Trust AND Obey » faith

The First Covenant

Dave Miller — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 02:09:25 +0000

In a recent bible study I attended, the leader said that God’s first covenant with mankind was with Abraham in which God promised that He would give Abraham innumerable descendents and set aside a land for them. This covenant is found in Genesis 15:5-18. While this is a very important covenant, and was one of the first promises that pointed toward Jesus, it was not the first covenant between God and His creation, man.

The first covenant that God made with His creation is found in Genesis 2:16-17. It is known as the Adamic Covenant. I have heard some theologians refer to it as a ‘covenant of works’ since it was based on Adam and Eve not eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. I have also heard it said that faith was not necessary for Adam and Eve because they were in the presence of God every day in the Garden of Eden. After all, why do you need faith to believe in a God that is walking and talking with you every day? While all of this may be true on the surface, there was most certainly an element of faith in this first covenant.

In Genesis 3:1, apparently while the woman was alone in the garden, the serpent (Satan) asks Eve a question, “Has God really said that you shall not eat from any tree of the garden?” Eve responds by saying “No. God has said we may eat of all the trees except one, otherwise we will die.” Satan was and is very crafty and replied with a lie, “You shall not surely die, for God knows that in the day you eat of the fruit, you will become like God.”

Here is the first test of faith in the bible. Eve is confronted with a very real dilemma – conflicting testimonies; the first lie from the father of lies. (John 8:44)
Here is this crafty serpent telling her that God has some secret reason for making the rule against eating the fruit of the tree; He wants to keep her down.
Here is the serpent telling Eve that she will not die – calling God a liar.
Here is Eve tempted to want more that what God has given her.

Pride, covetousness and selfishness (the very things that caused Satan to fall) enter into her heart and she was faced with a crisis of faith. Not faith in regard to whether God exists or not, but rather, whether or not God is trustworthy. Whether or not His word is truth.

Eve desired the control that the knowledge of good and evil would give, though it was not hers to possess. Further, when Adam saw that Eve didn’t die immediately, he may have thought he had reason to doubt God’s word. He partook in the selfish desires of his heart and ate of the fruit.

Adam and Eve may not have needed faith to believe in God, but they needed faith to believe God. The element of faith that was a part of their covenant with God (trust) was thus broken; the element of works (obedience) was also broken, and all humankind was stained with the sin of our parents.

Each of us faces the same crisis of faith every single day. No matter how long we have been Christians, the temptation is always there to covet God’s power and usurp his authority through self-reliance. In this life, none of us will ever be truly righteous (Romans 3:10), none of us will ever be without sin (1 John 1:10). We will always fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23), failing to love Him with our whole heart, soul, mind and strength (Luke 10:27). It is only by leaning completely on Him who died that we are granted the ability to become the righteousness of God (2 Cor. 5:21). Don’t trust your own wisdom or understanding. (Proverbs 3:5) Trust (have faith) only in Him (Isaiah 26:4), and Obey (work) His commandments (John 14:15).

Merry Christmas 2009

Dave Miller — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 03:43:29 +0000

To my dear readers, (both of you)

I would like to wish you and your family a very happy and memorable Christmas.

The whole reason we celebrate is to commemorate the greatest gift ever given. Christmas is the time to honor Jesus of Nazareth, God the Son, the Son of God, who was born in human flesh to live among His creation for a few decades. What he did, during what we would consider a very short life, was to teach us to love God and one another, to take our sins upon him, and to cover us with His perfect righteousness so we can once again be in full fellowship with God the Father now and forever.

If you only half-heartedly believe this, or don’t believe it at all, please think about it for a few minutes. Consider the fact that all of us will die someday and how many toys we have really doesn’t matter. Consider the fact that there is no way for anyone to live a life good enough to qualify for even a moment in the presence of a perfect, Holy God. The only way to earn a place in heaven is to live a perfect, holy life, and none of us can do that. But if you believe Jesus (not just believe IN Jesus) and turn away from your sins, God will look at your sinful life and see Jesus’ perfect life. Jesus’ work on the cross has assured all believers of this.

Everything else you may have been told that you have to do in order to gain heaven is extraneous. Repent and believe that Jesus is Lord and you are saved – by grace alone through faith alone, not by works. No other religion in the world teaches this, grace is unique to Christianity. Grace is the best kind of gift because none of us deserve it. What a wonderful gift! God loved us so much that he sent his Son to defeat death and sin, and give all believers the undeserved gift of eternal life in His presence.

May the blessings of Christmas be upon all of you.

-Dave

Matt Chandler – Man of God

Dave Miller — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 04:31:59 +0000

Matt Chandler is the Lead Pastor at The Village Church in Denton County, Texas. On Thanksgiving morning, he had a seizure and collapsed at his home. He woke up in the hospital and it was later found that he had a one inch by two inch mass in his frontal lobe on the right side of his brain. On Friday, December 4, he had surgery to remove the mass and is currently recovering in the hospital. Biopsy results will be completed this coming week.

Matt is a faithful witness for Jesus Christ and he recorded a video message just before his surgery last week. It was played at his church on Sunday the 6th. It is a remarkable witness to the power of Christ. Please take a look.

Video from Matt.

UPDATE – 9 Dec. 2009: Matt will be in the hospital for a few weeks. Please send him a card C/O The Village Church 2101 Justin Road, Flower Mound, TX 75028

Link to keep up with the latest news about Matt. Please, take the time to pray for him, his family and especially his children.

Have Faith – Go Vote

Dave Miller — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 02:40:57 +0000

[This article was originally published on November 2, 2002]

Why Vote?

I’ve been puzzling over that question for a few days so I decided to enlist the help of my family and friends in getting an answer. I asked the same two questions of each person, “Do you vote?” and “Why?” The answers didn’t vary greatly, but the reasons why did.

One of my co-workers said that he votes because it is the best way to express his political beliefs. He decides whether or not he supports someone, then votes accordingly. In his words, “If I don’t like a guy, I vote the bum out!” He makes it sound like he is the only one voting in the election. My impression is that he believes his vote really makes a difference. Almost to the point of believing that his vote is the only one that does make a difference! He is a man of great faith in more ways than I can list.

My minister initially said that he votes because it makes him feel patriotic and because it is the responsibility of every good citizen to vote. He admits, though, that the real reason is because his grandmother worked the polls for many years, and he feels he has a duty to her memory to vote in every election. She worked every Election Day, even late into her life. This was her way of teaching her entire family the importance of voting; not just by telling them, but by showing them.

My mother votes regularly as well. She draws a parallel between voting and singing in the church choir. “My voice alone may not be heard by anyone, but by blending with the other voices in the choir, I know I add strength to the sound and make a difference.” Her sister sees voting as a privilege, one that many people do not have. She goes to the polls with a thankful heart, fully cognizant of the suffragettes who had to fight for the privilege of voting.

I was very interested to learn that the word “suffrage” has an alternate meaning, “A short intercessory prayer.”

The more I understand people’s reasons for voting the more I realize that the act of voting and the act of praying are very closely related. There are, of course, differences between voting and praying. Most obviously, we don’t send our votes to an all-powerful, all-knowing benevolent Creator. (Though I’m sure there are those who have exactly that view of our government.) Also, we usually get the results of our voting in a very short time. Praying doesn’t always provide feedback so quickly.

In each case, though, the participant must have a great deal of faith. Faith in themselves to make an informed decision. Faith in their fellow man to do the same. Faith in the poll workers to do their job correctly. Faith in the board of elections to count every vote and tabulate them correctly. Faith in the chosen candidates to perform their duties honorably and uphold their oath of office. And especially, faith that our great nation will continue to be great.

Likewise, when we pray, we have faith that we are praying for something worthwhile. We have faith that God will hear our prayers. We have faith that God will answer our prayers. We have faith that God will do what is right for us regardless of what we were praying for in the first place.

Whether you vote because you feel patriotic, or you feel duty-bound, or because you are thankful for the privilege, or even just because your grandma would want you to, doesn’t really matter. If you want a certain candidate elected, or a particular issue passed, don’t just pray for it to happen. Do what you can to make it happen.

Have faith, go vote.