| Did God Say? Feb. 22, 2006 |
Gen. 3:1 NLT Now the serpent was the shrewdest of all the creatures the LORD God had made. "Really?" he asked the woman. "Did God really say you must not eat any of the fruit in the garden?" James 1:6-8 NKJV 6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. 7 For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; 8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways. 1 Thess. 2:13 NKJV For this reason we also thank God without ceasing, because when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you welcomed it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which also effectively works in you who believe. Hebrews 11:6 NKJV But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. Why are there so many scriptures listed? Because Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing comes by the word of God (Rom 10:17). According to the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, hearing means: 1 : to perceive or apprehend by the ear 2 : to gain knowledge of by hearing 3 a : to listen to with attention : HEED b : ATTEND <hear mass> 4 a : to give a legal hearing to b : to take testimony from <hear witnesses> Often times, we forget what God has spoken to us or we don't pay attention to His exact words. We can't have faith unless we really know what the word of God says. And the only way we can really know what it says is by listening to it with attention, heeding it, gaining knowledge from it, and perceiving it. In other words, we won't know what the word of God says unless we read it and study it with sincerity. We will be able to recognize the lies of the enemy once we are certain about what our Lord God has told us. When we are certain, we develop faith and that faith becomes our shield (Eph. 6:16). Then, the fiery darts of the enemy are easily rendered useless, because we are armed with faith. When Satan asked Eve "Did God really say...", he was testing her confidence in the word of God. Thousands of years later, Satan is still asking this question to the saints of God, and we are still falling into his trap. But if we dig deep into God's word, we will find protection and then we will no longer fall victim to Satan's tactics. Hallelujah! How confident are you in the word of God? If your faith was presented in the form of a guard dog, would it make the enemy back off? Would your faith look more like a chihuahua or a bulldog? Would it make the enemy laugh or run? If you want the devil to take you seriously, then stop doubting God's word and embrace it instead. (*For a deeper revelation, look-up the descriptions of a chihuahua and bulldog at www.britannica.com.) I hope you enjoyed reading the word of God in a new light. Have a Happy Wednesday! God Bless, Min. Tommy & Sis. Shatika Gray Scripture References Rom. 10:17 NKJV So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. Eph. 6:16 NKJV above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. Matt 24:24 NLV People who say they are Christ and false preachers will come. They will do special things for people to see. They will do great things, so that if it can be done, God's people will be fooled to believe something wrong. |