Destined To Win, Choosing To Fail

Posted on by davidwfelts

I’m amazed during this pandemic, quarantined time in history how many people are choosing to live in fear instead of trusting the Word of God and all of His promises. I’ve been binge watching the show Designated Survivor, (spoiler ahead) and in it the deputy director of the FBI is forced to decide between duty and family. In season 1, episode 13, after having chosen his family over duty and still losing his son, he says, “Twenty plus years on the job, and all it took was for her to show me that she had my son. And all of my training just goes out the window.” When I saw this scene I couldn’t help but think about what’s going on now with the Covid-19 hysteria.

I have watched, as I’m sure you have, all the hype and endless news reporting about how this particular strain of the flu is going to be the end of civilization as we know it. It’s crazy out there, but I’m not writing today to discuss the pros and cons of how the media and leaders have handled this crisis. I want to bring it home as I always do, into your backyard and discuss how you and I are dealing with this crazy time. After all, we are not going to be judged by what the media did, or even what our leaders did, we are going to be judged by our own actions.

Let me just put this out there for everyone to see. One of the craziest things I have noticed in the past couple of months is the reactions of Christians. As a born again believer myself, I think we should be living the way Jesus told us. I mean after all, wasn’t it Jesus who told us we would have trouble in this life (John 16:3)? If this is the case, why do so many Christians act as if they are doomed now? Why is it that many of the Christians I see are touting medical data more than the data which can really help us, the Bible?

You’ve seen them in check out lines with baskets full of toilet paper and other supposed necessities they are afraid will run out, wearing masks and latex gloves. The people with “Jesus is the Answer” bumper stickers on their cars, the ones with the Hope of humanity living in their hearts, but you couldn’t tell it because they are acting just like the rest of the world. Jesus admonished us in Romans 12:2 “Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.”

As a Christian, we should be the light of hope in this crazy time. We are the ones who have the answers, not the medical community. And don’t get me wrong I appreciate all the medical community does, but science isn’t the answer, Jesus is. I’m reminded of the woman in the Bible who is referred to as the woman with the issue of blood. I can’t wait to meet her and find out her name, I’m sure every time someone says, “The woman with the issue of blood.” she probably wants to scream, “My name is Abigail!” Okay, I digress, back to what I was saying, she went to the doctors and all she did was spend all her money, but never got better. It wasn’t until she touched the hem of Jesus’s garment that she was healed of her disease. As a Christian, when I meet someone who is freaking out about this flu, I need to be a calming agent of change for them, not someone who jumps on the bandwagon calling for the end of the world as we know it.

If we are Christians, which means followers of Christ, we should be believing God’s Word in and out of the storms of life. God’s Word works, in the good times and the bad, but if you watch some Christians, you would think it only works when times are good. This sends a mixed message to the world, who my friends do not have the answer, they need the answer. And Jesus is the answer, and we are called to bring the answer to a world in stress.

Ask yourself, why do you believe God’s Word? Is it because you’ve seen Him answer and perform His Word time and again, or are you just parroting what you’ve heard the preacher say? Remember the sons of Sceva in the Bible (Acts 19:11-20). These seven brothers tried to cast a demon out of a man saying, “In the Name of Jesus, whom Paul preaches…” and the demon responded by saying, “Paul I know, and Jesus I know, but who are you?” Then proceeded to strip those seven men and send them streaking down the road. In order to have and use any authority given to you by Jesus, you have to know Him personally.

If this time has shown us anything, it has weeded out those part time Christians who went to church because it was the thing to do, and not because of their personal relationship with Jesus. Don’t get me wrong here, I’m not blasting anyone who is struggling, this thing is real and needs to be addressed, but we’ve got to do it as true, born again Christians who bring the light of the Gospel to a hurting and scared world, not by adding to the fear by acting as if the Word of God cannot handle things.

It is time to start to act on what you believe. If you believe the Bible, then get it into your heart, quote it and share it with all of those around you. You can watch the news, but counter all the negative stuff with the positive things you find in the Bible. Oh, here’s a thought, stop just listening to your Pastor and start reading the Bible for yourself. My friend Pastor David Emigh used to say, (and I’m paraphrasing here) “It’s the amount of thought and study you put into the Word of God which will bring the amount of virtue and power in your life.”

Folks, it all comes down to this, it is up to each and every one of us to live in victory in our lives. God has done all He is going to do for us to achieve this victory, but it ultimately falls to us whether or not we have it. The work is done on God’s part, now it’s up to you. And it doesn’t happen just because you say a prayer and ask Jesus into your heart. That’s the first step, but there are thousands of more steps after that first one on the path towards victory. You can do this, just get into God’s Word, don’t wait, now is the time!

For the Kingdom and the King, shalom!

Stuff My Father Says About Healing

Posted on by davidwfelts

Let’s talk before we get into this topic today. First off, this subject is a touchy one. In the past, it has cost me friendships, made many people angry and made me reevaluate what I truly believe. Yet through all of it, I still believe what God’s Word says about healing, and I always will.

I will say right at the gitgo here, if you disagree with me, it is perfectly fine. The only thing I would ask of you, is to keep an open mind and search out these truths in the Bible for yourself. Don’t just believe something because dear Aunt Polly or your daddy said it. Study and search for yourself. And not only this, ask God to show you, His Holy Spirit is the Great Teacher standing by ready, willing and able to help you to understand everything.

I’m not a science guy, I don’t understand what makes us sick or allows diseases to run rampant in some parts of the world more than others. What I do know is faith, and if God said something in the Bible, then it is true. It may not be operating fully in my life to the degree I want it to at the moment, but it is true regardless. The law of electricity is still true, regardless of whether or not I believe it. If I grab a bare wire which is connected to a power source, even if I don’t believe it will hurt me, it will. The same is true with the things in God’s Kingdom as well. What you do and do not know will have an impact on your life.

Before we hop into the healing Scriptures, I’d be remiss if I didn’t first off talk about how we receive things in God’s Kingdom. The Scriptures are pretty cut and dry about this, let’s look at Mark 11:23-24; “Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea’, and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.”

Yeah, but Dave you don’t know my situation! Hey, save your buts for the Lord. This is Jesus talking in this passage of Scripture. It’s pretty cut and dry. Whatever you believe and say will be yours. This is how you get everything in the Kingdom of God; you believe it and say it, then it shows up. It doesn’t matter who you are either, if you believe something in your heart and say it with your mouth and do not doubt, but believe you will receive, you will eventually get the thing you are talking about.

So let’s look at what the Bible says about healing. Is it for you, or was it just for people in the Bible? Proverbs 4:20-22 says, “My child, pay attention to what I say. Listen carefully to my words. Don’t lose sight of them, let them penetrate deep into your heart, for they bring life to those who find them, and healing to their whole body.” Cool! God’s Word brings healing to your whole body! The Amplified versions says it this way, “My son, pay attention to my words and be willing to learn; open your ears to my sayings. Do not let them escape from your sight; keep them in the center of your heart. For they are life to those who find them, and healing and health to all their flesh.”

Notice the phrases, “healing to your whole body” and “health to all their flesh“. The words “whole” and “all” pretty much cover whatever ails you. Something which jumps out at me in this Scripture is where it says “for they bring life to those who find them“. I don’t know about you, but this pretty much says to me those who are walking in healing are the ones who are paying close attention to God’s Word and actually looking for them. They’ve opened their ears to the Scriptures and kept them in front of their eyes, regardless of what their five senses are trying to tell them.

This then begs the question, am I actually looking for God’s Word concerning healing? Now here’s what I think, a lot of Christians are running to the doctor in search of the easy fix; you know, a pill or shot to take to fix what ails me. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not the guy who will tell you to throw away your medicine and just believe God. We have to use a little bit of common sense too. But I will be the guy to ask you if you are running to the doctor first and seeking God second?

I’m afraid in this scientific age we live in, Christians have gotten away from actually believing in God’s ability to heal us, thinking this was needed back in the day before all the medical stuff we’ve figured out in the past 100 years. A prevalent thought is God gave us science, and they in turn have given us a plethora of medicines which tout the ability to fix all of our problems. Have you ever looked into all the side effects of the pills we have nowadays? I mean, sometimes I’d rather have the sickness than deal with all the side effects.

Let’s look at some healing Scriptures or God’s medicine:

Psalm 107:20 “He sent His Word, and healed them.”

Psalm 30:2 “O Lord my God, I cried to You for help, and You healed me.”

Psalm 103:3 “He who forgives all your iniquities, and heals all your diseases.”

1 Peter 2:24 “He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by His wounds you have been healed.”

Look at that last passage, especially the two words “have been“, this is in the past tense meaning it has already happened. When Jesus was beaten with the whip before He was nailed to the cross, each of the lashes He received purchased your healing. This means healing is yours, you just have to reach out and take it. And as we learned earlier, if we believe it in our heart, say it with our mouth and don’t doubt, then we will have what we say.

If you are not believing God for your healing, then my question must be, why? I don’t know exactly how many Scriptures there are concerning healing, but I know if there were just one it would be enough. I did come across this website which has 102 such verses. Click here to read them. What I know is as you read the Word of God, faith comes. And when faith comes, you believe. Couple that with your speaking what you believe and not doubting, and you will see the miracle of healing operate in your life.

I know it sounds almost too easy to be real, but if there is one thing I’ve learned about my Father in these past 30+ years of following Him, it’s He doesn’t make anything too difficult to do. Jesus wants the best for you, and one of these things is for you to be in health and whole. And besides, what do you have to lose by believing God? Nothing really. As Nike has said for years, “Just Do It!”

For the Kingdom and the King, shalom!

It’s Hotter Than Blue Blazes

Posted on by davidwfelts

Honestly I do not know where “Blue Blazes” is, but if it’s as hot as I’ve been the last couple of days at work, then it is not a place I ever want to visit.  As I write this, it’s June 8th and summer has arrived.  It may not be the “official” first day of summer, but the summer heat and humidity is here none the less.

With summer comes the 12 hour work days and all the fun this brings with it; sleep deprivation, staying wet with sweat, and drinking gallons of water and Gatorade a day trying to stay hydrated.  I had soaked through my shirt and had sweat running down my butt crack before 8 AM; this is joy unspeakable.

Before I started this job, I never spent any more time outdoors than I had too. Walking from my truck into work was too much outdoors for me.  Now I spend approximately 99% of my time in the elements.  It’s wonderful.  And yes, if you missed it, I’m being very sarcastic right at this moment.  Don’t get me wrong, I’m not complaining about my job, I’m very thankful for it.  I have come so far from the mild, mannered shoe salesman of years past.

Things I’ve learned about working in the heat; stay hydrated by drinking lots and lots of water, adding to it an occasional Gatorade.  I usually drink four to five large bottles of water to every Gatorade, water is the best for you after all.  I also try and stay out of direct sunlight when I can.  My job actually consists of standing on pipe and writing down, or tallying all the information on it, so I am in the sun a lot.  Not to mention the added heat of the metal under my boots radiating upwards.  But I make sure and get into the shade as often as possible.  Also, and this is really tough for me, but I try and slow down a little bit, which helps me to not expend all of my energy before the day is over.

Working out in the sun can be done, I’m fifty-two years old and do it all day every day, the real trick to it is to listen to your body.  If you start feeling rough, or in the worst case scenario you stop sweating, get to a cool area and get some water into you fast.  Don’t be a hero and think you can handle it; it’s not worth getting heat exhaustion, or worse, heat stroke jus to complete a job faster.  Believe me heat ailments will affect you for years to come.

My bride is a driven person when she works in the yard.  Once she decided she would wait and get a drink after she finished, and for three hours worked in the sun.  She ended up in bed for a few days, and now when she is outdoors she is more susceptible to feeling bad if she doesn’t stop every few minutes and drink something.  Listen it’s not worth it to push yourself too far.  If you’re going to have fun outdoors, don’t visit Blue Blazes and for heaven’s sake, stay hydrated.