Do You Believe In God?
- Now Think On This
by Steve Martin
"Therefore
whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise
man who built his house on the rock: and
the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house;
and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. "But everyone who hears these sayings of
Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on
the sand: and the rain descended, the
floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great
was its fall." (Matt. 7:24-27 NKJV)
Do you believe in God?
No, really. Do you, who say you are a Christian, possibly born
in a Christian home, maybe raised by Christian parents, and claiming all along
that you ARE a Christian, really believe in the Lord God of heaven and earth?
Or do you just say you do? Do you really know Him?
How do you answer or respond to these questions or
statements? (Please answer them as truthfully as you can. Only you will really
know if you do or not.)
1.
I pray daily, believing that God hears my prayers and will
answer in His way, His time, and for my greater good and those I love. Yes or
no?
2.
When something goes wrong in my life, I often think that
God is punishing me. Yes or no?
3.
If a health crisis occurs, I first call the doctor to get
an appointment.
4.
The Bible is God’s Word, and I seek to know more truth by
reading that before the daily newspaper or watching the morning news show. Or
checking Facebook.
5.
There is a lot of bad stuff happening in the world right
now. If God is Who He says He is, it wouldn’t be so. Yes or no?
How you responded to these every day questions or
statements can well indicate if you really believe in God or not, or
specifically, if you believe in the God of the Bible or not. How DID you
respond?
I know there are times when we have doubts in our faith, in
our walk with the Lord, and do question why and what, but is that a normal
pattern in your walk, or more often than you realize? What would happen if
something really traumatic occurs tomorrow? Or how did you respond when the
last one did?
Having played on a sports team in my youth, through my
teenage years, preparation for the upcoming games, with daily practice on the
fundamentals and also unique situations that will arise in a game, made us
ready. When real game situations did happen, that time given for the proper and
needed time in anticipation, had made us ready. At least to the point that our
ability and maturity had taken us in those years.
The many hours of hard work and effort paid off in the hour
of the contest. We had put in the necessary time, making ourselves ready for
the times ahead. And it indeed paid off, as it was a thrill playing in the state
baseball championship games as a reward.
Putting the same scenario in our spiritual walk, as Jesus taught
in the Matthew 27 Scripture quoted above, the one who built his house upon the
rock, and made himself ready for the storms that would surely come, stood when
the rough times came. The one who didn’t, well, he couldn’t, and didn’t stand.
The God Whom we say we believe in knows all, sees all, and
is over all. If He says we must ready ourselves for the days ahead, for surely
they will become dark and the love of many will grow cold because of it, then
we must heed and obey His words.
“Because lawlessness is increased, most people's love will
grow cold. But the one who endures to
the end, he will be saved.” (Matt 24:12-13 NASU)
How will we endure? How will we stand?
We will be able to because of His grace, while most certainly
because of the time we now give in preparation for those times – reading His
Word, praying daily, strengthening our inner man in the Holy Spirit for such a
time as those which are certain to come.
I hope this reminder encouragers you to keep during the
basics in your Christian walk. Believe in God by doing what He says. Then you
will be ready in season and out.
Now think on this,
Steve Martin
Founder
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– Thank you very much.)
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Think On This with your friends.
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Now Think On This #171
“Do You Believe In God?” by Steve Martin
Date: In the year of
our Lord 2015 (05.06.15) Wednesday at 5:30 pm in Charlotte, NC
All previous editions
of Now Think On This can be found on this
Blog, and on the website: Now Think On This