Despite of Differences,Come Unity in Jesus Christ!

Showing posts with label faith. Show all posts
Showing posts with label faith. Show all posts

A Letter of Encouragement

I am writing this as a letter to you personally, my dear brother and sister in Christ, so that if you become anxious of the future, or you need encouragement about what is ahead, you can read it and hopefully hear GOD speak to your HEART…For this is really His MESSAGE to ALL of US….




I am writing this because I want to remind you of the great future God has for you. I know this because He said so. He says you have not seen, nor heard, nor even imagined anything as great as what He has prepared for you (1 Corinthians 2:9) You have no idea how great your future is. He says that what He has for you is so great that if you truly understood it, you would feel “that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed” in you (Revelation 8:18). That means whatever you envision for your life right now is already too small.



Although God promises you a future full of hope and blessing, it’s not going to happen automatically. There are some things you have to do. One of them is PRAY about it (Jeremiah 29:11-13). Another is OBEY GOD. But don’t worry, God will help you with both of those of you ask Him. The Holy Spirit is God’s guarantee to you that He will help you do what you need to do and bring to pass everything He promised (Ephesians 1:13-14). Just know that every time you PRAY & OBEY, you are investing in your future.



Remember, my precious brother and sister in the Lord, that walking with God doesn’t mean that there won’t be obstacles. Satan will see to it that there are. While God has a plan for your future that is good, the devil has one too and it’s not good. But the devil’s plan for your life cannot succeed as long as you are WALKING with God, living in OBEDIENCE to His ways, standing strong in His WORD, and PRAYING without ceasing. God’s plan for your life won’t happen without a struggle, however, so don’t give up when times get tough. Just keep on doing what’s RIGHT and RESIST the temptation to quit. Ask God to give you the strength and endurance you need to do what you have to do.



Don’t judge your future by what you read in the newspaper or the words someone spoke over you one time. Your FUTURE is in God’s HANDS. The only thing that is important is what He says about it. He doesn’t want you to be concerned about your future anyway. He wants you to be concerned with Him, because He is your future. Don’t become discouraged if things don’t happen as fast as you would like them to. They never do. God wants you to learn PATIENCE. Our perspective is temporal. He is eternal. So don’t be concerned if you are not seeing all that you want in response to your prayers. You will. If you draw close to God and do what He asks you to do, if you worship Him in spirit and in truth, if you love others and give yourself to them, if you speak God’s Word in faith and pray, you will see God’s blessings poured out on your life. I believe that we are denied certain things for a time because God wants us to fervently pray and intercede for them. That’s because He wants to do something great in response to your prayers, something that can only be birthed in prayer. There may be things that won’t happen in your life unless you are praying long and fervently.



In the meantime I know that you want to do something significant for the Lord and move into new areas of service for Him. God is looking for men & women who will be committed to living for His way and stepping into the purposes He has for their lives. He wants man and woman who are willing to sacrifice themselves for His kingdom, who are willing to say, “Not my will, but Yours be done.” You are one of those men and women. I pray that you will be equipped and ready when God says, “Now is the time.” And the doors of opportunity open. Just keep doing what’s right and when you least expect it, you will get a CALL from God giving you your assignment.



Remember, God “is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us” (Ephesians 3:20). He has more for you than you can imagine. And now may “the God of hope fill you with all joy and each believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit” (Romans 15:13). Stay focused on God, and He will keep you in perfect peace as He moves you into the future He has for you.



Faith vs Unbelief

Faith believes the Word of God; but unbelief questions it (Psa 106:24).




- Faith holds fast to a promise of God to help; but unbelief says, “How can these things be?” (Rom 4:19-21; 2 Kings 7:2; John 3:11,12).



- Faith will make you see love in the heart of Christ; but unbelief will imagine wrath in his heart (Matt 15:22,28; Num 13; 2 Chron 14:3).



- Faith will give comfort in the midst of fears; but unbelief causes fears in the midst of comfort (2 Chron 20:20,21; Matt 8:26; Luke 24:26,27).



- Faith will suck sweetness out of God’s rod; but unbelief can find no comfort in his greatest mercies (Psa 23:4; Num 21).



- Faith makes great burdens light; but unbelief makes light ones heavy (2 Cor 4:1; 14-18; Mal 1:12,13).



- Faith helps us when we are down; but unbelief throws us down when we are up (Micah 7:8-10; Heb 4:11).



- Faith brings us near to God when we are far from him; but unbelief puts us far from God when we are near to him (Heb 10:22; 3:12,13).



- Where faith reigns, it declares men to be the friends of God; but where unbelief reigns, it declares them to be his enemies (John 3:23; Heb 3:18; Rev 21:8).



- Faith puts a man under grace; but unbelief holds him under wrath (Rom 3:24-26; 14:6; Eph 2:8; John 3:36; 1 John 5:10; Heb 3:17; Mark 16:16).



- Faith purifies the heart; but unbelief keeps it polluted and impure (Acts 15:9; Titus 1:15,16).



- By faith, the righteousness of Christ is imputed to us; but by unbelief, we are shut up under the law to perish (Rom 4:23,24; 11:32; Gal 3:23).



- Faith makes our work acceptable to God through Christ; but work done in unbelief is sin. For without faith it is impossible to please him (Heb 11:4; Rom 14:23; Heb 6:6).



- Faith gives us peace and comfort in our souls; but unbelief works trouble and trial, like the restless waves of the sea (Rom 5:1; James 1:6).



- Faith makes us to see preciousness in Christ; but unbelief sees no form, beauty, or comeliness in him (1 Peter 2:7; Isa 53:2,3).



- By faith we have our life in Christ’s fullness; but by unbelief we starve and pine away (Gal 2:20).



- Faith gives us the victory over the law, sin, death, the devil, and all evils; but unbelief lays us obnoxious to them all (1 John 5:4,5; Luke 12:46).



- Faith will show us more excellence in things not seen, than in them that are; but unbelief sees more in things that are seen, than in things that will be hereafter;. (2 Cor 4:18; Heb 11:24-27; 1 Cor 15:32).



- Faith makes the ways of God pleasant and admirable; but unbelief makes them heavy and hard (Gal 5:6; 1 Cor 12:10,11; John 6:60; Psa 2:3).



- By faith Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob possessed the land of promise; but because of unbelief, neither Aaron, nor Moses, nor Miriam could get there (Heb 11:9; 3:19).



- By faith the children of Israel passed through the Red Sea; but by unbelief the generality of them perished in the wilderness (Heb 11:29; Jude 5).



- By faith Gideon did more with three hundred men, and a few empty pitchers, than all the twelve tribes could do, because they believed not God (Judg 7:16-22; Num 14:11,14).



- By faith Peter walked on the water; but by unbelief he began to sink (Matt 14:28-30).



- John Bunyan



Faith in People Fails but Faith in God Never Fails!


Faith is believing and trusting God and hoping for the evidence of things not seen. Faith in God gives us confidence, hope, peace and joy. God wants us to put our faith in action.

Many people believe God, but they do not trust enough to believe in Gods promises .They are often filled with worry, doubts and fear. Sometimes we all lack faith, during that time we need to read the word of God to boost our faith because faith comes by hearing the word of God again and again and Christ is the Author and Finisher of faith(Hebrews 12:2).

We need to have a “childlike faith”, “faith as a grain of mustard-seed” to move mountains, faith of the Canaanite woman.

Scripture Reference:

Hebrews 11:6:"But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him."

Isaiah 40:31:Yet those who wait for the LORD Will gain new strength; They will mount up with wings like eagles, They will run and not get tired, They will walk and not become weary.

Deuteronomy 31:6:Be strong and courageous. Don't tremble! Don't be afraid of them! The LORD your God is the one who is going with you. He won't abandon you or leave you."

Joshua 1:5 :No one will be able to stand up against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you.

Proverbs 3:5: Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.

1 Peter 5:7:Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.

Pslams 37:5:Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him and he will do this.

Hebrews 11:1: Now faith is the substances of thing hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

Matthew 9:29: Then He touched their eyes, saying, "It shall be done to you according to your faith."

Matthew 21:22: If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.”

2Cor 5.7:"For we walk by faith, not by sight."

Romans 10:17:"Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God"

Hebrews 6:12:We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised.

James 1:6: But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubt is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind.

1 Corinthians 16:13: Be on the alert, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong.



Continue reading on Examiner.com: Faith in People Fails but Faith in God Never Fails! - Tampa Bay Christian Living
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Trust in people or God?

Learning to trust God is the first challenge that confronts every true believer.We should have child-like faith and confidence in our Heavenly Father and we need to totally depend upon God for everything by having spiritual fruit in our lives.But If we do not put our faith into action then it is useless faith.Renewing our faith and trust in God’s promises is of utmost importance of any believer in christ during all circumstances in our life.God loves us and wants to help us with ALL our problems.when you trust in people you will get hurt because people are complex and naturally have tendency to commit more breech of trust.People can lie,deceive,mislead or change their mind but we can trust in God, rely on him because he will never lie, never deceive, never mislead you nor he changes his mind.At one point or other in our lives we all have been disappointed by people in whom we have placed our trust.But If you can trust God, you can count on His promises for every need and every decision. we see in the Bible,David had been betrayed by men he had trusted. I trust in the Lord because He and He alone is truly trustworthy and His Word is trustworthy.When we are in the midst of trials, sickness, suffering , bad economy and even at death time , we still can be confident that God is still with us, that he cares for us, that he has everything under control. True Trust begins when we are willing to put ourselves under him, to be willing to obey not out of fear but out of love. When we trust God, we love himand he is glorified as we rely on Him, not ourselves, to keep His great promises.
There are many scriptures which tell us to trust in God in everything.Below are the scripture reffrences:


Proverbs 29:25: Whoever trusts in the Lord shall be safe.

Isaiah 26:4: Trust in the Lord forever, for in the Lord is everlasting strength.

Psalm 2:12 :Blessed are all they that put their trust in Him.

Psalm 146:3-6:Do not put your trust in princes, in mortal men, who cannot save. When their spirit departs, they return to the ground; on that very day their plans come to nothing. Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the LORD his God, the Maker of heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them — the LORD, who remains faithful forever.

Are we saved by faith or by baptism?

Romans 5:1; Ephesians 2:8-9 and Acts 2:38; 22:16; 1 Peter 3:21


Saved by faith

(Romans 5:1) - "Therefore having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ."

(Ephesians 2:8-9) - "For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9not as a result of works, that no one should boast."

Saved by baptism

(Acts 2:38) - "And Peter said to them, "Repent, and let each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit."

(Acts 22:16) - "And now why do you delay? Arise, and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on His name."

(1 Peter 3:21) - "And corresponding to that, baptism now saves you—not the removal of dirt from the flesh, but an appeal to God for a good conscience—through the resurrection of Jesus Christ,"

There is much debate within Christianity as to whether or not baptism is necessary for salvation. I cannot here exhaustively examine this issue, but I can affirm that baptism is not necessary for salvation. The scriptures teach that justification is by faith (Rom. 5:1). It also teaches that baptism is a necessary result of becoming a disciple of Christ (Matt. 28:18-19). Even 1 Peter 3:21 above says that the baptism mentioned is not one dealing with water, but an appeal to God.

God works covenantally. A covenant is a pact or agreement between two or more parties. The New Testament and Old Testaments are New and Old Covenants. The word "testament" comes from the Latin testamentum which means covenant. So, the Bible is a covenant document. If you don't understand covenant you cannot understand, in totality, the issue of baptism because baptism is a covenant sign. Covenant signs do not save. The things they represent are what save.

Regeneration occurs by faith (Rom. 5:1). Afterwards, baptism is administered as an outward representation of an inward reality. For example, it represents the reality of the inward washing of Christ's blood upon the soul. That is why it is used in different ways. It is said to represent the death of the person (Rom. 6:3-5), the union of that person with Christ (Gal. 3:27), the cleansing of that person's sins (Acts 22:16), the identification with the one "baptized into" as when the Israelites were baptized into Moses (1 Cor. 10:2), and being united in one church (1 Cor. 12:13). Also, baptism is one of the signs and seals of the Covenant of Grace that was instituted by Jesus.

Baptism is not a requirement of salvation, but it is so closely tied to it that some people erringly think it is the actual thing that saves. It isn't. Faith in Christ is what saves.