Faith Pleases God

Thursday, May 24, 2012 0 Comments


HEBREWS 11:6 NKJ 6 But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

Our experience does not always agree with what the Bible says.
For example, the Bible says that God will supply all your needs in Phillipians 4:19, but it may seem like your needs are not being met.

The Bible says that God always leads us in triumph, but it may seem like you are losing. When our experience does not agree with the Bible, it is an opportunity to keep our faith in what God said, or to give up on that faith.

Circumstances are subject to change. But God will never change what He has said. When we hold on to our faith in God's Word, circumstances will change.

Believing what the Bible says when the circumstances disagree can be very difficult. It's a great temptation to give in and forget what God said.

But what greater purpose could your life have than to please God?
Many people strain and sacrifice to please other humans. How much greater of a goal it is to please God!

Resist unbelief! Keep your faith in God! You will be rewarded!

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Rejoice In Trouble

Monday, May 21, 2012 0 Comments



Life can be hard.

Maybe you have been forsaken by your spouse. Or are struggling with the death of a loved one. Or facing the constant pain of disease. Or the loss of a job or business. Or, maybe just the daily grind of life.

What can you do? You always have choices. You choose how you respond. With God's help, you don't have to let the problems of life defeat you.

A prophet named Habakkuk had the attitude we all need:

HABAKKUK 3:17-18 NIV
17 Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls,

18 yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful in God my Savior.
Even if everything seems to go wrong, you can rejoice in the Lord, for He is good and His mercy endures forever!

There is no darkness so dark that Jesus cannot overcome. There is no situation that is hopeless. There is no problem too big for God to fix.

When you face trouble in life, will you whine and complain, or will you rejoice in God?

Maybe I should ask, "Would you prefer to get better or to get worse?"

As you rejoice in the Lord, you will find strength to go on and face life. God will give you strength to overcome.

We all face struggles in life. Focusing on God -- who has the solution to every problem -- is a way out of the jaws of defeat into glorious victory.

Whatever your struggle is, look to God. Rejoice in Him!
Don't let the devil steal your joy. Rejoice in the Lord!

PHILIPPIANS 4:4 NIV
4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!

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Healing Is A Process

Wednesday, May 16, 2012 0 Comments



MARK 16:17-18 NKJ
17 "And these signs will follow those who believe . . .
18 . . . they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover."

A major problem has been thinking that all healing must be instantaneous.

The truth is that healing is a process involving time. Sometimes it is speeded up, but not usually.

If you have ever cut your finger or skinned your knee, then you know how healing normally works.

God made the human body to always heal itself. Unless there is some lack of nutrition or some hindering force, the human body will always heal. And God's power can always bring healing, regardless of any lack or hindrance.

JAMES 5:15 NKJ
15 And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.

James does not say the sick will always be raised up instantly. Just that they will be raised. "They will recover."

All healing is a process that happens through time as you continually improve in health. With God, healing can sometimes be so speeded up that to us it seems almost instant, but this is not the normal way God’s healing works.

Jesus taught us that God’s kingdom works like a seed planted in the ground which grows and produces over time (Matthew 13:31).

The important thing, and what God’s Word promises, is the end result, not how long it takes.

Many people who have not understood that healing from God is a process involving time, have given up their faith when they did not have an instant miracle recovery.

Don’t let the devil steal from you, through this wrong thinking, what Jesus paid for you to have!

The Bible tells us that healing is ours, because Jesus paid for it (1 Peter 2:24). But the Bible never says we will all receive healing instantly. Sometimes it can be very quick — and we know it is a miracle. Other times it can take awhile, but no matter how long it takes, we have the promise of God that healing is ours, giving us divine assurance that we will be healthy and whole!

All the healings of Jesus during His ministry on earth were not instantaneous, either. Mark 8:22-25 is an account of Jesus ministering to a blind man. After Jesus laid hands on the blind man he could "see men like trees, walking." In other words, he could see, but not very well. Only when Jesus laid hands on him again did his sight become clear. Although a long period of time was not involved, it does show a healing that was a process — not instantaneous.

MARK 8:25 NKJ
25 Then He put His hands on his eyes again and made him look up. And he was restored and saw everyone clearly.

Luke 17:12-19 tells of ten lepers who were healed "as they went." Healing was not manifest while they were in Jesus’ presence, but only after they left Him.

LUKE 17:14 NKJ
14 So when He saw them, He said to them, "Go, show yourselves to the priests." And so it was that as they went, they were cleansed.

John 9:6-7 tells of another healing involving some time. And John 4:52 mentions a time "when he began to get better" indicating a process of recovery.

JOHN 4:52 ESV
52 So he asked them the hour when he began to get better, and they said to him, "Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him."

So never accept that healing is not God's will just because it does not happen instantaneously.

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Who Can Be Against Us?

Sunday, May 13, 2012 0 Comments

Image source: lovethispic.com


ROMANS 8:31 NKJ
31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?

We all face opposition. No one likes it. But opposition is a fact of life on earth.

But here's a more important fact: with God for us, opposition doesn't really matter.

With God on our side, what does it matter who opposes us? The worst anyone can do is kill us -- which would be doing us a favor. (Being a martyr for Christ and going to be with Him in Heaven is not bad!)

And never forget: God IS for you!

PSALM 56:9 KJV
9 When I cry unto thee, then shall mine enemies turn back: this I know; for God is for me.

PSALM 118:6-7 LB
6 He is for me! How can I be afraid? What can mere man do to me? 7 The Lord is on my side; he will help me. Let those who hate me beware.

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Faith Is The Victory

Monday, May 07, 2012 , 0 Comments



1 JOHN 5:4 NKJ
4 For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world -- our faith.

We all love to win.

Victory is sweet. One reason it's so sweet is that it's usually not easy. Victory takes effort -- often great effort.

Effort is also required in the spiritual battle of good against evil we are all engaged in. But the effort required of us is to maintain our attitude of faith in God and His Word.



We cannot overcome the strategies of the devil by our willpower, or by our own strength. We must use the spiritual weapons God has provided for us.

As a child of God -- you are a winner! The victory is already yours through what Jesus Christ did on your behalf. Don't let the enemy steal the victory away from you.

Your enemy comes to steal your faith. Don't let it happen.

SAY THIS: I overcome and walk in victory by my faith in God.

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Faith and Patience

Friday, May 04, 2012 , 0 Comments



HEBREWS 6:12 NKJ
12 that you do not become sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises
.
Patience is not just putting up with things.
Patience means to continue, to persevere, to stay steady, to maintain your course, to not grow weary in doing good and quit.

Patience is a fruit of the spirit, so to walk in Bible patience you must keep your spiritual life strong, by feeding on the Word and fellowshiping with God.

We receive from God by faith, but our faith has to be undergirded by patience to possess and enjoy His promises.

It's normal for there to be a time of waiting and testing when we believe the promises of God. But hang on to your faith and it will see you through.

JAMES 5:10-11 NIV
10 Brothers, as an example of patience in the face of suffering, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. 11 As you know, we consider blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job's perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy.

God's Word will come to pass in your life. Don't quit believing.
Hang in there!

SAY THIS: I will imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises of God.

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Accept God's Acceptance

Wednesday, May 02, 2012 , 0 Comments

God accepts you, because of what Jesus did as your substitute, and because He loves you.

EPHESIANS 1:6 NKJ
6 to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He has made us accepted in the Beloved.

All barriers between you and God were broken down by Jesus Christ. God forgave you, and offers cleansing from all the sin you ever committed.

2 CORINTHIANS 5:18-21 NLT
18 All this newness of life is from God, who brought us back to himself through what Christ did. And God has given us the task of reconciling people to him.

19 For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people's sins against them. This is the wonderful message he has given us to tell others.

20 We are Christ's ambassadors, and God is using us to speak to you. We urge you, as though Christ himself were here pleading with you, "Be reconciled to God!"

21 For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ. God's intention is to have a family -- a loving family. He wants you to be a part of it.

ROMANS 15:7 NCV
7 Christ accepted you, so you should accept each other, which will bring glory to God.

SAY THIS: I accept that God has forgiven me and accepted me into His family.

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