Life circumstances have visited a stressful season on all of us.

Where is our hope? Where is our comfort?

Will our faith stand strong through it all?

My faith stands strong knowing I belong to God and that is an invaluable truth that will never change. He has been immeasurably faithful to me and the relationship we have means more to me than anything or anyone else.

I am saved by the cleansing power of the blood Jesus shed for me and I have eternal life because He rose again after shedding the precious blood that washed away my sin.

My life was changed forever when He came into my heart. The faith by which I believed for salvation is the faith I live by every day, in the good and difficult times and all the in between.

Faith is this invisible mystery I cannot touch, I cannot hold, I cannot see or hear. Faith is a gift from God that keeps me believing He is worthy of all my trust that’s placed in Him.

Faith is where I stand and why I can stand strong today. 

“For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.” 1 John 5:4

By Kathy Cheek
Used by Permission

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“Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness.” Colossians 2:7

Recently, I toured a tulip farm. It was the peak of blooming season, and what a wonderful sight it was to see hundreds of acres in full tulip bloom, displaying as many colors as in the rainbow.

I was shocked to learn that they were about to trim the flowers, and then I learned why. It seems that the goal in the field is not to grow flowers, but to grow bulbs and when the flowers are trimmed and the stalk remains, it allows the nutrients to go down to the bulbs and make them stronger and more hearty. It gives the bulbs more vitality.

There is a spiritual parallel here. Sometimes God cuts out the beautiful things in our life to allow us to grow.

Since God is the source of all goodness, his glory is the wellspring of all joy. What God does for his own sake benefits us. Therefore whatever glorifies him is good for us. And that includes the suffering he allows or brings into our lives. God refines us in our suffering.

Some consider God egotistical or cruel to test us for his sake. But the testing he does for his sake accrues to our eternal benefit.

How often have you heard people say, “I grew closest to God when my life was free from pain and suffering”? Just as the tulip farmer snips the flowers from the plant, God often walks with us through hardship and despair to deepen our roots in Him and make us all the better for it.

By John Grant
used by permission

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“Faith makes us sure of what we hope for and gives us proof of what we cannot see.” Hebrews 11:1

When I purchased the car last year, I didn’t pay a lot of attention to reading the manual.. nobody does. In fact, they say that the automobile handbook is the most unread book. I did notice some reference to ‘Engine Diagnostics Notification‘ but thought nothing of it.

Then last week, on a Sunday afternoon, I got an e-mail telling me that all four of my tires were below acceptable pressure and it told me the pressure in each tire. I sort of sat there and stared at the monitor trying to figure it all out. How could my tire pressure be beamed up so a satellite high above that would in turn send me this e-mail? I got another e-mail telling me that I needed an oil change.

I was perplexed, as it was beyond my ability to understand, but I have learned over the years that I don’t necessarily have to understand how something works in order to participate in its value. I still don’t understand how the Internet works when I communicate almost instantly with someone on the other side of the world, but that doesn’t stop me from sending and receiving dozens of e-mails each day.

Faith in God is like that. I don’t have all the answers and I don’t understand everything, but I have faith in God as much as I have faith that while the dawn is still dark, the sun will rise at precisely the right time.

Having faith is not like having a wish list of things we would like to see happen. No, faith, as used in the Biblical sense is the assurance that what we hope for will come about and the certainty that what we cannot see exists. Faith is an unquestioning belief that does not require proof or evidence.

We drive our cars, purchase our food and do all sorts of things on the faith that they will work and not be harmful to us. Yet, why is it that many people use the excuse that they do not have proof of Christianity and therefore cannot embrace it? Through Jesus, we have assurance, guarantee and confidence.

How much of what we do is really motivated by an implicit trust in God’s Word? This is how we can tell whether we are living in faith. God tells us to walk by faith and not by sight and have faith in Him.

by John Grant
used  by permission

John Grant is a former Florida State Senator and is a practicing attorney

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Faith  also by John Grant

Faith by Terry Stead

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“Now faith is assurance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1).

The antidote to fear is confidence in God, and that comes through faith. Fear hangs over our head like a constant vulture, ready to devour us. In the book of Hebrews, faith is the essential “engine” of the Christian life. It moves beyond mere head knowledge to a deep trust that results in action and endurance. Chapter 11 describes this best. It is often called the “Hall of Faith.”

Fear can be described as a terror of the unknown… worry, doubt and concern about the future. Most of what we worry about never happens and whatever does happen is far from being as difficult as we had imagined.

Affliction is temporary while Glory is eternal. The only way to overcome fear is through faith. Biblical faith is active trust and reliance on God’s character and promises, not just intellectual belief, serving as an assurance of unseen realities and the foundation for salvation, demonstrated through obedience and action, growing through hearing God’s word, and enabling believers to overcome obstacles and live by God’s truth rather than sight. It’s a gift from God, a response to His initiative, bringing peace, purpose, and victory through Jesus Christ, as expressed in Hebrews 11:1 as “assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen”.

Faith resides at the core of Christianity and the Christian life. While the Bible has much to say about it, faith is a challenging concept to define. A biblical definition of faith reaches beyond mere belief—the simple acknowledgment that God exists—into the realm of trust. Genuine faith involves abandoning all human reliance on self-efforts and placing total dependence upon God’s character, His actions, and His promises, as revealed in His Word.

The apostle Paul said, “We walk by faith, not by sight” (2 Corinthians 5:7). Faith does not put trust in bank account balances, headline news, or the doctor’s report. As Scripture says, “We don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever” (2 Corinthians 4:18, NLT). When the world seems to be falling apart, our faith stands secure on the rock-solid promises of God.

On a scale of 1 to 10, where does your faith score?

by John Grant
used by permission

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“Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, “ O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” Matthew 14:31 (ESV)

I regularly find myself distracted, detained or sidetracked by the World, often because I am materialistic. It is a hard thing to be like me – in the world but not of it. Who wants to be a millionaire? I do – until I remember I cannot take it with me and that I have been distracted from God’s purposes. He calls out to me not to take my eyes off Him and to recall His capacity for the outrageous and miraculous and not always the ordinary!

I have, through my life, known the joy of being treated with acceptance and companionship, and I have also known times and situations to the contrary. When the World, and its menu of self-centeredness squeezes my spirit, I cry out to Jesus to deliver me before I am swamped.

As I move in the will of the Kingdom, my spirit rejoices in my Sustainer and Deliverer. However, experience has shown me that I am still two persons in one body. Whilst I rejoice in one part of my being, yet with another, I am filled with dismay. I guess it is all a part of being human, spirit and flesh, having faith, yet still living with some doubt that must be given to God’s care. I gain encouragement from the accounts of Peter, Jacob, and Joseph, because I see in their life struggles encouragement for my own.

Some people have great moments of clarity that change their life, whilst for others these are but a moment’s fancy that soon pass. Such are life’s choices: to see or not; to have faith or to doubt; to believe or not.

For those who are able to see and believe, Jesus has a perfect plan for each, to lift us up and out from the waves!

Isaiah 40:31 (ESV):- “but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.”

PRAYER: LORD, thank You that You miss nothing and are ready to greet us once more at the beginning of the day. Thank You that You watch over us and protect us whilst we are vulnerable or incapable. Thank You that no one slips through Your Omniscience. Thank You that You do not pass by on the other side. Grant us, once more, Your Grace to lift us up today and lead us on. Let us hear Your call to us once more and not be distracted by the waves of life today. Amen.

by Roderick Marshall
Used by Permission

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“A man who has friends must himself be friendly,  But there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother. ” Proverbs 18:24

^” just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.” Matthew 20:28 (NKJV)

“I’ve been in this church 14 years and I can’t find anyone to talk to on Sunday morning.”

When I heard those words from an intelligent, attractive, mature woman, I questioned their validity. Because the church is large, it provides myriad opportunities for involvement, everything from hiking to knitting groups, Bible studies to craft classes, mission trips to music.

How is it possible for an individual, over the course of many years, to not find a niche in a local church? An acquaintance employed by the foreign service of her country’s government and who moved every three to five years, usually to areas of the world far from friends and family, said there was a relatively simple way to emotionally survive in such a lifestyle: “Dig in immediately. Try new things. Invite strangers to your home. Find a place to serve. Don’t give up”

Jesus is our example for entrance into a new culture whether it be a school, church, community or country. He moved out of his ‘comfort zone’ of heaven. He developed relationships with people of diverse backgrounds. He unselfishly served. He went to parties and weddings, even daring to eat with sinners!

Followers of Jesus must be people with passionate purpose. While not everyone is an unreserved extrovert, we must not use our personalities as an excuse for lack of involvement. We dare not wait 14 years to find someone to talk with. We are called to intentionally serve, not be served.

Jesus, you are my friend but also my example of friendliness. Not a friend whose hand is weak and words glib, but one who intentionally reaches into my life. Help me be creative in doing the same for others.

by Marilyn Ehle
used by permission

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“He replied, “This kind can come out only by prayer (and fasting)” Mark 9:29

Prayer became more of a discipline in my life after I yielded the control of life to Jesus Christ and began to walk in the Spirit. (Until then, I called to God in emergencies and before meals, but talking to God had not become a way of life.) Then the Bible became alive to me and I began to pray specifically, trusting in and testing God’s promises. Many, many prayers were answered.

I also began to fast. Sometimes for three days, sometimes once a week, sometimes for 10 days or two weeks. Sometimes it would be a complete fast – only water. Sometimes I would have juice. At times I would give up eating certain foods, or watching television or even wearing makeup.

When our son was in his early 20s, we discovered he was addicted to alcohol.  For a while he alienated himself from us and from the rest of the family. We never saw him drunk – not once – but others had and we loved him too much to let him destroy himself.

I love coffee and our children often joked that I was addicted. So I reasoned, ‘If they are right, my prayers for our son are phony.’  So I decided, with God’s help, I would stop drinking coffee until he quit drinking alcohol.  And that is what I did.  Giving up something I really enjoyed so that perhaps God would deliver our son.

God answered. As a family, we decided to have an intervention. We all told him that we loved him, but knew he was in deep trouble and wanted him to go to a treatment center to get help. Before the intervention, my husband made the arrangements for his flight and stay at the treatment center.  His boss not only gave him a leave of absence, but helped pay for his treatment.  There was only one thing left – he had to agree to go.

Thankfully, he did agree to go and after six weeks at the center he came home.  He was delivered from the addiction to alcohol.

Sometimes we have to fast and pray to have our prayers answered.  If God impresses you to do so, let me encourage you to obey Him.

Father God, I sure don’t understand the increased power that fasting brings to our intercession, but I do know that You expected Your followers to fast. Please cause Your people to fast and pray so Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.  Thank you.  Amen.

by Katherine Kehler
Used by Permission

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“What good is it, dear brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but don’t show it by your actions? Can that kind of faith save anyone?”
James 2: 14 (NLT)

Please read James 2:14-26. I read an amazing quote the other day, and I would like to share it with you in regards to this scripture.  “God blesses us because we respond to Him, not as a response to our good works.”

I posted this scripture because I see to often a trend that is misunderstood. Somehow, new believers have come under the impression that they must start doing good works, and that this will please God. That God will know they are not the same sinner they were before by their good works now.

As a body of Christ, I feel we have not really taught this very well. All to often we are happy to see an increase of volunteers without fully seeing where their hearts may be. All to often our new volunteers get burnt out or fall away, because they misunderstood how and why we do good works.

James writes here, “what good is faith without action?” This is a true, as true gets. Yet, we do not prove our faith by our actions. Our faith is in our belief, our surrendering of ourselves to Jesus. There is no proof, other than what God sees in our hearts. Our good deeds do not make us more faithful; our faith leads us into action.

Faith and true belief must be established first. If it is not, we are working from our flesh to perform these good works we are doing it without God. We are doing it to show others around us and to show God we can change…and folks, this is just not the way it is. We can’t change on our own. We can only change by the blood Jesus has shed for us, it is Him inside of us, that is leading us to change. Doing good works out of your faith in Christ is not a New Year’s resolution (something we can do on our own will power), it is a way of life.

Once we are in full faith, and belief, and trust in God, He will guide us towards the good works He would like us to do. I often feel a pull, or a tug, or even sometimes a push from His Holy Spirit in me, to do a good work. This is the response to God, and by which we as well as others around us are blessed by God.

Father, I pray today that we are working in response to You Lord. I pray that we are not working from our own strength or our own will, but that we are working as a result of You stirring in us a desire to do something. I pray that we are working by the power of Your Holy Spirit in us, that it is You doing the work, and us being a vessel of Your love. Help us as a body of Christ, Lord, to share this with other brothers and sisters. Let us not be so quick to accept new help without understanding where their hearts are. Let us take time to teach Your living word, so others may be strengthened by it, and it becomes alive in their lives as well as ours. We ask all of this in the mighty name Jesus, Amen

Question: Have you been living a works-based or faith-based life of salvation?

by Rev. Daniel Forster
Used by permission

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Anxiety is a meteor shower of what-ifs. The sky is falling, and it’s falling disproportionately on you. Anxiety ain’t fun! One would think Christians would be exempt from worry but we are not. It’s enough to make us wonder if the apostle Paul was out of touch with reality when he wrote in Philippians 4:6,

“Be anxious for nothing.”

Is that what he meant? Not exactly. He wrote the phrase in the present active tense—implying an ongoing state.

“Don’t let anything in life leave you perpetually breathless and in angst.”

The presence of anxiety is unavoidable, but the prison of anxiety is optional. Could you use some calm? Of course you could. We all could! We all could use a word of comfort and God is ready to give it.

By Max Lucado
used by permission
From: Anxious for Nothing

To learn more about Max Lucado visit his website at: https://maxlucado.com/about-max/

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“He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked.”  1 John 2:6 (NKJV)

If we had His walk how would we be living?

If we had His generosity how would we be giving?

If we had His ears how would we be listening?

If we had His heart how would be caring?

If we had His light how would we be seeing?

If we had His mind how would we be thinking?

If we had His words how would we be speaking?

If we had His wisdom how would we be planning?

If we had His grace how would we be serving?

If we had His mercy how would we be responding?

If we had His life how would we be changing?

By Roy Lessin
Used by Permission

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We are all familiar with the Bags of Gold Parable in Matthew’s Gospel in which Jesus tells us of the master going on a journey but gave each of his three servants a different number of bags of gold.   On their return he said to two of them who returned an increased value of gold, “Well done, you good and faithful servant.”  How wonderful it would be if at the end of our lives we could have that said about us.  Being faithful is not always easy, sometimes it is not convenient, at other times we face criticism and ridicule, threats and attacks, but God has promised never to leave us alone, that just as strength will be given to us in any situation, so shall we also gain by sharing in God’s happiness.

“…Truly if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”
Matthew 17:20

One website defines faith in a way that I love.  “Faith is always received from God, and never generated by us.”  That definition has actually changed the way I use the word faith as well as adding and giving me a whole new meaning to the word.  I now rethink my words when I start to tell someone that I have faith that my football team will win this weekend.  I stop and ask myself if what I am putting my faith in is actually given by God?

Now I know that not everyone will agree with me.  In today’s world a great deal of store is put into having faith in yourself and having faith that you can do your job correctly etc., but to me that still comes from God.  God gives you the faith to believe in yourself and, in fact, asks you “to love your neighbor as you love yourself”.  Note – “love yourself”.

Let me finish with a quote from the 1913 Nobel Prize for Literature winner, Indian poet, Rabindranath Tagore.

Faith is the bird that feels the light and sings to greet the dawn while it is still dark.”  That faith is God given.

Lord, I ask for your gift of faith, and the will to remain firm in the face of opposition.  Allow me to see that the real problem is not what happens to me, but rather how I react to an occurrence that makes the difference.  I need your help so that these situations will not disturb my inner peace and joy in you so that at the end of each day you will say of me “well done, you good and faithful servant”.   Amen.

By Terry Stead
Used by Permission

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“In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.” James 2:17

“Having faith” is popular these days as interest in spirituality grows.

Yet faith that is truly alive has a distinguishing mark: It will care about others in a way that puts feet to that faith. Listen to this wisdom from James 2:14-17:

What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.

Today I heard a cool story about a couple who gathered a bag of shoes, rain gear, and other necessary items and put them in the grocery cart of a street person. A few days later, while out on a walk, they saw the lady wearing the new shoes. Though her eyes were usually cast down, and she did not look at passers-by, she quietly lifted her head as they passed and flashed a huge smile.

True faith demands action! God bless you as you put feet to your faith today!

Lord God, please open my eyes today to the needs around me so I can lovingly put feet to my faith. Show me the one on Your heart who is within my reach to help. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

In what ways is it most important to you to put feet to your faith? How have you been inspired by others putting their belief into action?

By Gail Rodgers
Used by Permission

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