The Greatest Faith

By Terry Schlabach

Spiritual principles for Christians based off the Bible stories scriptures, to help navigate through this life safety as we’re on the road to heaven.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Mar 22, 2022
• ISBN: 9781664260108

Terry Schlabach

Terry has a unique way of explaining Bible stories and how they can be used to help us as Christians today.

Book preview

Who’s Rich?

And he said to them, Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions. And he told them a parable, saying, The land of a rich man produced plentifully, and he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, ‘Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.’ But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God."

—Luke 12:15-21

Why did Jesus consider this man a fool? Here are a few reasons…

• He was selfish: His first thought was of self-preservation, rather than generosity. He would build large barns to store the grain, holding onto it until the prices were high enough to justify selling. Sharing was not even a consideration. "Whoever multiplies his wealth by interest and profit

gathers it for him who is generous to the poor" (Proverbs 28:8).

• He was unthankful: Never showing gratitude to the one who provided the seeds, the ground, and the rain enabling this great harvest. Oh give thanks to the LORD; call upon his name; make known his deeds among the peoples! (Psalm 105:1).

• He lived to please the flesh rather than God: (Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.) For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace (Romans 8:6).

• He trusted in worldly security: All the money in the world could not save him from death. Whoever trusts in his riches will fall, but the righteous will flourish like a green leaf (Proverbs 11:28).

• He was not rich towards God: Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also (Matthew 6:19-21).

There is that maketh himself rich, yet hath nothing: there is that maketh himself poor, yet hath great riches.

—Proverbs 3:7 (KJV)

Untouched

When you walk through fire you shall not be burned,

and the flame shall not consume you.

—Isaiah 43:2

In the literal sense, there is no greater example of this divine protection than what can be found in the Book of Daniel when God saved the Jewish boys from Nebuchadnezzar’s fiery furnace.

Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the door of the burning fiery furnace; he declared, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out, and come here! Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came out from the fire. And the satraps, the prefects, the governors, and the king’s counselors gathered together and saw that the fire had not had any power over the bodies of those men. The hair of their heads was not singed, their cloaks were not harmed, and no smell of fire had come upon them. (Daniel 3:26-27).

In an impossible situation Jesus delivered them.

Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God (Daniel 3:25 KJV).

Today, Christians face their own fires. Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you (1 Peter 4:12).

How do we know the flames are not touching us?

• We continue to reject fear: To bow down to the king’s golden idol was to bow down to fear. This, the Jewish boys refused to do, and so must we. For we are not driven by self-preservation but rather, our love for God. There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love (1 John 4:18).

• We continue keeping our eyes on Jesus: Some are so concerned of the danger they take their eyes off of the Lord. So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink (Matthew 14:29-30). We know the trouble is out of our control, but focusing on Jesus, and his promises of protection, is within our means. "So we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are unseen; for the things which are visible are temporal [just brief and fleeting], but the things which are invisible are everlasting and imperishable" (2 Timothy 4:18 AB).

• We continue to find strength in his presence: "I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God (Daniel 3:25). In the fiery trials we know Jesus is always by our side, and if fear attempts to enter our hearts and minds, we employ spiritual weaponry; prayer and Bible study, enabling the Holy Spirit to drive those ungodly emotions right out. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go" (Joshua 1:9).

And by standing strong during adversity, we will win others to Christ, as did the Jewish boys…

Then Nebuchadnezzar spake, and said, Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who hath sent his angel, and delivered his servants that trusted in him, and have changed the king’s word, and yielded their bodies, that they might not serve nor worship any god, except their own God.

—Daniel 3:28 (KJV)

Peaceful Life

I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace.

In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart;

I have overcome the world.

—John 16:33

In looking up the definition of peace, most sources defined it along the lines of, mutual harmony between people or groups, especially in personal relations.

There certainly is a lack of peace in America today. Division is being perpetuated by a deceptive media and corrupt politicians. My personal opinion: they are doing this to keep the people busy and divided so they will not focus on the real problem — the deceptive media and corrupt politicians.

In the Old Testament, the nation of Israel followed the example of their leaders. Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters: they have forsaken the LORD, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward (Isaiah 1:4 KJV). God, speaking through his prophet, Isaiah, placed much of the blame on the leaders. Thy princes are rebellious, and companions of thieves: every one loveth gifts, and followeth after rewards (Isaiah 1:23 KJV).

Human leaders, without the leading of God, always seem to follow a similar pattern; pride, greed, power lust. The whole head is sick (Isaiah 1:5 KJV).

And this results in what we have today; chaos, division, fear, instability, and a complete lack of peace. Our country is desolate, your cities are burned with fire: your land, strangers devour it in your presence, and it is desolate, as overthrown by strangers (Isaiah 1: 7 KJV).

A people, starting with its leaders, that rejects God, rejects peace. For, peace must first begin in the heart. This takes place the moment the lost soul cries out to Jesus for forgiveness. Sin is the enemy of peace and must be removed. For sin separates the creation (you and I) from our Creator. A right relationship with Jesus is the only way to bring about inner peace. Jesus said, In me, you may have peace (John 16:33).

This country will not get better. Evil will grow as Satan knows his time is running out (Revelation 12:12). Don’t expect corrupt leaders to bring about peace, for the spirit that rules them is only about killing, stealing and destruction (John 10:10).

But we can have inner peace despite the mayhem taking place all around. It starts when Jesus enters through the door of the heart.

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.

—John 14:27

The River Jordan—New Beginnings

The River Jordan is found in a valley of Israel. God chose this body of water to be significant in the history of the Jews, his chosen people. Many times, it was the scene of a new beginning. Here are a few examples.

• Then Joshua said to the people, Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the LORD will do wonders among you (Joshua 3:5).

After 40 years of testing the Israelites in the wilderness, God determined the time to enter the promised land (Israel) had finally arrived. Yet as soon as the priests who carried the ark reached the Jordan and their feet touched the water’s edge, the water from upstream stopped flowing. It piled up in a heap… all Israel passed by until the whole nation had completed the crossing on dry ground (Joshua 3:16, 17 NIV). The first of many miracles God would perform for his people as they entered the land God had promised them upon their deliverance from Egypt.

• And Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, ‘Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored, and you shall be clean’ (2 Kings 5:10).

Naaman was a commander in the Syrian army who had leprosy, a most dreaded and hopeless disease. So he went down and dipped himself seven times in the Jordan, according to the word of the man of God, and his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean (2 Kings 5:16). Though an enemy of the Jews, God still showed mercy and healed him, enabling Naaman to begin a new life of health and gratitude to the God of Israel. For from now on your servant will not offer burnt offering or sacrifice to any god but the LORD (2 Kings 5:17).

• And they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins (Matthew 3:6).

At this time God had been silent in Israel for 400 years, but his last words in the final book of the Old Testament gave this promise, Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the LORD comes. And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with a decree of utter destruction (Malachi 4:5). In a figurative sense John fulfilled this promise as he prepared the Jewish people for Jesus, the promised Messiah who John preceded. Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near (Matthew 3:3 NIV).

As John baptized Jesus the Father and Holy Spirit confirmed the Lord, the Son, to be the hope for all mankind. As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, ‘This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased’ (Matthew 3:16 NIV).

The Jordan River was the scene of the greatest of all new beginnings, as the era of the Gospel (good news) had begun.

Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.

—Isaiah 43:18-19

Are You Amazed?

Immediately he made the disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, but the boat by this time was a long way from the land, beaten by the waves, for the wind was against them. And in the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea. But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, It is a ghost! and they cried out in fear. But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.

And Peter answered him, Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water. He said, Come. So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, Lord, save me. Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, O you of little faith, why did you doubt? And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, Truly you are the Son of God.

—Matthew 14:22-33

Perhaps the most well-known miracle Jesus performed; walking on the water. The 2nd miracle in this story; Peter walking on the water. Of course, it didn’t end well for the disciple, as he took his eyes off of Jesus and sank. As he was walking towards Jesus, Satan most certainly tried to scare Peter with the thought of drowning.

But Peter was so busy doing the impossible he should have been too amazed to bother with the devil.

Today, we Christians have our own waves to deal with. Hardships of all kinds are our lot. "Many are the afflictions (troubles) of the righteous, but the scripture goes on to say, The LORD delivers him out of them all (Psalm 34:19). And, because we know the Lord will still the waves in due time, we focus on Jesus, and refuse to succumb to fear, even in the midst of the greatest storms we face, for we know, God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind" (2 Timothy 1:7). Because Jesus lives in us, we can continue, during adversity, to be strong, compassionate, and have a mind free from worry, still caring for others rather than bowing to self-pity and ominous thoughts.

All made possible because we have the faith to focus on Jesus and his promises found in the Bible… And that is amazing!

But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies.

—2 Corinthians 4:7-10

The Significance of the Well

And the LORD will guide you continually and satisfy your desire in scorched places and make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail.

—Isaiah 58:11

There is a moment in time when a person takes their first step on the path God has prepared for them. This does not occur randomly or by coincidence, but rather, by the plan of God coming to fruition. Divine providence. Some of the Old Testament patriarchs found their destiny at a well. God caused this to happen for a reason. Here are a few examples.

• Isaac: "Behold, I am standing by the spring of water, and the daughters of the men of the city are coming out to draw water. Let the young woman to whom I shall say, ‘Please let down your jar that I may drink,’ and who shall say, ‘Drink, and I