Angus Buchan - Living a Mighty Faith: A Simple Heart and a Powerful Faith

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Living a Mighty Faith

2016 by Angus Buchan. Produced under arrangement with Three Streams Publishers, Inc., an affiliate of Christian Art Distributors CC, 359 Longview Drive, Bloomingdale, Illinois, 60108.

All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, scanning, or otherexcept for brief quotations in critical reviews or articles, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Published in Nashville, Tennessee, by Thomas Nelson. Thomas Nelson is a registered trademark of HarperCollins Christian Publishing, Inc.

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Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from THE NEW KING JAMES VERSION. 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scriptures marked NIV are taken from HOLY BIBLE: NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved.

ISBN-13: 978-0-7180-7629-0

ISBN-13: 978-0-7180-7616-0 (eBook)

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CONTENTS

BE KIND TO ONE ANOTHER, TENDERHEARTED, FORGIVING ONE ANOTHER, EVEN AS GOD IN CHRIST FORGAVE YOU.
EPHESIANS 4:32

ONE OF the most difficult things in life is to forgive a person who has purposely hurt us. But as we move into a new year, let us remember that forgiveness allows us to move on and be free. Second Corinthians 2:7 says, You ought rather to forgive and comfort [one who causes you grief], lest perhaps such a one be swallowed up with too much sorrow.

So let us embrace the freedom of forgiveness in this new year. God has forgiven us so much, and we are called to do the same for those who have hurt us. God sets the example: in 1 John 1:9 were told very clearly that if we confess our sins well be cleansed of all unrighteousness. God is more than happy to meet us where we are.

But in the Bible, we read about what unforgiveness can do. There once was a servant who owed a large amount of money to his master (Matt. 18:2135). He pleaded with his master to cancel the debt. Graciously, his master did, and the servant went out rejoicing. A little later, a man who owed the servant a small amount of money came to him begging for mercy, but the servant refused. When the master heard of this, he raged, You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me. Should you not also have had compassion on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you? The servant was condemned to repay the whole debt (vv. 3233). With consequences like these, its no wonder that forgiveness often benefits us more than the one forgiven.

PRAYER: Father, You offer unconditional forgiveness to all who humble themselves before You. Please help me to offer this same forgiveness to others, so that I too may be forgiven. Amen.

SOMEONE WILL SAY, YOU HAVE FAITH, AND I HAVE WORKS. SHOW ME YOUR FAITH WITHOUT YOUR WORKS, AND I WILL SHOW YOU MY FAITH BY MY WORKS.
JAMES 2:18

YOULL SEE it in your local bargain store: mass production and demand for more and cheap goods have left our culture with a case of quantity over quality. I dont believe this is the way the Lord means us to live. No matter what your business is or where you work, theres a big difference between just doing things and doing things well.

The same thing applies to our relationships. Our children, spouses, friends, and loved ones need our undivided attention for the relationship to flourish. When our children have serious problems to discuss or are in need of godly counsel, they need you to sit down and pay 100 percent attention to them. We need to be able to give a good amount of our undivided time to them so they can unwind and get to the point, which might be hard for them to verbalize. Quantity can be important, but quality is betterand it lasts.

I spoke to a dear friend recently about this and he said to me, It is like using the rifle as opposed to the shotgun. A rifle will hit the target, whereas a shotgun shoots all over the place, not necessarily making the impact required.

In this busy year, let us be more concerned about hitting the target than just making a general impact. Let us seek direction from the Lord early in the morning so He will direct our paths during the day. This will enable us to become more effective for the kingdom of God in our workplaces and families. If we show our faith by our works, then our works need to be the best we can give of ourselves.

PRAYER: Lord, please keep my daily efforts from becoming scattershot. I pray for the patience to have lasting, quality impact in the places Youve put me. Amen.

WE WALK BY FAITH, NOT BY SIGHT.
2 CORINTHIANS 5:7

SOME YEARS ago my eldest son, Andy, and I were growing seed maize during a drought. We had planted the maize by faith, and just enough rain had fallen for it to germinate. But then the land became drier by the day, and the maize started to shrink.

Early one morning, after his quiet time with the Lord, Andy went out to the field, dropped to his knees, and prayed that God would send rain to save the crop. By midday, big, heavy, black clouds full of rain had come up over the horizon, but they didnt come far enough. Andy could see the white sheets of rain coming down everywhere but where we needed them. Excitement became despondency, even anger.

Andy went back to the office and opened up his Bible to the place he had been reading earlier that morningEcclesiastes 11:4: He who observes the wind will not sow, and he who regards the clouds will not reap. Gods message could not have been clearer! Andy repented of having a heart of unbelief and asked God to forgive him. Then he carried on working. That night, sure enough, a gentle rain started to fall. The crop was saved.

When we do our very best and leave the rest in His hands, every drought will end with rain.

PRAYER: Dear Lord Jesus, You bless me every day, and yet I still find it difficult to fully trust You. Please help me to walk by faith, no matter the circumstances, always trusting that You will come through for me. Amen.

HE WHO HAS ENTERED HIS REST HAS HIMSELF ALSO CEASED FROM HIS WORKS AS GOD DID FROM HIS.
HEBREWS 4:10

AMID THE hustle and bustle of this life, it is critical to take time to step back and evaluate our lives. I see too many young people who are burned-out, and they havent even lived half their lives!

Considering our long work hours and nonexistent boundaries between work and home life, its easy to see why so many people become depleted. But in Mark 6:3132, Jesus said, Come aside by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while. For there were many coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat. So they departed to a deserted place in the boat by themselves. If Jesus and His disciples needed a time-out, how much more do you and I?