Tag Archives: faith

Jump into My Arms

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My child, your life is in My hands. Your future is secure in Me. Rest assured that I am in control and have you securely in Me. Do not let fear rule your life. Do not let the uncertainties of this life shake you. Place all of your hopes and dreams in Me. I am your only hope. I will direct you in the way you should go. I will light your path. Move forward in all that I am calling you to do. Step out. Take that first step of faith and I will lead you and guide you in My plan for your life. Trust me alone. Jump into My arms. I am waiting to catch you and place you right where you belong.

Never Could Earn Our Way!

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              The pursuit of righteousness through obedience to law is what Paul called the “elementary principles of the world.” Man has an inbred penchant for attempting to justify himself in this way; it’s absolutely fundamental to our thinking about God. And why shouldn’t it be? Because this philosophy of life has been hammered into us since the dawn of man, it’s not easy to escape. It just seems so right! So given this fact, we can’t judge Israel too harshly for falling into this trap—they merely “stumbled over the stumbling stone.”

            Making people work for righteousness was never God’s intent for law. Even in the Old Testament, grace was the key to righteousness before God. He instituted a system of sacrifice and offerings not for the Israelites to earn their way into His good graces, but that they might experience His forgiveness as they obeyed Him. Obeying God was to be an act of faith on their part, not merely an attempt to accumulate enough points to somehow satisfy Him. God’s intention regarding His grace is nowhere more evident than in the Old Testament ritual of the Day of Atonement described in Leviticus 16.

(Excerpted from “Free from the Power of Sin: The Keys to Growing in God in Spite of Yourself”)


Be an Overcomer

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My child, I have called you to live a victorious life. I have called you to be an overcomer. For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world, our faith. Who is the one who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God. And we know that the Son of God has come, and has given us understanding so that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life. 1 John 5: 4&5, 20.

Live in Me My child. I have given you a heart to know Me and through My Son you can live in Me. This is victory. This is life. It’s yours for the taking. Just believe.

Faith is no Cake-walk

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God does not normally reveal Himself in a way that our physical senses can perceive Him, so this is why faith is required on our part. Now I’m not suggesting that God doesn’t allow us to be aware of His presence; He does. Our experience of Him, however, comes by spiritual means—not physical. But why would God keep Himself hidden at all? Wouldn’t it be much easier to simply appear to us periodically to tell us what He wants? Well, that wouldn’t require faith, would it? Our inability to grasp Him by our natural senses makes faith indispensable. Faith is at the very heart of God’s plan for us. That’s why Scripture tells us that it’s impossible for man to satisfy God without it (Hebrews 11:6). But since faith is so contrary to everything instinctive to our humanity, believing Him will never be all that easy. To be sure, it appears that He never meant it to be! (Romans 8:24-25)

(Excerpted from “Free from the Power of Sin: The Keys to Growing in God in Spite of Yourself”)

God’s promise: the great motivator

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The gospel (good news) of Jesus Christ is in essence the promise of God to mankind. We receive that promise by faith. But prior to faith ever taking root, hope is first born in our heart through God’s promise. Hope always precedes faith because only hope provides us the motivation to believe. It is the catalyst by which faith is activated. Our faith pleases God, who freely imparts His righteousness as a gift of grace. Faith is much more than a superficial belief in God. We ultimately obtain the promise of the gospel by living our lives through what Paul calls the obedience of faith—the type of behavior which offers proof of a thriving faith.

(Excerpted from “Free from the Power of Sin: The Keys to Growing in God in Spite of Yourself”)

Taking God’s Creation for Granted

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Have you considered your hand lately? While watching the World Series it stuck me how effortlessly people use their hands–not just catching one of those foul balls, but everything we do. We use our hands to pick up the tiniest crumb or wield a huge sledge hammer. And all without the least thought given to it. What’s the big deal you might ask? Well, you should ask God that question the next time you look at your hand. The miracle of God’s creation surrounds us, and our hands are just one striking example of His creative genius. We dare not take any of it for granted.