the bath water. But look closer at this verse and you will see that it’s not about confession first, but about believing in the heart first, and then speaking from the place of faith.

The only way you can ever believe with your heart is if God Himself has spoken to you first. Romans 10:17 says that “faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word (rhema) of Christ.” A rhema (the Greek for “word” used in this verse) is a specific word from God for a specific situation. After God has spoken into our hearts (about a specific mountain we are facing), we complete our faith by speaking with our mouths what God has said about our circumstances. That’s when mountains move!

Posted in Hebrews, Jeremiah, Romans

Seeking God 

Posted on by Tom Flaherty

“You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.” Jeremiah 29:13

God tells us that if we will seek for Him with all our heart we’ll find Him, but there is a problem with this. Sin has so corrupted us that we are unable to wholeheartedly seek God without God’s help. “No one is righteous, no, not one… no one understands, no one seeks God.” (Romans 3:10-11)

It’s sad, but even though we are able to be wholehearted about football or shopping or even our version of religion or church, it is not in us to wholeheartedly seek God without the Holy Spirit first inviting and freeing us to do so. When He reveals our sin, we are able to wholeheartedly ask for forgiveness; when He shows us our emptiness, we are able to wholeheartedly ask for His fullness; and when He shows us the depth of our need, we are able to wholeheartedly ask for His help; but when left to ourselves we are apathetic toward God. Even when the Holy Spirit is helping us discern our dependence, we are able to harden our hearts instead of seeking God. (Hebrews 3:15) We do have a role to play.

The scripture quoted above from Jeremiah is in the context of the Jewish captivity in Babylon.  Is it any wonder that right before the verse quoted above, God assures them of His purpose for them, “For I know the plans that I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.” (Jeremiah 29:11) The judgment they were going through was not because God didn’t love them, or because He was mean and didn’t want them to have prosperous lives. It was because they weren’t listening without these extreme measures. Even then, they had a choice, and so do we today. If everything is stripped from us we can either be offended with God, or allow our desperate situation help us to be wholehearted in our seeking of Him.

Jesus died on a cross so that we could find forgiveness, help in time of need, a sure promise for the future, and a living relationship with God right now. So let’s respond quickly to the Spirit’s promptings and make this relationship our greatest priority while trusting God’s goodness for everything else.

Posted in John, Matthew, Psalms

A Mission for Meekness

Posted on by Tom Flaherty

“Come to me you are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble (meek and lowly) in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30

I read a devotional book that used this scripture immediately after I had read Psalm 37:11: “But the meek will inherit the land and enjoy great peace.” I started to get excited and have been on a mission to learn meekness ever since. Here are a few insights I have gleaned in my meditations and study:

  1.  Meekness is not weakness. The Greek word translated, “gentle,” or in some versions, “meek,” was also used to describe horses that they trained for war. When they became “meek,” they were able to be ridden effectively and safely. Power under control.
  2. The differences between a proud heart and a meek heart: 
    1. Pride takes now (or tries to) while the meek allow God to give in His time. The meek inherit
    2. Pride seeks to control while the meek yield to God’s control.
    3. Pride lives under the anxious, heavy burden of being its own savior while the meek enjoy peace because they aren’t trying to do God’s part.
  3.  Jesus promises an experience of rest for all who will come to Him at any time for anything. However, His promise for a life of rest is tied to us taking His yoke upon us and learning from Him how to become meek of heart. When He washed the disciples’ feet He was teaching them about meekness.  He said that they would be blessed if they actually put into practice what He was modeling for them. “If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them.” (John 13:17)

We live in a culture that often celebrates selfish ambition, self promotion, and pride. If you embrace the mission of Jesus to teach your heart meekness, you will be going against the culture, but you will also find rest for your soul.

Posted in Lamentations, Romans

The God of Hope

Posted on by Tom Flaherty

“This I recall to my mind, therefore I have hope, the Lord’s mercies never cease, for His compassions never fail, they are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.” Lamentations 3:21-23

The nation of Judah was in the midst of the worst trial of its history when Jeremiah penned these words. If he relied on outward circumstances he would have been tempted to despair, but instead he recalled to his mind the character of God. He preached to himself, “God is still love and He loves me; He is still merciful and wants to show me new mercies every single day; God is still faithful and has not abandoned me even when He’s not doing what I want Him to do as fast as I want Him to do it.” These truths, Jeremiah said, were his reason for hope.

What’s happening in your life today? In the nations there is fear of terrorism, recession, global warming, and a disillusionment with government and man’s ability to solve big problems. The secret to hope is getting our eyes off of people and circumstances, and putting them on the God who promises to be with us and to work “all things together for good for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.” (Romans 8:28) All things are not good, but when given to God, they can be worked for good and actually serve as aids to our growth.

We have hope because nothing can hurt us without God’s permission, and we know that if we trust God, we will always outlast our problems. God wants us to overflow with hope so that others will trust Him as well. “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” (Romans 15:13)