God Will Work Through You!

Fresh Manna
by Pastor Tim Burt

Does God positively want good for you? Because if He does and He is God, then we should have great expectation which is exactly what faith is. Faith is expectation—you either believe or expect something is or will be.

God tells us that the things that we can see did not originate from this earthly realm we live in. They actually came from a place and source we can’t see. They come from God’s realm and were birthed or originated there by the faith-filled spoken words of God. Hebrews 11:3 says, “By faith we understand that the entire universe was formed at God’s command, that what we now see did not come from anything that can be seen.” Genesis 1:3 says, “And God said, Let there be light: and there was light…”

Jesus commended those that had faith and admonished those who let their minds be of unbelief. He even admonished His own disciples over unbelief at various times. After Jesus’ resurrection, Thomas had boastfully declared his unbelief saying he wouldn’t believe Jesus was alive until he could see Him and put his fingers into Jesus wounds himself. A short time later Jesus appeared to Thomas and the disciples. In John 20:27-29, Jesus said, “Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands. Put your hand into the wound in my side. Don’t be faithless any longer. Believe!” “My Lord and my God!” Thomas exclaimed. Then Jesus told him, “You believe because you have seen me. Blessed are those who haven’t seen me and believe anyway.”

So then, what is it we believe that helps us know what God wants for us? We believe His promises! Romans 15:8-9 helps us take a hold of this truth. “Remember that Christ came as a servant to the Jews to show that God is true to the promises He made to their ancestors. And He came so the Gentiles might also give glory to God for His mercies to them…” These promises were a part of God’s covenant with His children. When you think of covenant, think of two things: an agreement and a will. That means what is agreed upon (the promises of God) are true in the agreement and are passed on through inheritance when someone dies. When Jesus died for us, that inheritance of promises were willed to us. Through Jesus Christ they reach into our lives to be taken a hold of by faith today! We see that in today’s Fresh Manna verses, “There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male or female. For you are all Christians—you are one in Christ Jesus. And now that you belong to Christ, you are the true children of Abraham. You are his heirs, and now all the promises God gave to him belong to you.”

We just read, “…now all the promises God gave to Abraham belong to you.” So, we better take hold of them, pray them, and stand in faith upon them. I could tell you a hundred stories of things we’ve stood for in faith. I’ll share one that I will abbreviate.

We live on a creek. On the other side of our creek was a trouble area. Like a small forest where kids built forts, lit fires and smoked pot. It was a trouble spot. For a few years, when I would go out for a run, I would pray over this area, over our neighborhood and over our city. I would pray promises from God’s word over them. One day the city announced it was cleaning up this area, putting in a beautiful walking path, lining the creek with bolder rock, putting beautiful ornate lights along the path, and putting in a bridge and a wildflower garden. They literally spent close to a million dollars across from my back yard (which feels like my back yard) and it is beautiful. I didn’t know how God would work this out. I just knew it needed to change and couldn’t get anything done through my own efforts. So I went running and prayed in faith. Today as I look out over my back yard and at the creek and the walking park, it is so beautiful. There is no more trouble. God is so faithful!

It is important to know that God wants good for you. He wants you to believe in His promises so you will believe that He wants to make a way to meet your needs no matter what they are. If you see the promise, you have the opportunity to learn to walk by faith. You have the chance to walk on water like Peter did. Some will mock you. God will bless you as you stand in faith patiently believing!

Galatians 3:29. “And now that you belong to Christ, you are the true children of Abraham. You are his heirs, and now all the promises God gave to him belong to you.”

In His Love,
Pastor Tim Burt