clothed in righteousness, I stand by the blood of Jesus

Contrary to hope, Abraham believed in hope; that is,  when there was nothing to hope for, Abraham had hope God’s promise would come through. Abraham had absolutely no reason to hope; he was old, his body was weak, his sexuality and sexual drive was as good as gone. Sarah was also weak, have you imagined how the womb of an 89year old woman could hold a baby?

Decrees are made through words, Judgements are passed through words.

Two forces worked together to bring about the world we now live in; the Spirit and the Word.

Abraham had a very good relationship with people; relatives, neighbors, servants, etc. He treated people with respect and dignity. His negotiation with God concerning depraved Sodom and Gomorrah goes to show; 1. his relationship with God and 2. his concern and care for people (Genesis 19). When Abraham went out to save Lot (from his troubles), I found it very interesting that most of the men that accompanied Abraham were servants born in his own house; over 300 men.

My prayer, my heart cry. My honest desire and hope. All of YOU in me, Jesus.

I have often read phrases like ” forgive for your own good“… or forgive for the burden is yours so lighten up yourself” These phrases sound good and factual but I have always felt uncomfortable reading or hearing them. I used to wonder if that’s the reason God asked us to forgive those who hurt us.

“And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.
Ephesians 4:32 NKJV

Note that it says even as God in Christ forgave us…

How did God forgive us? Jesus paid the price for our sin by shedding his blood(Heb 9:22) and by faith in this sacrifice we receive forgiveness. If someone does not receive this forgiveness, he/she struggles to fellowship with God.

Now let’s transpose this with our relationship with one another; ….when a brother hurts another it is important that he forgives his brother not only for his peace of mind or good but also for the good of the one who hurt him so that real fellowship is restored. The one who hurt his brother must acknowledge the hurt and receive the forgiveness for a genuine fellowship.

Sometimes a brother makes light of a hurt and dismisses the forgiveness as unnecessary and still expects the hurt brother to “move on”…..this is not right.

In summary what I am saying is that;

1. Forgiveness is not only for the forgiver but also for the forgiven.

2. The forgiven has to acknowledge and receive forgiveness for genuine fellowship to be restored

3. It is pertinent that we let the one who has hurt us know and that we have forgiven (let’s not bottle it up and pray it will go away). It’s up to the forgiven to receive it or not.

Your Word is like fire in my bones.

Like a force moving the entirety of my being. Studying, meditating, musing on Your Word is my delight. And it keeps flowing; from one truth to another, from one revelation to another. Like an unending fountain it keeps pouring until my soul says ‘yes, it’s enough for now’.

Your Word is like fire in my bones.

I can’t get enough of it; when fully immersed in it, everything else fades. It keeps pouring, flowing like a river with tributaries merging and merging and merging, joining one truth to another, one revelation to another. My heart gets merry, my heart sings, my hands keep writing until I can write no more. Your Word, my delight.

Your Word is like fire in my bones.

Your truth; my hope and anchor. As sure as You are, as faithful as You are, the foundation of my faith, the substance of my believe, the rock of my life, the confidence of my believe, the assurance of glory and unfailing goodness. My life, my defence, my shield, my hope. Protecting, providing, preserving, …..Your Word.

Your Word is like fire in my bones.

Your revelations; like lights, shining so brightly into hearts. Lighting paths; leading the way. Refreshing and comforting; bringing peace to hearts as the wonders of Your works, the magnificence and magnitude of Your glorious wisdom unfolds.

Your Word; like fire in my bones. I cannot get enough of it. It is sweetness and joy to my heart. I am lost without Your Word.

Thank You Lord for your Word!

The Stimulus For Faith

You Have Faith

Someone might be going through this study series and saying, ‘Grace, I want to experience God, but I do not have faith for it, and even when I think I have faith, I don’t believe my faith is enough’.

Truth is; you have faith. If you confessed and accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior, you have faith. You were saved by grace through faith.

Saving faith is a gift from God that is received by hearing the Word….

“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God” Ephesians 2:8 NKJV

Without faith, it is impossible for anyone to become saved.

“For by the grace [of God] given to me I say to everyone of you not to think more highly of himself [and of his importance and ability] than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has apportioned to each a degree of faith [and a purpose designed for service].” Romans 12:3 NKJV

We all became partakers of the nature of God at the new birth.

God is a God of faith, He operates by faith, He created the whole world through faith. That is why Galatians 5:22 can list faith as a fruit of the spirit. You cannot have a fruit without a seed. God imparted His nature/seed into our spirit at the new birth.

So at the new birth, everyone receives a measure of faith. What anyone does with this measure of faith is entirely up to them, however truth remains that this faith can be developed to a greater measure.

So faith is in you, in your spirit man.

The thing with faith though is that it doesn’t just happen, it doesn’t just start getting things done on it’s own, it has to be stimulated, aroused, awakened. Faith always works on a stimulus….

What Is A Stimulus?

A stimulus is….

“something that rouses or incites to activity” (Merriam-Webster Dictionary). A stimulus is a thing or event that evokes a specific reaction or response.

The stimulus for faith is the Word of God.

“So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”
Romans 10:17 NKJV

“So faith comes from hearing the Good News. And people hear the Good News when someone tells them about Christ.”
Romans 10:17 ERV

Faith is not positive thinking

Positive thinking is an optimistic attitude of focusing on the good in a given situation. A positive thinker approaches good and bad situations in life with the expectation that things will go well. Positive thinking has been shown to impact both physical and mental wellbeing of individuals. For example, it can help with stress management. Other ways to manage stress include; to identify and possibly eliminate the stress object, take a walk, eat right, drink some more water, sleep some more, hang out with the kids, with friends or your spouse, watch a comedy or nice movie, visit amiable extended family members.

So ultimately positive thinking can help with improving health and wellbeing. But positive thinking is not faith. Positive thinking can potentially improve someone’s outcomes and experiences, faith reveals who someone already is.  Faith (based on the Word), shows you who you already are and encourages to take it.

Faith is not Common Sense

The dictionary definition of common sense means to have sound judgment, which is not necessarily based on specialized knowledge. A smart, level-headed person is expected to be able to understand and assess a situation rightly. So common sense is ordinary good sense or sound practical judgment. Having a good sense of judgement that is based on available facts or mere simple perception is great, but that not is faith.

Faith is based on the Word of God, it doesn’t happen by simply forcing oneself to think only on the good or by taking the seemingly right decision or making the right choice.

Faith is based on the Word of God.

Faith begins where the will of God is known. The Word of God is His will. So faith comes by knowing the Word of God.

Let’s see a few scriptures….

“For “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, Who bring glad tidings of good things!”
Romans 10:13‭-‬15 NKJV

What can we say about this passage of scripture?

1. For anyone to become saved, he/she must first be exposed to the Word of God. 2. There has to be a deliberate act to make the Word available to where it’s needed so faith can be stimulated.

There is no believing/faith without the Word.

Now see Romans 1:16-17….

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “The just shall live by faith.”
Romans 1:16‭-‬17 NKJV

One of the many things we see in Romans 1:16-17 is that the gospel of Christ is the power of God to save. The Word of God is God’s power to save and this happens when the Word is applied in faith.

How faith works…

Faith is: God said it, I believe it, therefore I say it and I receive it and I act like I have it.

In Mark 11:22-24, Jesus teaches on how faith works….

“So Jesus answered and said to them, “Have faith in God. For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.”
Mark 11:22‭-‬24 NKJV

…..says…..believes…..says…..believes….no doubting……believe. This is how faith works.

We become followers of Christ by faith (Romans 10:9-10), and we continue to live as Christ’s followers by faith.

You don’t really need to start off with a big or great faith to experience God and enjoy victory, faith grows, from little, to great, to exceedingly great. But you have to start from where you are. A faith as small as a mustard seed can get things done…..

“So the Lord said, “If you have faith as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be pulled up by the roots and be planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.“
Luke 17:6 NKJV

You have faith in you.

What do you believe? You can’t believe in the air, your believe must be based on something. Faith is based on the Word of God.

What are you believing God for? Have you found the scriptures to base your faith on?

You want to experience victory or success? Expose your spirit man to the Word of God; read it, meditate on it, confess it, listen to it, watch it,… until it becomes a revelation to you, then faith will spring up in the inside of you to act as you should…..in accordance with your believe, then you’ll have good success/victory.

Faith is the Believer’s way of life; …. remember that the just shall live by faith.

Thank you for joining me again.

The Bible describes Abraham as the Father of faith. Why so? Please join me next time as we consider another very interesting subtitle; The Faith of Abraham. See you soon.

Remember that you can access previous parts of this study as follows; Part 1: Study Background. Part 2: The Scope of the Christian Victory. Part 3: How Christians Gained Victory. Part 4: How Faith, Love and Hope Mix Together for Victorious Christian Living. Part 5: The Nature of God’s Love. Part 6: Characteristics of God Kind of Love. Parts 7 and 8:  Winning Through Love. Part 9: How to develop our love nature. Part 10: Giving Is Not (always) Love. Part 11:Victory Through Faith: Understanding Faith. Part 12: Victory Through Faith: The Righteousness of God.

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Blessings & Love Always

Bless the Lord, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless His holy name!

Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits.

Who forgives all your iniquities, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from destruction, who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies, who satisfies your mouth with good things, so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

The Lord is merciful and gracious, Slow to anger, and abounding in mercy. For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is His mercy toward those who fear Him. As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.

The mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting, on those who fear Him, and His righteousness to children’s children, to such as keep His covenant, and to those who remember His commandments to do them.

Bless the Lord, all you His hosts, You ministers of His, who do His pleasure. Bless the Lord, all His works, In all places of His dominion. Bless the Lord, O my soul!

Psalms 103:1‭-‬5‭, ‬8‭, ‬11‭-‬12‭, ‬17‭-‬18‭, ‬21‭-‬22 NKJV