Substitutes

Substitutes

“Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other

 name under heaven by which we must be saved.”

                                                    Acts 4:12

The margarine dish on vacation reminded me of years and years of substituting margarine for butter in our house because of the constant warnings on butter causing high cholesterol and other health evils. We eventually went back to using butter, having concluded that the substitute didn’t even come close to the real thing. Something very similar happened years ago with egg-beaters after a not so positive cholesterol report from the doctor. It didn’t take long to realize that egg-beaters scrambled didn’t compare with the real thing over easy (we’ll talk about the bacon crispy another time), but isn’t that how all substitutes are?

Spiritually, we have to realize that the substitutes we put in our lives to take the place of God just don’t satisfy. Jeremiah 2:13 gives a good example: “My people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewn themselves cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water.” Using the symbol of water, Jeremiah portrays  a people who instead of receiving what they need in life from the Lord, from the very source and fountain of life, substitute a man made, far inferior method of collecting water, cracked cisterns where all the water would eventually leak out leaving them empty and dry. The cisterns were a poor substitute for the real thing but that didn’t stop them from doing it because substitutes, by their very nature, are so deceiving.

Some substitute drugs and alcohol in their attempt to find peace when the Prince of Peace stands ready to calm the troubled waters of their lives. Others do the same with money, relationships and their career, taking something that has a clear purpose and value in its own right and putting it in place of finding purpose in life through a relationship with Jesus Christ. And maybe the most deceptive is when we substitute work for the Lord and religious activity for a relationship with the Lord, or as one man said, “Getting so busy doing the work of the kingdom that we forget who the King is.”

We must all be careful to avoid accepting substitutes for God Himself, for the relationship He wants to have with each of us, and for what He wants to accomplish in each of our lives. Substitutes are not the real thing and substitutes for God will, at the end of the day, always leave a person empty and without hope. Accept no substitutes for the awesome God we serve and for the close, personal, loving relationship He wants with each of us.

God Bless,
Pastor Joe
Gateway Church

The Confidence of Faith

The Confidence of Faith

“Anyone who comes to God must believe that He exists

and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him.”

                                                         Hebrews 11:6

Scriptures like the one above remind us of the incredible, foundational importance of the state of our faith. Jesus said “according to your faith it will be done to you” making it clear that it is a subject we must return to often in our walk with the Lord. So how do we define faith?

The definition of faith that has helped me the most is very simple; faith is the heart’s confidence in God. Confidence is nothing more than the full trust and belief in the powers, trustworthiness or reliability of a person or thing. My hope is that by simply writing out the areas where we can be confident in God, it will help us through the struggles and challenges of life.

Faith is the heart’s…….

·         Confidence that  God loves me and cares about me as an individual, that He takes a personal interest in helping me with my hurts, needs, problems and cares.
·         Confidence in God’s power, that nothing is impossible with God and that God’s power is available through prayer to meet the needs in my life.
·         Confidence in the wisdom of God that He can guide me through the course of my life, helping me to make the best choices and decisions for my future.
·         Confidence in God’s promises and in His Word that they are true and that they can be trusted and relied on to give hope, encouragement, and direction as I feed on them.
·         Confidence in God that He wants only the very best for my life and for my family’s, that His dealings with me are those of a loving Father with a son or daughter.
·         Confidence in God that He will remain faithful even when I am unfaithful, that He will love me in my weakness and in my failure, and not give up on me.
·         Confidence in God that He wants to use me for His glory and to build His kingdom and will give me strength and ability by His Holy Spirit for everything He asks me of me.
·         Confidence in God that through the blood of Jesus, He truly forgives sin, casting my sins into the depth of the sea and giving me the hope of eternal life.

This list is no doubt just a beginning. I look forward to hearing from you this week about areas of confidence in God that have helped you in your walk with the Lord.

God Bless
Pastor Joe
Gateway Church