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Monthly Archives: April 2016

What’s in Your Heart?

06 Apr

heart CrossI’m posting about the tests that we face as believers. We were looking at Abraham as our example. The Old Testament actually says that God tested Abraham.

These are tests that are designed by God show how far we’ve progressed in our faith. All of God’s people have to experience these from time to time. How does this testing process work?

We were looking at the account given in Hebrews 11.

By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had received the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, even though God had said to him, “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.”
Hebrews 11:17-18

In any testing, it all starts with God’s Word to us. This verse literally says that the direction was; it is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.

God promised Abraham uncountable seed in his future. When Isaac was born, God made it clear that the promise would be fulfilled through Isaac. That’s what this kind of testing is all about.

Remember how the LORD your God led you all the way in the desert these forty years, to humble you and to test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands.
Deuteronomy 8:2

This verse says that God wanted to know by seeing what was in your heart. In other words, the test was to get what was in your heart to manifest in your actions. In that way we’ll see our heart the way God sees it.

The big question that the test wants answered is; will you obey? We are tested concerning God’s will.

The enemy, on the other hand, will tempt us to test God. Remember Jesus being tested in the wilderness. The enemy tried to get Him to turn stones into bread in order to test God. Jesus responded with God’s Word – “It is written…”

Unfortunately, Israel didn’t get this truth as they were going through their testing.

They willfully put God to the test by demanding the food they craved.
Psalm 78:18

It’s interesting that in most cases – Abraham, Israel, and the Lord Jesus – much of the testing took place in the wilderness. How do we handle our wilderness experiences?

We may not go through a physical desert, but we go through problem times that challenge our faith. That’s the kind of testing that brings out what’s in our hearts. What you’ve been putting in will begin to manifest in your walk.

I’m going to get into this a little deeper in my next post.

Question: What did you learn about your heart during your last spiritual test?

© Nick Zaccardi 2016

 
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Posted by on April 6, 2016 in Faith, Power of God, Spiritual Walk

 

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The Test and the Offering

04 Apr

ClimberHave you ever noticed that sometimes faith seems to take you in the wrong direction? We have to accept things that look, in the natural, like we’re headed away from what God has promised us. This was illustrated in the life of Abraham.

By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had received the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, even though God had said to him, “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.” Abraham reasoned that God could raise the dead, and figuratively speaking, he did receive Isaac back from death.
Hebrews 11:17-19

As we walk with God, we must first of all trust Him. As we do this, we see Him at work in our lives. We begin to receive blessings from His hand. Our lives start to change for the better.

It starts out small at first, but the more you put your faith in the Lord, the more grace you experience in your walk. So in this post, I’m talking about those who have received from God.

Now that you have begun to see God’s power at work in your life, you would think that things start to become easier. You would be wrong.

Abraham trusted God for many years in order to receive his son, Isaac. It required him to go through a lot of hardship and even some mistakes along the way. But God was faithful, and Abraham received the child of promise.

Then something totally unexpected happened. Just like us, Abraham’s faith needed to be tested. We’ve probably all heard the story of Abraham offering up his son Isaac on the altar. But do we understand how deep this test really was?

The Bible puts it very simply. By faith Abraham…when tested…offered. This is a powerful truth that every believer needs to understand. It wasn’t just for Abraham. When we’re tested, there’s something we need to offer.

When you begin to receive God’s promises, there’s a spiritual line that you cross. Like it or not, you enter a new level of testing. Unfortunately, many Christians don’t understand what testing is all about.

In the New Testament, the Greek word translated as test is that same word translated as tempt in other sections. The translators use either test or tempt based upon the context in which it’s used.

For instance, Satan tempts in order to entice us to do evil. God, on the other hand, tests us in order to bring us to a new level of walk with Him.

When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone…
James 1:13

Scripture is clear; God never uses evil in His testing process. God tests us by a call to a new level of obedience. Usually it’s something that we’ve never done before. It often brings us outside of our comfort zone.

In order to pass this test, we must offer something He gave us. So God doesn’t start testing you in this way, until you are receiving from Him. I want to take a couple of posts to talk about this testing process. It’s important for every believer to understand this in order to progress to their God given destiny.

Question: What’s the greatest test that you have faced in your Christian walk so far?

© Nick Zaccardi 2016

 
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Posted by on April 4, 2016 in Faith, Power of God, Revival, Spiritual Walk

 

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Remember the Sacred Mountain

01 Apr

MountainThe apostles Peter, James and John had a special relationship with Jesus. Because of this, they saw and heard things that the other disciples missed out on.

One time in particular they went up on a mountainside with the Lord. They witnesses some amazing events that day. They saw Christ take on the glory He had in Heaven.

There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light. Just then there appeared before them Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus.
Matthew 17:2-3

That must have been an unforgettable experience for them. They had a new revelation of who Jesus was. This was a mountaintop that would forever change their lives.

Many years later, after the resurrection and ascension of the Lord, Peter still recalls that day. He recounts what happened in one of his letters to the church.

For he received honor and glory from God the Father when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, saying, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with him on the sacred mountain.
2 Peter 1:17-18

Here Peter is remembering back to the time when he and the two other apostles received a special revelation up on a mountaintop. Jesus was transfigured before their very eyes. He became robed in the majesty that was His before the foundations of the world. Peter calls that place the sacred mountain.

The fact is, we all have these places of special significance in our spiritual walk. These times with the Lord shouldn’t be lost in the past. They need to be remembered and brought with us into our destiny.

Where are your sacred mountains? Where are those special places where God’s Word to you changed your life?

Of course, because I like to hike, some of my most significant times with God actually occurred on mountains. I remember powerful times with the Lord on Mt. Major in New Hampshire, Stratton Mt. in Vermont, and Easter Mt. in Connecticut.

The problem I have is that my memory is so short. It’s easy for me to forget these deep encounters with God. Unless I record them, I will eventually lose the impact of my meetings with Him. I need to take the time to record these life-changing moments in my journal.

That’s why it’s so important for you to make note of these awesome events in some kind of journal. You can use paper and pen or one of your electronic devices. It doesn’t matter, as long as you keep a record of your important meetings with the Lord.

We must find a way to remember these special times. Make sure you keep a journal and record your encounters with the Lord. Years later you’ll be grateful that you did.

Question: What was one of your most memorable moments in the Lord’s presence?

© Nick Zaccardi 2016

 
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Posted by on April 1, 2016 in Prayer, Spiritual Walk, Worship

 

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