Forward in Faith: First and Goal

Week three into our series Forward in Faith: First and Goal...and some are beginning to get restless.

I often wonder how individuals responded to Martin Luther after his sermons on Sunday morning.. .or Sunday evening...or Wednesday night...or any other time when he stood up in public and shared some insight from God's Word. This past week, we walked through the narrative of Numbers 13-14--the story of the 12 Israelite spies going into Canaan to see what there was to eat and to see how the people who lived there were organized.

If you have the time to read the story (and you probably do if you're surfing blogs online), I encourage you to do so. [If you don't have a Bible at home, you can use this one: http://www.biblegateway.com/; type in 'Numbers 13' in the Quick Search box.]

Long story short--they came back after 40 days of spying with food galore, and knew that this new place was much better than wandering in the wilderness eating manna and quail...however, 10 of the spies were afraid of the men they would have to fight to acquire it, and so they gave the rest of the Israelites a 'bad report' (Numbers 13.32). Only Caleb and Joshua wanted to go in and fight, because they knew that God would protect them.

The Israelites were swayed by some bad influences--and those 10 guys were 'heads of the people of Israel' (13.3). How can you move forward in faith when you're constantly battling negative influences?!

The question asked this past Sunday: What is your influence? Are you hearing only those who constantly question God's grace and promises, only to promote their own fears or desires? Do we rely heavily on what our favorite talk radio host, our favorite tv program, our favorite 'personality' shares with us more than the truth that God has laid out?

Mark Hall of Casting Crowns sings:

What if the life that we pursue - Came from a hunger for the truth
What if the family turned to Jesus - Stopped asking Oprah what to do

What if being a Christian was more involved than just being 'a participant' on Sunday morning? How would the world respond? What should our response be to the negative influences of the world? Caleb and Joshua tore their shirts and proudly told all of their friends and family about what God had promised them in terms of the 'Promised Land'. Jesus use those negative influences for our benefit--he allowed those with unbelief to nail him to a cross, so that he would be able to forgive the sins of the world.

What do you know about God? What do you share about your faith? What do you allow into your life to influence you? How are you moving forward in your faith? If you have any questions, don't hesitate to contact me about your thoughts or concerns.

Have a hunger for the things in this world that matter. Seek the truth. Turn to Jesus.