Lead with your Heart

So before we can move the car, so to speak, we must start the engine and move the car, correct? No one is going to begin steering a car until it is moving, yes? The people whom GOD used and guided were not sitting around, waiting to receive guidance without first stepping into action. They were already active and mobile!

Our journey here is into faith, into GOD---to draw near to the GOD of heaven and earth, The Almighty.

We said that the map was GOD's Word (or rhema, which is also translated "word" in Scripture, means a word from God made alive to you personally). So let's pull back and look at that for a minute. If GOD's Word leads to faith ( we'll start to unravel faith later down the road), and we are to lean upon it, it would be common sense to assume that we have it with us wherever we go. Like any good "leaning" object, it should always be nearby so that it can be of use in it's function of support. The Word of GOD is the same, it should be our support.

Psalms 119:11 says "I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you."

The Message Bible puts it like this: Psalms 9-16 "How can a young person live a clean life? By carefully reading the map of your Word. I'm single-minded in pursuit of you; don't let me miss the road signs you've posted. I've banked your promises in the vault of my heart, so I won't sin myself bankrupt."

"Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of GOD." (Romans 10:17)

But before we delve into The Word of God to find faith, I want us to do first things first. Let us ask the question, Do we trust The Word? And if we ask that question, then we by default ask Do We trust GOD? Well....do we? do we really?

What does it take to trust GOD? That is the question. I want you to look here at this definition of trust and as you read it, think about it in terms of how you see YOUR trust towards God. And as you ponder it, meditate on that for this week. Let it marinate in your heart.....Trust. Do I Trust?...

Here it is:

What is Trust?

Trust is both an emotional and logical act. Emotionally, it is where you expose your vulnerabilities to people, but believing they will not take advantage of your openness. Logically, it is where you have assessed the probabilities of gain and loss, calculating expected utility based on hard performance data, and concluded that the person in question will behave in a predictable manner. In practice, trust is a bit of both. I trust you because I have experienced your trustworthiness and because I have faith in your nature.
We feel trust. Emotions associated with trust include companionship, friendship, love, agreement, relaxation, comfort.

 There are a number of different ways we can define trust. Here are the dimensions of trust and consequent definitions.

 Predictability
It is a normal part of the human condition to be constantly forecasting ahead. We build internal models of the world based both on our experiences and what others tell us, and then use these to guess what will happen next. This allows us to spot and prepare for threats and also make plans to achieve our longer-term goals.

The greatest unpredictability is at 50%; a reliable enemy can be preferable to an unpredictable friend, as at least we know where we are with them.

Definition 1: Trust means being able to predict what other people will do and what situations will occur. If we can surround ourselves with people we trust, then we can create a safe present and an even better future.

 Value exchange

Most of what we do with other people is based around exchange, which is the basis for all businesses as well as simple relationships. At its simplest, it is exchange of goods. I will swap you two sheep for one cow. It is easy to calculate the value in such material bargaining. Things get more complex when less tangible forces come into play. A parent exchanges attention for love. A company exchanges not only pay but good working conditions for the intellectual and manual efforts of its workforce.
Value exchange works because we each value things differently. If I have a whole flock of sheep but no milk, then I can do business with a person who has a herd of cows but no clothes. This principle of reciprocity is what binds societies together.

Trust in value exchange occurs when we do not know fully whether what we are receiving is what we expect. When we buy a car, don’t want to be sold a ringer which the seller knows is faulty. When I get advice in business, I want it to be based on facts, not wild opinions.
Definition 2: Trust means making an exchange with someone when you do not have full knowledge about them, their intent and the things they are offering to you.

 Delayed reciprocity

Exchange is not just about an immediate swapping of cows and sheep or hugs and kisses. What makes companies and societies really work is that something is given now, but the return is paid back some time in the future. The advantage of this is that we can create a more flexible environment, where you can get what you need when you need it, rather than having to save up for it.
Trust now becomes particularly important, because otherwise we are giving something for nothing. The delay we have placed in the reciprocal arrangement adds a high level of uncertainty which we need to mitigate through trust.
What is often called the ‘golden rule’ is a simple formula for creating trust. ‘Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.’ It sets up the dynamic for my giving you something now with the hope of getting back some unspecified thing in the indeterminate future.
Definition 3: Trust means giving something now with an expectation that it will be repaid, possibly in some unspecified way at some unspecified time in the future.

 Exposed vulnerabilities

When we trust other people, we may not only be giving them something in hope of getting something else back in the future, we may also be exposing ourselves in a way that they can take advantage of our vulnerabilities. If I buy a car from you and I do not know a good price, you can lie to me so you get a better bargain. If I tell you in confidence about the problems I am having with work, you could use this to further your own career at my expense.

Although the threat of retribution or projected feelings of guilt can counteract your temptation to abuse my exposed vulnerabilities, if you succumb I still get hurt and may still end up with the shorter stick. For our transaction to complete successfully, I must be able to trust that such agonies will not come to pass.
Definition 4: Trust means enabling other people to take advantage of your vulnerabilities—but expecting that they will not do this.

Ok....Now that we have an idea of what general trust is as defined. I want you to think about what inside that definition is keeping you from trusting GOD. What point made in the brief above strikes your heart cords? Where is the pain at? Is it the unpredictability? The vulnerability? or the Exchange?.....If we ask the question: Do WE Trust GOD? we must resolve ourselves in trust before we can go forward in FAITH.

I encourage you to take this week and dwell on the position of your heart and experiences with trust.

Trusting God is at the very core of our Faith. And if Faith comes by...hearing...And hearing comes by ...The Word of GOD....then do we trust HIS WORDS???

Do we believe He is telling us the truth? John 1:14, 1:17 "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father....grace and truth came through Jesus Christ." (mentioned 138 times in the Bible)

Do we believe He is predictable/faithful? Deut 7:9 "Know therefore that the Lord your GOD is GOD, the faithful GOD who keeps covenant and steadfast love..." (mentioned 86 times in the Bible)

Do we believe He exchanges? Isaiah 43:4 "Because you are precious in my eyes, and honored, and I love you, I give men in return for you, peoples in exchange for your life." (mentioned 20 times in the Bible)

Do we believe that exposing our vulnerability is necessary? Ephesians 5:13 "But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible, for anything that becomes visible is light..." (mentioned 11 times in the Bible)

Do we trust our "weak" or "vulnerabilities" to HIM? 1 Cor 1:27, 4:10 "God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong....We are weak, but you are strong..." (mentioned 50 times in the Bible)

I realize that you might be sitting there saying "Check.check.check.Sarah, so why am I not seeing things happen in my life?" I say...IF God is who HE says HE is, then there is a deeper dread within us that we have stowed away back in a cob-webbed corner of our heart that says "..but what if HE isn't", "What IF...HE doesn't come through for me", "What IF...."

Let's lay aside every weight. Every negative "What if..." dig deeper, brush out the cob webs in those rooms of your heart, open up sunshine-warm windows to HIS love and FEEL, HIS capability....Oh how that feels soooo good.

 

     

 

 

 

Grab your bags, it's going to be a journey.

                                       The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step

I've always been fascinated with faith, even as a child. My Dad would base every discussion about God and life back to that. His matter-of-fact words made it seem simple and conclusive. A simple traveling map perhaps.

I'm going on a journey here, if you'd like to come along. I've got a traveling map and need a companion.

Have you ever gone a long journey? It takes some time, some patience. There are stops along the way where you pause and rest, where you contemplate the path. Some journeys you start out on thinking you know the way, you've been here before, it's been well traveled before you and you think it's all auto-pilot. But what if...what if you had all the time in the world and you don't mind skipping the highways, you decide to take the scenic route instead? Scenic routes offer views of a journey the highway can not give.

We're taking the scenic route...as the small-time tax collector, and one of only 12 close friends of Jesus: Matthew once said "The gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it." (Matt 7:14 NLT).... so let's find it.

First, find the correct map...

Skip (as many of you knew him by)/Dad writes, "What is faith? it's a question that has puzzled men for years. Generally we define faith as 'to believe', but then when we try to define 'believe' we say 'to have faith'. We go in circles because faith is an abstract idea, meaning it is not something we can hold or touch."

To get to the bottom of that question, let's first identify what faith IS NOT,

Skip sites:

1. NOT SIMPLY CONFIDENCE
not natural courage or ambition. These may be important and they keep people going, but they should not be confused with the gift of faith. Even those who deny Christ may possess courage and confidence. There are many things that a person can do in the natural to build one's confidence, but the gift of faith is not built up by natural means. It is a manifestation of the Spirit of God (Cor 12:7-10).

2. NOT SIMPLY HOPING SOMETHING WILL HAPPEN
The gift of faith is not simply trying to have faith. It doesn't come from gesturing, screaming, yelling, jumping, or supposing. It is not guess-work, predicting, or positive confession. Simply hoping something will happen may keep a person working towards a goal, but it is not a manifestation of the Spirit of God. A person doesn't necessarily need the Holy Spirit to hope something good will happen.

3. NOT ONE'S THEOLOGY
It is not a doctrine, a theory, a dogma, a theoretical principle, a disciplined prayer life, a conviction, a creed, or any other man-made policy. It is a supernatural manifestation of the Holy Spirit.

The right map has been found!...

"In the beginning was the WORD" (John 1:1)
"The WORD became flesh and dwelt among us" v.14
"The WORD gave life to everything that was created..." v. 4
"Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the WORD [rhema] of God." Romans 10:17 KJV

The Amplified Bible translates James 1:21 as saying the WORD of God "contains the power to save our souls." This means the WORD of God is self-fulfilling. The Greek word logos refers to the general written Word of God, while, the word rhema, which is also translated "word" in Scripture, means a word from God made alive to you personally, relating to a specific circumstance. When God speaks a WORD to us, it has the effect of giving faith. HOWEVER, Scripture is littered with examples of men and women who heard the Word of God and either did not believe it or did not obey it. When we hear from God, we must mix it with our faith. -Phil Pringle C3i founder.

FAITH IN WHAT WE DON'T SEE: Hebrew's 11:1 (The Message Bible) states "The fundamental fact of existence is that this trust in God, this faith, is the firm foundation under everything that makes life worth living. It's our handle on what we can't see..."

"So what do we have faith in? The WORD of God: That is the thing we lean upon and it holds us up. We must ACT upon His Word." - Rev. Skip Lefler

Not simply hoping something will happen...

First, Happy Birthday Dad. Certainly a day to celebrate the life of the man that saved my own. Without you, my destiny would have taken a tragic course. So on this celebration day, I'm embarking on a new journey into the world of blogging. Never did I have a desire to blog in the past, but for the last 2 years I have found a deeper desire to somehow share the truths that were given to me by this great man. When it all shakes down, this one subject stands tall amongst them all. Faith.

Faith. Dad found such depth in faith, it was his faith that measured his future. His faith assuredly now measures his reward. Faith, as we will come to find out, is not simply hoping something will happen. As I blog, I will open up the archives of Faith as written and spoken by Rev. Arthur Lefler, Jr. these are words that grace the pages of my heart and I am glad to pass them on. I endeavor to add other teachings of great Faith-Torch Bearers as well. I am only one, who continues after my father, and many others, pointing to The Way.

This blog is my human hand in making this statement a cornerstone for a greater purpose...

"For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them." Matthew 18:20

I am one. You are two. HE is here.