Cycle of Faith

It Is Written, Colossians 3:23-24, and what ever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not too men, knowing that from the Lord, you will receive the reward of the inheritance, for you serve the Lord Christ.
The cycle of faith I refer to, is not today I believe, and tomorrow I have doubts. Faith is often misunderstood. It is a combination of many things,  so let us examine some of them.
First of all, faith is a gift from God, given to all believers when they accept Jesus as Savior. God does not take it back, so the on-again, off-again, of faith must have a different reason. Now we will look at possible answers.
Faith is a state of mind as well as heart. Your heart prompts you with faith, but your mind tries to convince it otherwise. The mind reasons as the world does, while our hearts work in the world of the Holy Spirit.
We must make a conscious decision to ignore the mind and what it tries to tell us, and follow our hearts. If we ask the Holy Spirit every morning to give us wisdom and guidance, He will. Those little "feelings" you get, is the way the Holy Spirit talks to you. How many times did you wish you had listened to that little voice?
Have you ever noticed how good you feel when you are kind to someone by helping them do something? Even something small like a smile and a friendly hello. That warm feeling in your heart is Jesus approval of what you did.
Jesus said we are to take up our cross daily and follow Him. He means that we are to accept whatever happens, as our gift to Him. Joy in our hearts, and no complaining, forgiveness, patience, love, and all the rest. Sometimes it isn't easy, remember that it wasn't easy for Jesus either.
It is common for new believers to want to serve God. We all go through that, and that is good. However the problem is we want to serve God the way we want to serve Him. We want to skip all of the training and go right to what we want to do.
Faith grows with steps. Each successful step, increases our faith, because we feel closer to God. God's training program goes against human thought. He expects us to master each step, before He gives us the next bigger step. How we progress is up to us.
When you carry your cross every day, you will be ready for God to use you. His timing is perfect, so be patient. He is never early, and never late. Even the famous preachers are attacked by satan. If satan isn't attacking you, he probably isn't worried about you. Do God's will, and really aggravates satan. True faith is a work in progress. Seek God with all your heart and you will find Him. Choose to believe. Have a blessed day. Praise the Lord!
Remember Jesus Loves You
Prayer of Salvation
Lord Jesus, I thank you for what you did on the cross for me. Your blood washed away all my sins, by your stripes I was healed, your death and resurrection brought me salvation. Please forgive my sins, and come into my heart as my personal Savior.
Thank You
Amen

Freedom

It Is Written, John 8:32, and you shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free.
This is another one of those verses we have heard dozens of times. Many of us thought it was uplifting, but probably didn't know exactly what it meant.
The average person's life contains times of confusion, misinformation, fear, condemnation, and many other ugly things. And of course we can't forget satan and his helpers.
When you hear verse 32, it is usually by itself. Very seldom is verse 31 mentioned, and that is too bad because it really sets up verse 32 and helps explain it. In verse 31, Jesus said to the Jews who believed, "if you abide in My Word, you are My disciples indeed".
When you put the two verses together, you get the answer. The Word is truth. Follow what the Word says, and you will be free from the cares of the world. You will still encounter problems, but you can overcome them because of the blood of Jesus. He says He will never leave you or forsake you. Trust in the truth of His Word, stand on His Word, and you will always have a victory. Have a blessed day. Praise the Lord!
Always remember, Jesus Loves You
Lord Jesus, I thank you for what you did on the cross for me. Your blood washed away all my sins, by your stripes I was healed, your death and resurrection brought me salvation. Please forgive my sins, and come into my heart as my personal Savior.
Thank You
Amen

Thanks

It Is Written, Philippians 4:6-7, be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God, and the peace of God, which passes all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
God wants to give his children all good things. There are many places in His word that tell us to ask and we shall receive. His word even tells us how. We don't need to feel bad about asking.
If you think about what you give your children, you remember their smiles and happiness, and it makes you feel good. You want to give to them. You are required nothing from them in return, but you do expect them to appreciate it.
If your child says thank you dad or mom, I love you, it probably makes your whole week. Even though God is God, don't you think a thank you father, I love you would be appropriate? Have a blessed day. Praise the Lord!
Remember Jesus Loves You
Prayer of Salvation
Lord Jesus, I thank you for what you did on the cross for me. Your blood washed away all my sins, by your stripes I was healed, your death and resurrection brought me salvation. Please forgive my sins, and come into my heart as my personal Savior.
Thank You
Amen

Victory Through Surrender

It Is Written,1 John 5:4-5, for whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world-our faith. Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.
Mention the word surrender to many people in this world, and they automatically think of a coward. Someone that is afraid and worthy of disgust. I'm not going to discuss whether it is right or wrong. I just give a view many don't think of.
There are many things in life that even the bravest must surrender to. Before making rash decisions about that statement, consider the following.
When you get married, have children, by a house, you are surrendering a part of your will for the good of the family. The same type of surrender applies to many other things. If you are in the military, on a team, have a job, you are surrendering your will for the good of the whole. Each person cannot be in charge. No good would result.
We all work for the spiritual boss of all things. He drew up the plans for all of us. We have a choice whether we follow his plan by surrendering to it, or to follow our own plans. His plan is victory. We have  benefits in the meantime,  blessings and favor, and all our needs met. At this point, surrender to God's plan is not cowardly, but victory over satan and all of his evil.
Remember Jesus Loves You
Prayer of Salvation
Lord Jesus, I thank you for what you did on the cross for me. Your blood washed away all my sins, by your stripes I was healed, your death and resurrection brought me salvation. Please forgive my sins, and come into my heart as my personal Savior.
Thank You
Amen

God Meets You

It Is Written, Isaiah 41:10, fear not for I am with you; be not dismayed for I am your God. I will strengthen you, yes I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
A problem that many Christians have, is worrying about whether they are holy enough, or doing enough. That is something that the devil is trying to sell us. He knows if he can create even a little doubt in us, it blocks prayers from being answered, and opens the door for greater opportunities for him.
Jesus promised He will never leave us or forsake us, so it is. Sometimes we don't realize what that really means, and it causes faith problems. What does Jesus promise really mean? Let's take a very brief look.
When we are saved, we receive the Holy Spirit as our helper. The Holy Spirit speaks to us all of the time, we just have to learn how to listen. He is teaching us and guiding us every single day. It is a growth process. It is never a question of if we are holy enough or doing enough. God doesn't condemn us, so we shouldn't condemn ourselves.
God knows each of us, and that we are all at different levels in our faith. He is always with us, no matter how much faith we have or don't have. Because he loves us, he looks at our hearts, and meets us where we are. We are righteous through Jesus, and by the grace of God we are saved. Because of that He will never let us go. The closer we get to God, the closer He gets to us. Have a blessed day. Praise the Lord!
Remember Jesus Loves You
Prayer of Salvation
Lord Jesus, I thank you for what you did on the cross for me. Your blood washed away all my sins, by your stripes I was healed, your death and resurrection brought me salvation. Please forgive my sins, and come into my heart as my personal Savior.
Thank You
Amen

Get Out Of The Boat

It Is Written, Isaiah 26:3, You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You.
The story of Peter walking on water, is a good example for us. If we understand what happened with Peter, it is a big step to victory through Jesus in our lives.
All of us face storms in life, just as the apostles did. Peter saw Jesus walking on the water, in a fierce storm. He called out to Jesus, just as most of us do. Jesus said to Peter, come to Me, just as He says it to us.
Peter got out of the boat and walked toward Jesus. Again, similar to what we do. The problem for Peter and us as well, is that he took his eyes off of Jesus and looked at the storm. When that happened, he started to sink and Jesus had to reach out to save him.
There are two main lessons in this story. When we face storms in life, we must keep our focus on Jesus, and not on the storm. The next one is that no matter how fierce the storm, Jesus arm is not too short to save us, when we call out to Him.
When you add it all up, you realize that whatever you face, if you stay focused on Jesus, you will get through it. Have a blessed day. Praise the Lord!
Remember Jesus Loves You
Prayer of Salvation
Lord Jesus, I thank you for what you did on the cross for me. Your blood washed away all my sins, by your stripes I was healed, your death and resurrection brought me salvation. Please forgive my sins, and come into my heart as my personal Savior.
Thank You
Amen

Hope

It Is Written, Psalm 33:18, behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him. On those who hope in His mercy.
Hope is not maybe, possibly, or any of the ordinary thoughts we have about that word. Hope is much more than that. In the Hebrew and Greek it is a faith word.
The meaning of hope in the Bible, is to be confident or sure, assurance, and expectation. As you see from the Psalm, that those who love the Lord have confidence in, and expect God's mercy.
Whenever you pray, you hope for the result. Your hope in Jesus, is also your faith and trust in Him. Have a blessed day. Praise the Lord!
Remember Jesus Loves You
Prayer of Salvation
Lord Jesus, I thank you for what you did on the cross for me. Your blood washed away all my sins, by your stripes I was healed, your death and resurrection brought me salvation. Please forgive my sins, and come into my heart as my personal Savior.
Thank You
Amen