Recently I went on a camping trip to a local State Park. After arriving at my campsite and getting set up, I settled down to a warm fire, and got ready to toast some marshmallows. Looking up at one of the mountain ranges surrounding the park, I saw a couple of people who were hang-gliding off one of the cliffs. I thought to myself, what fun it would be to do that, and wished that I could go and join them. But what kind of person would go and do this without proper training before? No intelligent person would.

So, in reference to our scripture passage today, do you think that these verses are implying that God, our Heavenly Father, gives us whatever we ask for? The key to this passage of scripture comes in an earlier book:
Matthew 7:11 – Your Father in heaven gives what is good to those who ask Him.
God always gives what is good, not what we think is good or right for us. Just as I did not go and join the hang-gliders without seeking prior instruction first, so God does not give gifts to His children that will cause them harm. I believe that God desires that we ask in faith, believing Him, because this is the only logical thing to do. We need to trust that whatever answer God gives is the best answer, even if we don't understand it at the time.

We need to put it in His hands and then let go. Let's exercise our faith and trust God, not try second-guess Him.

Prayer: Father God, only You know what is good and not good for our lives. Today we give full control of our lives to you. May only the things that bring You glory be evident in our lives. Father, we praise Your Holy name and trust You by faith. Amen.

The other day, my VCR broke down, and one of my friends came to me and said, "If you let me take that with me, I know someone who can fix it!" My faith in this man's ability to fix it might be small, but what if my friend had said that this man has two Master's Degrees in electronic technology, and that he was one of four engineers who designed and developed my VCR? All of a sudden, my faith in his ability to fix it would increase dramatically.

You see, our faith is in direct proportion to our knowledge and understanding of the person in whom we have faith. Our faith in God is in direct proportion to our knowledge and understanding of who God is and all that He has promised to do in and through us.

As we come to a fuller understanding of how great God is and what awesome plans He has for us, our faith in His ability to provide and care for us increases. Maybe we, today, need to re-think the object of our faith. Who is our faith in? How big is our view of God? Maybe God is very small in our eyes, and we need to begin a journey in discovering who He really is!

Isaiah 40:31 – But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary; they will walk and not be faint. (NIV)

Prayer: Father God, we praise you for how great you are, and for all you have done in our lives. Thank you for how you are working in our lives now, and for the newness you are going to show us this week. Father, increase our faith to a new level, and help us to make you the object of our faith. Amen.

As we continue the daily journey of our Christian life, it's important for us to take our spiritual temperature. How hungry are we to walk with Jesus? How excited are we about where we are in our walk with God? Are we feeling frustrated, or a little depressed, about our inability to get excited about our walk with God? Maybe you feel like I did for many years. I thought that the magic formula in the Christian life was "try harder!" I used to say to myself, "If you can't get excited about your walk with Jesus, maybe you ought to just give up," or, "I blew it again, there must be something wrong with my commitment," or "I'm just not giving this thing my best shot. If I would only try harder, maybe someday God would be pleased with my walk. I'm just not cutting it."

The issue for me was that I was trying harder and harder in my own strength to produce in my life the fruit that only the Holy Spirit can produce. I had missed the beginning of today's verse, for it says, "the fruit of the Spirit is…". It is the Holy Spirit that produces these character qualities in our lives, not us.

This was a major problem in the Church of Galatia. The Galatians had accepted Jesus Christ by faith, but were now seeking to live the Christian life in their own power, not relying on the Holy Spirit by faith to make them more like Jesus. It is God, who is at work in us, giving us the desire and also the ability to do what He wants us to do. If we have been trying to produce in our lives what only the Holy Spirit can produce in us, then we need to be honest with Him. He knows exactly what we are thinking and how we feel.

If we lack enthusiasm about our walk with Him or lack even the desire to walk with Him, we can give that to Him today. Next, we can ask Him to give us a passionate desire to know Him. Remember, He has promised to be at work in us and give us the desire to know Him.

Prayer: Father, help us believe in you more fully and to depend on you to produce the fruit of the Holy Spirit in our lives, rather than relying on our own strength. Amen.

It's a neat experience in learning to walk by faith. One has to trust that the person giving directions is not going to allow you to walk into a tree or low hanging branch. This is exactly the way we are to live the Christian life.

2 Corinthians 5:6-8 – So we are always confident, even though we know that as long as we live in these bodies we are not at home with the Lord. That is why we live by believing and not by seeing. Yes, we are fully confident and we would rather be away from these bodies, for then we will be at home with the Lord. (CEV)

In many respects, life is like walking with a blindfold on. We never know what's in front of us. There may be a low-hanging branch or a rock or maybe even a cliff. None of us knows what tomorrow brings, what disappointments will come our way, or when death may be knocking at our door! But one of the greatest truths in the Bible is that God is all-knowing.

Living by faith is saying to God, "I do not know what tomorrow or even the next moment will bring, but I know You do! Which way do You want me to go?" It is like being the one with the blindfold on the trust walk. He must listen very closely to the person leading him so that he can avoid the obstacles in his path. We see once again that listening is a key to walking by faith.

Let us ask God to speak to us today in regard to any area of our lives that we need to turn over to Him. Let us listen for His guidance. Let us spend some time asking God to use each of us as a source of joy to someone today.

Prayer: Father, help us to live more by belief than sight, and to rely on You to guide us in charting the courses set before us in our daily lives. Also, help us to avoid the obstacles that will cause us to fall down. Amen.

Want to know God's will for your life? Then answer this question: "What ignites your heart?" Forgotten orphans? Untouched nations? The inner city? Lost friends at school?

Heed the fire within!

Do you have a passion to sing? — Then sing!

Are you stirred to manage? — Then manage!

Do you hurt for those that are sick? — Then treat them!

Do you hurt for the lost? — Then reach out to them!

As a young adult, I felt the call to the ministry. Unsure if I was correct in my reading of God's will for me, I sought the counsel of a minister I admired. His counsel still rings true. "Don't do it unless you have to," he said.

As I pondered his words I found my answer: I have to. If I don't, the fire will consume me. What is the fire that consumes you?

Prayer: Father God, as we today seek to find your will for our lives, help us to discern that thing which consumes us and give us the strength to carry on and not look back. Amen.

Risk taking is taking on something that causes fear and has the possibility of failure. Life holds more excitement and satisfaction when we're willing to expand our comfort zones, try new things, and dare to achieve our dreams. We say that we want to know the will of God, but when we find out what it is, we can't handle it. It sounds too scary, too difficult. We decide to look elsewhere.

People who focus on the negative circumstance, rather than on God, say, "I'm too old," "I'm not good enough," "My health is too bad," or "It will never work out." Let us in our situations refuse to focus on the negative things, and instead choose to focus on the positive things. When we ask according to His will, Christ accepts our offer to let Him show His power in us. What, today, is God prompting us to dream about, and more importantly, to put into an action plan? If there is something big that we want to do in the future, let us give it over to Jesus. Just like Peter, when we step out of our comfort zones, we need to expect things that are symbolized by the wind and the waves in different situations to be around us as a challenge. Also we need to expect surprises, just like Peter encountered after stepping out of the boat and actually walking on the water.

Most people don't take risks because they're afraid they'll fail. Problems will likely come, but the results can be different than expected, depending on one's perspective. The results envisioned from taking a risk may turn out to be something better than we dreamed. Can you think of any area in your life today that you are not putting it on the line for Jesus, because you don't know what is in store for the future? Let's be like Peter and look to Jesus to get us through to the end. The results may be something more than we ever imagined!

A story about the Atlanta soda fountain where the nerve tonic syrup was mistakenly mixed with carbonated water instead of plain water came across my desk the other day. The end result of this story is the drink now known as Coca-Cola. Asa Candler promoted the drink. Two businessmen, B. F. Thomas and J. B. Whitehead, saw that there might be a future in bottling the drink for home consumption, but Candler thought it a futile idea. So Candler sold Thomas and Whitehead the right to sell Coca-Cola by the bottle — for the grand total of one dollar. Twenty years later, in 1919, the Coca-Cola business changed hands for twenty-five million dollars! Candler gave away a multi-million dollar industry because he could not see its future. How much of what God has for us do we fail to realize because our vision is so limited? Let's be risk takers for God! Today, let's prepare ourselves to be risk takers by saying "No" to the negative and "Yes" to the positive. Let's turn our dreams into action plans today, and be ready for some challenges and surprises.

Where would Peter be had he not stepped out of the boat?

Remember the greatest risk it not to risk at all.

Prayer: O God, when I am looking to the future and don't know what is to come or where to turn, help me to lean on you for strength to forge ahead. In times of trial, help us to risk all for your glory. Lord, may we decrease as you increase in our lives and give us a vision for the future. Amen.

One aspect of world I have been able to identify as harmful to Christians is the assumption that anything worthwhile can be acquired at once. We assume that if something can be done at all, it can be done quickly and efficiently. Our attention spans have been conditioned by thirty-second commercials. Our sense of reality has been flattened by thirty-page abridgements.

Everyone is in a hurry. The people whom I lead in worship, among whom I counsel, visit, pray, preach, and teach want shortcuts…. They are impatient for results…. The Christian life cannot mature under such conditions and in such ways.

But King David knew his daily need of time alone with God and, though faced with trials and pressures that were pulling him other directions, he vowed in bulldog determination that nothing would keep him from meeting with God daily and at the beginning of his day. He vowed:

Psalm 5:3 – In the morning, O Lord, Thou wilt hear my voice; In the morning I will order my prayer to Thee and eagerly watch. (NASB)

The rewards of time alone with God are often not immediately evident, and in our impatience we run to something more visibly practical. But there is a self-deception at work here as well. The negative effects of ignoring daily time alone with God are also not immediately visible. It's not like falling off a roof where gravity immediately takes over and swiftly plunges us to the ground.

Unless we make time alone with God a priority, the other hours devoted to our busy schedule will be poorly used. We are prone to ignore times of retreat because our work, our ministry, our families, all seem so much more important. Doing seems so much more practical than praying or meditating on the Word. But the spiritual disciplines of prayer and meditation on the Word do not constitute idleness. They are rigorous disciplines that are vital to the spiritual life.

Prayer: Sovereign Lord, forgive us when we neglect the most important time in our daily lives, namely that time with you. Help us to align our priorities in the right order so that we may not experience the chaos of the world. Thank you, Lord, for today and our time alone with you. Amen.