LET'S TALK ABOUT "KEEPING THE FAITH"- Even Better, Let's make it STRONGER

SSGood Afternoon to All!

Bible Reading for July 6, 2019

For who has known the mind of the Lord,or who has been his counselor? Or who has first given to God, that God needs to repay him? For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever! Amen.

Romans 11:34-36

Christian Faith isn’t a one-time decision and you’re good to go. It’s not as simple as “I believe in Jesus Christ as the son of God and as my Savior” and you’re set for life. Faith is an ever-evolving state of mind. That’s why it is called one’s “walk with God.” Faith is a lifelong journey in which we can stray from the path without even realizing it. Yet, faith is our most important connection to God.

Hebrews 11:6

In this article, we’ll outline four steps for keeping your faith strong and moving forward.

Faith is like fitness

Anyone who’s ever exercised to get in shape knows it’s an ongoing and constant process. The minute you stop exercising, everything you’ve gained regresses. The same thing can happen with your faith. Just like a muscle stays strong with exercise, but shrinks when not used. Faith also needs to be continually exercised to retain its strength.

We can get apathetic about our faith. It’s easy to get caught up in the world and its concerns and put

less focus on Scripture and Christ. Because we’ve done work in the past, we tend to think we’re covered, and we take our walk with the Lord for granted.

“So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.”“And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believehim.”

In this article, we’ll outline four steps for keeping your faith strong and moving forward.

Faith is like fitness

Anyone who’s ever exercised to get in shape knows it’s an ongoing and constant process. The minute you stop exercising, everything you’ve gained regresses. The same thing can happen with your faith. Just like a muscle stays strong with exercise, but shrinks when not used. Faith also needs to be continually exercised to retain its strength.

We can get apathetic about our faith. It’s easy to get caught up in the world and its concerns and put less focus on Scripture and Christ. Because we’ve done work in the past, we tend to think we’re covered, and we take our walk with the Lord for granted.

“So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.”

– Romans 10:17

4 steps for keeping your faith strong and progressing

Just as there are basics to fitness like aerobic exercise (walking, jogging, writing) and strengthening

exercises (lifting weights, resistance bands) – there are basics for keeping your faith in shape.

Here are the four most important things necessary to keeping your faith strengthened…

1. Reading the Bible

“All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,”

– 2 Timothy 3:16

Make time for reading the Bible every day. If you can only get 5 minutes, do that. If you can only get 10 minutes, do that. The point is – do something, whatever it is you can. Any progress in keeping yourself in the word is better than no progress.

. Pray

“Pray without ceasing,”

– 1 Thessalonians 5:17

The best way to walk with God and have a connection with him is to pray. Ask God to help you increase your faith. Pray for understanding and wisdom. Pray for discernment. Pray for others.

3. Attend church

“And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.”

– Hebrews 10:24-25

Attending church not only gives you instruction in God’s word from someone who has been trained in it, but it also gives you fellowship with other Christians. Keeping company with other Christians helps support our faith by being with like-minded people.

4. Share your faith with others

“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,”

– Matthew 28:19

Not only is it Christ’s commission that we spread the gospel, but the act of sharing the good news with others forces us to demonstrate and reaffirm our faith. To encourage others to embrace the gospel literally requires us put our faith in use, which only serves to strengthen it.

I'm not a Preacher, Pastor or Bible Scholar, but I am in true belief that it is my Obligation as a Child of God and Christian to spread His Word, and help those who are unsure to understand and know what to do and where to look to come to Christ.  He is our only hope is this world today, no matter what others would have you believe.  He says in His own words that no one shall enter the Kingdom of Heaven but by Him.  His is the ONLY NAME under heaven by which we can be saved.

I once told someone who was adament about not being serious about living for God and believing in Him, that it is better to be SAFE THAN SORRY. I would much rather live the way He wants me to and take a chance of being in Heaven for eternity, than take a chance, Not live according to His Word and end up in Hades.  For an unbeliever, as I said wouldn't it be prudent and better to be "safe than sorry"?

Please, Take time to  ponder this post, maybe even apply what it says and see if your life doesn't get better?  I have NO DOUBT that you will see changes in your life for the better.

AMAY GOD BLESS!  Have a WONDERFUL DAY!

"GOD HAS BEEN THERE, DONE THAT"

Good Evening to All!

“He moves mountains without their knowing it and overturns them in his anger. (8) He alone stretches out the heavens and treads on the waves of the sea. (9) He is the Maker of the Bear and Orion, the Pleiades and the constellations of the south. (10) He performs wonders that cannot be fathomed, miracles that cannot be counted.” (Job 9:5, 8-10)

I have never understood why it seems to be that we humans make something that is so easy, so difficult. Why is it that so many of us believe in birthday wishes, wishing on a star for something we want or need, and throwing salt over our shoulders for “good luck”. We do this, yet we have a hard time understanding that all we have to do is trust in God and He can make things happen. We believe in all of the nonsense just mentioned, yet just because we cannot reach out and physically touch God, we put our own limitations on Him. 

What we are doing when we do this is setting ourselves up to fail, or at least take the most difficult route to accomplish things. We tend to reduce God and put Him in a little box telling ourselves He can’t help me, it’s impossible. No one can. We forget when we are in the midst of our dilemma that God takes the IMPOSSIBLE and makes it POSSIBLE, but ONLY if we allow Him to do so.  I have to remind us that when we allow Him to handle our problems, our needs and our situations, it is called FAITH that we show in Him.  The more faith we show, the more we will gain, and that is truly when we can say we have an intimate relationship with our God. 

¹As our human nature cries out to control what we don’t understand,
this feat becomes impossible. For the God who has created all that we see, hear, touch taste and smell has been there and done that.
²When we accept this, our own importance seems diminished.

Your hands shaped me and made me. Will you now turn and destroy me? (9) Remember that you molded me like clay. will you now turn me to dust again? (12) You gave me life and showed me kindness, and in your providence watched over my spirit.” (Job 10:8-9, 12)

We so need to step back, humble ourselves and realize that we are “just” humans. We were created by the SAME GOD that wants us to come to His throne and ask for help. Just as a child would ask their parents we are to ask Him. 

I remember thinking when I was small that my mom was the smartest woman in the world and could do anything and make EVERYTHING better no matter what it was. Unfortunately, I found out she was human and didn’t have supernatural powers so sometimes she couldn’t make my hurt go away, she couldn’t heal me and make my chicken pox go away, all she could do was what was humanly possible and throw some love in with it.

God, on the other hand DOES have supernatural powers. He can do ANYTHING, therefore we should count ourselves silly, maybe even ignorant if we do not ask for His help. Let me clarify. I’m using the term ignorant in the sense of “unknowing”, not as a derogatory remark. I’m saying this in a way preaching to myself, because I HAVE SEEN THE POWER OF GOD.

I have seen Him heal, I have seen unexplainable finances show up from places they shouldn’t. I have seen changes in people who I never thought could change. GOD WORKS MIRACLES, and I have seen them first hand, yet I still put my l little limitations on Him. “He does it for other people but my problems too difficult.” How dumb does that sound? Pretty dumb. Well, it’s time to get off my soap box for now. I used a devotional book that I inherited from my best friend who past away as my inspiration, It’s title is

(1-2) “Daily Wisdom for Women” by Carol Fitzpatrick.

Good Night to All and May God Bless!

OUR COMFORT ZONE

Good Evening To All!
 
 I was just reading one of my friend’s post, and she inspired me so much that I had to post a “spin-off” of her idea. She was talking about how leaving our comfort zone can be so scary, but so helpful to us. The Redhead Riter made quite a few good points as she always does in her wonderfully thought-out posts.

For example, she listed some of the disadvantages of doing this such as risk, uncertainty, and danger, and gamble just to name a few. The advantages she spoke of were that as you do it, change becomes easier, increased creativity, talents and skills are honed, and you get to know yourself. Now let me remind you these are just a few of the things she talked about. She spoke about boundaries and peer pressure as well.

This is why I included her link. I think it is an awesome post, and between her post and this one, we should understand the meaning of and the “want to” or courage to step out of our comfort zones in SO MANY ways.

Now here is my spin on Red’s post. Mine is from a spiritual point of view. As in our everyday life, to grow we HAVE TO step out of our comfort zones and the safety of our little world. When we live for God and worship Him we need to do the same thing.

We need to remember WHO is the
important One here. If we will step out of our comfort zone and let Him guide us, our faith will get stronger. The stronger our faith gets, the further out of our comfort zone we will venture.

In our comfort zones we limit
ourselves, as well as God’s ability to help us to grow.

In our natural life, stepping out means risk, uncertainty, taking a gamble and all of the things she mentioned, but as long as we are stepping out of it knowing that God has our back (If we pray and ask Him to), whatever happens will be for the better of us. If we show faith in God when we are inching our way out of our little box called a comfort zone rather than thinking we can do it on our own, we will have success. If we will step out of our comfort zone not only by acknowledging Him helping us, but also in our worship, God will show His presence in our lives more.

When I speak of worship, I speak of really focusing on God. Yes, according to the Bible, it says to praise Him with cymbals, song, dancing before the Lord, shouting and so on, but that is only part of it. Praise comes about BECAUSE of worship. Worship comes from our heart. In other words, we shouldn’t sit in church like a “bump on a log, thinking about our bills, lunch or other “carnal things”, focus COMPLETELY on our Savior and remember the length He went to, so that we won’t have to spend an eternity in a fiery pit.

For many people, THIS would be stepping out of their comfort zone, because even though they have heard the “stories” about Christ dying for us or the stories about all of the miraculous things He did such as healing or feeding so many with so little, even something as small as making sure the guests at the wedding had wine to drink rather than water, they look at them as “stories” rather than “He did these things for them, so imagine what He can do for me!

This takes getting out of our comfort zones because we have the mindset of “what if”. If we show faith in what God can do, this means we have to relinquish control of our lives to Him. We consider that taking a risk. What happens if we do this and it doesn’t go the way we think it should? What if our friends think we are nutty as a fruitcake because we pray and ask God to direct our paths before we decide on whether to change jobs, or move, have a child, or even something as insignificant is making a big purchase?

Our human ways tell us to stay in control. At least that way if we fail, we have no one to blame but ourselves. The thing is, if we step out of our comfort zones and let God have His way in our lives, let Him make the decisions for us, we will be MUCH BETTER OFF. We would not fail. The decision made would not be the wrong one. We need to remember that God sees the beginning FROM THE END. This means He sees what will happen in our lives in any circumstance, so if we let Him make the decision, then even if WE don’t see it right then, and it doesn’t turn out like we wanted, it will be the right thing for us down the road.

 
Everything Red mentioned is so true, but if we step out of our comfort zone for God as well as for our natural self, we will be even better off. We will have grown to a level that is so much greater than if we depend upon ourselves alone.
 
I challenge everyone who reads this post to step out of their comfort zone a little each day for God. Show a little more faith in Him everyday. Show Him you love Him and trust Him by giving over control of your life to Him even if it is just a little at a time.  This would be a great way to develop a lasting, intimate relationship with Him.  As a matter of fact it is actually the "ONLY way to have a close relationship with Him.  Can you imagine having a relationship with your husband/wife, girlfriend/boyfriend, with NO communication, affection or trust with them?  I don't think it would be very successful.  The same goes for God.  We need to have this special relationship with Him to join Him in eternity.  We need to show Him we have faith in His abilities, and trust Him completely.  After all, He created us.  He knows what is best for us. 

This brings to mind a poem which Ihave posted up in my bedroom called “Broken Dreams”.

As children bring their broken toys with tears for us to mend, I brought my broken dreams to God because He is my friend.

But then instead of leaving Him in peace to work alone, I hung around and tried to help with ways that were my own.

At last I snatched them back and cried, “How can You be so slow?” “My child, He said, what could I do? YOU NEVER DID LET GO.”


This would definitely be a step out of our comfort zone, as it is definitely NOT in our human nature to allow ANYONE to control our lives, let alone our destiny.  If we would start by giving Him a little each day, before we know if our lives would be so enriched in EVERY aspect.

Well, I can tell I haven't posted in a while because I'm flooded with thoughts., so I best close down my "thought process for now, or at least quite typing it out for the time being.

I urge you to check out Red's link above.  I guarantee you WILL NOT be disappointed;

I have one other favor to ask of my "Family of Readers".  If you would, please click on the "Prayer Line" tab at the top of my blog post, and look at the prayer requests I have added.  These precious people need our prayers in a mighty way.  For those of you who may take prayer "lightly", I guarantee you that prayers work.  I have seen first hand how when a prayer is lifted up, God hears and touches the person in need.  I ask that you look at my Prayer List and say a prayer, even if it is just a quick one for these who are in need.  God Bless you for doing this, and THANK YOU.

Have a Wonderful Day and May God Bless!

"Will I Ever Believe in My Heart What I Know in My Head?"

Good Evening to All!

Strange, I was just talking to a friend about this same subject yesterday, and looking through my books tonight, I came across this book that another friend had given me LONG AGO. This was the first page I opened up to:

You are for me, Lord!
How wonderful!
You are on my side!
That's security.

Men can't hurt me,
destroy me,
or even frustrate me.

Fear has no place in
my heart
my life
my thoughts.

I can say that with my mind,
but my heart hasn't caught up.

So help me, Lord.
Not just in knowing it with my head,
but feeling it with my heart.

by Carole Mayhall ( "Here I Am AGAIN, LORD")

I truly would love to be able to say that I was a woman FULL OF FAITH, that never questioned or doubted that God would be there for me. Yes, in my head I KNOW He will, yet even when I am saying the words "I know God will provide, or God will heal me", I am forever messing up and disappointing Him because I add the little tail "but just in case",... That in my mind voids even the small measure of faith I may have been showing, because it is telling God "I know Your Word "says" You will do these things, I know it says these are the promises You have made to me. I know You have helped others, I've seen the results, but I don't know if You will help me. That is what "just in case" says to God. Therefore in that instant I am showing a LACK of faith.

His Word also tells us "without faith we CANNOT please God", so we must strive to strike the phrase "just in case" from our vocabulary and replace it with an affirmative "He will do it".

Our heart and our head must be in unity in this matter.


The answers to last night's Bible Challenge "Signs and Omens" Part 1 are as follows:

1. c) the dove did not return to the ark (Genesis 8:12)
2. d) creation of a rainbow in the clouds (Genesis 9:12-14)
3. She gave water to him and his camels. (Genesis 24:12-20)
4. Although it was aflame, it didn't burn up. (Exodus 3:2-3)
5. a) wool on a threshing floor (Judges 6:36-40)
6. b) Belshazzar (Daniel 5)
7. d) the manager scene ( Luke 2:12)
8. d) Jesus (Matthew 16:2-3)
9. c) kiss (Matthew 26:47-49)
10. c) a comet temporarily blinded the Roman executioners (Matthew 27:50-53)

I hope you did well on the Challenge and maybe learned something new or remembered something you had forgotten.

Good Night to All and May God Bless!

"God is our Refuge, So Why Do We Seek Out Human Help First?"

Good Evening to All!

Find rest, O my soul, in God alone;
my hope comes from Him.
He alone is my rock and my salvation;
He is my fortress, I will not be shaken.

My salvation and my honor depend on God;
He is my mighty rock, my refuge,
Trust in Him at all times, O people;
pour out your hearts to Him, for God is our refuge.

Psalm 62:5-8 NIV

Here is the KJV of that same passage:

My soul, wait thou only upon God; for my expectation is from Him.
(6) His only is my rock and my salvation: He is my defence; I shall not be moved. (7) In god is my salvation and my glory: the rock of my strength, and my refuge, is in God.
(8) Trust in Him at all times; ye people, pour out your heart before him: God is a refuge for us. Selah.

Dear Father in Heaven,

What is it going to take, to shake me and make me realize that the ONE I can depend on is You? How many more times will I call upon friends, my husband or my family for help or advice, when in reality, they are not truly equipped to give me what I need?

Help me to remember to come to YOU FIRST, and not as a last resort. Help me God to strengthen my faith in You so that I will be able to discern in my spirit that it is You speaking to me and not me interjecting my own thoughts and feelings. Lord I know that you have given each one of us a "measure of faith" and it is up to us to increase that faith. The only way to do that is to step out in faith and watch You at work.
Father, You are my rock and my fortress, my strong tower. You are my port in the storm, and my refuge in times of trouble. I know this, yet I still run to others before I come to You. I know that You are bigger than any problem which I may encounter. That it is "I" who limit You by my lack of faith. I do have faith, but it is limited because I let my "brain" get in the way of my spirit.

Lord, I am praying this prayer on my blog post, because I know there are others out there just like me and I know that if asked You will help each and every one of us who come to you with this request. You have made many promises to us in Your Word and one of my favorite is "If ye abide in Me and My words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. (John 15:7).

Therefore, I am here asking that You touch my heart, and the heart and of all of those who read this post and increase our faith.

Father, I love You so much and I have no doubts about anything in your Word, at least in my heart. The problem is when my brain and my heart play tug o war. Help my heart to win out over my brain Lord. I have seen what you can do. I have seen healings which You have done, I've seen miracles such as money come from the most "unexpected places" when I've needed it and other things. I thank you so much.

I guess if I were to be limited to just two things to ask you for, it would be increased faith, and the wisdom I need to be a good witness for You to others.

I asked these things in the powerful name of Jesus Christ,
AMEN

" SATAN IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ALL OF OUR TROUBLES"

Good Evening to All!

And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure.
(2 Corinthians 12:7 NKJV)

To keep me from becoming proud, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger from Satan to torment me. (GNT)

I don't know about y'all, but when things happen to me, I start looking for something or someone to blame. At least I used to. God is definitely working on me for that shortcoming. Anyway, used to, every time something would go wrong, I would automatically think, "the devil's working overtime on me this week", OR, I would think well, such and such didn't go my way, so it must not be God's will.

I am finally maturing in Christ enough to realize that first of all Satan is not the only obstacle in this world. We can be our own worst enemy. We get in our own way of getting things done, and we put limits on God's ability to help us. Not to mention that sometimes things happen because "life goes on". We tend to forget that we have free will, which means not only can we make our own decisions, we have the choice between right and wrong decisions. Most of the time, if we do not include God in our decision making, something will go haywire.

A lot of times what life throws at us, or what Satan may throw in our way meaning to trip us up and dampen our faith, will only make our faith stronger. If we will give God a chance, whatever Satan or life throws at us, to mess us up, God can used to make us better, and stronger in our character, and faith.

Jesus said Because you belong to me, your pain is not meaningless or random. It is purposeful. I intend to use it in your life for my own good purpose. This kind of reminds me of Romans 8:28 which says And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

A wonderful example is when Jospeh's brothers sold him into slavery. They meant it for evil, yet look what God did! He gave Joseph a wonderful life growing up, and gave him a position of prestige in adulthood.

The essence of faith is being confident in what you can's see. You might not be able to see how or when He is using your suffering for good, but you can still be confident that He will.

Instead of being so focused on who is to blame, we need to begin focusing on welcoming God to work and use the suffering our our lives to keep us from sin.

Good night to All and May God Bless!

"FAITH AT A HIGHER LEVEL"

Good Evening To All!

The Lord had said to Abram, "Leave your native country, your relatives, and your fathers, family, and go to the land that I will show you. I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others. (Genesis 12:1-2 NLT)

Can you imagine what that was like? I have moved to a different country with my husband (ex) while he was in the military, but I had confidence because I knew where I was going ahead of time. I did not have someone tell me leave everything and everyone you know behind and go to where I'm going to show you. I knew in advance where I was going, so I also had a chance to learn a little bit about the country and even some of the language (even if it was the wrong dialect). I knew I could make it.

Abram only had his faith in God. He had no idea where God was going to lead him. I can't help but wonder how Sarai felt. I'm sure her initial reaction was "WHAT?!, and then her faith kicked in as well. ( of course this is before God changed their names to Abraham and Sarah).

I know when I first got married out of high school, I looked at it as an adventure and a way to "get away" from home. I was 18 years old and ready to "spread my wings. So my new husband and I headed up to New Jersey. Considering I had only been out of Texas for a total of 1 month during the summer of my 8th grade year in Junior
High, 3 months during the fall of that same year, and a week during my Junior year in high school, New Jersey was like a foreign country to me. I think the waitress that waited on us in the drug store where we went in to have coffee and look in the paper for a place to live, probably thought I was from a foreign country! LOL! I went in and started talking to her like I had known her for a long time, and she looked at me like I was crazy. LOL! I won't ever forget that. It is really funny (now). Not so much then, I thought she was being rude. ( How would I know? ) At home I had "never met a stranger". I could talk to anyone (except my own dad).

Switching back to the verse at hand...

We all need to step out in faith. I wish I would have had the relationship with God when I was young that I have now. I probably would have been a lot wiser without all the drama I had in my life up until 25 years ago.

PLEASE excuse my plain language, but if we would just get it through out "thick skulls", that God knows us better than we know ourselves, that He sees EVERYTHING from END to the BEGINNING, so He knows what is best for us, therefore in would be to our own advantage to allow Him to direct our path and lead us in the RIGHT direction. We should NOT lean unto our own understanding, but trust in the Lord always.

I wonder if there is anyone alive to day with the amount of faith that these men showed. Abraham in his situations such as "being told to sacrifice his son, and to leave the life he knew so well behind. Joshua having faith to listen to God and march around the wall of Jericho to bring it down and of course there are many, many more.

By now, most of you probably know pretty much all of my story. I can't help but think that my life would have been quite a bit different had I been serious about having a relationship with God at a younger age. I started off at least in the general right direction, but lost it at a crucial age when my mom died and I had to start moving around a lot. The relatives which I lived with didn't place a high priority on church and didn't push it. I didn't figure I was going to be at each place long, so I didn't want to make new friends just to leave them behind, so I kept putting going to church off. Needless to say, my faith seem to dwindle. But thank God that He didn't leave me or forsake me. He waited patiently for me to come back to Him. That is why I am so glad that He sees the beginning FROM the END. He knew I would. It took many years, and several different people as witnesses and planting seeds, but I made it back to Him. My faith has increased a hundred fold since those early days, but I truly believe that one can NEVER have enough faith in God.

In these last days, we need to be concentrating on heeding His Word, Living for Him and increasing our faith in Him. He says Himself that it is impossible to please Him without faith. If we will study His Word ONE of the MOST CONSISTENT things He talks about is having faith.

When things happen that we do not understand the reason, instead of getting all bent out of shape or automatically trying to fix the situation ourselves we should stop, take a breath, say a prayer and ask God what to do. Ask Him to have His way in that situation, then, whatever the outcome accept it, because it will be God's will and will be what is best for us. Even in His Word He says that He will take the bad and make good come from it. (The exact verse is Romans 8:28: And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

Therefore, we can rest assured that even if God allows bad things to happen to us they will work together for good to those of us who love God (who live for Him and abide by His Word).

Good Night to All and May God Bless,

"HOW STRONG IS YOUR FAITH?"

Good Evening To All,

Now Thomas (called Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. (25) So the other disciples told him, "We have seen the Lord!" But he said to them, "unless I see the nail marks in His hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it."
(26) A week later, his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you!"
(27) Then He said to Thomas, "Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe."
(28) Thomas said "My Lord and my God!" (29) then Jesus told him, "Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."

I have heard time and again that "if something sounds too good to be true, it usually is." The key word here is usually. If we are talking about this world we live in and anything having strictly to do with our human side, I would say unequivocally it is true. However, in view of the powerfulness of our wonderful God, in view of His omnipotence, omniscience and omnipresence, I would definitely have to say that ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE and no humanisms apply to Him or anything having to do with Him.

This being said when something sounds unbelievable, we might check out the story on the Internet about hoaxes. Of course we don't want to made to look foolish, so we tend to be gun shy of people when they are telling a miraculous story. We start to try and rationalize everything they say. We definitely don't want to come across as gullible or be taken in by a "con artist".

It is one thing to doubt stranger's and even acquaintance's accounts of things happening, but Thomas doubted his close friends when they told him about seeing Jesus again. Remember, these were friends that were close enough to him to be his brothers. These are men he had spent more time with than apart. Thomas couldn't bring himself to believe until he actually experienced the truth.

Unfortunately, doubting is part of human nature. Faith does not come naturally to us. It takes the study of God's Word, prayer, and actually practicing faith, for it to come easier. When I say practice, I mean it takes pushing ourselves to step out in faith about things. Forcing ourselves to believe that God is going to take care of whatever we need help with. We should ask for his help, and then watch it come to pass. We must not give up even if it doesn't happen right away. This is how God tests our faith, as well as that He knows what is best for us. That is another aspect of faith. To realize that our CREATOR knows what is best for us all the time.

We must be patient with people who don't believe our testimonies as Christians or those who doubt our word. All we can do is pray that Jesus will reveal the truth to them.

Have you ever thought about the gender issue? Women seem to be more open to the idea of Jesus and are twice as likely as men to attend church. It seems like men are less likely to believe in Jesus and over come their doubts . I' m not positive, but I wonder if this stems from pride. After all, pride is a powerful deterrent. It got Lucifer thrown out of heaven.

A good many men don't like to ask for help. I won't stereotype and say all or most, because I have never "taken a poll", but just going by the men "outside" the church I have come in contact with, it seems that way. My husbands didn't and doesn't like to ask for directions when he's lost, let alone revealing his vulnerability to God and everyone in church. (Like God can't see him).

The best thing we can do for "doubters" is to PRAY for them and ask God to touch their hearts, and then live our faith so that they will see faith in action. There is no truer words that "Actions speak louder than words". If we talk the talk, but don't walk the walk, then we will come across as hypocrites, and that will do much more HARM than good.

Good Night To All and May God Bless!

"THE IMPERATIVE OF FAITH"

Good Evening to All!

My text tonight is coming straight out of the New King James Version Bible. I have heard the word imperative before, and I have more than likely used it as part of my vocabulary, but I decided to look it up in the dictionary anyway, just to make it more clear to me what this was saying: (adjective) 1. not to be avoided or evaded. (2) of the nature of or expressing a command; commanding. (3) a command. (5) a fact that compels attention or action; obligation; need.

This tells me that to have faith is not optional for a Christian. It is a command.

I really like the pictures I was able to locate tonight. especially the one of the gold fish. We sometimes like to think that having faith is just believing God can and will do things to help us. This picture shows me that sometimes God requires us to take a leap of faith and know in our heart He will be there to catch us if we fall. Not only that but just like what I have said about Salvation, the proof of faith takes action on our part. We can say we have faith all day and all night long, but if we don't show it by stepping out and putting action as proof, then the words mean nothing.

What is faith? Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. (Hebrews 11:1)

Why is faith important? Without faith it is impossible to please God. (Hebrews 11:6)

In what does faith believe? Faith believes that God is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently see Him. (Hebrews 11:6)

What does faith look like in a person's life?

• Abel offered a costly sacrifice (11:4)
• Enoch lived in a way that pleased God (11:5)
• Noah obeyed divine warnings and built a giant ark. (11:7)
• Abraham left Ur at God's calling and went out, not knowing where he was going. (11:8)
• Sarah bore Isaac in her old age. (11:11)
• Abraham was willing to offer us Isaac, his only son, trusting that God was able to raise him up. (11:17-19)
• Isaac blessed his sons and exhorted them to obey the covenant. (11:20)
• Jacob likewise reminded his sons of God's promises (11:21)
• Joseph expressed his confidence that God would bring the Israelites out of Egypt (11:22)
• Moses' parents refused to carry out the commands of Pharaoh to kill their child (11:23)
• Moses turned his back on thew passing pleasures of sin and sided with the downtrodden children of Israel, leading them out of Egypt and obediently carrying out the difficult commands of God (11:24-29)
• The Israelites led by Joshua, trusted God to give them victory over the city of Jericho (11:30)
• Rahab believed in the power of God and helped the Israelite spies (11:31)
• Many other Old Testament people of faith trusted God for power and victory and refused to compromise their faith in God, even in the midst of life-threatening circumstances (11:32-38)

What happens to the faithful?

• Some died without having received the promises (11:13)
• Some have to find consolation in the truth that they will not realize the full blessings of God until they enter heaven (11:14-16).
• Some experience miraculous deliverance (11:33-35)
• Others, despite their implicit trust in God, experience torture, mockings, scourgings, imprisonment, stonings, destitution, affliction, and torment. (11 :35-38)

What is God's verdict on those who faithfully endure? They are those of whom the world is not worthy (11:38)

How should the lives of the faithful believers affect us? We should be motivated to lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and ...run with endurance the race that is set before us. (12:1)

Now with all of this being said, have you looked into your soul to see to what level is your faith? We must remember this is not an optional thing that we can "take or leave. It is not a thing that we can believe in one day and not the next. As stated earlier, we CANNOT please God without faith. If we don't want to please Him, then what gives us the right to actually believe we can live in eternity with Him? Would you want to live with someone who didn't care enough about you to trust you? I wouldn't.

He is our Creator. I cannot for the life of me figure out why we wouldn't have faith in the one who created us. Who formed us and breathed life into us. We have faith in our parents and they brought us into the world, but they did not created us. They provided the means for us to be born, but they didn't form our bodies fingers and toes. Yet...we have all the faith in the world in them.

I truly believe God deserves much more.

I understand that it is easy to have faith in our parents because we can see, smell and feel them, whereas with God, the evidence of His existence is in His creation, the grass, flowers, wind, rain, rivers, animals, birds and everything else in the universe.

All I ask is that you remember, and yes I know I'm being repetitive, but I wouldn't if it weren't so important. YOU CANNOT PLEASE GOD WITHOUT FAITH. By not having or showing faith in Him, you are saying you don't believe He is capable to do things for you, to help you, to provide for you , to heal you and anything else you can imagine Him doing. He is all powerful and can do absolutely anything...EXCEPT LIE. God is love, God is truth, therefore it is impossible for Him to lie. Other than that, the only limitations God has are the one we put on Him ourselves, so why not have faith in a God like that?

Good Night to All and May God Bless!