The Trust Initiative No.6

"But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him." - Jeremiah 17:7

            Verses 5-8 speak of two different types of people. One type trusts in his fellow man, while the other trusts in Almighty God. The people of Judah trusted in false gods and military alliances instead of Jehovah God. Because of this foolish association they were barren and unfruitful. In contrast to those folks, the ones whose trust was in Almighty Jehovah flourished like trees planted along a riverbank. ^{[Psalm 1:1-3]}

            Verses 5-6 reveal the following: those who place their trust in mortal men, who have turned their hearts away from God, shall be like stunted shrubs in the desert with no hope for the future. In scripture there are so many warnings to those who have rejected God. Their minds have been seared over by our enemy (Satan). They refuse to recant and thus are destined to be condemned to perdition.

            Throughout the Bible are accounts of God’s blessings on those who have placed their faith and trust solely in Him. This is essentially what this weeklong study on Biblical trust in God has been about. Mankind has very little to offer with regards to lasting blessings and benefits. God on the other hand is able to offer the total removal of all a person’s sins once for all time. Man is incapable of doing that. God can offer residence with Him for all eternity; again, man is incapable of offering that. God blesses those who place their unwavering trust in Him. Where do you stand on this issue? Do you trust and support God unequivocally or do you waver back and forth like a flag in an erratic breeze? Back God and watch your life change for the good. Until next time, serve Christ & live with no regrets.

In His Name & for His Glory

RL Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

 

The Trust Initiative - No. 5

“When I am afraid, I will put my trust in You.”- Psalm 56:3 ^NASB

                  In past postings I have made a distinction between fear & reverence. In this verse being afraid is the other meaning of fear used in scripture. We’re human with emotions. We become afraid and we worry; however, God instructs us that we need not fear or worry. This is because we are his and he is our Heavenly Father. 

                  No matter what circumstances you may find yourself in, what good could possibly come from worrying or being fearful. Will it help you in your situation? No. Will it bring you peace or comfort? No. These are characteristics that emerge from a close, intimate relationship with our Heavenly Father.

            With regards to our fear of mortal men, they can inflict pain, suffering and death to us, but they cannot rob us of our soul or our future beyond this life. A travesty in this life is when someone rejects Almighty God and loses out on forgiveness and a subsequent eternal life in his presence.

Matthew 10:28 says this: “Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” We need to revere God with awe for who he is and what he has done and can do, for God controls this life and the next. We can trust our God with our very lives, without question. Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing.

In His Name & for His Glory,

RL Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

 

The Trust Initiative - No. 4

“It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in man.”- Psalm 118:8 ^{New American Standard Bible}

                  While it cannot be confirmed, many Bible scholars surmise that this Psalm was written by none other than King David. But it really doesn’t matter … the message is a familiar one, nonetheless.  Trusting in man is misplaced trust. Almighty God can do what no man could ever do. Our trust in God enables us to know exactly where to go in our greatest time of need. Proverbs 18:10 tells us, “The name of the LORD is a strong fortress; the godly run to him and are safe.” Again, in Psalm 46:1 it says, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.”

                  What can man offer us when trouble arises? Not much. As I have said in past postings, mortal man’s resources are sorely lacking. When you think of God and what scripture says of him, you should have confidence that he will protect you from anything that may come against you. God watches over his children as a mother hen watches over her chicks or a shepherd watches over his flock. Both are safe and secure, protected by their loving overseer.

                  As an illustration, a form of refuge could be a fortress, which can have outside walls as thick of 4 feet. Penetration by the enemy would be difficult. Infiltration from within would accomplish that goal. I would compare that to your mind being compromised by the enemy thru some form of media incursion or irregular association. Our relationship with God is meant to be deeply intimate. The closer we are to our Heavenly Father the more we will trust him, because we know him a little bit more each day we spend time with him. Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing.

In His Name & for His Glory,

RL Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

The Trust Initiative - No. 3

“You who [reverently] fear the Lord, trust in the Lord; He is their help and their shield.” -Psalm 115:11 ^{Amplified Bible}

            Once again, we see the reference to fearing the Lord. I’ve been using the Amplified Bible up to this point because it breaks down a word or phrases meaning in an easier to understand way. Fear of the Lord is not like being afraid. Those who should be afraid of the Lord are folks who live as they choose, without any consideration for God or his Word. Those are the people who need to take a real hard look at themselves and think about the possibility of a higher power that is far greater than themselves. Not just a higher power, but a spiritual entity that IS love in its purest and most concise form. Because of his majestic power and endless wisdom, we are to be in awe of him and treat him with reverence. Our fear of him should also lead to trust, just as our faith should. We should trust him because there has, nor will there ever be a time when he will not be our help and protector. 

When I think of the word ‘shield’, I think of the Roman shields they used in battle.  They were convex in shape and had straight sides; 4 feet tall and 2-1/2 feet wide. They were made of wood and copper and at times had a thick leather overlay that was saturated with water to douse the flames of fiery arrows shot at them by their enemies. The average height of a Roman soldier back in the day was roughly 5’7”-5’8” tall. If they crouched down their entire body from head to toe would be covered by these shields. That is what comes to mind when scripture tells us God is our shield. He protects us from the fiery darts of the enemy. Satan is powerless against a child of God, unless that child gives the devil a foothold.^[1] Do not yield to the enemy, for God is your “help and shield”. Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing.

In His Name & for His Glory,

RL Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

 

^[1] Ephesians 4:26-27

 

“O give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; For His lovingkindness endures forever.” - Psalm 118:1 ^{Amplified Bible}

The Trust Initiative - No. 2

“Trust [rely on and have confidence] in the Lord and do good; Dwell in the land and feed [securely] on His faithfulness.”- Psalm 37:3 ^{Amplified Bible}

For this posting, I have chosen this simple verse from the Psalms. The Psalmist is King David, who had a heart after God. ^[1] No doubt thru his own experiences, David asks his readers to place their full trust in God and not in men, who are perishing like the lilies of the field that are here today and gone tomorrow. All of mankind is fading from this earth beginning on the day of their birth and are limited in what they can do. The Lord’s riches, wisdom and strength are limitless. In God we can trust both for things temporal and eternal, of the body and the soul, now and forevermore.

            David follows his pitch for trusting the Lord by saying that we should “do good”. Now since Jesus said in Mark 10:18 that no one is good except God the Father, this implies than men are inherently NOT good at their core. Hence our need for forgiveness, aka, redemption. However, since God is good and we are his children, we are to emulate his goodness as we become closer to his heart. Our fruit will reveal our faithfulness.

            Our trust in God is largely, if not exclusively, based on his faithfulness to us. We love because he first loved us. ^[2]Everything that is good and loving and kind and compassionate emanates from Almighty God. Salvation is designed to lead us to behaving like the Lord Jesus.

            The final statement, I believe, is referring not just to the land we dwell on this side of heaven, but also in the heavenly realm. As sheep in their pasture would peacefully feed, we are to feed without fear in the faithfulness and goodness of our God. Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing.

In His Name & for His Glory,

RL Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

^[1] 1 Samuel 13:14 & Acts 13:22

^[2] 1 John 4:19

The Trust Initiative – No. 1

“Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.”- Proverbs 3:5-6

                  Trust is an outcropping of our faith. The greater our faith in God is the more likely we are to trust him with our lives. There are some key words in these 2 verses that reveal how we should live this life. 

            One’s heart is where their soul resides. Our trust in God must come from the deepest part of our soul. Man’s ability to understand is inferior to a God who dispenses wisdom freely. If we rely on our own understanding, we are shortchanging ourselves in a big way. If we trust God we must let go of all that would encumber us and have the patience to allow his will to materialize before us.

            To acknowledge God is to accept his existence as true. This is what we are to do with every fiber of our being in every aspect of our life. If we’re going to trust the Lord for all things we certainly must accept that he is real. We must have no doubt. Doubt causes a lack of trust, which is exactly what we don’t want. Our faith and trust mustn’t be conditional, as in, if God does this or that then I will trust him. It doesn’t work that way. We must trust him FIRST, then have that faith bolstered by the answer we’ve sought.

            Life is full of crooked paths. Without the guidance and direction of our spiritual GPS, the Holy Spirit, we will not end up where we were intended to go. Trust in God spills over into trust in the Spirit. The Lord will lead us where we are to go as long as we don’t go racing off ahead of him. We must fine tune our ability to discern that which is from the Lord and that which is not. These verses are the initial step in trusting God. They are elemental in nature and fairly easy to abide by. I refer to them as ‘the gospel in a nutshell’. These are the first two verses I ever memorized. Starting here provides a launching pad, allowing you to take off into new and exciting areas of your walk with Christ. Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing.

In His Hands & For His Glory,

RL Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

I Have a Question

What is “good” & Who Sets Its Standard?

If we are to understand God and the goodness of God, it is important that we study what the Bible teaches about this question. When we do that, we find that the varying human opinions and perspectives about “goodness” fall far short of a complete understanding.

According to the Bible, God declares His creation "very good" after completing it ^{(Genesis 1:31)}, signifying that everything He made was perfectly fashioned and functioning according to His design without sin or corruption. God Himself is the ultimate standard of goodness, as He is described as light with no darkness at all, and no one is good except God alone ^{(Mark 10:18; 1 John 1:5)}.  This inherent goodness means His nature is holy, His intentions are always right, and He cannot do anything unholy or unrighteous. 

The Bible outlines several specific aspects of goodness that God emphasizes: The goodness in creation, goodness in action as God requires people to do things justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with Him ^{(Micah 6:8)}. The goodness He demonstrated through His plan to redeem humanity, sending His Son so that people might have eternal life (John 3:16). His Goodness is that God works all things together for good for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose ^{(Romans 8:28).} Ultimately, God is good to all, and His mercy extends over everything He has made ^{(Psalm 145:9)}, offering a future and hope rather than evil ^{(Jeremiah 29:11)}.

Until next time, walk with the King & be a blessing.

In His Name & for His Glory,

RL Keller

Bread of Life Ministries