Deliverance Through the Faith of Others?

"Then they came, bringing to Him a paralyzed man, who was being carried by four men.  When they were unable to get to Him because of the crowd, they removed the roof above Jesus; and when they had dug out an opening, they let down the mat on which the paralyzed man was lying.  When Jesus saw their [active] faith [springing from confidence in Him], He said to the paralyzed man, "Son, your sins are forgiven."
Mark 2:4 (Amp)

We need to pray with active faith for deliverance for our brethren:
Deliverance from spiritual bondage,
disease,
wasting fear,
servants of the evil one,
physical disorders and the mental disorders that they cause.

When Jesus saw the active faith of the four men springing from confidence in Him, He delivered the paralyzed man.

Pray with confidence for your brethren AND your friends who are not born again.

Integrity Defined

Occasionally you might hear something like this; "The Lord is holding up His end of the deal, how about you?"  Instead of feeling undue pressure and misplaced shame, the confident reply could be, "I am walking in my integrity."

Bold, isn't it?  Maybe not what the person asking the question is looking for in an answer.

What is integrity?  Unless we are having a proud moment, the first thought might be that we don't have much - if any - integrity.  That could be true if we are using the world's definition or even the definition that our brethren might hold over our heads.

The Final Authority defines it this way, (more clearly, I believe, when read in the Amplified Version):
"Vindicate me, O Lord, for I have walked in my integrity; 

I have [expectantly] trusted in, leaned on, and relied on the Lord without wavering and I shall not slide."

Psalm 26:1

Sure, "holding up our end" is not always easy. We make it harder because we might value self imposed busyness or buy into the pressure of living up to the misguided expectations of others. Those two influences pressure us to take our integrity into our own hands.

Trust Him and don't waver.  That's His expectation.  That is integrity.

As always, His way with us is simplicity and freedom.

Choices

"Who is the man who reverently fears and worships the Lord?  Him shall He teach in the way that he should choose."
Psalm 25:12 Amp.

This verse shows liberty regarding our choices, as ones who love God.  It also shows that the Lord will teach us in that way that we choose.

So many project negativity on God in that He will most likely have to painfully redirect us from our choices when most often He very positively uses those decisions that we make to gently teach us and reveal even more of His careful love and awesome glory.

I've seen a boy and girl choose each other at a young age.  Despite substantial condemnation of their choice the Lord taught them in that way that they chose.  The two of them are now beautifully one and the Lord's love, power and glory have been generously displayed.

Have confidence in Him, knowing that the way you chose is an opportunity for Him to teach His everlasting ways.  Freedom to choose is a gift and an open opportunity.

Why?  Because He is enough.

A Thankful Heart

It occurred to me that our thankfulness to God is an expression of our seeing of the unseen.

He faithfully takes us by the right hand and leads us through the impossibilities.  He reveals His delivering power over the obstacles that are impossible for us to overcome.  We see this activity and our confidence is boosted, doubt flows away and our hearts react with thankfulness.

So take courage.  Your thankfulness is a deep expression of faith in Him.  It is worship and it is an expression to others of His glory.  You are part of His kingdom of priests as you tell of your thankfulness to others.